I think equating "success" with "hate", while on the right track, is fundamentally wrong.
People don't hate the series because it is popular, they hate it because it is popular despite better alternatives being on the market. One can argue the quality of Final Fantasy titles in regards to its competition, as they can with any game.
However, it is very clear that other franchises, especially recently, have been successful in pushing the genre forward and drastically improving the formula Final Fantasy popularized, yet receive little credit past critical acclaim.
Another way to look at it involves brand name. It is, all subjectivity aside, quite obvious that Final Fantasy has brought the Japanese RPG to the mainstream audience, and in many ways created that genre.
Despite this, can the same be said for the recent Final Fantasy's? Have the recent installments in the series had the same innovation and quality that those before them did? That's debatable, and many find that they fall well short of their competition while simultaneously selling much better.







