Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning awakens thirteen days before the world's end.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a 2013 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. It serves as a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII-2 and concludes the storyline of Final Fantasy XIII, forming part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries. The game was released in Japan in 2013 and in North America and PAL regions in 2014, with ports to Windows in 2015 and to Android and iOS via cloud gaming in 2016 in Japan.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
- Developer
- Square Enix 1st Production DepartmentAdditional work by tri-Ace and Tose; ported to Windows 10 by Virtuos.
- Publisher
- Square Enix
- Director
- Motomu Toriyama
- Producer
- Yoshinori Kitase
- Designer
- Yuji Abe
- Programmer
- Naoki Hamaguchi
- Artist
- Isamu Kamikokuryo
- Writer
- Daisuke Watanabe
- Composer
- Naoshi Mizuta / Mitsuto Suzuki / Masashi Hamauzu
- Series
- Fabula Nova Crystallis / Final Fantasy
- Engine
- Crystal Tools
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game takes place five hundred years after the ending of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Lightning, the main protagonist of the first game and a key character in the second, awakens from a self-imposed hibernation thirteen days before the world's end. The deity Bhunivelze chooses her to save the people of the dying world, including former friends and allies who have developed heavy emotional burdens. As she travels, she learns the truth behind the world's fate and Bhunivelze's true agenda.
Reader's Guide
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII represents the culmination of the XIII trilogy and the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries. Its development began in May 2012, shortly after the last DLC for XIII-2, and it was revealed in September 2012 at the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event. The key creative minds and developers from the preceding games returned, aiming to conclude Lightning's story and address criticisms of the previous two titles. The game sold 277,000 units in its first week in Japan and became the 17th best-selling game of 2013, with 800,000 copies sold by May 2014. Critics gave mixed reviews, praising the battle system but offering varied opinions on graphics, the time limit, and other gameplay aspects; the story and characters were criticized as weak or poorly developed. The game's Style-Change Active Time Battle system, open-world exploration, and time-limit mechanic were notable departures from its predecessors, and its Outerworld Services (allowing photo sharing and stat posting on Facebook and Twitter) were terminated in April 2016.
Did You Know?
- The game's time limit starts at seven in-game days but can be extended to thirteen days by completing missions.
- Lightning can pause time using an ability called Chronostasis.
- The battle system, called Style-Change Active Time Battle, allows Lightning to equip three customizable schemata at once.
- Enemy types can be driven to extinction in specific areas by defeating all standard versions and then a final boss version.
More in Final Fantasy video games 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced