Final Fantasy: Officially Burnt Out

Square Enix may be the master of self parody. Only a company completely lacking in shame would officially unveil the next entry in a videogame franchise before the previous entry had even been released -- yet Square Enix did exactly that with Final Fantasy XIV, months ahead of XIII's launch.

[yewles1]

And WHERE were you guys when FFXI was announced before X's release?

[kancerkid]

Too many Final Fantasy 13-(insert pretentious crap here)'s.

[v1c1ous]

but i thought versus was a godsend...

[kancerkid]

Not for me..

Edit: By the way, I am glad to see so few "Jim Sterling blows" comments in this thread, a buck of the trend. Maybe is ready for more intelligent discussions...

[BiggCMan]

"Final Fantasy VII -- a game that's now very cool to hate"
WTF is this?? Its extremely rare to find people hate on 7. Everyone wants it remade, everyone loved it, where in his ass did he pull that statement out of?

[ExplosionSauce]

I don't hate 7, but I didn't care too much for the story or the characters.
It's a great game and one of the most memorable FF games, but it's definitely not the best.

[femshep]

the only thing i appreciated about 7 was the char dev other than that meh give me any other one anytime......and the only reason people like 7 now is because of "CLOOOUDDDD*fan-girl voice*" and it shouldn't be remade.....not to mention the fact SE said they weren't going to do it anyway

[evrfighter]

Are you joking? It seems like its the other way around. N4g is no exception. Don't expect anything decent by se with the engine their working with. Next gen I'm sure theyll strike gold again. But no classics will be remembered by se this gen.

[ShinMaster]

Cloud was practically the only "character" in FF7.

[RBLAZE1988]

I just watched the FFversusXIII trailer in hd like 3 times in a row and if there is any final fantasy that brings this franchise from the brink and into the future it's this game. The game looks phenominal and if you just watch and see where they're going with this game you'll know that this game could be this gens FF7 and FF8 mixed. I am totally pumped for it and can't wait to play it. Next year can't come sooner. All the battles and cutscenes look like they are intertwined and it looks like the story will be very deep, dark and shocking.

[GSpartan777]

I don't think it's burnt out. I think they are just going through a major slump when they decide they needed to Westernize the series to please us. However, I do see the series coming back. I know we haven't seen much from FFXvXIII, but it is looking very promising and it does sound as if they plan on going back to their roots with FFXIII-2 saying it will be more of an RPG (they said FFXIII was like an action adventure FPS style), atleast I hope.

[v1c1ous]

westernize how? sorry about my ignorance, but i keep hearing that word being thrown about and want specifics.

EDIT: could you add productive commentary instead of automatically hitting disagree button?

[GSpartan777]

Their idea of having to Westernize FFXIII was that it had to have been an action game where the game guides you through this all these environments as you fight off creatures and continue down the path till you come to the end of it. Something like a action packed roller coaster ride, Call of Duty style. That's what Final Fantasy XIII ultimately ended up being, an action adventure game where you had to follow the path they gave you till you came a cross the end of the stage battling your way through everything that was thrown at you.

The RPG feeling to everything outside of the battle system was missing. It was extremely linear, hardly any exploration, no proper level up system, hardly any world interaction, no side quest (not referring to missions). It was a good game but mostly because it hid behind the action adventure part of it, as an RPG it could have definitely been more.

There is really no proper definition for Westernized games but the Japanese developers seem to think Action! Action action and action. They think Call of Duty style games is all we want. Shoot, hack, slash and kill through a level and then proceed to the other. You really can't blame them, seeing them since linear action games has become what appeals to most these days.

Also I didn't downvote you.

[ExplosionSauce]

Agreed.
Square too easily forgot that FF already has a fanbase in the West that likes their games as for what they are.

By trying to appeal to a broader audience(the audience that didn't care about FF/JRPGs in the first place), they dumbed down the game(exploration, quests, stats, etc)

[pain777pas]

If Square Enix can take a little Bethesda and Bioware in character creation and choices they will be back on top. However their move towards characters that we cannot identify with wearing literally stupid costumes like Vaan is what is turning many off. Where are the Zachs and Clouds and Cecils. They have to rethink what the RPG genre is now and find a way. I would have thought that once GTA was released they would have went in the pure open world direction like in the past only you enter a new land and town without a loading screen. FF12 was the right direction with Balthier as the lead character only no loading times whatsover just a connected world that you traverse. Cities are seen in the distance ala OOT only 40 times bigger. They need to make a combat structure exactly like FF12 only realtime combat and the ability to switch characters on the fly ala Tales games. All enemies seen on screen and the nearest enemies attack just like FF12. FF12 was not a bad game it was just that the aestetics of the protagonist turned people off. Balthier saved the game for me and Fran. I still havent beat it because it gets really boring because I really dont do anything except move the main character when his attack is ready. I get sleepy playing that game and give up. CC is the best game that Square has done so I still have faith. Combat could have been quicker but I know why it was designed the way it was. Gambit system intact. Real time strikes and magic for controlled characters. More character customization and different armor etc ala DQ DS.

[Redempteur]

since when did FFs had character créations ? ( outside of mmos )

also you dislike Vaan but enjot Zachs ?? were you really able to identify yourself to zachs ??

[pain777pas]

Zach from crisis core was one of the most likeable FF characters ever.

[MidnytRain]

I had next to no interest in FFXIII when it released. I believe I was busy with BATTLEFIELD: Bad Company 2 at the time. Anyways, FFXvIII looks more like my kind of game. I like strategic and tactical games, but I also like to be kept on my toes in the heat of battle, so I rarely play RPGs that aren't of the action variety. It has me a bit excited at this point. JRPGs have a certain charm and nostalgia factor that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's how sparkly and dramatic everything is. :)

[Stealth20k]

boohoo

type zer=awesome, versus=awesome,-2=awesome

ff gaiden=aweosme, crisis core=awesome, ff tactics advance 2=awesome, revant wings=awesome

And the writer of this article is a huge hypocrite. He loves dynasty warriors games which are released at every full moon

[Troll-without-Bridge]

Oh wait, its Destructoid. Even worse, its jim. I see he hasnt recovered from his colonoscopy.

[BlueEye]

Burnt out? More like trying to do and make more for us then they should, in all honesty SE is over working themselves, they announce 2 titles after one is released, the 4 follow those two and it grows on that, FF, KH and everything else they make.

[thesummerofgeorge]

I agree, I always wish SE would just focus more resources on a few main titles at a time and make them them as good as they could be, rather than spreading themselves thin all the time.

[darksied]

Completely agree. The last FF I played was XII, and it was the most boring game I had played in years. I know a lot people might have liked it, but it felt like playing an MMO ... alone.

Now I just wonder who the hell is even still working at Square and if they are being whipped into releasing cookie-cutter title after title. I feel bad that I don't like their games anymore because I played almost everyone until XII. But for me, they just haven't made a good game in a long time (and not just developed: when's the last time they even PUBLISHED anything good? maybe "the world ends with you").

BUT I don't feel bad that I won't play their games anymore, because there are so many better games than the current FF crap we're seeing. They're standing still while other game developers are creating good games, so good riddance.

[Troll-without-Bridge]

Its just sad to see how out of the loop you are. If you think they haven't published anything good lately than i highly recommend you to drop CoD and start playing some serious games.

[Redempteur]

their last game ?

Birth by sleep.. what a bad game /s
or do you mean dragon quest 9 ? another bad game they published /s

wait maybe it was dissidia .. or Cristal bearers on the wii ..very bad games indeed /s

let's cut the crap :

Sure ff13 & ff14 might have disapointed but it's funny to see all those "square is doomed" when they kept their visual quality for all their games while providing them at a steady rate ..

i've seen worse rpg than FF13 this gen ( enchanted arms , last rebellion , ring of fates for starters ) FF13 is given this unfair treatment because it's not a flawless game when they "ONLY" made a good game

[thesummerofgeorge]

SE is burnt out... A Final Fantasy game is only as good as the team behind it, but the core elements that make a FF game, a FF game are timeless. I think when they abandon those core elements (ie towns, NPC's, open world etc..) is when things go awry, a la XIII...

