Fabula Nova Confusion

Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII was unveiled in 2006. It was the umbrella for the 13th installment of the Final Fantasy franchise, consisting of Final Fantasy XIII, Versus XIII and Agito XIII.

But that was a distant memory. Since then "FFXIII" was dropped from the end of FNC, meaning it's just "Fabula Nova Crystallis", which consists of:

Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy Type-0 (Agito)
Final Fantasy XV (Versus)

All games still share the mythos and terms such as "L'Cie". The whole thing just feels confused. Within the FNC we now have "The Lightning Saga" as well, plus "world of the VERSUS epic" pretty much guarantees that we will get a continuation of FFXV in some way, shape or form, be it a direct sequel or something else. God knows how many FNC games we will get by the end of it all!

Personally I feel that the three XIII games should have STAYED as they were so that SE could have moved away from the FNC with XV.

What's EoFF's view on this?

Type-0 and XV look cool. I don't give a rat's ass what they call them. Final Fantasy along with II, III, and IV all looked alike to me. VI, VII, and VIII all tried for a more modern or futuristic look. IX went back to the medieval roots. X, I think, is the first place I remember feeling that the series had really tried going in a different direction. XII paid a visit to the Tactics world which still hasn't given the feel of unity we desire for the Ivalice saga (including Vagrant Story). Type-0 feels a bit too close to XIII, but at least XV is doing something truly different in trying to capture the feel of current day in its world. I feel people should stop complaining about wanting something new when we've hardly ever gotten that to begin with. Sure it would be great to have a FF that was pretty much just a version of SO or whatever but that's not likely to happen. Why? They already have SO. People who whine about the spin-offs and the FNC usually don't even have a clear idea of what they would hope to see in a future installment. Short of that, they should just cease the deafening roar of white noise pouring from their speakers because it's all been heard before, it's annoying, and typically more or less incomprehensible.

I'm not doubting the fact that Type-0 and XV look good. I've been excited for XV ever since it was announced and I can't wait to play it when it releases. I would love to play Type-0 and I can't believe SE hasn't released it in the West. I downloaded the Japanese PSP demo and it left me wanting more.

I was just wanting to gather opinions on how SE have handled the FNC.

I do like the realistic feel they're going for with XV, that feels new. That being said, the world of L'Cie and Fal'Cie never seemed to be entirely popular with fans and I do think this mythology they are trying to create with Gods isn't very popular.

The mythology of the XIII games was one of my favorite parts of the games. It wasn't handled very well, but it was pretty interesting.

That being said; while there is a shaded mythology with Xiii, type 0 and xv; I'm pretty sure it's only names and basic ideas shared. The worlds are completely different, and I'm sure the mythology plays out differently

It was a PR move so investors could buy into Square and feel safe knowing they would diligently and comprehensively exploit the FF IP across devices, generations, and trends. Unfortunately, it didn't work out creatively, with the director of Type-0 admitting the games really had nothing in common. Honestly, it would've been cool if they all released together and on time but Square was just too mismanaged and distracted by the multiplatform deals, platform switches, publisher acquisitions, engine developments, record losses, and the next generation gearing up just as they were finding their bearings on the current one.

It makes sense for Versus to stand on its own. For years, its team worked on everything under the sun EXCEPT Versus and by the time development was fully underway, they decided to use it to showcase the next gen Luminous engine. It has a fresh start and I hope they make the most of it.