Saving the Final Fantasy series.
- Thread starter Arsen
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I'm going to buy FF13 but I thoroughly agree with you, I feel the following.
FF12 was a good attempt at revising the series. It had a more serious story, more realistic characters (at times) and a new take on an old battle system. It also had one of the BEST worlds we've ever seen however it also had a few glaring flaws that need addressing...
1) The world does not want Vaan or Tidus again, deal with it, I'd rather have Balthier or Zidane.
2) Give us USEFUL abilities, FFXII suffered from the fact that you never needed to do anything. Most Technicks were useless and I often only used magic when I needed the range. Also later boss battles were basically just Mist Knack festivals.
3) Story focus IS YOUR STRONG POINT, FFXII was too thin on plot and too heavy on the dungeon crawl.
4) Give us some Out of Combat play that isn't just "Run Around Village" or "Play Mini-Game A" and maybe integrating some sort of Out of Battle Skill System might be a good plan.
5) Pull Nomura from the series, his age is OVER, leave him with Kingdom Hearts and TWEWY, he did better there.
That's my opinion anyway. I don't feel that the Final Fantasy series should transform into WRPG's, I don't want to see creatable heros with no personality, I don't care if its linear or non-linear, I don't want to see the series descend into crappy realtime battles ala Star Ocean or Tales Games.
FF12 was a good attempt at revising the series. It had a more serious story, more realistic characters (at times) and a new take on an old battle system. It also had one of the BEST worlds we've ever seen however it also had a few glaring flaws that need addressing...
1) The world does not want Vaan or Tidus again, deal with it, I'd rather have Balthier or Zidane.
2) Give us USEFUL abilities, FFXII suffered from the fact that you never needed to do anything. Most Technicks were useless and I often only used magic when I needed the range. Also later boss battles were basically just Mist Knack festivals.
3) Story focus IS YOUR STRONG POINT, FFXII was too thin on plot and too heavy on the dungeon crawl.
4) Give us some Out of Combat play that isn't just "Run Around Village" or "Play Mini-Game A" and maybe integrating some sort of Out of Battle Skill System might be a good plan.
5) Pull Nomura from the series, his age is OVER, leave him with Kingdom Hearts and TWEWY, he did better there.
That's my opinion anyway. I don't feel that the Final Fantasy series should transform into WRPG's, I don't want to see creatable heros with no personality, I don't care if its linear or non-linear, I don't want to see the series descend into crappy realtime battles ala Star Ocean or Tales Games.
Dark settings are where it's at. Dystopian futures are the defining feature of Final Fantasy.
The top three greatest games all had those and weren't for everyone's opinion group, which made them good.
FF6 - Dark tyrannical Iron Age with magic.
FF7 - Dark corporate run Modern Age with magic.
FFT - A rampaging church, rampaging religious groups.
These are the defining moments to the FF series, the evil within the worlds.
The top three greatest games all had those and weren't for everyone's opinion group, which made them good.
FF6 - Dark tyrannical Iron Age with magic.
FF7 - Dark corporate run Modern Age with magic.
FFT - A rampaging church, rampaging religious groups.
These are the defining moments to the FF series, the evil within the worlds.
The name sells. Its not about the saving Final Fantasy as a series, its about saving each individual games. I really don't feel they need any saving at all though. I think 9 and 10 were both masterpieces in their own right, but when I played 12 I couldn't even bring myself to finish the opening scene. The Battle System just felt so...unnatural to me. I didn't care for it. I think its the Sum of its Parts that make each Final Fantasy something to be enjoyed.
I will allow change if it brings back the essential elements behind FF.
Good versus Evil
INTERSTING Character designs that don't look like some J-Pop loving fanboy's dream wardrobe.
Basic designs (stop with the horrible designs)
Take away all elements from FF9 through FF12.
Let me stand there...damnit.
Good versus Evil
INTERSTING Character designs that don't look like some J-Pop loving fanboy's dream wardrobe.
Basic designs (stop with the horrible designs)
Take away all elements from FF9 through FF12.
Let me stand there...damnit.
Hmmm. I've been a bit out of touch with Square's premiere franchise since the SNES days, but I have found that there are plenty of other great RPGs out there for those willing to look. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is my favorite RPG of all time and it's a mere four years old... not even ready for the pedistal we put things on.
