How could Final Fantasy be fixed?

[remnant_phoenix]

I've been thinking...

I've done a TON of complaining about Final Fantasy in recent years. I've also HEARD a ton of complaining about Final Fantasy in recent years. While the newer games still have their devoted fans, it seems that most American fans are of the mind that the series has been on the decline for a while.

So, how could it be better? And I'm wondering about specifics here. When I hear people complain about the series, they usually say things like "stop making the games suck," or "fire your writing staff," but that's not really constructive criticism.

So, specifically, what could be done to make the series better?

 

[piinyouri]

For me personally, make a battle system like in the newer games, but give the user more control.
Make it a bit more tactical.

Big open world that you actually walk on from place to place.

Lots of side quests/mini game/other stuff to do.
They can even keep the half magic/half sci-fi setting they've been keen on for sometime.

 

[Rutabaga_swe]

Generally i think they need to write more compelling characters, simplify the stories and focus on good storytelling with impact. I mean, there is no need for all the goddamn pseudophilosophy bullcrap that the games have been stuffed to the rim with since FF7. It doesn't add to the story or make it more compelling, it just makes what should be a thrilling adventure in to a complete clusterf**k. Now, i don't mind having some philosophical elements to the story, quite on the contrary, they are just usually used so poorly it's painful.

Also i think that one of the major downfalls of the jRPG today is the combat. Usually it lacks strategy and just becomes a boring grind. Either slim that down to as little as possible, or make the combat more strategic.

Those are my main complaints about the FF series, or rather the genre as a whole. But as i've argued before, i think the jRPG as a genre has sort of played out its role (pun not intended). Back on the nes and snes, even the PS1, the RPG had a monopoly on storytelling. You didn't get a big sweeping story in Super Mario World, but in FF you did. That is no longer true, and so for the genre to be relevant i think they need to step up to the challenge of combining interactivity and storytelling in to something that isn't being delivered by any other genre. That simply isn't the case with most of the jRPGs we see today though, imo. They have unengaging combat, mediocre stories and lack sorely in the interactivity. I can't see any reason why i'd rather play Final Fantasy 13 over pretty much any higher quality western RPG out there today, or even older cRPGs like Fallout or Planescape. They just offer the same and MORE. I suppose it also helps that the content we see from western developers is more adapted to the audience, as i think high pitched monologues about teenage love and angst might not hit home as well in the west as it does in japan.

Obviously the jRPG still has an audience but i can certainly understand why something like Final Fantasy has a lot harder of a time being a AAA title.

 

[shrekfan246]

For me personally, make a battle system like in the newer games, but give the user more control.
Make it a bit more tactical.

Big open world that you actually walk on from place to place.

Lots of side quests/mini game/other stuff to do.
They can even keep the half magic/half sci-fi setting they've been keen on for sometime.

So... Final Fantasy XII?

>.>

<.<

OT: Well, first of all they could stop saying that they have to make everything a tight hallway because of the graphics. I might just be one person, but I'd be fine with them sacrificing some of their graphical budget to actually build a fully-fleshed out world again instead of just the written lore for one.

Second thing is they could not constantly remove the player from the equation. I played through to Chapter Nine or so of Final Fantasy XIII before I got tired of it, but when I tried going back to give it another chance, you know what immediately came to mind after I walked forward five steps and then watched Snow and Lightning be all badass in cutscenes? In older Final Fantasy games, all of those generic mooks that got mowed down I would've had to fight myself, instead of watching the pretty CGI do it for me. And I'm not just mocking the combat system of XIII here, I literally mean cutscenes, which is just ridiculous.

Better pacing wouldn't hurt, either. When you've got such a tightly controlled narrative in mind, it shouldn't take ten+ hours just to introduce all of the plot-significant characters, especially when the main cast only consists of six people.

I make no comment about the stories themselves, though, because those have been gorram crazy since Final Fantasy VII at least.

 

[piinyouri]

For me personally, make a battle system like in the newer games, but give the user more control.
Make it a bit more tactical.

Big open world that you actually walk on from place to place.

Lots of side quests/mini game/other stuff to do.
They can even keep the half magic/half sci-fi setting they've been keen on for sometime.

So... Final Fantasy XII?

Ehhhh, I actually liked 12. A lot. Far more than I ever thought I would, however I'm thinking something a little more....
well, I guess an all out action battle system, but something that still promotes and encourages some form of strategy.

I guess I'm waiting for Lightning Returns.

