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. Meph
    Feb 12, 2014
    5
    Frustrating, this word resume what I think about this opus. Great battle system, customization, exploration, technically sound but sooooo frustrating. The story is bad, but I can go past this. No the problem is the timer : you just don't have time to really do what you want, to explore every single part of the world, to develop your character. You must go quickly from one quest to another,Frustrating, this word resume what I think about this opus. Great battle system, customization, exploration, technically sound but sooooo frustrating. The story is bad, but I can go past this. No the problem is the timer : you just don't have time to really do what you want, to explore every single part of the world, to develop your character. You must go quickly from one quest to another, always rushing and never spent time doing anything else if you want to finish the story. Add to this that it is nearly impossible to do without game over and go in some kind of New game + : you keep your character as develop as she was, but have to redo everything...... Soooo frustrating.… Expand
  2. AGamerWhatElse
    Feb 11, 2014
    5
    Quality game= Good music, Good graphic, good game-play
    Bad story = It's BORING/BAD/HORRIBLE/It feels FORCED.
    Lightning is WAY too Mary sue-ish and in all honesty, the story seems like a poorly written fan fiction. Making her all powerful doesn't make her EPIC. It just makes her OP. I could play underrated games like Sengoku Basara for HOURS compared to LR:FFXIII. By the way, the    Quality game= Good music, Good graphic, good game-play
    Bad story = It's BORING/BAD/HORRIBLE/It feels FORCED.

    Lightning is WAY too Mary sue-ish and in all honesty, the story seems like a poorly written fan fiction.
    Making her all powerful doesn't make her EPIC. It just makes her OP.

    I could play underrated games like Sengoku Basara for HOURS compared to LR:FFXIII.
    By the way, the FFXIII trilogy ISN'T underrated! FFXII, NOW that's a FF that is underrated.
    FFXIII's story was horrid and people don't like it.

