Vyk: So what you are saying is that you disliked FFVIII because it was challenging and intellectually stimulating? That was one of the great things about 8: the fact that you needed to use something apart from your thumbs
I guess that was my point. But I didn't really mean it in that manner. Though I do prefer mindless fun over a game of chess or something. But mental stimulation is a hard thing to grasp as a concept for entertainment. FF8 made you think at least a little, I won't deny that, and I won't say it's a bad thing. But the manner in which it did it just wasn't for me. But like I've said, I'm not here to bash games. I'm glad people love it for what it is.

A game that's too serious all the time would just be boring. I think the seriousness and non-seriousness is perfectly balanced in FFVI. And as for the lack of a main character... I just liked the fact that almost all the characters could be considered a main character. But that's just me, I guess....
I completely agree with this. Not because I'm biased. This adds to the reasons I am biased in the first place. Also I think it should be noted, that with this balance came the ability for a game to be both serious and charming. I think that's what's lacking (at least for me) in the more recent games. A game should have its own personality. Before ANYTHING the game itself needs personality. That's why people like FF1. The characters didn't have personality, but the game itself did. In FFX, the characters were loaded with personality. But to me the game itself as a whole didn't have any.

Now this isn't to say that newer FFs will never have the ability to capture my interest because they focus too much on the characters, settings, plot, and music to capture a whole "more than the sum of its parts". They just haven't yet, to me. The newer FFs are (again, to me) ONLY the sum of their parts. Nothing more. It's that something that's lacking to me, and it's a pity. I just wish I knew what that something was.