So my advice to those wishing to see Square's return to form, is to read reviews, constantly evaluate your brand loyalty, enjoy what you have, and know that it is nigh impossible to reproduce a previous incarnation of gaming greatness. Great, inspiring games seem to emerge out of nowhere (with proper groundwork under the radar), and it's almost silly to expect lightning to keep striking in the same place forever (see "Nintendo" or "SEGA").
So my advice to those wishing to see Square's return to form, is to read reviews, constantly evaluate your brand loyalty, enjoy what you have, and know that it is nigh impossible to reproduce a previous incarnation of gaming greatness. Great, inspiring games seem to emerge out of nowhere (with proper groundwork under the radar), and it's almost silly to expect lightning to keep striking in the same place forever (see "Nintendo" or "SEGA").
I don't think I will ever truly understand the hatred people have for Final Fantasy XII.
I really liked it, except for the aweful main character and the intense grind.
The new battle system COULD be fine with some better abilities at your disposal.
Final Fantasy XII has the most interesting world since 6 and easily has the most realistic world design out of ANY Final Fantasy.
I really liked it, except for the aweful main character and the intense grind.
The new battle system COULD be fine with some better abilities at your disposal.
Final Fantasy XII has the most interesting world since 6 and easily has the most realistic world design out of ANY Final Fantasy.
Personally I think FF doesn´t need a trip back to the roots.
Honestly, hasn´t Square Enix milked that particually cow often enough???
And the whole "Fabula Nova Crystalis" theme is closer to the old games anyway.
Honestly, hasn´t Square Enix milked that particually cow often enough???
And the whole "Fabula Nova Crystalis" theme is closer to the old games anyway.
Huh... Here I thought the general consensus was that XII is, in fact, a good game - sure, I haven't bothered with the reviews, but still (Ok, after having checked metacritic I see I'm not alone on this.) Then it turns out that people don't like it. Sure, the story is thin but (and hold onto your hats for this one) to my mind every Final Fantasy game has a thin story. The general gameplay of XII more than makes up for it, in my humble (if a bit skewed) opinion.
If Hideo Kojima needs to have his scripts edited, it's nothing compared to the good folks over at Square Enix.
It's a shame really; all their plots start out great, but then they bring in the characters. Why do they always have to be so damn obnoxious? It boggles the mind.
If Hideo Kojima needs to have his scripts edited, it's nothing compared to the good folks over at Square Enix.
It's a shame really; all their plots start out great, but then they bring in the characters. Why do they always have to be so damn obnoxious? It boggles the mind.
If anyone honestly thinks anything past FF9 is worthy to stand next to the previous titles...then they are probably below the age of sixteen, love J-Pop Anime, or were introduced to the FF series from anything past 9, or have exceptionally horrible taste in story structure, mood, and plot development.
This is not a good avenue for the series to take, it lacks the straightforward Good versus Evil aspect that made the others so prevelant. Not too mention the characters all look like they've just stepped out of some ecstacy ridden rave concert with the pacifiers in their mouths.
This is not a good avenue for the series to take, it lacks the straightforward Good versus Evil aspect that made the others so prevelant. Not too mention the characters all look like they've just stepped out of some ecstacy ridden rave concert with the pacifiers in their mouths.
Did you play XII, I mean through to the end?Arsen said:
It's less J-poppy than VII (except in Costume Design for the Vaan and Ashe). No crazy hair styles, everything had a very polished Medieval look to it, weapons looked sensible. The soundtrack is entirely orchestrated epic with narry a techno/electronica note in sight (I should know, I've been listening to it a lot recently) and the story for once DOESN'T involve Teenagers saving the world, Vaan and Penelo are meant to be the Rosencrantz and Gildenstern of the game, Vaan is just an annoying prat.
XII borrows a LOT more heavily from western influences like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. As well it focuses far more on Politics and Motivation rather than simple good vs. evil. It represented an attempt to shift away from the heavy Jpop influences of previous games. Hence why they brought in the director of Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story to work on the game, rather than handing it over to Nomura like they did for 13. Unfortunately he suffered a nervous breakdown and we see his influence gradually begin to fade (The journey to the Stillshrine of Miriam is where I first noticed it, every dungeon/area before that had a different clever gimic that was actually a lot of fun).
Seriously, I want someone to actually tell me what is wrong with FFXII other than the shitty battle system, grind and Vaan, because I've never a good arguement in that respect.
The fact that the final fanrtasy series is constantly being reinvented shows that it's always changing. It doesn't need saving because it's practically a self sustaining trademark, the name alone brings in the money. Anyone who complains about Final Fantasy not needing change needs to replay the games and reanalize themselves as a fan.