Final Fantasy Isn't Dying, You're Just Getting Old

Everybody has their favorite Final Fantasy game, the one that totally clicks with you. It’s the one that caused you to burn out the power supply on your original Playstation, the game where you maxed out the in-game clock on three separate occasions. Final Fantasy just has this power to inspire righteous devotion in those who choose to follow it. It’s the series that you’ll go to your death defending, no matter how badly the odds are stacked against you. It’s why talking about your favorite entry is up there with god and politics as an example of impolite dinner conversation. Everybody has one and screw you if it’s not the same as mine.

So it’s no surprise that, as more titles are added to the ever growing pile, some fans find themselves getting left behind. Those of us who grew up with the NES or SNES generation of games are adults now, our quests now about paying mortgages and raising children instead of finding TNT or battling pirate hordes. So detached from the current games,...

[GribbleGrunger]

Nope, the author is getting old. I loved FF and so did the child inside. Unfortunately they neglected that child and catered to the 'perceived' more mature gamer ... Like I said: Nope, the author is getting old.

[showtimefolks]

So it's not the fact SE has messed up the FF series to target a bigger audience of people?

How come some of the best FF games were last gen
How come the best NFL and wrestling games were last gen?

Why is it that when the tech improved instead of games improving many series went down the drain?

It's not that we are getting old, it's that these companies think they can make stupid games tha have grown men not know that some of the games sucked or had bad ideas

Just look at SE and how their share prices are not where they once were so you mean to tell me making bad games has nothing to that with that?

Where is next dues EX?
Why do we need MPin tomb raider
Hitman absolution is such a good game where is the advertisement?

[yewles1]

"Hitman absolution is such a good game where is the advertisement?"

Funding for ads went into THIS instead...

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

http://www.x360magazine.com...

[showtimefolks]

I for one am very excited. Maybe one team will focus more on action like hitman absolution while other could do classic hitman games like they use to be

Also just my opinion I believe capcom should do this with RE franchise. One team should work on survival horro RE game while the ther team could focus more on action adventure type of RE that capcom wants

Still they should have given some budget in advertisement to hitman absolution. The game got a lot of bad ap for gaming critics but as a hitman fan I am really enjoying it. I am actually having fun with a very personal story for agent 47.

SE I hope you have the next dues ex game ready to go by 2014 for next gen systems

[Snookies12]

Yeah, they tried to change things that really didn't need changing. Now Final Fantasy is simply relying on graphics and flashy characters to sell the series, neglecting gameplay and that sense of exploration you get from the older titles. I just wish they'd go back to the world map style the old games had. I don't give a damn if the characters look mini-sized and things aren't scaled as they should be... Give us back the battle system of FFX, X-2, or XII even. Those all were wonderfully done (I'm talking battle systems only here.) Where are our fleshed out mini-games and side things like chocobo breeding, cards, blitzball, monster arenas similar to FFVI or FFX, chocobo hot and cold, etc.? Those coupled with a great story, and unique characters are what made Final Fantasy so special.

[stephem628]

And give me back my multiple Limit Breaks and multiple Summons per character. Only played the first 10 hrs of FF XIII but had the guide and there was no limit breaks and only one summons per character

[Son_Lee]

Final Fantasy has always been a series about change, but certain things should never change:

Certain music tracks need to return (Victory Fanfare, Prelude, etc.)

WORLD MAP!

Semi-non-linearity

[delboy]

And turn based fight system, it suits best for rpg.

[Hicken]

I can agree with the things you say should return. But I don't the lack of them made XIII a bad game.

Really, the only thing I need are the missing musical elements. But I imagine that's up to Uematsu.

[Son_Lee]

FFXIII is one of my favorites in the series. The linearity, for me, made the story shine, but I know I'm in the minority.

Yasunori Mitsuda should compose FFXV.

[iamlegend9999]

Preach on brother.

[Megaton]

Oh yeah, everyone just aged rapidly between 12 and 13, that's why nobody liked it. Perfect explanation.

