“Does Square Enix Hate Lightning or Just Cloud Now?”
- Categories: Games, News
- Date: Jul 5, 2013 15:44 JST
- Tags: Character Design, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII, Lightning, RPG, Square Enix
Lightning’s return is yet again proving controversial, with Square Enix’s latest choice of ensemble for the long-suffering heroine almost as badly received as the last one…
The FFVII-themed “wear” is being distributed as a limited edition extra, and does at least offer some respite from her regular outfit:
Neither choice seems particularly popular amongst her fans however:
“Are they making fun of Cloud with this or what?”
“God, this is a despair-inducingly awful outfit design.”
“It doesn’t fit at all.”
“Better than the last one with all the stupid pointy floaty bits.”
“What are you wearing, Lightning!”
“Upset this one exposes nothing?”
“It’s a little intense to say the least.”
“Expect them to take a lot of flack for this in parody works.”
“Talk about the ‘effete pretty boy waving a gigantic sword’ stereotype of JRPGs. I guess they wanted to make sure it sold overseas, so they revised it.”
“Isn’t this just what a fem-Cloud would look like?”
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There is no lightning without a cloud.
If I had an account, I will upvote you.
You win a smile. I never did make that connection before.
and wasn't Lightning supposed to basically be a Cloud genderswap to begin with? lol
Yeah, to make yuri doujins with Sephi.. I mean, Paine.
Just stop fucking making FF games already, it's bad enough that Square-enix are ruining a classic series.
But now they're turning classic characters into whores... just... get the point already, "final" end it!
Go end yourself and stop whining
Hows about, YOU end yourself!
Shouldn't there be squalls too, normally?
Whatever.
Is Square incapable of naming main characters after anything but weather events? Clouds, squalls, tides, lightning...
Also Nomura needs to hang it up. The man clearly has no original ideas left whatsoever. It's getting embarrassing.
Nomura needs to hang it up? fuck you, that man created kingdom hearts while drunk! and I have many hopes for FFXV + KH3, but still I do agree Lightning needs more revealing outfits DLC or not.
REAL TIME COMBAT(like KH) FOR LIFE!
and Nomura explained he purposely named the main characters he design(whom are gorgeous) after weather, not Square Enix's idea
@doorman:
well either good real-time (like KH) or good turnbased (like FFX)
the idiotic halfbreeds they are trying to use are an abomination unto Nuggan!
Tidus means Sun, not tides... But that'd make a lot more sense to be honest
Dont forget Sora and Snow!
STOP REaDING MY MIND!!!
That was horrible and funny at the same time :P
But either way I don't care that much as long as the gameplay is good. Plus I did like the Cloud look.
LOL! Anon 15:57!
All too true.
....Wait, so Cloud was a guy, all along?
No, in FFXIII we've just been playing as Cloud all along...
and umm...umm...where there's a cloud with lightning, within the Squall will always be a Zidane...I win<----win
No Zidane is always there, where people are needed to be headbutted ^^
I dunno, I think it's pretty cool. It'd be awesome if the DLC for the game included a costume from each of the games in the series. Or multiple. A few from 6, some from 8, couple more from 4. Maybe even a few from some of the spinoffs.
theres always one asshole that just wants to go against an opinion
Lightning in FF8s Edeas dress? ^^
I would love it too.
Don't know why people are bitching about it...
More sexy Lightning needs the world!
The problem people are having with it was 13 isn't good enough to merit all this attention, let alone 3 fucking games in this "epic saga" (lol a joke is more an accurate term)
Should just move onto 15 and KH already even though that series has also overstayed it's welcome with way too many 'spin-offs'
inb4 spin-offs being relevant to the main story. Unless part 3 makes them so, i'm fully expecting part 3 to follow part 2 and perhaps a brief mention to BBS to tie it all together, im not really expecting 3D's to have an impact on the story; Kairi becoming a future keyblade wielder has been hinted since part 2 so a tie-in from 3D's isn't really necessary and part 2 has enough info dump to tie it all together with one last game, namely part 3 and be done with this whole thing.