    Not only was it bad, there are games that SE was suppose to bring and they didn't: Chrono Breaker, FF Agito that became Type-0 and Versus was delayed as **** Not only that, all I see is FF everywhere. I want more variety from SE.    … Expand
  3. kaizidokiller
    Feb 11, 2014
    6
    I'm sorry but this is the worst FF game I've ever played. And I love FF from VII-XII and VI Advance (main series only; didn't care for any sequels, spin-offs or online). After the disappointing XIII and XIII-2, why do they bother with this game instead of XV. I stuck by Square Enix when they said that they wanted to address the issues that their previous game had by making a sequel to it.I'm sorry but this is the worst FF game I've ever played. And I love FF from VII-XII and VI Advance (main series only; didn't care for any sequels, spin-offs or online). After the disappointing XIII and XIII-2, why do they bother with this game instead of XV. I stuck by Square Enix when they said that they wanted to address the issues that their previous game had by making a sequel to it. It's clear to me now that that was just an excuse to cash in the FF XIII trilogy. Much like The Matrix Trilogy, it got worse and worse. The only thing that's good about this game (and pretty much the previous two games) is the battle system. It's more action-oriented and fast-paced battle system makes battles more thrilling but sadly, you can no longer gain experience from battles. For some reason, the graphics is worse and the countdown is completely pointless. It diverts you from freely exploring the open world of the game, I would've love to spend more time looking around (as FF is known for designing one of the best looking environments) but I didn't want the timer to run out, even if you extend it, so I just tried to complete the game as fast as possible. The FF XIII series is weak in storytelling but sadly, it's the same thing here. The story is inconsistent, many of the characters lacked development and the attempt at humor is very typical in Japanese storytelling. I've lost all respect I had for Square Enix but even though this gen's FF is very disappointing, I still have high hopes for the franchise. They may release another crap FF game but if the franchise came to an end, there would be no chance of having another great FF game with the high quality standard of PS1 and 2's FF games. Lightning Returns isn't entirely terrible but it's average and disappointing, only hardcore fans can make the most out of this game. For everyone else, look away from JPRGs. There hasn't been any great JRPG games this gen (except for Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii) so I hope Square Enix can pick up the franchise again for the eighth generation, hopefully that will be FF XV.… Expand
  4. Groodon
    Feb 11, 2014
    7
    Okay, so listen up guys. This game will either be, in my opinion, a 6 or a 9 for you. If you didn't like the other two entries, chances are that you will find the story and the characters really dull, boring and confusing. The gameplay, music and art direction could keep you playing though, (though the textures had gone worse) However, If you did like the other two entries of the series,Okay, so listen up guys. This game will either be, in my opinion, a 6 or a 9 for you. If you didn't like the other two entries, chances are that you will find the story and the characters really dull, boring and confusing. The gameplay, music and art direction could keep you playing though, (though the textures had gone worse) However, If you did like the other two entries of the series, chances are that you will thoroughly enjoy this game. The conclusion of the saga is a hit or miss, personally I'm satisfied of how it ended and how I got to say good bye to everyone.
    Now let's all, fans and haters, unite in waiting for FFXV!    … Expand
  5. horoxix
    Feb 11, 2014
    6
    Contrary to the popular belief that the FFXIII series is garbage and no one likes it, I actually love it. I know the characters can be over the top at times but that's true of most anime you watch and just part of the culture from where the game originated. I enjoyed the entire series.
  6. miszbreesz54
    Feb 12, 2014
    5
    I'm still in the beginning of the game and as of right now I'm rating it between 5-6. I absolutely love Final Fantasy. I liked FFXIII, it's definitely not the best in the series, but it's good in my opinion, FFXIII-2 was meh for me. The story was boring and I didn't care for the new battle system. When Lightning Returns was announced I wasn't excited about it, but I was not not excitedI'm still in the beginning of the game and as of right now I'm rating it between 5-6. I absolutely love Final Fantasy. I liked FFXIII, it's definitely not the best in the series, but it's good in my opinion, FFXIII-2 was meh for me. The story was boring and I didn't care for the new battle system. When Lightning Returns was announced I wasn't excited about it, but I was not not excited about it either it was something I could patiently wait for. Now that it's here it's aggravating the hell out of me. Idk about everyone else, but for some reason I cannot grasp the synchronization concept i think it's so confusing to the point where I don't even want to do it, I don't like the new Stagger mechanic I prefer the old one, so far the story is boring as hell, and the biggest thing that makes me angry with this game is the TIMER. I can't take my time and explore the world. I have to rush around and go from quest to quest before I'm forced to return to the Ark at 6am. I was never the one to complain about this, but I'm getting tired of these characters. I know I don't have to play it, but since I finished the first two I figured I'd get this one to see how it all ends, hopefully. I have almost no interest in this game when I turn it on i just feel like "ugh, I don't feel like playing this! But I need to see how it ends!". I'm pretty much trying to force myself through it. I appreciate SE continuing the FF franchise, but I want these characters to be done and over with. I want FFXV already plus more. Can we please move on already?… Expand
  7. Vandral007
    Feb 11, 2014
    5
    From the amount I've played into this game so far, I have to say that while it makes up for the XIII saga in some aspects, it lacks in others.

    First, the combat system is a huge improvement over the one offered in XIII and XIII-2. Square finally seems to have broken the shell over this series and allowed us to customize to our play styles. The branching paths, and tension you feel as    From the amount I've played into this game so far, I have to say that while it makes up for the XIII saga in some aspects, it lacks in others.

    First, the combat system is a huge improvement over the one offered in XIII and XIII-2. Square finally seems to have broken the shell over this series and allowed us to customize to our play styles. The branching paths, and tension you feel as you play through the game are palpable.

    The graphics, while good, are starting to show their age a little. The score is subpar, especially compared to the score of previous FF's (including XIII itself). But overall the presentation of the game is passable.

    The largest detraction I can label on this game is its story. I'm one of the few that actually got drawn in by the story of XIII. While it certainly wasn't amazing, I found it to be interesting enough for me to warrant exploring (the little you could) the world to learn more about it. XIII-2 was a marked downturn in this, as the world merely grew more convoluted and the characters grew seemingly less important. This downturn has hit the depths with Lightning Returns. I don't want to give any spoilers, but suffice to say that the payoff to those who have been loyal to the XIII saga does not seem like it will be worth it.

