Lightning Returns is.. pretty good?!

[Gamerforlife]

Looks terrible like the rest of them. With games like Bravely Default coming out I have no reason to play this.

I am honestly more interested in Lightning Returns than Bravely Default. But that could change. Still haven't tried the BD demo!

The both have my interest, seeing as one is a FF game and the other has been described as being like a FF game

EDIT: I love the stupid, it's good...honest tagline for the article. As if ANY game in the FF XIII line was actually bad. Popular opinion is rarely ever correct in the gaming community

[Valkyrie-Favor]

This is pretty much what I was expecting. This game has gotten a real bad rap from people who haven't the slightest idea how it plays. Either they don't like the idea of equipment that actually shows up on your character - and looks ridiculous - or they've condemned everything related to FFXIII already. A certain set of these fans believes FFXV will be great, too

Don't be afraid of otaku bait. Don't wear outfits you don't like. Don't listen to the losers who say Senran Kagura Burst has nothing to offer but breasts. If you're considering not trying this because of Lighting's outfits, why? Is it because you're morally outraged? Are you uncomfortable with playing dressup because you're a man? Is it just unsettling? Welcome to Japanese games. The Diva Room is here to stay. I think it's like swearing and military uniforms in "normal" games.


(SKB also has bunny ears)

The disappointment in FFXIII is understandable, and it's so severe that many assumed FFXIII-2 was a sad joke without even trying the demo. I'll give Square points for making the game they wanted to make and screw everybody else. Indie studios are lauded for that - FFXIII is what it looks like when you throw hundreds of millions of yen at it. Did not meet expectations. Definitely not.

I'd rather think of Lightning Returns as a sequel to the awesome FFXIII-2 and I look forward to seeing what Tri-Ace does with the systems already in place.

Seriously, Tri-Ace is making it. Why anyone excited about that?

[BoneSnapDeez]

tri-Ace is also developing the new Phantasy Star.

[Sload Soap]

They also made Infinite Undiscovery which is cack.

Don't be afraid of otaku bait. Don't wear outfits you don't like. Don't listen to the losers who say Senran Kagura Burst has nothing to offer but breasts. If you're considering not trying this because of Lighting's outfits, why? Is it because you're morally outraged? Are you uncomfortable with playing dressup because you're a man? Is it just unsettling? Welcome to Japanese games.

My problem is that Lightning wasn't super-sexualized is previous games, but now the developers have gone out of their way to put her in her panties. They even joked about bumping up her bra size. I'm not outraged or anything, it's just pathetic.

[Gamerforlife]

I didn't know Tri Ace was making it. Interesting. I'd be more excited if it was the folks at Gamearts who made Grandia, but whatever.

My one concern is that Lightning seems to be the only playable character. I feel combat loses something with just one participant

Valkyrie-Favor has reminded me I need to get back to playing Senran Kagura

[Valkyrie-Favor]

They also made Infinite Undiscovery which is cack.

Don't be afraid of otaku bait. Don't wear outfits you don't like. Don't listen to the losers who say Senran Kagura Burst has nothing to offer but breasts. If you're considering not trying this because of Lighting's outfits, why? Is it because you're morally outraged? Are you uncomfortable with playing dressup because you're a man? Is it just unsettling? Welcome to Japanese games.

My problem is that Lightning wasn't super-sexualized is previous games, but now the developers have gone out of their way to put her in her panties. They even joked about bumping up her bra size. I'm not outraged or anything, it's just pathetic.

It's kind of a jarring change because the first game's vibe was so serious. I agree there. FFXIII's characterization was pretty weird though, each character tried to give off a singular vibe, being more of an attitude than a person. As a character, lightning is a prop. Comparable to Mio from K-On...in nearly every way. Whatever the plot calls for Lightning to be, she is. And the plot is nonsense too. So I don't feel bad about her becoming the latest dress-up doll. It's pretty cool to have an otaku dress up doll that looks like...an adult with a serious face. I don't know if Lightning is popular in Japan, but she's a pretty strange choice for a modern JRPG lady, don't you think? There's not even a hint of moe.

[Sload Soap]

It's pretty cool to have an otaku dress up doll that looks like...an adult with a serious face. I don't know if Lightning is popular in Japan, but she's a pretty strange choice for a modern JRPG lady, don't you think? There's not even a hint of moe.

I think this speaks volumes as to why, regardless of quality, JRPG's have been seen as regressive this past generation.

[Xeogred]

Didn't know that about tri-Ace. No wonder the gameplay is amazing.

I've heard this had very low sales in Japan though. Comments on articles make it sound like there's some hype about this one around here, but who knows. Just a bit too late perhaps... a ton of people already passed over XIII-2 which I thought was great and fixed literally about everything XIII did wrong, and so yeah I think this'll be very overlooked.

Even if I liked XIII-2 a lot and think this looks great, it's still rather depressing all we got out of major FF releases this past gen on consoles was the XIII series. SE must think it's incredible business, since they're apparently already suggesting they may do this with XV as well.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

Western fans seem to like ridiculous 1997 anime drawings way more than ridiculous 2013 anime drawings. Moe artwork makes some people uncomfortable, but is it really the cause of this change in opinion? If it is...that's pretty funny.

Personally, I don't see any change in art quality, just a change in style. Even though moe characters tend to look really young...hasn't that always been the case? The jRPG featuring adults is the exception, not the rule. Final Fantasy has featured older protagonists before, like Cecil, plus younger ones like Bartz.

Final Fantasy entirely defines many gamers' conceptions of "old jRPG." I think that's big part of the problem - this series is actually pretty weird. It's always on the cutting edge in one way or another. Using it as a measuring stick for the genre doesn't make sense.

Imagine for a moment FFIV FFVI, and FFVII were all jRPGs before 2000. Is the average jRPG regressive, badly made, or thematically childish in comparison? You bet. While FF is hardly the peak of the genre, the good ones are far better than the average games the average gamer is only briefly and dimly aware of. The consensus seems to be based on a few screenshots, one paragraph describing the battle system, and a number score for the theme/atmosphere/story/characters and sound effects/acting/music. Duly announced, duly reviewed, put up the link with some extra ads because the weaboos will click on it. In that sense, Lightning Returns really does represent the entire genre.

There's no way the jRPG on average has been (more) regressive in terms of game design. Maybe this is just a case of fans getting older and not identifying with kid characters, or realizing most games suck and bad jRPGs especially suck.

I'm talking about the average here of course, both the 90s, the 00s, and the past few years have had some great games and beautiful game artwork to show off.
--

@Xeogred
Do you guys think Square evaluating a game they haven't finished is more or less foolish than gamers rejecting a game they haven't played? Yeah, they might as well start development on XV-2. They might as well release it first. They might as well pull an Endless Eight on us and laugh all the way to the bank. I'd certainly enjoy the ride.

[Sload Soap]

I just want to say that I am not one of the group that says jRPG's have become much worse over the last generation. I think games like Lost Odyssey, Ni No Kuni and Eternal Sonata as well as any number of DS and PSP releases would prove that the genre is still quite healthy. I actually have some hope that Lightning Returns will be well received.

What I was specifically referring to with:

It's pretty cool to have an otaku dress up doll that looks like...an adult with a serious face. I don't know if Lightning is popular in Japan, but she's a pretty strange choice for a modern JRPG lady, don't you think? There's not even a hint of moe.

is that it read to me like It's interesting a jRPG can have an adult in her panties. Usually fans prefer a child in her panites.Which I would say points to the reason some commentators feel the genre, like anime, has become stale and regressive. But that's a different topic altogether.