What is next for the Final Fantasy Franchise

Final Fantasy has been a long-standing and highly influential series, starting all the way back in 1987 for Japanese audiences, and 1990 for America. Passing its 30th anniversary the series has released 15 mainline titles with several sequels, prequels, spin-offs and alternate games in the franchise.

[PhoenixUp]

The only RPG series that’ll ever be bigger than Final Fantasy is Pokémon

[finite]

Have you tried World of Final Fantasy? the pokemon version :P

[indysurfn]

World of final fantasy was a cash cow game not a FF game. No one wants 16 bit graphics.

[PhoenixUp]

I have played WoFF along with FFX-2 & FFXIII-2 which also had similar monster pet systems.

It’s not like Pokémon was the first series that let you have enemy monsters fight on your behalf.

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei already used that concept in 1987.

Also Dragon Quest V featured monster collecting 4 years before Pokémon debuted.

[MetalGearsofWar]

Doesn't matter who did it first. Pokemon is bigger than Dragon Quest.

[PhoenixUp]

Just because Pokémon is a bigger franchise doesn’t mean it owns the concept of capturing monsters and having them battle on your behalf.

[SarcasticDuck]

wrong. Pokemon is Nintendo exclusive and it's always the same game which will at some point kill it.

[porkChop]

Pokemon games are huge sellers. It doesn't even matter of they're only on Nintendo systems. People buy Nintendo systems for Pokemon, it's a true system seller.

The series is the second best selling software franchise, only beaten by Mario. Pokemon is in fact bigger than Final Fantasy, and pretty much everything else.

Pokemon as a whole is the highest grossing entertainment franchise of all time.

[alstruck]

Yeah, keep on saying that... Fact is 15 years ago some guy already did, and look at pokemon now.. still hot..

Gotta admit Nintendo got amazing skills at prolonging old franchises longetivity

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Pokemon is still popular, I hear some of the gens are hit and miss but I think we can all agree that most people loved the first gen. I'm looking to get into pokemon again on the 3DS or Switch when I clear some of my backlog.

[PhoenixUp]

Do you live under a rock or something? Dafuq does it being Nintendo exclusive have to do with anything? In case you haven’t noticed the biggest franchise in gaming, Mario, is no shit Nintendo exclusive 😑

[Prince_TFK]

Correct. Pokemon is one of the best selling rpg games.

[FallenAngel1984]

“Nearing its 30th anniversary”

Final Fantasy already passed its 30th anniversary last December

[GamesMaster1982]

Well i for one loved FF15 enough to get the platinum. And i could not really get into the series before 15.

[Snakeking33]

Well you are the only one I for one think the whole 13 to 15 series sucks go back to its roots look at dragon quest and the tales series the change but not like final fantasy did its suck right now

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Final Fantasy's golden age is over and it finished around X, anything after that is extremely hit and miss for me.

Personally it's become:
F12, awful.
FF13 okay.
FF13-2 better.
FFLR better than 13.
FF14 I like it but don't have the time to devote to it.
WoFF excellent.
FF15 awful.

Persona has toppled FF as my favourite JRP now and I'll be looking forward to Dragon Quest when it arrives over here. I'm also really interested in that PS4 Granblue Fantasy game, so that's on my radar, I like Tales of but it's very hit and miss too.

[DivineAssault]

It was the opposite for me.. Well 13 & 15 were when i didnt enjoy it anymore.. Good thing DQ, Persona, and the tales series' are still around..

[Skuibbles]

@Fanatic, to each his own, but to me, FF12 was the only good game. The previous ones were so god-awful I couldn't get into them.

It was all grind, grind, grind. I get that gamers back then had much lower standards so anything with a little story was like sliced bread, but to me, even if someone managed to convince me the story is Breaking Bad-level, I'd probably just watch a cutscene compilation on youtube or even read a transcript. But I would never put myself through the pain of suffering through random battles that I get sucked into, immersion-breaking secondary mini-dimensions that you jump into just to fight.

