Final Fantasy XIII, the thirteenth core Final Fantasy game and the first title in the series, was released in Japan as a PlayStation 3 exclusive on December 17, 2009, while it was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 9, 2010 in North America and Europe.[6] A version of the game for the Xbox 360, Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International, was released in Japan on December 16, 2010.[7] The game was designed to be a story-driven single-player RPG,[8] with a battle system designed to emulate the cinematic battles seen in the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.[9]
Final Fantasy Type-0 (originally known as Final Fantasy Agito XIII) was released on October 27, 2011 in Japan.[10][11] After it had switched from mobiles to PSP, the game was designed as a real-timeaction RPG, featuring combat similar to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.[12] The game also features a multiplayer option where online players can take control of characters during the majority of the game.[13] It is currently being localized for release in the west.[14]
Final Fantasy XIII-2, a direct sequel to XIII, was released on December 15, 2011 in Japan, January 31, 2012 in North America and February 3, 2012 in Europe.[15] In response to criticism the company received for XIII's linear structure, XIII-2 was designed to be a more traditional RPG, with explorable towns, a nonlinear story structure, mini-games and other similar features[16]
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, a sequel to XIII and XIII-2, was released on November 21, 2013 in Japan, February 11, 2014 in North America, and February 14, 2014 in Europe.[17] It concludes both the story of the main character Lightning and the Final Fantasy XIII story arc.[18]Lightning Returns blends several traditional RPG features, such as shops, quests and an explorable open world, with a combat system is more akin to an action RPG, dispensing with menus and instead opting for commands mapped onto the gaming controller.[19]
Final Fantasy Agito, a story set within the universe of Type-0,[20][21] was released on May 14, 2014 in Japan on Android and iOS smartphones, and is being localized for a western release.[22][23] It is an episodic game that alternates between single-player and multi-player modes, employs a turn-based battle system revolving around player-created combos, closely linked job and leveling systems, and a social aspect whereby performing the right interactions with NPC characters increasing the player character's overall standing and rating.[24][25]
Final Fantasy XV (originally known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII), the fifteenth core Final Fantasy title and the third main title in the subseries, was announced in the same year as XIII and Type-0. The game is an action RPG, with a battle system very similar to the Kingdom Hearts series,[26] while also incorporating third-person shooter elements similar to Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII,[27] and enabling the player to commandeer and control enemy mechs.[28] The game also uses an open world design.[29]
The stories told in the games have been expanded and complemented in other forms of media. Final Fantasy XIII had a small book of short stories titled Final Fantasy XIII - Episode Zero, telling of events prior to the game's start.[30] As a pre-order bonus for XIII-2, there was a second novella, Episode i was released, telling of events immediately after the game's ending and bridging the gap between the two games.[31] After XIII-2's Japanese release, Square Enix released two 200-page-plus book: Fragments Before which relates events before the game's start that are hinted at or partially seen:[32] and Fragments After, which shows events that happened during and after the game, tying up loose story threads.[33] Only Episode i has received an official English translation.[31] All three books were written by Jun Eishima. Lightning Returns was also set to received a prequel novel by Benny Matsuyama alongside the game's Japanese release,[34] however this was later cancelled due to the author falling ill.[35]Final Fantasy Type-0 inspired two mangaadaptations: one was eventually collected into a single volume and released in April 2012,[36] and a second unrelated manga following one of the game's secondary characters.[37] The latter manga was created under direct supervision by Nomura.[37] It was started in the same year as the release on the first manga's compilation and ended in 2014.[38][39] The game also inspired two novels telling an alternate story.[40][41]
While the settings, continuities and plots of the games are unrelated to each other and vary greatly, there are many common elements and themes which tie them together.[4] The first is a common theme of harmful interference by the mythos deities in the affairs of humans, and those humans' choosing whether to accept or challenge the predetermined fates given to them.[42][43][44][45]Tetsuya Nomura defined the underlying story theme as "a battle of the gods that lies behind each tale and gives it inspiration in a different way."[46] The second unifying factor is the structure of the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe, which is divided in two: the mortal world (the land of the living) and the Unseen Realm.[43] The games share the same mythology, interpreted differently and referred to in varying degrees for each of the game worlds.[47]
