Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

 PlayStation 3
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 694 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 336 out of 694
  2. Mixed: 128 out of 694
  3. Negative: 230 out of 694
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  1. stespenc83
    Feb 15, 2014
    1
    I've been a fan of the FF franchise for 20 years now and this is the first installment where I simply don't want to play anymore. I might give it another shot later, but here are my first impressions after 3 hours of playtime. I really enjoyed the last two games in this trilogy and was excited for a third.

    Story: I'm immediately adverse to the story line. The game basically seems    I've been a fan of the FF franchise for 20 years now and this is the first installment where I simply don't want to play anymore. I might give it another shot later, but here are my first impressions after 3 hours of playtime. I really enjoyed the last two games in this trilogy and was excited for a third.

    Story: I'm immediately adverse to the story line. The game basically seems pointless. In 13-1 we were tasked with saving Cacoon. (We may have failed, but we gave people a new home on Gran Pulse.) In 13-2 we were tasked with saving Lightning and restoring the timeline. In 13-3 the world's going to end in 6 to 13 days no matter what we do. We can potentially resurrect Serah (to live on some new planet) if we save enough souls before the end of days. We are essentially Bhunivelze's pawn for this task. We feel much less like a hero, and Lightning herself doesn't seem thrilled about the task.

    Combat: The combat is often one of my favorite parts of an FF game. Being able to strategically plan out my moves and watch my characters grow there combat skills has always kept me entertained. This is the reason that I gave this game a 1 and not a 0. The combat system is new, but it seems to have potential for keeping you engaged. Setting up your schema is a lot like choosing combat roles in the previous installments, but you have even more flexibility. The problems, not enough combat and you don't get XP from killing monsters, you only gain skill ups through quests (which so far have not been entertaining).

    Open world / Time Limit: The open world would not normally be a bad thing. In fact my complaint about many of the recent FF games was how linear they felt. The problem is the time limit. I want to go exploring, but I feel like I can't because I need to be completing quests. In fact if I don't complete enough quests, Lightning won't even get 13 days to save souls in the world. This makes me very stressed about how I spend my time in game, and I have enough stress in my lift. I play games to relax, and this game doesn't give me that luxury.    … Expand
  2. TheOneGlenn
    Feb 13, 2014
    3
    This game is nothing like any other FF game, the characters are really boring, and the dress up is more like a barbie game.. this is not what i expected from FF 13-LR it is much worse. the game don't have any good reason to be out there and the time limit just make it worse. the only good thing about the game is the fighting. but when you got to do boring side quests to get more powerfulThis game is nothing like any other FF game, the characters are really boring, and the dress up is more like a barbie game.. this is not what i expected from FF 13-LR it is much worse. the game don't have any good reason to be out there and the time limit just make it worse. the only good thing about the game is the fighting. but when you got to do boring side quests to get more powerful the game has lost the "Final Fantasy" feel that 13/13-2 had. its not fun to do quests to get stronger you want to beat enemies but when that is taken away why do you care about them? they are just in the way in this game, so in my opinion square did a huge mistake and made it a dress up game with some action were u don't want to fight because there is no big reward for it.… Expand
  3. sujiro
    Feb 15, 2014
    1
    this gamefailed me..and whose idea to put time limit in rpg game while you can explore the open world? no sense at all and waste of money. what happened square enix?
  4. Danceswithsheep
    Feb 12, 2014
    3
    Although I disliked the linearity of FF XIII I still enjoyed it and the battle system, more so with XIi-2 where more path option were available.
    This, 'game' however, gives you back some real freedom then snatches it away instantly with constantly being reminded of time limits, quests that are the basest of RPG fetch quests, no incentive to enter combat as you do not get exp from it and    Although I disliked the linearity of FF XIII I still enjoyed it and the battle system, more so with XIi-2 where more path option were available.
    This, 'game' however, gives you back some real freedom then snatches it away instantly with constantly being reminded of time limits, quests that are the basest of RPG fetch quests, no incentive to enter combat as you do not get exp from it and with a gameplay that discourages you to waste time looking for fights by the quest structure. If you ignore everything the game wants you to do there are a few hours of gameplay here but only if bought from the remaindered bin.    … Expand
  5. AngryGamer
    Feb 14, 2014
    0
    Worst ff game i have ever played and i have played x-2 and dirge of cerberus(another pos).
    What's the point of having an open world to explore when you have a freaking time limit?
    What the hell were they thinking?
    This is not final fantasy.
    Do yourself a favor take those 60 bucks and buy ff1-6 on psn and play those again.
  6. rukia-chan
    Feb 12, 2014
    1
    Doesn't surprise me this poor reviews for FF13 LIGHTING. The whole 'Fabula Nova Crystalis' thing was Garbage, IMO. Yet, Square-Enix insist on sticking with it for FF 15,pfffffff. Who in the hell thought that a time-limit for an RPG was a good idea?!
  7. bigtakilla
    Feb 15, 2014
    0
    Waste of time by Square-Enix who should have instead used that time and money creating literally anything else. Farewell to the worst protagonist in Final Fantasy history.
  8. QRayhart
    Feb 15, 2014
    0
    I'm giving this game a zero because that is what it deserves based on the fact that this is the final nail in the coffin of one of my all time favorite RPG series.. I am disgusted by what square enix has done to a classic series.. Heres to you Final Fantasy.. I will honor your memory by playing 6 9 and 10 and by pretending these 3 13 games never existed.. Lightning is an awful characterI'm giving this game a zero because that is what it deserves based on the fact that this is the final nail in the coffin of one of my all time favorite RPG series.. I am disgusted by what square enix has done to a classic series.. Heres to you Final Fantasy.. I will honor your memory by playing 6 9 and 10 and by pretending these 3 13 games never existed.. Lightning is an awful character her personality is truly boring, they gave us a female squall.. the protagonist that most true FF fans hated.. Why can't FF have lead protagonists with personality anymore? Do they all have to be a brooding emo tool? Miss you Zidane... Luh you..… Expand
  9. gyigyo2
    Jun 7, 2014
    4
    pros: (Luxerion,place),Bhunivelze,Music:Crimzon blitz,Yunsan,Luxerion,Almighty Bhunivelze, A Sacred Oratorio
    cons:mostly everything, graphics, most of music!,Story, easiliy predict game.Cosplay game?
    Lightning as character is now totally ruined! in LR thx square enix...any lightning fans left? Telling the truth this is the 2nd worst FF game title in the world and FFx-2 was the 1st In    pros: (Luxerion,place),Bhunivelze,Music:Crimzon blitz,Yunsan,Luxerion,Almighty Bhunivelze, A Sacred Oratorio
    cons:mostly everything, graphics, most of music!,Story, easiliy predict game.Cosplay game?
    Lightning as character is now totally ruined! in LR thx square enix...any lightning fans left?