    I say check it out if you're a rabid fan of FF, or if the only major problem you had with the previous games was the combat system. Otherwise stay away.    … Expand
  8. Glogglies
    Feb 26, 2014
    7
    Here we go again, this is a game where Final Fantasy purists are going in expecting a retread of FF7. This is an action rpg that actually reminded me a lot of another under appreciated Squeenix game 'Nier'. The opening hours are hard to choke down with some seriously bad writing, a convoluted and uninteresting storyline and some bland environments, but as the game opens itself out, there'sHere we go again, this is a game where Final Fantasy purists are going in expecting a retread of FF7. This is an action rpg that actually reminded me a lot of another under appreciated Squeenix game 'Nier'. The opening hours are hard to choke down with some seriously bad writing, a convoluted and uninteresting storyline and some bland environments, but as the game opens itself out, there's a ton of fun to be had and the story kind of pulls you in. Theres a deep, rich level of character customization and the few boss battles really leave a lot of room for players to tackle them from different angles.
    Listen, Im not blind to why players dislike this part of the Final Fantasy series, but think its just a case of misunderstanding what Square Enix is trying to achieve here. This isnt a deep dark Final Fantasy game; it's light hearted and playful, and very challenging if you sink enough hours into it and allow it to breathe.    … Expand
  9. connor0796
    Feb 22, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lightning returns brings nothing big to the table, using an outdated engine. Its a disappointing experience in many ways, filled with fetch quests and it manages to bring in all the characters that you may have loved in the previous instalments and destroys them more or less. Its very far away from being a satisfying end to ff13. Although it does bring some fun into the experience which depending on who you are you might be able to play the game once or twice, the new style of gameplay is fun the new scenery introduced is beautiful and they give enough reason to play the new game +… Expand
  10. StriderKiwi
    Feb 24, 2014
    7
    I went into this game expecting it to be pretty damn cool (loved the demo) but either way, this game is bound to disappoint some. The combat is great and a new twist that imo, the Final Fantays series had been failing in for a good several years now and the free roaming exploration angle is nice too as are the gear, weapon and overall cosplay-angle customization but the story is reallyI went into this game expecting it to be pretty damn cool (loved the demo) but either way, this game is bound to disappoint some. The combat is great and a new twist that imo, the Final Fantays series had been failing in for a good several years now and the free roaming exploration angle is nice too as are the gear, weapon and overall cosplay-angle customization but the story is really bad, the graphics aren't impressive at all and some of the new features like the time cycle and the fact that you only level up through side quests and not by fighting enemies are unwelcome. I still don't consider it to be a bad game per se but it's definitely not a great one either.… Expand
  11. Altenfinder
    Feb 19, 2014
    6
    Much less than i was specting , poor game interaction , you just talk , upgrade gear , battlebattlebattle and battle , just annoying for me , really..., and you gotta really be a fan of FF series to like and understand this game(story) , to like its mechanics and to play with "enjoyment", just another game that make me want my money back( I DONT RECCOMMEND IT if you never played finalMuch less than i was specting , poor game interaction , you just talk , upgrade gear , battlebattlebattle and battle , just annoying for me , really..., and you gotta really be a fan of FF series to like and understand this game(story) , to like its mechanics and to play with "enjoyment", just another game that make me want my money back( I DONT RECCOMMEND IT if you never played final fantasy before)… Expand
  12. Saxony
    Feb 28, 2014
    7
    I'm going to give this the score I think it deserves even though I agree with the people who are giving 10's to counter act the other people that are giving excessively low scores.

    I think this is being unfairly rated based on comparing it to other final fantasy games. While I understand the rational for this, it creates sort of a weird paradox where if you compare this to other games    I'm going to give this the score I think it deserves even though I agree with the people who are giving 10's to counter act the other people that are giving excessively low scores.

    I think this is being unfairly rated based on comparing it to other final fantasy games. While I understand the rational for this, it creates sort of a weird paradox where if you compare this to other games with a 5.6 score and the quality of this game is magnitudes higher.

    That being said this game has 2 major faults that I see.
    1) Chronostasis
    Now the concept behind this isn't necessarily inherently flawed but the execution was poor. As it is executed this feature acts as a major immersion killer. You are constantly having to micromanage this and it is disruptive to game play. You have to go 2 menu's deep to activate something that you basically have to do every 4th battle and not only that but the graphics and sound are very poorly executed. Activating is like a a flash grenade on your screen, you can't see for a few seconds immediately after activation. The sound that it does when it wears off sounds way too similar to the sound of an enemy spawning and is easily missed. In Summary it's a completely game disruptive and immersion disruptive feature due to execution. An easy fix in my mind was to increase the resources and duration of the effect and of course change the graphics and sounds.
    2) Sandbox Execution
    I understand that players have very much been demanding more of a sand box like gamestyle where you can explore and choose your own path. Past Final Fantasy games have been criticized for being too linear. This motivated the developers to try and create this atmosphere and naturally they tried to innovate on it. The end result was something that technically is a sand box but doesn't feel like it to the player. You are in a mediocre sized sand box and you have to replay it over and over again. Now to be fair the experience alters slightly on each iteration but the overall feeling of a sandbox game is completely lost.

    So I want to talk about Pros to the game:
    1) Graphics
    As usual the graphics and cut scenes are outstandingly crafted, additional cool features include being able to customize your look for the cut scenes. I don't see this game as really lacking in any way from past installments in terms of graphics.
    2) Combat System
    I for one am a fan of the combat system, so much so in fact that it is the driving reason I have played all of the FF13 games. I love the way they have balanced the needs for the different roles, nothing feels useless and nothing feels like it's so overpowered that you shouldn't use anything else. In contrast Bravely Default which I also enjoy uses the more historical combat setting and it is extremely unbalanced. The customization for your schemata in FF13LR is amazing, you can put a magic move in each scheme and switch between them while continuing a combo, or you can put all your magic on one scheme, all your physical in another and min max your stats for it. There's just so many possibilities and I have been using some for awhile then I go online and find people who are using something fundamentally different and being just as successful. It's a lot faster paced and skill dependent as well. Additionally it's not all about damage anymore, you can be successful while focusing on staggering and then turning on the damage for short bursts or you can just try to do it the traditional way and put out consistent damage (poison is helpful for this). I feel the combat system receives the most unfair criticism, people don't like it purely because it's different and they don't judge it based on it's own merits.
    3) Story
    I have to say that I am not a huge fan of the story, not necessarily because of the themes or the plot but just the character execution, motivations, metaphors etc... I'm not going to judge it harshly because I know a lot of people that enjoy these types of stories, but it is not my cup of tea. The biggest flaw I see in not just this story but other similar japanese inspired storylines are the excessive use of metaphors and lack of realism. To clarify I'm not talking realism like dragons and magic I'm talking realism like people's personalities and decision making. I would use metal gear solid franchise as another example of this.
    4) Overall Gameplay
    I rated this as a 7 as you can see, I love the combat, don't love the repetitiveness and micromanagement. Graphics and sound are great, story was so so.

