Square Enix designates the Playstation era as the Golden Age

Recently at a party for Square Enix's Final Fantasy series at PAX last week, there were several posters seen listing the games with their dates to describe the eras of the series. Let's take a look at the posters, shall we?

Old School
http://i.imgur.com/pg8Dx.jpg

Golden Age
http://i.imgur.com/Xwh0Z.jpg

Modern Era
http://i.imgur.com/62zDg.jpg

As you can see, it appears that Square Enix has decided that the Golden Age of the Final Fantasy series was during the Playstation era, from Final Fantasy VII to Final Fantasy XII. This is seven games (which also includes Final Fantasy X-2) in the lineup for the Golden Age.

Do you agree with Square Enix on this or not?

Hard to say. Of that list (Golden Age), I've only played VII and XII. I abandoned XII because I truly didn't like the feel of it, but VII I've beaten at least 3 times and currently playing through again. The rest are very polarizing games. In the case of VIII, you either think it's the best ever or worst ever. And XI is an MMO which really isn't what the FF series is supposed to be about. I guess I could agree with it, even though I've mostly played the "Old School" era of FFs.

Oh, that looks like a great list. I should use that to properly organize the Final Fantasy forums. I wasn't satisfied with how it turned out, but we didn't really have an official source to go on. Thanks for posting this!

I don't really agree, I would argue the Golden Age was between FFIV and FFIX as I feel these are the entries that really defined the franchise and made it what it was. I'd call the NES entries the Silver Age and start the modern era with FFX or maybe even just lump FFX-2 to FFXIV as the Dark Age. :D

Hmm....I'm not sure I agree with dubbing it "The Golden Age." I mean, I love VII, IX, and XII, but to me SNES era always seemed the most important.

I agree. Except 4, 5, and 6 were their own golden age, ten-2 does not belong, neither does XI.

And gold is usually a euphemism for...?

I hope someone gets what I'm trying to say here but I'll not be upset if I get lots of facetious incorrect answers because I'm in the right mood for 'em :P

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Originally Posted by ReloadPsi

And gold is usually a euphemism for...?

I hope someone gets what I'm trying to say here but I'll not be upset if I get lots of facetious incorrect answers because I'm in the right mood for 'em :P

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This should clear it up...

Well I brought that one on myself :shifty:

I would imagine Square Enix had a tough time trying to fit all of the games in the series in just three generations without having to anger any of their fans. Looking at the comments so far, it looks like they didn't achieve that goal. It's probably better for them to have included a fourth generation in there.

I don't think they should have designated a Golden Age. Their opinions and the opinions of their fans are hardly going to be reconcilable. Creating something is an entirely different process from experiencing it.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I don't really agree, I would argue the Golden Age was between FFIV and FFIX as I feel these are the entries that really defined the franchise and made it what it was. I'd call the NES entries the Silver Age and start the modern era with FFX or maybe even just lump FFX-2 to FFXIV as the Dark Age. :D

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Nailed it. The games after FFIX have without exception been extremely polarising (even the ones with exceptional critical receptions like FFXII) but people generally seem to love most of the entries from FFIV to FFIX (with the exception of FFVIII, which is also polarising).

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I don't really agree, I would argue the Golden Age was between FFIV and FFIX as I feel these are the entries that really defined the franchise and made it what it was. I'd call the NES entries the Silver Age and start the modern era with FFX or maybe even just lump FFX-2 to FFXIV as the Dark Age. :D

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Agreed with all but your last point because I absolutely refuse to have something as awesome as FFXII lumped into some Dark Age category with the likes of FFX-2 or FFXIII.

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Originally Posted by Vivi22

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I don't really agree, I would argue the Golden Age was between FFIV and FFIX as I feel these are the entries that really defined the franchise and made it what it was. I'd call the NES entries the Silver Age and start the modern era with FFX or maybe even just lump FFX-2 to FFXIV as the Dark Age. :D

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Agreed with all but your last point because I absolutely refuse to have something as awesome as FFXII lumped into some Dark Age category with the likes of FFX-2 or FFXIII.

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The Captain is correct.

But then that are those that think FF12 fits in just fine in the dark age category....

Depending on the size of groups you want to break it up into I would place the golden age at about FF4-FF9 or FF4-FF7. For me the 4-7 stretch constitutes the 'core' of final fantasy.

Honestly to me it seems like they just divided the series up into three chronological groups and then added names. I don't know how you could not place a division between Square pre-merger and pre-Spirits Within and the SE that came out of it.

