A preview now available on The Guardian's game blog details new gameplay from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and the results are fairly optimistic, separating itself from the previous two installments, and improving on combat and story.
Square Enix hopes that after the failure of Final Fantasy XIII 2, Lightning Returns will be able to pick the company back up.
"Between Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII 2, we saw a drop in sales of 3m," says Yoshinori Kitase, the franchise producer. "So it's not like we feel the pressure is off at all."
The preview reveals many details about the anticipated title, including plot, which takes place years after the second game, and puts the main character in a conflict that could decide the end of the world.
The player has a limited timeframe in order to stop doomsday, so there is a limited timeframe. Therefore, there is less an emphasis on side quests and grinding that is typical in RPGs. Every second counts.
The preview also states that the maps are gorgeous, showing that the developers put a lot of time in the quality of the game. There is also a new combat system.
While we cannot know how Lightning Returns will play out until the game's release, the amount of time that seems to have been put into the game based on this article gives us a good feeling. At the very least, it promises to be an entirely differnet experience than the other two.
What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments below.
