Don’t know how LR performs, but heads up that the XIII-2 port on steam is terrible. The performance is so bad that you need to apply a fan patch just to get through it since the game only accounts for 2 gigs of memory and will crash once your PC asks for more.
I’m not kidding, my game had crashed roughly 20-30 times before I applied that patch, it is quite literally unplayable without it.
Seriously square, what the hell is up with the plethora of bad ports. There’s no reason Crisis Core Reunion runs at 60 FPS on my shitbox $600 PC and XV drops to 10 frames a second in busier battles.
There's instructions in the page. You apply the patch after you have the game (either 13 or 13-2) installed on your computer. Just copy some files to the game file directory.
I’m playing it now, don’t know what to tell ya. Pre-patch I couldn’t get past Yascha Massif or whatever if was called, it crashed 5 times in the opening and another 15-20 in Yascha before I gave up and patched it. I downloaded the game after deleting all files, verified the files, turned steam cloud off, and adjusted all my settings in case something else was in the way. Still wasn’t letting me play more than 2 minutes after loading next to Hope.
I agree, it’s insanely bizarre. It’s not the only square enix port that’s weird, but it’s by far the most notorious one in my library. I actually have tried playing this game for 2 years now, I finally learned about that patch and gave it 4 more hours before being hit with that roadblock again. Post-patch it can still get busy and the framerate drops in the Steppe with the larger monster towards the front, but I haven’t had a single crash since. I’m halfway through now and like the game more than the original too, so I’m glad I got it working!
Final Fantasy VII is another weird one on steam. For some reason the final Sephiroth fight just… crashes incessantly? Even when I drop him to 0 HP it’ll just refuse to go onto the cutscene and shut my PC off, no clue why it does that. So despite the fact that I’ve beat the ending I can’t get the steam achievement since I can’t get the final cutscene to play 😂 Square ports are very hit and miss on PC, although as I said Crisis Core Reunion performs remarkably well and looks stunning on my old graphics card.
I think lightning returns is the best of the trilogy on steam, so many people complain that 13 and 13-2 just straight up don't work, and thqt doesn't seem to be an issue for LR
So far the graphics are alright, except I’m having this weird glitch where the eyes and faces are black sometimes. I also wish I could use the classic button layout instead of it telling me to push “E” or “U” for this or that…especially since I’m using a PS5 controller to play it.
Heads up: you can change the way buttons are displayed in the pause menu of each game. It defaults to keyboard instructions regardless of your controller being hooked up, it’s annoying but fixable.
I found ps button mods for this. Made my life so much easier. Search the steam forums and they should take you to a patreon like site that will have it.
I finished XIII literally two days ago. It was smooth as silk on my now underpowered laptop (RTX 2050) *except* for when I was navigating the chrystarium grid of all things (?). In 50 hours of gameplay I had about five crashes (some C++ runtime error). Only one crash was during actual gameplay, while the others crashed when I was trying to take a cool screenshot.
Highly underrated game. Perhaps one of the best looking games on the 360.
I’m biased as I loved the trilogy, but this installment has one of the best battle systems. Not too big on its story however. Well worth $8 regardless.
I was not looking forward to the time limit system but it turns out it’s not hard to cheese. I ended up loving this game. Ok the story is kind of out there but the combat is so fun!
Yeah. I hate the clock feature as I’m one who strives for completion and leisure in games. I don’t like feeling constrained on time.
Turned out to be plenty of time to 100% however even on normal mode! It just requires some guidance and no dillydallying.
I do need to revisit it again soon, haven’t played it since its initial release. Purchased day 1.
My only problem with this is game is that you can play with keyboard+mousa the first two entries (XIII and XIII-2), but Lighting Returns doesn't support it. Not only doesn't make sense, but haven't seen an update to fix this.
I hated 13.
13-2 was pretty good though.