I think Versus will be a step back in the right direction, cause personally I think they've been floundering to find a way to adapt Final Fantasy to newer technology since the PS2... I think FFIX was the last great FF, most people seem to think it was FFX, didn't care for it much myself though. The voice acting was cheesy and the characters annoyed me, among other things. But from what I've seen, Versus is shaping up to be a true FF game, which e haven't had for some time. Hopefully SE can begin to repair Final Fantasy's reputation.

[The_Nameless_One]

Another one for the books Jim, you piece of human trash.

[iliimaster]

final fantasy should of been exactly that FINAL after ff 10 everything after 10 i can't even recognize ill buy lost oddessy 2 over this real time twitch game that is square enix

[MyLeadYourHead56]

hopefully they don't f up Kingdom Hearts

[midgard227]

this article needs to STFU and all u square enix haterz who troll anything square need to STFU too u dont see me on fable postings with the fast decline of that series.

if u dont like it stfu and stay away from it. ffv13 looks amazing, ff13 wasnt even that bad, this gen just has a retarded bad habit of overhyping everything just because we still have the notion stuck in our heads of (next-gen=EPIC!)

this is Current gen, this is what HD developing has done, u wanted graphics, they spend their time and money on it, then u want to rush the games and complain when it isnt as epic as u wanted it to be.

as you can see they arent listening to u this time and are taking their time on Versus and thats why it looks so damn amazing. PLZ STFU my god u guys are like 10 >_<

[almasy919]

Contrary to your claim, it's your post that sounds like it was written by a 10 year old. Crap story is crap. Crap design is crap. It's okay if you enjoy that they basically design their characters for cosplayers (thanks Nomura!) and their stories are basically copies of your average teen anime (thanks Toriyama!). Really it is. It's also okay when past or hopeful fans call them out on it.

But no, sorry, it is a given that they have churned out hackneyed sequel/prequel/spinoff ever since X. And the majority of that was crap, mostly bought by I suppose their modern target audience, your typical insipid teenager who finds the characters and stories "deep" (lookin' at you Kingdom Hearts 2/BBS/recoded/3D/blahblah!).

[Coolmanrico]

I slightly agree Midgard227, but not with the fans shouldn't voice their opinions part. My problem is some of them throw around their opinions like facts. Almost like they saying everyone who like games like FXIII are idiots.

The first half of Almasy919's post is an excellent example. Crap this and Crap that (You got on Midgard227 case for sounding like a 10 year old, when it seem you sound like one too.) That is your opinion, just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean everyone else doesn‘t like it. I‘m not even going to get into the second half of the post. I think most fans just think that Squares' games should mature a they mature.

[Hozi89]

First Final Fantasy I played was FFX. I couldn't get enough so I bought FFVII and FFVIII. I played FFVIII because the graphics were better but I hated the Junction crap so I started VII. I fell in love. It had great character development,storyline, battle system and horrible graphics. <3

I then went on to play all the older ones. From 1-6-9. 6 was awesome. I just don't like the graphics so much on the older ones. I liked the story of FFIX too.

I even accepted FFXII for what it was. But once I played FFXIII Something inside of me just didn't agree to it. It doesn't really have that awesome FF feel to it IMO. I am only 16 hours into it but it's pretty boring. I hope to God that once I get past 25 hours, it will get better.

[almasy919]

Ha. I've hated every Jim Sterling article and here, I actually agree with him on this one.

"The George Lucas of the gaming world."

Appropriate!

[djslapdash]

I will never buy a FF until they make

FFXIII: Part XIII ~ Section XIII