In the mythology, the god Bhunivelze (ブーニベルゼBūniberuze?) seizes control of the mortal world by killing his mother, the creator goddess Mwynn (ムインMuin?), who vanishes into the Unseen Realm. Believing that the mortality of the world is Mwynn's curse, Bhunivelze creates three new divine beings to search for the gate to the Unseen Realm so he can conquer and control both worlds. The first deity, Pulse (パルスParusu?), is tasked with terraforming the world to reveal the gateway; the second deity, Etro (エトロEtoro?), is discarded because of her resemblance to Mwynn; the third deity, Lindzei (リンゼRinze?), acts as his protector. Bhunivelze then enters a deep sleep, while Lindzei and Pulse carry out their missions. Etro, given no powers or mission, kills herself, and Lindzei uses Etro's blood to create humanity.[48] Once in the Unseen Realm, Etro finds Mwynn being consumed by a force called chaos, which threatens to devour the worlds: as Mwynn fades, she tells Etro to protect the balance between the worlds. As humans were destined to follow her in death, Etro gives them pieces of chaos that form their spirits, maintaining the balance. Since then, humans have either worshiped or feared Pulse and Lindzei, and refer to Etro as the goddess of death.[43] The deities, such as Etro, hold similar roles in the various games, but are not the same characters in a narrative sense.[4]
A recurring race in the games are god-like beings created by Pulse and Lindzei to act as their servants in the mortal world. In the original mythos and XIII, the demigods are called fal'Cie /fælˈsiː/. They take the form of crystal-powered mechanical beings in the XIII games[49] and semi-sentient crystals in the universe of Type-0.[50] The fal'Cie have the ability to choose humans, imbue them with magical powers and assign them a task to complete either willingly or unwillingly. XIII and Type-0 refer to these people as l'Cie /ləˈsiː/ and the task given to them as a "Focus". In the XIII universe, there are two possible outcomes for l'Cie: once their Focus is fulfilled, they can go into 'crystal stasis', transforming into a crystal statue, and gain eternal life, but if they fail they become mindless crystalline monsters called Cie'th.[51] In Type-0, l'Cie are branded by the crystal of their country, and given great power to fulfill their assigned Focus. Despite being given eternal youth, l'Cie can lose their memories and eventually forget their Focus.[52] In XV, they are humans who have suffered a near-death experience and received magical powers from the Unseen Realm.[53]
In April 2004, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima began creating the original mythology for the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, which took approximately one year.[54] During his work, he received creative input from game producers Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase, as well as Nomura, Motomu Toriyama and Hajime Tabata.[55] Nojima wrote a book on the mythology, explaining concepts such as the fal'Cie and l'Cie and the feelings of the gods who created them.[1][54] This book became the basis for a video animated by Yusuke Naora's art team to showcase the Fabula Nova Crystallis story.[1] Tabata has compared the mythos and the concept behind it to Greek mythology; a mythos with common themes and deities, but featuring a large variety of unrelated stories.[20] The individual directors were allowed to freely interpret the base mythology when they create their games.[47]Toriyama conceived a story for Final Fantasy XIII set primarily around the mythos' deities and their direct relations to the world.[20][54] Tabata and Nomura focused more on the human side,[3][20] with the former choosing to portray the divine elements from a historical standpoint,[20][56] and the latter creating his game around a real-world setting referring far less to the terms within the mythos.[55][57] Nomura was also appointed as the main character designer for all entries in the series.[46] In a 2007 interview, Hashimoto compared the planning of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series to film franchises such as Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings film series.[58]
Final Fantasy XIII began development in early 2004 as a title for the PlayStation 2 under the codename "Colors World",[59] however it was moved onto PlayStation 3 after the positively received Crystal Tools engine demo in 2005 and the delayed release of Final Fantasy XII.[60][61][62] The two original titles in the series were XIII and Versus XIII. Agito XIII was conceived later, when Tabata was looking for a new project after finishing Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII.[55] Originally titled Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII, the three titles were announced at E3 2006, with Agito XIII being a mobile phone title similar to Before Crisis and the other two being PS3 exclusives.[63]XIII was worked on by team members who had also worked on Final Fantasy VII, VIII and X,[64][65]Agito XIII was handled by Tabata and Kosei Ito, the respective director and producer of Before Crisis,[66]while Versus XIII's development was headed by the team behind the console Kingdom Hearts games.[67]XIII and Versus XIII were intended to form the core of the series, with each supporting and future game being a "facet" of XIII.[5]