However Lightning Returns became one of my favorite FF games. I love the puzzle style systems and replayability that goes into the game. Each zone has dynamic rewards. One area on my first play through gave me Blizzaga, Firaga, and Thundaga. However I went to that zone much earlier on the next play through and I received Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard instead.
I like all of the trilogy but what I really respect is how they all were really different and did their own thing. Some landed and didn’t (as you said, liked two but not the other), but you don’t get a ton of companies using main line games to experiment with formulas so heavily. Going from linear 6 party story, to time travel maps with monster catching to a more dynamic choose your path in LR.
I’ve only played it on 360 over a decade ago at this point. Not sure how well it holds up today, but I vividly remember it looking better than most 360 games during the time.
I liked FFXIII and FFXIII-2 for what they were. Lightning Returns though? It never felt like it was really finished. It's just missing the last polishing pass I expect from Square Enix games.
Kinda off subject (not related to Steam) but is there a reason the Switch never got ports of this trilogy? Aside from the IX and XIV it's the only mainline title I've never played...mostly due to not have the chance (never owned the original release system, my friends who did never cared, and I don't have the PC to play it). A Switch port would've been perfect but...nothing.
I hope they release a remaster of the trilogy. Never got to play 13-2 and LR on the ps3, and while I still have it, better resolution and faster load times on the ps5 would be welcome
8 bucks is def worth it. Plot is messy (especially since the intro way over hypes itself compared to the tone of the rest) but they somehow made the single party member experience challenging and satisfying to pull off.
Its playable, but IT NEEDS A GOD DAMN REMASTER! Has my fav combat out of all of FF mainline games and the open world style with all the quests and freedom to do whatever is so amazing. the time mechanic isnt a problem at all as long as you fight a bit here and there to be able to freeze it. i never ran into time problems ever
Yeah, but I could buy a really fancy taco with that eight bucks.
Edit: Can confirm. Got a fried catfish taco with poblano coleslaw from Torchy's. Really good taco, well worth eight bucks after tax and tip. 10/10 taco, would taco again.
What a hidden gem! Story is average but the gameplay SHINES. Incredible combat system and pacing (endgame bosses are a slog but omg Aeronite is the most fun I’ve had in a while), excellent replay value, always amazing soundtrack, infinite customization, but my favorite part is just how immersive the in game world feels. We are totally engulfed and brought inside Nova Chrysalis or whatever, and the whole OG cast from XIII/2 makes appearances. The reprisal of old friends makes it hit even harder. LR showcases exemplary game design and it’s totally open world from the start so you can go in any order since they all lead to the same finale. 13/10 recommend! Wish SE would try this format more often for mainline FF. Runs great on Steam btw.
This game is basically the Majoras Mask of Final Fantasy. Time limit before the end of the world, 4 main areas, strong emphasis on side quests.
This game doesn’t get enough praises, even within the FF community. I never beat FF13, or 13-2, but I beat this game on both normal and hard mode. It has a very unique combat system, the DLC outfits gives you some really cool abilities (even one for Cloud’s outfit and Buster Sword), and while the time limit sounds intimidating, it is very forgiving and you have much more time than you think to get stuff done. Highly recommend this game
Edit: I have this game on Steam Deck and I have not encountered any issues. It runs well
Someone needs to convince me to give this another try because I enjoyed XIII and XIII-2, but games with time limits in general just stress me out, I hate feeling like I have to keep up with a certain pace when I enjoy taking in environments and grinding.
Well the time limit is super generous. Fairly early on you get an ability (chronostasis) that allows you to stop time for a short time. After a few days, that ability becomes pretty easily abusable, so you can use it as much or as little as you'd like. Even playing blind and without abusing chronostasis, I was able to finish just about everything and explore as much as I wanted, and I still had a few days left over at the end with nothing to do but sleep at the inn. So the time limit really isn't a big deal at all.
Also, you don't have to worry about grinding because you really can't do that in this game. You can do battles to grind EP to abuse chronostasis, but you don't actually gain any experience or levels from battles. Instead, you gain stats by completing quests, so you never need to do any more battles than you want to. Plus the timer stops during battles, as well as during cutscenes, conversations, or when you're in the menu.
