Topic: Nintendo Life Playstation 3 Fan Thread

Final Fantasy is literally becoming a joke unto itself. There are so many Final Fantasy iterations releasing today it's flat out absurd. I stopped at FFX with the main games, and none of the knock-offs have impressed me a bit. The last thing that impressed me with the name Final Fantasy on it in recent years was the upgrade of Advent Children on Blu-ray. It's absolutely amazing!

On the Enslaved topic, the book Journey to the West; from which the game is based, can be found on Kindle for $2.99. I got about a 100 pages into the book today and it's a fantastic read with loads of insight on Chinese culture.

That isn't what I'm saying at all. When it comes to Warriors you see them as misunderstood, so why is No More Heroes a piece of artsy crap? You should just respect that some people like NMH for a REAL reason and it DOES mean something to them. Warriors games look uninteresting to me but I don't talk bad about them, I realize that they must have some meaning to you. I'm only asking for the same respect.

I'm 23 next week, and have been gaming for 2 decades. I grew up with Final Fantasy i on the NES, II and III on the SNES, and the trilogy of Game Boy titles. Played VII, hated it and wanted to say to hell with the series, but then we got Tactics, and all was good again. Then VIII made me turn my back indefinitely. Years later played X, meh. Was told IX would be more my style, but couldn't get into it. XI is a joke (And unplayable right now), Vaan bugs me way too much in XII, and XIII doesn't become a modern RPG until at least 4+ hours into it when it finally allows you to explore a world and have lots of sidequests to take a break from the oh so traditional (And stereotypical) main storyline and character interactions.
I try to give FF a break, but how can I with this repeated cycle of uninspired elements that fuel the games nowadays? The JRPG genre has become incredibly stale, and FF is no different.

@Popyman: Sup? Glad I have a fan on this site.

Final Fantasy is literally becoming a joke unto itself. There are so many Final Fantasy iterations releasing today it's flat out absurd. I stopped at FFX with the main games, and none of the knock-offs have impressed me a bit. The last thing that impressed me with the name Final Fantasy on it in recent years was the upgrade of Advent Children on Blu-ray. It's absolutely amazing!

It's just a franchise. I don't think Square Enix wants anyone to buy everything with "Final Fantasy" on the box, but the franchise now covers just about every kind of RPG imaginable.

It's not a bad thing - the franchise keeps SE alive and kicking, and while opinion is divided over individual games, there's probably going to be something for just about everyone in there.

'm 23 next week, and have been gaming for 2 decades. I grew up with Final Fantasy i on the NES, II and III on the SNES, and the trilogy of Game Boy titles. Played VII, hated it and wanted to say to hell with the series, but then we got Tactics, and all was good again. Then VIII made me turn my back indefinitely. Years later played X, meh. Was told IX would be more my style, but couldn't get into it. XI is a joke (And unplayable right now), Vaan bugs me way too much in XII, and XIII doesn't become a modern RPG until at least 4+ hours into it when it finally allows you to explore a world and have lots of sidequests to take a break from the oh so traditional (And stereotypical) main storyline and character interactions.
I try to give FF a break, but how can I with this repeated cycle of uninspired elements that fuel the games nowadays? The JRPG genre has become incredibly stale, and FF is no different.

Um. XIII doesn't open up after 4 hours. Try 20. And there are no sidequests. There's a brief monster hunting interlude that is optional, if that's the bit you meant, but I'd hardly call it a sidequest. :-/ I'm wondering on that basis whether you really have played that game.

Beyond that I'm still confused how you can claim the Final Fantasy games have grown stale when each and every single one of them is significantly different from the previous games?

Chances are you're just not a fan of JRPGs. Which is fine and all, but I'm not sure how you can call Suda, which just copies his own style over and over again, any more original than Final Fantasy.

...I'm pretty sure you mean 20+ hours there :3

_{not that I don't like the game, it's one of my favorites next to VI and IX}

Edit: lol waltzy elf beat me to it D:

I like how we quote the EXACT SAME time for FFXIII opening up <_<

I like FFXIII. I don't think any other game in the series has divided people as much as that one. I wonder whether SE deliberately set out to make the game as controversial as possible.

Wow, was it really 20? I haven't played it since launch, but I don't remember it being THAT long.
About the staleness of the franchise. The only thing that changes is the skin of the game. Meaning that there's stereotypes that need to be filled, and JRPGs are notorious for filling these roles with just that, stereotypes.
I loved JRPGs, My favourite RPG to this day remains Legend of Legaia on the PSX. Legend of Dragoon is another favourite, plus the older FFs, the Golden Sun franchise (So happy about Dark Dawn), and especially the Dragon Quest series (But I know it's bad for staleness as well, but it never takes itself seriously, unlike FF).
So it's not like I don't like JRPGs in general, it's that FF is no longer the head honcho is used to be.
You know the saying: If it ain't broke, don't fix it? Seems to apply here. The series wasn't broken, but they've constantly "fixed" it so many times, it's become broken.
Before you say "If they don't try to fix it, it'll get stale", let me point to you the Megaman franchise. Megaman 1-10, X-X7, and however Network game there are. They find something that works, and just add to it until nothing more can be done. THEN they change it up, and repeat the process.
Final Fantasy nowadays just goes "BAM, here's this new gameplay mechanics, but instead of building upon it to make it better, we'll just start from square one in the next game."
This is bad, if you ask me. Square can learn alot from Capcom.

I heard the Rango game is good.

@BedCommando... Wow, how could I forget the freaking amazing Final Fantasy Tactics. I've still have my game save for it. I think it's somewhere in the 130+ hours range.

How many of you know that Dissidia 312: Duodecim Final Fantasy is releasing on the 22nd for PSP? The reason I ask this is because 5-10yrs ago gamers would be lined up at the stores for the release of a new Final Fantasy, and I bet most everyone here had no idea it was about to release, and even fewer who plan to buy it. I don't see how this is healthy for a franchise, and even Square-Enix themselves have been severely unimpressed with the latest Final Fantasy MMO. Filling the shelves with games isn't a good strategy anymore. Activision and it's failed Guitar Hero franchise is a perfect example.

Well, Square Enix is a robust, growing business, while Capcom is floundering, so I think it's the other way around, actually.

Beyond that, I think you underestimate the level of change between Final Fantasy games - and how important that change is. XIII was not a reskinned X, IX was not a reskin of VII. We're talking different worlds, different characters, different gameplay mechanics (ways of handling summons, magic systems, character customisation), different music scores - essentially each Final Fantasy game is built from the ground up. Final Fantasy is not a series that relies on nostalgia to sell to a small, committed fanbase - like Mega Man. Final Fantasy is a series that continually looks to find new fans by offering something different each time - it's a 'reach for the stars' approach, rather than a 'stick to what we're good at' vision. There are misteps along the way with doing that, but overall the series is anything but stale.

The things that are consistent across the series are minor, and more fan service than anything else. Chocobos, a character named Cid, item and magic spell names - these are largely unimportant, but are the bare minimum to create some level of consistency.

How many of you know that Dissidia 312: Duodecim Final Fantasy is releasing on the 22nd for PSP? The reason I ask this is because 5-10yrs ago gamers would be lined up at the stores for the release of a new Final Fantasy, and I bet most everyone here had no idea it was about to release, and even fewer who plan to buy it. I don't see how this is healthy for a franchise, and even Square-Enix themselves have been severely unimpressed with the latest Final Fantasy MMO. Filling the shelves with games isn't a good strategy anymore. Activision and it's failed Guitar Hero franchise is a perfect example.

Or perhaps because the PSP is a small fry console that generates little publicity and is never going to have people lining up to buy games for?

