true,

but I wanted an excuse to use my "witty" company names based around "Misterwalker"

The problem is what nobody wants "new concepts" or "new original ideas" in jRPGs. I thought Square-Enix's latest sales reports pretty much proved it. People would rather buy Dragon Quest V for the 4th time than something original like TWEWY.

Check the reactions of some people on FFXII - "What?! Not turn-based?! No random encounters?!!!!!!!!!! No world map?!!!!!!!!! WTF is that shit I am not gonna play this!!!!"

No, new ideas wont help the company to stay alive. Wada has just admited that, and we just dont want to.

If you consider the "blank canvas" concept, it could be the best of all... but I can't help but compare it to the others ones I played, and therefore, don't see it as the best.

I think it's been a free canvas since like 7. Starting with 7 they really started saying "Screw you" to the conventional aspects of the game.

Well... really they started expiermenting with 6... but still stayed true and were mindful of the tradtional FF6 elements.

After that they went all out with the new stuff... all that linked FF games together anymore was the items being procedural rather then creative.

Since then it seems like they just get together, have everyone pitch RPGs... the "best" ID is given the name Final Fantasy and slightly altered, while the rest get made as new IPs...

or lately don't get made as new IPs.

In fact that's why I think they have FF13 Versus. They couldn't quite decide which idea was better.

That's why Final Fantasy needs to be the vehicle for these new ideas. Final Fantasy XII sold the lowest out of its generation, as is the trend, but it still made oodles and oodles of money while acting as a proper vehicle for new ideas.

With luck, FFXIII will be following the same idea and act as a new vehicle for experimental concepts. This whole "Seventeen and three fourths games that are kind of one game I guess" thing is stomach-churning on the surface, but it's exciting in what it implies for the company's ability to expand on current gameplay tropes.

Sorry, I didn't find it in Wiki, so I assumed he wasn't, but I checked IMDB and you're right

Lol, it was pretty nice.

They would go to Sony.

not reading through 5 threads so if someone already said it we rock

when they leave sony will surely grab them and let them create their own company and make w/e game they wont. and of course this will do wonders for sony, they would now have a 1st/2nd party developer to make them good rpg's (if not AAA)

agreed...unforunately

While I still love the good ol turn-based style, i welcomed the changes that FFXII brought and enjoyed the battle system.

Now I expect SE to do something new-ish or evolve the battle system more with FFXIII and Versus, to go back to a simple Turn Based battle system would be a step back for me. (unless they found a way to jazz it up, or quicken the pace)