Agito XIII and Versus XIII both began production in 2006,[63] and all three titles went through extensive changes and delays during production; by 2008, Agito XIII had been moved onto the PlayStation Portable,[68] then later renamed Type-0 to distance it from Final Fantasy XIII while keeping it within the mythos.[69] The reason was that, in the view of Square Enix, the game had little to do with the world and story of XIII: the title change also resulted in the "XIII" numeral being dropped from the series title.[70] Late in its development, XIII also changed from being an exclusive when an Xbox 360 version was announced, significantly delaying its release.[71] A PC port was considered, but not followed up due to platform-specific concerns and how the company saw the then-current video game market.[72] As early as 2007, Square Enix considered re-branding Versus XIII as the next numbered entry in the franchise due to the rapidly growing scale of the project.[73] The game was eventually re-branded in 2011, when the game entered full production,[74] though it, like Type-0, was kept within the subseries' mythos.[75][76] The game was also moved fully onto next-gen consoles, with the PS3 version abandoned due to concerns about the console's continued viability.[76]
After the release of Final Fantasy XIII, the creators wanted to expand on the game's setting and tell more stories about the characters, so the game eventually received two sequels: XIII-2 and Lightning Returns.[77] For these games, Japanese developer tri-Ace were brought in to help with the games' design and graphics.[78][79] The three games and their respective tie-in media were generally referred to by Square Enix as the "Lightning saga", in reference to the games' central character.[80][81][82] Alongside that, Tabata, who still liked his original concept for Type-0 as a mobile game, resurrected the project in the form of Final Fantasy Agito, which acted as both a prequel and an alternate tale set withinType-0's world.[20][83] The game was co-developed by mobile game developer Tayutau K. K.[84] In an interview shortly after the re-reveal of XV, Nomura said that, even though the game's story would have a definitive end, sequels were being considered.[85] Another rumored entry in the series, Final Fantasy Haeresis XIII, was seemingly confirmed to have been discarded when its trademark expired in 2011 and Square Enix did not renew.[86] While there was speculation that the series would come to an end with the development of Lightning Returns, Kitase repeatedly stated that, while Lightning Returns was the end of the setting and characters of Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels, there was still room for further titles in the series.[77][87]
The subseries' mythos has received mixed reactions from gaming sites. Hardcore Gamer's Brady Hale called the series "anything but ordinary" in the variety of games it featured.[101] In an article concerning the 25th Anniversary event for the Final Fantasyseries, Joystiq's Ben Gilbert called the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos "occasionally bizarre and often beautiful".[102] DualShockers' Alexa Ray Corriea, in her analysis of the series, noted that it stood out in the Final Fantasy franchise due to the negative effects of crystals on the worlds, while also comparing the mythos to the creation myth of theEmishi, an indigenous people of Japan.[43] In 2014, Jeremy Parish of USGamer said that the series was "much ado about nothing", stated that since the games shared a large amount of themes and plot points with the main series, "nothing about their plots specifically necessitates a connection to [XIII] or Fabula Nova Crystallis."[62] The layout of the mythos and its terms received mixed reactions in XIII, resulting in the writers forXIII-2 toning down the use of the terms.[103] Siliconera writer Spencer, in his review ofLightning Returns, commented that the story and pace of the game was "muddled" by the mythos.[104] In contrast, the handling of the mythos in Type-0 was praised by RPG Site's Erren Van Duine in an import review of the title, with him saying that "elements such as l'Cie and fal'Cie are handled in much more interesting ways."[105]
Final Fantasy XIII was positively received in Japanese magazines, garnering exceptionally high scores from both Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.[106][107] In the west, the game was praised for its graphics, battle system, and music,[108][109][110] but opinions were mixed about its story and it was criticized for its highly linear structure.[111][112]XIII-2 also received a positive reception overall, gaining perfect scores from Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation,[113][114] and high scores from most western sites. Common points of praise were its non-linear nature, improved battle system and graphics,[115][116][117] while the main points of criticism were its story and characters, which were often called weak, confusing or both.[118][119]Lightning Returns received mixed to positive reviews, with its combat being highly praised,[120][121][122] its graphics and time limit mechanic drawing mixed responses,[123] and the story and characters being cited as poorly developed.[124][125]Type-0 had a highly positive reception in Japan, with it garnering near-perfect scores in Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.[126][127]
