Unable to escape, Lightning sent her sister, Serah, on a journey to fix the distortions in time created by an outpouring of the aforementioned Chaos. Just when it seemed she had successfully resisted her unjust fate, Lightning was dragged into another realm, Valhalla, and tasked by the goddess Etro with fighting a neverending war against a malevolent force called Chaos. Branded and enslaved by a godlike being called a Fal’cie, the six unlikely allies fought against their assigned task of destroying the human utopia, Cocoon. Just as real lightning fades after it strikes, so too has Lightning’s saga grown increasingly unimpressive as it persists in existing.Īn oversimplified version of the Final Fantasy XIII series plot goes something like this: Lightning and five others were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m not saying the story is nonsensical, but it is presented poorly.) After completing the game in about twenty-five hours, my final reaction to Lightning Returns is not one of anger or disappointment, but merely ambivalence. (And yes, before you ask, I have read the datalogs and done plenty of research. Now, four years after the release of Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning appears before us one final time in a last-ditch effort to prove her worth and provide closure to one of the most convoluted RPG stories in recent memory. Its sequel attempted to tip the scales by featuring a greater emphasis on player choice, but the plot continued to veer off the rails thanks to an over-reliance on time travel and “paradoxes.” Both games were deeply flawed, but still enjoyable, and I truthfully consider myself a big fan of the series. The first game in her trilogy was an audiovisual spectacle, but faced heavy criticism for its linearity and poorly-explained plot. So it’s ironic, perhaps, that the Final Fantasy XIII heroine of the same name has instead done the opposite lingering throughout an entire console generation. Lightning is, by definition, a brilliant flash that leaves as quickly as it arrives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |