The Final Fantasy 13 trilogy is disappointing – that’s a statement with a lot of baggage. Now that we’ve had years of hindsight to ruminate over it as the series has moved on, made further mistakes, and redefined itself as part of a new golden era, it’s time that baggage was unpacked. Final Fantasy 13, 13-2, and Lightning Returns were the product of a tumultuous time not just for Square Enix’s golden goose, but for Japanese game development as a whole.

It dared to usurp the open-ended formula of the series in favour of something far more linear, an approach that ultimately didn’t give its characters and narrative enough room to shine. Despite all of these flaws, I think labelling these games as complete failures is both unfair and ignorant to what they set out to achieve, and the overall vision that Square Enix managed to build upon and subvert for each passing game. I don’t think we needed three games of Lightning and company, but I don’t resent the fact we got them, especially when each one is such a fascinating case study into the genre, like a picture in time we can pick apart to see how and why it ever happened.

The overarching narrative was still a mass of incomprehensible rubbish, but a handful of returning characters alongside a more inviting world helped override some of these fumbles. It felt like an overindulgent anime where the wider message seemed to mostly work, so we had to strap ourselves in and forgive some of the sillier additions. I first played the sequel back in secondary school, so my memories of it have faded somewhat, but it was a bright spot for the series in a period where fans were desperate for a win. While it didn’t completely deliver, it was a sign that the future was brighter than we’d initially hoped.