XIII broke sales records for the franchise,[128] selling 1.5 million units in Japan on its release day,[129] and a further million a month after its North American release.[130]XIII-2 was the most purchased title of 2011 in Japan upon release, and reached second and first place in sales charts in the United States and United Kingdom respectively.[131][132][133] The two games have collectively sold 9.7 million units worldwide.[134]Type-0 sold 472,253 units in its first week,[135] and went on to sell over 740,000 units in Japan.[136] The title was also added to the company's list of Ultimate Hits, re-releases of lucrative titles.[137]
-
Final Fantasy Agito, a story set within the universe of Type-0,[20][21] was released on May 14, 2014 in Japan on Android and iOS smartphones, and is being localized for a western release.[22][23] It is an episodic game that alternates between single-player and multi-player modes, employs a turn-based battle system revolving around player-created combos, closely linked job and leveling systems, and a social aspect whereby performing the right interactions with NPC characters increasing the player character's overall standing and rating.[24][25]
Upcoming titles[edit]-
Final Fantasy XV (originally known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII), the fifteenth core Final Fantasy title and the third main title in the subseries, was announced in the same year as XIII and Type-0. The game is an action RPG, with a battle system very similar to the Kingdom Hearts series,[26] while also incorporating third-person shooter elements similar to Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII,[27] and enabling the player to commandeer and control enemy mechs.[28] The game also uses an open world design.[29]
Related media[edit]The stories told in the games have been expanded and complemented in other forms of media. Final Fantasy XIII had a small book of short stories titled Final Fantasy XIII - Episode Zero, telling of events prior to the game's start.[30] As a pre-order bonus for XIII-2, there was a second novella, Episode i was released, telling of events immediately after the game's ending and bridging the gap between the two games.[31] After XIII-2's Japanese release, Square Enix released two 200-page-plus book: Fragments Before which relates events before the game's start that are hinted at or partially seen:[32] and Fragments After, which shows events that happened during and after the game, tying up loose story threads.[33] Only Episode i has received an official English translation.[31] All three books were written by Jun Eishima. Lightning Returns was also set to received a prequel novel by Benny Matsuyama alongside the game's Japanese release,[34] however this was later cancelled due to the author falling ill.[35] Final Fantasy Type-0 inspired two mangaadaptations: one was eventually collected into a single volume and released in April 2012,[36] and a second unrelated manga following one of the game's secondary characters.[37] The latter manga was created under direct supervision by Nomura.[37] It was started in the same year as the release on the first manga's compilation and ended in 2014.[38][39] The game also inspired two novels telling an alternate story.[40][41]
Common elements[edit]While the settings, continuities and plots of the games are unrelated to each other and vary greatly, there are many common elements and themes which tie them together.[4] The first is a common theme of harmful interference by the mythos deities in the affairs of humans, and those humans' choosing whether to accept or challenge the predetermined fates given to them.[42][43][44][45] Tetsuya Nomura defined the underlying story theme as "a battle of the gods that lies behind each tale and gives it inspiration in a different way."[46] The second unifying factor is the structure of the Fabula Nova Crystallis universe, which is divided in two: the mortal world (the land of the living) and the Unseen Realm.[43] The games share the same mythology, interpreted differently and referred to in varying degrees for each of the game worlds.[47]
In the mythology, the god Bhunivelze (ブーニベルゼ Būniberuze?) seizes control of the mortal world by killing his mother, the creator goddess Mwynn (ムイン Muin?), who vanishes into the Unseen Realm. Believing that the mortality of the world is Mwynn's curse, Bhunivelze creates three new divine beings to search for the gate to the Unseen Realm so he can conquer and control both worlds. The first deity, Pulse (パルス Parusu?), is tasked with terraforming the world to reveal the gateway; the second deity, Etro (エトロ Etoro?), is discarded because of her resemblance to Mwynn; the third deity, Lindzei (リンゼ Rinze?), acts as his protector. Bhunivelze then enters a deep sleep, while Lindzei and Pulse carry out their missions. Etro, given no powers or mission, kills herself, and Lindzei uses Etro's blood to create humanity.[48] Once in the Unseen Realm, Etro finds Mwynn being consumed by a force called chaos, which threatens to devour the worlds: as Mwynn fades, she tells Etro to protect the balance between the worlds. As humans were destined to follow her in death, Etro gives them pieces of chaos that form their spirits, maintaining the balance. Since then, humans have either worshiped or feared Pulse and Lindzei, and refer to Etro as the goddess of death.[43] The deities, such as Etro, hold similar roles in the various games, but are not the same characters in a narrative sense.[4]