    Telling the truth this is the 2nd worst FF game title in the world and FFx-2 was the 1st
    In Lightning Return everything!! destroyed what good was in FF13 (story, Fal,cieth,L'cieth etc..) without this thing this FF13-3 and nova crystallis world is nothing,Awful story too predictable! why create a whole new world? and create another one for the last CG? too less caius and snow scenes in the game!!! when the game announced i already know who will be the last boss! EVERYTHING i loved in FF13-1 now is TOTALLY destroyed by square enix! what is this a cosplay game? FF13-1 have the best graphics YES i think FF13-1 have better graphics than FF13-2 and LR! i rather would play Agnis Philosophy as a PS4 game!!! square enix should consider to make Agnis Philosophy as PS4 game because that was more looked like a Final Fantasy than FF13-2 and Lightning Returns was    … Expand
  10. basilion
    Feb 11, 2014
    0
    Why did you do this to me square? I used to love you!
    Why have you forsaken me! What did enix gave you i couldn't give you?
    Money? Is that what you want?
  11. megaelixir
    Feb 11, 2014
    0
    This game is the reason I have cancer. Final Fantasy 13 was okay. Final Fantasy 13-2 was meh. This game, is a disgrace. It's a sign that Square Enix has fallen off their throne as RPG king. They no longer have the capacity to make semi-decent characters, plot and wrap it neatly in a game. This game is a laggy, bug ridden, MESS. Additionally, the plot is fanficiton gone wrong and the endingThis game is the reason I have cancer. Final Fantasy 13 was okay. Final Fantasy 13-2 was meh. This game, is a disgrace. It's a sign that Square Enix has fallen off their throne as RPG king. They no longer have the capacity to make semi-decent characters, plot and wrap it neatly in a game. This game is a laggy, bug ridden, MESS. Additionally, the plot is fanficiton gone wrong and the ending is why children in Africa are starving. This game just proves how you can slap a brand name on a piece of **** and people will still buy and love it. Disgusting. When will Final Fantasy fans wake up?
    On the plus side, Lightning has a bunch of great costumes. Have fun paying $60 for a dress up game since that's the only feature that works.    … Expand
  12. dedtsvy
    Feb 11, 2014
    0
    Worthless game. No effort put in whatsoever by Square-Enix. The story is ridicoulosly bad, the gameplay is broken and will probably be liked only by the small minority that liked the previous two chapters that don't represent in any way shape or form the majority of FF fans and fans of good games in general.
  13. Sony_Loyalist
    Feb 11, 2014
    0
    Awful story. Awful main character. Awful dialogs. Awful quest. Awful graphics. Awful ending. This is an awful entry in a franchise devastated by a terrible producers.
  14. GrumpyReviewer
    Apr 25, 2014
    4
    I play Final Fantasy games since the NES era, so I know what I am talking about. Additionally, I have played them ALL, with the exception of 11, as I was never into MMOs anyway. Even the last entries (13 and 13-2 had great moments and I had a lot of fun with them - I have actually finished 13 twice). I think Lightning is a great character and truly represents the new generation of FF and,I play Final Fantasy games since the NES era, so I know what I am talking about. Additionally, I have played them ALL, with the exception of 11, as I was never into MMOs anyway. Even the last entries (13 and 13-2 had great moments and I had a lot of fun with them - I have actually finished 13 twice). I think Lightning is a great character and truly represents the new generation of FF and, in my honest opinion, she is a very badass heroine. I simply love her. Lightning Returns finally converts her into the war-horse she is, making her a one-woman army. The gameplay/combat is SICK, original and a lot of fun. But that is all, I'm afraid. The rest of the game is a complete mess... and, seriously, why, WHY make a countdown in an open-world game? Why make a countdown that punishes you for wanting to explore and see all those cool settings and cities? Why make battles that don't give experience? It just does not make sense and gives me a feeling that the game is broken. I feel sad for hating this game, I really wanted to love it. But even for a true fan of the series, it is impossible. Lightning Returns is probably the worst game in the franchise and a shame that the trilogy has to end in such a sad, mediocre note.… Expand
  15. Suikoden
    Feb 20, 2014
    4
    I walked into this one with a OPEN mind. Some background on me before fanboys blast me: I grew up with the Secret of Mana's, Earthbounds, Final Fantasy 3s. I grew up with FF7s, Suikoden's, Persona's, Grandias. I grew with the Panzer Dragoon Saga's, Shining Force 3's, Phantasy Stars, etc. Bottomline is I know my RPGs. I know what makes a great RPG and a classic.

    This is not one of    I walked into this one with a OPEN mind. Some background on me before fanboys blast me: I grew up with the Secret of Mana's, Earthbounds, Final Fantasy 3s. I grew up with FF7s, Suikoden's, Persona's, Grandias. I grew with the Panzer Dragoon Saga's, Shining Force 3's, Phantasy Stars, etc. Bottomline is I know my RPGs. I know what makes a great RPG and a classic.

    This is not one of them.

    This game was created solely for people who adored FF13 and FF13-2. If you are new to this game, chances are you will share the same opinion.

    The story is basically you are the "savior" chosen by God to save souls to bring to another dimension and you do what your told because you are told you will be reunited with a loved one. It takes from Majora's Mask but instead gives you a week to do as much as you can. Doing quests increases the time available. Due to this time limit, you start skipping the exploration aspect that makes Final Fantasy great and instead tunnel vision to get to the next section. And downwards it goes...bar none, the weakest Final Fantasy of them all (I am categorizing 13, 13-2, and Lightning Returns as 'one'; in order, 13-2, 13, Lightning Returns). This series should have ended with 13, maybe 13-2 as fanfare. There was no reason for this game to be created. The story is awful.

    The graphics are good. Amazing? Eh...No, there are texture issues, blandness here and there, lack of details. They are good though.

    The music...ehhhh....not bad, but not great either. Meh.

    The battle system...great. Yes, you read that right: it is great. I enjoyed swapping costumes and seeing different abilities. I missed having other characters but only at first..SE made it fun.

    The story...awful. The ritalin happy NPCs you get quests from and talk to are way over the job. The voice acting is terrible for them and you feel nothing for them. Wait, you're Lightning..you have no personality. On top of that, you have Hope who is one rejection away from doing his monotone self in. He will constantly chirp in your ear. Quite frankly, SE should feel bad for putting him in and he should DIAF. The quests are absurd. You run into "fun" quests such as a white chocobo who you need to feed while listening to some terrible jpop music in the town. How about gathering a bunch of fireworks to create a big show, do some ridiculously corny pose and then be told you are not dressed well enough to be the star of the show. No, you need to dress the part and look pretty. Where shall we get our dress? At the slaughterdome because you know, that's where all women go to get their dresses and become actresses. There are numerous ridiculous quests like these.

