Expectations and Future of Final Fantasy

[Lightning]

I personally think that a lot of people expect too much out of new Final Fantasy games these days. Because of the capabilities of new hardware like the ps3 and 360, many gamers expect significant upgrades in the graphics of the games that they play, which is understandable. But I think because of the time and expense it takes to make/utilize a cutting edge graphics engine, certain aspects such as towns and open world dynamics did not appear in FFXIII because it would simply take too long to implement while maintaining today's graphical standards. And i think we can agree that things such as the loss of towns and linearity in FFXIII make up a large majority of the complaints of people who did not like that game.

Its easy for people to say "Square needs to make FF's how they used to" or "Theyre destroying the traditional FF that worked" and other things like that, but if they didnt try to evolve the series by implementing changes such as jobs and new battle systems, wouldnt it have gotten dull by now? And as graphics improve, perhaps we will see less of things such as open world dynamics and towns in future FF games. I also think thats why an FFVII remake isnt as easy as people think it is because if it wasnt exactly on par with the old one, by making sure the vast majority of towns are present and perfect (especially Midgar) and retaining open world dyanmics, people would hate it. Remaking something like that with todays graphical standards would take a long time imo (sorry to bring that up, im definitely not saying I wouldnt like the remake). The same goes for future FF's though which is why i think the future of the series is unclear. I think people need to appreciate the old, but welcome the new, but that is just my opinion.

Do you all agree or disagree? Why or why not? And what kind of FF games do you think we will see in the future?

 

[Martel]

Graphic enhancement should never, EVER be at the expense of gameplay. Graphics are not the sole reason people buy video games - if that was the case, there would be no market for handhelds. In any case, games are perfectly capable of having both incredible graphics and gameplay - using improved graphics as an excuse to make the gameplay crap is unacceptable. Its just plain lazy.

All RPGs - including FFXIII - utilise a core system - it can be real-time, or it can be turn-based. Everything that is tacked on after that is just for presentation, to make it appear as though it is something different, when in reality we are just playing the same game we played the last time. When people say they want FF to go back to what it used to be, unless they're talking about the storyline, I can't honestly understand what the hell they want - FF games have always been turned-based, or had an ATB gauge. XIII is no different from any other FF game with an ATB gauge - the characters just move a little bit more when they're doing absolutely bugger all, and they can attack more than once. This isn't a huge change at all.

The general consensus from the older fans appears to be that FF games are getting worse as time progresses - I'd put this down to changing standards. Those of us who have been playing video games since the days of the SNES/Megadrive/PS1 or longer are no longer really being catered for - games are too easy for us, as gameplay is traded off in favour of better-looking graphics. When we look back, games were considerably harder, and even now something like FFVI is a lot harder than FFXIII.

The media doesn't help matters either - all they care about is breaking new technology, graphics, or which series the game is a part of. Nobody cares about the gameplay any more. The majority of people have been led to believe that, if a game doesn't have good graphics, it isn't worth playing. Especially on a console. On a handheld, it needs to be gimmicky; something like Brain Training. Otherwise, its not worth playing.

Back in my day, gameplay was at the heart of everything, because graphics were limited. Now that graphics are constantly being updated, that is all that anyone cares about. Its not real progress, though, all it is doing is making "video games" into "video graphics".

That is my theory, anyway. Times change, things get worse.

The main thing I expect from FF games in the future is the continuation of using an ATB gauge or a turn-based battle system. I highly doubt FF will ever branch into real time - although with the success of the Star Ocean and Tales series, you never know - and I expect Square Enix will just keep on churning out the same game with a few little tweaks until the end of time.

...although if Motou Toriyama has a big hand in any of them, I will not be buying them.

 

[Sultan]

The way I see it there isn't a formula for how a Final Fantasy game should be like. Yes there are striking similarities between some titles that keep a similar feel, but in the end every Final Fantasy is its own stand alone game. However, there are these certain recognizable elements that people have come to associate them with the RPG genre; such as towns, NPCs, exploration etc.
Where XIII went wrong in many people's opinions is that it sacrificed all those familiar elements for the sake of graphics. It looks pretty, so what? we expected to at least do other things than move forward and do quests for inanimate objects that are suppose to have some kind of history.
I don't know what kind of Final Fantasy game to expect to be completely honest. The MMO wasn't something we expected (twice, by the way) and the switch to real time battle wasn't something we expected either. That's one of the reasons why I like this series; it's that there's something new and unexpected. And you'll end up liking it or hating it.
When it comes to the Final Fantasy VII remake, I really think they should just remake it on a handheld. The graphics on those are good enough, it's easy to develop for and it's affordable. I'm sure FFVII fans will be pleased, I know I would.
Which comes to my next argument: graphics aren't everything and they're not nothing either. If I made a game in the year 2010 and it looks 32 bit, then there's no excuse for that. It's not even lazy it's just retarded. but If I take away the fun from the game just to make it look pretty and special then we've got a fucking problem.

 

[L]

I'm not really sure, but FFXIII put the nail in the coffin for me. Since the Squaresoft merge with Enix, Final Fantasy production has been very, very, slow. Not to mention, horribly mediocre.

Square Enix just isn't a name that I trust anymore.

People might not really mind mediocrity, but when I put out for something, I expect the same in return.

 

[Lightning]

I agree with both of you about graphics not being first and foremost. In my earlier post I was just stating what I see from the general audience of gamers these days.

My worst fear is that SE will move on from FF games because everyone seems to want so many different things in each new FF game that it seems impossible to please everyone. They have to navigate through those who wont play a game unless it has good graphics which seems to be a large majority of people these days, and those who have been in their fanbase for a while who think the series is drifting from what it used to be whether that is true or not.

But at the end of the day its just a game series and we all have our favorite FF's to play when the series does eventually come to an end.

 

[DrossVanity]

Well I have yet to play FFXIII so my perception is a bit limited but I completley agree with you that the series has to change/evolve in order to stay alive. However I don't think the change has to be bad.

FFX was a radical break from the PS1 FFs and yet it was still an amazing game and just as good as the PS1 FFs (IMO). I have to agree with the other posters in that Square seems to be focusing mainly on the graphics and marketing. If only they would combine some of the old with the new...

 

[Guernsey]

The thing about the graphics is that Square Enix gasmes had great graphics even before the merger. Look at some of the games especailly on the SNES, games like Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger or even Secret of Mana. Even then the graphics merely added to the games quality but the recent games are all about graphics, I hadn't played FFXIII yet so I cannot give an accurate assessment but still the Final Fantasy series was more than just graphics.

What the graphics did was compliment the story as did the music, characters, art and most of all the gameplay. The Final Fantasy games were all about fun but I seems like all I hear is that the graphics ruined the game and "FFXIII sux lol" but I do agree that the grapchis don't mean jack if doesn't have good gameplay to compliment it.