^ To be honest, the jump to an MMO experience has greatly divided the fanbase, to the point most of them don't even bother recognize either game as an actual entry. While said fans are not angry at the prospect of FF having an MMO title, a good chunk of the fanbase feels it was a stupid move to make it a numbered title. I've been noticing something similar happening with DQX among its fanbase. So while making an FF action RPG itself isn't something fans are angry about, its the fact that its being slated as a numbered entry which would make it move even further from the core elements that old time fans loved about the series. Its definetly going to be a dividing title if it was made.

Course I'm still banking on SE just turning FFVersusXIII (which is an Action RPG) into FFXV. Its been pretty much established that the new XIII mythos is being interpreted differently for each game, so how is that any different from how earlier games reinterpret plot points like the Crystals, Meteor, and Summoners?

As for the whole "Dungeon, World Map, Town, Dungeon" set-up, I honestly disagree with it being an old outdated relic. Otherwise, XIII wouldn't have gotten such a negative backlash from excluding these elements. Hell, games like Xenoblade Chronicles seem to have taken the formula to a higher tier by making all the elements more engaging and less monotonous, by reincorporating better NPC interaction, better quest systems, and better exploration. Hell DQVIII pretty much built the best compromise between old school world map systems and the newer ones. I feel the system works, its SE who has convinced themselves its old and outdated.