FF12 did one thing better than all the other games. Seamlessness. You didn't travel to another world just to fight, you didn't get a god-damned menu after each battle. The flee system was natural, you just disable auto-attack and move away, if you get hit, you get hit, and the risk is yours to take, stand and fight or run away. In other games, no, it's like tag. You get hit, you're taken to fucking Asgard or whatever.

And consequently, you didn't suddenly hear the repetitive battle theme, but rather the theme of that particular area kept playing, unless the fight was significant.

Haven't played 15 yet but if it's anything like 12, I will.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Skuibbles,

Fair enough, I really did struggle to finish FF12, I blame it on the bad character development, Vann would have to be the blandest FF hero. Plus I just don't remember the plot anymore, it was pretty forgettable, the battle system was a very subjective taste for most people, personally I don't care for MMORPG like battles, but the Gambit system really made it work. The game did have lots of content and world was interesting enough.

I was quite happy with the format of older games, but modern gaming has spoilt me to the point where I probably can't enjoy random battles anymore. I actually rate the older games much higher than most of the modern ones despite the flaws and plot holes. Characters were always the strong point of the series followed by plot. Most people will agree that the series's high point was FF6 through to FF9, I'd include FF10 myself but alot of people will argue the point for some reason (Tidus hate?).

Did you grow up with the series? I think most of the issues you have with the older games stem from hardware limitations of that time, I don't believe that FF12's battle system and seamless-ness would be possible during the ps1 era. Keep in mind Square-Enix always wanted an action battle system, they just couldn't during that time period, I'd understand if you just don't enjoy turn-based battles either.

[-Foxtrot]

Where next? Final Fantasy XVI

Stop with the episode crap on Final Fantasy XV, make a straight forward remake for Final Fantasy VII without the extra content to expand the lore which is really to justify them splitting the game up and get to work on the next game.

That's all people want really but Square need to make everything so complicated

[Shiken]

But really, we all know what is next for Final Fantasy. FFVII will be reskinned with different characters to be Final Fantasy XVI on next gen consoles 10 years from now. The writing is on the wall.

It will also sell us the story and sidequests through microtransactions for each individual quest. The pattern we see now is XIII started episodes through three games, XV did episodes through expansion DLC, so natrually XVI will sell each individual quest as a micro transaction.

Then for XVII, in 2056, we will have quest boxes where we will be given a random quest based solely on luck to eventually finish our adventure. I mean, after micro transactions, that is clearly the next step.

For FFXVIII, in 2074, a massive uproar will take place when the same business model is used again, forcing SE to remove them from the game, essentially breaking what the entire foundation was built on.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is what is next for Final Fantasy.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I really believe they're avoiding working on XVI, partially because of the time/money/effort involved and possibly because Squre-Enix doesn't really know what to do with the series anymore. Look at the weird DLC we're getting for XV, Sims? Really? They actively avoid making towns anymore (look at 13's development interviews and FFXV). If they make a XV-2 I will get out of the series and fanbase so hard.

Now they're going to remake FF7 which fans have been clamoring for since the early ps3 days, personally I think the project is so ambitious that it guarantees failure on their part.

Ambitious and capability seem to be Square-Enix's biggest issue lately.

[Shiken]

Why can't they just go back to what Final Fantasy actually was from the beginning? An epic adventure individualized for each game that takes place in similar fantasy worlds. That is all they need. Screw the sequels, DLCs, and overfocus on visuals that need to take from the gameplay as compensation.

Xenoblade 2 was nowhere near as pretty as FFXV. yet it was 10 times more epic and enjoyable to me. They need to just make a game that looks good, plays great, and delivers a complete and compelling plot.

But I guess that would make too much sense these days...

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

I kinda liked the real world setting of ffxv. Just wish it were executed better. If they went with that approach again and added a better story, ffxvi would be dope. I'm indifferent about turn-based vs action.