    I'm going to continue to play this because I've already succumbed to putting this much time already...so for now, a 4 only because the fighting is fun and the graphics and music is OK. To all those who haven't started yet...don't. If pain is love to you, than know this is the weakest Final Fantasy of them all (Dirge isn't a real FF and neither is Crisis Core...those were pretty awful too).    … Expand
  16. TCLP
    Feb 20, 2014
    4
    As a fan of the XIII series this game makes me want to go and say I wish it never happened. The nonsense story that made no sense and abandoned what had been setup prior. This series became a glorified game of dress up. This is the last thing a strong woman like Lightning would care for. Which is the other thing Lightning has no emotions following blindly towards the end goal. No emotion =As a fan of the XIII series this game makes me want to go and say I wish it never happened. The nonsense story that made no sense and abandoned what had been setup prior. This series became a glorified game of dress up. This is the last thing a strong woman like Lightning would care for. Which is the other thing Lightning has no emotions following blindly towards the end goal. No emotion = bland protagonist = no connection to main character. Yes there are lots of side quests but oh they all seem to be one of 2 types. Defeat x amount of enemy y or retrieve item z. Such variety I don't know how I will contain myself especially when this is the majority of the gameplay! Between a bland character and no mission variety the replay value of the game is minimal. I main work on it here or there to gain all the achievements but that's only because I hate having games incomplete.
    What good is there; the combat system. It was well thought out for this style of game but the game has massive difficulty spikes that plague it making it terribly unfun to use.
    Visually things look great so long as you don't get too close to objects as they appear very boxy also clipping and ghosting is present in many areas at times when the system became overwhelmed with on screen happenings.
    Now the timer some hate it some like it. Once you set up and get your bearings the timer isn't infuriating its how there are areas that are locked at certain times. Not enough time to go somewhere else but you are more or less stuck where you are doing nothing for a couple minutes.
    Terrible way to end the first trilogy in FF but then again what can you expect when the people at square-enix when talking about the game in development went and said to the effect of we have perfected the way breasts behave. Well maybe next time you spend that time jacking off less and putting in more substance.
    XIII was my favorite FF but this has to be just about my least favourite.

    TLDR: Terrible story and replay value, good combat engine with good visuals at a distance    … Expand
  17. Dynel
    Mar 27, 2014
    0
    time limit, you absolutely need a guide to know about certain times/enemy encounters to progress, lot's of dlc to play cosplay with lightning.

    is this really a FF game? it feels more of a game released just to get more money on a poor and popular character. AVOID.
  18. Nednerb
    Mar 21, 2014
    4
    Welcome back to the world of Cocoon... err Gran Pulse err Bhunivelze err Nova Chrysalia? Lightning Returns 500 years in the future (again) in a world where nobody ages and people can no longer be born. The world is slowly dying one person at a time and the almighty god Bhunivelze is set on creating a new world giving humans another shot. Enter Lightning, the vessel chosen by god to saveWelcome back to the world of Cocoon... err Gran Pulse err Bhunivelze err Nova Chrysalia? Lightning Returns 500 years in the future (again) in a world where nobody ages and people can no longer be born. The world is slowly dying one person at a time and the almighty god Bhunivelze is set on creating a new world giving humans another shot. Enter Lightning, the vessel chosen by god to save as many souls as she can in 13 days before the world's destruction. Sounds exciting, but where did it go all wrong? Everywhere! The game is set in a open-world timed environment where the player must complete certain tasks at certain times of the day within a respective time period. The story revolves around 5 sub plots unrelated to the other and provide no insight in the actual development of the main story; in fact there is hardly any development of the main story throughout the entire game with the exception of a convenient cut scene upon ending each day. The battle system is much faster than its predecessors but rather annoying as the Lightning only has 12 abilities to use on various foes each with their own strengths and weaknesses and requires the player to constantly change their battle schematics to progress in an efficient manner. The graphics are horrible in comparison to other titles utilising the Crystal Tools engine. It feels as if they purposely dumbed the graphics down to ensure a smoother experience throughout the game. Which could be useful, in a first person shooter. The music is a compilation of its previous titles mixed with a few new tracks that sounds like your stepping into an elevator. There is no mini-games and no re-playability whatsoever. Trophy Hunters; acquiring the Platinum Trophy is quick and easy. Overall, this entire game feels rushed, there is no twists, no turns, no excitement and not feat of accomplishment once the game is complete. This game is called Final Fantasy, it looks like Final Fantasy but it definitely does not bleed Final Fantasy. Disappointing game.… Expand
  19. Ibuki_7731
    Jan 8, 2021
    0
    After 9 years it's still utter garbage. It's no wonder why after this game the Final Fantasy series went through a drastic change. All thanks to this dumpster fire.
  20. sonicmfc
    Mar 5, 2014
    0
    Loathed this game completely and this is coming from someone who thought the first two were decent! The production value and presentation is horrendous it feels so cheap and they but flashy lights everywhere to try and cover it up, the voice actress even sounds like she hates the game, the time aspect is so stupid considering they're selling this to a FF audience which ruins what couldLoathed this game completely and this is coming from someone who thought the first two were decent! The production value and presentation is horrendous it feels so cheap and they but flashy lights everywhere to try and cover it up, the voice actress even sounds like she hates the game, the time aspect is so stupid considering they're selling this to a FF audience which ruins what could have been great about te game; the depth! The battles are nice enough too but with lack of exp feels pointless. Worst FF they have produced by far...… Expand
  21. KervinX
    Mar 5, 2014
    2
    Seriously, I registered an account only to write a bad review about this game. I would have give it maybe a 6 out of 10, for the nice graphics, nice music, ok battle system, poor story and poor leveling system... but the time limit makes this game absolutely horrible. Yes, I cut 4 whole points to my review for only one feature in the game. I mean, no RPG fans want to have a time limit in aSeriously, I registered an account only to write a bad review about this game. I would have give it maybe a 6 out of 10, for the nice graphics, nice music, ok battle system, poor story and poor leveling system... but the time limit makes this game absolutely horrible. Yes, I cut 4 whole points to my review for only one feature in the game. I mean, no RPG fans want to have a time limit in a game. I play FF games since the very first title on the NES and one thing I enjoy is taking my time to explore, or just fighting monsters to grind levels, but this game allows none of these.

    I always thought that FF13 / FF13-2 were the worst in the entire serie, but I still wanted to believe that something good was coming with LR, but honnestly, this game is total crap. I guess I can lose all hopes for FF15.    … Expand
  22. Chime
    Feb 22, 2014
    2
    This game is, just like it's prior games, not worth it. The story is garbage and predictable, the main characters are just boring and annoying (Lightning herself is just plain boring and nothing unique) and the way you have to work your way through the story is just sad. Sometimes, you encounter creatures that are just straight out un-killable, and thats happening on the first day of theThis game is, just like it's prior games, not worth it. The story is garbage and predictable, the main characters are just boring and annoying (Lightning herself is just plain boring and nothing unique) and the way you have to work your way through the story is just sad. Sometimes, you encounter creatures that are just straight out un-killable, and thats happening on the first day of the story. You know that a game is bad when the first creatures you fight are un-killable.

    The game also expects you to have extreme knowledge of where to go and when to do it. I have read the strategy guide, and it tells me to go somewhere that i had no idea of where was and then told me it is extremely important that i do it, or else the rest of the game becomes extremely difficult and again, almost impossible.