 

[shrekfan246]

For me personally, make a battle system like in the newer games, but give the user more control.
Make it a bit more tactical.

Big open world that you actually walk on from place to place.

Lots of side quests/mini game/other stuff to do.
They can even keep the half magic/half sci-fi setting they've been keen on for sometime.

So... Final Fantasy XII?

Ehhhh, I actually liked 12. A lot. Far more than I ever thought I would,

I did too, for what it's worth.

however I'm thinking something a little more....
well, I guess an all out action battle system, but something that still promotes and encourages some form of strategy.

I guess I'm waiting for Lightning Returns.

Fair enough. I like the combat system of XII, but that's mostly because I always gave party members basic healing Gambits until the late game when I had enough spells to actually bother setting them up properly, and I'd always leave my controlled character not using Gambits at all so I had to do everything myself. Even then, there's a lot of downtime because (in my opinion the only major downside of the game's combat) there just aren't hardly any physical attack abilities and you run out of MP really fast early-game.

Lightning Returns has caught my eye despite my feelings toward XIII, though I'd be lying if I said I weren't more interested in seeing how Nomura does with Final Fantasy XV, as I've always liked his combat systems in the Kingdom Hearts games.

 

[Zenn3k]

First off: The FF series took a nosedive IMO, that it still suffers from, the moment they got rid of the free roam world. Thats iconic to RPGs, removing that removes a huge element of the game, exploration. There are tons of hidden goodies in FF7-8-9 on the world map, those things are fun to find and acquire. Bring back open worlds!!

Secondly: Combat needs to honor the original style, while also being more complex. I'd personally would love the FF13 combat system, but you control the whole party. The "paradigm shift" mechanic was cool and interesting and allowed some interesting things to be possible in combat, but having a system where you basically just mash "auto" was boring. Give me back control of the whole party. Give me a challenging fight every so often. Hell, I could deal with a return to ATB myself, but most gamers would probably not like that. Just give me the whole party back!!

Thirdly: Give me a plot that makes at least SOME sense. One of my favorite FF games was 9, because 9 actually had a plot that could be understood (mostly). The plot in 10 or 13 is just painful to listen to?especially when the good guys and bad guys are 1 letter away from having the same name, that shits confusing. Proper antagonist motivations would be nice too. Just better writing. Not everything needs to have a weird hard to pronounce name.

 

[WeepingAngels]

- Turn based battle but fast like Final Fantasy X.
- A Limit Break system that you can control, like Final Fantasy X.
- An overworld map like the games before Final Fantasy X.
- Less cutscenes, less dialogue. NPC's don't need to talk on and on and on like they do in many modern JRPG's
- Optional tutorials that can be turned off in the menu (ie, if I turned them off, don't even prompt me for a tutorial)
- Interesting battle system that you can manipulate and break if you wish. For example, I liked the Junction system.
- Minimal side quests. I have grown tired of games made up mostly of sidequests where the main story is on equal footing with some of the side quests. Go back to a time when they weren't even called sidequests and were few and more important.
- A mini game or two (not too many) that is optional (and never forced like Blitzball or the card game in FF9) and really helps you manipulate your stats, get experience or gives you equipment well ahead of it's time through normal game play.

Final Fantasy XIII was a good game but you really didn't have much option about which abilities/stats to level up. It was like a more limited Sphere Grid which itself was inferior to Materia and Drawing magic to junction to stats.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Like so many other people, I miss the overworld. It was around X I'd say the series started to take a downturn IMO, and that's exactly when they started favoring the "Move from point A to point B and watch a cutscene" gameplay. I loved 12 because they went back to having that, then they ditched it again in 13...

I would prefer they stop focusing on graphics and instead look to find an aesthetic that plays well with the setting (Ex: Ni No Kuni), not only do those games age much much better, it probably helps the budget so allows for more time to be spent on other things (although I'm not going to hold my breath).

 

[lapan]

Like so many other people, I miss the overworld. It was around X I'd say the series started to take a downturn IMO, and that's exactly when they started favoring the "Move from point A to point B and watch a cutscene" gameplay. I loved 12 because they went back to having that, then they ditched it again in 13...

10 was probably the last mainline Final Fantasy i enjoyed. I hope Bravely Default sells a lot so they might make more games with a more classical system again.

 

[Aesir23]

Release Final Fantasy XV...