I wanna see a new main already and not another Sora Clone.
Don't know why people are complaining so much because it looks fine to me. People act way too picky and whiney about this now a days (or maybe its always been like that?).
My main issue with Lightning is this:
If you have a bland, flat character who the game tries to represent as this mysterious, 'dark' badass of a character, you wind up with a bad character. Which is fine, you write the character off and trundle on to other, potentially better projects.
But no. Square Enix is trying to force Lightning down our throats and up our asses. Trying persuade us that we NEED more Lightning and completely ignoring the fact that she is a bad fucking character. It would be a hilarious running gag if they weren't trying to be so serious with it.
She is not that flat ;p
That sounds very reasonable, my good sir.
actually, that is just a matter of perspective and opinion. I for one like the design and concept of lighting. This flat, bland character you speak of is just a personal view.
I don't have a problem with the design or concept of Lightning. She has the potential to be a damn good character. But the same could be said for any character in games/videos/movies/anime/etc.
The general consensus, from critics, reviewers, gamers is that Lightning is a bad character because she is flat and bland with no depth to her. But Square is keen on FORCING her to be something she never was and the nonexistent character doesn't suffer, it's the very real fanbase.
that is still personal view.your so called
"The general consensus, from critics, reviewers, gamers" is just a few of the millions who bought it.
simple as this,dont like it the first time you bought it...stay away from it forever.many other SE title you can have.
Sure, millions bought it but how many of them actually liked it?
How many of them are able to tell good characters from bad ones?
Lots of people buy stuff because they saw an ad or because they heard about it from someone who knows just a little about it.
The general public, the mass market, doesn't know what's good and what isn't. They'll just buy it, thinking it's great. Then they play it and think this is what good games are like, because they themselves are incompetent when it comes to good games.
This is why your shitty argument really isn't one.
Hey, it worked for Cloud so why not Lightning?
masturbatin..
your 2 dots are "strange". do you allways write 2 ..?
What's up with Square Enix's obsession with Lightening? Seriously people are tired of seeing this chick. How many fucking games are they gonna make with her in it? They need to ditch lightening and act like she never happened and move the fuck on already.
They will continue till a good hentai doujin is created.
lol that comment was great
I'm looking forward to the 3d-model rip being flipped into a nice BJ gif but hey, paper's good too.
I personally think Lightning is pretty damn badass, and has a great design
I agree. This is nothing more than a wink and nod to fans of the older game. It's silly to make such a big fuss over an alternate outfit.
I think that outfit suits here better than her default outfit, which is a disaster no matter how I see it. Who sticks overlord spaulders on what looked like metal corsets anyway?
Cannot.
Disagree.
People think I defend FF relentlessly without logic, but the reality is most of it is very, very good if you pay attention.
But this design does not make sense even to me. It fits no aspect of her character. If I play the game and find out she's ironically perceived as a dark goddess by people and she wears it as some method of fitting the bill, that's one thing, but without a reasonable setting to make it purposeful, it's just completely against her character.
But again, I'll probably not care after the first hour.
The last good badass female lead in a Square game was Aya Brea, before 3rd Birthday (where they somehow made her look like Lightning, go figure...)
I've only played FF13, no sequel... and I didn't like Lightning, she was bland and inconsistent (at first the cold mercenary who bitches about a slow Hope or her Sister's relationship... later she suddenly cared for everyone and was "nice". Why? IIRC that happened after her battle with some boss monster. Even if there was some event that could change her, remember that the story happens in a very short time span -hours, maybe 1-2 days?- that short amount of time doesn't revamp a character. Imagine Squall suddenly becoming a happy person making jokes, doesn't work).
Well, I didn't like Lightning, though she wasn't horrible. But meh... why do they keep on milking single characters? First Cloud/Sephiroth, now Lightning.