    I could continue talking bad about it, it does have its upsides in how battle works, which is fun, but nothing special. The customization is also great, but the game is just balls hard if you dont use your days to the maximum.    … Expand
  23. Skillful
    Dec 25, 2015
    0
    Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit Time limit
  24. ragnavirus
    Mar 5, 2014
    4
    Staggering is totally broken.The game was fairly easy for me till the last boss final phase.I feel strong enough , blocked everything.he barely damage me.but i barely damage him.we fought with our spells ofr hours and nothing .it was like a tie game that never ends even with sudden death.tried air ,thunder , A-level stagger habilities only and nothing.I really liked the game .But hateStaggering is totally broken.The game was fairly easy for me till the last boss final phase.I feel strong enough , blocked everything.he barely damage me.but i barely damage him.we fought with our spells ofr hours and nothing .it was like a tie game that never ends even with sudden death.tried air ,thunder , A-level stagger habilities only and nothing.I really liked the game .But hate everything on the final boss.He is not hard ,he does not not require great hability but I cant defeat him even following each step of the faq.
    :( .Without the final boss this game deserves an 8.with it , I give an 4.    … Expand
  25. kingofkoopas
    Mar 31, 2014
    3
    The fans want to desperately trick themselves into believing this game is good, but it is not. If you enjoy taking on 10 different and boring enemies, yeah the game only has about 10-13 different types of enemies. If you enjoy a story that is a nonsensical mess. If you enjoy truly worthless items. If you enjoy the most insipid repetitive shallow boring fetch quests. If you enjoy an RPGThe fans want to desperately trick themselves into believing this game is good, but it is not. If you enjoy taking on 10 different and boring enemies, yeah the game only has about 10-13 different types of enemies. If you enjoy a story that is a nonsensical mess. If you enjoy truly worthless items. If you enjoy the most insipid repetitive shallow boring fetch quests. If you enjoy an RPG whose entire area can be 100% explored in a good 1-2 hrs(meaning the game is very small). If you enjoy bosses that are not difficult but that take 100 years to kill by mashing the same buttons over and over. If you enjoy NPC's who are far worse animated and acted than anything seen on the movie The Room. If you enjoy crappy graphics that are blurry, pixelated and blurry(the pretty CG does not count, along with Lights model). If you enjoy boredom, then this game is for you.… Expand
  26. FantasyFanatic
    May 1, 2014
    1
    This is the end of the FFXIII trilogy but unfortunately this trilogy ends on a sour note. The story and characters are both dry and ridiculous as there is little or no depth or development. The time limit should have scrapped early in development in favor of something else because combining the open world, main story and, sidequests give the game a very unbalanced feel and while I am gladThis is the end of the FFXIII trilogy but unfortunately this trilogy ends on a sour note. The story and characters are both dry and ridiculous as there is little or no depth or development. The time limit should have scrapped early in development in favor of something else because combining the open world, main story and, sidequests give the game a very unbalanced feel and while I am glad that sidequests are an organic part of the game this time around they feel more like errands and it feels extremely unpleasant. I will give world design high marks but the inability to freely explore the game counters this as you are constantly rushing through the game doing quests and proceeding through the main plot and having all this stuff going on all at once can have you feeling lost. The graphics also have problems there is ridiculous amounts of lagging in some areas and textures look very rushed and muddy and some textures look closer to plastic rather than looking organic it looks and feels very cheap and it's VERY disappointing especially for a Final Fantasy game. While the battle system is the best part of the game it feels a bit weird since there no other playable party members other than Lightning (except for certain parts of the game where you get a temporary party member but I am not counting these) and I do admit I do miss having a full party since the Schemata system feels closer to a game of Dress Up. In the end Lightning Returns is something that should never be revisited in the future and it's easily the worst Final Fantasy of this console generation. So instead of playing this game you will want to play either Zelda: Majora's Mask or Bravely Default these are masterpieces and Lightning Returns on the other hand it's better off thrown in a fire or left in crystal stasis for all eternity.… Expand
  27. TiagoRPG
    Apr 12, 2014
    3
    I don't know how square enix makes a game like this, it's like they losing the focus of ofinal fantasy series.. What the hell, a game that have a limit to finish? that have just one playable character? that don't let you do "what do you want" because u will not have enough time? i hate it, jut evolved in the battle system. please Square enix no more Lightning games!!
  28. Dyscordia
    Mar 25, 2014
    2
    unable to gain experience, totally fanservice, hybrid control system engages but becomes repetitive, and for fans of this saga, the only positive thing: the big world open for the rest a great disappointment.
  29. Chris71186
    Apr 7, 2014
    0
    This game is just awful. Being a longtime FF fan this is truly the first game in the series that I absolutely hated and could not finish. I loved FF13 and FF13-2. Honestly not sure why people hate these games. They were the best games sense ff10. However what Sqaure seemed to do with the conclusion of the series is stick every sidequest I ever SKIPPED in previous FF games and made them aThis game is just awful. Being a longtime FF fan this is truly the first game in the series that I absolutely hated and could not finish. I loved FF13 and FF13-2. Honestly not sure why people hate these games. They were the best games sense ff10. However what Sqaure seemed to do with the conclusion of the series is stick every sidequest I ever SKIPPED in previous FF games and made them a primary factor of this game. I hate the time limit put on the game. It takes away everything that makes a FF game great.

    I hated the battle system more than anything. It was to "real time". What makes FF games battle system great is being able to strategize and think. This battle system feels to much like "legend of zelda" for my taste. It almost seems like they took the battle system from zelda and put a FF "coat" on it. In my opinion they shouldn't even call this an FF game. They took elements of other games, mixed them with the worst elements of any FF game, and created a disaster.    … Expand
  30. BaronMonaco
    Aug 4, 2016
    4
    The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy has been disappointing from the start but this third instalment lowers the bar even more and this is why.

    Technically the game is okay, no bugs, graphically acceptable for 2014 (not a lot of evolution from the first game), there's very few different characters and they all look alike, even some important characters have no particular design. The musics are    The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy has been disappointing from the start but this third instalment lowers the bar even more and this is why.

    Technically the game is okay, no bugs, graphically acceptable for 2014 (not a lot of evolution from the first game), there's very few different characters and they all look alike, even some important characters have no particular design. The musics are good and fits well in the game.

    Concerning the gameplay there's some good ideas concerning the fighting system: customization of three styles each with its own gear and skills set and most of all point of action (each skill use some point of action and they come back with time) but all those good ideas are simply hidden by a simple fact, it's boring to death, the enemies takes forever to die (they not really harmful but boy they have a lot of life points) even the most simple ones can take over 50 hits and boss fights are even more tedious, you could close your eyes as long as you smash the buttons in the right order. There's a solution to have shorter fights, you must farm like an idiot and do the same fetch quests over and over and have a character over powered, you'll kill the challenge but win time. For the RPG elements the open world is very small and I think that's the reason why there's a time limit in the game, if you go through the game you'll know every bit of the map too well.

    The story like all the XIII is pure garbage probably written by an unicorn who throws up rainbows,they all deserve a good slap as none of them seems to be able to think with common sense and the side quests have no interest except for farming, they all can be summarize in one sentence, so pointless. It will take around 40 hours to finish it and it was already too long after the fifth.

    So in conclusion Lightning Returns puts a nail to the XIII coffin, and we'd better hope she'll never return another time, despise some good ideas I don't advise this game to anyone (even for the ones that liked the previous episodes) as this is the worst JRPG I played in this generation .    … Expand
  31. cidgrad01
    Dec 21, 2015
    1
    Lightning Returns takes the crown of "Worst Final Fantasy Game Ever" away from FFXIII, a feat I hadn't thought possible. I had high hopes for this one because, while I certainly loathed FFXIII (despite putting over 100 hours into it and getting all achievements), I enjoyed FFXIII-2 a great deal. Sadly, I feel LR was made simply to troll fans as it combines all the worst elements of theLightning Returns takes the crown of "Worst Final Fantasy Game Ever" away from FFXIII, a feat I hadn't thought possible. I had high hopes for this one because, while I certainly loathed FFXIII (despite putting over 100 hours into it and getting all achievements), I enjoyed FFXIII-2 a great deal. Sadly, I feel LR was made simply to troll fans as it combines all the worst elements of the first two games and adds in some new bad stuff, as well.

