Is Square aiming at a more casual audience?

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Vagrant

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So it looks like in FFXIII there will be no more MP, how do you all feel about this? Do you feel that it will make the game too easy since you can pop a heal or any spell without worry about running out? Or do you like the idea of this?
I feel that it gets rid of a certain form of strategy. Before every big battle I make sure Im well rested and that I have enough ethers or elixirs going into it. Without MP it just seems to me that they are making it too easy and trying to gear it towards a more casual audience so they can run through the game easily. I have no problem with Square trying to reel in a bigger audience this gen but i hope they dont get rid of too many things that makes the series great in order to do so.
What are your opinions on this?
 
Not really. If you remember there was no MP in Final Fantasy VIII either, and that game was by no means easy. Yes there was the stock system, but you could draw in the middle of battle so essentially you have an infinite supply of magic as well. another thing is even though MP is removed they probably are going to make other aspects a bit more difficult to balance it out. I myself have never liked the MP system, although that is probably because my first RPG was Final Fantasy VIII so I assumed that all RPGs followed this format.
 
While I do agree with you they will probably make some aspects of the game harder, I just feel that it will be too easy in battles unless they put some sort of a cap on how much you can heal and how much magic you can use per battle.
Sadly I have not yet played FFVIII so I guess I am on the other side of the fence of you to where I have not played an RPG that hasnt had some sort of MP.
 
I agree with Lady Edea. I've played several games that had magic, but no MP value's of any sort. They revolved around the stock system. For instance, Flare could be worth 3 stock points and Fire could only be worth one. Something along these lines are probably what is going to be expected and XV, whenever it comes out, will probably bring back MP. And for the record, I've actually been quite the fan of MP battles. Personally kind of put the edge on the battle for me as I usually threw out the expensive spells up front. But we shall see.
 
I'm not fussed about not having an MP system as they'll just find something else to replace it with, however, do I feel they're aiming at a more casual audience? Yes.
The Japanese gaming market is shrinking, and even developers have noted it stating that Japanese developers must adapt to Western Markets or die.
I don't know what the figures are for average RPG's sold in the west but if they're trying to appeal to the western market then they're obviously going to have to appeal to other genre groups as well, much like Fallout 3.
 
I won't say that FFXIII reforming this traditional system is indication of appealing to a casual audience. There can easily be another new element added that makes the battles more difficult. The Paradigm Shift/Optima Change aspect can be a possible balancer. I certainly don't want to believe that FFXIII is made easier for the sake of attracting new gamers. Dragon Quest IX was intended to be made extremely difficult.

I do fear that SE's attempts to appeal to western markets can be its downfall. Games like Nier and Front Mission Evolved spring to my mind. I don't want to see an RPG like a Final Fantasy game turn into something like Fallout 3. It just won't seem right. I also don't want to see the Japanese gaming market being extinguished either. There's something about JRPGs that makes it unique from other genres.
 
Stella Nox Fleuret said:
I do fear that SE's attempts to appeal to western markets can be its downfall. Games like Nier and Front Mission Evolved spring to my mind. I don't want to see an RPG like a Final Fantasy game turn into something like Fallout 3. It just won't seem right. I also don't want to see the Japanese gaming market being extinguished either. There's something about JRPGs that makes it unique from other genres.
Click to expand...

I think Japanese devolepers feel more pressure to make their games appeal to the western market after games such as Fallout 3 and Oblivion. In the 90's JRPG's were pretty big in the western market (i.e. FFVII etc...), maybe just as big as in the Japanese market. However games such as JRPG's are starting to see a decline in popularity in the west especially since more and more WRPG's are coming out and being a huge hit. I feel the newer gamers this generation who never got to expierience the huge JRPG titles of the 90's and even some in early 2000's will be turned off to them becuase of the fact they are more difficult games with these massive stories which is completely unlike the WRPG's being released today (atleast IMO). I fear that Japanese devolpers might start trying to cater to the western market as time goes by, but only time will tell.
 
i liked having mp because it gave me more of a challenge and i like final fantasy being more challenging.
 
I'm rather neutral about this. It's a fresh change, in my opinion, since I haven't encountered a game that does not have MP; I never played Final Fantasy VIII. On one hand, it may eliminate the challenge in having to plan your battles carefully lest you enter one without the ability to cast magic.

On the other, it can be more thrilling to know that without MP, you may well be spamming magic spells throughout the battle- quite unprecedented in previous games due to the restraining factor known as MP. Well, to me at least >.>
 
I'm going to have to agree with Vagrant on this. After reading up on things, I was forced to come to the conclusion.

HP regenerates after every battle.
If you lose a battle, it gives you the option to retry.
No MP.
Story uses a "chapter system".

There were a few others that I can't seem to remember.

