Features that should be Added/removed from future FF titles

[Roxxas]

Just a thread for discussing things that could be removed or added to make future final fantasies better.

1.Add Difficulty levels. Easy Medium and Hard that you choose at the beginning of the game. Easy would be the current difficulty level for those who want to breeze through the game and see the story/characters/locations and all that what not. Medium would be a more normal difficulty you see in other RPGs. Requires some thought and planning during fights but wouldn't be so hard you could get stuck. Hard would be omfg have to do EVERYTHING in your power to finish the game and would be a real challenge. Let me clarify hard though. Hard should not be making one obscure tactic to defeat a boss. Hard should be the ability to use multiple tactics that would require good execution and might change time to time during the fight to defeat the boss. As it is now yes you can make the game challenging but it mostly requires gimping your characters on purpose which removes the fun and character development that is essential to RPGs. Right now its like having the ability to use a machine guns, tanks, and jet fighters against a toddler with a nerf bat so instead you forget all your cool stuff and pick up a nerf bat also. Sure I guess its harder but its still boring.

2. Add Sphere Theater or something similar. This was a GREAT feature that took little work and I can't understand why it was removed. It let you enjoy all the great music final fantasy has to offer without tracking down the boss/locale that has it. Also you could watch scenes that you might have missed/forgot that was important to the plot.

3. Remove entire lame treasure mess in FF12.
The method of acquiring Zodiac Spear and the Diamond Armlet in general were some of the worst additions to the game. First off the Zodiac Spear is only going to be your's if you have the Brady Guide or an online walkthrough. That right there should send off warning bells in your head right now. Second the Diamond Armlet also required a walkthrough to use correctly. It didn't even have the decency to tell you it sometimes also made loot much worse instead of better. Also alot of the good items in the game were only easily obtainable with/without the diamond armlet and you had to use a walkthrough or pray to get the good stuff. What all this combined into was nearly the whole game avoiding treasure chests until I had the spear and armlet. Then reading a walkthrough to see if I should use the armlet or not for every stinking chest in the game. Oh and random chests that didn't always spawn which resulted with me going over the same area multiple times to get my stuff. Sure this makes sense in MMORPGS where you want to keep your players wasting as much time as possible but you don't need to do that in FF so don't. Seriously treasure chests are supposed to be fun.

4. Remove spells/items like bubble/mega elixers that are just to powerful. This is kinda to go along with the added difficulty level thing because as the game is you can cheese through without them and be fine.
When you add something this powerful it either means A bosses will be impossible without it since its assumed you use them. Or B they will assume you don't use them which means the game is too easy when you do use them. If you absolutely must keep them in the game make the spells passive abilities so I don't have to cast them every minute. mega elixers/heroes/auras are the same thing except even worse. You can't get an unlimited amount so they either have to be only needed in certain fights or not needed at all. Not needed at all means you can cheese through a hard boss easily by using them. Needed means if you somehow missed them/used them you are going to be screwed because you can't complete the boss that requires them.

5. Remove low chance to drop items/abilities. Timesinks CAN be okay as long as they are fun. The problem is most timesinks aren't fun since they require doing the same thing over and over in the same area over and over. Chaining a single monster type for a rare drop for hours is a prime example of this. If you want to make it hard to get instead of making it take a long time make it challenging to get. Put it on a boss thats hard to kill or in a chest thats a pain to get to but make it 100% drop if you kill the boss or open the chest. Thats fun, challenging, and keeps the item from being a freebie.

6. Cool stuff that should be added that really isn't important but would make me oh so happy if it was. Airship on the world map was tons of fun and sort of made it seem like a world. Using a teleporter stone really just doesn't give the same cool feeling. Different clothes because looking at the same exact outfit for days on end is just kinda weird. Not to mention some of the outfits just make me want to puke so options are good. With say 10 outfits instead of 1 there is a much better chance there will be one you like. The cool little train of people when you ran around town in FF8. I know its completely stupid but I felt really important walking around town with my little entourage of people following my every move. And last but not least a boss that looks like Tidus so I can beat the snot out of him and pretend its him. Pleaaasssseeee Square.

[Bahamut2000X]

The 'Enter' key is your friend. :monster:

Edit: You beat me. :p



Regardless I say they just need to take out all the 'cool' stuff they throw in to try and sell copies and replace it with GOOD stuff. Or better yet how about finally going back to being Final Fantasy instead of Final Sci-Fi?

As far as actual game features I wish they would just make the story bosses be more difficult. Is it too much to ask for some difficulty in a game for a change that ISN'T something that's out of my way?

[ljkkjlcm9]

Most of your complaints, are honestly some of the best parts of The World Ends With You. Changing difficulty, which you can do at ANY time. Drop rates can vary depending on how low of a level you make your characters, and the hard battles are very strategic between the two screens, on the higher difficulties. On lower difficulties you can just beat on the boss, but when you get up to hard... it really takes some strategy and careful planning.

THE JACKEL

[Fynn]

Or better yet how about finally going back to being Final Fantasy instead of Final Sci-Fi?

Sci-Fi (or Techno-Fantasy) is a sub-genre of Fantasy (or so my dictionary of literature terms says) and I truly believe the setting has nothing to do with whether the game is good or not. Each one is cool in its own, unique way. And as I stated many times before, FF has always blended Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Airships, which I have never seen in AD&D games and those games claim to be REAL Fantasy, have been along since the beginning. And the airships are just one example. If you want a "Fantasy" jRPG, just play Dragon Quest.

Anyway, on topic. I would really enjoy being able to command an Airship again. And I would love Uematsu to come back and compose for the series again... Other than that, I love the series as it is and there has not yet been an entry that I disliked (that's right - I liked X-2, even though I'm a straight guy :D).

[Bolivar]

Or better yet how about finally going back to being Final Fantasy instead of Final Sci-Fi?

Sci-Fi (or Techno-Fantasy) is a sub-genre of Fantasy (or so my dictionary of literature terms says) and I truly believe the setting has nothing to do with whether the game is good or not. Each one is cool in its own, unique way. And as I stated many times before, FF has always blended Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Airships, which I have never seen in AD&D games and those games claim to be REAL Fantasy, have been along since the beginning. And the airships are just one example. If you want a "Fantasy" jRPG, just play Dragon Quest.


True. See "Wind Shrine" in FFI for further details.

A game+ feature would be welcome, it doesn't even have to be all out, maybe just one little aspect that gets carried over that would make somewhat of a difference, but better not necessarily easier.

[DarkLadyNyara]

Honestly, I have only one major complaint. A guide should not be necessary to get everything.

The Zodiac Spear thing was my biggest problem with 12. I can accept things that are harder to find/compleat/defeat/etc. without a guide, but the ability to permenantly lose one of the best weapons by opening some random chest was out of line. Especially since there was NO HINT in the game. :mad: No, I didn't get the Zodiac Spear my first playthrough. How could you tell?

[Wolf Kanno]

Interesting thread, I'll add my thoughts but first I want to add a bit to whats been stated.

1. I agree with difficulty issues. I also feel it should be stressed that the enemies fight smarter not just get beefed up stats. I also feel that its okay for bosses to have specific weaknesses that need to be exploited in order to win, but it shouldn't be a "glass jaw" that cripples them in the fight to the point of boredom (a la FFX). In fact exploiting the weakness should make the boss more aggressive to add immersion.

Also, if you created some uber dungeon with a total badass final boss thats completely optional and only available at end game, I feel we should take a page from Star Ocean 2 and make access to this dungeon automatically adjusts the stats of the final boss to accomodate your parties growth. Basically, accessing the dungeon in SO2 makes the final boss the hardest boss in the entire game so you basically have to complete it in order to see the ending again. Course for the whiners who don't want to feel obligated to finish the dungeon, make altering the final boss optional instead of a requirement for access to the optional dungeon.

2. I agree that you should have access to movies and cutscenes in the game though I would relegate it to a central hub your party always has access to (airship).

3. I don't like the treasure mess in XII either but my main issue was just farming for good normal items. The Zodiac Spear thing was fine cause the weapon is broken and I feel it should be insanely hard to access without a guide, farming for the Fomahult in Tchtia Uplands= no-no. The Diamond Armlet was ok as well cause I felt it made going back to old area more worthwhile but farming respawning chests to get decent equipment is annoying. This is one of the few additions taken from MMO's I feel XII could have done without. I honestly feel it needs to be redone to fit into traditonal console needs or just stay in the world of MMOs.