*cough*

Premature fangirlism aside and based off of the more recent releases of Final Fantasy, I'd say give the players a bit more control over the battle. In XIII the battles were extraordinarily boring because they were just incredibly automated. Yes, you could choose from a list of abilities but your enemies would often attack you in the meantime. I'm not sure if anyone else experienced the same thing but I just found it easier to press the automated attack button which had the aforementioned downside of dull battles. As much as I like the old tactical turn-based system, I would look forward to something more action oriented like it seems they're trying to do with XV. The middle ground doesn't seem to work out too well.

I loved the open worlds of most of the pre-XIII releases so I would definitely say that we should see more of that as well. It makes levelling far less tedious when you aren't just running back and forth through a corridor.

Also, one last thing since this is one of my biggest gripes with XIII. No game over just because the party leader has died. It's a real pain in the ass when you've nearly beaten a boss but then you lose because one person died. I hoard Phoenix Downs for a reason!

 

[Maximum Bert]

I dont think its broken to be honest lots didnt like XIII or XII (XII is my second least favourite game in the series after 2) but that dosent mean everyone disliked them. At the moment its the trend to hate on the series back in the PSX days it was the opposite.

I just think they should keep changing stuff around with the series like they have done pretty much since the start sometimes it works sometimes it dosent. I dont believe there is any specific thing they should do other than try and make the best game they can, any series of any length will have ups and downs I mean my own personal favourites are VII, VI, IV and X the rest ranged from meh to worse imo .Many will disagree with me when I say these are the best FF games and they are perfectly justified in doing so as these are just the ones that I feel are the best.

I like what Monolith Soft are doing at the moment Xenoblade Chronicles was incredible and hopefully X will be even better.

Actually scrap all I have said how can FF be fixed thats easy remake FFVII and make it respectful I want to play the Mr Dolphin sequence in glorious 1080p and in 3D.

 

[Someone Depressing]

The battle system.

>Put paradigms
>Sometimes intervene when shit hits the fan
>Read chosen material
>Wait until annoying "Congratulations" jingle
>Get xp

Also, the Crystarium is a horrible idea. In 13-2, it could have been salvaged.. if it wasn't actually some complicated-looking piece of crap, and just a few bars with the different jobs levels underneath. Nope, they had to waste money on a somewhat pretty looking but dull, overcomplicated menu.

The story. 13's recapping: A group of rebels led by someone who really needs a longer skirt try to overthrow a government governed by aliens, God, the combined manifestation of humanity's repulsion, or all of the above, who can't speak, but one does, and gives them a vaguely defined mission, of which is a big part of the plot, because they can't speak. 15 years in, one goes on an idiotic rant about absoloutely nothing important.

For vomit icing on the shit cake, the characters are badly written - except Lightning, who is the only character with a real motive... sort of - and Fang, because she punched Snow several times, and that is the only reason. The the plot literally overhangs and crushes itself with its sheer shit. (Basic plot: God wants us to do something, can't speak, try to do thing God wants us to but it can't speak, God speaks.)

Square Enix should, really, just end all continuities in Final Fantasy. 7/10 (Yes. 7 and 10 take place in the same universe. I was amazed - and horrified - too) and all the rest be wiped clean. A blank slate. Then it can try to not fuck up as much.

 

[Bug MuIdoon]

Pull away from the anime-esque crap that dominate the games nowadays. Less people that push up their tinted glasses with their open hand, whilst smirking and laughing some awful (see. bad - not maniacal) laugh. Less pre-pubescent, blonde kids being the protagonist. Less summons that turn in to motorbikes. Less people I just want to punch in the face every time I look at them.

Go back to being a vast open world that is explorable and changes throughout the story. I don't even mind taking a step back with the graphics to achieve this. Give me an airship again!

Write some characters that people, other than 12 year olds, can relate to. While we're here, I'm sick of your 'I'm so cool, edgy and angsty to talk, so I'll just grunt' protagonists as well.

Come up with a decent combat system that provides a challenge. 12's was ridiculous, basically just set it up once for the area you're in and set it to autopilot. 13's is just as bad, to the point where I may as well just click auto battle every time because it nets no different results.
A decent leveling system need to be bought back too, as well as a well thought out 'junctioning' system.

Write a good story for once, and I mean the whole thing, not just the ending. And oh, if your ending climaxes with a sad, poignant twist. Leave it that way! Don't make some crappy sequel to make things all happy and jolly again. In fact, just stop making sequels.

