Will this Phoenix Down the FF franchise?

[Jinx]

Now that we know this game IS coming out, and it has been re-branded as FFXV, do you think this will be the game that gives the Final Fantasy series its long-needed turn for the better?

I remember when I was 15, talking about this game on the forum I used to frequent. My friends and I all agreed that it looked and seemed way more interesting than FFXIII (or at least what we knew of it) and many of us held the belief that this would be the game to not only restore trust in the Final Fantasy series, but also head it into a new era. That's why I've been so angry and embittered about this game for years, because I always thought it seemed interesting, and visually, it's stunning.

What do you think about it? Do you think it's the direction the series needs to head? Do you think it will live up to expectations? Do you think it will finally be that game to live up to FFVII, meaning we'll get out remake? :p

[Mirage]

I haven't been this excited since the first christmas I can remember.

[Del Murder]

I'm sure it will be good but I'm skeptical that it will be this grand savior FF that we think actually will come. Still too early to tell!

[Mirage]

I don't really care whether it will be a savior of FF or not. I just want the game because it looks like I will like it.

[DMKA]

I dunno, even people I know who wrote off the franchise ten years ago are all hyped and interested and can't stop talking about it. The internet is buzzing like crazy over it, and it's good buzz.

So yes, it very much holds the potential to revitalize the Final Fantasy franchise and bring it's name to the forefront again. Squeenix is in a very good spot right now publicity wise. People who haven't paid attention to them in a very long time are now. They just need to play their cards right with FFXV and KHIII and maybe, just maybe, they can reach the level of following they were at in the early/mid 2000s again.

Everything looks fantastic so far, so here's hoping they don't get messy. :D

[Freya]

I think it'll definitely bring SE back into the light, just not as far as it once was. But it'll keep those people from going "pft Final fantasy? GAYYY"

[maybee]

Yes but only to a low 20 HP and then the Boss uses his next attack to send it back to the grave.

[Fynn]

Yes but only to a low 20 HP and then the Boss uses his next attack to send it back to the grave.

That's kinda negative. :|

[Elpizo]

Do you think it will live up to expectations?

No chance in heaven or hell. Given how long it's been in development and the amount of hype and expectations that have been built around this game, I sincerely doubt that there's any chance of it living up to the (ridiculously) high expectations.

But it'll still be a good game, I think.

[Pike]

I remember when I was 15, talking about this game on the forum I used to frequent.

FF7 had just come out when I was 15.

I feel old now.

As for whether or not the game will reinvigorate the FF series, I think it's too early to tell.

[Jinx]

I remember when I was 15, talking about this game on the forum I used to frequent.

FF7 had just come out when I was 15.

I feel old now.

As for whether or not the game will reinvigorate the FF series, I think it's too early to tell.

Let's see...FFXII came out when I was 15. :)

[Aulayna]

Young'ins.

[Braska]

I was... 7 when VII came out. 11 when X came out. And now 23 when XV comes out. :D

[maybee]

Yes but only to a low 20 HP and then the Boss uses his next attack to send it back to the grave.

That's kinda negative. :|

It always happens to me, like with the Carry Armour in FF VII. :cry:

[DMKA]

No chance in heaven or hell. Given how long it's been in development and the amount of hype and expectations that have been built around this game, I sincerely doubt that there's any chance of it living up to the (ridiculously) high expectations.
You just accurately described every mainseries Final Fantasy game after VII. :p

[Fynn]

Yes but only to a low 20 HP and then the Boss uses his next attack to send it back to the grave.

That's kinda negative. :|

It always happens to me, like with the Carry Armour in FF VII. :cry:

You need some haste. Have you considered recruiting a time mage in your ranks?

[Elpizo]

No chance in heaven or hell. Given how long it's been in development and the amount of hype and expectations that have been built around this game, I sincerely doubt that there's any chance of it living up to the (ridiculously) high expectations.
You just accurately described every mainseries Final Fantasy game after VII. :p

I wouldn't say every game after VII. IX didn't have a lot of hype surrounding it, after all. I think "every mainseries game after X" would be more accurate. Because that's when development times became really long. Though I wonder, can we count the years this was being developed as Versus XIII as development years for XV? Because in that case, this title will be the one with the current record for longest development time.

[Pete for President]

I'm not on the hype bandwagon. This game has had a rough development cycle, and it was rough for a reason. There's a good chance something is still rotten on the inside.

I also think people are way too forgiving about the rebranding. SE has had us all spread the word about this game 6 years ago in vain, and now they're asking for the same favor without delivering in between. It takes a lot of dedication to still show support, and I think anyone who effectively does is being ridiculous. Prove yourself SE, then we'll talk. But until then you can stuff your shiny trailers and earn back our trust by actually making good games. Jim Sterling had a nice monologue about gamers' trust, I recommend you watch it: The Escapist : Video Galleries : Jimquisition : Previewed, Preordered, Prescrewed (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6863-Previewed-Preordered-Prescrewed)

I predict this game to be just shiny graphics and lacking in depth and significance. It will get high grades when it first comes out, and then dies off as a disappointment in every other department aside graphics.