6. I can agree but only sorta, I want an end to game breaking abilities like KotR, 10+ hit limit breaks, and damage limit breaking weapons but I don't mind them as long as the main game is made to accomodate them. Don't add uber abilities specifically created to fight optional bosses. In FFV, Omega and Shin-Ryu didn't have billions of hp that required some uber multi hitting spell or ability to beat. They both required very specific strategies to beat that required you to utilize the games normal abilites in an exploitive way. Omega is the hardest boss in V but with the right strategy can be taken down in 2-3 rounds. What makes him hard isn't the endurance match, but rather his speed and abilities can quickly decimate your party at any moment. Even with the broken set-up though, Neo-ExDeath still doesn't go down easy though. Thus the abilities needed don't feel completely broken.

I don't mind kick ass multi-hitting attacks or a few broken abilities but I better not have them break the game difficulty cause they were designed specifically to wipe out some uber optional boss. Have the powerful abilities worked into the main storyline so we can remove ourselves from one-shoting final bosses like Safer Sephiroth and the Final Aeon. At least the Undying in XII required you to use some of the more broken abilities and spells. :rolleyes2

5. I honestly enjoy these, as they made some of the earlier games more enduring and made normal combat more rewarding. Though it should be kept to a minimum and I would also like to stress one more thing against XII (damn near perfect as it is), no more farming materials for ultimate weapons... or at least let us have some choice in how our materials are used (think KH) but overall, I feel ultimate weapons should be side quest related and have some personal meaning rather than just a random drop or something you toil hours to make by farming materials. No more VIII and XII more IV and VII.

6. Cool stuff is debatable depending on what it is. Multiple outfits is actually something I would like to see in the titles. Airships are nice but honestly I don't really miss them but its probably due to playing alot of RPGs and very few of them having such conventions. A world map would be nice but I honestly like how XII did it cause I felt a better immersion to the world than previous titles. I feel the world map could be added but only if Airships are returned though it may still be some time before "top of the line graphic powerhouse" SE will be able to make a realistic and seamless transition, still its possible but it may wipe out some of the realistic immersion in the game.

7. I agree with most that FF has always had a balance between Sci-fi and Fantasy. Its actually the reason I like the series cause I can't stand Traditional Tolkein/D&D style fantasy. Games lose points with me if I have to talk to stereotype dwarfs and elves in their games or even races based on them *cough* Viera *cough*. :mad: Now I do agree that I feel XIII may have gone alittle too far cause honestly, its pure sci-fi at this point. Then again we know jack squat about the game world so who knows what else lies in but I admit that part of my dislike of VIII and the Compilation was that the games and stories veered too much in sci-fi and I felt its fantasy elements were more tacked on than implemented into the world seamlessly. Its hard to strike a balance at times I guess. I prefer a balanced mix rather than extremes unless the extreme is just well done.

8. Nobuo has only been gone for one game and XII actually has a good musical score. Of anything I would like to see a different composer for each new installment instead of just having a replacement. I want to see Yuki Kaijura, Yasunori Mitsuda, or Yoko Shimumora* try their hands on a main line FF title.

(* I know she's doing the soundtrack to Versus XIII but I have a hard time feeling like its a main line FF title.)

9. New Game+ is only good if the game offers a real incentive for it. Suikoden V, Lufia II, and FFXII: International don't have what I feel is justification for New Game+ features. Alas New Game+ does play a part in something I would like to see in the series. Multiple endings and branching story paths. I want to have my choices impact the story more and mayhap change the outcome of the game. I know its a pain to program and FF has sorta became the "Cinematic Story" RPG series but I want to have some more power over the outcome of the plot. MegaTen, Chrono series, and Metal Gear Solid 1, prove it can be done rather well and keep the games "epic" scope. Granted, I doubt it will be truly transformative in the beginning but just a few minor things would be nice to see and a choice for an optional ending (like watching the world end if you die fighting the final boss, a la Chrono Trigger;)) would be nice to see.

Skippable cinematics in battle. No more 2 minute summon sequences or long ass limit breaks unless they are interactive. I want the ability to skip the scene right there or choose to watch them. Not the bull:skull::skull::skull::skull: in IX or X to fix the problem. I want to hit a button right then and be done with it.

The only other things I would like to see I mentioned in the Ideal Party thread in the XIII forums. http://forums.eyesonff.com/final-fantasy-xiii/109193-your-ideal-party-xiii.html.