    The characters and writing in FFXIII were horrible. They were bland, stupid, the dialogue consisted mainly of them repeating key plot points, and you had to play pretty deep into it to discover WTF was even going on. I feel Lightning herself is a pretty terrible protagonist, and sadly Squeenix decided to ONLY let you play as her in LR. Your only companion in this game is Hope, who does not travel with you but stays at your home base, called the Ark, and constantly bombards you with radio messages. These usually consist of repeating obvious plot information (like reminding you time is precious, saying something you just heard thirty seconds before, or literally: "Try not to die."). So the game is a whole, whole lot of Lightning conversing in her emotionless monotone with Hope at his most annoying. And whenever they have an interesting conversation, it takes them forever to get to the point, and remember: you're running against the countdown clock and generally don't want to stop & listen.

    Another thing FFXIII was criticized for was being insanely linear. LR opens things up and gives you freedom to choose which quests to pursue, but then bizarrely hamstrings you with a clock which counts down to the end of the world (and game over). So yeah, you can wander around and pick up random quests, but you have to do it all in a limited amount of time. Furthermore, some quests are only available at certain times of day. This means that, to realistically finish the game with a good ending, you will miss a lot on your first playthrough but also keep notes for a second playthrough or follow a guide. You get an ability early on which lets you freeze the clock, but doing so consumes a resource and the only way to recharge it is by fighting random monsters.

    Which brings me to the combat system: it sucks. Worst yet in the FF franchise. I wasn't a huge fan of combat in FFXIII or XIII-2, but it at least made sense. Combat has become truly Byzantine in LR. It revolves around cosplay outfits for Lightning, and you can have three of them active (so it's basically the same as the roles from earlier games, only you have no one else in your party). Each outfit has different abilities & stats and there are also different weapons, shields, and accessories. You can mix & match most abilities and can also synthesize new abilities. Some abilities & items you can only get as random drops from monsters, which sucks b/c remember: you are on a countdown clock. And you do not gain any XP from battles, as there are no levels in this game. You only gain stats by completing side quests.

    And combat basically comes down to how well you can block, which is a glorified quick time event. There is "blocking" and "perfect blocking", the latter of which helps stagger enemies, prevent damage, and get rare item drops. The problem is you have to press the button within 1/6 of a second before the enemy's attack connects. As you might guess, that means a lot of trial & error with learning animations of the various enemies and when their attacks will hit. So they went from combat which essentially played itself but at least looked nice and was cathartic, to combat which is frustrating & requires study of individual enemy weaknesses, constant reshuffling of how you build your outfits & gear (depending on what you're fighting), and expert timing of button presses (you can get "perfect" attacks as well as perfect blocks, but good luck with that).

    The graphics are pretty bad in LR, as well, another shame since that was previously the biggest thing the series had going for it. Aside from Lightning and her numerous outfits, textures are generally muddy and other characters (especially NPCs) don't look so great. Most of the monsters are, once again, the same character models first seen in FFXIII. As for the music, I wouldn't call it "good", but it at least doesn't grate on your nerves like a lot of tracks in the previous two games.

    The last straw is the incessant, pointless dialogue which accompanies practically every quest, whether a main story or side quest. I frequently found myself yelling, "JUST SHUT UP!" at the screen. Not to mention some of the completely stupid things you'll be doing in these quests: like talking to Dr. Sheep to help find his missing fuzzy sheep. Why should anyone care about finding their ship a few days before the end of the world? Who knows. Who cares? Side quest!

    Overall: LR is a gigantic disappointment in every way after the series saw an improvement in FFXIII-2. Got a bad feeling about FFXV..    … Expand
  32. truthasofnow
    Aug 5, 2015
    1
    This game is bad the story to the mundane battle system are bad. The only defense for the game is that others "hate" it for no reason. This games biggest problem is that it is named final fantasy, that name implies quality that this game doesn't have. After all this game is barely an rpg due to its lack of a leveling system. Anyone who grew up with the traditional jrpg experience that wasThis game is bad the story to the mundane battle system are bad. The only defense for the game is that others "hate" it for no reason. This games biggest problem is that it is named final fantasy, that name implies quality that this game doesn't have. After all this game is barely an rpg due to its lack of a leveling system. Anyone who grew up with the traditional jrpg experience that was final fantasy will hate this game.
    Some fans will praise this game because its name is final fantasy but that doesnt make it good others will praise it because at least its different however different doesnt mean good either the creators have decided to go this direction with final fantasy if anyone thinks that 15 is going to be a return to greatness they are mistaken this is in fact the death of final fantasy and the beginning of a new generation of games that will be defended by zealots and ignored by former fans.    … Expand
  33. SicSeph
    Dec 15, 2015
    0
    This would actually be a game deserving a merciful 4 only, and i really mean only, for the battle system. I gave it 0 because it is sold as a Final Fantasy, which is totally not. Final Fantasy used to have an at least decent story, or even less, an existing one, this one has not.
    Inconsistent ideas are put together: why would you create an open world to explore if you have a time limit?    This would actually be a game deserving a merciful 4 only, and i really mean only, for the battle system. I gave it 0 because it is sold as a Final Fantasy, which is totally not. Final Fantasy used to have an at least decent story, or even less, an existing one, this one has not.
    Inconsistent ideas are put together: why would you create an open world to explore if you have a time limit?
    Btw, time limit is stupid. Hell stupid.
    -Characters are insignificant.
    -The world is insignificant.
    -Made up story to call of the trilogy (maybe this is actually a good point, good bye XIII saga)
    -Even graphic sucks! There's some ambient looking ps2 stuff!    … Expand
  34. LukaasMarx
    Jul 4, 2016
    0
    Nojo nojento.. são 04:43 e acabei de finaliza-lo junto com toda a franquia FFXIII, dos 3 esse é claramente o pior.. como a lighyning é nojenta.. meu deus, toda fala dela... ela é aquela pessoa sem expressão querendo pagar de fodona... coitada
  35. BlitZeR_95
    Apr 29, 2018
    4
    This installment is probably the worst Final Fantasy of all time! They are really losing a lot of fans with this game.
    Very disappointing game and very disappointed in Square Enix's work on this.
  36. Johnny_evil2101
    Feb 18, 2019
    4
    The story is bad
    The combat is fine (not my thing but it is more engaging, that's a fact)
    But the time limit just kills the game. At the start you get 6 real life hours to complete the game, with possible extensions as you go on (up to 13 hours). If this clock runs out, you'll have to start over (but you keep your equipment etc.) what makes the timer even worse however, is how the game    The story is bad
    The combat is fine (not my thing but it is more engaging, that's a fact)
    But the time limit just kills the game. At the start you get 6 real life hours to complete the game, with possible extensions as you go on (up to 13 hours). If this clock runs out, you'll have to start over (but you keep your equipment etc.)
    what makes the timer even worse however, is how the game puts time restrictions on certain missions. For example, go to that person in that part of the city between 7 and 9 pm, making you essentially waste some of that precious 6 hours waiting.
    all in all, skip this game unless you're invested in the FF 13 storyline    … Expand
  37. crapygamertag
    Mar 4, 2014
    0
    The time limit is lame but not a deal breaker, how ever the crap combat is!
    worst final fantasy ever made and i have played them all.
    and from the looks of it FF15 is going to be a suck fest to cause the combat in that looks like DMC.
  38. ChiyoChan
    Mar 19, 2014
    4
    I really wanted to like this game. For personal aspects I love the Final Fantasy series in whole but my love for the series has not been kind of late. Game is tedious and frustrating. Combat with multiple characters is a chore because the camera isn't not controllable and you sometimes have no clue if the enemy is telegraphing attack and if the switching to block will select the characterI really wanted to like this game. For personal aspects I love the Final Fantasy series in whole but my love for the series has not been kind of late. Game is tedious and frustrating. Combat with multiple characters is a chore because the camera isn't not controllable and you sometimes have no clue if the enemy is telegraphing attack and if the switching to block will select the character to block in time resulting in hits and death. Note that death wouldn't be a issue but it sucks away time which you don't have. Escaping from battle also sucks away time. You have a set amount of time till the world ends and this game has no issue wasting with what time you have left. Battles and wasting time with areas you had no idea that would be a wasted time part doesn't help either.

