They are meant to be very unique from the last, and each of them suits different tastes to provide to each individual gamer. Which is why none are the same, and the difficultly levels are varied. So as much as you enjoy searching for crystals, or chasing Sephiroth, or fighting Sin... Don’t expect to find the next FF anything like the previous. This I respect. Of course there will be Final Fantasies that some gamers don't like... But guess what? They've already had a Final Fantasy that suited them perfectly, so lets give another gamer a chance to find theirs. And I hate it when those people are so greedy and self-centred that they can't see that this is what Square is trying to achieve... So since they can't have a Final Fantasy like the one they enjoy, they all of a sudden think that Square has met their "downfall". Get over it. Seriously.
I was the man who said that, so I guess that's my opinion on Square.

But on related topics in this thread.... I agree with Wuggly pertaining to how biased fanboys ruin the series. Although the exact same thing abides to biased old school gamers too. I discovered the Final Fantasy series back in 1991 with Final Fantasy IV (FFII Easy Type) and loved the series ever since. I've learned to appreciate each one for what they're worth. Usually, this doesn't apply to most people, but usually one's favourite Final Fantasy in the Final Fantasy that hooked you onto the series. Which is completely understandable, but it's horrible when they turn out to be arrogant and stubborn in their views to other FF titles.

Think of each Final Fantasy being just a totally new game with a few references. I mean, they could've taken Chrono Trigger, slapped a Chocobo in there and called it Final Fantasy. Then people's views on that game would be totally different just because 'Final Fantasy' is the title.