Quote Originally Posted by FinalxxSin View Post
The legacy of Final Fantasy? What difference does that really make in the grand scheme of things? Sure, one can look and say x,y,z is how things should be done based on past examples. I’m more concerned with what is going on today, and not so much with what took place in the past. You speak of newer people probably not being able to see the flaws in FFXV, but wasn’t that the EXACT same thing that happened with FFVII? I believe so. Hell, there are people still today that will talk up FFVII like it’s the Holy Grail of gaming, despite the reality that the game has some glaring flaws. That isn’t taking place with FFXV on the vocal side. People acknowledge the game has flaws, but despite that most are still able to enjoy the game greatly. Perhaps that boiled down to the pros of the game being so significant that the cons ended up not being as major of a problem for a good number of people. A game with flaws =/= a game that will be chalked up as a bad game. A game from a design outlook could objectively have the best everything, but none of that matters if it fails to connect with people.
It makes a huge difference. A series in its 29th year (at the time of XV's release) has a history and reputation to live up to, as well as certain themes to maintain.

The unique thing about Final Fantasy is that every entry has its unique flair while still maintaining a specific formula in each installment. Specifically, each game has several key 'fantasy' elements. For example, the magic and enemies are huge parts of the Final Fantasy universe. A newer fan might look at XV and think that the magic looks cool, yet they won't be aware that the very first game of the series (FF1) actually had more magic spells and more varied enemies to fight.

My main point is that newer fans who started with XV won't be aware of the reduction of fantasy elements or other downgrades compared to past entries in the series.

One more thing: Critics can have a bias rather that is in support or against a title. I personally tend to take some things with a grain of salt.
Critic scores are far more reliable than user scores. There is always bias when someone gives their opinion on a video game, but critics have their opinion published and held to a professional standard.

Quote Originally Posted by Mirage View Post
ffx still had more things to do along that linear path. more variation
This is utterly untrue. FFX was identical to XIII in linearity, it just did a better job of disguising it.