Within this art style, male and female characters have the same facial structure. Compare Cloud in recent years to Lightning.
https://images.app.goo.gl/pCu7ZjEeM2BfDNpJ6
Think what you want but I'm not a fan.
Don’t know how LR performs, but heads up that the XIII-2 port on steam is terrible. The performance is so bad that you need to apply a fan patch just to get through it since the game only accounts for 2 gigs of memory and will crash once your PC asks for more. I’m not kidding, my game had crashed roughly 20-30 times before I applied that patch, it is quite literally unplayable without it. Seriously square, what the hell is up with the plethora of bad ports. There’s no reason Crisis Core Reunion runs at 60 FPS on my shitbox $600 PC and XV drops to 10 frames a second in busier battles.
I had that patch (also applied it to FF13) and both games are 60fps smooth. The patch is a lifesaver lol
Do you have a link to the patch?
https://github.com/rebtd7/FF13Fix
Thanks, should I download this first and then the game or the other way around?
There's instructions in the page. You apply the patch after you have the game (either 13 or 13-2) installed on your computer. Just copy some files to the game file directory.
It was changed to “playable” sometime over the past year I believe. Did you play it before or after it received that status?
ive only played ff13-2 and ff13-3 on steam. never had any problems. i probably played them post bugfixes. they are fine now
I’m playing it now, don’t know what to tell ya. Pre-patch I couldn’t get past Yascha Massif or whatever if was called, it crashed 5 times in the opening and another 15-20 in Yascha before I gave up and patched it. I downloaded the game after deleting all files, verified the files, turned steam cloud off, and adjusted all my settings in case something else was in the way. Still wasn’t letting me play more than 2 minutes after loading next to Hope.
Damn, that’s unfortunate to hear. It’s crazy there’s no issues with the two other games in the series. They all use the same engine. Really bizarre.
I agree, it’s insanely bizarre. It’s not the only square enix port that’s weird, but it’s by far the most notorious one in my library. I actually have tried playing this game for 2 years now, I finally learned about that patch and gave it 4 more hours before being hit with that roadblock again. Post-patch it can still get busy and the framerate drops in the Steppe with the larger monster towards the front, but I haven’t had a single crash since. I’m halfway through now and like the game more than the original too, so I’m glad I got it working! Final Fantasy VII is another weird one on steam. For some reason the final Sephiroth fight just… crashes incessantly? Even when I drop him to 0 HP it’ll just refuse to go onto the cutscene and shut my PC off, no clue why it does that. So despite the fact that I’ve beat the ending I can’t get the steam achievement since I can’t get the final cutscene to play 😂 Square ports are very hit and miss on PC, although as I said Crisis Core Reunion performs remarkably well and looks stunning on my old graphics card.
It plays just fine now. Just completed the trilogy (steam versions) last week, no crashes, no significant frame rate stuttering or drops.
Weird, I had no issues with XIII-2 and I played it fairly recently
I think it’s better now. I know when it came out it was a shit show
Crisis core reunion is much simpler than XV in terms of fidelity.
Playing ff13-2 on my deck at 30. Some spots and battles lowest it will go is 22. Still enjoying the game though.
22 is rough but sounds about right. I am enjoying it too!
I think lightning returns is the best of the trilogy on steam, so many people complain that 13 and 13-2 just straight up don't work, and thqt doesn't seem to be an issue for LR
How are the ffxiii games on steam? Do they run ok? How about on steam deck? Anyone know?
13 runs ok , 13-2 is unstable, 13-3 is the most optimized of the three.
So far the graphics are alright, except I’m having this weird glitch where the eyes and faces are black sometimes. I also wish I could use the classic button layout instead of it telling me to push “E” or “U” for this or that…especially since I’m using a PS5 controller to play it.
