Square-Enix Isn't Sure Where to Take Final Fantasy

[Michael826]

The west thinks that JRPG's are stagnating? What must they think of our releases? FPS, FPS, FPS, FPS, 3PS, FPS, FPS, FPS.........sport sim

True, but at least they're good,

Maybe they could just stop making the franchise altogether and come up with something brand new

Whilst I agree that while the majority are between competent and great, gameplay-wise, i honestly feel that they've stagnated almost as much - if not more - than JRPG's.
Although, that's just my opinion.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

I have an idea.

Final Fantasy VS Capcom

I think it could work...

OT:Im not sure myself, i think maybe taking it back to its roots for a bit instead of releasing remakes might spark some interest.
Hopefully they can come up with something soon.

Dante vs Vincent Valentine would be an emo teen's dream.
I'd still love to see it though.

My problem with Final Fantasy was that, with the others, like X and XII, I could get lost in the world and its lore. I'd go to different shops, and I'd prefer certain stores and towns. FFXIII had none of that, because for some reason Lightning and her crew have access to the same Black Market as Rico Rodriguez!

There was nothing about Cocoon or Pulse I found interesting, whereas places like Rabanastre and Guadosalam had a feel to them, they had different aesthetics and cultures, and it was interesting to explore. This is where, for me, FFXIII fell down.

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

Might I suggest MANLY looking male characters?

 

[poiuppx]

I say there's one thing that would greatly improve them; freedom. Make the world FEEL big, even if it's not. The older games are pretty damn linear... but the world FEELS big. It feels like you need to go all over the place, like it's an actual globe. Even if you want it to be linear at the end of the day, at least make us feel like it's not just a hallway walk.

 

[Diligent]

It seems to me like the pillars of a good RPG are:
Character customization, which FFXIII didn't have.
Exploration and discovery, which FFXIII didn't have.
An engaging story, which is completely subjective. Despite having some terrible characters and some convoluted moments, it kept me playing to the end, so I guess it gets a point for that.

So it hit one out of three main points that make a solid RPG.

I honestly wouldn't mind if for the next game they scaled back on the graphics a bit (which were pretty awesome) and open up the game a bit more.

Or go back to 2d, super high resolution sprites. You could pull of some sweet stuff:

(I know, wrong series, but it's an example)

 

[Tiswas]

Easiest thing for them to do is:

DONT CHANGE THE THING. Look at FFIX compared to XIII. It's not even the same series. Go back to the roots, go back to proper turn based and keep the little fans you've still got. Why get rid of their current fans from the earlier stuff for place of a new audience?

Ok. I know that a good chunk of the current fanbase simply wants VII rehash but still. THAT would be better than making a random game then slapping the Final Fantasy name on it so it can sell well.

Although I do admit. Sazh is one of the better chars I've seen in a long time. Give me him over Shepard anyday

 

[sirkai007]

Here's a thought. To the cemetery.

 

[sirkai007]

I have an idea.

Final Fantasy VS Capcom

I think it could work...

OT:Im not sure myself, i think maybe taking it back to its roots for a bit instead of releasing remakes might spark some interest.
Hopefully they can come up with something soon.

Yes, I'm sure that pussy kid "Hope" would kick so much ass.

 

[Tsudokun]

I would kill it off after the MMO, it's time square moved on and stopped relying so heavily on there franchises. Who knows, maybe other companies will follow suit. The gaming industry needs more originality all around(maybe with the exception of Nintendo(the consoles not the games)).

 

[Death-of-Penguins]

Regardless of what they do, everyone will complain anyway.

Me? I want to see two things- prequel to FFX, and a sequel to The World Ends With You. Or a prequel. I don't care. I just love the concept.

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

take it to the furnace. you've got a great replacement already:

yeah sorry no...that game is one of the reasons final fantasy 13 had no world map, next to no real towns.
It has all the same failings..and more...Since it uses Disney characters.

As for the topic at hand...they should take it back to what it was...you know..Fantasy...they need to stop with this steam punk scifi crap I'm sick of final fantasy characters evolving to look more and more Japanese, and containing more and more giant robot referencing.

I didn't like steam punk with akira, didn't like it with ghost in the shell. I decidedly dislike the Japanese version of steampunk. So why take a game called Final Fantasy and turn it scifi like they have?
Go back to what it was epic fantasy story telling with actual real magic...all so stop with the 80 hours of CGI I want to play my game not watch it. and ff13 was majority movie with little gameplay compared.

um, KH had both world maps and towns. quite a few actually. and who cares if it uses Disney characters? the story is still great and the gameplay is amazing.

actually it didn't it had hub worlds, and towns were limited to about...the size of a penny compared to older final fantasies. most of the time in KH2 towns were limited often to bout 5 people outside of the main town. Hubworlds and 1 town does not equal a world map or loads of towns.

and its story was great to you, to me it wasn't it was a plot filled mess, and gameplay was a button masher you could go through the game button mashing most of the time. whats sad is how easy sephiroth was in KH2...I beat him single handedly just by using the false buddy attack the one if you have Donald and goofy they do this big attack but if you dont have them you do this false attack and it would literally take half of sephies health bar.

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

It seems to me like the pillars of a good RPG are:
Character customization, which FFXIII didn't have.
Exploration and discovery, which FFXIII didn't have.
An engaging story, which is completely subjective. Despite having some terrible characters and some convoluted moments, it kept me playing to the end, so I guess it gets a point for that.

So it hit one out of three main points that make a solid RPG.

I honestly wouldn't mind if for the next game they scaled back on the graphics a bit (which were pretty awesome) and open up the game a bit more.

Or go back to 2d, super high resolution sprites. You could pull of some sweet stuff:

(I know, wrong series, but it's an example)

Id love 2d super high res sprites...I want more games like that, I'm sick of 3d games...I miss the 2d days I miss when developers had to cut the fat put the best of the best in, thats why I haven't liked FF since 7 they stopped cutting the fat would put every single inane idea in the game.. I want them to give me the best of the best of their ideas not every thing and the kitchen sink.

 

[geldonyetich]

Sounds like less a Final Fantasy problem and more a JRPG problem.

Art can only adhere to a formula for so long before the novelty has worn off, and art without novelty is hardly art at all.

 

[Finebrew]

they should just follow in the footsteps of oblivion, mass effect, and fallout 3. that would be a hella interesting FF

 

[sephiroth1991]

Finish Versus, its sonding pritty good

 

[I forgot]

Here's where they should go with final fantasy.

1.focus on making a good strategy game

That's it. They can go anywhere with the gameplay or story, as long as it stays within its usual strategy-based combat. As far as I can see, that's the most important place they screw up in.