[dandy da oak]

It looks awesome, but I'm reserved about it too. I don't quite know if I like the battle style from what I've seen, and like Pete for President said, it's been too long without seeing or hearing anything for me to just jump on the hype train again.

[maybee]

You need some haste. Have you considered recruiting a time mage in your ranks?

I can't remember but I usually just let Cloud and Barret use their limit breaks and he's gone rather fast. Though somebody always usually ends up falling to his grab-attack. :mad:

[black orb]

>>> XV may lure in lots of ff7 fanboys and some new FF fans but I doubt it will be the FF savior. :luca:

[Fynn]

>>> XV may lure in lots of ff7 fanboys and some new FF fans but I doubt it will be the FF savior. :luca:

How so? I'm not a particular VII fanatic, nor do I think this one is exceptionally similar to VII, but I am still excited. It's just that it looks very promising.

[maybee]

>>> XV may lure in lots of ff7 fanboys and some new FF fans but I doubt it will be the FF savior. :luca:

Whelp. I'm a FFIX/ FF VI fangirl and I might buy this game on release day. It looks incredible.

[Rostum]

It was very smart of them to re-brand this game, and for the next main Final Fantasy title it looks incredible. I guess only time will tell if it is the saving grace of the company's image, it definitely has the potential!

Personally I'm very excited, hopefully I can afford a PS4 next year. :)

[Fynn]

It was very smart of them to re-brand this game, and for the next main Final Fantasy title it looks incredible. I guess only time will tell if it is the saving grace of the company's image, it definitely has the potential!

Personally I'm very excited, hopefully I can afford a PS4 next year. :)

You know it's still probably a couple of years until this gets released, right? No need to rush :D

[Spooniest]

My first question is "what's the script like?"

Their stories have been getting pretty tired.

[Rostum]

It was very smart of them to re-brand this game, and for the next main Final Fantasy title it looks incredible. I guess only time will tell if it is the saving grace of the company's image, it definitely has the potential!

Personally I'm very excited, hopefully I can afford a PS4 next year. :)

You know it's still probably a couple of years until this gets released, right? No need to rush :D

I remember reading that they wanted to start pumping out Final Fantasy every year like they used to. I think they pretty much have to release this next year or they really lose their chance to sell this.

[Del Murder]

Nope! Lightning Returns will be next year, and they probably still consider that a 'Final Fantasy' game. So don't expect this one until 2015.

[Skyblade]

I think the potential is there. It's not going to live up to fan expectations (because, y'know, people are expecting way too much). But after playing Type-0, I am starting to see some potential in this. Between Type-0 and games like Birth By Sleep, Square has definitely gotten the hang of Action RPG battle systems. The maps we've seen in the previews look open enough to allow for some serious exploration/immersion.

If the world building is anywhere near Square's best, this is probably going to be one heck of a game.

[Formalhaut]

I think the potential is there. It's not going to live up to fan expectations (because, y'know, people are expecting way too much). But after playing Type-0, I am starting to see some potential in this. Between Type-0 and games like Birth By Sleep, Square has definitely gotten the hang of Action RPG battle systems.

Part of my anger towards Square Enix is that they don't release the good games. From the sounds of it, I'd play the smurf out of Type-0 if it came out over here, but alas.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I'd get pumped for a Bushido Blade 4, Einhander 2, or a real sequel to Parasite Eve.


This? eh....

[Madame Adequate]

I'd get pumped for a Bushido Blade 4

Son

I am proud.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I'm proud of you too, kiddo.

[Spooniest]

I seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle here, I guess it's all the excitement.

I said:

"The first question on my mind is 'what's the script like?'"

...Or words to that effect.

Now, you might think it wouldn't matter, since it's a video game, but you'd be rather crucially ignoring what's actually a very valid, and some might say, all-important issue.

Final Fantasy has, for better or worse, always been presented to us as a kind of bas-relief in the video game medium when it comes to storytelling. A small child, or an illiterate person, or someone who doesn't know the language the game is being presented in, was always immediately locked out of being able to play the game to any considerable level of enjoyment.

Consider that the moment you power on Final Fantasy (the NES game), you're given nothing but a blue screen with words materializing for you to read. The implication is entirely clear: illiterates need not apply. This was a game that was asking a very simple question of you right away: "Can you read?"

Everyone is talking about the gameplay mechanics or the long development cycle, but ignoring the core issue: "Is the story any good?"

Even if it is fantasy, that's not much of a differentiation from the world of fiction at large. You're still gonna need characters, a setting, a conflict, dramatic events, an antagonist, etc.

So I ask again, and putting an even finer point on it, "Is the story any good?" Because if it's not, if I don't believe them, if I'm not fooled into thinking that this is a real world with real problems and real heroes providing the solutions to those problems, then I could give a tinker's damn how it plays.

If the story is boring, or comes off as an afterthought, then no matter how fun the gameplay is, it's going to feel like a chore.

In a nutshell, the point is, if the story is good (read a lot better than what they've done in the past), it'll be a sure-fire Phoenix Down with a Curaga thrown in.

[Lionblade]

I seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle here, I guess it's all the excitement.

Everyone is talking about the gameplay mechanics or the long development cycle, but ignoring the core issue: "Is the story any good?"

This is the point a lot of people seem to be missing. It's been the largest problem with the franchise for years (arguably since X-2), but with each new iteration, gamers still ooh and ah over Square Enix's pretty graphics while their storylines continue to suck hardcore. You don't need industry-leading graphics to make a great game. We all understand their importance, considering what home entertainment systems can do these days...but we're not here to watch movies.

Square Enix really can't afford to be all show, no go with this. With Western RPGs like Mass Effect being as good as they are...we need a reason to go back to Final Fantasy.

And for the love of god, HIRE GOOD ENGLISH VOICE ACTORS.​ I wanted to strangle Vanille.

[Formalhaut]

And for the love of god, HIRE GOOD ENGLISH VOICE ACTORS.​ I wanted to strangle Vanille.

I came to begrudgingly accept her voice. While there are moments that are certainly intolerable, it was... alright. I did like that both her and Fang at Australian accents to differentiate them as Pulsian.

[charliepanayi]

Get John DiMaggio back to voice someone.

[Skyblade]

I seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle here, I guess it's all the excitement.

Everyone is talking about the gameplay mechanics or the long development cycle, but ignoring the core issue: "Is the story any good?"

This is the point a lot of people seem to be missing. It's been the largest problem with the franchise for years (arguably since X-2), but with each new iteration, gamers still ooh and ah over Square Enix's pretty graphics while their storylines continue to suck hardcore. You don't need industry-leading graphics to make a great game. We all understand their importance, considering what home entertainment systems can do these days...but we're not here to watch movies.

Square Enix really can't afford to be all show, no go with this. With Western RPGs like Mass Effect being as good as they are...we need a reason to go back to Final Fantasy.

And for the love of god, HIRE GOOD ENGLISH VOICE ACTORS.​ I wanted to strangle Vanille.

Story never really troubled me. What's been lacking in Square games lately have been immersive and engaging worlds. This is why mechanics are pretty important. The ability to wander towns and talk to random NPCs helps to give a connection to the society, and thus the world, that the game takes place in. This leads to investment and engagement.

If we get another empty world like XIII, all the story in the world won't help because I just won't give a damn about it.

[Jinx]

People actually talk to the NPCs? :confused:

[Skyblade]

People actually talk to the NPCs? :confused:

Remove every NPC that is not mission critical from FFVII. Further, don't allow you to talk to them outside of scripted story events (so no Turk bar scenes, for example). Then imagine playing through the game that way.

[Jinx]

People actually talk to the NPCs? :confused:

Remove every NPC that is not mission critical from FFVII. Further, don't allow you to talk to them outside of scripted story events (so no Turk bar scenes, for example). Then imagine playing through the game that way.

For me, it'd be exactly the same. xD

[Formalhaut]

People actually talk to the NPCs? :confused:

I talk to NPCs! Every new town I visit, I make sure to talk to everyone I can. I love it.

[Skyblade]

People actually talk to the NPCs? :confused:

Remove every NPC that is not mission critical from FFVII. Further, don't allow you to talk to them outside of scripted story events (so no Turk bar scenes, for example). Then imagine playing through the game that way.

For me, it'd be exactly the same. xD

This explains so much.:D

[Del Murder]

I think you're in the minority here, Boobs. I definitely missed the lack of NPCs in the last installment.

[Pumpkin]

That's like rule number two to playing an RPG.


TALK TO EVERYONE

You know who was an NPC?

Hippaul
Grandma Potpourri
Blitzball Kid
Mary
Strippers in early Final Fantasys.

[Formalhaut]

That's like rule number two to playing an RPG.

What's rule number one?

[charliepanayi]

Rule one is TALK TO EVERYONE

[Jinx]

I only talk to about half the NPCs, and I do fine. I only do it to get free shit.

[Pumpkin]

That's like rule number two to playing an RPG.

What's rule number one?

Rule one is DO ALL OF THE FIGHTS AND THEN DO SOME MORE BECAUSE YOU KNOW THERE WILL BE ONE JERK BOSS WHO MAKES YOU REGRET THAT TIME YOU JUST WALKED UP TO HIM IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND ONLY DID 40 FIGHTS INSTEAD OF 208.

