[Poll] How Satisfied are You in the Direction of the Final Fantasy Series in General?

[Sanji Himura]

Since we are in the 25th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series, I figured it was time to take an unofficial customer satisfaction survey on the health of the franchise. For the next month, the poll will remain open and you can answer from the following choices:

- I feel very satisfied about the general direction of the series as a whole.
- I feel good about the general direction of the series as a whole.
- I am neutral about the direction of the series as a whole.
- I feel bad about the general direction of the series as a whole.
- I hate the general direction of the series as a whole.

Keep in mind that the poll is not scientific.

 

[The Welsh Paddy]

I'm kinda neutral about the whole thing. FFXIII, for me, was very disappointing. It's begining to feel like they're just recycling older characters for the sake of keeping things familiar, but it's not very original.

So I don't know. They could take the series off in a direction that will be good, or it could just go horribly. The chances of them coming up with something good is like flipping a coin and it coming up tails.

 

[Boshi]

Love it. SE keeps the series fresh. Those great Things can only get better with Lightning Returns. Caius got me hooked on 13-2 so hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

 

[Dincht]

Being someone that grew up with VII, VIII & IX - I can't help but feel that "Final Fantasy" ended long ago, and now it's just a game the SE releases every now and again. Fans such as us have a loyalty to Final Fantasy, so much so that we will continue to buy the games SE throw at us. I don't know if other people feel the same as me, but unfortunately I'll continue to purchase these whilst clutching onto the hope that they will revert to type, see sense and go back to the classic era of IV-X.

Alas, I feel the direction of FF is much like XIII - linear. SE will continue to churn out Final Fantasy games with improved graphics, sit back, and watch the cash roll in. It's sad really. Sometimes it feels like the power of today's consoles force developers into a corner. They are so focused on maximising the graphic potential a console has to offer that ultimately creativity and originality suffers.

 

[Sheechiibii]

I said I'm feeling good about it. I mean, I've played seven games and only disliked one. 6/7 is not bad. I definitely can't say that their direction is bad when I've only disliked one game. I'm sure they will produce other games that I love as well, every FF game is different that's what's great about the franchise.

 

[AuronX]

I like Sheechiibii's attitude. I've liked every FF game I've played, but of course some more than others. Even if you're not big on the latest entries, seeing as they've all been a part of one sub-series, I'd say it's difficult to even know the direction of the series as a whole at this point. The direction of the XIII sub-series we can know, but until we see what SE does after that, it's hard to judge. In the past we had X-2, a huge departure from series standards, and then XII, a game harking back to the classics in a huge way. It could happen again after the currently announced games are finished, and even though I personally am not an MMO guy, FFXIV 2.0 is looking pretty darn slick as well.

SE doesn't have a perfect track record, so I'm not counting out the possibility for them to flub, but honestly they've done more right than they've done wrong. Part of what makes Final Fantasy so interesting is how different each game is; the developers have to experiment with stuff, which naturally is going to involve making a few stinkers along the way. That doesn't, however, mean that the series is doomed just because we can't see the future and atm all we have is one of those stinkers.*

(*'stinkers' referring to the XIII sub-series so many people hate, but personally I find quite enjoyable...just not as good as other FF titles)

 

[Razberry Knight]

I dont like the current direction. Although SE has attempted to fix their previous mistakes but they continue to remind us a series we arent fond of.

Personally, im at the point where the spin offs are better than the main series.


Their holding up but its no longer at legendary status

 

[Starships]

I don't like because well okay Final Fantasy XIII and it's sequel wasn't so great so there is always hope for Final Fantasy XV, but the main reason why I'm really hardout, truly disapointed because Square isn't releasing all of it's actually good games to Europe and the Land of the Free.

Bravery Default looks amazing and it has a format that is like those of the older games of Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IX. Though Square refuses to bring it here because of some strange reason. Same was Type 0, who cares if the Vita or PSP isn't selling. Just bring it here, because I'm sure that fans will buy one just to play this game.

Why did they choose to bring out Theatrhythm but then reject us with BD ? If Square thinks that the DS and PSP isn't doing so great in the West then why did they give us Theatrhythm ? It's like throwing a dog a bone and then not giving him anymore because they can't be effed.

Square could make a excellent game for the PSP or 3DS and we may not see it. What if they stop bringing out the main Final Fantasy games to the west ? They already believed that Final Fantasy XIII got bad reviewed over here because it " didn't match Western tastes " even though I've seen Japanese fans hate it and bash it on Youtube. I really believe that Wada is xenophobic towards the west or just plain doesn't like us.

Whelp I don't like you either Wada.

 

[The Welsh Paddy]

Same was Type 0, who cares if the Vita or PSP isn't selling. Just bring it here, because I'm sure that fans will buy one just to play this game.

Well look at it this way. You need to remember that Square-Enix need to pay to distribute and advertise their releases. If, for example, only a handful of people from the U.K were to buy Type-O, then the sales wouldn't match the amount spent on distribution to the U.K and they would be losing money. From a business stand-point, it would be stupid to do that.

But you know, I think JRPGs in general have been on the decline. Not just FF games. And WRPGs have been massively improving over the past few years. Nowadays I would probably feel more inclined to play something released by Bethesda or Bioware than Square-Enix.

 

[Artemisia]

Neutral. I don't like the whole Lightning Saga crap they're spewing out at the moment, even though I enjoyed FF13 and 13-2 (though they pale in comparison to earlier titles). I do hope that once they've wrapped up Lightning's soap opera they manage to pull themselves right again. I would like to see a game similar in visual style to IX with the gameplay of XII.

 

[PhoenyxAngel]

I chose that I feel bad about it. I wish we had more FF games so I could give a real judgement. Right now I'm basing it on the XIII series and the failure that was FFXIV. Unless they can come out with an amazing FF then I doubt I will be changing my opinion. I just hope they can move away from the Fabula Nova Crystalis (sp?) series and just move on to the next FF (FFXV).

 

[mikey_boson]

Being someone that grew up with VII, VIII & IX - I can't help but feel that "Final Fantasy" ended long ago, and now it's just a game the SE releases every now and again. Fans such as us have a loyalty to Final Fantasy, so much so that we will continue to buy the games SE throw at us. I don't know if other people feel the same as me, but unfortunately I'll continue to purchase these whilst clutching onto the hope that they will revert to type, see sense and go back to the classic era of IV-X.

Alas, I feel the direction of FF is much like XIII - linear. SE will continue to churn out Final Fantasy games with improved graphics, sit back, and watch the cash roll in. It's sad really. Sometimes it feels like the power of today's consoles force developers into a corner. They are so focused on maximising the graphic potential a console has to offer that ultimately creativity and originality suffers.

I agree, 'Final Fantasy' as us 90's and early-noughties people remember was the pinnacle of the series. 7 and 9 were 2 of the best games I have ever played and one of these would be the game I would pick if I was to be marooned on a desert island. True FF has long since ended. I bought 12 and really disliked it for a whole host of reasons and I've never bought a game since. My brother bought 13 just because it was a FF and we are both die-hard fans but it was very poorly received. We aren't going to buy any more.

One of the problems with games like FF is that they don't really fit in with today's world. People want lots of fast-paced and intense action with a storyline that is easy to follow. People also want a game where they are competing with other gamers around the globe via online gaming. FF (in its traditional sense) isn't fast-paced or intense in the way that people perceive today when compared to something like CoD. The storyline develops and deepens your characters, it draws you in and entices you to keep playing because you want to keep fighting for the good guys. You want to know how it ends but you know you will feel a little sad and empty when the adventure is all over. People today don't really have time to play on games like FF, they want something that you can immediately pick up and play. Who today would be prepared to visit somewhere similar to the training areas in Midgar and Junon to learn all the aspects of the game? As the traditional FF's don't fit in very well with what gamers want today, SE aren't going to produce games that people don't want - at the end of the day they are a business and need to make money.

FF's today are likely to entertain a very different audience to us guys who grew up with the backbone of the franchise. I really wish that SE had ended the franchise with 10 and then moved on to something new. They are now dragging the great name of FF through the mud.

 

[Gabe]

I'm not really appreciative of the way the series is going. This whole XIII-2 + DLC and Lightning Returns feels unnecessary and stupid. I was alright with Final Fantasy XIII, it was too linear and the battles got dull, but other than that I feel it was worthy to the Final Fantasy franchise. I was still optimistic then, but the amount of time Square Enix is devoting into mobile gaming, FFXIV and Lightning's MESS of a story arc, really makes me feel doubtful. I am just praying for the day Versus XIII comes out, and ends up being good. If not, then what else will save them? I think us Final Fantasy fans have been sitting back for more than enough time, waiting for a ground-breaking title that blows tits off. For me, Final Fantasy XIII was -almost- there, afterwards I just started gagging at the company's choices...

