It seems that, not content to give them trilogy of games where they were core to the plot, SquareEnix has now opted to insert Lightning and Snow into MMO Final Fantasy XIV.

Appearing a special event quest devoted to them, developers are offering players the chance to fight alongside the characters with the reward of gaining costumes and weapons. A trailer has been released, oddly focusing upon Lightning over Snow, with a final shot displaying that apparently both male and female characters can wear her outfit.

The concern here is that this addition to the game is continuing two trends which have been accused of SquareEnix in recent years: An obsession with Lightning by higher ups involved with the series, something they admitted to not too long ago, and a growing reliance upon the popularity of previous instalments.

Besides this, Lightning Returns has featured multiple trailers depicting the character wearing the clothing and wielding the weapons from fan-favourites of previous games, namely VII’s Cloud and X’s Yuna. The former specifically advertised as a pre-order special and promoted to try and encourage others to buy the title. While such elements have been a part of previous games, and even a part of XIV with the Onion Knight gear, these were usually left as easter eggs and not turned into a major effort to draw in fans. As has been commented by others, it can be seen as each game looking weak and having to rely upon larger fan service to other titles to get attention.

The obvious counter argument in the case of both games is that they have only been added to try and overcome initial negative reception. XIII received lukewarm to negative reviews on many sites, admittedly making it all the more baffling as to why they would give it sequels, and XIV had to be completely reworked. Perhaps this is just an attempt to gain attention to prove they do have good qualities in of themselves.

Either way it seems as if we’ve not seen the last of Lightning or Snow, and fans will be able to see them again soon.

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