A recurring race in the games are god-like beings created by Pulse and Lindzei to act as their servants in the mortal world. In the original mythos and XIII, the demigods are called fal'Cie /fælˈsiː/. They take the form of crystal-powered mechanical beings in the XIII games[49] and semi-sentient crystals in the universe of Type-0.[50] The fal'Cie have the ability to choose humans, imbue them with magical powers and assign them a task to complete either willingly or unwillingly. XIII and Type-0 refer to these people as l'Cie /ləˈsiː/ and the task given to them as a "Focus". In the XIII universe, there are two possible outcomes for l'Cie: once their Focus is fulfilled, they can go into 'crystal stasis', transforming into a crystal statue, and gain eternal life, but if they fail they become mindless crystalline monsters called Cie'th.[51] In Type-0, l'Cie are branded by the crystal of their country, and given great power to fulfill their assigned Focus. Despite being given eternal youth, l'Cie can lose their memories and eventually forget their Focus.[52] In XV, they are humans who have suffered a near-death experience and received magical powers from the Unseen Realm.[53]
Creation and development[edit]In April 2004, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima began creating the original mythology for the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, which took approximately one year.[54] During his work, he received creative input from game producers Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase, as well as Nomura, Motomu Toriyama and Hajime Tabata.[55] Nojima wrote a book on the mythology, explaining concepts such as the fal'Cie and l'Cie and the feelings of the gods who created them.[1][54] This book became the basis for a video animated by Yusuke Naora's art team to showcase the Fabula Nova Crystallis story.[1] Tabata has compared the mythos and the concept behind it to Greek mythology; a mythos with common themes and deities, but featuring a large variety of unrelated stories.[20] The individual directors were allowed to freely interpret the base mythology when they create their games.[47]Toriyama conceived a story for Final Fantasy XIII set primarily around the mythos' deities and their direct relations to the world.[20][54] Tabata and Nomura focused more on the human side,[3][20] with the former choosing to portray the divine elements from a historical standpoint,[20][56] and the latter creating his game around a real-world setting referring far less to the terms within the mythos.[55][57] Nomura was also appointed as the main character designer for all entries in the series.[46] In a 2007 interview, Hashimoto compared the planning of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series to film franchises such as Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings film series.[58]
Final Fantasy XIII began development in early 2004 as a title for the PlayStation 2 under the codename "Colors World",[59] however it was moved onto PlayStation 3 after the positively received Crystal Tools engine demo in 2005 and the delayed release of Final Fantasy XII.[60][61][62] The two original titles in the series were XIII and Versus XIII. Agito XIII was conceived later, when Tabata was looking for a new project after finishing Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII.[55] Originally titled Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII, the three titles were announced at E3 2006, with Agito XIII being a mobile phone title similar to Before Crisis and the other two being PS3 exclusives.[63] XIII was worked on by team members who had also worked on Final Fantasy VII, VIII and X,[64][65] Agito XIII was handled by Tabata and Kosei Ito, the respective director and producer of Before Crisis,[66]while Versus XIII's development was headed by the team behind the console Kingdom Hearts games.[67] XIII and Versus XIII were intended to form the core of the series, with each supporting and future game being a "facet" of XIII.[5]
Agito XIII and Versus XIII both began production in 2006,[63] and all three titles went through extensive changes and delays during production; by 2008, Agito XIII had been moved onto the PlayStation Portable,[68] then later renamed Type-0 to distance it from Final Fantasy XIII while keeping it within the mythos.[69] The reason was that, in the view of Square Enix, the game had little to do with the world and story of XIII: the title change also resulted in the "XIII" numeral being dropped from the series title.[70] Late in its development, XIII also changed from being an exclusive when an Xbox 360 version was announced, significantly delaying its release.[71] A PC port was considered, but not followed up due to platform-specific concerns and how the company saw the then-current video game market.[72] As early as 2007, Square Enix considered re-branding Versus XIII as the next numbered entry in the franchise due to the rapidly growing scale of the project.[73] The game was eventually re-branded in 2011, when the game entered full production,[74] though it, like Type-0, was kept within the subseries' mythos.[75][76] The game was also moved fully onto next-gen consoles, with the PS3 version abandoned due to concerns about the console's continued viability.[76]