[-Foxtrot]

I think the issue with the "real world" in Final Fantasy XV is that you are mostly running around in the outskirts of cities and the like so you never get a proper world of how modern and close to our world the games Universe really is. It's not like we explore many big cities or spend a lot of time within them we're mostly running around on the large fields outside.

If we had a game which featured big cities spread out across the game with each one taking after a real world city in terms of it's style and culture like London, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Singapore etc then I think it would have been a little better.

[NotanotherReboot]

Not Newcastle!?!?!?!?

[TheColbertinator]

What about Macon,Georgia?

[Godmars290]

The "real world" doesn't have monsters, especially kaiju level ones, roaming around open settlements and small, undefended, cities.

As many who know me and will as soon phantom disagree, my day one pet peeve with 15 was that Behemoth was just outside of a small town, near a tourist spot, and people were just going about their day.

Nevermind the giant effing turtle right next to an intact interstate sized road!

[specialguest]

Get ready for a tough fight! Standing 10 ft tall on its hind legs a giant kodiak brown bear! Hmm...10 ft tall, that's it? Yeah real world "monsters" don't sound exciting haha

[Godmars290]

@specialguest:
Try packs of kodiaks "wondering" the suburbs of Las Vegas, threatening to enter the main strip during a parade cause no ones paid them any attention, just waiting for a response to a Crigslist post for someone with a 12 gauge to "fix" the problem, and you got something.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I agree the idea was perfectly sound, the execution was just bad for so many reasons that we already know about. I really do wonder what FFvs13 would have been like if they had finished it.

[Godmars290]

A mess as they only over promise and over estimate their abilities.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Hopefully no more FF15

[paintedgamer1984]

Hopefully not ff15x2

[Asuka]

Ivalice I hope.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I think I read somewhere that they were thinking of re-visiting Ivalice in the near future.

[CrystalFantasy]

Fainaru Fantaji

[Steveoreno1]

Hopefully a turn based combat system with strategy is next.

[TheColbertinator]

A Battle royale mode

[-Gespenst-]

I'm excited for XVI because it'll be the first genuinely new mainline game. XV was basically Versus XIII, which we'd known about for like a decade. XIII itself got two more games, and XIV's been around for ages now. XIV will be totally fresh (unless of course it's Agni's Philosophy, but we know next to nothing about that, so...).

But, I'm also looking forward to the VII remake, and X-3 (which I'm pretty sure is going to happen). I'm also desperate for a VII game that picks up after Dirge of Cerberus - perhaps it could be the final game in the Compilation. Wouldn't mind some sort of remake of Before Crisis either.

[alstruck]

I honestly feel FF is dying since 12 and X-2.. Every game since then have development issues. And the only one that didnt was an on-rail turn-based ai-controlled rpg which have very little exploration..

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

They can't really seem to get it right anymore, 12's issue for me was the characters and writing. They really need to go back and get that down pat for the next game in the series, they got it right in WoFF at least.

[Hardiman]

Butt Hole Chickens and Nomer De Goblins!

[chris235]

judging by the last few entries: they should call it quits. this franchise only gets topped by the dragen quest series in terms of lack of innovation or even lack if a good story. both franchises are burnt out.

[DivineAssault]

IDK but i dont like the direction they took the series.. I havent enjoyed a new mainline title since 12.. 15 was a big improvement from 13 but it just wasnt FF to me anymore.. It was a decent game going into it as a spin off but it just wasnt for me.. I like having a lot of diverse party members too and that seems to have been omitted from this 15.. I hope they make a more traditional style game for the next one..

[phoenixwing]

I'd like them to go with a medieval type of final fantasy maybe with some steampunk thrown in like in ff6

[Tzuno]

More Emo, sigh...

[stupidusername]

I actually enjoyed 15 a whole lot. The story was total BS imo but I really enjoyed everything else. People have been saying the series has been dying since FFX-2, but I don't see the series ending soon if it has spent 15 years dying and it still sells well.
The series might not be what it was 17 years ago, but it's still good to a point that people enjoy playing the games. I actually enjoy that they do a new approach to gameplay in every new entry.