The State of Final Fantasy

Knuckles · 07-23-2003, 07:26 PM

Since I'm sure many of you here are familiar with Final Fantasy, and since I looked and didn't find any thread that was devoted to it, I figured I'd start one, as the series has always been one of my favorites, and since I'm in the middle of making an improved version of the first game. However, I have noticed, (in my opinion) a definite decline in FF in the past few years. My first experience with FF was the very first game, albeit years after it came out, but a few years before the series became really mainstream. I liked it a lot, but it was a very basic RPG, yet still very good for its time. The following two games, which were released only in Japan until recently, were also basic, but each improved certain aspects of the game in different ways. Namely, FF2 made the story and characters more interesting, and FF3 made the gameplay more complex and fun. Then there came FF4, (FF2 in the states) which was, and is, a phenomenal game and the first of the "modern" Final Fantasies. FF5, another game that went unreleased in the US until more recent years, was another game that, while not as great story or character-wise, greatly improved gameplay. FF6 was a fine example of an RPG, and one of the most impressive games ever to grace a 16-bit system. It was very good in terms of character development, story, and gameplay as well. Then after a few years of technological advancement in video games, we got FF7, the game that made FF mainstream by introducing it to a wider audience, and of course providing a remarkable gaming experience that was, (and still almost is) unmatched. I believe that FF7 was the peak of the series. FF Tactics, (a game I dearly love) was another great title, which although not a standard RPG, (it's a strategy RPG) which integrated a lot of FF-isms into a game of this interesting genre. It also had a lot of little touches that sort of linked the other FF games together, as the series is notorious for having each new game unrelated to any other in the series. Now, FF8 is probably the most disliked of all Final Fantasies, and I can see why. The scenarios are a little too contemporary, the gameplay is a little foreign and confusing to those unwilling to learn it, and the theme is much different. It's my least favorite of the games that I've played too, (I've played 1-9 and Tactics--I won't count the Game Boy titles in this, as they're really just average portable RPGs that don't really mesh with the "real" FF series--the same goes for SNES's Mystic Quest, which was just a beginner's RPG). But I do like FF8's main character, Squall, the best--mostly because he's the most similar FF character to me

. FF9 was a return to FF's roots, and a good one at that. It was very reminiscent of the first game, yet still retained the advances made by it's predecessors. That's when I sort of got out of the series, and there are reasons. One is a personal reason--I just didn't feel like always having to get the newest game console when it came out, and developed a better appreciation for the classics. The other reasons, and why I think the series is on the decline, are as follows. I absolutely HATED the FF movie. Why call it Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, if it has no connection at all to the Final Fantasy series? It was terrible--not ONE SINGLE FF reference in the whole thing, besides one character named "Sid," and that's not even the way that recurring FF name is spelled! It's suppose to be "Cid." The movie, even if it hadn't been called "Final Fantasy," would still have been awful. The movie sickens me to this day. It's just it would have been so much easier to have made a movie reminiscent of any FF game, and it would have been much better. How could Square flub up that? If they were counting on the FF audience, they lost it because it was nothing like FF, and the only way anybody else would have seen it is because of the CGI, which although impressive, was not nearly as good as they made it out to be. Anyway, that was the first sign. Then comes FF10, which I will admit I have not played, but from what I've heard, seen, and read, I don't think I will anytime soon. It didn't look good to begin with--it looked more like FF8--again, the most hated FF--but the character designs looked worse, and the plot and features looked too unlike FF as well. Also, this game even further broke the very cardinal FF rule of not having any other game be like it. Come on, "Final Fantasy 10 2"? Last time I checked, that should be 11, and besides--the game shouldn't have been made, simply because that's not what FF is supposed to be. I don't believe FF Online should have been made either, which yes, is also my opinion, (because I'm not into mulitplayer games other than fighting games usually, especially not massively multiplayer ones online) but I have always thought that FF were really solitary gaming adventures. Basically, I'm really a fan of FF up to 9, but I'd like to hear others peoples' opinions regarding anything FF.

View Poll Results: What's your favorite Final Fantasy game?
Final Fantasy	0	0%
Final Fantasy II	0	0%
Final Fantasy III	0	0%
Final Fantasy IV	0	0%
Final Fantasy V	0	0%
Final Fantasy VI	0	0%
Final Fantasy VII	7	58.33%
Final Fantasy VIII	0	0%
Final Fantasy IX	2	16.67%
Final Fantasy X	2	16.67%
Other	1	8.33%
Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll

07-23-2003, 07:26 PM	#1
Knuckles Hench Mutant Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 260	The State of Final Fantasy Since I'm sure many of you here are familiar with Final Fantasy, and since I looked and didn't find any thread that was devoted to it, I figured I'd start one, as the series has always been one of my favorites, and since I'm in the middle of making an improved version of the first game. However, I have noticed, (in my opinion) a definite decline in FF in the past few years. My first experience with FF was the very first game, albeit years after it came out, but a few years before the series became really mainstream. I liked it a lot, but it was a very basic RPG, yet still very good for its time. The following two games, which were released only in Japan until recently, were also basic, but each improved certain aspects of the game in different ways. Namely, FF2 made the story and characters more interesting, and FF3 made the gameplay more complex and fun. Then there came FF4, (FF2 in the states) which was, and is, a phenomenal game and the first of the "modern" Final Fantasies. FF5, another game that went unreleased in the US until more recent years, was another game that, while not as great story or character-wise, greatly improved gameplay. FF6 was a fine example of an RPG, and one of the most impressive games ever to grace a 16-bit system. It was very good in terms of character development, story, and gameplay as well. Then after a few years of technological advancement in video games, we got FF7, the game that made FF mainstream by introducing it to a wider audience, and of course providing a remarkable gaming experience that was, (and still almost is) unmatched. I believe that FF7 was the peak of the series. FF Tactics, (a game I dearly love) was another great title, which although not a standard RPG, (it's a strategy RPG) which integrated a lot of FF-isms into a game of this interesting genre. It also had a lot of little touches that sort of linked the other FF games together, as the series is notorious for having each new game unrelated to any other in the series. Now, FF8 is probably the most disliked of all Final Fantasies, and I can see why. The scenarios are a little too contemporary, the gameplay is a little foreign and confusing to those unwilling to learn it, and the theme is much different. It's my least favorite of the games that I've played too, (I've played 1-9 and Tactics--I won't count the Game Boy titles in this, as they're really just average portable RPGs that don't really mesh with the "real" FF series--the same goes for SNES's Mystic Quest, which was just a beginner's RPG). But I do like FF8's main character, Squall, the best--mostly because he's the most similar FF character to me . FF9 was a return to FF's roots, and a good one at that. It was very reminiscent of the first game, yet still retained the advances made by it's predecessors. That's when I sort of got out of the series, and there are reasons. One is a personal reason--I just didn't feel like always having to get the newest game console when it came out, and developed a better appreciation for the classics. The other reasons, and why I think the series is on the decline, are as follows. I absolutely HATED the FF movie. Why call it Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, if it has no connection at all to the Final Fantasy series? It was terrible--not ONE SINGLE FF reference in the whole thing, besides one character named "Sid," and that's not even the way that recurring FF name is spelled! It's suppose to be "Cid." The movie, even if it hadn't been called "Final Fantasy," would still have been awful. The movie sickens me to this day. It's just it would have been so much easier to have made a movie reminiscent of any FF game, and it would have been much better. How could Square flub up that? If they were counting on the FF audience, they lost it because it was nothing like FF, and the only way anybody else would have seen it is because of the CGI, which although impressive, was not nearly as good as they made it out to be. Anyway, that was the first sign. Then comes FF10, which I will admit I have not played, but from what I've heard, seen, and read, I don't think I will anytime soon. It didn't look good to begin with--it looked more like FF8--again, the most hated FF--but the character designs looked worse, and the plot and features looked too unlike FF as well. Also, this game even further broke the very cardinal FF rule of not having any other game be like it. Come on, "Final Fantasy 10 2"? Last time I checked, that should be 11, and besides--the game shouldn't have been made, simply because that's not what FF is supposed to be. I don't believe FF Online should have been made either, which yes, is also my opinion, (because I'm not into mulitplayer games other than fighting games usually, especially not massively multiplayer ones online) but I have always thought that FF were really solitary gaming adventures. Basically, I'm really a fan of FF up to 9, but I'd like to hear others peoples' opinions regarding anything FF.