After the release of Final Fantasy XIII, the creators wanted to expand on the game's setting and tell more stories about the characters, so the game eventually received two sequels: XIII-2 and Lightning Returns.[77] For these games, Japanese developer tri-Ace were brought in to help with the games' design and graphics.[78][79] The three games and their respective tie-in media were generally referred to by Square Enix as the "Lightning saga", in reference to the games' central character.[80][81][82] Alongside that, Tabata, who still liked his original concept for Type-0 as a mobile game, resurrected the project in the form of Final Fantasy Agito, which acted as both a prequel and an alternate tale set withinType-0's world.[20][83] The game was co-developed by mobile game developer Tayutau K. K.[84] In an interview shortly after the re-reveal of XV, Nomura said that, even though the game's story would have a definitive end, sequels were being considered.[85] Another rumored entry in the series, Final Fantasy Haeresis XIII, was seemingly confirmed to have been discarded when its trademark expired in 2011 and Square Enix did not renew.[86] While there was speculation that the series would come to an end with the development of Lightning Returns, Kitase repeatedly stated that, while Lightning Returns was the end of the setting and characters of Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels, there was still room for further titles in the series.[77][87]
Reception[edit] Aggregate review scores Game GameRankings Metacritic Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) 84% (62 reviews)[88](X360) 81% (39 reviews)[89] (PS3) 83/100 (83 reviews)[90]
(X360) 82/100 (54 reviews)[91]Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP) 80% (1 review)[92] - Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) 79% (38 reviews)[93]
(X360) 79% (41 reviews)[94] (PS3) 79/100 (53 reviews)[95]
(X360) 79/100 (50 reviews)[96]Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) 66% (40 reviews)[97]
(X360) 70% (15 reviews)[98] (PS3) 66/100 (61 reviews)[99]
(X360) 69/100(21 reviews)[100]Final Fantasy Agito - - Final Fantasy XV - -
The subseries' mythos has received mixed reactions from gaming sites. Hardcore Gamer's Brady Hale called the series "anything but ordinary" in the variety of games it featured.[101] In an article concerning the 25th Anniversary event for the Final Fantasyseries, Joystiq's Ben Gilbert called the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos "occasionally bizarre and often beautiful".[102] DualShockers' Alexa Ray Corriea, in her analysis of the series, noted that it stood out in the Final Fantasy franchise due to the negative effects of crystals on the worlds, while also comparing the mythos to the creation myth of theEmishi, an indigenous people of Japan.[43] In 2014, Jeremy Parish of USGamer said that the series was "much ado about nothing", stated that since the games shared a large amount of themes and plot points with the main series, "nothing about their plots specifically necessitates a connection to [XIII] or Fabula Nova Crystallis."[62] The layout of the mythos and its terms received mixed reactions in XIII, resulting in the writers forXIII-2 toning down the use of the terms.[103] Siliconera writer Spencer, in his review ofLightning Returns, commented that the story and pace of the game was "muddled" by the mythos.[104] In contrast, the handling of the mythos in Type-0 was praised by RPG Site's Erren Van Duine in an import review of the title, with him saying that "elements such as l'Cie and fal'Cie are handled in much more interesting ways."[105]
Final Fantasy XIII was positively received in Japanese magazines, garnering exceptionally high scores from both Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.[106][107] In the west, the game was praised for its graphics, battle system, and music,[108][109][110] but opinions were mixed about its story and it was criticized for its highly linear structure.[111][112] XIII-2 also received a positive reception overall, gaining perfect scores from Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation,[113][114] and high scores from most western sites. Common points of praise were its non-linear nature, improved battle system and graphics,[115][116][117] while the main points of criticism were its story and characters, which were often called weak, confusing or both.[118][119] Lightning Returns received mixed to positive reviews, with its combat being highly praised,[120][121][122] its graphics and time limit mechanic drawing mixed responses,[123] and the story and characters being cited as poorly developed.[124][125] Type-0 had a highly positive reception in Japan, with it garnering near-perfect scores in Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.[126][127]
XIII broke sales records for the franchise,[128] selling 1.5 million units in Japan on its release day,[129] and a further million a month after its North American release.[130] XIII-2 was the most purchased title of 2011 in Japan upon release, and reached second and first place in sales charts in the United States and United Kingdom respectively.[131][132][133] The two games have collectively sold 9.7 million units worldwide.[134] Type-0 sold 472,253 units in its first week,[135] and went on to sell over 740,000 units in Japan.[136] The title was also added to the company's list of Ultimate Hits, re-releases of lucrative titles.[137]