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Sunday 19 January 2014

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Preview

    
   Welcome everyone and a very happy New Year to all! May 2014 bless us all with health, happiness and success! Moving on...
   I figured that I should do a preview on the final chapter of the Lightning saga, considering it releases in less than 30 days in both NA and EU regions. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to get my hands on it yet, but I do know enough about it in order to do this. This is a very highly anticipated game, and is expected to do very well in sales, despite poor numbers in Japan.
   Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the last part of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy that began in 2010. It follows heroine Lightning, as she awakes from her self-imposed crystal stasis in which she had placed herself in order to protect the memory of her deceased younger sister Serah (a series of events that occurred in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and its downloadable episode "Requiem Of A Goddess"). Lightning awakes to a world that has been almost consumed by chaos, a dark energy that erases all time. Past, present and future become one, people cannot age or give birth. Everyone has remained the same for the past 500 years. Lightning is given a charge by the God Bhunivelze (see Fabula Nova Chrystalis) to save as many people as she can within 13 days and bring them to the "New World". After the 13 days are over, the Apocalypse will come to wipe out the rest of the remaining world (now known as Nova Chrysalia). For this reason, Lightning is branded the Savior.


   Many of the characters that were in the two previous games of the trilogy will be featured in Lightning Returns. Hope Estheim will be in the hovering world called "The Ark" above Nova Chrysalia and he will help Lightning find her footing in the world below, communicating with her via wireless link and giving her priceless information. Snow Villiers is now The Patron and protector of the city of Yusnaan and last remaining l'Cie in the world. Oerba Dia Vanille has awoken from crystal stasis and is now protected by The Order, an organization in the city of Luxerion. She has gained the ability to hear the voices of the dead. Oerba Yun Fang has also recovered and, although previously remaining with her partner Vanille in Luxerion, she has now moved to The Dead Dunes to lead a gang of bandits called Monoculus. She will assist Lightning in battle and help her on her journey. Sazh Katzroy remains hidden in some ruins of the Wildlands along with the body of his young son Dajh, but the soul of the boy has been gone ever since "that" incident 500 years ago. Noel Kreiss has been baptised as a "Shadow Hunter" and lurks the streets of Luxerion in order to protect the town from intruders and fight the Savior according to some prophecy. Caius Ballad and Paddra Nsu-Yeul remain at the ruins of Valhalla that merged with the physical world at the end of XIII-2.


   As mentioned earlier, the game's world is now called Nova Chrysalia. It is the remains of the coalition of Gran Pulse with Valhalla, the realm of the Goddess Etro. The two came together when Noel killed Etro and the power of chaos was unleashed, and since then it has been slowly eating away at the world until now. 13 days before the end, one continent of four separate locations remains. These locations are where the game will be played. 
  • Luxerion. This is the city of light. The people here practice their daily lives as if nothing was wrong, despite the fact that they know that the end is near. They are mostly faithful to their God, but there are some fractions like "The Children Of Etro" that have strayed from the way of salvation. In the early morning hours people can be seen roaming the streets, but in the night monsters are crawling in the shadows.
  • The Dead Dunes. Mostly desert, with an oasis in the middle and some ruins filled with treasure here and there. It is said that there are bandits in this area.
  • The Wildlands. The final greenery remaining in the world. Surrounded by wild forests one can easily get lost here. There are a few villages here and there and the remains of a now ancient civilization that used to flourish in a highly advanced era.
  • Yusnaan. The city of revelry. The people in this town are almost the opposite of Luxerion. They know the world is going to end, so they decide to party it out. They have their Patron in high regard, since he is the one who has been protecting the city for the last 500 years. 
   


   The gameplay is highly emphasized on the fact that you have 13 days to save the world. In the beginning of it, you start off with a clock on the top-right of your screen (appropriately named the "Doomsday Clock") which only gives you 7 days. But, with the completion of missions given to you by the people of Nova Chrysalia and the salvation of their souls, you get more time. This is done through a simple process. Whenever the clock goes 6:00 AM, wherever you are, you are drawn back to The Ark (where Hope resides). There, you get to re-stock on items, rest up and give energy to a tree called Yggdrassil. This tree in return provides you with more time to save the world, but there's a limit; it can only go up to 13 days.
   Customization offers incredible freedom of movement. Lightning battles through her "Schemata", outfits that each one has its own abilities attached to it. But, once you acquire a Schema (through shops or other means), you can take out each one of its abilities and attach them to any other one you want. Also, you can change the color of each outfit, so that they look exactly how you want them. Though Light can only use up to three schemata in battle, you can decide the abilities she uses.


   There are many other elements to the battle system. For example, Light has access to certain abilities (f.e. Curaga) but she must consume EP (Energy Points) to perform them, which means she must consume some of the world's time. Also there's a very limited amount of items she can carry with her (around 6). It increases as the level goes higher, but it's still an important aspect of battle. In general, healing is a much more complicated deal in this game than it was in any previous entry.
   With an open world to explore, a wide variety of costumes (over 80) and abilities to find and use, time breathing down your throat and a story that has left players with too much anticipation, the team behind Final Fantasy XIII may have just turned this one around at the last minute! One last time, Lightning Returns!  

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