    In closing I wish some of these people that rated it 0-4 would go play a game deserving of the rating and then come back and rate this properly. There are some truly terrible games out there, this game has issues but it is not one of them.    … Expand
  13. Kittencandy
    Feb 19, 2014
    7
    it's so weird people are **** about 13 now and pretend it's a new thing. I remember way back when people were **** about FF8 and 9 cuz it wasn't FF7, then people complained FFX was just plain bad and they hated it and it was stupid, and now everyone's like FFX was epic and blabla. Honestly.... As for the FFXIII-3... It must be cuz I'm getting older, I don't get sucked into gamesit's so weird people are **** about 13 now and pretend it's a new thing. I remember way back when people were **** about FF8 and 9 cuz it wasn't FF7, then people complained FFX was just plain bad and they hated it and it was stupid, and now everyone's like FFX was epic and blabla. Honestly.... As for the FFXIII-3... It must be cuz I'm getting older, I don't get sucked into games (storywise) as much as I used to, same with this game. Personally I liked the first XIII the least of all 3 games, and it's actually rather nice they abadoned the auto attack thing from 1 and 2. Downsides are it's timed, I love free roaming and taking my time in places and I can't now unless I wanna use New Game + to no end, but then I gotta replay certain sections... I don't like the many conversations, for every side-quest you have to talk to someone, and at first that's fun a bit, but later on it really gets on my nerves. It's pretty Obvious to see this installment is like a cult-game almost. The graphics are far far below FF standards, and something feels very low-budget about it, like they've just wanted to end the series but don't really care for it anymore cuz customer whined too much about the previous ones. Then there are the very small maps (relatively), but unlike FF XIII this game isn't linear as much, you can pick your own order in which to do things. All in all, I find it an enjoyable game despite its faults.… Expand
  14. Patrick227
    Feb 26, 2014
    7
    There is a lot of complain on this ff trilogy (apparently, every game that comes out is just worse). I didnt get a chance to play ff xiii, but I do own ff xiii-2 and LR. In online reviews everything has been subject to complain: Story, characters,"open world" system, music, battle system, etc. I finished the game and here´s my review:
    Story: Its a Little bit confusing how each game of    There is a lot of complain on this ff trilogy (apparently, every game that comes out is just worse). I didnt get a chance to play ff xiii, but I do own ff xiii-2 and LR. In online reviews everything has been subject to complain: Story, characters,"open world" system, music, battle system, etc. I finished the game and here´s my review:
    Story: Its a Little bit confusing how each game of this trilogy drastically changes its main plot: first, fal cie´s ruling everything and then were trying to save a floating world. Second, time traveling all around the place to find lightning. Third, the world is about to go rotten in 13 days, deal with it. I believe LR story does make sense, but it could have been much more expanded. Only 5 main quests and wait for day 13, and thats it. A Little frustrating.
    Characters: I enjoyed playing with just one character, didnt find anything wrong about it. They greatly took out the annoying and cheesy predecessor references (which ff xiii-2 was full of) without leaving new players in the dark and we got a chance to see a couple of old characters with fresher eyes.
    World system: This is complicated. Putting a countdown on an RPG game,specially FF, is dubious. FF fans love free, open world exploration. Get every single detail in the game. The main problem about this is that besides a couple of towns, there is no "big world exploration", not that you have time for it either. I beat this game in about 35 hours, when ff fans are used to a 55-60 world exploration-monster finding-item collecting system. Once you get to the countdown and beat the game, there´s actually nothing more left. I started to play new game+, a couple of changes once you start on hard mode, but nothing drastic. And they could have improved the garbs a Little bit, in some garbs lightning just looks slutty.
    Music: SE got rid of (most of) the annoying pop from ff xiii-2. And I just love the Luxerion-at-night feel provided by the music!
    Battle system: The battle system is fresh. Implemented a much quicker schemata-changing control. Battles are quite entertaining. But there is no optional super boss in this game, not that i have seen. And its quite annoying if youre a person that likes to test limits with super bosses.
    Conclusion: A nice game, quite refreshing, not an entirely original FF production, the game could have been a Little deeper, idk maybe a 21 day limit or something like that? But worth playing if you want to pass the time    … Expand
  15. Chaos_inHeaven
    Jan 25, 2015
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is not your Final Fantasy

    Ok let me say that I truly am a fan the Final Fantasy series, this game is about saving the world within a

    limited period of time,Square-Enix could have a made a great setting around that, instead you are left to

    do meaningless and painful questing,a story that makes no sense whatsoever ,it is filled with a bunch of recycled soundtrack of the previous FFXIII-2 , even if you are in for the battles like I was ,not today my

    friend, it is barely enough to make you reach the end , the game lets you think you are making progress ,

    dont stay till the end and do yourself a favor and save spend your money on a good rpg .Honestly, I

    finished the game after 15 hours, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

    My final score 5/10    … Expand
  16. ekimus17
    Feb 27, 2014
    7
    Compared to other games in the Final Fantasy series this game was a major let down. Square had the chance here to cap off a grand finale of a trilogy, Mass Effect style, but instead this game took all that was great about the previous two and changed them for the sake of changing them. Apart from FF12, which is by far and away the worst in the series!!!! FF13LR is disappointing.

    The    Compared to other games in the Final Fantasy series this game was a major let down. Square had the chance here to cap off a grand finale of a trilogy, Mass Effect style, but instead this game took all that was great about the previous two and changed them for the sake of changing them. Apart from FF12, which is by far and away the worst in the series!!!! FF13LR is disappointing.

    The combat system in this game was more button mash than any logical thought out plan. If i want to play hack and slash i will play a series that is known for making hack and slash titles. Final fantasy is built on it's turn based battle system, yes they have and successfully played around with this mechanic before but this is the second time they have veered directly away from turn based and for a second time made something that is just clunky and annoying. I don't feel in control of my character during combat OR in the storyline, i feel like a camera man just watching as she goes about the motions. SE, PLEASE, PLEASE stick to turn based combat!!!

    This storyline, i get that side quests are a vital part of the storyline in FF13LR, but they just feel like they were added to fill in for the fact that the main storyline quests are so quick. AND, on top of that they are also then dragged out needlessly. SE had a great chance here to make an epic storyline, what we end up with instead is disjointed storytelling slung together. It felt at times like i was playing an MMORPG, go here, get that, kill 20 of these. So many fetch quests!!!!!

