If it's titled Final Fantasy: Side Story in Japan, it's kinda a side story.

But believe what you like. Personally I consider FF:T4HoL a Prequel to Braverly Default and not a Final Fantasy main series game, but a Bravery Default Main series game. Like you said it's the content that matters and if you look at the gameplay, and artwork, FF: T4HoL is a Braverly Default series game, despite saying Final Fantasy in the name. I think what these two games were, were an attempt to see if a Final Fantasy-like game would sell on handhelds as well as Dragon Quest IX did, or as well as console FF's did. It didn't, but it still made a profit, so thus we have the Braverly Default series.

Plus like you said, unless I prove that all main series FF games are connected, then there is no main FF series, I believe I proved that.

P.S. You just contradicted yourself. You said that all Zelda's are part of the main series because the gameplay is similar. Now, not only are you saying there is no main series Zelda, you're also saying FF games with very different gameplay mechanics, like Crystal Chronicles and Tactics, are main series......

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Also for Zelda, there is a main series despite having 3 branching story-lines. I mean do you consider that Tingle DS game a main series Zelda game? It's just everything Zelda falls into this series except for a couple obvious spin-offs.

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Also, the thread is about Braverly Default being FF3's spiritual successor, that's already FFVIII, it takes place in the same world after FFIII and share a lot of gameplay mechanics.

Pretty sure Square needs to for that to be true and they do not.

You need to just give it up.

Crossbow training is not a main Zelda game.

My life as a King is not a main FF game

My life as a Dark Lord is not a main FF game.

bolded: as I said, it can be called whatever they want. for it to be a side story, there needs to be a main story, wich there isn't.

bolded2: you proved that SOME numbered ff connect to SOME others, making then a bunch of separete stories with no main series.

bolded3: I clearly said that THERE IS NO MAIN SERIES IN FINAL FANTASY. BUT IF YOU THINK THERE IS, YOU ARE FORCED TO CONSIDER THE LIKES OF TACTICS AND CRYSTAL CHRONICLES AS MAIN SERIES.

zelda games share a connected story and gameplay style. numbered final fantasies don't  follow a chronological order and gameplay varies too much between games = nothing defining a main series. final fantasy is a franchise where the games happen in different universes and is not tied to a certain gameplay mechanic. this makes crystal chronicles, tactics and bravely default as much final fantasies as the numbered ones.

Logic needs to agree for that to be true. and guess what? logic does agree.

crossbow training is not a main zelda game. my life as a king/dark lord are not main ff, just like every other ff since there is no main series.

1. That's not true, there are very clear cut Main series Mario and Donkey Kong games, except for Donkey Kong Country 1-3, none of them have an over-arching story.

Fallout has a clear main seires (1-3 + New Vegas), and except for 1 character there are no connectiong between all, but the first 2 (which are directly related)

Main series Dragon Quest games don't have any related story, yet we still consider DQM and DQ Swords, a side game.

Plus what the developer calls it outweighs what you call it. Square Enix is calling it a side story, therefore it's a side story. It's literally called "Final Fantasy Side Story." You can't argue this, all you can argue is "Side story to what?" but that doesn't despute this game being a side story to something, which in tern implies that there is an internally designated main series.

2. I showed you that out of the 12 games I described 10 are connected with each other, and I never said the last 2 weren't connected. I'm not huge on FF so I might be wrong on this, but I believe the main theory is FFI, and IX take place on one planet, and the rest take place on another because at some point in the FF series space travel was possible (As referenced in many games, specifically IV, VI, VII, VIII, X, and XIII. Plus FFIII and FFVIII are believed to take place in the same place as FFIV and FFVI, just they take place after the big war in FF IV (Notice how all FF games are related to this big War of the Magi?).

So there, now I showed you how all main series FF games are related.

3.  You claim Zelda has a main series because it shares the same story line and gameplay, but FF doesn't because it doesn't have these features, but....you're wrong. There is an overarching story, and the gameplay in FF I is really not that different from the gameplay in FFIX.

This is why side games like FF Tactics and Crystal Chronicals are side games.

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Anyway in conclusion, if Zelda has a main series, FF has a main series for the exact same reasons. If you claim one has a main series, but the other does not, then you are ignoring facts, and just pushing your opinion. FF does have an over-arching story, it's just that most of the games aren't direct sequels/prequels of each other. However, just like Super Mario World 2, the numbered value doesn't indicate its order chronologically (Remember Yoshi's Island is a prequel to all Super Mario Bros. games).

That's what a spiritual successor is.

A new series that doesn't use the same IP but is meant to evoke similar gameplay and themes.

what you said was this: FF 2,4,6,7,10, and 13 are related, FF 1 & 9 are too, and so are 3 & 8.

that's a lot different than: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 and 15 being related. your other planets theory would make them a connected series but it's just a theory. it remains that the so called "spin offs" are as much final fantasies as the numbered ones.

I said I don't know enough about FFXI, XII, XIV, or XV to know how they are related to other FF games. I said I and IX were indirectly related to the others and III and VIII are beleived to take place in the same place as IV and VI, just centuries after.

Anyway, now that you know that they are all related (too lazy to look up XI, XII and XIV), you still don't look at this in the same way as Zelda? Oracle of Ages/Seasons were only main series games by "theory" before Nintendo published Hyrule Historia, only when Square Enix releases their chronology will you be satisfied?

The way I see it, and I think everyone else does, is Square Enix has their own internal main series. This is seen by numbered entries, with connections between all game, higher budgets, and SE releasing that 13 game "mainline" series in Japan. So according to Square Enix and most here, there is a mainline series, and it's the numbered series.

FF:T4HoL is literally called "Final Fantasy: Side Story" in Japan, this isn't opinion, this is a side story.

So all that's left to bicker about is, are the main numbered FF games, "main series." You're alone on thinking that it's not, but you're entitled to your opinion, and I'm going to stop trying to change it. I mean if you like FF:T4HoL as much as a main FF game and want to give it due credit, you are free to do so. This isn't Medevil England....

So, nice debate, but I think we can just agree to disagree at this point.

the oracle games, like all zeldas, were recognized as zeldas simply by looking at them. just like bravely default is recognized as final fantasy with a single look.

"I mean if you like FF:T4HoL as much as a main FF game and want to give it due credit, you are free to do so."

the whole point of this discussion was proving there is no main series and the likes of t4hol are as numbered as the numbered ones.

whatever. at least you kept debating.

Everyone is against you, you're just to stubborn to accept it. You said that there can't be a main series if there is no bridging story. I showed you that there is a connected story, so your arguement is dead.

Plus how can you say that t4hol is the same as the numbered ones when the actual title of the game is FF Gaiden (Final Fantasy Side Story in Japan). You can argue that there is no main series all you like fine, but T4HoL is still a side game, and this is why it's become its own franchise (Braverly Default). FF:T4HoL is as much of a Final Fantasy game as Dragon Quest.