[ljkkjlcm9]

I disagree about the abilities. I believe they're fine the way they are. If they are completely optional and a huge long sidequest, I don't see why it needs to be toned down. Honestly if they made them weak, I'd feel like the entire sidequest was a waste. I want abilities that look amazing and destroy even the hardest enemies. But of course these moves should only be available just before fighting these crazy optional side bosses. I honestly don't understand why people want harder story bosses. You have to realize they're catering to the Casual player as well as you hardcore types. While basically everyone on this forum will do the sidequests and get the awesome moves, most casual players won't. So for example Knights of the Round or something, we all know about it, but all my friends who were more casual players had no idea about it. Basically the complaint here is everyone wants a hardcore game, but that severly limits their audience. They are a company, they want a lot of sales.

THE JACKEL

[Karellen]

Which is why difficulty levels is a good idea. Players who want a challenge can get it and casuals players can continue mashing X to victory.

[ljkkjlcm9]

Which is why difficulty levels is a good idea. Players who want a challenge can get it and casuals players can continue mashing X to victory.

yeah that's fine, I see no problem with that, but the side quest stuff will always be stronger than the main story stuff. That's the reason why it's there.

THE JACKEL

[Karellen]

Sidequests don't have to involve uber bosses or extra-challenge dungeons. Western RPGs generally have a few of those but focus more on creating self contained mini-plots that make the gameworld more immersive (even if the result is mostly fetch quests). I'd rather see that in JRPGs then the massive 100 floor dungeons filled with uber bosses they tend to throw in. Although FFVI, FFX-2 and FFXII have a nice blend of both concepts.

[Fynn]

I want to see Yuki Kaijura, Yasunori Mitsuda, or Yoko Shimumora* try their hands on a main line FF title.

(* I know she's doing the soundtrack to Versus XIII but I have a hard time feeling like its a main line FF title.)
There, fixed :D

Anyway, I loved FFXII's music and thought it fitted the game perfectly. It's just that Nobuo is a personal favorite of mine and I would like more than just a vocal song by him in an FF. It would be nice if they had more composers again. It worked quite well in X and X-2 (more so in the Piano Collections here, 'cause the Original Soundtrack was meh...).

[Wolf Kanno]

Thanks for the correction Fynn, I don't know much about this composer outside of her work on KH series. I like Nobuo as well but I don't necessarily feel he's the only one who can do soundtracks for the series. I might also be bias cause I don't feel he's made a strong soundtrack since VII.

I think my problem with side quests in the post-FFVI FF games is that they are completely pointless outside of challenge. I do the quest to get the special uber bad ass ability which is only there so I can stand a chance against the uber bad ass optional boss that either nets me a worthless "Congratualtions" or an uber item that would have been only useful against the boss I just killed to get it. If they were more like Karellen suggested (except not fetch quests...) I would appreciate them more. I feel XII did a very good job on side quests but its due to the game being more balanced overall.

I guess I come from an older school of gaming but to me, a game should have challenge. I'm not asking for MegaTen "Oh my god!!! I hate this cheating game!!! Hair pulling difficulty" but I don't think it would hurt the casual crowd if they had to see the Game Over screen a few times and appreciate the age old rpg adage of "Save and Save Often". I just hate having to restrict my party in order to make the main story fun and exciting to play through. Despite the fact that RPGs tell stories, I still feel it should hold onto its heritage as a game and made to be fun to play. Without challenge, dungeons and the battle system are nothing more than a 20 minute time filler til you get to the next cut scene and I start to wonder what the bloody point is... I didn't like "god mode" back in the hey day of Doom, I don't like "demigod mode" which is the status quo in RPGs today. Playing through Persona 3 (a game offering moderate challenge) I found I appreciated story and cutscene segments more cause I truly felt I earned it.

[Fynn]

Yeah, I agree about the difficulty level. XII fixed most of it, since I was actually satisfied with beating the Undying and fighting Cid was hard, but not frustrating - just made you think faster. It was a great improvement over X, where you could beat Yu Yevon blindfolded.
XII is my favorite FF as of yet but it also has one of the worst flaws - the leveling is very unbalanced. I found myself stopping to grind a lot and I found the fact that only the party members that took part in a battle received XP disappointing. This made half of your party relatively strong and the other one really weak.

