ScuzzBlog: Diaries November 2019
Entry 16th November 2019: Post 01: Lightning Returns - Dangerously Addictive.
Lightning Returns - Dangerously Addictive.
Probably noticed from the intermittent nature of posts of late
that I must be tied up doing other things. Well those other things
are nothing more trivial than playing Final Fantasy Lightning
Returns on the PS3. Man do I love a good game.
First up a bit of history. I am not sure exactly when I first saw
the Final Fantasy XIII trailer on the games network, but I sense
it could have been as long ago as 2005/6-ish. I was so looking
forward to the next instalment being a Final Fantasy fan. In
those days I only ever played on the console. I did have any
number of consoles to be honest and could dabble with Dreamcast,
XBOX, Cube and PlayStation.
Each month and then week after the release of the trailer I would
press my local game steward for a release date. It just kept getting
pushed back further and further. In late 2007 I purchased my PS3
in anticipation of the release and was still waiting the next year.
By the time the game actually came out I was already heavy into
World of Warcraft on the PC and lost to it all.
The original XIII game was not received well. It was so linear and
the characters for me a touch boring. Amongst them 'Lightning' who
I found as dull as soup. The fight mechs were poor and the game
just was not re playable. Gone was the open expanse of a world that
could be explored.
I did buy XIII-2 but at the time didn't enjoy the game but came
back to it just recently and found it a good blast though not
totally wed to it as I had been the earlier games.
My years playing MMOs took me from Azeroth through all the various
expansions from TBC, Lich, Cata, Pandaria, WoD, Legion and BfA.
Having played all the content and murdered the dungeons one after
another day in day out for years it seems I guess I was getting a
little bored. I had played, Rift, Star Trek, STWoR, Archeage,
Tera, Guildwars I and II to quite advanced levels. Only recently
I levelled 8 to 65 and one to 70 in Tera, which trust me is a real
grind. However, in 2019 I sensed for the first time the MMO bubble
for me had burst.
I never did buy a PlayStation4. I have an issue with subscription
based systems. And although I have the next gen after the XBOX I
never used it cus Windows wanted a sub. It is possible to play
without one but they make it very difficult with Live games. I
have been tempted with a PS4 with Nier Automata, but sadly with
the emphasis on shooters in games I kinda lost interest.
OK Lightning Returns. Man was this a let down. From the getgo it
was the same dreary mess of the previous two games. Though even
worse. I was about ready to kick the can over and pull the plug
on the PS3. And then something magical happened... I bought a
copy of the game guide and got hooked in the detail. When you play
a game and then read a guide you often fail hopelessly to have
gotten what the game was truly all about.
And then I fell in love and I just haven't been able to put the
game down.
Here is a summary of the plus and minus aspects of the game.
First thing to realise is that this game is intended to be replayed
over and over. Bit like Groundhog day. The point being that the
game is designed this way and you carry over all that you won
including your level status and attributes plus all your gear into
the next game. You also keep your full inventory. So any quests
requiring that mushroom that is so hard to get, then if you find
two in the previous game the other will still be in your inventory.
What this does is make you collect stuff knowing it'll be useful
in your next game.
Lightning has differing fight tactics based on the 'garb' you wear.
So collecting gear is really important. I soon found out where
all the secret stuff was. There is a Forge Outfitter that roams
the game and spawns in one place on five differing locations in
four zones every hour. You can work out the chances of coming
across the guy but I found him. Also knowing that you have to
interact with four characters within a limited time reciting a
certain line awards you a certain outfit. Once you have the garb
you need never get it again.
In the game you play the role of a saviour and must save as many
souls as possible by helping the local people. The world is going
to end in a few days and by achieving certain goals you can extend
the life of the world giving you more time. The world does end
on the 13th day, however, achieving more quests in game gives you
access to the Ultimate Lair which allows you to battle all the
various mob elites in the game and then the final boss.
There are only a certain number of any mob in the game and there
can be just 30 of one type or say 80+. When you kill the very last
one of a species then you get the chance to fight the Last One
which is pink in colour. The mob is much harder and rewards garb,
weapons or abilities. The Ultimate Lair is filled with only pinks
and there is one on each floor. There are 33 floors. If you have
killed the Last One in the game it is extinct from the game and
will neither spawn on the open world game map or in the Lair.