    Characters also are... grating... all the character have issues and or no personalty in some cases. Story is Final Fantasy but everything makes it feel weaker in retrospect. This is not Final Fantasy X-2 bad but its not good. Go play Final Fantasy X HD release more fun and might have a enjoyable plot to boot also!    … Expand
  39. Deiradinn
    Nov 24, 2014
    4
    I am a long time Final Fantasy gamer, but this game feels absolutely nothing like games that should be credited with that name. It's so far removed from what people love about the franchise that you have to stop and wonder what the hell is wrong with them. I actually beat it, that in itself is a feat of patience. This game is awful, time limit, the stories, the quests... you have to be aI am a long time Final Fantasy gamer, but this game feels absolutely nothing like games that should be credited with that name. It's so far removed from what people love about the franchise that you have to stop and wonder what the hell is wrong with them. I actually beat it, that in itself is a feat of patience. This game is awful, time limit, the stories, the quests... you have to be a very biased fan of the series to really support this game.… Expand
  40. outlived
    Apr 12, 2014
    4
    This game is hands down the worst ff game out there. I put good time into the first two, which also were pretty bad, granted had a solid plot. This game is everything a ff should not be! I don't care if the series changes gameplay formula but do NOT set a damn clock on a ff game. You'll play threw this game the entire time staring at the timer hoping you beat it in time, this is exactlyThis game is hands down the worst ff game out there. I put good time into the first two, which also were pretty bad, granted had a solid plot. This game is everything a ff should not be! I don't care if the series changes gameplay formula but do NOT set a damn clock on a ff game. You'll play threw this game the entire time staring at the timer hoping you beat it in time, this is exactly what bof: dragon quarters did and it f-ing blows. You will feel to worried to even take in scenery which is what makes these games so beautiful. Gameplay feels kinda like x-2 but not as good, I would say this a much worse game in fact. Only people who play and enjoyed the previous two iterations and really care to see how this story resolved itself should even touch this game. I'm glad I only borrowed it for a few days and feel bad for all who pre- ordered this garbage.… Expand
  41. R6ex
    Mar 9, 2014
    0
    Wasted my money on a dumb game! Its running around in circles all the time, doing unimportant side-quests that are irrelevant to the main story. And you can't progress the main story because certain events can only be accessed at certain times of the day. Dumb! Worst FF game ever! Enjoyed FF13-1, dismayed by FF13-2 and now ridiculed in FF13-3. I give up! Other than the pretty Lightning,Wasted my money on a dumb game! Its running around in circles all the time, doing unimportant side-quests that are irrelevant to the main story. And you can't progress the main story because certain events can only be accessed at certain times of the day. Dumb! Worst FF game ever! Enjoyed FF13-1, dismayed by FF13-2 and now ridiculed in FF13-3. I give up! Other than the pretty Lightning, there's no saving grace for this game.… Expand
  42. Noin007
    Jan 4, 2015
    4
    It's a **** game for a second time with some minor alterations. Not really much else to say. Did you think all XIII needed was Pokemon collecting and moogles? If not, skip this and don't look back.
  43. NoctisHikaru
    Jan 7, 2015
    0
    Jogo de bicha, em inglês "Gay's game". As mecânicas prometeram muito, mas na verdade entregaram muito pouco! Como em raios (e em Lightnings) do universo você tem tempo cronometrado para jogar um RPG? Final Fantasy que não se evoluiu lutando!? Melhor, lutar aqui não tem sentindo algum! Dá para chegar ao último chefe lutando pouquíssimas vezes!! Trocar de roupinha? E rosa?! Vai brincar deJogo de bicha, em inglês "Gay's game". As mecânicas prometeram muito, mas na verdade entregaram muito pouco! Como em raios (e em Lightnings) do universo você tem tempo cronometrado para jogar um RPG? Final Fantasy que não se evoluiu lutando!? Melhor, lutar aqui não tem sentindo algum! Dá para chegar ao último chefe lutando pouquíssimas vezes!! Trocar de roupinha? E rosa?! Vai brincar de Barbie Motomu Toriyama (Go play with yours Barbies Motomu Toriyama)! Não sou machista, mulher TEM que jogar videogame também, mas nem a mais meiga e "rosinha" das garotas que conheço jogariam isso aqui! Poha! Vá pro inferno trocar de roupinha! O que irrita é o fato do Versus XIII ir pra nova geração por culpa dessa porcaria de Trilogia XIII! Lixo! Não presta! Se você está lendo meu review, tire a poeira do seu PS2 e vá jogar Final Fantasy XII como se não houvesse amanhã! TORIYAMA! TALK WITH MY HANDS!! WORST SQUARE ENIX'S GAME EVER!… Expand
  44. Genelegasse
    Sep 21, 2014
    0
    What is this crap? I don't even know what's happening anymore.. PLEASE STOP THESE XIII SPINOFF'S THEY ARE GETTING WORSE. SE has completely lost their ability to make good games... I'm sorry its freaking disgusting to see.
  45. MrBla
    Jul 12, 2014
    1
    This is the worst FF game in the series. The combat became pure action, not party, constant lag, time limit which doesn't allow you to explore and do quests. This game is pathetic. The gameplay is horrible, you just run around back and forth without any clue often. No information on quests, no ones telling you what to do and the time is running. AI is not existent. Running 100 timesThis is the worst FF game in the series. The combat became pure action, not party, constant lag, time limit which doesn't allow you to explore and do quests. This game is pathetic. The gameplay is horrible, you just run around back and forth without any clue often. No information on quests, no ones telling you what to do and the time is running. AI is not existent. Running 100 times through the same locations(there are only 4 of them, yeah 4 locations) gets boring very fast.… Expand
  46. murdersto56
    Nov 22, 2014
    0
    Final fantasy already has to be one of the weakest role playing games out there, but this game is just awful. While other FF games have had some redeeming features, I can't see why anyone could enjoy this game.
    This is the 4th game I have played in the series and I have to say, it's a mess. In the space of 4 hours I didn't die or come close to death once, this game is unbelievably easy.    Final fantasy already has to be one of the weakest role playing games out there, but this game is just awful. While other FF games have had some redeeming features, I can't see why anyone could enjoy this game.
    This is the 4th game I have played in the series and I have to say, it's a mess. In the space of 4 hours I didn't die or come close to death once, this game is unbelievably easy. Seeing as FF is an RPG based on characters/story I can somewhat understand why they did this, but there is no hard mode! The game was so easy I couldn't go on.
    The environments are sooo dull looking and the game has one of the worst 3rd person cameras ever. The game is also really poorly programmed, I see npcs walking into walls all the time. But the worst thing about the game is its attempts to increase the length of the game. Overly long gameplay segments could be so much shorter if it wash't for the constant dialogue and cutscenes. All the side quests I did involved walking next to a very slow moving person while they talked to you and then ended with a 3 minute cutscene.
    This game is supposed to be 40 hours, but I can see why, because is filled with dialogue, everything you do triggers a cutscene or a battle. This game never does anything impressive and i have nothing good to say about it.
    On a side note the game's voice acting/music is awful, good god    … Expand
  47. Carlitoxic
    Jun 7, 2014
    4
    Algunos dicen que es el mejor de los tres sólo porque ya no es lineal. Y es que vale, mejora un problema muy grande que tuvo XIII, pero también es verdad que se carga lo mucho bueno que brilló en este primer capítulo. Y es que, ¿dónde ha ido la épica, la historia y los grandes personajes de antaño?, esto más bien es un simulador de recados a personajes frikazos, en plan busca mi peluche,Algunos dicen que es el mejor de los tres sólo porque ya no es lineal. Y es que vale, mejora un problema muy grande que tuvo XIII, pero también es verdad que se carga lo mucho bueno que brilló en este primer capítulo. Y es que, ¿dónde ha ido la épica, la historia y los grandes personajes de antaño?, esto más bien es un simulador de recados a personajes frikazos, en plan busca mi peluche, traeme esto, mata treinta monstruos, busca números, etc, en fin, una jugabilidad muy divertida para ofrecer en el 2014. Encima con prisas porque va contrareloj. Vamos, que parece un batiburrillo de ideas extrambóticas que no terminan de funcionar ni cuajar bien. Sigue así Square enix, otro Final Fantasy del montón y van unos cuantos...… Expand
  48. Sylveria
    Jul 24, 2014
    2
    I say this as someone who, while hating 13-1, kinda enjoyed 13-2 and was cautionsly optimistic about 13-3: This game is possibly the worst game in the entire series next to All the Bravest. While technically superior to 13-1, it is staggeringly worse than 13-2. The attempt to make Lightning an even "tougher" character is laughable and she just comes up as some personality-free golem.I say this as someone who, while hating 13-1, kinda enjoyed 13-2 and was cautionsly optimistic about 13-3: This game is possibly the worst game in the entire series next to All the Bravest. While technically superior to 13-1, it is staggeringly worse than 13-2. The attempt to make Lightning an even "tougher" character is laughable and she just comes up as some personality-free golem. Toriyama's idol worship is taken to the literal extreme by actually deifying her and the result is pure absurdity that only the most vapid fanboy will buy. The timer system actively works against the whole hook of the game; being a huge world to explore, by forcing you to carefully plan your travel routes and, above all else, don't waste any time enjoying the scenery.

