Frankly while I fancy the storyline and have little qualms with linearity in a general sense, Final Fantasy XIII was beyond general unfortunately. You were essentially held by the hand because the game was horrified if it allowed you to experiment, you would do things wrong. Aspects such as a predetermined battle party, 'tutorials' running through the entirety of the game and a battle system that restricts control whilst allowing for an auto pilot system, were dangerous steps that ultimately resulted in a fair amount of disappointment.
If Square returned to their old form, Final Fantasy X and those preceding it, they could easily reclaim their position. I always pondered why after the immense success of FFX, they deviated so radically in subsequent entries into the series. Now the mention of a interaction on a Mass Effect level would be fantastic, I wonder if this would be too far a step away from what is Final Fantasy.
My personal suggestions...
- Impact. Aerith dying was one of the largest impacts in the series due to the unforeseen likelihood of her death, especially not in the fashion it happened. The ending to FFX was remarkably emotional with the storyline build up only vaguely eluding to the result until near the latter portion of the game.
- Maturity. We can have our giddy happy-go-lucky girls and not completely disregard a mature overall flow. I love the light hearted tone however the target audience has grown older and it is time the series followed suit. The exception to the aforementioned characters is when they tie into the storyline in some manner. Maturity does not necessarily entail blood or visible sex scenes, although if tastefully done those could be a worthwhile addition (Mass Effect), nor does it require a realistic storyline, just realistic characters. Furthermore Square needs to cease their fear of 'edgy' characters for lack of a better word. Wrex's dark humor and dry wit have been adored by the fanbase. FF with their recent somber tone storyline could do wonders with someone like him.
- A primary character. We have tangled enough with this nonsense of not having a definitive main protagonist and frankly it has not worked wonders. Tidus and Yuna sharing the main character status was a successful venture however I believe all fans are in agreement Basch would have made a significantly superior main character to Vaan in every fathomable sense of the meaning. Lightning, well from my understanding, (I have yet to finish the game), she concedes the MC role frequently and in actuality Vanille latches on to it fairly often. Either way, the game requires a focal point.
Mass Effect - Shepard
Dragon Age - Grey Warden
Zelda - Link
and the majority of FFs preceding eleven.
- Decide on a system. Fancy the Sphere Grid? Good, develop it further. Rather the tried and true level/EXP? Shoot for it. Either way Square must cease with their horrid indecisiveness and choose a system. This is true for the combat system, whether it is turn based or real time, something has to become the stable. The incessant changing of the mechanics has become a tiresome venture due to gamers having found a likable system only to know improvements will never be rendered as the inevitable "start fresh" ideal rears it's ugly head. Moreover they would save a bundle if they were merely upgrading a single system, instead of redesigning one from the ground up.
