Poll: is Final Fantasy circling the drain?

[JoshGod]

when there are 13 of them i would say yes it is. especially if you consider the bloody name.

 

[reg42]

Nope. I liked FF13, and 9 is my favourite so I guess I don't agree with the whole "declined after 7" thing.

 

[Littaly]

I admit that I haven't played neither 13 nor 12 (though I've seen a fair bit of both). To me it seems like it's turning away from what it was from 7 to 10 and trying to take on a new form to appeal to western audiences.

There's been a lot of talk about how the Japanese game market is slowly dying and how the main audience for companies to capture lives in Europe and the US. My guess is that this is what Square is playing on, FF12 abandoned turned based combat and 13 is supposedly more streamlined and less complex in it's battles, seems like it's making away with elements that could alienate a broader (mainly western) audience.

Then again I could be wrong. It seems like a strange thing to do since FF already had a pretty strong following over here during the PS era. Maybe Square has changed a lot of staff, I'm not very updated on that sort of thing...

 

[Arella18]

Why do people always seven is the best...its antagonist is a Bishonen mama's boy...and its protaganist is a spiky haired emo bishonen >.> and so are a majority of the characters...The only thing that seven can stand on is the fact that it was the first Final Fantasy to be rendered and have CG cinematics...I think eight is better than seven...honestly the draw system was amazing...the card game was a nifty little side quest...hell what other game lets you draw firaga from an enemy and use it on him without depleting the stock you have hmmm...it was also more fun to do side missions because none of them involved breeding chocobos and racing them at the gil sink the Golden Saucer >.> hunting for materia underwater with emerald weapon...oh and let's not forget the fact that if you fail to get the huge materia from rocket town...you can't get Bahamut Zero...and the clues you get about the code are worthless...then of course the fact that a major character in the series is an optional side quest yet he gets his own game because he an emo gothy vampiric bishonen...

Besides what's wrong with a series taking a new direction...turn based fighting is all well and good but come on...you don't need it...I mean geeze what good is having more freedom in game design if every innovation you try gets crapped on by the fans...I love having a new concept to look forward to in a game not the same old crap that is always done...I mean come on how many of you really want to sit through some odd hours of gaming watching the same 3-5 characters on screen taking turns playing cards (which is what the turn based combat system seems like)...all of you that think final fantasy is dead need to stop giving final fantasy seven and its various other games, movies, anime, books etc. tongue baths...its 2010 seven is old news bring in new ideas...new concepts...we're supposed to be in the future right...then why are most of you stuck in the past...>.> jesus h. christ on a cracker with peanut butter...I haven't ranted this much in so long.

 

[Ghostkai]

There won't be one of the same calibur as FF VI ever again (in my opinion), but it's stil going strong, despite what all the haters think.

 

[Nanaki316]

People are complaining that it's gone down the drain but that is not true and has never been true. It may eventually become crap but for now it's still brilliant. The only thing Final Fantasy has done is evolve and change, and become more modern with each successive instalment, and because it's different to the earlier ones (not necessarily worse, nor better, but merely different), people complain. If the series was the same as it was, or hadn't changed much from, the games like VII and VIII, then everyone would complain that the series was stale and generic. Instead, they've made an effort to change things around every time and people complain about that instead. Final Fantasy is by no means dead, nor down the drain, and I see it becoming even better and stronger in subsequent titles. Eventually it will die, as all good things do, but we are a long way from that yet.

Was trying to think of how to word my own opinion until I read this. It's exactly what I wanted to say.

 

[ilion]

I dont have anything against jrpgs, I just think the best are always forgotten.

 

[Pillypill]

I really didn't like 13, and i'm not a massive fan of the series, but it could be a one off.
The last final fantasy i liked was X, which is as I understand the best selling in the series, so maybe XV will return to form (because XIV is going to be an MMORPG, isn't it?)

 

[xHipaboo420x]

Absolutely not. Each game has introduced something new, whether it be VII's 3D graphics and disposal of the 'Jobs' system, XII's innovative (for the series) combat mechanics or VIII's draw system. With the prospect of FFXIV on the horizon, I can't see the series going away any time soon.

 

[Death-of-Penguins]

Wee-ll... It's hard to say. I mean, though the older ones are better in some aspects, FF XIII was still a decent play. They may not be -as good- but I wouldn't say they're circling the drain. I mean, I've played a chunk of the older ones, and I've got them all... (somewhere), but X was one of my favourites, if not my favourite period.
But hey, what do I know?

 

[Sephychu]

Also, VIII was the worst Final Fantasy game.

Yes. Very yes.

I'm finding FF XIII really fun.

 

[Phoenixlight]

I think it's going to keep going strong. I can imagine there being a Final Fantasy XXI in the future.