What about the good old times where characters and their worlds/stories finished after the main game's credits, and there was NO SEQUEL?
I did love FF6, but I'm glad there ain't a sequel. The story ended, everything was resolved. A sequel would only change that enjoyment and maybe even ruin what was once great (FFX-2 wasn't a bad game, but they butchered Yuna, added 3 useless "bishounen", overused the "dramatic romance", and let's not talk about Vegnagun or what it's called... oh and the alternate Tidus+Yuna also butchered the original story).
For that matter, FF13 should have been the only title, any sequels are just unnecessary and make 13 even worse than it already is.
Truth is stranger than fiction. From someone who within a matter of hours had an awakening that has changed me forever, I can tell you you don't know what you're talking about. When you are faced with life/world/society-ending fact that you must face, something that is unavoidable, that you are powerless to stop it from affecting your life, you change. You will never be the same. If you don't believe me, it doesn't matter. Some things are true whether you believe them or not.
Lightning wasn't a badass bitch who switched roles either, you just didn't pay attention. Her entire purpose was to save her sister whom she cared for, however in being around someone else who needed her assistance, she had to adapt, and recognized something about herself because she'd never been around someone like that before. She wasn't stupid, and recognized she was being unnecessarily cold and focused to her detriment. As in, her character grew. I still can't understand why I seem to be the only person who recognizes these character growth moments. Even if they're 'quick' they're not unrealistic at all.
FFXIII-2 does not denigrate XIII, but adds to the epic. As separate games, of course they improved on the sequel, however it's also pointless to disconnect them. XIII-2 enhanced the world of XIII far more than I thought they could. It just required paying attention. If you gave up like most of the detractors, that's your own choice, I don't know what to say.
Your descriptions of X-2 also have some merit. But you say it ruins the end, but that depends what you consider 'ruin.' It doesn't hurt the original story, and god forbid we have a happy ending. Something about the last ten years with all the whiny teenagers wanting people to die in stories like it's actually dramatic. I've rarely ever seen a death that actually added to a modern stories. I'll just blame Linkin Park again. FFX's ending was great, and the delay between FFX and FFX-2 to create it, to be honest, I treat that development time as part of the story. I remember the wait, and once I stepped in, it felt like that time had passed in the world.
Here, here!
Maybe you should have actually paid attention.
the problem people have with Lightning's "inconsistency" is that most of the time its those people who had the wrong impression to begin with, not that Lightning was a poorly written character.
so caught up in the "Lightning's just a genderswapped Cloud isn't she?" that you completely missed that she wasn't Cloud.
she was never Cloud.
and the more you insist on analyzing her character from the standpoint that she was FemCloud, the more incorrect you become.
she was never a cold mercenary (once again, confusing her for the "she is Cloud" comparison all you guys are so desperate to attach to her). to the contrary she was ALWAYS a passionate person. a passionate person trying too hard to hide that she's a passionate person, but a passionate person nonetheless.
and no that's not a character detail you need to play 10 or 25 or 60 hours to understand.
this is a character development established fairly early in the game, easily less than 10 hours in.
so the fact that so many Lightning (and FFXIII) critics have never understood that, and continued to push the "she just like Cloud" angle to all their critiques of her character has always been a big flashing red sign to me that we have a person that =
a) didn't really play the game to begin with but feel they still know something
b) barely played any of the game but read the BS online and decided "i don't actually need to know anything to critique the character development"
or c) played the game with so many assumptions that you already knew what was going on (probably because you read too many equally incorrect spoilers) you missed 90% of the character development.
@ Anon 8:04
Very well put, Anon. And true.
I've just never found her attractive, even more-so her expressions and attitude kind of bugged me. Ever since I first saw a picture of her with her mouth slightly open. It doesn't matter if she's a good, well made character people still have their own perspectives and opinions.
