Square Enix Wants a New Final Fantasy Every Year

[Funcakes]

Call of duty is the same. game. Right down to the core mechanics. All they do is reskin.

Final fantasy? The amount of visual detail you require? LOLOLOLOL.

 

[urahara75]

With two teams working on separate titles they could release a new title every two years while putting 4 years dev time into each title.

Let's not forget, during the franchises peak, they were putting out games that quickly. Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9 and 10 all came out in a 4 year period. 7 came out in Sep 1997 and 10 came out in Dec 2001. Taking so long between titles (MMO's notwithstanding) has hurt them.

The problem lies with Square Enix execs having an inescapable compulsion to announce multiple new titles at every trade show &/or convention, YEAR AFTER YEAR (since FFXII's release in NA, ssoo... since 2006 or so). They're simply hideously bad @ managing their human resources effectively and seem to give not 1 crap-tastic iota of thought to development benchmarking/timelines. ┐( ¯3¯)┌

 

[Funcakes]

Well, let's imagine for a moment that they did (for the record, I liked XIII, but I understand it had problems). My hope is that a deadline would force them to come up with the style of game they wanted and make a tighter story. For me XIII's two biggest faults are a convoluted story and a number of gameplay elements that weren't fleshed out enough (the mech riding section was pointless, the combat seemed too simplistic, etc.). Perhaps- and again, this is my hope- a tighter schedule would force them to create a simpler story without the numerous confusing elements, and create a better gameplay experience.

yay double post.

But this needed to be replied to.
Those problems sound like poor management and not enough time.
Convoluted story? Means the writers and the rest of the team weren't on the same page. Ideas that weren't fleshed out enough? The developers trying to squeeze in cool features but couldn't finish.

Complexity takes time, you know. Running developers like machines won't make things better. If anything, you'll get the same shallow combat system and story structure every year, because they won't have time to manage anything new.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

Well, let's imagine for a moment that they did (for the record, I liked XIII, but I understand it had problems). My hope is that a deadline would force them to come up with the style of game they wanted and make a tighter story. For me XIII's two biggest faults are a convoluted story and a number of gameplay elements that weren't fleshed out enough (the mech riding section was pointless, the combat seemed too simplistic, etc.). Perhaps- and again, this is my hope- a tighter schedule would force them to create a simpler story without the numerous confusing elements, and create a better gameplay experience.

And that's not going to happen. What WILL happen is the development team "inspiring" themselves from other games and then just reusing those mechanics since there's not enough time to introduce something new. Basically what happened to the Call of Duty franchise and to an extent the AC one as well.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

...says Yoshinori Kitase, a developer and producer of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2. "When you think of Western triple A titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Assassin's Creed, they seem to work with a lot shorter turnaround - they make a new game in 1-2 years. That is something we need to follow up, because that seems to be the best way to keep our fans interested and attracted to the franchise."

Hey Kitase! Long time Final Fantasy fan here, and I gotta say, "Why don't you just go back to making GREAT GAMES to keep your 'fans interested attracted to the franchise'."

I haven't fully enjoyed an FF game since X. I never played XI, but everything I've heard and read tells me its inferior to WoW in just about every way. XII took 5 years to make and it was decent. Good, but not great. XIII took nearly 5 years and it was the most disappointing game I've ever played. I don't know how long XIV took to make but it was subject to dismal reviews and by the reckoning of the FFMMO fan base, it's an inferior game to FFXI, which was released last generation.

Speeding up the development cycle hardly seems like a way to improve the franchise when you can't seem to make a great game on a half-decade development cycle.

 

[Kopikatsu]

...says Yoshinori Kitase, a developer and producer of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2. "When you think of Western triple A titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Assassin's Creed, they seem to work with a lot shorter turnaround - they make a new game in 1-2 years. That is something we need to follow up, because that seems to be the best way to keep our fans interested and attracted to the franchise."

Hey Kitase! Long time Final Fantasy fan here, and I gotta say, "Why don't you just go back to making GREAT GAMES to keep your 'fans interested attracted to the franchise'."

I haven't fully enjoyed an FF game since X. I never played XI, but everything I've heard and read tells me its inferior to WoW in just about every way. XII took 5 years to make and it was decent. Good, but not great. XIII took nearly 5 years and it was the most disappointing game I've ever played. I don't know how long XIV took to make but it was subject to dismal reviews and by the reckoning of the FFMMO fan base, it's an inferior game to FFXI, which was released last generation.

Speeding up the development cycle hardly seems like a way to improve the franchise when you can't seem to make a great game on a half-decade development cycle.

XIII disappointed many US/EU games. But it was extremely popular in Japan, and that's probably the demographic they care most about. You know, JRPG and all that.

As far as numbers go, XIII was a success.

 

[Innegativeion]

See this works for CoD because their main demographic is only concerned in competitive multiplayer.

This works for Assassin's creed because their campaign-focused games are always of above-average quality.

FF has, to put it lightly, not been of above-average quality lately. You REALLY need to be more concerned with shipping a REALLY GOOD FF game that will make you a profit, rather than a bunch of FF games that will tank.

 

[RandV80]

"I think we took a little too long getting [Final Fantasy XIII] out," says Yoshinori Kitase

Ahaha yes clearly that was the problem with FF13! It took too long to produce! Bahaha

Yet more proof that Squenix has gone off the fucking rails

That was indeed the problem with XIII. Overblown expectations combined with a ridiculously long and tumultous development cycle. They had no clue what they were making during it's development for a long time, leading to the sloppiness of the final product. In addition, people's hype grew the longer they had to wait.

Imagine if FFXIII hadn't had so many conflicting elements in it's development, and only took a year or two to make. Perhaps it would've been recieved much better.

Man, there are a million reasons why FFXIII is bad, and the least of them is overblown expectations and a long dev cycle.

Squenix has no clue how to make good games anymore, period. I have no idea how a triple-A developer can become so fricking blind that it thinks THIS is good gaming, but there you go. It's just proof of the self-deceiving capabilities of the human mind, I suppose - and doubly so for the corporate hive-mind.

I agree with pg.shadowrunner here. For a linear story based game it's extremely rare but perfectly feasible to put too[i/] much work into it. Try to introduce too many concepts and ideas into a game, which a 5 year dev cycle makes possible, and the whole thing can fall apart. Rather than not knowing how to make good games anymore I find Square, at least for the Final Fantasy games, to have a problem of attempting continuous one-upmanship. Trying to make each new final fantasy bigger and more epic than the last. How else do you explain how convoluted the story for FFXIII was? Eventually it gets to the point where it becomes tiresome and you just want something simpler. To be honest I haven't actually played the game yet, haven't gotten around to getting a PS3 yet, but just reading the wikipedia summary:

The game takes place in the fictional floating world of Cocoon, whose government, the Sanctum, is ordering a purge of civilians who have supposedly come into contact with Pulse, the much-feared world below. The former soldier Lightning begins her fight against the government in order to save her sister who has been branded as an unwilling servant to a god-like being from Pulse, making her an enemy of Cocoon. Lightning is soon joined by a band of allies, and together the group also become marked by the same Pulse creature. They rally against the Sanctum while trying to discover their assigned task and whether they can avoid being turned into monsters or crystals at the completion.

I mean holy shit. Rather than jumping straight into the shoes of an elite hero battling against multiple insurmountable foes, what happened to the days when the game starts with your mom waking you up saying you're going to be late to the fair? I'd love to see Square get more disciplined on their FF releases, and would be plenty happy to have a new more focused 30-50 hour Final Fantasy game every 1-2 years.

 

[RandV80]

Oh yeah, they also need to stop wasting so much resources on Final Fantasy MMO's. You make a great single player game or you make a great multiplayer, developers can't do both.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

but what do Final Fantasy fans really want: consistency or innovation?

Well seeing as they're failing at innovation, I'll take the consistency.

Seriously, better odds of there being something enjoyable.

I don't know, you have to give them credit for being so bold as to try and change the series mechanics somewhat in every game. XII and XIII being the most major.

Hopefully XIII-2 will surprise alot of people, XIII's battle system had a lot of potential, if they've ironed out the flaws for the new game and also addressed narrative and story issues there could be some life in the series yet.

At the very least you can't knock the games graphically, XIII was stunning. Also the music is always fantastic.

Besides consistency is the tired formulas of WRPG sequels, people buy them in droves but they don't do much innovating in the genre nor massively redefine their series'. Skyrim being the newest example. I appreciate what Squeenix are trying to do and I hope they find their feet and produce something that will get them back on the gaming map again.

Another story of the same quality of FFX would definitely do it.

That's true, and I am a big fan of good-looking games. That's always my first hook.

My major problem with FFs in recent years has just been the (kind of important) plot and the characters. Hopefully they'll widen their writers' pool in this bid to make more games, faster.

I don't plan to buy XIII-2 simply because most of the characters would need complete personality overhauls before I'd be remotely interested in them.

Yeh the characters are what have let the last few games down massively. FFXII had Balthier and that was it for me. XIII had a few characters who weren't massively annoying, but they were really underdeveloped, Sazh was actually the one who had the deepest character and he was the so called comedy relief!

FFXIII-2 focuses on Sarah and some new guy called Noel. And of course lightning. It could be ok depending on how the former two are written. Although that moogle may ruin everything...kupo.

 

[imei2011]

I am conflicted I do think that X-III took way to long to make for what we got. But too make a new FF game every year? I don't think that's the problem. I think the Jimquisition said it best that Square should STOP announcing all of there games they have a teaser trailer for. Just announce one make it, and then announce another title when say that game goes gold or something like that.

 

[damselgaming]

For the love of christ. Just remake FFVII, roll in the cash-ola and then do what you frakin' want! Oh Squeenix, when you stop crushing my childhood! WHEN!?

