Final Fantasy XIII was criticized by many fans about its departure from a lot of RPG mainstays. One particular mainstay was the shopping experience. Items and weapons were purchased via the save point and felt a bit shoehorned in. Along the same lines, XIII-2 introduced Chocolina, a time wandering merchant who sold various items and weapons. In both games, there was only one a single location for the players various needs. Lightning Returns is departing from the one stop shop concept in order to give players plenty of options on where to spend their hard earned gil. The video shows Lightning visiting an “outfitters” store called Divine Protection Outfitters where she purchases some adornments and a “forge” called the Mighty Grandville Forge to buy a shield.
Customization was also shown a bit. Lightning can customize three combat loadouts called “schema”. Players can customize Lightning’s garb, weapon, shied, accessories, adornments, and abilities. For those who love style players can also adjust the color schemes of lightning’s clothes. Square Enix didn’t decide to skimp on the color palate either, as there are plenty of color options and shades to choose from.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is still a ways off, look for it on February 13th 2014 for Australia, February 11th for North America, and the 14th for Europe. Be sure to keep a lookout for various preorder bonuses like Cloud’s outfit from Final Fantasy VII.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu42FxdT96w[/youtube]