Ben-DutkaThe PSXE community has been vocal about what is perceived to be a derailing of the legendary Final Fantasy franchise. While I will always maintain that FFXIII was a fantastic game in its own right (outside of the FF name), many just saw it as too big of a departure and in taking a brief look at Final Fantasy Versus XIII , that may not fit the bill, either.
But enough with the negativity. It's too draining. I've decided to become very optimistic about the whole situation; it's not a blind optimism, either, because I have reasons. Just bear with me for a second: although this industry remains very much reliant on review scores, as most any publisher and analyst will tell you, there are a few titles out there that are almost – almost – immune to critical reception. Madden , Call of Duty , Grand Theft Auto , Halo ; I think these franchises qualify and I also believe we can add Final Fantasy to the list. I'm not talking about spin-offs, per se, but I think we can all agree that Final Fantasy XV will be hotly anticipated and sell very well. At one point in Japan, FFXIII ended up being owned by nearly 1 in every 2 PS3 owners. …that's insane.
It's also the brand name at work. FFXIII sold pretty darn well everywhere, in fact, and it's because of the name; not because of the inconsistent reviews, which were very un-FF-like. So, S-E doesn't really have to worry about this, do they? If they wanted to experiment, or if they wanted to attempt "fan service" and give us an actual RPG that made us go, "holy sh**, this is like a modern FFVII," they could do that. The risk is low. Secondly, just about every FF designer seems very tentative about FFXV; about where they intend to go; about the direction of the series. Hell, they seem downright baffled in some interviews. And all it requires is any one of them to spend a half-hour online, reading message boards and site communities…they'll find communities like ours, all asking for – essentially – the same thing: a return to form.
A return . Not a new idea you think will appeal to the Western gamers. If they even catch a glimmer of that, FFXV could very well be more like FFXII or Dragon Age . Thirdly and finally, that brand name can suffer if they stray too far and the S-E executives may be sensing a "straying" right about now, which could spell the end of FF immunity. But there's one caveat. I think they need to decide what they want to do. Do they really want to make an RPG or do they want to pursue yet another project that almost defies classification? It must be hard to nail down a direction and style when you don't have anything to compare it to…
But anyway, I say Final Fantasy can and will save itself. I say it's in a prime position to do so.
huh. never knew final fantasy was in bad shape.
You've been liquored up for a long time then man.
wasn't 13 good? im mean i watched my bro play 7 and nothing can compare, but still.
It was good, but not what anyone hoped for. FF isn't in a bad spot financially, but it is with fans who have been there since its inception.
I've been there since Day1 world and FFXIII didn't make me lose any love towards SE.
Yeah LV, but take a look around, you are all alone.
Crisis Core rules though.
The majority does not always equate to what's right or real.
Tell me about it (CoD) 😉
LOL!
Loooooooooooooool World!
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
what exactly was wrong with it? i loved ff but sadly still havent got the new one
@Godslim
"What's wrong with it" is a pretty difficult question to address with FFXIII. It's a really good game. However, it is very dissimilar to the rest of the franchise. Hence why Ben said in the article that it is a "departure" but still a great game in it's own right outside the FF title.
Most of us are upset about the departure. Opened the box and it wasn't what we expected. I think you'll probably enjoy it like I did (I platinum'd it), but it won't feel like a FF.
Guys like LV just didn't mind the departure. He's so open minded. I hear his basement will prove that, too!
Actually it pissed me off and if the next FF game (not versus since I don't consider it a true FF game, more like KH on steroids) is anything like XIII's gameplay I'm going to give up on SE like the rest of you.
This was the only Final Fantasy game I have ever sold after playing.
And I've also got every iteration of FF IV. Final Fantasy VI remake please?
Dito on being the only final fantasy that I've ever sold.
thxs Underdog15
I admire your optimism but do not share in it. You forget one thing, the madness of Hojo.. I mean Wada. He is bound and determined (based on his own statements) to cast all fans aside, throw out the past, cater to the "west," and just generally take the series off into no man's land.
One could argue that FFXIII is another direction, but (and I agree about it being a great game in any case) all I can really see is that about 80% of an FF is missing from it. Hoj- I mean Wada will look at the sales, declare the game a massive success and just continue to create Sephiro- I mean FFXIII clones.
