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[dimb]

I can judge games based on the 10 minutes I saw of them at a demo at E3.

Come on now. This is stupid.

Honestly it took me about 30 seconds to know I am not interested in whatever Square is selling here.

Although the rest of the video certainly solidified that assumption.

 

[sonicmj1]

I was never really upset with any of the cutscenes, except the ones where they stupidly made Shion into this bitch because she wanted to get back with Kevin.

Anyways, I haven't finished FF13 but I'm mostly done chapter 10 it seems, and there's only 13 chapters left so I don't think anything changes between now and then enough to change everything that's been happening all game up till now. Really, the only interesting characters are Sazh and probably Fang. Hope and snow can go fuck themselves. Lightning, Vanille and Serah are mildly tolerable but, I only really like Vanille when she's not so bubbly.

Mostly I want bad things to happen to the lot of them to take them all down a notch.

I'm in the middle of Chapter 11 right now, and when it gets going, it's like stepping out of a linear, cramped cave into a bright, beautiful sunny field where you can go anywhere. Incredibly liberating. Gave me flashbacks to the good parts of FFXII. Actual exploration with the occasional monster that will kill you to death the first time you encounter them.

And then you run out of content and it's right back into the fucking tunnel.

Also, so far everyone still sucks. I hate Vanille the most. I hated her bubbly attitude before, and I hate her now that she's being mopey and stupid. Nothing can redeem her. Why does she get all the damn voiceover narration? Fuck.

There are good things about FFXIII, but the overall design is such a mess. It pisses me off even though I like the battles when they require some real strategy.

 

[Angry Fork]

FF7 remake put on the fast track for next-gen launch title confirmed.

Spoiler

I wish.

 

[Kagari]

Oh Square.

I'm sorry, Ultros

 

[ULTROS!]

Maybe if I don't bet for next year's E3, it will definitely be shown.

 

[Huff]

FF7 remake put on the fast track for next-gen launch title confirmed.

Spoiler

I wish.

I don't. We already played that game. How about they do something different?

Although this is a bit hypocritical of me, considering I have DQVI in my DS right now, with V and IV next in line to play lol

 

[sonicmj1]

I'm still shocked that it took until the development of the demo, a good two years into work on the game, before the FFXIII team actually figured out a consistent vision for their game. It explains so much, but it's such incredibly poor management.

I hope they learned something for FFXIII-2. There's a lot riding on it.

 

[Kagari]

Maybe if I don't bet for next year's E3, it will definitely be shown.

It almost has to at this point.

 

[Angry Fork]

I want to see a picture of Nomura before and after Versus 13 development lol. This guy must be so overworked doing stuff for FF13, Kingdom Hearts PSP shit and Versus 13 also.

 

[Shamdeo]

I wonder if a mainline Kingdom Hearts title would be E3-reveal-worthy? The fandom has pittered away so much over the course of the franchise's lifespan it may not be worth it. Then again, I can vouch that a lot of the lapsed members of the fandom are still waiting for it.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Lastly, their management is incompetent. Kingdom Hearts was an incredibly successful series but the last game on a console released in 2005. This is 2011. The excuse for not having one out? Nomura is too busy with other projects.

What a great concept to have in a company. Only 1 guy can handle your major IP's since nobody else is supposedly talented enough so not only is everything riding on his ability, you also had better hope nothing bad happens to him or you're screwed.

SO unbelievably on point.

 

[Yoshiya]

I wonder if a mainline Kingdom Hearts title would be E3-reveal-worthy? The fandom has pittered away so much over the course of the franchise's lifespan it may not be worth it. Then again, I can vouch that a lot of the lapsed members of the fandom are still waiting for it.

I'd certainly be back on board for a console KH3 (or even a Vita/HD-ified BBS ;_

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Maybe SE should return to making games that made Squaresoft notable to begin with. Games with narratives that started with simple premises but then intertwined into something more complex with an adventure that endeared the player with the cast of characters or world.

Back then there was a lot of classical music influences, and influences from real world myth and legends from around the world.

Today we get Japanese pop rock themes from the characters, the music, and the narrative. Costs to produce games have risen so much due to the fact that they feel pressured to cram ever more realistic cutscenes to artificially induce emotion into the script to make up for the shortfalls in gameplay because they can't adapt quickly to technology.

