It's time to face it: Final Fantasy is dead, let's pour a 40

[Himu]

http://kotaku.com/5977118/the-slow-excruciating-death-of-final-fantasy



My first memory of Final Fantasy was in 1994 when I looked behind a game mag and saw an ad for Final Fantasy V's japanese sfam cart imported. I used to draw the characters because I thought they were cool.

I didn't have a Super Nintendo, and I didn't know what an rpg was until super mario rpg, because on sega genesis we mostly just had action games.

But I kept up with a lot of game news. I remember this GamePro where I first got excited for Final Fantasy VII. I was 10 years old when that issue came out in I think early 1997.

I got a playstation later that year with VII for Christmas. Been a fan ever since. In 1998, I went backwards and started playing from III (snes) to II (snes), and then went down the nes line and played through those with fan translations. I was 11 years old, so it's been years and years. But after all of this, I can't accept it anymore.

It's time to abandon this ship. The dream is over. Final Fantasy, like God, is dead.

Let's muse about good memories of a once legendary franchise.

[MCD]

No.

[Positive Touch]

13-2 is pretty fun

[Himu]

For those looking for a proper funeral, you can do no better than Theatrhythm for the 3ds. Uematsu said it made him cry. It will make you cry as well.

[Positive Touch]

lemme borrow yr 3ds so I can play it

[demi]

No thanks, I didnt buy this and got Dimensions instead. Or I suppose flapping your arms like the sky is falling requires less effort.

[Himu]

This is a thread for good memories, not your cynicism.

[Himu]

lemme borrow yr 3ds so I can play it

iie

[MCD]

Dead = Suikoden.

Final Fantasy is as strong as ever. You are just too Himu to realize that.

[demi]

Square is targeting Himuro just the same. Bet you can't wait to replay all those classics again when they release them on iOS

[Himu]

It's not dead.  It's changed a lot trying to keep focus on its main demographic and you've changed a lot, out of its demographic.  It's like an adult saying action figures are dead cuz they aren't ninja turtles anymore.

And linking Kotaku - shame on you.  Did you see the idiot piece they wrote on Yakuza 5 last night?  Morons.

Yeah, I read it. That kotaku article isn't bad though. It's written by someone who actually knows what they're talking about.

[Himu]

Square is targeting Himuro just the same. Bet you can't wait to replay all those classics again when they release them on iOS

fuck you

*takes out wallet*

*unzips pants*

*raises ass for penetration*

[Himu]

That butt tard.

[Robo]

I haven't played a Final Fantasy since FF8.  What a terrible game.

[Eel O'Brian]

"fuckskate"

[tiesto]

13-2 was good but other than that, the series sucked after 9... this new IOS game sounds distinguished mentally-challenged though.

[Human Snorenado]

Let's face it, producing these games on current/next gen hardware costs a buttfuckingly large amount of money and takes a while.  So, you get into a situation where companies will reuse assets making knockoff sequels... kind of a lame business model that doesn't seem like it has much chance of producing awesome games, but whatever.

As far as what Oscar says, I can agree with that.  I've grown out of the demographic for FF games.  I kind of enjoyed FF XII because it at least tried some new stuff and didn't have your prototypical angsty lead, but look where that got them.  I will be honest and say that I haven't played a minute of XIII or the sequel and have no urge to do so.   People just grow out of certain stuff... unless you're Borys I guess, but apparently the only things to do in Poland are hate black people and play bad games.

[Stoney Mason]

Unfortunately I think 13 was the dagger for me ever playing another final fantasy. Too many fundamental issues of them not knowing what to do with the series anymore.

[Rahxephon91]

Nah. 13 was fun. XIII-2 fixed some problems. XIII-3 looks to even more ambitious. 14's reboot looks like it may be as good as well.

So nope, I still greatly enjoy the series. Best jrpg series by a mile.

[Human Snorenado]

Nah. 13 was fun. 14's reboot looks like it may be as good as well.

So no you can cry why I keep enjoying the series.

There's no need for anyone to cry; you have FF, we have taste.  Winning all around.

[Rahxephon91]

Nah. 13 was fun. 14's reboot looks like it may be as good as well.

So no you can cry why I keep enjoying the series.

There's no need for anyone to cry; you have FF, we have taste.  Winning all around.

What the heck is your problem with me. You seem to like to point out my liking in games. Here and in the top 5 games thread and so on. I mean I really didn't say anything beyond what say MCD or demi said, yet you don't seem to feel the need to comment about them. Does it upset you or something? Deal with it I guess.

[Human Snorenado]

Trolls gotta troll, son.

[Rahxephon91]

Drama queens gotta drama.

[Great Rumbler]

I'm just not that big on JRPGs anymore. And this is coming from some one who played virtually nothing but back in the ol' PS1 days, that and Nintendo games on the 64. Sure, there are a few that I'll play and enjoy, but for the most part I've moved by the target audience of the genre. It just doesn't offer the sort of thing I look for in RPGs anymore. Well, whatever, there are RPGs still being made that do, so I'll keep playing those and not get myself worked up too much in worrying about the games that don't.

[Himu]

I'm just not that big on JRPGs anymore. And this is coming from some one who played virtually nothing but back in the ol' PS1 days, that and Nintendo games on the 64. Sure, there are a few that I'll play and enjoy, but for the most part I've moved by the target audience of the genre. It just doesn't offer the sort of thing I look for in RPGs anymore. Well, whatever, there are RPGs still being made that do, so I'll keep playing those and not get myself worked up too much in worrying about the games that don't.

[Great Rumbler]

Euro-Jank RPGs

[Stoney Mason]

I'm just not that big on JRPGs anymore. And this is coming from some one who played virtually nothing but back in the ol' PS1 days, that and Nintendo games on the 64. Sure, there are a few that I'll play and enjoy, but for the most part I've moved by the target audience of the genre. It just doesn't offer the sort of thing I look for in RPGs anymore. Well, whatever, there are RPGs still being made that do, so I'll keep playing those and not get myself worked up too much in worrying about the games that don't.

I don't play very many JRPG's anymore either as my tastes have migrated elsewhere but I still respect the ones that feel like they have a vision. I don't feel like Final Fantasy has a vision anymore. It feels like this very cynical and half-hearted attempt to appeal to westerners. I feel roughly the same about the Resident Evil series now. 

[Human Snorenado]

I think that there's something missing that made jrpgs fun/charming/whatever on next gen hardware.  The last non-handheld jrpg that I would rate as "very good" or better is P4... most of the stuff that I've enjoyed in the past 5 years or so has been on handhelds.

[benjipwns]

Another developer who didn't lead with the Wii at their own peril.

[Great Rumbler]

I think that there's something missing that made jrpgs fun/charming/whatever on next gen hardware.

That's what I think, too, could just be nostalgia talking, though.

[Damian79]

It is called the "jank".  IMO even Star Ocean was better than FF games this gen because of the jank but they went overboard with it.  FF13 was to serious.

[Damian79]

I just made that word up.  No such think as jank on its own.

[TakingBackSunday]

13 was a great RPG.  someone's blinded by dumbfucking nostalgia.

[Damian79]

My probelm with FF13 is that it takes itself way too seriously when it shoudlnt.



Seriously how can you take that seriously looking at that?

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

That feel when you realize you're getting older and are now outside the target demographic of most games

[Diunx]

Dead = Suikoden.

[archie4208]

That feel when you realize you're getting older and are now outside the target demographic of most games

That feel when you realize you're getting older and appreciate games you couldn't in the past.   

[tiesto]

There are plenty of RPGs I've enjoyed this gen that felt like they had the 'charm' of previous gens - Xenoblade, Resonance of Fate, TWEWY, Tits, the DQ remakes, Vesperia, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey... just that the FF series has been very very weak lately, like Stony said, with no clear vision at all. From everything I've seen and heard, Bravely Default looks awesome and sounds totally like my type of game, so it's clear that SE hasn't completely lost it.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm still gonna get and play through Lightning Returns though

[close]

[Don Flamenco]

For those looking for a proper funeral, you can do no better than Theatrhythm for the 3ds. Uematsu said it made him cry. It will make you cry as well.

so how does Theatrhythm manage to evoke the feelings and emotional reactions that the mainline series is constantly fishing for but never catches? 

[Trent Dole]

Yeah, RPGs aren't dead, it's just that what was the eastern flagship for them in the west has been kinda shit lately.

[Momo]

Well I feel Final Fantasy have been getting poo since PSX with rare sparks inbetween. Playing Star Ocean on mute while not giving a single fuck about the story is great too

[Cerveza mas fina]

FFX, FFXI and FFXII were still really good.

Just this gen they fucked up completely with XIII and XIV being dogshit.

Maybe they can comeback next gen but it will be tough, two shit games in a row... basicly 10 years without a good final fantasy

[Momo]

FFX, FFXI and FFXII were still really good.

Just this gen they fucked up completely with XIII and XIV being dogshit.

I agree with X, but I cannot agree with XII


EDIT: Didnt notice your edit. will rather not mention FFXI since no one really cares

[Momo]

Dammit stop editing

[Cerveza mas fina]

Think what you want about FFXI but it was really popular and a solid mmo. Ive put at least 100 hours into it before I decided it was too hardcore. Sure its only mainline in name and number, but such a quality product.

[Smooth Groove]

Square can only blame themselves for hitching to the wrong horse.  FF13 could have came out much sooner if they had just gone multiplatform right from the start and not tried to do something special on the complicated PS3.   By the time FF13 dropped, hype had died down and hardcore fans' expectations were much higher because of the long wait. 

