Maybe it was intended as a spin off, but after evaluating the scale of it and the things you can do within the game changed it rom a spin off into a main series. I mean nomura talked in the past about a world map and airships. This game is obviously a very ambitious project in terms of scale and freedom. This is why I think they shifted away from a spin off. I rather have a open world FF with action combat than a linear game like X, X-2 and XIII series. FF is not about the combat, its about leveling up and seeing connections with things like summons etc. Things that share a connection with every FF game that has been released.







