The Final Fantasy Series Thread~

[Docta Corvina]

So, I searched and did not see a thread for Final Fantasy in here yet, so I thought I would start one so there's a place for fans to discuss it - any and all aspects, as well as news.

I would like to begin by passing on something I saw this morning about an upcoming high-res PC port of VIII - nevermind the fact that I despise VIII *cough*. This seems to be the trend lately, the remaking/re-packaging, gussying up of previous titles (like X and X-2), as opposed to, say, any real and considerable creative energy being thrown behind development of successive installments. There's discussion of the relaunch of the MMO, XIV, but...the reception has been lukewarm at best, from what I've seen. While there are certainly titles I'd love to see remade (VII and IX), it's...an interesting set of circumstances. Square has been criticized for going downhill for years now, what with the oft-maligned incarnations of XIII, and the lack of anything truly "fresh". An apparently "shameless cash grab" of a smartphone game just doesn't cut it for many of us - especially those of us who have been playing for over a decade.

What do you guys think? How do you feel about this trend? Is Square really and truly dead to you, like it is to so many disappointed fans? I straddle the fence on that one. Some days I'm hopeful, but other days I'm just like "stick a fork in it, it's DONE". To be sure, the same kind of degrading of the series is and has been argued for others like Legend of Zelda, so it's not a unique situation. But it is disappointing because at least for me, the nostalgia level when I pop in IX is well over 9,000.

Mind you, I have yet to play the "War of the Lions" remake of Tactics - the original being likely my favorite game in the series. It might restore some faith, but until I get a PSP or give in to playing such a game on my iPhone, I can only dream and muse.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

i'd be all for a remake or remastery of VII and IX, especially IX because the damn game always freezes on ps2

 

[Docta Corvina]

i'd be all for a remake or remastery of VII and IX, especially IX because the damn game always freezes on ps2

Could not agree more, man. Of any of the games to be remade, VII and IX are what I want. It seems almost funny that they're doing their damnedest to address everything BUT those. VIII PC port, hi-def remakes of X and X-2. Just...bloody hell. I loved X, but there are games far more deserving.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

Square died for me with X-2, that game was terrible. XII was ok, but not great. And XIII was simply atrocious.

 

[Docta Corvina]

Yeah, I hear that. X-2 had no business being made, honestly. I'll admit, I loved XII, it's one of my favorites. I felt like of all the recent ones, it was the most "throwback", if you will. Which is something I appreciated.

I didn't get far in XIII. I couldn't stomach it. Made me rage too much.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

I did like putting Yuna and Rikku in sexy outfits, but that was about all I liked about X-2.

 

[Docta Corvina]

I did like putting Yuna and Rikku in sexy outfits, but that was about all I liked about X-2.

Haha, that seems to have been the case for many players. For me, I enjoyed the random goofiness (and Gippal ), but the replay value is less than zero. Hell, the overall value is less than zero.

 

[Nocte Aeterna]

XIV better be revamped to my liking. I thought they released the initial version as a joke.

 

[Docta Corvina]

Haha, I never actually played the initial release. But I heard all sorts of horrible things about it.

 

[Nocte Aeterna]

Bugs, crashes, system issues, lackluster gameplay, you name it.

 

[Yuffie]

I really want to try out FFVII, after hearing so much about it. But I got really ored with 13 and I'm afraid 7 would be boring...-.-

 

[Docta Corvina]

I'd definitely say VII is worth a try. It's a classic for a reason. It's true, not every FF fan falls all over themselves for it. But in my humble opinion, the characters and story do well to outshine the now very "dated" graphics.

XIII was just plain bad all around. Not even remotely comparable to VII.

 

[Karen]

Nowadays, I feel like I'm just anticipating remakes of old favorites, or even sequels/prequels of them rather than the new games.

On why they are not remaking FFVII though, I thought one of the reasons for that is because it was such a massive game (and because the graphics are so dated) - in an interview with the director, he said it could take well over a decade to completely remaster VII. And the other reason they gave for not yet remaking it is "[Squeenix] will only consider this once a brand new game in the franchise exceeds the quality of that found in FF7". So... it's probably not happening anytime soon.

I have mixed feelings about X-2. On one hand, I understand that a huge weight had been lifted off Spira (and Yuna), so change in the overall atmosphere and attitude is expected and welcome. On the other hand, some of the changes were just too drastic and weird. Why would Yuna become a pop star? And it's only been two years, why does it seem like everyone has forgotten who Yuna is and what she did? I mean, people do acknowledge it, but they don't seem to respect her the same way they did with her father or Auron.

 

[Nocte Aeterna]

Nevertheless, VI will always be my favorite.

 

[Punz]

FF7 was my favorite. If only they would remake it like many others have said before me. It may never happen though.

 

[Clau]

Played the following:

FFVI - Loved Terra and Shadow.

FFVII - Still scarred about Aerith's death. I remember using a GameShark code to revive her for some pointless reason.

FFVIII - Never liked the romance behind the story. But the Guardian Force summoning sequence were epic.

FFIX - Made it all the way to disc II, but it kept crashing, rendering me unable to continue.

FFX - My first taste of the next gen FF series. Aeon summoning scenes were epic. Anima still gives me the creeps.

FFXII - Felt like playing an MMORPG. Characters were a bit stale and shallow from previous installments. Espers were hard to associate with. I do remember Gilgamesh making a cameo.

FFXIII - It was all about Lightning. I love her.

 

[sticky runes]

I played FFI last year, and liked it, but the encounters were way too frequent. I started playing FFII afterwards, and I really liked the magic system, but then I got waylaid by skyrim. But I'm planning to go through a retro-RPG phase at some point.

 

[Docta Corvina]

So, E3...happened...yesterday. Among other things, there came word that the next Final Fantasy title, XV, will NOT be a PS4 exclusive - it will be for XboxOne as well. Kotaku's announcement is here.

There also was the statement that the "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" project is now under the name XV. View trailer here: http://www.gamespot.com/e3/square-enix-reveals-final-fantasy-xv-for-ps4-6409673/

Based on the very little I've seen of XV so far (the above trailer and predictions for the most part, really), I'm not at all super excited for it. But that goes hand in hand with my overall blahness at the series lately. I'm curious, but not overly optimistic. I tire of the "modern" look and feel for FF games. I want more throwback installments like IX and even XII. Why is that so much to ask?

 

[Jader]

Tbh before a few years ago I never played ff games or wanted to for that matter,but after watching amvs of epic cloud/sephiroth fights and just overall badass characters like vv and Auron I decided to give them a go.hooked ever since.