The two big takeaways from Square’s reveal of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII were the ticking clock that continually inched its way towards doomsday, and a revamped battle system that brought in a suite of action elements as a means to reinvigorate XIII’s combat. In theory, those two major changes are meant to work in unison in order to deliver a breath of fresh air to a series that quite honestly needs it. Well, after finally getting hands-on with a brief portion of Lightning Returns, I can safely say that Square is absolutely delivering on one of those two initial promises.
In Lightning Returns, the titular heroine is now on an urgent mission to prevent the destruction of the world, which is set to occur fittingly in 13 days’ time. The game contains a ticking clock that counts down whenever the player is not in a menu or in battle. There are ways to add time to the countdown, such as completing certain side-quests and performing expertly in battle. It’s that second one that really has my interest.
Unlike most prior installments in the series, this time you won’t be fighting alongside your fellow party members. But to prevent loneliness, Lightning comes equipped with three different battle stances called schema, and each of the trio have its own unique abilities as well as a personal ATB meter. This means you can use one stance to cast a series of buffs on Lightning, quickly switch to a fighting stance and pummel away at your enemy, then once their Stagger meter reaches its zenith, switch to your final mage stance and deliver some incredible magic damage. The stances are tired to different outfits that Lightning wears, which hearkens back to the sartorial nature of Final Fantasy X-2’s combat.
In another rare move for the series, you have direct control over Lightning’s movements and attacks in combat. You can maneuver around the battlefield to avoid enemy projectiles and attempt to find a strategically advantageous position. Once you’re ready to act, each schema has four different actions assigned to the controller’s face buttons. Hitting X for a light attack means that Lightning will strike once. Hitting it repeatedly means that she’ll deliver a volley of strikes.
Those flan have sirens on their heads. RPGs are weird.
The strategy and energy contained within the battle system is undeniable. Lightning Returns features some of the most refreshing and entertaining RPG combat I’ve experienced in years, and though it might turn off some Final Fantasy purists, I’m convinced that Square has tapped into something very interesting here.
Managing the three ATB gauges, and ultimately playing around with each of the game’s many schema in order to find a trio that works for you makes each enemy encounter an engaging event. The dungeon that Square allowed us to play involved Lightning chasing after her former buddy Snow for some unknown reason. Despite playing through both XIII and XIII-2 and investing nearly 100 hours into the lives of these characters, this narrative beat wasn’t what propelled me forward. Instead, it was the prospect of experiencing another enemy encounter that fueled me through the dungeon. Somehow, in shaving down the number of party members to one, Square has managed to measurably expand the depth of their combat system.
Lighting's just hangin' out and cuttin' some stuff.
While it’s obvious that I love the battles in Lightning Returns, I’m still not entirely sold on the mechanical implementation of time throughout the game. Don’t get me wrong – knowing that Square’s take on Foucault’s pendulum is always swinging overhead sounds like a fantastic framing device reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. But so far, the development team has shied away from questions that pertain to specific ramifications of letting time run out. If I just let Lightning stand in one spot for an extended period of time, will I be able to witness the world’s end? It’s hard to imagine that Square would have the chutzpah to include an actual kill state if the enigmatic countdown were to eventually reach its conclusion.
Regardless of my early reservations of the handling of time, I can’t help but swoon over Lightning Returns’ battle system. It’s truly breathing some new life into what might be this generation’s last Final Fantasy game. The stellar combat is certainly the reason to play this game; let’s just hope that the rest of Lightning Returns is able to clear that high bar.
Marty Sliva is an Associate Editor at IGN. He wishes that Square showed some more love to Final Fantasy XII. Follow him on Twitter @McBiggitty and on IGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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