As far as "gender swapped Cloud" goes, I always thought that just obviously applied to her visually, not her character or story. I do remember reading that they were trying to go for a "female equivalent of Cloud" but this is FFXIII not FFVII so I never assumed she's be the same in every way.
if you dont like it,dont buy it...why the butthurt?
I'm not buying it. Doesn't mean I can't comment on it. This is a place to post comments after all. If you don't like it, don't come here...why the butthurt?
Because she was a pretty good female protagonist. She's no worse than Cloud was, so I'm not sure what people are complaining about.
What if you didn't like Cloud/Zack much either? Does it make sense then? lol
That's fine too, I guess. They weren't really bad.
Frankly I just see too often that angsty teenagers see too much of themselves in protagonists, recognizing that they don't do shit with their lives and blame the protagonist.
Not saying much, Cloud was a very shitty protagonist.
well i'm glad someone actually acknowledges that.
Cloud was about as 2 dimensional as a character can get.
with a lazy character flip based on a plot hole that even the writer of the fucking game acknowledged was so huge he'd rewrite it if he ever got a chance.
yeah, you read that right. the freaking writer of Final Fantasy VII has admitted its story was a train wreck. good thing that all the FFVII fanboys played it when they were 12 and couldn't tell the difference.
and don't even get me started about how VII fanboys compare every antagonist to the "epic-ness" of Sephiroth.
never mind the fact that he's probably one of the worst, least developed, poorest motivated primary antagonists the Final Fantasy series has ever had.
he's saved only by the fact that him skewering Aerith in disc 1 blew all your little 12 year old minds at the time.
its too bad that now some of those gamers are older you still can't see how blatantly "girls in refrigerators" it all was.
Chiseling her emo face probably cost several million, they are going to milk her for all she is worth and then some
And its not just her, checking the screens theyve released they are mysteriously devoid of new npcs, they are mostly reused assets, in some cases like the whinny kid they didnt even change his clothes (he must smell like a hobo)
combat system is the same, monsters are likely mostly reused, the city is new but its deliberately designed to be cheap to make, the rest of the areas seems to be mostly deserted "mostly sand", "mostly snow" "mostly water" areas with as little detail as possible to keep costs down
i'd call this game Final Fantasy XIII-3 - The Cheapening
Uh, the battle system is completely different. It's more action-oriented with different commands mapped to separate buttons and there's no party members.
And what's with the trope of having pointless NPCs around in RPGs? Don't tell me you actually go around and talk to every single one. Personally I rarely talk to any of them and wouldn't miss them if they were gone.
Complain all you like asshole but you're still going to buy the game, else you wouldn't be looking at an article about it. Or maybe your one of those douche bags that bitches about everything that comes out these days. Either way you can go eat a big fat smelly dick.
for starters the combat system is completely different...
if you're going to try to troll you should at least get some basic details right.
You know they tried this whole digital actress thing before right? The first 3D FF movie that came out and bombed, the chick-protag in there was supposed to be reused for different 3D films if the FF movie was successful.
Yeah really great. Thanks to you people complaining about a female lead the next FF is gonna be just 5 gay dudes. THANK YOU!
Also i don't see how you can call people "fans" who are constantly bashing the thing that they are supposed to be fan of.
They are fans of the series but not the game or the latest holder of the series title. Like new Battle Star Galactica fans vs old fans.
If you like it, you're a "blind fan", if you hate it you're "not a true fan". Wheeeeeooooo....
I get the feeling they had this all plan out from the start under the assumption that the game would be a hit. Then they decide instead of cancelling the remaining games and waste all of the time and effort. "Let's continue with what we already have.... FFXIII!!"
like Tingle, Lightning is popular in Japan.
Good to know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Lightning is so bland and uninteresting, yet Squeenix feels the need to force her into every game they release in a desperate attempt to make the audience adore her. What do you wanna bet she's in Kingdom Hearts 3, too?