 

[The Welsh Paddy]

One of the problems with games like FF is that they don't really fit in with today's world. People want lots of fast-paced and intense action with a storyline that is easy to follow. People also want a game where they are competing with other gamers around the globe via online gaming.

I disagree.

FF games have always ever appealed to a very specific crowd. From what I've seen, it wasn't really until the release of the XBox 360 that a new crowd of gamers flooded in, obsessed with the likes of COD, Gears of War, and other explosive, cinematic and competative games. I don't think it's that people don't want anymore Final Fantasy. All you need to do is look 'round the various FF online communities, anime conventions and even various gaming communities to see there is still a huge demand for Final Fantasy. It's just that with this new wave of gamers, it's probably a case of FF fans taking a minority in the gaming community as a whole.

SE obviously wanted to try something different with XIII, and as far as I'm concerned, they've failed and now they're trying to play it safe by pumping out spin-offs. There was a lot of hype with Fabula Nova Crysallis, but XIII fell short of all that.

What I don't understand is... Why did they make XIII-2? It's as if they want to try and change people's minds about how they feel about XIII. Granted, I hear it had been somewhat improved from XIII, but again, it just seems like an attempt to change people's minds about XIII. Sure, they might have had further stories to tell, but why not just recycle some of those ideas into a fresh project? But no, they're even going as far as making yet another XIII sequel. It's definitely not a promising direction at all for the series.

Part of me is hoping that SE will pull their heads out of their own arses and bring something awesome for XV, but part of me thinks it's never going to happen. Agito XIII had already been changed to Type-0. Does it still tie in with the Fabula Nova Crysallis? I think it would be a step in the right direction if it wasn't. There was a rumour that Versus had been cancelled, but now I'm hearing it's actually gonna be XV. That would be yet another step in the right direction.

From what I've seen with 'gameplay' footage for Versus XIII/FF XV or whatever it's gonna be called, it looks like it will be a lot of fun. The battle system definitely seems a lot more immersive and the world seems a lot more open too. I doubt it'd be anything like the traditional Final Fantasy games, but it does seem to be a nice new take on the series.

 

[The Master]

The stories aren't really what they used to be, characters have become harder to relate to, the gameplay just changed completely without warning (Unless you call X-2 and XI a warning) and, in my opinion, it wasn't for the better... I got REALLY used to turn based combat. It didn't put me off, it was just, different... I guess we will just have to see how XV turns out...

 

[Kuja9001]

Part of me is hoping that SE will pull their heads out of their own arses and bring something awesome for XV, but part of me thinks it's never going to happen. Agito XIII had already been changed to Type-0. Does it still tie in with the Fabula Nova Crysallis? I think it would be a step in the right direction if it wasn't. There was a rumour that Versus had been cancelled, but now I'm hearing it's actually gonna be XV. That would be yet another step in the right direction.

Yep it does.

Im not bothered by the direction because I never put FF on some stupid pedestal like clowns do FF7.

 

[L]

I feel like the next game will be better than the last few titles, but for the most part, has been very disappointing in the past few years.

 

[vodaf]

"I feel bad about the general direction of the series as a whole" - My vote.

 

[Silver Rocket]

I guess you can safely say I'm pretty... neutral. I'm not really optimistic, but I'm not pessimistic at the same time. I've only played up to Final Fantasy 7, and I have to say that I don't see Final Fantasy surviving much longer.

It's obvious that Squeenix is trying to milk the franchise as much as they can, and trying to say "Hey, even though our game was a flop, let's try to remake it, maybe THAT will make people like our dumb idea!" That's not how it works.

As much as I would like to "see the show go on", I doubt it's going to survive much longer with the direction it's going. Squeenix needs a wakeup call, that, and... let's face it: the RPG Era is dying, implying it hasn't died already.

I personally think that the more recent Final Fantasy fans (such as myself) shouldn't base Final Fantasy off the later games (Final Fantasy 11 and up.) I liked Final Fantasy 12, but I just could not get along with the battle system... It got to the point where I was forced to watch gameplay rather than finish the game myself. That is what scares me: That future Final Fantasy games may be the same.

 

[Sheechiibii]

I took each FF title from S-E onwards and examined them in another thread, I'm not writing all that again, so I will do a 1 line summary:

Final Fantasy X-2 - Horrid Sequel, hated the new mission structure, sodomy of Yuna's character and diversion in story.

Just thought I should mention that X-2 isn't actually made by S-E, it was made while the company was still Squaresoft