The first thing Final Fantasy should do is go back to ground zero and begin again with a traditional fantasy setting and then do a lot of thinking in coming up with an endearing plot. The Legend of Zelda is stuck in that period yet still can come up with compelling stories that are quaint even if it misses all that cutscene induced drama.

Then when they have a setting and plot, they can look around to see how guys like CD Projekt are kicking their ass.

Lastly, their management is incompetent. Kingdom Hearts was an incredibly successful series but the last game on a console released in 2005. This is 2011. The excuse for not having one out? Nomura is too busy with other projects.

What a great concept to have in a company. Only 1 guy can handle your major IP's since nobody else is supposedly talented enough so not only is everything riding on his ability, you also had better hope nothing bad happens to him or you're screwed.

Requoting for the new page....Spot on.

 

[Terrell]

Lastly, their management is incompetent. Kingdom Hearts was an incredibly successful series but the last game on a console released in 2005. This
What a great concept to have in a company. Only 1 guy can handle your major IP's since nobody else is supposedly talented enough so not only is everything riding on his ability, you also had better hope nothing bad happens to him or you're screwed.

And the worst of it is, given how ridiculously mediocre the story turned out to be in FFXIII and how much of an utter fan-wank he made Kingdom Hearts, this isn't really top-tier talent either. And they're running him into the ground because they can't find anyone else suited for the job. Sad, really.

 

[InfiniteNine]

And the worst of it is, given how ridiculously mediocre the story turned out to be in FFXIII and how much of an utter fan-wank he made Kingdom Hearts, this isn't really top-tier talent either. And they're running him into the ground because they can't find anyone else suited for the job. Sad, really.

Hey hey, don't dump that shit on Nomura. He is free of blame there.

 

[Femmeworth]

And the worst of it is, given how ridiculously mediocre the story turned out to be in FFXIII and how much of an utter fan-wank he made Kingdom Hearts, this isn't really top-tier talent either. And they're running him into the ground because they can't find anyone else suited for the job. Sad, really.

Who are you talking about?

Edit: Beaten by InfiniteNine, who was much more direct.

 

[Terrell]

Hey hey, don't dump that shit on Nomura. He is free of blame there.

That's like saying Michael Bay isn't responsible for how shitty Transformers is.

EDIT: my bad, I got my directors mixed up. TORIYAMA is responsible for that shit. But my KH comment stands.

 

[Korigama]

That's like saying Michael Bay isn't responsible for how shitty Transformers is.

Nomura only handled character designs in FFXIII, not story.

 

[Kagari]

Nomura only handled character designs in FFXIII, not story.

And even then it wasn't every character and it was only brief outlines for the main characters.

 

[KingDizzi]

Well E3 was indeed a pretty shitty showing by SE but they were not showing the strength of the company this gen which has been handheld games. Wii/PS3/360 games this generation from SE have been laughable but it's the complete opposite when it comes to DS/PSP titles. They need to pick up on the consoles but with their handheld games being so good and the likes of FFXIII being pathetic, really hoping that SE put their main teams on handheld duty. Just waiting got the day FF XV is announced for Vita/3DS, why bother with consoles when the games don't even sell that well and the budget is so high? Go only Vita/3DS SE and let Eidos deal with the console games, you shall make lots of money and high quality titles.

 

[Ben Pierce]

Square is not the power house it once was. What a shame...how the mighty have fallen.

 

[Vespene]

I want to see Square-Enix do something bold, like hand off Final Fantasy XV to a company like Bethesda. Wouldn't that be something?

 

[SolidSnakex]

Just waiting got the day FF XV is announced for Vita/3DS, why bother with consoles when the games don't even sell that well and the budget is so high? Go only Vita/3DS SE and let Eidos deal with the console games, you shall make lots of money and high quality titles.

That isn't going to happen

Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase told Eurogamer that fans demand top-of-the-line visuals from the core series, leaving them no choice but to restrict the franchise to high definition machines.

"If you're talking about the main Final Fantasy titles, one of the strong focuses of the series is cutting edge graphics. That's what people enjoy and that's what people associate Final Fantasy with," he insisted.

"In that sense I would like to assure our users of this top quality artistic visual achievement. To do that we have to stick with high definition consoles."

"Though the main Final Fantasy franchise has always been with top definition consoles, Crisis Core, for example, has been very successful on PSP. So those smaller projects we'll consider for PSP2 or 3DS."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-08-final-fantasy-xv-wont-be-on-vita-3ds

 

[Yoshiya]

I want to see Square-Enix do something bold, like hand off Final Fantasy XV to a company like Bethesda. Wouldn't that be something?

Something horrific? Sure.

If you want to play Elder Scrolls, play Elder Scrolls. A good FF isn't that.

 

[Vespene]

Something horrific? Sure.

If you want to play Elder Scrolls, play Elder Scrolls. A good FF isn't that.

Then what is a good Final Fantasy? A game stuck in 1990s mechanics?
Final Fantasy should've moved to were prominent RPGs are now. If the old hats at S-E can't do it, then they should let someone else do it.

 

[ULTROS!]

I want to see Square-Enix do something bold, like hand off Final Fantasy XV to a company like Bethesda. Wouldn't that be something?

I want to see Bethesda do something bold, like hand off Fallout 4 to a company like Idea Factory. Wouldn't that be something?

 

[Vespene]

I want to see Bethesda do something bold, like hand off Fallout 4 to a company like Idea Factory. Wouldn't that be something?

 

[SolidSnakex]

Then what is a good Final Fantasy? A game stuck in 1990s mechanics?
Final Fantasy should've moved to were prominent RPGs are now. If the old hats at S-E can't do it, then they should let someone else do it.

Main Final Fantasy games still sell more than any other RPG around, including Bethesda games. So there are plenty of people out there that enjoy the mechanics that they use. They may have stumbled with XIII, but a lot of people loved X and XII, so it's not like they don't know what they're doing.

 

[Yoshiya]

Then what is a good Final Fantasy? A game stuck in 1990s mechanics?
Final Fantasy should've moved to were prominent RPGs are now. If the old hats at S-E can't do it, then they should let someone else do it.

The WRPG and JRPG have entirely different genre heritage and development. Though they've been unable to deliver it successfully as of late, FF is about a largely linear plot and character driven narrative. Elder Scrolls is about dumping you in a big fantasy world and letting you do whatever you feel like. Each approaches has its advantages and disadvantages and they certainly aren't interchangeable. I f they wanted to hand the series of to an external developer (lol), it'd be to someone who could make a good FF, not a good WRPG.

 

[Terrell]

Then what is a good Final Fantasy? A game stuck in 1990s mechanics?
Final Fantasy should've moved to were prominent RPGs are now. If the old hats at S-E can't do it, then they should let someone else do it.

No, a game that goes back to 1990s writing. Story drives an RPG experience equally with gameplay. And modern RPG stories just don't live up to what we saw in the 90s. At all. From most developers.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Something horrific? Sure.

If you want to play Elder Scrolls, play Elder Scrolls. A good FF isn't that.

In its place we get a game that mostly plays itself. I think the point still stands. The series needs a radical change and isn't developed with the mindset that the gaming gets in the way of the story.

 

[Seda]

Then what is a good Final Fantasy? A game stuck in 1990s mechanics?
Final Fantasy should've moved to were prominent RPGs are now. If the old hats at S-E can't do it, then they should let someone else do it.

This reminds me of one of the false dilemmas that I see often annoys me a lot. As soon as japanese developers move away from the typical "line up and attack in turn" basics of a JRPG, people will say it's no longer a JRPG, and then turn around and say that all of those "line up and attack in turn JRPGs" are so stale...when they've just limited the genre to just that..

I'm not calling out anyone here, but I've seen it on other forums and it's kind of annoying. I'm not sure where the line is drawn. Most people consider games like Star Ocean and Tales JRPGs, yet they are action based. Is it because they still have parties? What if they didn't have parties? Would it be because battle sequences are separated from exploration/normal sequences?

So does it cease to be a JRPG when parties and battle instances are removed? Do both conditions have to apply to remove the label? What about games like Kingdom Hearts which have parties in some games but not in others, but no instanced battles in all of the games (except CoM and some other isolated parts)? Can you apply the label to some of the games in the series but not others?

I would state my personal definition of how I apply the label, if at all, but it's constantly changing so I'm not sure there's a point.

 

[Castor Krieg]

This guy must be so overworked doing stuff for FF13, Kingdom Hearts PSP shit and Versus 13 also.

On the contrary, given how long it takes them to make games, I would say that everyone at S-E (including Nomura) is slacking big time.

 

[Vespene]

You misunderstand my point. Obviously Bethesda wouldn't make an Elder Scrolls type of Final Fantasy. But something midway ES and FF would be incredibly compelling, don't you think?

 

[ULTROS!]

If you want some other developer to develop the next FF game, it's better that they give it to Atlus or the Skies of Arcadia/Valkyria Chronicles team in my opinion.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Give it to tri-Ace :drool but hire a good scenario writer lest they'll find a way to inject a cat person

 

[Vespene]

If you want some other developer to develop the next FF game, it's better that they give it to Atlus or the Skies of Arcadia/Valkyria Chronicles team in my opinion.

For the record, Valkyria 1 is one of my favorite games this generation.

I think Final Fantasy should be given to a western dev because they are more willing to take risks and "respect" the legacy mechanics of the series less. I compare it to what Retro did with Metroid Prime, a first person game that could've never been done by a Japanese developer.

 

[Yoshiya]

Give it to tri-Ace :drool but hire a good scenario writer lest they'll find a way to inject a cat person

Tri-ace really needs to be split more visibly into the RoF/VP2 team and the SO team, so we can tell if their games are going to be shit or not. I'd be okay with RoF staff helming a major FF project, but their work is certainly an acquired taste.

 

[Brera]

I respect SE for admitting this.

Capcom and Namco seem to be the only third parties trying.

They all need to look to the SNES and psx for inspiration ie many brands over many genres with lots of quality!

Many arnt even releasing anything substantial! SE need to concentrate on 1 final fantasy at a time!

 

[ULTROS!]

I seriously don't want to play a Final Fantasy game that's marred with bugs and the main character having a personality similar to a rock!

If you want a near-Western Final Fantasy game, maybe FFXII is for you. I don't like it because it departed from the traditional(?) FF style but I know some people love it.

 

[Callibretto]

You misunderstand my point. Obviously Bethesda wouldn't make an Elder Scrolls type of Final Fantasy. But something midway ES and FF would be incredibly compelling, don't you think?

If you want to give ff to western dev, I'll pick cdproject to handle it. Top of the line visual and music. Know how to deliver engaging, cinematic story and cutscenes, while still offer freedom for character building and a bit of open world element

 

[MrHicks]

FFX is still my favorite and feel no shame about it

 

[Yoshiya]

If you want to give ff to western dev, I'll pick cdproject to handle it. Top of the line visual and music. Know how to deliver engaging, cinematic story and cutscenes, while still offer freedom for character building and a bit of open world element

If they could keep the creepy sexism/objectification out of it I'd prefer that to Bethesda.

 

[KingJ2002]

Square has to turn things around soon... hopefully at TGS we can get some final release dates for the rest of their FF titles.

this generation is coming to a close very soon. Im sure Microsoft & Sony will show off their new hardware next year and if Versus isnt on it's way out by then. It could be sent to die.


...


I hope next gen square improves their multiplatform tools to improve development times... and also work on new franchises... not every title needs to be named Final Fantasy.


last gen we got FF 10, FFX2, 11, and 12

this gen we've barely got a competent FF13, a broken 14, and announcements for Versus, with an out of the blue FF13-2.


im looking forward to their games but this gen they clearly dropped the ball. They were lucky to buy eidos... tomb raider, hitman, and deus ex all look amazing. Now we just need the japanese arm to give us the same quality going forward.

 

[Momo]

FFX is still my favorite and feel no shame about it

Dont, the battle system was amazing

 

[ZombieFred]

I'd be interested to see how one of Eidos's studios create a Final Fantasy and see how that would compare, in terms of budget and time in production, with Square's Japan studios once the game's release. I'd buy it!

 

[ZephyrFate]

Honestly it took me about 30 seconds to know I am not interested in whatever Square is selling here.

Although the rest of the video certainly solidified that assumption.

That is abominably unfortunate for you. We'll be enjoying a good game, thanks!

 

[Terrell]

What's funny is I remember when people were discussing Crystal Tools and how it was supposed to help reduce the development time and encourage new projects through use of existing tools. And so far the only game to benefit from that is FFXIII-2 and *snicker* FFXIV Online.

 

[Shaheed79]

They need to start giving Matsuno big money to make them new games. Tactics Ogre is definitely the best thing to come out of Square-Enix in the last five years. We need Ogre Battle PS360 right fucking now.

3DS, Vita, WiiU please. Touchscreen is absolutely imperative for a new OB game.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

The last good FF game was FFIX. Now all we get is pop music with awful character designs, VA, and androgenous dudes.

I haven't touched a Square game since.............Kingdom Hearts 2? Not entirely sure.