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

Final Fantasy got pulled into the wake of a whirling vortex round about FF7 and has been getting pulled down progressively further ever since. It's only a matter of time before it slips down the sinkhole and never appears again.

chk chk boom.

I think someone upthread already made a Spoony [www.spoonyexperiment.com] reference, but here's another one: as he pointed out in a vlog a while back, every time Square announces a new FF game, everybody's all like "IS IT SEVEN? DID YOU REMAKE SEVEN? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASESEVENREMAKENAOPLEEEEEASE!!1!", and Square goes "...no," setting off a chorus of disappointment.

Never mind the utter stupidity of remaking a thirteen-year-old game whose every facet we've all long since memorized, and never mind that said remake couldn't possibly satisfy anyone at this point (if it's exactly the same, everyone will be bored, but if even the slightest change is made, then FFVII will be RUINED FOREVER). If you ask me, the clearest evidence of Final Fantasy's drain-circliness(?) is that everyone is still hung up on FFVII: that game is the Holy Grail, the Excalibur, the crowning achievement of the FF franchise, the yardstick against which every subsequent FF game has been measured and found wanting. The fact that Square apparently hasn't managed to top itself since 1997, that every new game has been met with resounding cries of "seven was better!" and "WTF, just remake seven already!", and that some at Square are actually considering a remake, are proof enough that Final Fantasy's best days have passed.

 

[DarkHourPrince]

It's been blowing its brains out praying for Square to let it die since FFX came out.

 

[Daipire]

It's loaded the gun, pulled back the hammer, and has it resting on its temple.

It's good to know some people still like the cooler suicide methods, gun in mouth is lame.

 

[DarkHourPrince]

Final Fantasy got pulled into the wake of a whirling vortex round about FF7 and has been getting pulled down progressively further ever since. It's only a matter of time before it slips down the sinkhole and never appears again.

chk chk boom.

I think someone upthread already made a Spoony [www.spoonyexperiment.com] reference, but here's another one: as he pointed out in a vlog a while back, every time Square announces a new FF game, everybody's all like "IS IT SEVEN? DID YOU REMAKE SEVEN? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASESEVENREMAKENAOPLEEEEEASE!!1!", and Square goes "...no," setting off a chorus of disappointment.

Never mind the utter stupidity of remaking a thirteen-year-old game whose every facet we've all long since memorized, and never mind that said remake couldn't possibly satisfy anyone at this point (if it's exactly the same, everyone will be bored, but if even the slightest change is made, then FFVII will be RUINED FOREVER). If you ask me, the clearest evidence of Final Fantasy's drain-circliness(?) is that everyone is still hung up on FFVII: that game is the Holy Grail, the Excalibur, the crowning achievement of the FF franchise, the yardstick against which every subsequent FF game has been measured. The fact that Square apparently hasn't managed to top itself since 1997, that every new game has been met with universal cries of "seven was better!" and "WTF, just remake seven already!", and that some at Square are actually considering a remake, are proof enough that Final Fantasy's best days have long since passed.

VII was good. I will give it that. In gaming, it did some pretty revolutionary stuff for its time and brought to light a villain that will always be revered as a batshit nutjob. But for me, it doesn't hold a candle to IX. People are so hung up on VII they fail to see that good games DID come out after VII and to me, it started dying off after FFIX was released, which was the last game they put out where I honestly loved the characters and found myself intrigued by the plotline (which could also be because of the references to genetic experimentation, but so was VII, IX just did it better) and could find myself playing it more than twice and yet not get bored of it.

/end ramble. Yes, the franchise needs to die. And this is coming from someone who grew up with Final Fantasy since I was.. 9? 10?

 

[The DSM]

The last good one was 10. (12 was solid, nothing more, nothing less)

You know when its over as the swansong will be to re-release FF7 and then Square will make a spaceship out of the money and fly to mars.

 

[sougo13]

No! what ever give you perposterous hypothesis? FF is still as strong as ever, people just like to moan and complain.

Also

VG Chartz has the sales (as of 1st December 09) at 4.05m for the PS3 and 1.32m for the 360, which puts it on a comparable of even slightly better position than Final Fantasy XII from the numbers I found.

So, yeah.

Not to mention it's been 6 months since than, and it's all too possible that the numbers could have increased further.

Higher Sales=Not circling drain=Nostalgia fools=Move along, citizen.

Also, VIII was the worst Final Fantasy game.

Took the words right out of my post. (except for the FF VIII part.)

 

[Snarky Username]

I'm giving it one more chance when FFXV comes out. FFX was great, haven't played FFXII, but FFXIII wasn't the best. It's not the terribad game everyone says it is, just not a Final Fantasy game.

 

[era81]

No matter how bad it gets all you need is a tick dug in a dogs ass batshit crazy irrational fanbase and a franchise even the shitty ones will make money forever.See Halo,Tony Hawk,Pokemon,Metalgear etc.