    I still give this game a 7, as it is a great game, apart from the obvious flaws above, compared to much of the same crap that is out there. However compared to the previous iterations in FF13, and other FF titles (Apart from 12 which if you know anything about FF is junk), this game is a massive let down.    … Expand
  17. SpawnCap
    Apr 19, 2014
    7
    Enjoyed the game. People complained about time limit, but if you run out of time you just start over with all your upgrades and keep trying. Graphics are good, battle is enjoyable, a lot better than the FFX/X-2 remake.
  18. miguelwii
    May 10, 2014
    7
    la historia es enigmática, te va metiendo cada vez mas, pero se alejo demasiado de la formula de los final fantasy y merecía terminar mucho mejor la saga... el final de verdad pudo ser mejor. dudo que sea la ultima vez que vemos a ligthning
  19. Darkanimne
    May 16, 2014
    7
    This game is good, I know that as a FF game the fans really want to enjoy a game like in the past, with an awesome plot, combat, exploration and characters. I played this game twice and I must say it is good, I enjoy the combat system, traveling and doing some quest was really fun and enjoyable. This is not a perfect game and I wanted more things like summons and more characters, MisionsThis game is good, I know that as a FF game the fans really want to enjoy a game like in the past, with an awesome plot, combat, exploration and characters. I played this game twice and I must say it is good, I enjoy the combat system, traveling and doing some quest was really fun and enjoyable. This is not a perfect game and I wanted more things like summons and more characters, Misions where you can get an awesome weapon or power. In my opinion this is a good game, it is replayable also.… Expand
  20. sanluis20
    Nov 10, 2014
    6
    Game isn't boring, but man has this series gone downhill in terms of story. It's funny how even the characters, especially Hop,e point out how the story doesn't make sense. Always found that funny. The fighting, which has always been excellent in FFXIII returns and is as good as ever. The only downside is the story, which is kinda lame. Final Fantasy used to have such epic storyGame isn't boring, but man has this series gone downhill in terms of story. It's funny how even the characters, especially Hop,e point out how the story doesn't make sense. Always found that funny. The fighting, which has always been excellent in FFXIII returns and is as good as ever. The only downside is the story, which is kinda lame. Final Fantasy used to have such epic story telling, but that has changed. Let's hope Square Enix can redeem themselves when FFXV comes out!… Expand
  21. HungryHippo123
    Apr 15, 2015
    7
    Its not the best but it is good with Lighting returning and a decent storyline, i liked the combat system a lot but it was really different from the other games and the last two games of this trilogy were bad but this one is just able to impress me and make me enjoy it.
  22. DanHazy
    Feb 29, 2016
    7
    So you will know what type of gamer is writing this review, I'll list three of my favorite games.
    Atelier Totori
    Fire emblem Danganronpa   IN DEPTH REVIEW: Lightning Returns had its good points and it's bad points. The opening cg and the ending cg was awesome as expected from a Final Fantasy but some of the in game graphics were sad. I believe I seen a picture of an actual roasted    So you will know what type of gamer is writing this review, I'll list three of my favorite games.
    Atelier Totori
    Fire emblem
    Danganronpa
     
    IN DEPTH REVIEW:

    Lightning Returns had its good points and it's bad points. The opening cg and the ending cg was awesome as expected from a Final Fantasy but some of the in game graphics were sad. I believe I seen a picture of an actual roasted turkey cut and pasted onto a plate in the game. The trees looked like paper. Some of the costumes didn't look so great when Lightning ran or jumped. One was a dress, and when she ran up hill, her legs had robotic movement. You will see repeated npcs with only slight changes, such as hair style and voice. Other than these things, the rest of the game looked ok.

    The gameplay was interesting enough. It was challenging on normal mode. I died at least 10 times throughout the game. The boss fights were the real challenge in this game. Don't be surprised if you find yourself surfing the Internet looking for strategies to get past some bosses. You do not level up Lightning in this game, instead you upgrade abilities, buy better equipement, and complete quest to better your stats. You assign an outfit with its own unique stats or auto ability, equip 2 accessories with their own stat boost or auto ability, and then equip the equipment and abilities of your liking. Plenty of customization there. You also can equip an adornment for cosmetic reasons. They do not improve Lightning's stats in any way but are purely cosmetic. Not really any complaints about the gameplay but it didn't pull me in personally. 