Versus looks pretty good so far but who can say what it will be like now? I just don't think SE listens to fans. The name may save it in sales, but not in people's hearts, and for that it will probably steadily die unless someone wakes up.
I think SE needs to start a sub-division, call it Squaresoft, and hire back all the old talent.
You're being too pesamistic. Again while FFXIII may not have been the FF game most fans were looking for it doesn't mean it represents the FF games to come in the future. SE has always gone into each FF game as an individual build in and of itself so I see no reason to think differently now about the series.
I know zero about FFXV but I'm already looking forward to it, maybe even more than XIIIversus due to it's style of gameplay (action RPG).
For starters, he says "I think this is a product that was able to meet the expectations for those who know Final Fantasy,"
I beg to differ, it much better fit those who don't know Final Fantasy very well. And the man keeps talking about how he's unsure of the direction for the future. And:
"whether we are going to continue to internally create this type of game remains to be seen" …speaks for itsself.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 10/18/2010 12:05:59 AM
Bah, you're grabbing at straws (or something like that). Let's be honest you're pissed off about XIII and looking for reasons to hate on those involved with the game and the future of SE.
I certainly regard XIII as one of the weakest FF games but I enjoyed the trip it offered and still enjoyed it more than most games this generation. I see no reason to lose faith in the direction for the series based on a few half-a$$ quotes about a game we know nothing about that's years away from being released.
Limited, you have to admit S-E is straying further and further from standard role-playing elements. FF has remained fresh always but they at least kept elements RPG fans can recognize.
It's not that FFXIII is bad; I defend it, too. It's that FF has lost any sense of identity, and absolutely needs to redefine itself somehow.
I won't deny that. FFXIII does not deserve to be labeled as an RPG. I just don't think it's fair to take one game (as drastic as the changes were) and start to fear for the FF series. Versus has always been labeled as an Action RPG so I'm not going to blast the game for not living up to my FF tastes.
It will be interesting to see what SE does for FFXV, it sucks we wont know anything about it for a very long time.
It's really not just one. FFXIV may not be traditional but it has the Final Fantasy label, too, and it's getting 4s.
The DS game is mediocre. The portable they did before that (not Crisis Core) was also mediocre, or so I heard.
There WAS a time when if it said "Final Fantasy," it would be epic and awesome.
Meh, FFIVX is an MMORPG and while it's so far received low scores I see the overall scores for the game improving with time as content is added and bugs are fixed.
You're right though the FF name is not what it used to mean. I think the biggest factor is the multiplatform approach. It used to be a single FF game for one platform and it allowed for all the talent to work on that single product. Now it seems SE is watering down the talent pool and rushing far too many products and plastering the FF name on the box.
I still though have faith in the FF series and Crisis Core was entertaining and I don't care about the rest of the offshoot handheld games.
I'm not looking for a reason to hate on them LV, I'm looking for a reason to LOVE them again. And hopefully Versus will be one, but so far the only "straws" I'm grasping at are the ones they toss us. And every single word we get out of SE talks about throwing away the staples of the series and embracing some sort of nebulous concept of "west".
The claims and statements aren't mine, they come from SE. And there are more than a couple quotes. It seems clear that they have no intention of giving fans what they want. Maybe the series will change and get even bigger with its new fans, but they will be leaving me behind if they keep it up.
Didn't Wada also say the next Final Fantasy could possibly be made by a western developer? I'm usually on the same page as you LV but i agree with World on this one. I too would like a reason to love Square again. So far their PSP games are the only games keeping me from hating them. ha.
World and Jawk…sitting in a tree…bla bla bla
Fair enough, team up against me! I shall prevail. Just wait, XV is going to have a world map, a magic system similar to Materia, turn-based battles, girls that look 12 with big breasts, and the kicker…10minute long summons without the ability to skip the FMV. Oh how glorious it will be!
Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 10/18/2010 1:25:01 AM
Lets hope you are 100% correct. ha!
I would spend ridiculous amounts of money on that. But FF DID make the right decision by allowing "short" summons as an option.
Listen – Ben said it best, FF has lost it's identity….but hey, they just turned 13…FF is a teenager now. We all lost our identity in those years. Maybe we grew our hair out and tried some gateway drugs…or maybe we even snorted some blow…but we got our lives together…we're OK. FF will be OK too.
