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[Yagharek]

It needs to go back to the ethos that started the series: desperation and a last roll of the dice. Recent FF games have been all gloss, all flash, and targeted at a seemingly narrow demographic.

I know games like Chrono Trigger and Xenoblade were products of a perfect storm of creativity, but thats what needs to be encouraged. They are at the core simple games, but with compelling gameplay and intriguing scenarios.

It's been years since FF games had that about them.

 

[LCfiner]

Here's what I would like to see:

Get rid of the sci fi mixed with fantasy. Go full on fantasy or bring the series back to a less technically advanced timeline and try some other mash up.

Offer up a bit more freedom. XIII was a disaster in this area and they need to give some more player freedom in picking where to go or what to do (not just speccing out battle styles). I don't think they should attempt any Bethesda style openness but at least have spots in the story where you have a bunch of different places to go.

Consider a smaller scope than saving the world. Think of trying to emulate the smaller stakes of The Hobbit vs the enormous stakes of LOTR (just an example)

Try to get a new game out in two years even if it means a bit less detail in the environments. Cut down on cutscenes drastically.

All British voice actors. All the time

 

[Foffy]

Another thing they should do is stop with the stupid names. Isn't Bravely Default: Flying Fairy a Final Fantasy spin-off or something? If it is, with a title like that, nobody would really know unless they were already a hardcore fan.

 

[duckroll]

Another thing they should do is stop with the stupid names. Isn't Bravely Default: Flying Fairy a Final Fantasy spin-off or something? If it is, with a title like that, nobody would really know unless they were already a hardcore fan.

No it's not. It's a banking loan spin-off.

 

[monome]

Sakaguchi is a has been who should continue to surf in Hawaii and stop making games.

I hate you. The man deserves accolades if only for his finely trimmed moustache and his taste in women. And FF6, one the Games Of Forever.

No it's not. It's a banking loan spin-off.

I love you. Pretty sure their office is situated near the Goldman Sachs one.

Get rid of the sci fi mixed with fantasy. Go full on fantasy or bring the series back to a less technically advanced timeline and try some other mash up.

Go play FF6 and never ever show your avatar 'round here Bitch. Maybe I'm harsh if you're just talking about the shit FFXIII design.
You got Skyrim and "wink" Dragon Age 3 to satisfy your manly Dragon desires and Dragon Quest if you don't like mechas.

Only reasonnable thing to do is give FF story reigns back to Matsuno ($$$ buys everything) and get some western producers involved (ex-Bioware, ex-Bethesda).

 

[King of the Potato People]

FF IX did great considering it was the Twilight period of the PS, still that kind of FF would be basically rejected by the gaming audience of today. Although I'd love future games to have that same mix of variety.

 

[ULTROS!]

How do the sales of FF go (WW)?

This is what I know:
FFVII (10m) > FFVIII > FFX > FFXIII (6.2m, shipped) > FFXII >= FFIX

Not sure about FFI-FFVI.

 

[jaxword]

How do the sales of FF go (WW)?

This is what I know:
FFVII (10m) > FFVIII > FFX > FFXIII (6.2m, shipped) > FFXII >= FFIX

Not sure about FFI-FFVI.

Well, this site:

http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy

Has all of them listed. The numbers are probably a little out of date now, so inflate them accordingly.

FF13 did very well; I'm not sure where all the people saying IT DID TERRIBLY are getting that info from. It almost matches FFX.

I think their hatred for it is distorting perceptions.

 

[duckroll]

I hate you. The man deserves accolades if only for his finely trimmed moustache and his taste in women. And FF6, one the Games Of Forever.

Kitase and Itou are the ones really responsible for FFVI though. The story and cutscenes were all Kitase, while Itou handled the design of the gameplay systems. The more popular supporting characters were also created by people like Nomura and Soraya Saga.

Sakaguchi should just keep surfing. Ride the waves, be cool, stay away from games.

 

[monome]

Kitase and Itou are the ones really responsible for FFVI though. The story and cutscenes were all Kitase, while Itou handled the design of the gameplay systems. The more popular supporting characters were also created by people like Nomura and Soraya Saga.

Sakaguchi should just keep surfing. Ride the waves, be cool, stay away from games.

8-(

SO...he gets to bang crazy chicks riding on others' work? Damn...
Last Story was my last reason to keep the Wii as an english version of DQX is eons away and most probalby WiiU only for US/Europe.

If FF gets more action oriented, I would like some PlatinumGames collaboration. Could be fun to see if PG can go beyond its confort zone.

 

[ULTROS!]

Kitase and Itou are the ones really responsible for FFVI though. The story and cutscenes were all Kitase, while Itou handled the design of the gameplay systems. The more popular supporting characters were also created by people like Nomura and Soraya Saga.

Sakaguchi should just keep surfing. Ride the waves, be cool, stay away from games.

They should make Kitase the director now and make Shinji Hashimoto the producer.

 

[duckroll]

They should make Kitase the director now and make Shinji Hashimoto the producer.

Kitase is never going to direct a game again. His position in the company has changed too much, and he himself doesn't seem to show much interest in dealing directly with game design anymore.

 

[molekiller]

What's next? Just die.

 

[monome]

What's next? Just die.

A FF zombie FPS where you get to shoot at FFXIII characters and dismember them?

 

[duckroll]

What's next? Just die.

That's not a particularly constructive reply to the thread. Do you want to expand on it?

 

[jaxword]

What's next? Just die.

Then what would you have to complain about?

 

[ULTROS!]

FF Survival Horror game featuring our favorite characters fighting against our least favorite characters (like monster Snow and Vanille) sounds nice.

 

[Wolves Evolve]

Sakaguchi made Lost Odyssey and that was pre.... oh man. MAN.

 

[Trent Strong]

Final Fantasy X-2 2. Only this time it's not so much an RPG as a lesbian hentai game.

 

[monome]

FF Survival Horror game featuring our favorite characters fighting against our least favorite characters (like monster Snow and Vanille) sounds nice.

ok. but I want nanomachines too.

More seriously, can't be serious about FF as long as Versus is MIA.
Too early to get EIDOS involved too.
FFXIV is still not running like it should.

On one side Mass Effect has taken some of my RPG time from whatever Square does. But Mass Effect ain't going the way it should, so if Square is serious, I'd like some FF take on space exploration. But still a FF game.

Mostly I beg for a good story and a sound gameplay (something that "clicks" and does not rely on gimmicks).

 

[duckroll]

Final Fantasy X-2 2. Only this time it's not so much an RPG as a lesbian hentai game.

My name is duckroll, and I approve of this message.

 

[beril]

Some of my thoughts from the MC thread

FFXIII felt like the culmination of everything bad in the series that's been building up over the last 15 years, multiplied with a hundred. Annoying teen-idol characters, ridiculously convoluted story, increased linniearity, endless cutscenes, nonsensical arbirary systems.
It'll need a complete overhaul to interest me again, just going back to FFX quality won't be enough. For me it would have to go back to IX or even VI, or go in a completely new direction.

I think they should move away from being overly cinematic and story driven. Fancy prerendered cutscenes were great to lure in people with in the PSX days, but these days FF cutscenes probably keep more people away than they attract, at least in the west. An RPG shouldn't tell it's story through cutscenes anyway. Other genres can do that; in an RPG there should be some point in talking to NPCs. There should probably be less focus on story in general. Sure FF games are known for their story, but that's back when RPGs were pretty much the only games with any story. These days half the games released are trying to be interactive movies, and in many ways it's easier for 8 hour action game to tell an exciting cinematic story than it is for a 30-50 hour turn based RPG.

 

[Hydrargyrus]

Quit trying to improve the combat system and try to improve the characters and the main story.

I don't care if they maintain the turn based system that was in FFVI or FFVII if the story really likes to me.

What I llok for in a RPG is a good story and good characters, not only graphics and a good gameplay

 

[Jinfash]

Kitase and Itou are the ones really responsible for FFVI though. The story and cutscenes were all Kitase, while Itou handled the design of the gameplay systems. The more popular supporting characters were also created by people like Nomura and Soraya Saga.

Sakaguchi should just keep surfing. Ride the waves, be cool, stay away from games.

I'm always fascinated by the "who exactly did what" in game development discussions. An entire thread should be dedicated to that if only to stop crediting the wrong people.

 

[duckroll]

I'm always fascinated by the "who exactly did what" in game development discussions. An entire thread should be dedicated to that if only to stop crediting the wrong people.

I don't think it would prevent people from "crediting the wrong people" honestly. The people who are generally only aware of single names in the creative process of a game are usually more casual fans in regards to the development end of things. As such, it is unlikely that they would read up on such information even if it's available.

 

[Daante]

Something of a mix of Xenoblade + Dark Souls = Win.

Game should be hard, and not mainstream. Will probably never happen since mainstream = higher numbers but hey you can always wish

 

[monome]

My name is duckroll, and I approve of this lesbian massage.

Fixed.

EDIT : I have some good gameplay design ideas for a lesbian hentai FF. Could also offer some good MOVE/KINECT/WiiU pre-order DLC and some fancy movie ala Gundam Combos crazyness from nowadays.

 

[duckroll]

Fixed.

Mmmm...

 

[RedSwirl]

Put the entire series on hiatus for a year or so. Let people miss it a bit, FFS. Meanwhile, quietly begin work on a new FF title that takes its cues from XII, in gameplay, setting, and story tone. Have a Basch or Balthier type character as the lead. XII got so much right, had such a forward-thinking design, it's actually pretty remarkable. [Setting the games in Ivalice from now on would be nice as well; it's the best world the series ever had.]

Personally, I've always wanted them to do a character's life story - from youth to old age, from one end of the spectrum to the next. But they'll probably never do anything like that, instead opting for another over-the-top end of the world gambit.

I would just put the franchise on hiatus until next gen outside of Versus XIII and fixing XIV. If they have any manpower left over outside of those two projects, start working on XV now and get the Luminous engine ready to run it on next gen consoles. I think it would help them a lot if they got an FF out early next gen.

I'm all for a throwback to swords and sorcery.

Even though I wasn't a fan of the gambit system, I really think FFXII with a better story and plot would have been the perfect FF. The thing that enrages me about the story complaints about FFXII are the people that complain that it was boring because it was “too political”. Did we play the same game? FFXII is as poltical as the Phantom Menace. It makes FFT look like Shakespeare's Titus or the Witcher in comparison. The thing that bugged me about FFXII is they had the perfect setting but under utilized villians and protagonists. Basch should have been the main character. The plot should have not revolved around stones.

From what I understand this is mostly what Matsuno wanted to do, but had to leave development halfway through for "health reasons". He wanted Basch to be the main character but SE was worried he wouldn't appeal to their teen demographic.

Square Enix already tried once to make a game that appealed to the world - The Last Remnant. They tried to present two main characters - the kid, and then their interpretation of a western male character was that old dude with the long white hair. I didn't actually play the game but how did that turn out? As for character designs and such being more like XII, what you guys are basically asking is for Akihiko Yoshida to do the art. He did XII, Tactics, Vagrant Story, and XIV.

 

[JORMBO]

I honestly just think that I've gotten older and lost interest in the series in general. I wonder if I played the older games where I am in life now if they would have the same magic.

I still like the new FF games, but they just aren't as appealing. The only way I can see them being really interesting to me is if they are in a darker, more serious world with a more mature cast.

So I'm not sure if the series is the problem, or we've just all grown up.

 

[monome]

I honestly just think that I've gotten older and lost interest in the series in general. I wonder if I played the older games where I am in life now if they would have the same magic.

I still like the new FF games, but they just aren't as appealing. The only way I can see them being really interesting to me is if they are in a darker, more serious world with a more mature cast.

So I'm not sure if the series is the problem, or we've just all grown up.

Rest assured. All AAA franchises will keep following the 20-40 year old males for the forseeable future, that's where the money and the interest are. It's true for japanese AAA games too.

Could FF get to be an adaptation of a book series? There might be some good stuff on japanese shelves. A good story is reall required for me going forward. I'm pretty sure I won't be too hot on Versus.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I don't really have an attachment to the series but I'd like them to do FFVI with the FFV job system and the X/X-2 battle system. Less focus on cutscenes and angst, more on game-mechanics, exploration, scenarios and characters.

 

[beril]

They should let Yuji Horii make FFXV

 

[jaxword]

I don't really have an attachment to the series but I'd like them to do FFVI with the FFV job system and the X/X-2 battle system. Less focus on cutscenes and angst, more on game-mechanics, exploration, scenarios and characters.

FF6 isn't what you're looking for then if you want exploration and characters, since there's little to no exploration on the worldmap beyond going from town to town and the characters get one short defining scene and then it's forgotten (i.e. Cyan and Sabin's bonding, or Gau's dad, etc.). It's also the ONLY FF to have a character kill themselves in a cutscene. Sazh doesn't count.

I liked FF6, but it really suffers badly from rose-colored memories.

 

[Clear]

As usual, massive overreaction in this thread.

The precedent of a numbered spin-off selling less than its predecessor was well and truly set by X-2's performance, I highly doubt anyone at SE expected it to do as well as XIII.

Bear in mind that FFX was, and remains a hugely popular title, so if you consider the rocky reception that XIII received its again no surprise that the fall-off on XIII-2 would be more marked.

Fixing that "problem" is simply a case of moving onto the next variation on the FF formula and starting over in the way that XII was a major departure from X-2.

Versus, regardless of its level of completion, has at least a fully fleshed-out and polished vertical-slice demonstrating what that next step could be, and no doubt there'll have been some pre-production done on FFXV at this point. So its not like the "XIII" model represents the only future for the franchise.

Objectively they need to drop the XIII from the branding of Versus in order to establish it as a separate entity. Making it as good as possible goes without saying, because noone tries to make a bad game.

XIII was a misstep. But if you honestly believe it represented SE "not trying", I think you're just being obtuse. The reality is, you can't create a winner every time. The closest you can get to it is rehash a proven successful formula over-and-over with minimal deviation until the public tires of it.

Final Fantasy, thankfully, has at least tried to shake things up a bit with each iteration. This more than anything is why capitulating to the luddites who believe NES/SNES/FFIX FF is THE only FF would be a catastrophic mistake in my opinion. I'll take evolution over devolution any day of the week.

 

[Glass Rebel]

FF6 isn't what you're looking for then if you want exploration and characters, since there's little to no exploration on the worldmap beyond going from town to town and the characters get one short defining scene and then it's forgotten (i.e. Cyan and Sabin's bonding, or Gau's dad, etc.). It's also the ONLY FF to have a character kill themselves in a cutscene. Sazh doesn't count.

I liked FF6, but it really suffers badly from rose-colored memories.

Sorry for not being clear, I meant the world of VI.

 

[monome]

As far as story goes, I would like a FF take on real world issues.
No more bullshit like FFXIII story.

A militarized world. Not so distant future. Impressive realistic graphics. A bit of a Macross vibe.
Chocobos are bi-pedals vehicles.
Summons are weapons.

Story takes a look at a people very much like japanese ones, taking cues from Fukushima, relationships with CHINA, Korea and the US.

Protagonist is a young soldier irridiated by a civil incident at the end of the prologue.
Story takes place 10 years after, as the country deals with the responsibility of its negligence and its neighboors have taken aggressive stands towards it in the aftermake of said incident.

Programs have been launched post incident, using untested techniques.
Said programs rely on international cooperation, but something is amiss.

Now adult protagonist is chosen as test subject since he's beyond repair through conventionnal means.

Shit hits the fan. Reality is distorted through us of powerfull machines thought only capble of waging war but in fact having ripped some the principles of Physics out of our Universe.

Balance needs be restored.
Metaphysical stuff ensues. And war is waged between Reality and Unreality as both are made and unmade from the same fabric.

 

[jaxword]

Sorry for not being clear, I meant the world and characters of VI.

Oh, I see. Well they will probably make an FF6-2 eventually.

Though to be really honest there isn't a lot they can do with the world and anything they DO add would just feel tacked-on. FF7 at least had the idea there was a lot of horrible stuff Shinra did that the characters didn't see and a lot of Midgar was left unexplored...FF6 kind of limits itself as everything has already been done and the towns really were indistinguishable from each other.

A militarized world. Not so distant future. Impressive realistic graphics. A bit of a Macross vibe.
Chocobos are bi-pedals vehicles.
Summons are weapons.

You want FF Type Zero, then?

 

[duckroll]

A militarized world. Not so distant future. Impressive realistic graphics. A bit of a Macross vibe.
Chocobos are bi-pedals vehicles.
Summons are weapons.

Story takes a look at a people very much like japanese ones, taking cues from Fukushima, relationships with CHINA, Korea and the US.

As the previous post said, sounds exactly like FF Type-0.

 

[Y2Kev]

So then maybe they should stop putting games on Psp!

 

[zoukka]

Creative death and hopefully a rebirth!

 

[BladeoftheImmortal]

Big Lots

 

[thefro]

I really agree with this. I know it may never happen, but I really want a character who has a lot of history about him/her. Someone who's actually done something. "Hey the world's in danger, why not ask so-and-so to do something about it? I hear that they did X with Y, clearly they're someone we can trust over this child".

It's probably because I'm fixing to turn 30 that I want this, but I no longer have any patience for the plucky or reluctant 13 - 17 year old hero who is tasked with doing something grand in a world full of adults who apparently lack the combined skill and knowledge to do anything for themselves.

That's yet another thing Xenoblade does really well. The game does a really good job of addressing your complaints about the stereotypical JRPG narrative about teenagers saving the world.

 

[monome]

As the previous post said, sounds exactly like FF Type-0.

LOL, sorry...haven't followed Type 0 since mobile ->psp.

And not what I envision.
Something subdued for a change.

Like military grades and ornaments are well known FF logos/designs but are not presented in your face.

Also the first half of the game would feel more like a Kojima game in terms of aesthetics and weapons and stuff.

Once Reality is distorted, stuff could become much more in your face as I suspect people love FF for it.

It's a matter of it not being a cheap transition but a meaningfull one in terms of gameplay, story and character progression.

I want FF to keep its magic, but making it a scientific anomaly might help get the story in check and not start in a world with giant demons coming out of nowhere to throw fire and people living there acting like nothing.


Politics make for intriguing scenarios, and we get a lot of crunchy stuff nowadays. Good stuff and real stories to draw from.
Main character could a general.

And progression could be made through controlling and evolvng units/armies, create new weapons programs etc... instead of finding a treasure chest, you break your ennemies banks, or hack them etc...

 

[duckroll]

That's yet another thing Xenoblade does really well. The game does a really good job of addressing your complaints about the stereotypical JRPG narrative about teenagers saving the world.

I... disagree. The general narrative is pretty typical of that with a young male protagonist who is "special" and goes on a quest that leads to self discovery and is a coming of age story complete with the mysterious heroine, the wise older guardian, the childhood friend comedy sidekick, the mascot character, the studious haughty nerd girl, the strong feminist, etc.

Xenoblade does a lot of things really well, but compared to Takahashi's other games, it has a pretty generic set of characters which are relatively lazy by his usual standards. Where Xenoblade shines is the world art design, and the amazing feeling of exploration.

LOL, sorry...haven't followed Type 0 since mobile ->psp.

And not what I envision.
Something subdued for a change.

Like military grades and ornaments are well known FF logos/designs but are not presented in your face.

Also the first half of the game would feel more like a Kojima game in terms of aesthetics and weapons and stuff.

Still sounds exactly like FF Type-0.

 

[monome]

Still sounds exactly like FF Type-0.

Double barrel LOL. I quit.

Can I go ahead with my Hentai Fantasy ideas?

 

[SolidSnakex]

Fancy prerendered cutscenes were great to lure in people with in the PSX days, but these days FF cutscenes probably keep more people away than they attract, at least in the west.

What is this even based on? It isn't like XIII sold poorly in the west. It actually sold pretty damn well. There seem to be a lot of "Well, this doesn't work in the west anymore" comments in this thread when there really isn't much to back it up.

An RPG shouldn't tell it's story through cutscenes anyway. Other genres can do that; in an RPG there should be some point in talking to NPCs. There should probably be less focus on story in general. Sure FF games are known for their story, but that's back when RPGs were pretty much the only games with any story. These days half the games released are trying to be interactive movies, and in many ways it's easier for 8 hour action game to tell an exciting cinematic story than it is for a 30-50 hour turn based RPG.

That's certainly one way to make RPG's, but it's not the only way. FF is still popular in the west. It's not in a Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero etc. category where it's nearly irrelevant in terms of sales.

They just need to give someone else a chance to develop a mainline game. I'd say that Tabata deserves a shot at it. Let's see what he can do with a huge budget.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

What is this even based on? It isn't like XIII sold poorly in the west. It actually sold pretty damn well. There seem to be a lot of "Well, this doesn't work in the west anymore" comments in this thread when there really isn't much to back it up.

It's more of a measurement of post-release reaction, not sales numbers.

 

[hertog]

Have one team making remakes of 7, 8 & 9 to rake in the money.
Just imagine a FFVII remake with a special edition ps3.

Have another team make an entire new FFXV for the 'ps4' ande add in all the succesfull elements from the past (read: a story, real sidequest and TOWNS!!)

 

[StoppedInTracks]

From what I understand this is mostly what Matsuno wanted to do, but had to leave development halfway through for "health reasons". He wanted Basch to be the main character but SE was worried he wouldn't appeal to their teen demographic.

But people Vaan was not the main character! Balthier was and there is no better character in FF history than Balthier.

Of course FF12 would be infinitely better without Vaan altogheter... and Penelo...