It's like trying to compare apples to peppers. I liked IX and XII after VII so I have to disagree with ya about final fantasy in general. I think that a good bit of people really dislike that japanese emo look and not so much the anime style in japanese games. As much as I like the souls games and it's clones, they are very different from any final fantasy game. The souls games created or at the very least are popularising a new subgenre of RPGs. Saying that the souls games are the modern final fantasy is an insult to the souls games honestly.
The Final fantasy series is more or less a ship without any sails. There's no direction in the games anymore. Each addition into the series is more likely to be a miss rather than a hit. I hope that FFXV turns out to be a good game especially after VIII, X & X-2 and more recently XIII + sequels.