List is perfectly fine as is. They got it right.

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Originally Posted by VeloZer0

But then that are those that think FF12 fits in just fine in the dark age category....

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FFXII may be a bit of a contentious entry in the series, but if anything that's a stronger argument for it not being lumped with FFX-2 and FFXIII given the way the common consensus rolls on those two.

Looking at this list, I'd say it's no wonder the "golden age" started when it did according to them. Calling it ended after XII seems less obvious, but yeah, they were likely only dividing them into neat eras and adding names after the fact, trying to make all three sound good in their own way.

Well if I was going to be a bit more semi-serious, I would probably make the list like this:

Antiquity
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III

Golden Age
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ~ The Fall of Square

The Dork Age
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2 ~ The Beginning of the End
Final Fantasy XI
Compilation of VII ~ The Apocalypse ~ Beginning Signs of the Dark Age
Final Fantasy XII

The Dark Age
Fabula Novis Crystallis
Final Fantasy XIV

Wolf Kanno, I thought you liked XII.


Anyways, my problem with this list is, I don't think necessarily that the games should've been listed in chronological order. Like, just because it came from a specific "period" does not mean it was good.

VIII in Golden Age, really?

I... don't really like your use of of Dark/Dork Ages to describe the more modern eras, WK.

I don't think being in the "Golden Age" requires every game to necessarily be great. It's more about popularity and attitudes than anything. After VII, fans of the series were ridiculously excited to VIII. And even after VIII disappointed many, everyone was excited for IX. If FF had a Golden Age at all, those two games were probably in it.

Similarly, while XII was good, it was not part of that Golden Age. It was years in development, and a lot of enthusiasm for the series as a whole had waned at that time.

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Originally Posted by Agent Proto

I... don't really like your use of of Dark/Dork Ages to describe the more modern eras, WK.

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Wel Dork isn't as bad when you understanbd what I mean. I still feel the Dark Age is appropriate for the modern entries since I feel they've caused more fan outcry than previous titles. Granted, the Dark Age could also be just a few games and Versus XIII, Type-0, FFXIV 2.0 and FFXV could all turn it around for Squenix.

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Originally Posted by Raistlin

I don't think being in the "Golden Age" requires every game to necessarily be great. It's more about popularity and attitudes than anything. After VII, fans of the series were ridiculously excited to VIII. And even after VIII disappointed many, everyone was excited for IX. If FF had a Golden Age at all, those two games were probably in it.

Similarly, while XII was good, it was not part of that Golden Age. It was years in development, and a lot of enthusiasm for the series as a whole had waned at that time.

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^ This is pretty much what I was getting at. The Golden Age is still the generation where a majority of fans say the series was still going strong and even questionable entries are sort of shrugged off as being innovation that just didn't take off like people wanted, but is not necessarily bad. With the exception of FFX, I feel most of the entries in the Dork Age fit the profile of the Trope, as being pretty experimental for the series and being very divisive among the fanbase as the new FF teams explored what to do with the series.

To be fair it just seems to be divided into couplets of console categories (every further FF game on the 360/PS3 and whatever their immediate successors are will make up that third age before they go for a fourth) but yeah I'm a huge cynic so I'm still going with golden age = money.

Honestly I'd move FFXII to Modern Era. It just seems to fit better to me. When I think back on classic "Golden Age" FFs I don't think of FFXII. That still "feels" like a newer one to me.

Other than that I'm okay with the designations. As much as I'd love to put FFVI in with the "Golden Age" on a personal level I also like that they split it by 2D and 3D games so I'm fine with keeping it that way.

I wonder what they consider crisis core...?

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

Antiquity
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III

Golden Age
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ~ The Fall of Square

The Dork Age
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2 ~ The Beginning of the End
Final Fantasy XI
Compilation of VII ~ The Apocalypse ~ Beginning Signs of the Dark Age
Final Fantasy XII

The Dark Age
Fabula Novis Crystallis
Final Fantasy XIV

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Having read the trope you linked to, I more or less agree with your assessment.

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Originally Posted by Pike

Honestly I'd move FFXII to Modern Era. It just seems to fit better to me. When I think back on classic "Golden Age" FFs I don't think of FFXII. That still "feels" like a newer one to me.

Other than that I'm okay with the designations. As much as I'd love to put FFVI in with the "Golden Age" on a personal level I also like that they split it by 2D and 3D games so I'm fine with keeping it that way.

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I'm inclined to agree.

