Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - the Complete Official Guide - Collector's Edition

First of all, if you are planning on playing Lightning Returns, then get this guide. Trust me, with the odd time progression system in the game, this will be very helpful. The great thing about this guide is that it has excellent detail, and has been organised very well, making it perfect for those looking to complete a large part of the game on the first playthrough. There are some minor problems with the guide though, in terms of layout. Due to the time element in the game, they have taken a well organised approach to compiling the guide, but it isn't exactly user friendly. On a typical playthrough, you'll be using the walkthrough, side quest and main quest pages. The walkthrough isn't long, but covers what you should be doing on each day in decent detail. If you are doing specific side quests then the walkthrough will then reference other parts of the guide (such as pages in the Side Quest or Main Quest sections, or the main quest number), so that you can view a more detailed guide about what it is you need to do. Luckily, the 2 ribbon bookmarks are very handy here when you have to do some referencing on multiple pages in the guide. Another issue is that the maps for each main location isn't printed in the book. Instead, they have been printed on a massive double-sided poster, which can be really frustrating at times. The guide also contains a massive amount of information about the game mechanics, which may be useful for those who don't quite understand the time mechanics in the game, a short 100% (Ultima) walkthrough, and extra section which shows some of the games art, and the free DLC. You'll actually get two DLC codes, one for PSN and one for Xbox Live, so you could actually give the other code away if you wanted. Overall, the guide is excellent, and it will really come in handy when playing such a complex looking game, even if the layout is a little odd...

The whole game mechanic of the game is time and you don't have alot of it, but this guide helps you step by step of how to do each mission & side missions by the minute. Easy detailed maps and descriptions along with details of how to beat bosses and monsters alike. Truly a must have for this game as it will make the End of the World a lot more easier. ^_^

i am giving this guide a 5/5 because it is very detailed and also very helpful in a tough and tricky situation. I would recommend this guide to anyone who has brought and/or is playing Lightning Returns Final Fantasy 13. The key features in the guide which i found very helpful is the way it is presented and the layout of the guide is remarkable it's easy to find what you need and warns you off any spoilers which you may or may not face. Overall this is one of the best guides around.

I have the collectors edition guides for all three of the XIII games, and this one is good but not as good as the previous two. The main issue I had with this guide was the maps. The maps in the book did not detail the treasure chests, so for exploration you have to pull out this seperate massive poster with all the regions and treasures located on it. It was very large (A3-A2 size?) and awkward to have laid out in front of you while playing the game, so I ended up using the maps online. I'm personally a multi-tasking gamer where I do the main story while completing as many side quests as possible along the way. Unfortunately, this guide caters poorly for that as the main walkthrough of just the main quests is in one chapter, and then all the sub quests are in a different chapter so one has to keep flicking pages back and forth. It might not be an issue for those who just want to do the story, but if you are after an efficient and thorough first playthrough, it might be a bit of a hassle. The guide does make up for this with a number of ribbon bookmarks to keep track. However, the guide is good for other purposes such as hints, tips, a full bestiary, item list and strategies for both first time play through as well as subsequent power playthroughs. I found the bestiary section to be excellent and very detailed, coupled with strategies on how to defeat every enemy with both recommended garb set up and strategies. Also, there is a very succinct table detailing an efficient speed playthrough for after you complete the game at least once, whereby it aims to clear all the main and sub events in half the time. However, this chart assumes that you already know the locations of every quest and how to complete them. The Canvas of Prayers quests are all included in a separate chapter with details on how to complete each of them. In terms of trophy information, I found this guide to be lacking somewhat. However, the game is very easy to get all the trophies/ achievements in about 50-60 hours, so I did not see it as a huge demerit. Overall, this guide is very organised with everything separated into chapters. From a visual perspective, it's all well and good but for multi tasking and being efficient, not so good. The quality of the guide is excellent, the collectors edition also includes a few extra tidbits on the story like the previous games. It's also very good at easing in first timers, especially with the mechanics and gameplay being very different from it's prequels or any other FF. Quality: 5/5 Strategies: 5/5 Efficiency: 3/5 Maps: 2/5 Data (quests, items, monsters etc.): 5/5 Worth the purchase: For collectors, yes. For trophy hunters and those who just want to complete the game, online guides will suffice.

Another to my collection, really well written and has beautiful art work in it. I really enjoy these companion books as they are very insightful and help with any issues you have in the game. Especially when this particular game requires you to do alot of things in a very short amount of time.

Really a great guide! Great presentation, material, writing and everything else. All you can think of for the game it's there! Altough I find the game mechanics to be a bit strange and that forced the writters to adapt to a diferente kind of Walktrough than the ones from previous tittles. Totally a must buy if you enjoy saving the wolrd with Light! Just don't balme the guide like I did if you find yourself running in the game to achieve the time targets they set for you in the walktrough. I started hating the writer for that, but in the end it only made me try harder and see the game trought the end. Getting to all the places I needed to be, and most importantly IN TIME! :)

It's Final Fantasy with lots of pictures and details of what is the best for your character Lightning. Love the picture of Snow, what a change! Great details on the beasties and the game play. A must for all fans and book collectors its even better than the game!

Another good entry from square, loved it.

I am always nervous when I pre-order these guides as you never know if they will be easy to use. I was very pleased with this one. Starts out with game functionality (and in FF there is a ton), goes into detail on the new combat system. Then breaks into a very brief walk-though, suggesting where to go but not giving any details away so you can experience the game, and solve the quests on your own. In that simple walk though there are page numbers to reference a more detailed explanation if you need help. And of course in the end there is the monster encyclopedia and maps, etc. The poster map it comes with is very useful and not cluttered, allowing me to make my own notes. Since this game is based on a very short time span, and the clock is always ticking, i am not sure anyone can get through his game the first time without some sort of guide. Even with this guide I am finding myself late to tasks, and having to skip some side quests to get caught up. I am not a fan of the clock on this game, but that is a review for the game itself, not the guide. So far the guide has been a tremendous help, in fact without it, i would be too intimidated by this game. The first day I played this without looking at the guide and it was a horrible experience and I was so far behind on goals and tasks I am not sure I would have finished it the first time around. And I am a very experienced gamer. The good news is, if you do not get this book and try to tackle the game solo, then there is a plus mode, that if you cannot complete the game in the first play through, or are not strong enough to finish the last boss, the game starts over but you keep all your weapons and stats. Me personally, I am not a fan of playing a game twice back to back. Good luck~!

La guida è fantastica come tradizione piggyback. Completa ed esaustiva. Non si può chiedere di meglio ad una guida per un videogioco

I really enjoy the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy and I felt that I needed to get this so that I had a bit of an idea with the quests. It also goes along with my Final Fantasy 13 -1 , I'm waiting on the 13-2 guide book. I also have always really liked the Square Enix Guide books, I own a few of them. Condition was amazing and it even came with a HUGE poster of all the areas in the game! That is going to be so helpful! Very Pleased with my purchase and would recommend! I was also surprised at how cheap it was at time of purchase and now it's gone up in price. Lucky I got it when I did!!

Perfecta,igual que todas las otras guías de juegos anteriores,no me di cuenta de que era en inglés,pero tampoco es un problema porque la entiendo perfectamente y la guía en castellano aún no está disponible,así que menos da una piedra ^_^

sehr zu empfehlen, lehrreich und gut nachvollziehbar. nicht bereut. ich würde es immer wieder kaufen. kann es gut für meine Malereien nutzen.