The Slow, Excruciating Death Of Final Fantasy

Kotaku: "As someone who grew up with the adventures of Cecil and Terra, I find it depressing to even write, but here we are. It's 2013, and Final Fantasy is on its last legs. The 25-year-old RPG series is a shell of its former self. When we see a new Final Fantasy game, our first reaction is no longer 'awesome!'—it is 'sh*t, how are they going to ruin my childhood next?' I've written before about some of the problems facing Final Fantasy, and even drawn up wish lists of things I'd like to see Square Enix try to do, but All The Bravest is yet another piece of disturbing evidence that this company no longer cares about its fans."

[Snookies12]

Oh Tidus... How I wish any Final Fantasy game past yours was even half as good as FFX...

[Blastoise]

Lol funny picture though.

To be fair I do think Final Fantasy 12 was a totally awesome game. It should have been a spin-off, because it was so insanely different. But it was awesome none the less

Check out how impressive the graphics were, pretty good for a PS2

http://radiantdreamer.net/w...

http://wonderpodonline.com/...

[guitarded77]

I'm with you on XII... Dare I say... I liked the gameplay in XII better than X. Yeah , I said it. But anything after XII I didn't care for.

[VileAndVicious]

I loved everything about XII except the story. I believe I played it longer than any other FF game. There was so much to do

[Blastoise]

^
@VileAndVicious

I agree, the story was weak. I still have no idea what it was about...something about "Magicite" lol

Goes to show how epic the gameplay was and how much there was to do that the confusing story didn't really affect the fun I had

[Snookies12]

Yeah, XII's biggest problem was the story... I've beaten it 3 times and STILL have no idea what is going on. It's just too boring for my mind to care at times. Also, most of the characters are kind of bland. (With the exception of Balthier, he was kind of awesome.)

The gameplay was wonderful though, had tons of stuff to do. :]

Also... Gilgamesh... Yeah... Him being in as a boss fight gets extra points.

[VileAndVicious]

The fact that the story was so bland was very strange to me considering that the game came from the same team that made the original FF tactics and Vagrant Story. IMO those two games had the most robust stories ever seen in any RPG, especially for the time period they were made.

[DragonKnight]

Final Fantasy can return to greatness the second they stop letting Toriyama direct the games. He's the one making all the terrible decisions and just ruining everything.

[aLucidMind]

I agree; I really liked XII, with my only real complaint being how I would have preferred the main character have been Basch or Balthier+Fran been the main characters. Or have it alternate among all as that would have been perfect for the political story due to the very diverse, sometimes contrasting personalities between each individual in the group.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Totally agree about FFXII. I felt the battle system while not perfect was a step in the right direction, but FFXIII took a thousand steps back with it's battle system.

[DigitalRaptor]

@ DragonKnight

I can believe that. Toriyama hasn't worked on Type-0 or Versus XIII. Coincidence? I think not.

[WilliamH]

For a long time Final Fantasy was the most beloved series in gaming. What Square-Enix has done to the series is shameful. I'm afraid to say it's probably too late to revive it now. Thank god we have Level 5 & NI NO KUNI!!!!!!

[Godmars290]

Going back to characters based around a class, are in a world where not everyone has special powers, would be a change back towards the right direction.

[guitarded77]

That's an interesting comment. I was so distracted by world map design and linearity that I hadn't really thought about that part of it.

[Godmars290]

They just need to go back to basics period. Ever since FF8 they moved away from the mechanics of the series while keeping and focusing on identifiable elements like chocobos.

[refocusedman]

I truly miss the Kefka days or even FF 9 with Vivi. With every iteration FF becomes more and more like a japanese version of mass effect.

[animegamingnerd]

before you know it we are going to have another final fantasy shooter wouldn't be surprise if that is what 15 is

[rextraordinaire]

Never mention Dirge of Cerberus again. Some things are better left forgotten.

Oh, the pain.

[doogiebear]

SMT series and Persona is the new king of JRPG's now

[animegamingnerd]

persona 4 > over any final fantasy

oh yeah i said it and am prepare to get a lot of thumb downs

[VileAndVicious]

just a question. Why do so many people love Persona 4 so much? Ive played ALL of the Persona games (even Nocturne and Digital Devil) and I always thought that Persona 4 while fun, was no where near as awesome as Persona 3. Maybe it was because 4 was so lighthearted but I just thought that its characters and story just were not on the same level.

[DragonKnight]

"persona 4 > over any final fantasy"

*looks at persona series global recognition*

Ok.

*looks at final fantasy series global recognition*

Ok.

