Final Fantasy titles have gone stale and the series needs a jolt. Or a facelift. Between watered down attempts, lame spinoffs and bad branding, the once great franchise is in need of something new to bring it back to greatness, and it better be more than a clueless blond protagonist.
The allure just isn't there anymore for the Final Fantasy titles and we have to ask why. Loyal fans try to create hype, but the games are just not combining new and old expectations. Maybe it's because every game, we have to warm up to new characters and worlds. Square sets itself up for hit and miss titles with no character regularity. The only motif running through the series I can identify is a blond guy and clueless protagonists. Most of the recent Final Fantasy games (dare I say Square Enix games) have a blond hero who is completely clueless as the world collapses around him.
But it's the closest thing to regularity the series offers in its constantly redesigned worlds. I mean, at least we have our clueless blond protagonist that reassures us that the FF games are related. Right?
It's like Square is having a blond moment in its thematic creativity. They need to think of a real theme for this series to hold together.
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- Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales [DS]
- Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable (Import) [PSP]
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- Final Fantasy IV [PSX]
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- Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia [PS2, PC]
- Final Fantasy XI: Girade no Genei (Import) [PS2]
- Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan [XBOX360, PC, PS2]
- Final Fantasy XI: The Vana'diel Collection [PC]
- Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess [XBOX360, PS2, PC]
- Final Fantasy X International (Import) [PS2]
Comments with -10 or lower "thumbs" are removed from display.
I don't mind change in a series, but Squeenix haven't been going in the right direction.
Lazy spin-offs, weird gameplay ideas (e.g. the random DMW in CC), cliche one-dimensional charaters, and confusing (or obscure) storylines have all been a part of recent FF games ... These are things that Square never did in the past. They never got such simple things so wrong.
They're trying to make the series "new and exciting", but they're actually making it worse. And it's showing - Western fans are losing interest in the series.
(haha, and they're right about the abundance of clueless blonde characters. there's so many of them!)
I'm amused you argue that all the titles are simultaneously "the same" while arguing that each is annoyingly completely different.
The only themes/motifs which I find are constant between titles are the easter-egg naming (Shiva, etc) and the "naturalistic" literary themes (though this is probably a by-product of Japanese culture... many Japanese films and anime deal with this concept, for instance, Blue Seed). By "naturalistic" themes I mean dealing with the environment as well as going back to a country's cultural roots (through ancient tales/myths).
However, one thing I haven't liked recently is how young-looking the characters have gotten. It seems as if they make the male protagonist in each succeeding game more baby-faced, especially Vaan. He looked as if he had the head of a 5 year old. LOL.
I rather like the flexibility of having new characters though. I mean don't you people get tired of having the SAME characters sequel after sequel? If so, maybe this is why Hollywood has inundated our theatres with so many, imo, crapshack sequels. I personally can't stand it.
- Also as for the blond hair thing, you must understand that most of the world's entertainment operates on one idea: exoticism. Note, here Asian style interior design (and weddings interestingly enough) are popular because, well, it's "exotic." If you were Japanese, something out of the ordinary like blond hair would be exotic, no?
They need to quit with all the extremely shitty Protagonists. I wish all FF Protagonists were clones of Cecil Harvey, The best FF Protagonist ever. All current protagonists are either extremely Whiny, Amnesiac, or just plain assholes. I just want a protagonist who realizes that he has to get his ass up and save the World from the forces of Darkness.
Quit with all the crappy Mini-Games and Side-Quests. Mini-Games are fun, but from FF 8-12, they're nothing but Time-Wasters. Side-Quests are major pains in the ass and I wish they would burn. The reason I love the Early Games is because they were straight forward. You figure out that you have to save the world and then, you go save it, the villain occasionally sets you back a couple steps, but it's not enough to knock you off track. If there must be Mini-Games, please, make them fun or get rid of them completely.
If they want new themes, how about they make a Protagonist that isn't some pasty kid like they have for the past 5 Games? Change it up, make him Black or something. Better yet, maybe they can return to that Middle-Age feel like the originals I love had.
People, remember these are my opinions. Hate it if you want.
Whats with the sudden hatred of Final Fantasy all of a sudden ? There's been quite a few articles like this over the past few weeks.