SlyTF1 wrote:I forgot to mention that Lightning Returns basically FORCES you to buy the strategy guide. The entire game is just a bunch of random side missions with only 5 main missions. One of which you probably won't even find on your own. And none of the side quests tell you what the hell you're supposed to do, so you have to look it up. Every mission is cryptic as all hell. I just used the internet to look every mission up, but they made the game so damn cryptic so people would buy the strategy guide.
There are plenty of free walkthroughs on youtube and gamefaqs.com.
But yeah, I know I'm missing the point.
BTW, I just couldn't resist. Bought the game last night when I walked past the local game store. 3 hours in, so far, and I adore the gameplay. Schemata is definitely a step up from the paradigm system. Very addictive.
Shadowman wrote:XIII-2, I felt, was a step up, not in the story, but in the storytelling. They actually explained what was going on in cutscenes, instead of telling you to look it up in an encyclopedia that may or may not actually explain it. Character motivations were reasonable and didn't clash with what was actually going on. (IE, they don't say they'll save Cocoon while doing literally the exact thing that will destroy it) That, and Noel is a way better protagonist than anyone from 13.
True, it was infuriating in XIII, having to read through all those pages to wrap my mind around what was happening.
XIII-2's ending sort of ruined the game for me, though. Technically, any story is allowed to end in a sad way, but for reasons I can't explain, XIII-2 ending just felt anti-climactic and incomplete, as if it's meant to be continued in a sequel game.
...and it did.
I agree about Noel. He's optimistic and has a strong can-do attitude, but not so much that he becomes annoying.
I never liked Lightning much in either XIII or XIII-2, but I started hating her in XIII-2, when she basically threw Serah to the wolves by sending her to save the world, knowing what it would do to her.
In XIII, didn't she love her sister more than anything else in the world?
It humanizes her in a way, having to make a hard decision by choosing between the world and her sister. But still, it failed to make her sympathetic to me. Maybe it's because XIII-2 focuses so little on her that she feels alien and distant.
SlyTF1 wrote:Character motivation was probably the worst thing about Lightning Returns for me. Halfway through, Lightning's motivation is so stupid, selfish, and just plain childish. Along with every other damn character in the game. And you have to go along with the ****. It was just dumb as all hell.
After XIII, Lighning started to become less and less likeable, personally. I guess it humanizes her by making her do things for bad reasons, but so far, I just don't find her all that sympathetic. In XIII-2, she more or less sent Serah to her death. Then again, it was to save the world, and she had to make a difficult choice.
I'm just 3 hours into the game, so I don't really know anything other than the fact that she's signed on to gather souls in return for Bhunivelze's promise to bring Serah back to life. I suppose it's an act of redemption.
BTW, WTF happened to Caius Ballad? He won the battle in XIII-2 and stopped time, but fast forward 500 years (if time even means anything anymore) and there's no mention of him. Maybe he'll be mentioned later?
SlyTF1 wrote:I seriously don't know how someone could have possibly thought that was good writing.
Motomu Toriyama did--he wrote it, actually. I'll say it again; thankfully, Tetsuo Nomura is back as director for FF XV.