Gamasutra interview of N. Yoshida

[Betelgeuzah]

Did you just call FF games III-XI "shoddy ground" or is it the Jdorama XIII and XIV that you're referring to?

All the games past NES are overrated. Just like nowadays Elder Scrolls is vastly overrated. I'll be surprised if it doesn't turn around for Bethesda as it has for SE. It's just easier to make up excuses for SE due to the merge.

FF games weren't focused on providing a balanced game experience which is absolutely crucial for an MMORPG. Only in XII and XIII did they start caring about balance instead of letting people break the game in the most random ways like before. In a way it is exactly like the Elder Scrolls is today. So bad game design that it is hard not to make your character OP and one shot everything. Thats a good way to completely ruin your MMO where it suddenly matters whether you can abuse the game mechanics or not.