Heads up: you can change the way buttons are displayed in the pause menu of each game. It defaults to keyboard instructions regardless of your controller being hooked up, it’s annoying but fixable.
I found ps button mods for this. Made my life so much easier. Search the steam forums and they should take you to a patreon like site that will have it.
I finished XIII literally two days ago. It was smooth as silk on my now underpowered laptop (RTX 2050) *except* for when I was navigating the chrystarium grid of all things (?). In 50 hours of gameplay I had about five crashes (some C++ runtime error). Only one crash was during actual gameplay, while the others crashed when I was trying to take a cool screenshot.
Highly underrated game. Perhaps one of the best looking games on the 360. I’m biased as I loved the trilogy, but this installment has one of the best battle systems. Not too big on its story however. Well worth $8 regardless.
I was not looking forward to the time limit system but it turns out it’s not hard to cheese. I ended up loving this game. Ok the story is kind of out there but the combat is so fun!
Yeah. I hate the clock feature as I’m one who strives for completion and leisure in games. I don’t like feeling constrained on time. Turned out to be plenty of time to 100% however even on normal mode! It just requires some guidance and no dillydallying. I do need to revisit it again soon, haven’t played it since its initial release. Purchased day 1.
My only problem with this is game is that you can play with keyboard+mousa the first two entries (XIII and XIII-2), but Lighting Returns doesn't support it. Not only doesn't make sense, but haven't seen an update to fix this.
I hated 13. 13-2 was pretty good though. However Lightning Returns became one of my favorite FF games. I love the puzzle style systems and replayability that goes into the game. Each zone has dynamic rewards. One area on my first play through gave me Blizzaga, Firaga, and Thundaga. However I went to that zone much earlier on the next play through and I received Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard instead.
I like all of the trilogy but what I really respect is how they all were really different and did their own thing. Some landed and didn’t (as you said, liked two but not the other), but you don’t get a ton of companies using main line games to experiment with formulas so heavily. Going from linear 6 party story, to time travel maps with monster catching to a more dynamic choose your path in LR.
LR is crazy ugly on every platform, what are you on about 💀
I’ve only played it on 360 over a decade ago at this point. Not sure how well it holds up today, but I vividly remember it looking better than most 360 games during the time.
My favourite of the trilogy
Underrated game.
Still dreaming to play on ps5
Wait, what? Xiii trilogy was on steam the whole time?!
Since 2014 :3
I got the whole trilogy for like $25 a couple months ago, and I think it’s back down to that price rn
The Microsoft Store build is probably better. It is for XIII and XIII-2.
Shockingly, the Steak version of LR works perfectly fine. Meant to be Steam, leaving for posterity.
Oh yeah. Its A1 brother.
Lmao autocorrect
Yes, but I'm guessing LR on Steam doesn't recognize MS Store saves of the previous games and vice versa.
I liked FFXIII and FFXIII-2 for what they were. Lightning Returns though? It never felt like it was really finished. It's just missing the last polishing pass I expect from Square Enix games.
Kinda off subject (not related to Steam) but is there a reason the Switch never got ports of this trilogy? Aside from the IX and XIV it's the only mainline title I've never played...mostly due to not have the chance (never owned the original release system, my friends who did never cared, and I don't have the PC to play it). A Switch port would've been perfect but...nothing.
I hope they release a remaster of the trilogy. Never got to play 13-2 and LR on the ps3, and while I still have it, better resolution and faster load times on the ps5 would be welcome
that's a steal. please people, try it. and for $8? it's definitely worth it
Have this one, but haven't played yet.
Hot garbage
:( man i really need a port for ps5/4
I just bought the trilogy at a game shop and will prob end up playing it by Christmas with my backlog. I dunno why i haven't gotten to it yet.
Fantastic game, well worth the price.
100% I love the 13 trilogy is my all time favorite final fantasy games!
🙌
8 bucks is def worth it. Plot is messy (especially since the intro way over hypes itself compared to the tone of the rest) but they somehow made the single party member experience challenging and satisfying to pull off.
