CAUTION: This blog will contain spoilers relating to Lightning Returns, a.k.a. Final Fantasy XIII-3. This game has been released in Japan only and is scheduled for release in North America in 2 months time. If you are planning to play this game and care about spoilers ruining your experience, do not read this blog. If you are the type who feel that spoilers will not affect your enjoyment of the game, or if you are not planning to play the game at all, please continue to read. Once again, IF YOU READ THIS BLOG, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE FAULT FOR THE GAME BEING RUINED FOR YOU IS YOUR OWN. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED THAT THIS BLOG CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS RELATING TO THE ENDING OF THIS GAME AND I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO READ.
With that out of the way, this is why Toriyama needs to be fired, or leave voluntarily from SE. Watch this video, be warned that it's about 21 minutes long and begins with the cutscene after the final boss battle, so it's pretty long. **SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS**
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Are you finished? Yes? Good... WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT?!!!
Lightning takes on God, kills god, creates a whole frickin' new universe AND planet frickin' Earth and shows up in France. WHAT?!
Honest to God, can someone explain to me how ANYONE can think this series in ANY way stacks up to the rest of the Final Fantasy series? Motomu Toriyama is trying his hardest to butcher the legacy of this series. Short of Sakaguchi himself returning to Square-Enix and fixing everything again, if this kind of thing continues then Final Fantasy is officially done. Nomura is only one man, and I believe he probably wants to focus more on Kingdom Hearts since that's his baby, so we can't count on him to reign in Toriyama and his insanity.
The whole entire FFXIII trilogy seems like one long Lightning-centered wet dream, and the costume mechanic in the game is just icing on that particular cake. This particular game was simply designed to make Lightning more powerful than god. Indeed, more powerful than any other being in the entire Final Fantasy universe. It's absolutely ridiculous.
The writing in this game is off the wall crazy. The characters in this series were bad enough as it is, but then when they finally get some DECENT characters, they are relegated to being peons to the power fantasy of Lightning, so much so that Toriyama didn't bother to give any closure as to the fates of the supporting characters like Hope, Snow, or literally anyone else in the games. Now, based on what Square-Enix did with FF13-2, I would bet money that another ending for FF13-3 is going to be sold as DLC or a graphic novel, which is another bat-sh*t crazy thing for SE to do.
Who keeps giving Motomu Toriyama games to direct and write? I don't know how Toriyama went from directing such an amazing game like FFX (granted, he was only an Event Director), to the crap that is the FF13 trilogy. And the games aren't only bad in story, they're bad in gameplay, character, character development, and so on. It's like the previous 2 games were just build up for Lightning to become more powerful than God so she could create an entire new Universe completely unreliant on the Crystal.
I am at a loss of words to go on without repeating my frustrated confusion. Why has Final Fantasy devolved into such filth? There was a time when Final Fantasy meant games with incredible and engaging stories that could tug at your heart strings, or set off an inferno of rage inside you at what the antagonist was doing. There was a time when Final Fantasy meant games with characters you loved, and loved to hate rather than just pitied or hated. There was a time when Final Fantasy's beauty meant more than just good graphics, it meant beautiful worlds with life all their own that you came to care about, music that could make you wish you were there or cause you to lose yourself in deep thought. All of that is gone with these games, especially Lightning Returns.
Motomu Toriyama has no grasp of what a Final Fantasy game should be. Instead he's trying to capture some ideal for what he wants in a game. He ignores the pedigree of the series in favor of taking inspiration from shooters. Instead of creating games of hope and determination, he creates a 3 part power fantasy where one girl who is the gaming equivalent of Kristen Stewart is granted the Power of Grayskull to kill God and create a whole new Universe with OUR Planet Earth. The only thing you can say is....
http://www.quickmeme.com/im...
I am deeply saddened to see a series I grew up with, a series that created my love of RPGs in general but JRPGs specifically, turn out to be like this. I think back to games like Final Fantasy IV, VIII, X, and spinoffs like Final Fantasy Tactics. I remember how invested I was in those games and they've become a part of me as a gamer, and I can't help but hang my head in disgust. How is this progress? How can this be good for the series? It strips everything that Final Fantasy built up completely bare and profanes a once proud pedigree of greatness.