FFXIV was an unmitigated disaster that was rushed out - Square Enix has been good enough to publically apologise for that game. It's also the first time a numbered Final Fantasy game has effectively failed.

Any predictions for the "death" of the Final Fantasy series are way, way, way premature, I think.

...I knew when dissidia 012 was coming out

_{and if I actually had a PSP I'd've preordered it xP}

I don't foresee the death of Final Fantasy or anything. I just think that the series needs to go back to what it does best. Single Final Fantasy games (numbered), and yes I'm putting FFXIII into that equation. I've yet to get a chance to play it, but I actually think it's up my alley for what I'd like again in the series. I absolutely loved FFVIII. These spin-offs, after spin-off and then the loads of remakes over and over is just getting a bit ridiculous in my opinion.

@Waltz... umm you know this, but PSP does indeed have lines of people in masses for game releases. It's just in Japan. Each and every new Monster Hunter game, Star Ocean, etc.

I do agree that S-E is oversatuating the market with Final Fantasy games. Even simple stuff, like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles... it's leading to a brand dilution. But I think long term they'll be forced to just stick with the numbered games.

As for the PSP stuff - the Final Fantasy brand doesn't have quite the same draw power in Japan as Monster Hunter or Dragon Quest - especially from the PS2 era onwards. It's still a big name, but to expect the same success as Monster Hunter was always mission impossible.

Wow, that's quite a debate! I do agree that it's a bit ridiculous how many games with "Final Fantasy" in the title release nowadays, but that doesn't mean they're all (or even mostly) bad. And yes, I did know Dissidia 2 (the only shorthand for that obnoxious title that makes sense) is coming...I've been playing the first one a lot lately, trying to finish it up so I can get the sequel.

Part of me wishes they'd gone on to make more Final Fantasies more like FFIV (one of my favorites) instead of changing things too much (IMO) with stuff like FFVII (which I'm not really a fan of). But part of me does not, because FFX is another great favorite of mine, and it obviously wouldn't have come around if they'd stuck to the same old thing previously. I'm also one of those who actually really liked FFXII, so there we go again. Overall, I'd say the franchise is so massive that you'd be a fool to judge games bearing the title against each other. Squenix just likes to pump them out because they always sell better than completely new IP's just on brand recognition. Maybe if more people bought their other stuff, this would be slightly less of an issue.

...I LUV FF AND ALWAYS WILL~ <3

_{I'm not adding much to this am I...}

This is true. If Nier had have been called "Final Fantasy: Nier" it would have sold about 100,000 extra copies in each country.

I'm pulling that number out of thin air, but if you guys want SE to stop calling everything "Final Fantasy xxxx" Then buy the SE stuff that ISN'T Final Fantasy

It's true, I'm kinda guilty of that myself. Since all FF games are different, they sure can attach that title to anything if they want it to sell more.

_{really... adding final fantasy to the beginning of Nier kinda makes me wanna try it out... Dx}

Honest, Final Fantasy: Nier is one of the most touching games I've played in a long time. The plot if genuinely powerful and affecting, the characters are great, and while the action is a little button-mashy, it's enjoyable enough.

Also, the best music ive heard in a very long time. It's very operatic.

So yes, call it Final Fantasy: Nier, then go buy it

lol, I just might now

Edit: I watched some reviews and trailers, and it looks amazing I'll definitely consider it :3

Yeah I've got my eyes on Nier...as soon as it hits that magical price point (I'm hoping $15...that would make my day) I'm gonna pick it up.

For what it's worth I guess I can see why some people would like Suda's stuff... I'm just not one of them at all. And yeah...Final Fantasy's still working for me, despite all my friends being dead to the franchise these days (got in with VII, got out shortly after X) XIII was fun...if I made a checklist of the time I spent doing various things on XIII it probably wouldn't look even remotely enjoyable, but I couldn't put the game down. Then again, I still play the NES Dragon Warrior games now and again (recently re-beat the japanese SNES versions) so my tastes are admittedly strange.