"persona 4 > over any final fantasy"

[Snookies12]

@VileAndVicious - I played both Persona 3 and 4. While Persona 3 had a better premise, Persona 4 wins hands down with characters. 3's characters were just too drab and serious. I liked 4 because it knew when to take things seriously, yet could still be lighthearted a moment later. There was a great mix of that in the game. All of Persona 4's characters had a really bright and exuberant personality. Story-wise they were both fantastic there, no need for comparisons in that department.

[chrispseuphoria]

I am sure Final Fantasy will be back to normal after the XIII series. Have you seen Versus XIII in action anyone? That trailer makes that game look crazy good! I just wish they would focus on that rather than Lightning Returns. Oh, and also, Yoichi Wada, the CEO of Square, has stated that Versus XIII is still in production to all the haters out there.

While we next for the next great Final Fantasy game, I would recommend Persona 4. It has an excellent turn based system and some of the best voice acting I've heard in years. This game will last you a long time as well. I'm 40 hours in and I'm still going through the main story.

Tales of Graces f, on the PS3, also is great for those who want a cheesy but fun ride with an action RPG.

[DragonKnight]

Wada can say whatever he wants, his actions prove he doesn't care about Versus. He's pulled everyone off it and FFXHD for Lightning Returns and FFXIV.

[refocusedman]

?????? In action, I dont think anyone has seen Vs in action (I dont count the trailers). Im sorry but I have a very hard time time getting excited for a game that Ive seen very little of since they announced it in 06. Thats almost 7 years ago! Lol a few more years and its gonna be headed in duke nuke'em territory. And dont try to label me a hater because I have little faith in an executive who states that a game is still being made so the company wont face the backlash of angry fans. How abt 3 FF 13's have been made and we have just abt as much info on Vs as we did 7 yrs ago when they announced it.

[PooEgg]

Versus = Duke Nukem of FF.

I am not holding my breath.

[pixelsword]

Kotakuuuuuuu

*Vomits*

At any rate, I'm just replacing my favorites with new ones.

I replaced Castlevania with Demons' Souls, for example.

[Blastoise]

Ahhh Castlevania, another franchise lost...

Not a fan of the Lords of Shadow series, I gotta say.

[TheTwelve]

I dislike Kotaku so much that even though I agree with them here, I'm still not opening up the full article, haha.

Anyway, what annoys me the most are the little kids still buying the trash that is Final Fantasy today. If people boycotted S-E, we'd probably have the real FF games again.

12

[pixelsword]

Now I remember, Kotaku sounds like something that Japanese Ronald McDonald says in Mugen.

[titans9999]

It is a shame. I also grew up with this series, actually, I was in college when ff4 came out, and loved the after years addition. Hopefully one day, someone will save the series!

[Knight_Crawler]

The only people that can save the series is Mistwalker.

[animegamingnerd]

agree the last story was better then game with the name final fantasy in the title in the last decade

[PooEgg]

@Knight_Crawler

True. When Sakaguchi walked away from SquareEnix he took the fun with him.

[RogueStatus28]

Bravely Default FF (Triple A 3DS game)... Closest think you'd get to Final Fantasy, by Square too

[rawshack]

now we are talking

[Shadow Man]

currently playing star ocean on my ps3 :)

[rextraordinaire]

snes days won't ever come back, will they?

Seriously, if someone would be kind enough to de-make FFXIII onto 16bits technology, I'd gladly play it.

[jagstar44]

if versus sucks i think the franchise is beyond help.

[titans9999]

I still like the ff games, just not as much as the past games. All I can say is, thank god for Bethesda, bugs and all!

[Shuyin]

I don't give a fuck about future FFs anymore. I've lost all faith in SE. The only game I want is Versus because it looks promising so far. Just gimme my FFX HD and gtfo Square Enix. That's everything I need to be happy..

[Tei777]

In my opinion we've only had 2 misteps.

1. The disappointing FFXIII
2. The overall agenda for the square to milk the franchise with unnecessary spin offs.

To me the true series only lies in the main numbered title. So I automatically dismiss all of the negative press on the sequels but I do wish Square would stop making them,I miss the days when all FF titles were followed by a roman numeral and it ended there. As such I'm simply waiting for number XV to gage whether the franchise is going downhill (although the overall brand is). To me, its like judging 3D mario through all the mediocre spinoffs and rehashed 2D titles. So After the dissappointment of sunshine, I'm waiting on galaxy. I'm obviously excited for vsXIII too but in my opinion it should be considered separate from the main franchise.

[capitanandi]

I'm sure I'm alone here when I say that I thought XIII wasn't bad. It just wasn't great.