All I can say is that Motomu Toriyama really needs to go. This is a man who, in his very own words, "thinks that it becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when the player is given a huge amount of freedom to explore." That is the antithesis of Final Fantasy, and indeed RPGs in general. Sakaguchi never had a problem telling a gripping story and letting the player have a huge amount of freedom to explore, and under his watch the very best Final Fantasy games were made.
He just needs to go. Only then can Final Fantasy begin to heal and return to greatness. Only then can sanity return. It's as though Kefka took control of Toriyama's mind and decided the best way to kill Final Fantasy, and thus enact his ultimate and final revenge, was to kill the greatest aspects of the series, and it's certainly succeeding.
FFXIII fans, you're free to like what you want but you're contributing to the dilution and eventual death of Final Fantasy. Please raise your standards, or play the Past games and remember why they were so great and how the FFXIII trilogy just doesn't stack up. For Bahamut's sake, please don't support games like this.
Now, on a lighter note, a piece of music from an immensely superior FF game that always makes me lose myself in deep thought. Enjoy FFX's Wandering Flame.
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Author's Note: Once again, I won't be able to comment. I'm not going to bother going into why this time as I don't need a pat-on-the-back fest by certain mods, but I'll be able to reply via PMs if you want, or in a few days. Apologies for the inconvenience, thanks for reading.
Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.
Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.
To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.
The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.
Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.
15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.
These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse
The charity event will be streamed live from Gamescom in August.
Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.
Final Fantasy 13 was a mess, 90% of gamers can agree to that. The game was pretty (graphically) and had good music, but gameplay and the story were just terrible. After 13, you'd think they'd move on. They sort of did, but decided to..imo...FIX FF13 by releasing FF13-2.
The story for ff13-2 was just so ridiculous and forced. Hypocritically though, I actually liked the game because it was a lot better than 13. The gameplay was much better, but the story was just so stupid that I considered it more of a parody than a serious FF game. I liked Serah and Noel WAY more than many of the other characters from FF13 (Fang and Sazh being the most tolerable of the bunch). That Red Chocobo theme made me rofl hard. I had stupid fun with FF13-2, I guess the same enjoyment you get out of watching a bad (funny) movie.
I don't find lighting that amazing as a character at all. Her character is pretty bland when put up against some of the other FF main sword characters. Yeah she's cool, but so are many of the other FF main characters. They all can do what Lighting does, wield a sword in a fancy, cool way. Why are they constantly trying to make it seem like FF13 wasn't as bad as people say by forcing lightning all over the place. They're trying REAL hard to make Lightning appeal to everyone.
Seeing her in 13-3 wearing those outfits makes me face palm hard. Playing through both 13 and 13-2, Lightning seemed like one of those characters that would NEVER devolve into eye candy. She's too stoic and manly for that. In some of those outfits, you can see how oddly shaped she is. IMO, her head is too big for her body, making those skimpy outfits look just wrong all together. And finally when she goes into those "cute" poses...It's just wrong and you can't help but shake your head at it.
Mtomu Toriyama was "Event director, scenario writer" in FF10 and "Event Planner" in FF7. He should go back to doing that or do nothing at all. As he seems to be good at that since FF10 turned out well.
But he sucks at directing and story telling
SE needs to change very soon in order to survive this new generation of consoles.
This guy ಠ_ಠ
*SPOILER ALERT*
This guy tries to kill Aya Brea ( Parasite Eve ) in The 3rd Birthday with his so called "story"
I'm really really pissed by that till today since i'm a huge fan of PE , This derp makes Aya brea fate unknown and left us speechless with this whole mess he done in the gaming industry
Your article spotted every point i was going to say , so thank you for that !
FF13's story was decent at best.
Terrible gameplay and the fact that there was no towns and tunnel after tunnel and forced grinding really messed up the game for me.
But what I just witnessed was about as bad as the ending to FullMetal Alchemist conqueror of shambala. They completely butchered the series. France really? Why would you bring characters of the FF world into our sh*tty world? Why? Someone definitely needs to be fired and I definitely WILL NOT pick up this game.
They fooled me once with FF13, they fooled me twice with 13-2. They will not get me again with this b*llshit, and Im a hardcore FF fan.
They lost me and I hope they redeem themselves with FFXV.