Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XII costume reflects "strength"

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII brings a second major costume change for the titular, pink-haired hero - and it hasn't gone down well. A couple of key developers have explained the reasoning behind the design.

In an interview with Famitsu, as translated by Siliconera, Square Enix's Motomu Toriyama, Yoshinori Kitase and Yuji Abe explained that the costume change is written into the third entry's fiction.

Lightning is actually on a divine mission; the world is going to end, and the god Bhunivelze has charged her with saving the souls of its inhabitants. To this end, she has been made a "Liberator", and her new clothes are a kind of uniform.

“We got [Tetsuya] Nomura to design Lightning for what will be her last fight. We asked him to represent her with the word ‘strength’ as the focus," director Toriyama said.

"Red and white were the dominant colors that represented Final Fantasy XIII, with that in consideration, I believe that the color red symbolizes strength better than any other. In the end, we decided to go half white and red for Lightning’s color scheme.”

As for why Lightning has changed her looks, the developers said they liked the idea of having Lightning appear in each game, but in a different way each time. Remember: you'll be able to customise her outfits and armour to suit your own tastes, so don't worry too much if you're not fond of this latest look.

Square Enix promised a "satisfying finale" to the story of Lightning, and presumably to that of Final Fantasy XIII, too. Lightning returns: Final Fantasy is expected in 2013 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.