    Outside of NES era cash-ins and its own drunken grandfather in FF13-1, its probably the worst game I've ever pushed myself finish.    … Expand
  49. Epiternal
    Jun 3, 2014
    2
    As a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series, I can say, hand on heart, that this was the single most disappointing game I have ever played. BAR NONE. I loathed this game so much that I'm convinced anyone giving this a 10 must have been bribed by Square, because this game is bad. A lot of people wailed on XIII and XIII-2 for being disappointing, which in all fairness they were, but they wereAs a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series, I can say, hand on heart, that this was the single most disappointing game I have ever played. BAR NONE. I loathed this game so much that I'm convinced anyone giving this a 10 must have been bribed by Square, because this game is bad. A lot of people wailed on XIII and XIII-2 for being disappointing, which in all fairness they were, but they were still fun games to play and I'd have still rated them at least a 7. Lightning Returns was supposed to be the final game of the Nova Chrysalia series that was supposed to redeem it, but it destroyed it. The story is weak beyond belief, it created more plot holes than it fixed and any questions it answered were without genuine explanation "Just because". The characters all the same ones that were in the last games, including a young Hope (remember "Just because") who was more annoying than Fi and Navi from the Legend of Zelda series combined and ten-fold. The game wasn't long; don't misunderstand me, this is a point in its favour, if I had to play any more of it I'd have gouged out my own eyeballs. The combat however was awful, I just couldn't get the hang of it, which honestly didn't matter because fighting enemies was pointless, aside from earning EP, which after getting 5 you could spend on a single curaga spell to go on and fight more enemies and be a part of a completely pointless and unending cycle. The side quests were garbage and were sadly NOT optional seeing as doing quests was the only way to improve Lightnings stats, because as we've already established fighting enemies and leveling up is apparently not cool any more. The bosses were boring as sin and pretty much all of them were characters from the past games who you are now in a disagreement with.
    Honestly I'd have given this game a 0, but it did have one redeeming feature. ONE. The costumes were really nice and offered a wide spectrum of advantages and skills, for what it was worth. That concludes my review, if you actually buy this game after reading this I feel for you, truly I do.    … Expand
  50. deadlysilentbob
    Mar 31, 2015
    2
    FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME WHAT IM SUPPOSED TO BE DOING!!! THE CLOCK IS TICKING AND I CANT FIND WHERE IM SUPPOSED TO GO OR WHAT TO DOOOOOOO!!!!

    That was most of my thoughts while playing this game. For the love of all that is holy it was an awesome game and they had to murder it with a half baked time system and overly creepy, religion based, dialogue. possitives: the battle    FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME WHAT IM SUPPOSED TO BE DOING!!! THE CLOCK IS TICKING AND I CANT FIND WHERE IM SUPPOSED TO GO OR WHAT TO DOOOOOOO!!!!

