Lightning Returns Demo Preview

The Lightning Returns demo has been out for two days depending on the system you use. I’ve played through it twice now and feel that if it keeps up with its current quality this will be the best of the three games.

Battle:

So far the battle system is the biggest change. Instead of the active turn-based system that the previous two games had, this one has a semi-action based system. I say “semi” because combat pauses when you open the item menu. Based on current gameplay, you can only have six recovery items at any given time, so use them wisely.

The skills you have are initially based on your outfit. Once you unlock Schemata customization, you can swap out skills, weapons, shields, accessories, body pieces, and adornments. Each of these things, other than adornments, affects the overall stats and attacks of your Schemata. The skill limit in combat is four, however the combinations you can set are numerous.

Currently in the demo there are six available Schemata. You can have three equipped at a time. You start with The Savior, Dark Muse, and Black Mage Schemata equipped. You also get the Dragoon, Heartstealer (Thief), and Red Mage Schemata. I swap the Black Mage for the Dragoon even though the dragon you have to kill is weak to magic attacks for staggering.

Movement And World Mechanics:

Movement outside of combat is still a bit sensitive, but still overall easy. I haven’t found a reason to really play with the camera at all. Leaving it at default position seems to work just fine. While in the world you also control whether you will land a pre-emptive strike just like in XIII-2. Instead of it being a pre-emptive strike though it’s a health modifier. If you hit the enemy, it has lower health at the start, and vice-versa.

Outerworld:

This is a completely new system added in for Lightning Returns. With this system you can share screenshots and battle scores with other players. Through Outerworld, players can also sell in-game items for Gil, the currency of Final Fantasy. I haven’t found a way to filter out which Outerworld NPCs show up yet; hopefully a search option is available in the full game. If you happen to run across any from GabrielKross though, those are my shots.

I recommend giving the demo a play through to familiarize yourself with the basics. Also, my 13 days of Final Fantasy XIII will be counting down the final 13 days until launch. Make sure you check them out starting with a Final Fantasy XIII review on January 30th.