[maxy]

Road has made some nice Japan charts

Final Fantasy X sales (3 million) = 100%.
Final Fantasy X-2 sales (2.3 million) = 2.3/3 = 77%.
That indicates 77% of the FFX buyers came back for FFX-2.

People were really pleased with FF13

spoiler (click to show/hide)

not

[close]

[Don Flamenco]

The results for Japan’s female character vote is now in.

Much like the earlier male character poll which saw Zack (FFVII) as the over all winner, the fight for the top appears to have been fierce. Lightning came in at #1, just narrowly beating out Aerith after taking what was seemingly an early runaway lead. Aerith and Yuna, however, were fighting for the top spot from the very beginning and lost out to Lightning by only two votes.

46 character names in total were posted by fans and the results – although not as detailed as the previous poll – reflect a general opinion of Japan’s Final Fantasy Forum using fans.

Those with duplicate rankings held the same amount of votes, and are thus counted as a tied ranking. Check out the full compiled list below. Note that not all 46 names are represented here, as characters with too few votes are not represented.

1. Lightning (FFXIII)
2. Aerith (FFVII)
3. Yuna (FFX)
4. Tifa (FFVII)
5. Celes (FFVI)
6. Tina (FFVI)
7. Serah (FFXIII)
8. Garnet (FFIX)
8. Faris (FFV)
10. Rinoa (FFVIII)
10. Rydia (FFIV)
12. Selphie (FFVIII)
13. Rikku (FFX)
14. Beatrix (FFIX)
14. Yuffie (FFVII)
16. Ashe (FFXII)
17. Rosa (FFIV)
17. Eiko (FFIX)
17. Agrias (FFT)

[Momo]

Think what you want about FFXI but it was really popular and a solid mmo. Ive put at least 100 hours into it before I decided it was too hardcore. Sure its only mainline in name and number, but such a quality product.

nah, i like XI. Just weird discussing it in this thread as that and XIV has always been its own thing.

[Great Rumbler]

Voice acting really hurt JRPGs for me.  For some reason, reading the shitty dialogue was okay, but hearing it out loud?  Blah.

That, and "realistic" 3D animu characters.

2D sprites. No voice acting. I can handle all that just fine!

[tiesto]

Square can only blame themselves for hitching to the wrong horse.  FF13 could have came out much sooner if they had just gone multiplatform right from the start and not tried to do something special on the complicated PS3.   By the time FF13 dropped, hype had died down and hardcore fans' expectations were much higher because of the long wait.

I don't think hitching themselves to the PS3 early on was the problem. Development was fucked from the get-go, large teams with little communication and no clear-cut vision for the game. It wasn't until the small demo of FFXIII included with Advent Children that they even bothered with a vertical slice (this was ~1 year before its release), before that it was just a bunch of concepts and tons-upon-tons of art assets. There's a story of a guy spending a few months drawing a rock texture just because there was no direction from management.

FFXIII-2 seemed like it was made as a checklist of all complaints with XIII, so part of it feels very cynical... even if I had more fun playing through it than the last few FF games.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Voice acting really hurt JRPGs for me.  For some reason, reading the shitty dialogue was okay, but hearing it out loud?  Blah.

That, and "realistic" 3D animu characters.

2D sprites. No voice acting. I can handle all that just fine!

This is an issue for me too.

As long as everything was small and blurry like on the PSX I didn't have to look at animu characters.

[Positive Touch]

people have been saying that the current gen's FF games suck since the ps1 days, yet the series still sells shitloads. i dont like some of the current games, but obviously there are plenty of people who do, so the brand is hardly dead or lost. i think the real problem is that the company's management has always felt fucked since all the back to the square & enix merger. poor communication with medai, (seemingly) sharing of assets, unchecked crazy dev time, bad brand management, etc. they still put out good games, they still have strong sales, but their footing has seemed off for a long time now.

[Human Snorenado]

I forgot about Tales of Vesperia.  That's a really solid, good jrpg too.

[Tasty]

Why the hell can't Square just make a proper Crystal Chronicles sequel before they die. Fricking Kawazu.

[Robo]

Make a Tactics game that isn't for babbies, please.

[Positive Touch]

MAKE A NEW CHRONO TRIGGER SQUARE COME ON

[Tasty]

MAKE A NEW CHRONO TRIGGER SQUARE COME ON

It'd suck, be on iOS, and have microtransactions out the ass anyways. If you still want it, sure, ask Square for it.

[SantaC]

why does himuro get a free pass.     When I make a thread like this, everyone comes in and say oh look it is a SantaC thread

oh and kotaku is beyond terrible.

[TakingBackSunday]

himu gets anything but a free pass.