[hhr1dluv]

Dude, I've died plenty of times in a number of FFs. I wouldn't say they are the easiest games known to man. Sure, I suck...but not so much that I can't justify calling FFs medium-hardish difficulty games. ::shrugs::

[Zeromus_X]

I would definitely say to add in difficulty levels, so that the game can be more accessible to the casual gamer or to hardcore players. It'd also add more replay value, which I feel has been a bit neglected in the recent installments.

[Wolf Kanno]

Dude, I've died plenty of times in a number of FFs. I wouldn't say they are the easiest games known to man. Sure, I suck...but not so much that I can't justify calling FFs medium-hardish difficulty games. ::shrugs::

After you play MegaTen games (Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, Persona), Breath of Fire, Dragon Quest and the Suikoden series for awhile, the post-FFV generation of FFs are considered dirt easy. But the issue with the later installments is that many of them feature abilities and items that wreck the difficulty of the game. I feel a difficulty setting would be a wonderful choice (though I still would prefer smarter AI over stacked stats any day) cause I do know the series needs to make money.


Yeah, I agree about the difficulty level. XII fixed most of it, since I was actually satisfied with beating the Undying and fighting Cid was hard, but not frustrating - just made you think faster. It was a great improvement over X, where you could beat Yu Yevon blindfolded.
XII is my favorite FF as of yet but it also has one of the worst flaws - the leveling is very unbalanced. I found myself stopping to grind a lot and I found the fact that only the party members that took part in a battle received XP disappointing. This made half of your party relatively strong and the other one really weak.

I only recently found myself grinding in XII and it was for materials to make weapons. Though I agree I don't like the party sharing XP (they all gain LP why not XP?) Its a flaw that carried over from X I noticed as well. Overall I found the game an amazing experience as both a story and game.


I would definitely say to add in difficulty levels, so that the game can be more accessible to the casual gamer or to hardcore players. It'd also add more replay value, which I feel has been a bit neglected in the recent installments.

I completely agree. I want more replay value, hence my suggestion to add multiple branching story paths and multiple endings to the games to work along Bolivar's suggestion of a New Game+ feature. I'm also completely for a difficulty setting.

[NeoCracker]

Actually Kanno, I'm going to say the Games aren't easy because others are harder, it's because people like have played way to many RPG's. :p

I mean I've been playing P3 FES on hard, and it was only more difficult for a brief period.

Afterwords I marched through the vast majority of the game. After so long most games just start to loose their difficulty once you've played so many of that kind before. :p

Though I will agree some Gamebreaking things need removed regardless. (Knights of the Round anyone?)

And I too would be for an FF difficulty setting.

[Wolf Kanno]

Actually Kanno, I'm going to say the Games aren't easy because others are harder, it's because people like have played way to many RPG's. :p

I mean I've been playing P3 FES on hard, and it was only more difficult for a brief period.

Afterwords I marched through the vast majority of the game. After so long most games just start to loose their difficulty once you've played so many of that kind before. :p

Though I will agree some Gamebreaking things need removed regardless. (Knights of the Round anyone?)

And I too would be for an FF difficulty setting.

I don't know, after playing through FES, throw in FFX and tell me how different the difficulty feels? ;)

Some games are harder than others even in RPGs but we do need to throw in the human element of adaptability as well I guess.

[NeoCracker]

FF X was easy as hell the first time I played it. :p

[The Crystal]

The World Map and airships. Makes the game more epic and interesting IMO.

Wandering what is behind that mountain, or in that island you cannot reach. Searching every corner of the world for something interesting.
And then... The airship. Freedom to fly, and explore everything you couldn't before.

[Wolf Kanno]

FF X was easy as hell the first time I played it. :p

...and thats why I'm all for a difficulty setting so we can never have to suffer through childish difficulty like that again ;)

[Fynn]

The World Map and airships. Makes the game more epic and interesting IMO.

Wandering what is behind that mountain, or in that island you cannot reach. Searching every corner of the world for something interesting.
And then... The airship. Freedom to fly, and explore everything you couldn't before.

That's what I miss... *sigh*
Anyway, it would be nice if they made a world map but life-size, you know? Kinda like in XII but with no loading between the areas... Kinda like in Dragon Quest (even though I haven't beaten the game). Would be neat.