I have farmed mobs just to turn them pink. Three roads open up
during the game on later days which let you fight the very hardest
of mobs to extinction. However, you better be ready for a tough
fight.
The world is drowning in a sea of Chaos. This black evil cloud
can suddenly appear before you and inside of it fearsome monsters.
The game has a variety of options in terms of Easy, Normal, Plus
and Hard modes. In truth you really must play Easy to start with
and work your way up to hard. This game is hard when it comes to
some mobs. The last boss is very difficult. Also when you play the
game on a rerun then the last boss becomes a PLUS version and hits
you like a brick wall.
Levelling in the game rewards more for doing quests than anything
else. However, mobs reward attributes to your skills and you need
these to synthesise new skills and upgrade and boost your skills.
You acquire skills from Level 1 upward and I currently am Level 5.
Each Garb can have up to four skills assigned and each skill has
a number of variants. Players of Final Fantasy will be aware of
terms like Fire, Fira and Firaga, The nature of a magical attack
can be single target or multiple target and follow all the same
rules of cost and speed of your Active Bar or energy cost. You
really need to play the game to appreciate how to manage your
skills and the way differing garbs are set up.
In game you can have up to three version of Lightning on your
action bar and you are sensible to have the normal set up of tank,
damage dealer and magic dealer. You play only one Lightning at a
time though can rotate your versions with the L1 button.
Key to the game is EP which fills up a yellow cyclic metre on the
bottom left of the screen. The game uses the EP not just for
battles but for cost of Teleporting and freezing the game clock.
Important is the clock cus you play against an active clock that
is running all the time in game. It is so important cus certain
quest givers, events, doors etc only become active at certain
times. To help you can stop the clock but it will cost. Also you
can escape battles but unless you play on easy mode this also
costs. The joy of the game is in the re-playability and the
management of time. You will become more aware of quest givers
and their time in game and so you will structure your game activity
to be the most efficient.
There are five major quests that you have to do which are story
based quests leading to a big bad boss. If you fail to do these
quests you will fail the game and drop to the bottom of the ladder.
I actually was able to complete two of the bosses one after the
other by best managing my time.
One hurdle that becomes a real problem is that the game forces
you to return to the ARK every day at six in the morning no matter
where you are. So you are also up against that clock. Cus when
you return to the world it will be morning and things will have
changed and the days eventually run out.
Doors can be a pain cus they only open to areas at certain times
of the day. Again you need to think ahead to make sure you time
your activities.
For me the fun is in the re-playability of the game and steadily
getting better. Those that don't like the game, like I was to
start with fail to realise that you win the game by just going
through the game again and getting better and better. And as you
get better you become more powerful and better looking... whoo er !!
An hour in the game isn't the same as a normal hour so the clock
does spin around a bit.
I only play the game on hard mode now as the game got way too
easy. I can finish the whole game in around five days game clock
time giving me a good number of days spare. I have beaten every
mob in the game and have the Ultimate garb, which looks super cool.
I enjoyed it so much I started a total new game with none of my
previous rewards just to see how good I had become in the game.
So that's the game and that's my list of plus points cus in the end
it was all that I discuss here that I enjoyed so much.
On the negative side, I just got annoyed with the endless dialogue
from Hope. His talking to me often stopped the game play as I was
forced to skip the interludes. It would have been much better if
he just voiced over what I was doing and let me get on with it.
Also, I have been use to continuous uninterrupted play with almost
zero ingame load time in my MMOs, and it was annoying having to
wait all the time to load sections of the game. I have installed
the game onto the PS3 hard drive, but that didn't help that much.
Other than that the game has become probably the best game I have
ever played on the PS3. It really has become one of my all time
favourites. I couldn't praise it higher. I really fell in love with
Lightning, she is my saviour.
And I still made notes. Tracking your path through the tomb with
all it's varying time locks on doors is just essential, especially
on hard mode when pressing ESCAPE when faced with annoying mobs
as you search is not an option. The tomb area also works on
varying levels with ladders so knowing your way about is a great
help.... And it's very tricky reading a manual while playing.
Not sure how much more time I will play. But for now expect a few
more days of slow release of content. Sorry... er I'm not really.
Lightning Returns - Dangerously Addictive.
Lightning Farron - Fight Song
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