Now, these elements by no means make a game bad. Quite the contrary actually. You see, games like Chrono Cross are guilty of HP regeneration and no MP, and those by no means were easy, and it certainly didn't make the game bad.

It's actually the other two things that I mentioned that bother me. The retry option doesn't appeal to me all that much, and the "chapter system"... Ugh...

However, in my opinion, Square has been going to a casual audience since FFX. I hated FFX, and today I view it to be one of the easiest, boring, and evil games that were aimed at a casual audience. (Lots will disagree with me there, but my opinion hasn't changed since the game came out.)

I don't think it's going to be a horrible game mind you, but in some way I do think that this game has a large chance of becoming the next step in the loss of hardcore fans. (With FFX being the beginning of the end.)
 
Final Fantasy has always changed up the magic system almost every itteration of their games. I highly doubt that it will be, "spam cast cure at no expense", there has never been one in their series in the past and I don't expect them to do so now.

I am always up for change.
 
I don't think the lack of MP is going to do anything to take away the strategy needed to play the game. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the game actually requires more strategy.

Think about it. You have a limited number of ATB bars needed to perform a myriad of actions, all the while your enemies are attacking you in real time (going by what I've seen from the demo). You have to balance healing yourself, your allies, defending, and attacking enemies to end the battle as quickly as possible (in order to get a good review).
On top of that, because you can heal with absolute impunity, and the party's HP goes to max at the end of every battle, enemies will probably be hitting you just as hard as you are hitting them, unless you do an insane amount of grinding. Comparatively, of course. (I hope late-game monsters won't be hitting me regularly with attacks that do 3000+ damage)
 
MP conservation is part of a strategy, so as long as the game introduces another strategic aspect to replace that, I'm fine with no MP. I used to fool myself into believing the story was the most important part of an RPG for me, but now I realize there are plenty of RPGs I've played with terrible plots and great gameplay, and that doesn't bother me at all.

I just want the battles to be intriguing.
 
Final Fantasy has fluxed in its gameplay and story, weaving between two or three general mainstays. Don't ask me specifically what those two or three are, I'm not that smart. I can try though. More of a medieval setting, then to slightly more science fiction with advanced technology. VIII was significantly more sci fi, then IX waned back down, then back up to sci fi with X again. XII seemed like a little mix of both for once. XIII is seeming to be very sci fi so far though.

The gameplay has also changed some. Using the ATB system has been commonplace but they removed it in X, then brought it back in XII. MP is a flux in many RPG's. I thought it was ingenious what Chrono Cross did with using numbered turns depending on what actions you take. However, while FFVIII is my favorite Final Fantasy, I hated the draw system with a passion. Incredible slow and dull, so hopefully XIII won't do that.

Anyway, my point. Final Fantasy has fluxed with what it does from its gameplay to characters, to setting. What they do in this one, then with FFXV, they will most likely go about things differently again. While there has been change in recent years, these changes are nothing new to long time FF fans. In general, longtime fans can adjust easily to it because we're very used to it.

Having no MP doesn't bother me much, they'll find a way to compensate. But, I see what others have said about FFX playing to more of a mainstream audience and thus being easier. It was one of the easiest games I've ever played. Forgot Final Fantasy, just game period. However, FFXII was...not. That one was the most challenging Final Fantasy I've played since Tactics.

Honestly, when I first saw the title without reading anything, I thought we were going to be complaining about how awesome the graphics look. You know, complaining that they're upping the graphics to get more starry eyed people to buy it too. Maybe they are. But recently, I've noticed that SE seems to put more weight in how pretty their games are, rather than substance. In general, the characters in FFX were fairly mundane, while the ones in FFXII were just plain awful. Granted, like with FFVIII the characters besides Squall and Rinoa weren't much, the story stuck with you and the characters were memorable regardless. FFXII for me is just a collage of airships, big booms, nethicite, and 'I'm the leading man.' XD

Maybe I'm getting a little off base, talking about where Final Fantasy is going in general, rather than specifically FFXIII here. Perhaps my opinion of the future of the franchise will change with the game. I agree and disagree with those who say Final Fantasy is on the path to ruin since FFX. I may even agree with them a little more than I disagree. Despite that, while I haven't so much as played a demo, XIII is looking pretty amazing. I'm optimistic about a Final Fantasy game for the first time in a long time, and I think that's a good sign. Besides that, I wouldn't base a game turning mainstream/casual because an extra stat bar is missing.
 
I don't mind the fact there is no MP anymore, although I will not be looking forward to be constantly drawing magic from an enemy like in FF VIII -if thats what they have planned then I think they should bring back MP! But anyways I think Sqaure's doing what it needs to, to survive.

I still have faith that they will release an amazing Final Fantasy game.
 
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