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Final Fantasy Hero Comparison: Where Does Lightning Rank?

Square Enix has now dedicated three games to this heroine, so where does she rank on the all time Final Fantasy list?

I think Lightning started out relatively strong in Final Fantasy XIII . Granted, for the first half of the game, she came across as a one-dimensional bi***, but she got much better during the second half. I still say Fang and Vanille sort of stole the show at the end but even so, Lightning's appeal did increase over time. Thing is, FF prides itself on producing strong, sympathetic protagonists who we identify with in some way. I've had difficulty sympathizing with Lightning.

It doesn't help that the writing has become so convoluted, I'm not sure even the developers know who or what she is anymore. She was almost nonexistent in FFXIII-2, where she wasn't even a playable character (unless you beat her in combat, which I did). Yeah, she was still part of the story but let's face it, that narrative focused almost exclusively on Noel and Serah. As for Lightning Returns , that game appears to be a colossal piece of donkey crap; that's based on my demo impressions . Then again, maybe because it's only Lightning this time around, she'll have a chance to earn her spot in franchise history.

Still, I'd really hesitate before comparing her to the likes of Cloud, Squall, Terra, Tidus, etc. Even Zidane and Vaan were better in my estimation.

Editorial: When Does Final Fantasy Cease To Be “Final Fantasy”?

That's a fair question isn't it?

Whenever you think Final Fantasy began to take a downturn it's hard to get away from that conclusion, at least from the perspective of a lifelong fan. Maybe it was the MMO style battle system of FFXII , maybe it was the automatic battles of FFXIII , or maybe it was the loss of series staples like a world map, towns, full party control, lack of a coherent story, etc.

I could probably go on all day but for the purposes of this article I'm wondering just when these games that are coming out with the Final Fantasy name on them cease to be even remotely worthy of the name bestowed on their predecessors. Maybe it has already happened for you, or maybe it's about to.

This editorial comes hot on the heels of E3 and some new disturbing revelations about the future of the series that at one time could do no wrong. Before proceeding to that though I think we have to deal with the elephant in the room, the not so epic, not so RPG-like conclusion to the beleaguered Final Fantasy XIII series. While the first might have slipped by as a not so stellar entry in a beloved franchise (hey this happens in every series right?) Square-Enix decided to push the envelope right off the desk. They followed it up with a sort-of sequel that was plenty of fun but narratively challenged, disorganized, and repetitive. As if that wasn't enough the game was plagued with DLC that you had to buy in order to see the whole story.

And now Lightning Returns is in the pipe. I'm not seeing any news outlets raving about how great it is during their E3 floor demo, in fact the general consensus seems to be that it is a somewhat recognizable party-less experience with a couple of new tricks. So I must ask, what is Final Fantasy without a party?

Now we have the news that Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been unceremoniously renamed to Final Fantasy XV and I hope you can excuse me if I say that that is the ultimate cop out move. Let's face it, they knew that with all the resources put into the XIII saga and the XIV MMO that if they kept it up at this pace we wouldn't see a real Final Fantasy XV for a further five years or more after the release of Versus , which could place it into the PS5 generation.

I'm still looking forward to FFXV but with the full on action battle system inside a main entry I again must ask, is this really “Final Fantasy?” Even XIII could have been somewhat considered a command based game. Will FFXV even be an RPG in any sense of the term? Is it “Final Fantasy” if it isn't an RPG? Sure we've had Final Fantasy spinoffs like Dirge of Cerberus , but they were spinoffs for crying out loud and Versus was meant to be another of them.

Lastly, that disturbing news I mentioned above. Square-Enix has, in a moment of continued tone-deafness, come forward to say that they plan to continue the story of Final Fantasy XV with some type of sequel or sequels. The first FF sequel was of course FFX-2 , though many considered it a kind of spinoff. The fact of the matter was that FFX was a self-contained story that did not require you to play the next game to get everything out of it. That has always been the case with this series. Even as Square-Enix has gone back to add in bits and pieces to portable titles and such you never lost anything from those original experiences. Since the story of FFXIII-2 has almost nothing to do with the story of the original you can even say that XIII was self-contained to some extent. Now we are told long before the release of FFXV that that game won't even attempt to continue the old tradition of having a single epic tale encosed in one game.

No, we are faced with a game that does not have an ending and then some inevitable DLC or sequels that just keep on stretching things out. Is this right? How much can a series change before it ceases to even be the same series?

Perhaps the most terrifying thing about all this is that Final Fantasy was always able to reinvent itself with every new entry and long time fans will forever be left hoping that somewhere just around the corner there will be a reinvention that finally makes our fantasies come true.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII , Final Fantasy XIII-2 , Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII , Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Square Enix’s Hints Make It Seem Like FFXIII-3 Is Inevitable

Like it or not, the evidence is piling up.

Here's what we know: Anybody who completed Final Fantasy XIII-2 is well aware of the number of unfinished plot points, not all of which were satisfied by the seven alternate endings or by the extra downloadable content. That's first and most obvious.

