I just fail to understand why FF is getting so much hate on the internet. My first FF was VII (it was the first to be published in Europe) and since then I liked every single one of them.

I was waiting for FF 13 since the release of the PS3 and it was my best gaming experience on the console generation. FF13 is my "Game of the PS3" so far. The Story is fantastic, and somehow i feel that only Japanese developer can tell really deep storylines.

The starting scene with the train reminded me of the "Deportationen" of the Jews during WW II. I live approx. 20 km next to the KZ Mauthausen... those trains really existed... and that part is where the motives of the story have their origin. The whole concept of fear or xenophobia being the cause for ppl to turn against each other...

You can see Barthandelus smiling devilishly when he no longer needed to control the people. After the set up war to ignite fear 100 years before people started to act on their own. They were willing to kill innocent people just because they came close to foreign objects... Not because the government or the spirital Leader were demanding it... no, the ordinary people wanted them te be deported.

The Nazis were acting similar... they told everyone that the Jews were the Cause of all trouble... and after some years many people started to believe intrinsically that the Jews were bad. The situation started to get its own dynamic.

In japanese stories things are not always explained into detail. You have to think about what is happening and why people are acting in a certain way. And thats why i really love them. FF 13 has really a great story and I would really appreciate a FF XIII-2. Would be a first day buy for me without hesitating.

FF X-2 and FF XII were also great games and i really liked them. So for me, Square-Enix still is the best gaming company out there (well, only the japanese games. I didn't liked what i have seen of Batman, Kane and Lynch or Just Cause).

The only FF I have some problems with are the Crystal Chronicles games on the nintendo systems and FF XI, because of the time requirements and the forced grouping. Despite the harsh critics, I think that I will enjoy FF 14 much more than FF XI. I am really looking forward to it.

The problem that many people have with FF XIII is maybe that they are expecting a game similar to Oblivion...And I have to admit, that although it won many GOTY-Awards, after 40 hours of gameplay, I had to quit playing it out of ultimate boredom... I really tried to like the game... but in 40 hours it was not enjoyable more than 15 minutes and it got worse every hour.

It seemed like the game had a boring story, the main Character has no motives or reasons to participate in the main story, so the storyline had not much depth....I should really stop it here, because I do not want to spoil the game for the fans... I just couldn't get into it...it was in most cases the total opposite of what i expect of a console RPG. Sure, it offers an enormous amount of content.... but quantity does not equal quality...

All in all I do not think that WRPGs are the evolution of JRPGs... they are a totally different approach and I haven't played a single WRPG that I like. On the other hand, if I watch some cutscenes on youtube of some classic JRPGS I have the urge to get the old PS1/PS2 copies from the cellar and put them in my PS2/PS3 to play them again... Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, Suikoden, Grandia, .... there are so many different JRPGs with great storylines....

Well, WRPGS were never that big in Continental Europe either. Most of the European sales of them should come from the UK where the Xbox360 is pretty strong. The UK and the US share a very similar gaming taste, that is quite different from Continental Europe. Thats why FF is bashed stronger on english speaking forums.

Back to Topic. For me, Final Fantasy is not killed, it is still expanding. I really loved FF 13 and i can't wait for the next one. But if you didn't like it, that is totally ok for me. Even if this forum should totally bash the game, there are enough people outside the UK/US that really love the game the way it is.

Just so you know I'm thelifatree, I changed my name and talked with mods.

no one knows what western gamers want >_>. or if they do, they're bazillionaires

Now, while I don't necessarily agree with what they say. And they did cut too many things such as a distinct minigames however the improvements I felt they made in 13 vs the rest of the series or 12 all in my opinion ofcourse. Yours will differ, but here's my reasoning.

1) The battlesystem, though 12's was excellent as well.
2) The artstyle was one of the best if not the best and most consistent in the whole series imo. (Done by the same guy that did the art for FFXII)
3) Now FFXII did this too, but they got rid of random battles.
4) Now while the path was linear... like the dungeons in basically every FF. they improved it so there was elevation, and movement on the screen. Much more entertaining to watch lightning to flip around than people moving on flat plane.
5) The music was  Much better than 12, and one of the better ones in the series
6) The upgrading to weapons, gave some choice on which path too take, not too convoluted. Better than 12's bazaar not better than 9,10,X-2 though.
7) They cut out unecessary fluff
8) Didn't have that really bad tower that was at the end of XII that was a gazillion floors
9) Didn't have Larsa or Fran (yes I hate fran for some reason :P)
10) The World was awesome

Negatives.
1) They cut out things they shouldn't have like minigames and puzzles.
2) Lack of Simple Puzzles besides Taejin's tower.
3) Now this is the big big one. Though the world was awesome, The story was worse than a lot of FF's. The dialogue was worse than XII.
4) They cut out the fluff of towns, but should have refined towns in a different way. AKA, I dunno. But yes.
5) Hope and Snow
7) This is the other big one. Though the game lasted me 115 hours. Doing missions, there is not enough variety. Even if the variety is crappy mini-games, or useless town banter.
8)I forgot probably more.

No. Because they HAD killed it long ago.

That is irrational. Usually it's only those that don't like MMOs that discount it.

The truth is, FF14 has every right to be there, not only because it's closer to the main single-player games in the main series than spin offs like FF Tactics; but also because FF11 was also an MMO, so there is already precedence.

Also, Square Enix's biggest game ever was FFXI, an MMO. So what does this tell you?

Lol, your the thelifatree!!!, i thought it was the same picture as thelifatree, (Aya Bree right), but then thought there must to 2 of you. why the name change??

oh and i was about to say, yeah fair enough maybe no one knows what western gamers want, but i think the methods of production team 1 to use western influcenes like FPS, things they didnt understand were wrong. i wholeheartedly agree with some of the points you've made, your obviously not simply following one or the other you've carefully articulated what you like. which is fair enough.

i share some of the same opinions, actully, although i thought that Snow and Hope were actully the better characters. i mean i found Hope's emotional journey touching, with the way he came past his mothers death and when he faced his fears before Alexander. Snow gets a lot of stick, but the character has a big heart, and hes very honest, which are very likable qualities. i just didnt like any of the female characters because they're a bit too hormonal.

but like i've said, FF12 has some dissappointing parts, but those flaws are somewhat justifiable, but for FF13 there is simply no excuse; they've had 300 memebers of staff, 5 years, and a brand new HD engine, they've chosen to make FF13 to appeal to people who wouldnt by it anyway, using techniques that are unproven.

No but I think they are hurting it even if that isn't translated in sales. FFXIII sold well because of multiplatform and first FF game on the new gen.

But I feel they are moving away from a lot of traditions that 'made' FF games into the popular genre it is today. 

FFX-2 has a lighthearted Bishojo Senshi Anime style story and the cast of Characters the game was targeted more to Anime OTAKU then most of the other FF game (even though most Anime Otaku are also game Otaku) that is why it had so much Fan Service.

Like ishki FFX-2 is one of my favorite FF games and the perfect way to complete the story of Yuna and Tidus FFX-2 also has one of the best ATB battle systems in any FF and the  dresspheres are and awesome way to do the job system and the total freedmen to complete the game haw you chose was awesome. 

Well thats fair enough, those are reasonable answers, i cant really debate about stuff that dont watch anyway, so... i think the gameplay in 10-2 was actully very good however, so many sidequests and ways to explore the game. battle system was also very good!

the series died after Matsuno left 12's development halfway through and the final nail in the coffin was
Sakaguchi personally condemning the series. However, Square played Frankenstein with the series and now it's stumbling along with no rhyme or reason, now in the hands of a bunch of hand-handed people with no idea of story-telling, character, or gameplay design. Toriyama and Kitase HAVE TO GO. Or at the very least just euthanize the series and let it die with SOME dignity properly.

personally I rank like this SNES FFs> GB FFs (which are really saga, but whatever) > PS1 FF > PS2 FF.

i've yet to play the NES ones and FXIII, have them though, but as you can see... I believe the series has been in decline for a while...

started playing DQ (got all game but didn't have the time), that should fill the gap for a while.