Remember, "it's just a phase"
😉
I used to use Knights of the Round, go make a hot dog, pop open a fresh beer, check out a few sports highlights, and come back to the tv just in time to see the last 2 or 3 knights take a hack at the enemy…
"It used to be a single FF game for one platform and it allowed for all the talent to work on that single product. Now it seems SE is watering down the talent pool and rushing far too many products and plastering the FF name on the box."
QFT
I think the key misstep was the whole Fabula Crystalis idea, dividing their effort among multiple projects instead of giving us one proper FFXIII.
It reeks of Activision.
And hopefully ff13 vs will be the first step to reform
Every FF will sell a lot based on the name FF, but even then, if they're ignoring the fans for good, it's safe to assume the FF series will die.
No franchise is safe without their fans.
Which is why I fear for DmC.
The DMC franchise never sold beyond 3 million copies each series, hell, it never even reached 3 million for each.
Their reason to westernize it because DMC4 sold 2.7 million copies isn't legit.
FFXV=FFVII Remake! :O
gay
Takes one to know one, LV!
HA!
GAY!!!!!!!
I'm with booze on this one. FFXIII may not have been the game most FF fans were expecting but I don't see the FF series in any trouble based on the performance of one game in a multiple decade long series full of stellar games.
How about sub-par spin-offs we didn't have before? Like the one just released on the DS? And are you that convinced Versus XIII will be what the fans actually want…?
From where I sit, they're doing nothing for the fans. They're doing everything to change. That isn't necessarily a good thing.
Those spin-offs are a result of handhelds finally catching up with technology and being able to offer classic games with a sprinkle of new for dirt cheap. I don't see the trend as a negative on SE but the industry as a whole.
As far as Versus, I'm not really looking forward to it. I've never been that into Action RPGs and I see it being loved by the KH crowd but not the old-school fan base. I still lump the game within the FFXIII collection so if it ends up bombing/equaling XIII I still won't start to get concerned for the series. When you're creating dozens of games over multiple decades you're bound to have a few mess-ups and if anything I trust SE to learn from this.
I really hope I'm right on this, and I'm sure you are as well.
Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 10/18/2010 12:22:10 AM
"And are you that convinced Versus XIII will be what the fans actually want…?"
Honestly, it sounds like fan service. Throwing around 'Dark and Tragic', Airships and World Maps all sound like an appeal to the nostalgic. These elements will undeniably attract a vast amount, but whether it is something even the core fans are looking for is hard to actually determine.
Last edited by Falsate on 10/18/2010 12:34:18 AM
Falsate,
None of that will matter when the gameplay equates to Kingdom Hearts. Than you're just playing Kingdom Hearts without the Disney characters and the "fans" are going to realize this within the first hour.
Kingdom Hearts without Disney characters actually sounds like a good game.
Still, I don't think it will cater to old fans at all. They toss those concepts out there to generate hype. But at least it is meant to be a departure, not a solid numbered title where failure is not an option.
I'm always on reading articles and comments and i decided to register. Well anyway, i'm 17, bought my PS3 in 2007, saved up my own money. The main reason i bought my PS3 was the notion that Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 were both playstation exclusives, so Kingdom Hearts should be as well. When I heard that FFv13 was made by the same people that made kingdom hearts i was extremely happy. Since i wouldn't be getting KH i would get something with the same style, a similar feel. I tried to play turned based RPG's and there not my thing, asides from pokemon, probably because i grew up playing pokemon. I personally think that Kingdom hearts is a great game that has a continuing story, unlike these other games that get you connected with the characters and you never see them again until a handheld fighting game is made. the first final fantasy game I've ever played was 13, so that probably ruined the great name of final fantasy for me. To me Kingdom hearts may be childish, but the level of attentiveness that has to be put into the story outweighs the fact that KH may be childish.
Then you will most likely LOVE FFVersus.
Oh and congrats on almost being legal 🙂
Yup. Right when they make the FFVII REmake. i know it
The only thing i like about ff13 is the MUSIC, hands down. don't know what the hell SE is doin now within their future gameplay, but their music is well respected. And FFT, is the greatest FF of all time… and X, that's all. 🙂
Last edited by Drake88 on 10/17/2010 11:36:48 PM