Second, we know that Square Enix has said on multiple occasions that they have to release games at a faster clip in order to be competitive. When they say this in interviews, they often cite Western franchises…franchises that typically get annual installments. It was less than two years between the North American release of FFXIII and FFXIII-2 and S-E said even that was too long. Thirdly and lastly, the hints pertaining to a new Lighting storyline are everywhere, and the latest clue implies that the next step won't just be DLC…

Check this website : After confirming that the "Lightning Saga" that began with FFXIII has shipped a total of 9.6 million units, they said FFXIII-2 was "brought to conclusion with the add-on content entitled 'Lightning's Story: Requiem of the Goddess.'" Okay, so that means FFXIII-2 is done, right? And yet, there's this very clear implication-

Key members of the FINAL FANTASY XIII development team including the Producer, Director and Art Director, are in preparations to present new information about the direction of Lightning's story. This presentation will take place at an event in Tokyo to celebrate FINAL FANTASY 25th Anniversary, on 1st September 2012.

Brace yourselves because yeah, we say FFXIII-3 is coming. Soon.

Is Lightning A Big Enough Fan Favorite For A Mini-Series?

Honestly, I really think it's inevitable that Final Fantasy XIII-3 will become official very soon. The evidence is all right there, I say.

Therefore, it's accurate to call these FFXIII sequels a mini-series of sorts; a series within a franchise, if you will. But we've never really seen this in the Final Fantasy world before; we had FFX-2 (but no FFX-3) and even then, main character Tidus wasn't playable in the sequel. Only Yuna and Rikku returned, along with new character Paine. So the question is this- Is Lightning a popular enough protagonist to have the staying power?

I mean, I usually try to have my finger on the pulse of FF nation, and I'm not sure any die-hard fan of the franchise would place Lightning at or even near the top of their "most beloved hero" list. She actually annoyed the crap out of me in the first half of FFXIII, as she seemed completely one-dimensional to me. She did, however, get a lot better in the second half, although I still found it odd that in many respects, it could be argued that the true heroine of that game was actually Fang. That being said, Lightning was much better in FFXIII-2.

She wasn't even playable (unless you took her down in the Arena or you got that Lightning DLC) but at least she was more of a bad-ass; she was a goddess, for crying out loud, and she really sort of came into her own. The story wasn't fantastic, unfortunately, but the character of Lightning did take a few necessary strides forward in terms of solidifying her role and personality. But this is just me; does the rest of the FF fanbase really want to see Lightning again in a new title? Or are they going, "hey, if you want to make a sequel, make freakin' FFVII-2 and bring back Cloud!"

I admit to being a much bigger Lightning fan now than I was after FFXIII. I'm just not sure if others feel the same way.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII , Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy XIII-2: Previously Unknown Tidbits Revealed

It's always interesting to see what developers initially had planned for a certain game, especially one as big as Final Fantasy XIII-2 .

Some fans have been reading up on the stuff that didn't make it into Square Enix's latest RPG production, thanks to the Ultimania Omega book that has offered plenty in the way of behind-the-scenes details .

Firstly, the game was supposed to be a direct sequel to FFXIII, taking place 900 years after the events in Lightning's first adventure. It was during the creation of the back story for this plot that the developers decided to implement time travel. There's also some information on the complex relationships between Caius and Yeul, and why nothing romantic happened between Serah and Noel. The latter should be obvious, though; they both had other love interests (Snow and Yeul respectively).

Then there's the canceled DLC: Originally, Snow was going to have a motorcycle mini-game, where he'd ride through the Archylte Steppe bashing monsters; he'd be able to spin, drift, and jump, and he'd even have a "water spell." Another piece of extra content that didn't make the cut was one for Hope. It would've been "an adventure type game using the Live Trigger system in Augusta Tower." The goal there would've been to keep Alyssa from killing Hope.

It seems there was a lot of content and ideas that didn't make it into FFXIII-2…maybe that's why they'll eventually give us FFXIII-3…?

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII-2

Do Final Fantasy Fans Really Want Story-Based DLC?

At first, not being a multiplayer fan, I was one of the biggest supporters of story-based downloadable content for single-player campaigns.

But after seeing the DLC for Final Fantasy XIII-2 – and hearing about the possibility of more DLC – I'm starting to wonder if fans who enjoy good stories actually want such add-ons and expansions.

Thing is, it's kind of like finishing an epic plot with the lame "To be continued…" climax, which allows writers to leave us hanging and then force us to pay to see the rest of the story. I don't mind adding content to games, but I realize I do mind it if it affects a storyline that we expect to see in its entirety upon purchasing the game. I don't know if Square Enix has noticed, but it seems a great many FF fans are none too happy with the way FFXIII-2 ended, and are even less enthusiastic about the DLC that supposedly answers questions we have about Lightning and what happened after the end.

Extra content that gives you more weapons, items, maps, etc. is fine; it's only making a game bigger. But when you interrupt a narrative and dole out the rest in bite-size pieces…well, that's like buying a book, finding that it's only 2/3 written, and hearing that we'll get a few vague clarifications a little later on and oh yeah, we'll have to pay for them, too. The DLC that puts Lightning in the Arena and lets us use her in our party if we beat her? Fine, great. Doesn't really do anything to the story and it makes the game that much bigger and more entertaining. But story-based DLC is really starting to irk me.