First off BoB, defending FFXIII by pointing out review scores is silly when we live in a world where most media outlets rarely rate below a 7.Originally Posted by Loony BoB
I'll bite. There's no reason for FF to end. There might be a reason for them to change how much money they churn into it, but there is no reason for them to kill off the series. It would serve no purpose at all. The best thing about FF as a series is that each game is unique, it innovates. Sure, they have "Fira" and "Chocobos" etc, but the stories are new, the characters are new, the world is new. So what's the point in killing the franchise? To 'end the fear'? Please. That's not a reason. So far as I can tell, they have had one main game in the series that didn't work out in the long run, and even then it was a mere 7/10, still a pass mark for most games. XIV got redone and is now a huge success. So... one bad game and you want them to call it quits? Pshaw, Veev, I expect better of even jaded ol' you.
I can understand saying "The XIII series should end" or "VII should get no further sequels" but there is no sense in ending a series where every game is something new. The only people that would serve are people who get their panties in a twist over a Final Fantasy game not being something they wanted. Which will happen when every game is something new.
Second, FF used to be about something different every game. Now it's about one new game every 5-6 years and franchises within franchises because they don't know how to develop a game without blowing the budget way out of proportion. So when I say they need to end Final Fantasy, that's why. It's not a series that's about trying something new and different every game any more. It's a series about putting out one new game and following it up with a minimum of 2-3 sequels even when they're sequels to the worst game in the series because churning out half assed sequels so they can put in a minimum of effort and be guaranteed millions in sales because it's Final Fantasy.
The series name has made them lazy. FFXIV is actually a prime example. It wouldn't have garnered half as much interest if it weren't an FF (just ask every MMO ever that up sn't made by Blizzard), and if it had been as bad as it was at launch without the name, it would have gone F2P in a month and died a slow death. Which is actually kind of telling because I doubt even they would have released it as it was without the FF name to fall back on. But since it was FF, it had enough eyes on it that they had no choice but to fix it. Which admittedly is a good thing, but how many FF titles do we need to see them half ass before we notice the series is making them lazy?
And even worse is that we live in a world where we had the compilation of FFVII and FFXIII sequels out the yin yang and next to nothing in the way of substantial new series or sequels to older series. If the money they were making from their endless FF sequels was going to help fund new IP's like Bravely Default more often I'd have less of an issue with it. But it's not. Compare Square of today to Square when they were making games for the SNES and PSX and there is no comparison. They used to do a lot more than just FF. And every title with the FF name was actually unique. Now it's sequels to every FF title because like most AAA companies, they're spending too much money and are too afraid to take actual risks.
So forgive me if part of me wants their cash cow to die so they either have to stand on their own merits or die, but I'm tired of modern day Square. They're boring. A Square that has to actually try again is at least interesting, even if they do smurf up in the process. Hell, I'd at least respect them if they tried to stand on their own two feet again and failed.
Reply With Quote