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Originally Posted by Hypoallergenic Cactuar

I wonder what they consider crisis core...?

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Portable age...

I actually enjoyed X-2 because it was so Dork Age, and I know I'm the only person on the planet who still hasn't admitted it's not actually a parody but I don't give a toss because it's the only way I can stomach the battrout crazy story and characters :P Oh, while playing the rather enjoyable game itself that is. Forgot to mention that.

VII to XII is a pretty long ass golden age. I would agree with Wolf that IV-IX is the real FF golden age. SNES and PS1 are where it's at.

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

VII to XII is a pretty long ass golden age. I would agree with Wolf that IV-IX is the real FF golden age. SNES and PS1 are where it's at.

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I definitely think X-XII should be Modern Age (going with SE's groupings.) The graphics of the game completely changed with FFX, and FFXII's were similar, but far more expanded upon. FFXI was the first MMO in the series, and that changed things as well.

I see it like this:

The Bronze Age:
FFI
FFII
FFIII

Things were just getting started, the series was finding its metal to forge things out of, but it was still a harsh time, the games were still a little rough around the edges...

The Golden Age:

FFIV
FFV
FFVI

For most RPG fans, the 16-bit era will always be this magical time when the genre found its mark and what made it really great was established. I think it deserves the golden age title because it is a very nostalgic time when things seemed simpler.

The Platinum Age

FFVII
FFTactics
FFVIII
FFIX

I'm using this because I think the PlayStation One era was a time when games that exceeded everything we thought possible were taking place. The titles coming out were more valuable than gold. Whether it's FFTactics or Xenogears, there's probably a game in this era that takes all the categories up to 11 for you. FFVII felt like the game I was waiting for all throughout the 16-bit era. Others felt IX was a stunning return to the series roots. And then we have the few who thought VIII was the best in the series. I designate the PSOne as the Platinum Age of RPGs.

The Gilded Age

FFX
FFXI
FFX-2
FFXII

If you haven't heard this term in US History, it means everything looked golden but that was just skin deep; underneath was a cheaper material simply painted over. Now FFX and XII are two of my favorite games of all time, but this is where the problems started (and The Gilded Age saw the beginning of some of the problems that led to the Great Depression). We had some really, really shiny graphics making games look better than ever before, but the magic started slipping away. FFX had its linearity hidden beneath its gorgeous exterior. And while FFXII is in my top 10 RPGs, I still think it didn't have that FF magic feeling that earlier entries had.

The Dark Ages

FFXIII
FFXIV
FFXIII-2

Just like Europe receded back from great empires and kingdoms to local, local, local villages, this was when the great RPG genre was broken and developers began running to hide on handhelds. Mainstream publications are made up of journalists who question if JRPGs really ever were good to begin with, claiming that things like turn-based combat, linear progression, and cutscenes are, inherently, by virtue of themselves, bad game mechanics. Just like the Holy Roman Empire wasn't holy, wasn't Roman, and wasn't an empire, FFXIII doesn't hold up especially well to the great legacy of Final Fantasy. It's hard to tell where the series and genre can go from here, such a low point...

Let's all hope for a renaissance :choc2:

I think they pretty much nailed it. I think they managed to divide them up into a logic chronology. FFI-FFVI, the first era. Second era started with a new console and FFVII, and so on. Makes perfect sense to me.

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

The Platinum Age

FFVII
FFTactics
FFVIII
FFIX

I'm using this because I think the PlayStation One era was a time when games that exceeded everything we thought possible were taking place. The titles coming out were more valuable than gold. Whether it's FFTactics or Xenogears, there's probably a game in this era that takes all the categories up to 11 for you. FFVII felt like the game I was waiting for all throughout the 16-bit era. Others felt IX was a stunning return to the series roots. And then we have the few who thought VIII was the best in the series. I designate the PSOne as the Platinum Age of RPGs.

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How Russian of you :p

I actually liked most of the games of the Dark Ages, I liked XIII and XIII-2, but then that's just me.

I hope Versus XIII and Type 0 (When they finally arrive) help revive the series. I agree to a point, in the platinum age, the public knew Final Fantasy like it was "Halo" or some other big franchise. Now, it's settled back somewhat.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

How Russian of you :p

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Hahaha that's pretty hilarious and in some sad way kinda reflects what I've done... :cry:

But Formalhaut also pointed out that these games were pretty big, pushing out 10 million units a piece like its nothing, something that developers of this console generation, when install bases are at least twice as big as they once were, can only dream of doing.