Trivia / Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

• Development Hell: Although it mercifully never went through this stage, Lightning Returns is an end result of this trope affecting the first game in pre-production, back when the Fabula Nova Crystallis series was supposed to be a set of Action RPGs.
• No Export for You: The epilogue novella Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories- has never been released outside of Japan. A complete English translation was done by fan translators on Tumblr.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: A parody news article around the time of the game's development falsified a quote from Motomu Toriyama where he admitted that Lightning is his ideal image of a woman and he would marry her if she were real. It's since been quoted and referenced in some circles as though it were authentic. The nearest thing to the truth is that Toriyama did state that Lightning's model in this game had adjusted body proportions, including a larger bust and some slight Jiggle Physics, and these changes were done with her various outfits in mind.
• Shrug of God: Regarding the ending, when asked whether the new world Bhunivelze created actually was Earth, Motomu Toriyama was quite coy in his answer, merely saying it's "similar."
• The Other Darrin: Mog was voiced by Ariel Winter in FFXIII-2, but in LR he's voiced by Bailey Gambertoglio. The difference is fairly subtle though.
• What Could Have Been:
  • A brief Q&A with Motomu Toriyama in the Lightning Returns Ultimania artbook reveals there was another version of the ending that was considered in development (that Lightning would either actually meet up with the other main characters or if not, then at least talk to them via smartphone) but in the end it was decided that since the trilogy debuted with solely Lightning, the ending should solely focus on her.
  • There was supposed to be an Interquel novel called Chronicle of Chaotic Age that would have bridged the gap between Final Fantasy XIII-2 and this game (focused mainly on Hope, Snow, and Noel), but it was canceled due to an illness of the author. Elements of it were later incorporated into an epilogue novella titled "Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-"

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