^Not at all. It's always been a very traditional franchise. To deny that is to put yourself in a position where you basically know nothing about the staple of FF, which I doubt you and prof are. If you are then well that sucks for you guys because FF has a very rich staple and I can guarantee you that it's a frachise and not a brand name.

I see where you're coming from and I can agree with you. Though I've never played KH on PS2 I am every time looking for it at the game store. I have the 2nd one but I don't want to play it before the first one. I heard great things about it. I also heard great things about TWEWY and I can see the allure of modern-RPGs. So I agree with you :) But I also realize that it is something vastly different from what identified a game as a Final Fantasy, not just to me but for the game in its rich 26-year history. I will probably give it a shot though, as I move on from my dinosaurus state and embrace the future of the series, while saying goodbye to its past. And if it returns to its roots someday, I will be very happy, but I am not getting my hopes up, I see this as a very significant change to the series and so I can't expect to root anymore. It is a big mind-blow for me, but I will embrace it.

If it is excellent it will Final Fantasy as I want it.

Shadow of the Collosus is excellent. It's not Final Fantasy.

For a relatable example, The Walking Dead is excellent, but it isn't Game of Thrones.

I really don't see how or why this should be a problem. Tradition is never a valid reason why something shouldn't change and what you may call tradition, others would call stagnation.

To be honest I see more Final Fantasy in the few videos of Versus/XV than in FFXIII and its sequels. To me, the command driven gameplay was never a selling point of Final Fantasy. It was the fantastical worlds, the great character development, involving storyline and deep exploration. From what I've read and played this appears to have far more of all those elements than XIII did so it's a step in the right direction imo.

On the setting, wiki says this:

Final Fantasy XV is based on the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology that revolves around a struggle between divine beings and the l'Cie, servants chosen by these gods and granted magic powers to fulfill a predetermined task.[10][15] However, the precise impact of these concepts on the story is not known.[10] The game is set in modern times, but the city-like country Lucis which protagonist Noctis hails from is the only technologically advanced location, otherwise surrounded by medieval nations.[7][16][17] The reason for this divide is a cold war waged over crystals, the last of which Lucis holds.[7][16] The other nations used to have their own crystals, but lost them due to ongoing conflicts. They have since focused their efforts on the development of weapons rather than on the progress of their culture, which left them in their regressive state.[7] Just as the cold war ends and a treaty on the peaceful use of crystals is declared, the nation Niflheim unexpectedly invades Lucis, forcing Noctis and his friends to escape.[14][7][10] Having waged wars against the countries Solheim, Tenebrae and Accordo, Niflheim's forces conquer the last remaining crystal, but Noctis tries to stop them before they can leave the city.[16]

Sounds like a Final Fantasy game to me.

Difference being Song of Ice and Fire did not reach a nadir for me where I no longer had emotional attachment to what the series should be.  Final Fantasy did with PS2 era.  I don't expect anything from Final Fantasy, so yes if they made a Final Fantasy 16 and made it a dramatically different genre I would not be bothered.

I can understand though, asked me back in SNES/PS1 era and would have had much stronger emotions about the series.  

Sure man. The day Gran Turismo becomes a platformer I'll agree with you.

You know the writing has been on the wall for years now? Just look at how the series has changed since the PS1 days, especially after X. XII was virtually real-time (and an improved version was used in Xenoblade which is probably the best JRPG this gen) and XIII has a fast-paced battles system that lacked much in the way of strategy when compared to previous FFs. On top of that the whole game revolved around that fast-paced battle system and even used Call of Duty as an influence.

And your comparison completely fails as the genre shift is a small one. All other elements that define a Final Fantasy title as Final Fantasy are still present. At the end of the day, it's still a JRPG.

Not this again...

^Yup, this again...

The day metal gear solid becomes a first person shooter, call me up.

The writing was not on the wall, fans were not welcoming to the changes as far as I remember, many threads were created back in the day about it. The expectation was that the series had veered off enough from its roots and was expected to bounce back. XV becoming what we saw is not a natural progression, the proof is that it was planned to be a spin-off. I realize this will be a great game, but you can't tell me it's Final Fantasy as we knew it.

Well if you don't want to consider it a real numbered game, then you can still call it in your mind "Final Fantasy Versus XIII"