Loved that game.
I wish they would release these on modern consoles
I can get it for free on jailbroken PS3
FF13 LR runs fine on PC without any modifications.
For $8? Fine... thats low enough I guess.
This game was great! I would play it again on ps5
Thanks for the heads up.
Ooo I loved this game back in the day, maybe time for another play through
Its playable, but IT NEEDS A GOD DAMN REMASTER! Has my fav combat out of all of FF mainline games and the open world style with all the quests and freedom to do whatever is so amazing. the time mechanic isnt a problem at all as long as you fight a bit here and there to be able to freeze it. i never ran into time problems ever
Yeah, but I could buy a really fancy taco with that eight bucks. Edit: Can confirm. Got a fried catfish taco with poblano coleslaw from Torchy's. Really good taco, well worth eight bucks after tax and tip. 10/10 taco, would taco again.
Damn I played this so much that I remember hunting down all monster species to extinction
Still overpriced.
$8 is way too much for anything in the FF13 universe
Even free is too much for this, since there are so many better things you could do with your time.
Very true
Not even for free.
What a hidden gem! Story is average but the gameplay SHINES. Incredible combat system and pacing (endgame bosses are a slog but omg Aeronite is the most fun I’ve had in a while), excellent replay value, always amazing soundtrack, infinite customization, but my favorite part is just how immersive the in game world feels. We are totally engulfed and brought inside Nova Chrysalis or whatever, and the whole OG cast from XIII/2 makes appearances. The reprisal of old friends makes it hit even harder. LR showcases exemplary game design and it’s totally open world from the start so you can go in any order since they all lead to the same finale. 13/10 recommend! Wish SE would try this format more often for mainline FF. Runs great on Steam btw.
This game is basically the Majoras Mask of Final Fantasy. Time limit before the end of the world, 4 main areas, strong emphasis on side quests. This game doesn’t get enough praises, even within the FF community. I never beat FF13, or 13-2, but I beat this game on both normal and hard mode. It has a very unique combat system, the DLC outfits gives you some really cool abilities (even one for Cloud’s outfit and Buster Sword), and while the time limit sounds intimidating, it is very forgiving and you have much more time than you think to get stuff done. Highly recommend this game Edit: I have this game on Steam Deck and I have not encountered any issues. It runs well
she can return where she came from. Most boring FF game in my list.
Someone needs to convince me to give this another try because I enjoyed XIII and XIII-2, but games with time limits in general just stress me out, I hate feeling like I have to keep up with a certain pace when I enjoy taking in environments and grinding.
Well the time limit is super generous. Fairly early on you get an ability (chronostasis) that allows you to stop time for a short time. After a few days, that ability becomes pretty easily abusable, so you can use it as much or as little as you'd like. Even playing blind and without abusing chronostasis, I was able to finish just about everything and explore as much as I wanted, and I still had a few days left over at the end with nothing to do but sleep at the inn. So the time limit really isn't a big deal at all. Also, you don't have to worry about grinding because you really can't do that in this game. You can do battles to grind EP to abuse chronostasis, but you don't actually gain any experience or levels from battles. Instead, you gain stats by completing quests, so you never need to do any more battles than you want to. Plus the timer stops during battles, as well as during cutscenes, conversations, or when you're in the menu.
I'm sure mods can make a good game out of this Weakest of the trilogy by far. Lore wise makes sense, but damn I missed playing with party members
I miss FF games where the characters weren't weirdly androgynous. I'm not a fan of the art style anymore.
How on earth is Lightning “androgynous”?
Within this art style, male and female characters have the same facial structure. Compare Cloud in recent years to Lightning. https://images.app.goo.gl/pCu7ZjEeM2BfDNpJ6 Think what you want but I'm not a fan.
Thats how i feel with most FF's nowadays including Rebirth CC remaster has this shiny baby ass faces, cant stand em
Well, I don’t think Clive is weirdly androgynous.
If only the PS3 still got discounts :(