Question for Final Fantasy fans

[ghostwalker]

I've been a Final Fantasy addict ever since I first playing FF7 and loved it to death and was instantly hooked. I've played them all since then (except FF11) but am having problems keeping interested in the new ones. I finished FF10 which I liked and then bought FF10-2 when that was out but found myself getting a little bored with it and never finished it. The same thing is now happening with FF12 which I bought recently. I did love it to start with but now I haven't even played it for a few weeks. What's happened to me! I remember never being able to put the controller down with FF7, 8 and 9. Does anyone else feel the same way or have experienced the same thing?

 

[stitch19]

same thing happened to me with world of warcraft. but i did quit it in just few seconds of thinking

 

[pjumpleby]

yes me too. played ff7 for years loved it that much.

 

[Kraynor]

I have been feeling the same way, to some extent... Every Final Fantasy game, Square try to do something different, effectively re-defining their idea of what a turn based RPG should be. FFX-2 at face value isn't all that great, the storyline's weak which could be due to the fact that Square never made a sequel before and as such had to attempt to make a game with the 60-80 hour length we're used to, but without being able to spend a lot of time going into the details of the world and characters. FFXI is fairly fun, I played it for 2 months when I got a 2 month free trial of it, but I stopped once it expired and never really wanted to go back. FFXII, the first Final Fantasy game since FFVI which hasn't been completely or partially written by Kazushige Nojima is a nice example of an action RPG, but it never fully fits into that catagory, nor does it fit into the catagory of turn based RPG, which lead to it having a feeling that most Final Fantasy fans found strange, especially since the series (not including Tactics or FFXI) has had a consistent feeling to the battle system. Another thing to bear in mind when looking at FFXII is that there was a huge shuffle around of key figures in Square during its development, although you can probably find more about that on the web.

 

[ghostwalker]

Yer I agree with you Kraynor. Some good points. I'm not adverse to the game changing and trying new things. That's good and should be encouraged else you get a stale game that just releases sequel after sequel with just a graphics upgrade. I guess it's just one of those things. I just hope that square don't venture too much away from the old FF roots. Looking at how FF13 is shaping up, they may be in danger of simply creating an uber-graphics action RPG and loosing all the old FF7 fans. Dunno. Just my 2 cents.

 

[cafuddled]

Still think they should make a remake of FF7, that would be good and might help the dev team get back on track with creating breath takingly good games.

 

[ghostwalker]

Yer. I'm in 2 minds about a FF7 remake. I'm sure it would be really awesome but fiddling with a classic is not always good.

 

[arianon]

ghostwalker:

I'm also a huge final fantasy fan. I started playing with FF1 and have played since then. I personally believe the problem is 2 fold, and it happens to everyone who started playing games at in there young teens or younger.
1. The changing of the feel of the game. For (I think) the first 8 games each game was a dramatic improvement in the depth/complexity of the characters. In FF1 you start with guys who are just a bunch of stats you picked up off the street. FF2 has some basic story/characteriztion, 3 has less. Then came FF4, which blew away everything everyone had seen up to that point (In the Final Fantasy series,) it had an intriguing plot line, some great memorable lines (You spoony Bard!!) and characters that you could get into (as a 10 year old kid I was able to really get into the story surrounding Cecil/Rosa etc) 5 has awesome music although I didn't think the characters/story were as good, I mean come on the main characters name is butz... FF6 was once again a revolution in the depth of characterization/story, I love this game and the characters/story is still burned into my mind. FF7 as everyone know revolutionized RPGs with a great story/characters, everyone knows who Aeris is While 8 was surrounded by some controversy I loved it, and think it has the best cast. IMHO squall/rinoa is the best couple in any FF game, their personalities are the most developed/realistic. However, since that time I think the personalities/story has actually decreased in quality. FF12 has a great story, but the characters feel a little thin to me. Because of this percieved decrease in characterization the FF series has been falling farther and farther from its previous throne in my opinion.

2. I think the age at which begin gaming plays an extremely important role. At the time when FF7 came out and many of us played it for the first time we were around middle/high school age. I think that the relationships and stories in those games at the time were able to captivate us, however, as we get older, college, work etc we don't get the same rush from saving the girl in a game etc, especially when we are looking for personal gratification from the relationship, which is just to one-dimensional to be fulfilling. I guess we are just getting too old we want more complex characters/stories.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[ghostwalker]

Some good points arianon. I guess what you like and your tastes do change as you get older. I still remember the first time I played Secret of Mana. That was back in the day. Damn I loved that game...

 

[djcoolmasterx]

The only FF game Ive played was FFX which was great, but the sequal looked weak and I never got back into it. FFX started with the destruction of a city FFX2 starts with a pop concert...

 

[stemnin]

That was a sweet moment in history, FF7, just before that, Chrono Trigger and Phantasy Star IV my fav rpgs.

I felt that is has gone downhill since ff7, ff10 was sorta fun, and ff11 ill never touch..

Chrono Trigger, what happened to that company after Cross?

Phantasy Star IV, have you seen the crap that has come after it?

 

[vir_cotto]

Mmm I loved Secret of Mana Sieken Detsu Final Fantasies Chrono Trigger I still play them every few months I still even play Ultima 8 and pretty much have the game memorized XD

 

[stemnin]

Yeah, forgot about SoM, and there was another game I played on Game Gear.. I can never remember the name, shining force? breath of fire?