Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a port that completely blows its predecessors out the water. Performance-wise, Lightning Returns is pretty much superior in every single way compared to its predecessors. Gone are the 30 fps limiters, controller-seeking microstuttering and just terrible optimization in general. With any decent modern day GPU/CPU, you can typically expect a rock solid 60 fps gameplay in battles with only occasional drops to 40-50 fps in the Open World. Due to 60 fps being most important in battles, this port sells itself as a pretty darn optimized port.

Specs that I'm running:
i7-4710HQ @ 3.4 GHz Turbo
8 GB RAM
GTX 860M 4 GB GDDR5

Note that the 860M is the laptop equivalent to the 750 Ti, a mid end gpu that most people use in modern day budget builds. Even so, with everything on max settings (except Scaling - as I'm running a display of 1920x1080 on my laptop), the game holds a 60 fps in battles effortlessly while having occasional dips to 40+ fps in the Open World. Considering the fact that the game had such terrible performance even on consoles, the performance of the PC version is not just a small step-up; it's a huge one.

Despite having such a stellar performance compared to its predecessors on Steam, it takes a few frustrating steps back - steps that which are easily rectifiable and would have made it a perfect port. For one, as this is a first day review, the game only supports a resolution up till 1080p. Hence, everyone who runs higher resolution monitors would not find this too pleasing. There is a very very good chance that some workarounds will be here very soon though, and perhaps, just maybe, a patch from Square Enix themselves.

Other than that, the game still has no option for True Fullscreen to be enabled. True Fullscreen would give quite a big performance boost to everyone, but alas, its not present. The game's "fullscreen" is a borderless window.

The biggest gripe to all non-controller users though, would be that the mouse is not integrated into the game. As such, the mouse holds no significance/level of control whatsoever in the game. The cursor is visible too. For non-controller users, you'd have to be playing this game with both hands on your keyboard. The plus side is that all keyboard controls are rebindable, unlike its predecessors, although its predecessors had mouse integration into the game. At this point, I'm not quite sure which is preferable if you could only choose one of them to be integrated...

The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy is a very controversial series due to its nature of making its players either absolutely detest it or love it. Admittedly, if you've gone through the first 2 games, the 3rd won't be a disappointment. The combat system of the game is quite different from its predecessors and just about every other main title Final Fantasy. It uses a very heavily modified ATB system that functions more of like an "energy" system of sorts for your real-time actions. You also only control Lightning in this game as opposed to other entries in the series.

The game is widely known as a Dress Up Simulator for various endearing reasons. Lightning pretty much has to swap "schemes" (formally known as schemata) that features her in different garbs (read: clothes) with different equipment customized to the garbs themselves. The entire bundle forms a schemata. As one would expect, every garb/piece of equipment has its own intended job, and as such, can be viewed as something like a paradigm/mode by itself. Lightning is able to battle with 3 schemata at any one moment, and this is pretty much where the common FF strategy part lies.

Since the game is already 2 years old, there is really no better way to describe the game than to simply watch some video(s) of it and form your own opinion around it. Unlike the initial entry into the XIII trilogy, Lightning Returns stays true to an Open World scenario too, and is where you do everything that isn't a battle.

While the port is certainly incredibly impressive in terms of its performance, it startlingly lacks some really tiny yet important features that its predecessors had. Frustratingly, it serves to show that it really could have been a perfect port if only it paid attention to some smaller yet integral fine details. Regardless, especially if you're a controller-user, the port is pretty damn solid and is very satisfactory, especially when compared to its predecessors.

As this is a first day review, it will be updated, should any fixes/patches get rolled out. I definitely want to believe that Square Enix would deliver some proper love to M+KB users as they did in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. If they do, that would definitely make me not hold back on going on some 700 hour crazy spree or anything of that sort. As it is now, it's just not so comfortable playing this game unless I buy a controller, which is a shame too, since this is definitely the game that I've been waiting for since... well since it was announced back in 2012.

At the very least, in a lot of ways, I can honestly say:

Well done Square Enix. Now, just at least patch in mouse integration like you did with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD along with more resolution options and I'm sure many of us will be eternally grateful.

