Lightning Returns is.. pretty good?!

[Gamerforlife]

I'm not feeling the new combat system. There's nothing really wrong with it, but compared to the last two games it feels like a step backward, like I have fewer strategic options. The new stagger system is really stupid too. It's so annoying trying to stagger something now. It wasn't broke, why did you try and fix it?

Enemies are a little unbalanced too, even on easy mode. Everything feels a little stronger than it should be. It feels like they took away my party, but didn't rebalance enemies to account for that.

The combat system isn't terrible or anything. I mean, I'm making progress through the game at a steady rate, but combat just isn't as much fun as it was in the last two games. It's lost something with the removal of the party system and the loss of the whole paradigm system

Fights feel like a slog now, and the new stagger system is both annoying and confusing

[Xeogred]

I was obviously pumped for this, but I think I'll wait for a price drop (that'll probably hit fast). I predict FFXHD will sell way more. Hopefully it and the reception are good, as SE has stated FFXIIHD might be possible depending on how FFX does.

For now, I'm going to hold off for Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze and the new Thief.

[Opa Opa]

I still need to beat 13 and 13-2. I'm waiting for a price drop as well.

But FFX HD? DAY ONE.

[Gamerforlife]

So far, this game has become the inverse of the last two for me. I always said that no matter what you thought of the story in the last two games, the combat was awesome

This time, I'm digging the story, not that it's up there with the best of the franchise or anything like that, but it's more coherent and easy to follow than the last two games, and I like how the story mixes biblical elements with Norse mythology to create an interesting apocalyptic scenario. This game is basically the Rapture from the bible, with Lightning being the second coming of Jesus, sent to save as many souls as possible in the name of God before the world ends. There's a tree staving off the apocalypse though, which is very Norse mythology-ish. Also, time and space got so screwed up last game that people aren't aging and can't have kids, which adds some interesting story elements when talking to NPCs. There's this feeling of doom and gloom hanging over the whole game. It's a cool set up, and there are other little sub plots developing that are kind of interesting too. I actually find myself caring about what's going on. My only gripe with the story is the tons and tons of melodrama, but that's not a new thing in Japanese games and it's somewhat appropriate given how dark and hopeless this game's world is.

Combat on the other hand, not really doing anything for me. I really hate the guard system. I just find it annoying having to worry about blocking attacks in a game like this, especially with having to face multiple enemies without a party. You feel like you need to guard constantly or just say, "screw it" and take the damage. You always take some damage though from guarding, unless you time the guard perfectly, which is also annoying. I'm playing Final Fantasy not Devil May Cry. What's odd is that there is so little combat in the game too from what I have played so far. Enemies just randomly pop up in city areas for no apparent reason, but it doesn't happen often and 99% of the time you can just avoid them using the new dash feature. There's not much incentive to fighting either, since Lightning's stats only increase when she completes a side quest. So basically getting stronger is all about questing rather than fighting. Sadly, a lot of the quests are just tedious fetch quests. Some of the NPCs have interesting stories though, but others are just lame. There's a really stupid side quest requiring you to help some loser with an unhealthy obsession with his long dead cat, not the sort of person whose soul I thought was worth saving. I think this dude needed to get out more, have a social life, maybe get laid instead of spending decades trying to find a way to resurrect his cat

[MrPopo]

What does it say about the game when after losing to the final boss they give you the option of still doing a new game plus? The final boss's final form is just bullshit; it seems I'm going to have to put together some sort of ultra cheese build in order to meet the condition to beat him.

[Gamerforlife]

What does it say about the game when after losing to the final boss they give you the option of still doing a new game plus? The final boss's final form is just bullshit; it seems I'm going to have to put together some sort of ultra cheese build in order to meet the condition to beat him.

I used Artemis Arrows on Soldier of Peace garb with the Ultima Weapon, spamming over clock and using Curaga when he uses that bullshit attack that drops your HP to 1.

Artemis Arrows is pretty over powered on normal difficulty

You think the last boss is bad, try Ereshkigal and Aeronite

[MrPopo]

I ended up tossing Thundara on two outfits and Blizzara on one, when he went to the final phase popped two overdrives that were just me mashing R1 and X (X is what I mapped those to on all jobs), after a couple overdrives he was staggered, then killed him with some basic attacks.

[Gamerforlife]

I ended up tossing Thundara on two outfits and Blizzara on one, when he went to the final phase popped two overdrives that were just me mashing R1 and X (X is what I mapped those to on all jobs), after a couple overdrives he was staggered, then killed him with some basic attacks.

Cool, glad you beat it. I think my Lightning was a bit overpowered because he didn't give me much trouble. After doing every quest in the game and fighting the optional bosses (Ereshkigal and Aeronite) the last boss didn't put up much of a fight. His last form was mildly annoying because I had to get him staggered before I could start butchering him with Artemis Arrows. It takes too damn long to stagger certain enemies in this game. His attack that dropped me to 1 HP was annoying too because I had to be careful about not spamming Over clock too much and not having a point left for Curaga. And I didn't want to use any recovery items because I had a lot of ethers slotted and they're a bit hard to come by

Did you get the Double Deity weapon? It's a rare drop from the final boss. It's not that impressive a weapon at first glance, but it's a two hit weapon, and I hear they are quite powerful in the long run after you have fully upgraded them and nearly maxed Lightning's base stats.

[MrPopo]

I'd done most of the sidequests, but I didn't bother with the bonus bosses. I had reached a point where I was annoyed with the combat system, as it felt less enjoyable than the Paradigm system of XIII (especially the stagger in LR), and I was already long done with the main quests. The sidequests were somewhat interesting but a lot were making me flash back to my MMO days.

[Xeogred]

Can't wait to see what my experience will be with this one. Sounds like a total mixed bag, like the other two games before it. So... don't know till you try it.