Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 is the third and final game in the Final Fantasy 13 series, and when the game comes out on February 11 fans will be able to see the conclusion of the story that has taken Square Enix many years to tell. IGN hosted a question and answer session between fans and game design director Yuji Abe and producer Yoshinori Kitase which sheds new light on the game's battle system and other details about Lightning Returns.

The new battle system builds on the previous system found in the original Final Fantasy 13, but allows the character to only control Lightning. In a move similar to Final Fantasy 10-2, Lightning's outfit will change based on her role. Yuji Abe revealed that Square Enix believed this new system based on one character cycling through multiple roles over three different characters being controlled by menu screens is the easiest way to go:

"We started with the idea of taking the fundamental interplay of attack and defense at the core of all Final Fantasy battle systems and making it more intuitive and easier to grasp for as many players as possible by switching everything to direct character control rather than menu input. As soon as we had direct response controls set up, we soon came to the conclusion that it would be much more intuitive and feel better to have the player control the single character of Lightning alone."

Abe also addressed how the new battle system serves as a counterpoint to some of the flaws found in the battle systems of the first two games in the trilogy while still using the elements that made them memorable:

"...I feel that by relying on setting AIs and switching between different pre-set combinations it creates a distance with the player and makes it much less accessible for everyone to get into the system. Another point that I feel might be a weakness of this system is that it dilutes the feeling of immersion by not having one specific character for the player to inhabit, something that many players want from RPGs. So for Lightning Returns we put the system together with the intent of sharing the basic philosophy of the systems from the first two games but at the same time acting as a counterpoint to them."

Finally, fans asked if the battle system in Lightning Returns will be similar to the one found in Final Fantasy 15, and Kitase revealed that the two games will have completely different battle systems despite the fact that they look similar to each other so far:

"The two things that we put great emphasis on when designing the battle systems for all games in the Final Fantasy series are that the character's personalities are expressed through them and that there is a deep and satisfying strategic element. Apart from that we strive not to be bound by any particular conventions and try to absorb all possibilities in order to evolve new systems. Final Fantasy XV is in no way a direct extension of Lightning Returns and will no doubt introduce completely new battles with new surprises of their own."