I've loved the franchise but only owned a few games. Not any of the recent stuff. However, 15 doesn't look like it'll be a normal FF game and hopefully it's good. Meanwhile, why not you just move to the Xenoblade series? I already know that Xenoblade Chronicles X is going to be phenomenal.

I don't think he was referring to XIII or its sequels (as you are right with your criticism of XIII, and I have yet to see anyone defend its linearity). I think he was referring to SE's ambitions with FF15's open world and how some view it as deviating from the traditional formula instead of them trying to utilize the new technology that allows for experiences that were not possible years ago.

PS. You have not replied to my previous post yet. :p

Ah. I didn't think that's what he meant. I have no idea how "open world" Final Fantasy XV is, but we'll see when it's released I suppose.

I didn't know a lot of gamers were turned off by Final Fantasy VIII. The only thing that really changed in the Battle System was the Junctioning (which really wasn't too different from "junctioning" Materia) and the Draw/Magic feature. It took some time to get used to (because I played it as a teenager and skipped the tutorials because I obviously knew everything), but once I understood how it worked it was amazing. I didn't know anyone who was turned off of Final Fantasy because of that game. I may have been different because I played Final Fantasy VIII first, then Final Fantasy IX, and then Final Fantasy VII. I think Final Fantasy VIII was different enough to say, "Whoa. That's interesting," but not so different that you say, "This doesn't feel like Final Fantasy. After Final Fantasy X the feel I got was, "That's not Final Fantasy."

The "Junction" system wasn't the only thing that was different about VIII; it also disposed of the traditional equipment system, how characters learned skills, new leveling up system, and the magic drawing (which you have already mentioned) was something simply unheard of. Add to that the realistic setting that the game had, it was completely different from anything else the franchise had done before (even VII didn't go that far), plus the fact that the story focused primarily on two characters as opposed to the whole cast. I'm saying it alienated many gamers based on the drop in sales as well as the online reaction I see for the game; it gets a lot more hate than the other two PS1 titles.

Anyway, I'm just trying to draw a parrallel between VIII, which was vastly different from its predecessors, and the upcoming XV which also seems to be another pivotal change for the series. All I'm saying is that since you love VIII, you shouldn't just assume XV will be disappointing just because it's different.

By the way, VIII was my first FF too! I loved it so much, and it didn't feel weird for me at all going from one title to another in the franchise... they all felt connected, even XII and XIII. I'm not saying all of them are great games or whatever, but my understanding of what makes Final Fantasy what it is is more flexible I suppose.

I'm not saying it'll be disappointing because it's different. You have no idea how excited I was for Final Fantasy XIII to come out. I went to the midnight release, I had the Collector's Edition strategy guide, the whole nine yards. The gameplay and storyline really let me down. The big difference between Squall and Lightning is that you could see the text of what Squall was thinking before he said rude/harsh/etc things. Lightning was just a mean, uncaring person which made her immediately unlikeable (the third Final Fantasy main character who I hated, with the first two being Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2, and Vaan from Final Fantasy XII). The world (as discussed) was excruciatingly linear, the battle system let you only control one of your party members (another reason I didn't like Final Fantasy XII), you were prevented from level grinding (Crystarium expands only after completing certain events), the Summons were Transformers that truly served no purpose (not that they served a purpose in Final Fantasy IX either), Hope was worse than Lightning, and you had so many chapters of him acting like the little kid he was (which was annoying), and the storyline was way more confusing than it needed to be. My issue with Final Fantasy XV is that it was originally Final Fantasy Versus XIII, so I kind of expect it to follow suit. I'm not saying it for sure will, but SquareEnix has released several Final Fantasy games in a row that have been an epic disappointment, and I'd honestly be shocked if I wasn't dubious as to how Final Fantasy XV will turn out.

I really wish they would bring back to the gameplay style of FF6 - FF9 but with next gen graphics. But I absolutely do not like the idea of converting FFXV into an action game, although in my opinion Xenoblade Chronicles is by far the best JRPG released in the last 10 years and it obviously inspired the FFXV developers.

I agree that FFVIII is the best Final Fantasy, followed by VI and VII. X and XIII are the worst.

I agree with almost everything you said, except that I really like Final Fantasy X's battle system.

I feel the same way. I grew up with Final Fantasy 4-9 so I began to fall in love with that style. Now, it's like they're trying to intentionally kill the franchise but people are still buying it! It's simply amazing how loyal the fanbase is! The best thing about FF now is the graphics. I stopped caring about Final Fantasy a long time ago. I'd much rather play a Tales or Dragon Quest for my JRPG fix. Monster Hunter is fine too. Anything but FF.

I also found the Crystarium and story to be disappointing in XIII, and I can understand why you'd have a gripe with being able to control only character... but there are many games out there who have done this mechanic right, so XIII's screw-ups might not make it to XV. Now, we haven't seen enough of XV to have a proper judgment... but I am feeling optimistic about it due to the new director (who is very open and enthusiastic about the project) and the fact that they have learned from many of the XIII mistakes (they have eliminated linearity and have promised to have a lot of optional content available, such as the already-confirmed cooking and fishing) so it does seem like Square Enix are listening to their fans while also continuing to progress forward.

I agree that FF titles within the last 10 years haven't been up-to-par, but frankly that wasn't always SE's fault... like XII had its director leave halfway through development, and you can see the effect of that on how the story just collapses near the end of the game. I enjoyed it a lot and I thought it introduced some solid gameplay mechanics to the franchise (such as the gambits which I believe brought innovation of the entire genre) but still I see its shortcomings and I understand why some fans dismiss it. I think SE's only fuck-ups were XIII and the original XIV, but seeing how they worked really to relaunch XIV and make it up to fans, and their dedication and openness to the development of XV makes me want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

You will probably remain skeptical about the game (as you should, considering that XIII was the last major single-player FF released)... I'm only having this argument because I see a lot of entitlement from FF fans (not you) who want the franchise to be a certain way, denying the very core of the franchise; its ability to reinvent itself. I just wanted to point out that the franchise's golden era was also full of transformations and reinventions.

Final Fantasy 13 has caused muched discension among the fans. A lot of fans have turned away, which I'm sure we'll see with FF15.

The big problem is the lenght of time its taking these games to come out. FF15 were originally meant to be a PS3 exclusive announced early for the system. The game has spent so long in development which is very bad. Fans don't have it in their heart to wait years and years for a new Final Fantasy game. They've let a lot of us down big time.