Tch.

It's not as simple as "Final Fantasy has lost it's magic". I do put myself in the group that likes older (IX <) Final Fantasies over the more recent ones, however, I also do know that it isn't just because "Final Fantasy X sucked and lost the magic" or "Summons in XIII are transformers, WTH". Actually, I can say that at the core level, FFX and XIII are as much as a Final Fantasy as any other before em, even tho I don't really like those games.

We often forget that our fond memories with the older games are from a time when we were younger. A time we ARE predisposed to have nostalgia over everything. The cartoons we watched back then are better than nowadays; the music groups from "our time" are better than the current ones; the games of the early 90s had a their magic lost in the new century, etc, etc. Everyone does that to everything, go ask your parents about a few things and they are sure to reminisce about their old times as well. There are even a few scientific studies that, in fact, point to that exact direction. We 'overrate' (for lack of a better word) everything from the day we were younger. Mark my words; Some of us may even be full of nostalgia towards THIS game in a few years, complaining all over again how the next FF MMO isn't FFXIV-2, lol.

In any case, go ahead and ask a younger JRPG fan that didn't grow up with the classics what game he liked better, FFV or XIII.

That said, it's also a fact that, indeed, a few screws are clearly missing from the current SE. Wada himself already stated the company does need to revamp itself if it wants to keep competitive on the market. FFXIV's development sure was / is a hell and I know as much as everyone else that it does need to improve a LOT not only to become a better game, but a better Final Fantasy.

But going around spelling the doom of the series and how it has lost it's "magic" is pure, absolute Nostalgia. The magic is there, but we can't find it because we just want to relive the feeling of playing FF (insert your favorite old school FF here) for the first time again and any game that is unable to hit the exact same buttons as that one failed. I, for one, appreciate each game for what they are and can live with the fact that things change. If it changes too much that it becomes something that clearly isn't for me anymore, I will just move on and let the new generation feel the same magic I did before.