 

[remnant_phoenix]

...says Yoshinori Kitase, a developer and producer of the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2. "When you think of Western triple A titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Assassin's Creed, they seem to work with a lot shorter turnaround - they make a new game in 1-2 years. That is something we need to follow up, because that seems to be the best way to keep our fans interested and attracted to the franchise."

Hey Kitase! Long time Final Fantasy fan here, and I gotta say, "Why don't you just go back to making GREAT GAMES to keep your 'fans interested attracted to the franchise'."

I haven't fully enjoyed an FF game since X. I never played XI, but everything I've heard and read tells me its inferior to WoW in just about every way. XII took 5 years to make and it was decent. Good, but not great. XIII took nearly 5 years and it was the most disappointing game I've ever played. I don't know how long XIV took to make but it was subject to dismal reviews and by the reckoning of the FFMMO fan base, it's an inferior game to FFXI, which was released last generation.

Speeding up the development cycle hardly seems like a way to improve the franchise when you can't seem to make a great game on a half-decade development cycle.

XIII disappointed many US/EU games. But it was extremely popular in Japan, and that's probably the demographic they care most about. You know, JRPG and all that.

As far as numbers go, XIII was a success.

I agree, to a point. On the one hand, yes, their native demographic is likely the one they care most about.

On the other hand, it was Final Fantasy VII's explosive worldwide success and the increased exposure to the series and the genre in the west that skyrocketed the franchise as well as Square itself into the realm of "critical darling."

I have to wonder about some things:

How many of those FFXIII sales were from western fans who bought the game right after release (in good faith that it would be great because of the series' past), but then became exceedingly disappointed? If the stacks of used copies of FFXIII at my local Gamestop are any indicator, A LOT.

How many western gamers are now quite skeptical that Squeenix has it in them to make a great Final Fantasy game on the same level as Final Fantasy 6-10? If the conversations I've had with fellow fans and the threads that I've read here and elsewhere are any indicator, A LOT.

So yeah, the game was very popular in Japan, and it sold well worldwide because of brand-name recognition, but if Squeenix can't hold on to the western JRPG fan base, their company and franchise will fall from the heights that it has held onto since FFVII.

 

[BrotherRool]

They need to make shorter games, FFXIII was too longer, but i don;t want early releases. Franchises can be turned around in a year when not much changes. FF shouldn't do that, new world every time

 

[TJC]

You know, if Squeenix actually hires more staff instead of whipping the current one only harder, this might
A create some jobs in the industry and
B actually work

Sure, SE would need to learn some discipline (see Jimquisition for that) and also hire decent scriptwriters. Is it just me or were the recent FF characters either completely unrelatable or just plain unlikeable? Maybe I'm just glorifying the old days, but in FF6 (that's 3 if your country doesn't know how to count) they seemed just more alive and emotive, despite being only a couple of pixels large than any of the prerendered, well-animated puppets.

Focus on plot and characters rather than setting (the only sensible thing to do, if there's no time) which the new staff will provide... I'd dig that.

 

[Gmans uncle]

Wait... are you suggesting Call of Fantasy!?!?!
I hate this yearly release schedule crap! I'd rather wait and get a nice, long, quality game, than get a sub-par expansion pack every 12 months.
It's why I hate COD, it's why I've lost faith in Assassin's Creed, and it hurts to see more devs considering this crap.

 

[Efrate]

I think they need to learn from their past. Each game has some things going for it that are amazing. 12 was immersive and had a great free roaming style I liked, but most of the characters fell fairly flat. 13 had a innovative combat system but was marred by most of it not coming until too late, and the lack of options and player control. The linear style though better for storytelling is dull to play and story through datalog was atrocious. Go down the line with most of the main number installments not counting online,(and tactics cause its awesome), each has some things that stand out drastically and were quite good for their time. Harvest the best parts of your past and make them cohesive and you have an amazing game.

edit: Also do not do a yearly release unless its 20-30 dollar pieces of a much better longer game. 2 years is fine, with 2 seperate teams, that gives you about 4 years per title, enough time to build hype but not enough that it becomes stagnant, keeps things fresh, and gives you fans quality games.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Yep, it's official. When Hironobu Sakaguchi left Squeenix, he took all of the people that knew how to use their brains to think.

I think they're missing the point as to WHY those games are so popular. Unless they make Final Fantasy Multiplayer, and I don't mean a MMO, they're basically killing Final Fantasy and their reputation.

... Whatever little there remains of it.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

Yep, it's official. When Hironobu Sakaguchi left Squeenix, he took all of the people that knew how to use their brains to think.

I think they're missing the point as to WHY those games are so popular. Unless they make Final Fantasy Multiplayer, and I don't mean a MMO, they're basically killing Final Fantasy and their reputation.

... Whatever little there remains of it.

Have you played Lost Odyssey (which was made by Mistwalker, Sakaguchi's new company)? Whatever the "spark" was that made Final Fantasy great, Lost Odyssey had a lot of that in it. That, to me, proves that Sakaguchi took whatever-it-was-that-made-Final-Fantasy-good with him when he left Square.