[delboy]

Hahaha
perfect just perfect,now im scared to death waiting for next ff game

[jjb1981]

99:99:99.... Ff7 and tactics

[oakshin]

13 failed i played it nonstop for weeks got 2 the end boss couldnt kill him realised i would have 2 backtrack and grind out some lvls then it hit me it wasnt worth it there wasnt enuff left 2 keep me going ive still 2 this day havnt finished the game the only FF ive ever owned 2 not finsh the game was main story bounty hunts and gear upgrading thats it the whole game no towns?!!!!!!!!! i payed 60 bucks blindy on the game cuz the name on the box squre was my ND my bungie my level 5 i would spend my last dollar on a FF game (ive done it twice in my lifetime)i cant even begin 2 explain the influence its had on my life and 2 have 2 live with FF13 and FPS market DLC dumbed down so every1 can jump right in and play BULLBLAHHHHHHHHHH

[tsn]

This gen has been horrible I think gaming companies are going to start to realise that people want more than a gimmick the novelty is starting wear off.

Music made a come back last year I hope its gaming turn this year since its been stagnant for 6 years.

[Alos88]

"So, when people start throwing around claims that the series is dying, I can’t help but think about how my students “don’t get” the original trilogy of Star Wars, despite loving the new films."
You tried too hard to push your point and lost all credibility as a result; NO ONE prefers the prequels to the original trilogy.

[Inception]

I don't think because gamer / classic FF fans are too old enough for FF. I remember playing FF Tactics when i in middle school, and Tactics have mature storyline about politics, betrayal, and such. So it's not gamer fault if FF are dying. It's all because SE are spreading FF too thin and trying inovate it in the wrong way.

Besides, key members like Hironobu Sakakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu, Yasumi Matsuno, Tetsuya Takahashi, and Hiroyuki Ito already left SE. Now SE only had Nomura, Kitase, andddd Toriyama. This guys aren't enough (specially Toriyama who produces low quality games such as 13 & 13-2) to bring FF back to it's glory days...

[T3MPL3TON]

"Final Fantasy Isn't Dying, You're Just Getting Old."

I am getting old but, Final Fantasy is dying.

[uuaschbaer]

How surprising, another teacher who thinks he figured out kids.

Go play some older FFs and see if they're all just as bad as the recent ones. Then go play FF:ATB and weep.

Why not realize that people aren't cattle but instead distinct persons, capable of discretion and forming real, substantiated opinions? That's a lot easier than pretending that Square(-Enix) is incapable of shark jumping.

[Sketchy_Galore]

I recently picked up every old Final fantasy game I hadn't played before to play on the Vita and I'm absolutely hooked on them. Every single one of them is fantastic. I've played them more than any other game in my collection recently and that includes the incredible Ni no kuni.

The older games had such depth and set out to genuinely tug at the heart strings and inspire wonder, the newer games are trying to do the same sickening thing so much modern anime and Japanese gaming is doing these days, they're trying to be hip and sexy. Every character looks like they just stepped out of Japan's equivalent to the Gap. The game itself tries to dazzle with spectacle rather than move with artistry. If its nostalgia that's making me say this it has to be nostalgia for the era rather than the actual games because I stupidly missed out on most of them back in the day. The older games are just objectively deeper and more important experiences.

[3-4-5]

It's not or never is one or the other. Only ignorant people think like that.

It's a mix of things...always has been and always will, otherwise games would consist of just one element.

Moving on.....

Final Fantasy has gotten worse in quality over the years. It just has. People will complain about anything but when you have the majority of fans that like your product complaining as well as other people with the gaming industry who may actually know what they are talking about.....and those people are calling you out...then you have slight problem.

They are lucky that their problem is FF.....most dev's would love to have FF be their problem, because it's so easy to fix, yet Sony doesn't get it.

Everything they need to make a GREAT FF game is found within Final Fantasy 1-10.....

SE needs to re-research their own past games.

[tiffac008]

I have to disagree with the author, it has nothing to do with age but with the people who are developing the games. They forgot what made the previous FF's great and now the series has lost its charm and they're even trying to milk the current predecessor that has been getting mix sentiments from fans.

You just need to look at what is happening to Resident Evil to see what alienating your fanbase can do, what SE is doing now to FF is no different.