    I just felt that this game wasn't given much thought and was rushed out, with the sex up l
    Lightning thing to guarantee sales. I'm not saying this is a bad thing but this game could've been so much more if more care had been put into the making of this game. 
    I would recommend this game for about a 20 dollar price tag, which it is now. Slightly disappointing Final Fantasy title but it concludes the story of the previous two games so it is worth playing in my opinion.

    That wraps this review up, hope it helps.    … Expand
  23. Evildrake
    Mar 11, 2016
    7
    Kinda missing a proper final challenge by giving NG+ a possibility for another higher difficulty when it comes to high end optimization, except few bosses regular monsters should be a bit more threadful and much tougher than they are on hard mode. Also the missing possibility to upgrade weaved in garb abilities makes many garbs useless near to the end of the game.

    The battle mechanics    Kinda missing a proper final challenge by giving NG+ a possibility for another higher difficulty when it comes to high end optimization, except few bosses regular monsters should be a bit more threadful and much tougher than they are on hard mode. Also the missing possibility to upgrade weaved in garb abilities makes many garbs useless near to the end of the game.

    The battle mechanics are unlike a RPG usually is, but it's still interesting enough to make it fun to play, just another way we know from the FF series.    … Expand
  24. Jaleo
    Feb 13, 2017
    7
    Started with a 7 time ago, then raised to 8 but now again I lower the score down to 7. At times it's a great experice but at others is very frustrating, no matter what you do or how good you are or what kind of schemas you use and perfectionate. Specialy the very final boss gets very frustrating. My recommendation would be your first gameplay to play on "easy mode" (don't get fooled by theStarted with a 7 time ago, then raised to 8 but now again I lower the score down to 7. At times it's a great experice but at others is very frustrating, no matter what you do or how good you are or what kind of schemas you use and perfectionate. Specialy the very final boss gets very frustrating. My recommendation would be your first gameplay to play on "easy mode" (don't get fooled by the difficulty's name, "normal" means hard lol). FF XIII-2 I enjoyed it more than XIII, but not sure if LR:FF XIII is better or not, sometimes yes sometimes not. On the other hand, don't get scared by the whole time thing, you'll sort it our soon.… Expand
  25. whatagoodguy
    Jul 29, 2020
    5
    Graphics are good, gameplay is good. I like Lightning as a character. The story is ok. The main problem is that this game does not respect the player's time. The game forces you to restart the whole story if you make a mistake, if a boss is too powerful for you, or simply if you don't do what you're supposed to do in the limited time allotted. "Yeah, just restart the whole game, fam."Graphics are good, gameplay is good. I like Lightning as a character. The story is ok. The main problem is that this game does not respect the player's time. The game forces you to restart the whole story if you make a mistake, if a boss is too powerful for you, or simply if you don't do what you're supposed to do in the limited time allotted. "Yeah, just restart the whole game, fam." Yeah, you get to keep the levels and the items gained, but nobody has time to play the same game over and over until you get good enough and you finish the right amount of boring fetch side-quests in order to be strong enough to beat a main quest boss. Most of the side-quests are fetch quests that are there to give you a time management challenge. I recommend playing on easy (no difficulty trophies anyway) and following a guide to avoid wasting your time.… Expand
  26. Tidu
    May 23, 2022
    7
    Very interesting time concept, which I truly enjoyed. I guess, after seeing the characters for three games got me to kind of care for them.
    But still the theme and overall gameplay doesn't make it a good game for me. Otherwise it was alright.
  27. AriseAndBe
    Aug 5, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I liked this game a little better than XIII-2 for a few reasons.
    The battle system changed again and this time I thought it was for the better.
    I could control Lightning again and while her stoicism does make her less likable than in the first two games, I found that her sarcastic attitude pretty funny at some points.
    The freedom given in this game is extraordinary considering how the first game started.
    The ending was pretty lackluster but at least it HAD an ending (I'm looking at you XIII-2).
    The graphics were once again turned down with the shrinking budget but it still looked presentable.

    All in all, Lightning returns did all it could to improve a franchise with what it had to go on but sequels are often never as good as the original.    … Expand

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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