Final Fantasy XIII has its fans and detractors, but regardless of what group they fall in, most can agree that the game’s battle system was a great idea that needed some serious tweaking to finally get right. Two games later, could Square Enix have hit the nail on the head?

No parties, no aiding characters. Final Fantasy XIII has only ever allowed control over a single character and casually letting the others go about their own way, so why bother with the excess? Trim the leftovers and send them on their way.

This is Lightning’s show, and she is at the center of every battle. There is more customization to her than entire casts of some Final Fantasy games. Clothes, abilities, weapons, jobs, everything you need to make your perfect warrior is ready in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

Just no personality adjuster.

With so many options, you are going to need a seriously fun battle system to parade your warrior around in. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII promises to deliver a true real-time battle system far different than anything seen before. Open-world maps, free reign of movement, switching job classes on the fly to match situations and creating your own tactics.

I want to say that it sounds pretty decent, even though the first two Final Fantasy XIII games failed to lock me in the way the series has always done. The rocky history this Fabula Nova Crystallis experiment is where all the detriment lies. I don’t see too much of a fault with the systems and design of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII yet. I’ll wait until I get my hands on them to cast judgement.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Feb. 11.

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