[h1]The Performance of the Port[/h1] Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a port that completely blows its predecessors out the water. Performance-wise, Lightning Returns is pretty much superior in every single way compared to its predecessors. Gone are the 30 fps limiters, controller-seeking microstuttering and just terrible optimization in general. With any decent modern day GPU/CPU, you can typically expect a rock solid 60 fps gameplay in battles with only occasional drops to 40-50 fps in the Open World. Due to 60 fps being most important in battles, this port sells itself as a pretty darn optimized port. Specs that I'm running: i7-4710HQ @ 3.4 GHz Turbo 8 GB RAM GTX 860M 4 GB GDDR5 Note that the 860M is the laptop equivalent to the 750 Ti, a mid end gpu that most people use in modern day budget builds. Even so, with everything on max settings (except Scaling - as I'm running a display of 1920x1080 on my laptop), the game holds a 60 fps in battles effortlessly while having occasional dips to 40+ fps in the Open World. Considering the fact that the game had such terrible performance even on consoles, the performance of the PC version is not just a small step-up; it's a huge one. [h1]The Minor Gripes about the Port[/h1] Despite having such a stellar performance compared to its predecessors on Steam, it takes a few frustrating steps back - steps that which are easily rectifiable and would have made it a perfect port. For one, as this is a first day review, the game only supports a resolution up till 1080p. Hence, everyone who runs higher resolution monitors would not find this too pleasing. There is a very very good chance that some workarounds will be here very soon though, and perhaps, just maybe, a patch from Square Enix themselves. Other than that, the game still has no option for True Fullscreen to be enabled. True Fullscreen would give quite a big performance boost to everyone, but alas, its not present. The game's "fullscreen" is a borderless window. The biggest gripe to all non-controller users though, would be that the mouse is not integrated into the game. As such, the mouse holds no significance/level of control whatsoever in the game. The cursor is visible too. For non-controller users, you'd have to be playing this game with both hands on your keyboard. The plus side is that all keyboard controls are rebindable, unlike its predecessors, although its predecessors had mouse integration into the game. At this point, I'm not quite sure which is preferable if you could only choose one of them to be integrated... [h1]The Game Itself[/h1] The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy is a very controversial series due to its nature of making its players either absolutely detest it or love it. Admittedly, if you've gone through the first 2 games, the 3rd won't be a disappointment. The combat system of the game is quite different from its predecessors and just about every other main title Final Fantasy. It uses a very heavily modified ATB system that functions more of like an "energy" system of sorts for your real-time actions. You also only control Lightning in this game as opposed to other entries in the series. The game is widely known as a Dress Up Simulator for various endearing reasons. Lightning pretty much has to swap "schemes" (formally known as [i]schemata[/i]) that features her in different garbs (read: clothes) with different equipment customized to the garbs themselves. The entire bundle forms a [i]schemata[/i]. As one would expect, every garb/piece of equipment has its own intended job, and as such, can be viewed as something like a paradigm/mode by itself. Lightning is able to battle with 3 schemata at any one moment, and this is pretty much where the common FF strategy part lies. Since the game is already 2 years old, there is really no better way to describe the game than to simply watch some video(s) of it and form your own opinion around it. Unlike the initial entry into the XIII trilogy, Lightning Returns stays true to an Open World scenario too, and is where you do everything that isn't a battle. [h1]Overall Feelings on the Port[/h1] While the port is certainly incredibly impressive in terms of its performance, it startlingly lacks some really tiny yet important features that its predecessors had. Frustratingly, it serves to show that it [i]really could have been[/i] a perfect port if only it paid attention to some smaller yet integral fine details. Regardless, especially if you're a controller-user, the port is pretty damn solid and is very satisfactory, especially when compared to its predecessors. As this is a first day review, it will be updated, should any fixes/patches get rolled out. I definitely want to believe that Square Enix would deliver some proper love to M+KB users as they did in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. If they do, that would definitely make me not hold back on going on some 700 hour crazy spree or anything of that sort. As it is now, it's just not so comfortable playing this game unless I buy a controller, which is a shame too, since this is definitely the game that I've been waiting for since... well since it was announced back in 2012. At the very least, in a lot of ways, I can honestly say: Well done Square Enix. Now, just at least patch in mouse integration like you did with Final Fantasy Type-0 HD along with more resolution options and I'm sure many of us will be eternally grateful.