    That was most of my thoughts while playing this game. For the love of all that is holy it was an awesome game and they had to murder it with a half baked time system and overly creepy, religion based, dialogue.

    possitives: the battle mechanics are neat, the story is good, i love the open world idea and the atmosphere is creepy yet engaging.

    negatives: the aforementioned time system, the lack of direction and lack of some kind of a fast traves system to get through the sprawling confusing maps    … Expand
  51. tsakiym
    May 12, 2015
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do not have to say anything more. But i need to write one hundred and fifty characters. i think my score can describe it............................… Expand
  52. gamer8000
    Mar 20, 2015
    4
    I played all FF13 games and this was the worse of them all, instead of adding to the story like the past or whats been happening to the world while lighting was sleeping. it's full with stupid mission. The way how you level up sucks, takes the fun out of the battles. This game was very disappointing.
  53. flattyfour
    Sep 18, 2015
    3
    As a fan of the final fantasy series... up to like 9, this one is just another treading in the footsteps of what i see as unneeded continuation. stop bringing these bastardized turn based unrealistic character rendition matrix revolution hyper anime pieces of **** square. Let go of Enix and hopefully those guys can still envision why the DQ series was great. You actually made me pay forAs a fan of the final fantasy series... up to like 9, this one is just another treading in the footsteps of what i see as unneeded continuation. stop bringing these bastardized turn based unrealistic character rendition matrix revolution hyper anime pieces of **** square. Let go of Enix and hopefully those guys can still envision why the DQ series was great. You actually made me pay for japanese speech in this game? You really wanted me to listen to your crap dubs? Have completely lost faith.… Expand
  54. pasathaioum5
    May 3, 2016
    1
    I think the Developer don't know what RPG really is
    In final fantasy 13, They gave us
    - a linear pathway and story - A proper noun (l'Cie, fal'Cie, Cie'th and etc.) - a new battle system which annoying paradigm shift animation. - 6 party member So for final fantasy 13-2, They gave us - Multiple pathways. This is a big improvement isn't it? - A new proper noun (Linzei, Etro,    I think the Developer don't know what RPG really is
    In final fantasy 13, They gave us
    - a linear pathway and story
    - A proper noun (l'Cie, fal'Cie, Cie'th and etc.)
    - a new battle system which annoying paradigm shift animation.
    - 6 party member

    So for final fantasy 13-2, They gave us
    - Multiple pathways. This is a big improvement isn't it?
    - A new proper noun (Linzei, Etro, Bhunivelze and etc)
    - Same battle system but fix annoying paradigm shift animation. Wow I think this is also a big improvement isn't it?
    - A Cutdown size of the party member from 6 to 2 ...OKEY
    - But I'm NOT OKEY with puzzle especially **** clock puzzle

    And for this game
    - Multiple pathways
    - Thank god there is no new proper noun here. Just some mythology and it still acceptable
    - A main quest and side quest ...This is how we called RPG game
    - A Cutdown size of the party from 2 to 1 ...Umm, Still OKEY maybe? (I'm not counting Chocobo and Fang because they are just guest member)
    - But I'm NOT OKEY with A new **** battle system which ruins all the knowledge that they try very hard to teach us in the two previous game
    - Annoying Ding Ding! from HOPE to reminder player
    - AND **** TIME LIMIT

    They just make something good and makes something bad
    Just **** this game.    … Expand
  55. Gamepro3093
    Apr 20, 2022
    0
    A very tedious, dull and irritating RPG game that manages to find every conceivable way to irritate the player and waste their time. From the dull and uninspired dialogue, to the stupid clock that makes the player anxious and is only compounded by the horrendous level design and a map that’s virtually useless, to the hideous graphics that look worse than a PS2 game, to the boring andA very tedious, dull and irritating RPG game that manages to find every conceivable way to irritate the player and waste their time. From the dull and uninspired dialogue, to the stupid clock that makes the player anxious and is only compounded by the horrendous level design and a map that’s virtually useless, to the hideous graphics that look worse than a PS2 game, to the boring and uninspired plot that’s a blatant mish mash of Christian and Norse mythology this has to be one of the worst RPG games ever made.… Expand
  56. Yucuvu
    Oct 2, 2022
    0
    Horrible game with an atrocious graphics, even for the PS3 standards of graphics.
    This game menage to be graphically worse than the first 2 games and, at the same time, menage to have an even worse plot, with cringe dialogues and nonsensical lore.
    Unless you wish to play a "Barbie game" with cringe plot and a ridiculous gameplay, than..... you need to stay far away from this trainwreck disaster
  57. Sequn
    Aug 2, 2022
    1
    The last, unfortunate, experience with the horrid "heroine" Lightning. Another sh#t game
    In this latest game the graphics suck, becoming much worse than its previous games xiii and xiii-2. The gameplay becomes totally action, based only on her and her RIDICULOUS costumes, which make her the gaming joke of the PS3 era.
    The plot is getting worse, becoming a sad pretense of an illogical    The last, unfortunate, experience with the horrid "heroine" Lightning. Another sh#t game
    In this latest game the graphics suck, becoming much worse than its previous games xiii and xiii-2. The gameplay becomes totally action, based only on her and her RIDICULOUS costumes, which make her the gaming joke of the PS3 era.
    The plot is getting worse, becoming a sad pretense of an illogical "race against time" and only suitable for an idiotic management of events.

    In short, a bad game to close a horrible forced trilogy.
    Save your money, and stay away as far as you can from this piece of crap    … Expand
  58. Yased
    Jan 15, 2023
    0
    If you too have gone through the horrible decables of the atrocious ffxiii and ffxiii-2 during the PS3 era, then this Lightning Returns represents the horrid conclusion of a sh*tty pseudo trilogy, made with rubbish scraps. Literally...
    Gameplay actions extremely limited and soulless, costume system in a style worse than ffx-2; ridiculous maps like the usual ridiculous monsters design, 2    If you too have gone through the horrible decables of the atrocious ffxiii and ffxiii-2 during the PS3 era, then this Lightning Returns represents the horrid conclusion of a sh*tty pseudo trilogy, made with rubbish scraps. Literally...
    Gameplay actions extremely limited and soulless, costume system in a style worse than ffx-2; ridiculous maps like the usual ridiculous monsters design, 2 flat and empty cities like a blank sheet of paper, and an even more stupid and ridiculous storyline than the 2 previous games.

    My advice?
    Stay away from this horrid crap, it's not worth your time.    … Expand
  59. Riplyco
    Jan 28, 2023
    0
    Horrible and pitiful third game from a totally horrible trilogy of trash games.
    Lightning Returns just sucks in pretty much everything.
    From the ridiculous plot, to the cross dressing sh*t, and even in the graphics, that menage to be worse than the first two games.
    Add a bad monster design, a sh*t ost, and a whole atrocious concept design, and you obtain one of the worst Final Fantasy games
  60. aaronnmp96
    Jan 30, 2023
    1
    really horrible, I don't even know why this exists, I do not recommend it to anyone
  61. Nivhu
    Jun 26, 2023
    0
    This terrible garbage game is far from even being a decent game
    And far away from being something of relatively even an acceptable action
    A **** gameplay with horrendous level design and a bad written plot
    It's leave a bad taste in my mouth for ages, so avoid this
  62. Nocho
    Jul 10, 2023
    0
    What a horrible piece of crap game
    A confusing trash plot mixed with the worst kind of mechanics that you can ever put in a jrpg, time limit.
    Don't waste your time in this trash

Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Best PS3 Game of 2014
3
#3 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2014
10
#10 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 43 out of 62
  3. Negative: 3 out of 62
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    May 11, 2014
    70
    Lightning Returns shows us a flashy new wardrobe but looks still rule over personality. Sadly Lightnings chance of clothes does nothing for the lack of her personality. Overall it is enjoyable, but messy story and flimsy characters don't do it any favours. [March 2014]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 7, 2014
    60
    Beautiful world and solid gameplay, countered by a boring story and not very likeable characters. [Issue #240]
  3. CD-Action
    Apr 2, 2014
    70
    I spent 25 hours with Lightning Returns and most of them were pleasant, but it was mainly entertainment for my eyes and fingers rather than my brain. I reckon it to be the best game of the XIII trilogy, but it’s far behind those really outstanding Final Fantasies. [04/2014, p.60]
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