[Jinx]

I thought Rule Number One was to save constantly.

[Pumpkin]

That's rule number 3.


Silly.

[Raistlin]

What kind of wannabe RPG player doesn't talk to NPCs? I suppose it could just be a remnant of old school games where you had to talk to everyone because otherwise you'd have no idea where to go or wtf to do unless you talked (sometimes twice) to that one random person in the little house on the northeast side of the village, but I still do talk to NPCs. Having them around also just adds to immersion, making the towns feel more real and significant. I definitely missed NPCs in FFXIII, like many others.

[Mirage]

And for the love of god, HIRE GOOD ENGLISH VOICE ACTORS.​ I wanted to strangle Vanille.

I came to begrudgingly accept her voice. While there are moments that are certainly intolerable, it was... alright. I did like that both her and Fang at Australian accents to differentiate them as Pulsian.

There's nothing wrong with her voice actor. All the wrongs are with the directors themselves. When the director tells the voice actor to use a squeaky japanese-y voice (they actually do this), this is what you get, every time. Directors need to start understanding that high pitched voices often sound a lot less natural (and/or tolerable) in the english language than they do in the japanese language. See also: Every NIS game in existence.

Until they understand this, it won't matter which voice actor they hire for their genki girl, they'll all end up terrible.

[Lionblade]

And for the love of god, HIRE GOOD ENGLISH VOICE ACTORS.​ I wanted to strangle Vanille.

I came to begrudgingly accept her voice. While there are moments that are certainly intolerable, it was... alright. I did like that both her and Fang at Australian accents to differentiate them as Pulsian.

Until they understand this, it won't matter which voice actor they hire for their genki girl, they'll all end up terrible.

Fair point. I wish that archetype would disappear.

[Spooniest]

A good director for the localized spoken dialogue is ABSOLUTELY PARAMOUNT. Someone who knows what people are supposed to smurfing sound like, what a "natural delivery" is.

It's astounding how BADLY this particular aspect has been totally smurfED in recent installments.

[ShinGundam]

What kind of wannabe RPG player doesn't talk to NPCs? I suppose it could just be a remnant of old school games where you had to talk to everyone because otherwise you'd have no idea where to go or wtf to do unless you talked (sometimes twice) to that one random person in the little house on the northeast side of the village, but I still do talk to NPCs. Having them around also just adds to immersion, making the towns feel more real and significant. I definitely missed NPCs in FFXIII, like many others.
Huh,It differ from game to game, some of older RPGs let you progress as you go to dungeons directly and towns act as rest/shop only without any events.
16/32bit is were RPGs became talky and annoying.

[Elpizo]

I suppose it could just be a remnant of old school games where you had to talk to everyone because otherwise you'd have no idea where to go or wtf to do unless you talked (sometimes twice) to that one random person in the little house on the northeast side of the village, but I still do talk to NPCs.

I AM ERROR.

LET'S LIVE HERE TOGETHER.

HELLO!

I'M SORRY, I KNOW NOTHING!

Good old helpful NPCs. :greenie:

[Spooniest]

I suppose it could just be a remnant of old school games where you had to talk to everyone because otherwise you'd have no idea where to go or wtf to do unless you talked (sometimes twice) to that one random person in the little house on the northeast side of the village, but I still do talk to NPCs.

I AM ERROR.

LET'S LIVE HERE TOGETHER.

HELLO!

I'M SORRY, I KNOW NOTHING!

Good old helpful NPCs. :greenie:

I AM MUCH TOO BUSY TO TALK TO A STRANGER.

[Lamia]

Consider that the moment you power on Final Fantasy (the NES game), you're given nothing but a blue screen with words materializing for you to read. The implication is entirely clear: illiterates need not apply. This was a game that was asking a very simple question of you right away: "Can you read?"




I actually taught myself how to read when I was seven years old just to play the first Final Fantasy. Before, despite efforts from teachers and my parents, I just absolutely refused to learn how to read. I was a very stubborn child.

[Spooniest]

Fascinating! So you never read anything before Final Fantasy?

[yukina]

A good director for the localized spoken dialogue is ABSOLUTELY PARAMOUNT. Someone who knows what people are supposed to smurfing sound like, what a "natural delivery" is.

It's astounding how BADLY this particular aspect has been totally smurfED in recent installments.

Agreed. I especially dislike it when the genki character talks in a sing song voice that you'd only expect from a 4-year-old rattling off some memorized rhyming poem.

I read a couple of articles somewhere about how particular the Japanese are with their voice acting and although the preference for the voices are certainly influenced by culture, I like the Jap voices almost always more than the other dubs.

[Elskidor]

Maybe briefly, but until they remember how to make a good game without it taking nearly a decade they will never regain their former glory.