Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post
I don't have faith in the team that gave us X, cause X lacked any stellar innovation and its plot was filled with so many anime/rpg cliches it was kinda a blow to the head to see a series that brought us groundbreaking titles like, VIII and IX backtrack and make something that only the mainstream anime nerds would like.
Alot more people than anime nerds not only liked but flat out loved FFX. Your feelings on it being disaster after disaster combined is in the minority of a minority of opinions, for most it was a groundbreaking title that brought JRPGs and the entire gaming industry in general, into the next-generation (ps2/gamecube/xbox) at the time.

On the topic:
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The vision for final fantasy is a groundbreaking, blockbuster, mega-event, big budget computer entertainment experience that redefines the boundaries for gameplay and raises the bar on tech. This is no better exemplified with the first installment, FFI having unrivaled battle animations and arguably the first RPG to show your lineup on one side of the screen. Since the beginning, making 3D games on the NES, Squaresoft has always been about top graphics and top gameplay. Final Fantasy XII, the last entry in the series, embodies this vision on all fronts.

For this reason I cannot possibly suggest that Square Enix has lost its vision. As far as the fanbase goes, the only problem placating a multi-generational army of fans that's been built up over the last 20 years, is how little the last game, FFXII resembled the style of the earlier ones. Although it was a game lacking of the FF "feel", I don't think anyone could doubt that it represented a massive contribution to the gaming artform.

I have faith in Toriyama because looking at his resume, events in FFVII, director FFX, X-2, and Revenant Wings, it's clear he at least knows how to make fun games, and is good at it.

Sakaguchi should no longer be carried as the standardbearer for what the FF series originally was. It's becoming clear through interviews, especially with the developers for III and IV DS, that he was not in a development role in the original titles. There is no better evidence than the games that he has produced since leaving Square: Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon were both panned as unfulfilled, tedious, last-generation games awkwardly on a new console. ASH for the DS had been universally panned as just a bad game. He's 0 for 3, with his 4th game (Cry On) being cancelled due to "the economy". Even with heavy hitters like Akira Toriyama, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Nobuo Uematsu, failing to produce quality material puts his reputation in question.