Give me some great side quests. Some that have a great story and characters. Some that have their own towns, instead of just being dotted around the towns you're in. Give me a quirky but loveable Chocobo system again, and give them a need for existing in the game too. Give me some challenging bosses that take everything I have to beat. Give me some clever/iconic weapons again. Let me hunt down some rare summons, magics, weapons and armors.

Stop targeting your game to kids, target it for the generation that grew up with you.


...Bit of a rant there, oops!

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

I've been playing these games since the mid nineties, and I've always tried to take each one as it comes. You know, appreciate it for what it is and what SE were attempting to do. Doesn't mean some aren't better than others. Or that everything they tried worked. And I definitely have my favourites.

Personally, I'm in agreement with most people here it seems - I much prefer it when the world feels open, instead of forcing me down a set path. X and XIII felt set, to me. XII was wonderfully liberating as far as the map went, as anyone who wandered into some of the bonus dungeons at lowbie levels will tell you. Things like VII did steer you in certain directions, but I never got the 'running through a pretty tunnel' feel of XIII from it. Hell, I thought Midgar was huge and that I was there for ages... Then I got out and saw the world map. Mind. Blown. But then I was 17, so...

And more control over your party members. I like micro managing my team, let me have that back. XIII took too much away from me. Interestingly, I didn't have a problem with XII - the gambit system was set up so that you could have as little it as much control as you wanted. If you think the game played itself... Sorry, but I just don't think you had it set up right. You could set your guys up with explicit instructions or a few loose commands and take over yourself whenever you wanted.

I suppose I just want the epic feeling back, the sweeping plot, interesting characters and ludicrous hair / weaponry.

 

[Lucyfer86]

Well, FF13 was my all time favorite. Don't bother to flame me on that, i never was true FF fan anyway.
Before FFX i found the series to be just meh.

To answer the question, if i had to pick something, maybe more exploration to the zones.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Apart from enjoyable characters and a good story set in a solid world with a fitting atmosphere?

Bring back variation!

Seriously, that was the major problem with the last one, you were doing only two things: fighting battles and watching cutscenes. I'm not gonna count the upgrade system, because it was literally nothing else but holding down the X-button. (Some people would also say this about the combat of FF XIII, but that's simply not true. Make no mistake, I still hate the combat of FF XIII, but it was more than just holding/pressing the X-button.)

A GOOD Final Fantasy will let you do tons of things, presented in a balanced manner. Take for example my personal favorite of the series: Final Fantasy IX. You are constantly walking around (soaking up the atmosphere), talking to people, watching cutscenes, refilling your item stock, buying new gear, maybe synthesizing said gear, decking out all your characters, do a few battles, set your auto-abilites, look around for chests, look around for hidden items, explore the overworld, play a card game, spend some time with the best and most expansive chocobo minigame in any FF-game ever...

 

[omega 616]

I like X but then again, it's only really the one I've played.

If they polished it up (I don't mean graphics) by making status effects worth a damn. At the moment most status stuff is useless, either the target is immune or there is no point to casting it, "I could cast doom on it or I could it 3 times"... in the case of doom, just get rid of it 'cos it is just pointless.

Speed the game up by removing tiny little animations, such as the victory blade twirls.

I like the turn based combat, lets you think about what you want to do or just spam attack to your hearts content ... if you don't want turn based combat go play god of war or devil may cry type games.

 

[Arina Love]

It was never broken to begin with so no it should not be fixed. i don't have a nostalgia glasses on because i played all FF games not that long time ago.

 

[RandV80]

Lots of people are mentioning the open world part, and that ties in heavily with my opinion: simplicity and getting back to your roots. Dragon Quest VIII would be a perfect example as inspiration.

Essentially, if you look at JRPG's from the start, I would break the gameplay down into several components:

1. Story/characters - motivation
2. Open(ish) World - exploration
3. Random battles - strategy/survival
4. Dungeons/Bosses - challenges
5. Towns - relax & reload

That's how these games originated, but starting with the mid-late PS one era things started getting 'streamlined' and cut out. People at Square started thinking the key parts of a JRPG was the story and battles, and started cutting everything else out until what you're left with was a sequence of straight line grinds followed by story cut scenes.

And speaking of the story, with the Final Fantasy series Square is guilty of something that's common in both professional wrestling and shounen anime: where each Wrestlemania/story arch/villain must be bigger and more spectacular than the last. But you can't continuously make something bigger and more epic eventually you're going to hit a wall, and if you keep trying it just becomes silly. And that silliness can easily be summed up with the plot summary of FFXIII. Someone needs to smack them upside the head with the concept that a story can start simple and still be great.