I still find the graphics argument weak. X and XII are absolutely beautiful, and X's plot was still way deeper than IV's. So how can it have a better plot if they were just focusing on graphics.
I also found the outfits to be amazing. Yuna's outfit is crammed with stuff on it, but I don't see how that's bad. More details can only be good. Nomura designed both Tifa and Yuna, and it's funny you use them both as opposite examples since many people say all of Nomura's designs all look exactly the same. I'm not saying your opinion is wrong, I'm just pointing out how different opinions can be.
I don't think it's overdone at all. XII has the same character designer as Tactics and Vagrant Story, and the characters have the same crazyass clothes they do in those games, and if Tactic's characters were in full 3-D it would be apparent.
FFIX was also the same exact battle system I've seen a million times. The battle screen does take way too long to load, but it's not exactly a deal breaker. I don't see how anybody could say IV is pure fun and say IX isn't, since they're basically the same thing.
I can't pretend to know you or anything of the sort, and this next comment isn't directed at you in particular but just at everybody: I see way too many people who will only lag one system behind. When the Playstation came out it's all about FFIV-VI. Now that the PS2 is out people run around calling themselves old-school because VII is their favorite. And when the PS3 comes out everybody will get bumped up again and be true fans because they like X instead of the super silly graphics heavy XIII.
My point is people are attaching unimportant things to Final Fantasy games. If these games did not carry the Final Fantasy name 90% of the people who do not like them would love them. If you slapped the Final Fantasy name on a Shadow Hearts game, the Judgement Ring system would spawn 10,000 bitching threads, but because it's a different series it doesn't get that sort of uber-criticism. The team is just trying to make a new experience each time utilizing the system at hand the best they can. They are going to make them as pretty and long and fun as they can with the time they have. Nobody is making a bad game on purpose. Do you really think a series should go 13 titles using the same battle system? In fact, the gaming industry is taking a lot of criticism for putting out the same game over and over and putting a new title on it. As a series goes and goes, at some point you have to start doing new things to shake things up. I've already played thirty million RPGs where you kill monsters and gain a level. I've done it so, so many times. I need systems like the Sphere Grid or it's just the same thing.
But because they're all so different some will like them and some won't. I don't care if somebody hates X, based on music, battle system, or it's linear tube approach, but when they list "The game is too pretty" as a reason, it comes off like the only reason they don't like the game is it didn't come out 14 years ago.
Edit: Wow this post is so serious. I need to make some sort of joke now ;_; You ever notice how you can't when you want to?
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