Do you think Square-Enix will ever make another game with a similar legacy as VII?

[Wolf Kanno]

Simple question, do you think SE is capable of making a title that will have the same impact as FFVII did back in the day?

[escobert]

No. VII was just huge. I mean, I had never played a true RPG before playing VII. It's what got me into RPGs and the FF series. For me personally, they'll never be able to top VII.

[Formalhaut]

The problem is even if Square Enix got their collective fecal matter together and produced a really top-notch game, there's still every other video game developer making their own games and a bunch of them are also going to be great games as well. More games are being produced than ever before so it'll be something special for a Final Fantasy game to become the defining game of a console generation. Usually there's quite a few contenders for that crown anyway.

I can see a Final Fantasy game being famous within the series, like "the best Final Fantasy since FFVII" (or whatever game you thought was best) but it's difficult to see it being called "The most impactful game since FFVII". A lot of games can be said to 'redefine' the genre.

[qwertysaur]

It can be done, but I think it would have to be something that's not Final Fantasy. It can have charming nuances that reference the series, but to have an impact like VII has you need to forge your own path.

[Skyblade]

It can be done, but I think it would have to be something that's not Final Fantasy. It can have charming nuances that reference the series, but to have an impact like VII has you need to forge your own path.

Isn't that what the series has been doing since X?

[Fynn]

I think it has every chance of happening, but it'll happen in a new unexpected way, much like what happened with VII. Heck, we might not even like it. There's just so many factors that have to align l. Just making a competent, or even an original, enjoyable, creative game is not enough to really make something that will leave its mark on gaming history to the degree VII did. Considering how fast the gaming landscape is changing, it's hard to predict how that will come to be, if ever.

[qwertysaur]

It can be done, but I think it would have to be something that's not Final Fantasy. It can have charming nuances that reference the series, but to have an impact like VII has you need to forge your own path.

Isn't that what the series has been doing since X?
Yes and no. The reason VII had such a big impact is it defined the series and genre for so many people who never experienced it before. Any other game in the series now has that name recognition, and that comes with a set of pre defined expectations. To truly have the same impact as VII, a game must have a unique identity. So it would likely not likely be a Final Fantasy title.

[Psychotic]

It can be done, but I think it would have to be something that's not Final Fantasy. It can have charming nuances that reference the series, but to have an impact like VII has you need to forge your own path.Indeed. The closest they've come since was Kingdom Hearts.

[fat_moogle]

I voted "maybe" but honestly, I'm not so sure. FFVII is a special subject being that it was their first foray in to 3D gaming and it wowed a lot of people all over the world with it's gameplay, story and cinematic sequences - it was something that had really never been done before and it will always be known for that. VR is starting to take off a bit now though and we know they're developing FFXV Monsters of the Deep - that VR fishing game everyone asked for - but pretty sure it's just an experiment before they work on a proper, decent VR game. If they can make a good VR game with interesting gameplay elements, incredible environments and a story that puts the player right in the middle of it all then that could have the chance of being as impactful as FFVII.

[Example]

They've tried doing that several times for the last two decades with very little success, probably the most notorious example being the XIII trilogy spanning an entire generation. Back then Squaresoft had clear vision and weren't floundering about trying to appeal to the lowest denominator. Everything changed once Sakaguchi left, he seemed to have taken all the artistic integrity and talent with him. All they have to do is go back to what made their beloved series so beloved in the first place.

I have many complaints about VIII but even I can recognise the amount of heart and passion that went into making that game, especially when compared to the irredeemable turd piles coming straight from Square's anus for a full decade meant to squeeze money from mindless fans i.e Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus.

[Skyblade]

I've been thinking about this question a lot since playing a game which did a similar impossible task.

This question has, after all, been asked about another famous, long running series for a long time. And the general answer from most people was "no, Nintendo will never make another Zelda game with a similar legacy to Ocarina of Time". Then Breath of the Wild happened.

A look back at the roots of the series from a younger team who grew up with the games. Developers willing to cast aside half of the formula of the series, while trying to realize the heart of the series on a larger scale.

I now think it is a definite possibility. I don't think it will happen, because I don't think Square will let it happen (certainly not for a long time). But I do think that we could see a game with that same sort of genre-defining impact, as long as it was approached correctly.

[Chibi Youkai]

It may be possible, but SE would really have to pull together. And get very lucky. FFVII was greatly boosted by being in the right place at the right time, which isn't something any other FF has had.

[Peter1986]

I think that if a company is going to be able to make a great classic, then everyone has to be genuinely determined to create something fantastic.
The combination of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshitaka Amano and Nobuo Uematsu was very special, and the current Square Enix staff are going to have to find that magic among them to make more games like FF4, FF6 and FF9.

And to me, one aspect of any game that's extremely important is the music.
I really cannot stay interested in a game if it has a generic and forgettable soundtrack, I genuinely need to have a great, catchy soundtrack that I can listen to in everyday life as well if I am going to enjoy a game on any deeper level.
A few examples of games like this, apart from the FF games, are "Secret Of Mana", "Wild Guns" and "Star Ocean: The Second Story".

[Colonel Angus]

They did, it was called FFXII.

[maybee]

Square Enix today ? No fricken way. For starts they take far way too long to bring out important titles and when the game does finally come out- they milk that poor cow to death. Stop ! Daisy is already dead.