Dear SE: We do not care if FFXIV is a MMO. We want it to be a Final Fantasy.

[Vesperia]

I can agree with you about atmosphere should not determine the gameplay, and yes, people would leave if it ever came down to being a FF with Multiplayer option.

However, most of what is going on is just trying to change the atmosphere. Rather, we should be focusing on the core mechanics. The battle system has been addressed, but what else can we change to make this game more enjoyable? What would you like to be able to do (instead of just being able to see)? If you get what I mean.

Basically, when a newbie starts the game, I'd rather them be "Yes this is going to be a great Final Fantasy" rather than be introduced into a world and be like "wtf?" *Checks box Title* "...what game is this again..?"

Well I agree to the effect.

But when people live in their FF-only bubble, then they fail to shed any valuable insight into the development of an MMO.

It is best to have an awareness of both the MMO genre and the FF series, as opposed to merely focussing on one. And when I say MMO genre I don't mean WoW and others like it, I mean classic MMOs like Ultima and Lineage which are real MMOs (as opposed to entrance lobbies). An entrance lobby is basically all that the MMOs of today are.

[Duelle]

So Genre is more important to you than the entire idea of what Final Fantasy is since the first Final Fantasy made?

This is where opinions differ. I've looked at FF games as just RPGs for close to the 20 years I've been gaming. Did they have good stories? Indeed. Systems that bent formulas without breaking them? Sure. Were they entertaining during the time they came out? Definitely. Did they at any point become this entity that would make you say "this is Final Fantasy"? No.

To me it's been simply a name. I've just liked the work Squaresoft did with the games. Things like the above quote only support my joke/claim that prior to the mess of XIV's launch, Square could put dog poo in a bag, staple the final fantasy name on it and it would sell like hot cakes based on the name alone.

Honestly, a Final Fantasy MMORPG without any Final Fantasy Elements is just another MMORPG. There are way too many Original MMORPGs out there, whereas most people that play FFXI and FFXIV are fans of the Final Fantasy Series, and not just fans of MMORPGs.

The idea of appealing to niche markets became less appealing when someone out there had the idea of designing games around a wider demographic. Don't think I'm talking about just Blizzard, either, because Nintendo did the exact same thing with the Wii.

There needs not to be any arguments here, as this is how things are. Final Fantasy fans are demanding this game to be a Final Fantasy, and I may shoot myself for bringing this up, but this is also the reason why they do not want to see Chat Bubbles, Jump, or Glowing Weapons. Its just that the franchise is known a certain way and nobody wants Final fantasy to disappear into the crowd.

You're not shooting yourself in the foot, believe it or not. At least, to me this simply says that some people will forego the implications brought on by things like jump affecting the game (jumping effectively requires smoother character movement, which would ripple and add some emphasis on positioning and actual movement when fighting enemies) for the sake of having the game be different from the other games of the same genre and same era of design.

[Cairdeas]

I'm not asking them to make it a non-mmo.
I don't know where this came from. The title of the thread is "We do not care" meaning. Wether it was an MMO or Not. We want more Final Fantasy Elements (FFE). The MMO elements already present and planned can stay. What we want, especially once the MMO Elements have been polished up (IE Battle System, etc.) is the feeling of nostalgia when you first encounter an FFE and it quirks a smile to your face and go "Yeah, its a Final Fantasy."

Wanna know what those elements were in some of the past FF's?

FF3- The Namingway Screen. Its up front and reminds you directly of Final Fantasy 1. It gives you the chance to name all 4 of the characters that you will be controlling through this adventure. Admittedly this is hard to introduce into a MMO so the Namingway as it is now is fine.

FF4- The opening Airship Scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJyGjJXAWXE This scene was epic at the time. It was doing things other games couldn't do at the time(3d World map travel) amongst other things.

FF5 - CHOCOBOS. The first are allows you to ride a chocobo right from the start of the game. So awesome. Then the return of the job system from FFIII.

FF6 - This was the first game to focus heavily on Summons. The other FF's had them up to now but this was the first to truely focus around them as a plot point. It became heavily popular with all the successive releases after VII.

FF7 - UI, Magic, theme and many other elements culminated into things like the Materia System, an Epic Story, and again the Crystals show up (As Materia).

FF8. A return to Summons being a big part of the story, so big they make the story half confusing later in the game when its revealed that using Summons is why no one can remember anything important. Like that everyone was from the same Orphanage...

FF9 - A Return of the Crystals and a very strict job per character but reflecting the Jobs from past FF's. A Thief, A Black Mage, a Knight etc. This truely was an epic Final Fantasy.

the list goes on and on.

[Seraphite]

I agree wholeheartedly.

[Cairdeas]

Added Mini Game Area to the list (Something like gold Saucer)

[Mack]

Caerdias please put temples on the list, FFXII is my favorite FF game and Temples in it were amazing! I would love for FFXIV to fill in those large maps with some temples here and there.

[Kurokikaze]

I not We. If I could downvote this thread I would.

/post+10

[Mack]

I not We. If I could downvote this thread I would.

/post+10

Doesn't get more lighthearted than this thread and you wanna down vote it? its funny because if I can ban you I would.

[Ostia]

LOL. Please. Every Final Fantasy has atleast one feature that is new and unique to gaming as a whole and then afterwards relegated to Final Fantasy History.

FFXIII had the Paradigm Shift. FF7 had Materia, FF8 had GF Junctioning,

Right now FFXIV's only claim to fame in this field was the Armoury(Good) and Guildleves(Bad) but Guildleves many people consider it a bit of a failure.

Erm no they dont, they have had 2 features wish have evolved over time, the job system and the Esper/materia system, wish was born in VI then upgraded in VII and then we had VIII, is the same system

Well and XIII but who cares about that garbage

[Mack]

Erm no they dont, they have had 2 features wish have evolved over time, the job system and the Esper/materia system, wish was born in VI then upgraded in VII and then we had VIII, is the same system

Well and XIII but who cares about that garbage

I care about that garbage. I don't quite agree that every FF game has added something revolutionary but every FF game has been unique to the one before it and that is why FFXIV is so different than FFXI because its SE's trademark to change things up from game to game. Hardly any one FF title is like another and each title brings something new to the table. Mainly this is done through a new battle system imo as its the easiest one...little things always make a return like summons, chocobos, etc. And FYI its which not "wish".