What's Final Fantasy?

[Volsung]

XII was great if you ignored Vaan entirely. And XIII suffered hallway syndrome because people complained that in XII they were thrown into a too open area and couldn't remember what they were supposed to be doing storywise, which led to XIII being pointed in a single direction. I also enjoyed XIII, the characters either changed, or you got to see sides of them they usually wont show people.

[Eldaena]

XII was great if you ignored Vaan entirely. And XIII suffered hallway syndrome because people complained that in XII they were thrown into a too open area and couldn't remember what they were supposed to be doing storywise, which led to XIII being pointed in a single direction. I also enjoyed XIII, the characters either changed, or you got to see sides of them they usually wont show people.

Vaan was definitely my least favorite character in that game. =p

[Malakhim]

XII was great if you ignored Vaan entirely. And XIII suffered hallway syndrome because people complained that in XII they were thrown into a too open area and couldn't remember what they were supposed to be doing storywise, which led to XIII being pointed in a single direction. I also enjoyed XIII, the characters either changed, or you got to see sides of them they usually wont show people.

Yeah, the format of Final Fantasy XIII seems to be entirely reactionary to FFXII's "lack of" success: A heavy focus on a closed story and its characters as opposed to an overarching war drama and the players who get caught in the middle, and a very linear path with a dedicated battle screen as opposed to open areas and combat somewhat reminiscent of an MMO.

As for why people disliked FFXII? The only thing I can think of is that a lot of the fanbase can't stand stories designed for MEN with MANLY characters such as Balthier and Basch, and would rather traipse around as an effeminate Meg Ryan wearing lederhosen or worship a bleach haired momma's boy of a villain with a sword whose size clearly betrays his own compensation issues.

Don't even get me started on Seymour. Seriously? You named your villian after a Simpsons gag?

(I should mention here by the way that I enjoyed FFVII & X, and FFXIII is in my top 5 as far as the series goes.)

[Scherwiz]

As for why people disliked FFXII? The only thing I can think of is that a lot of the fanbase can't stand stories designed for MEN with MANLY characters such as Balthier and Basch, and would rather traipse around as an effeminate Meg Ryan wearing lederhosen.

Ummm you do realize Vaan is in Final Fantasy XII right?
http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy.../e/e5/Vaan.PNG

[Malakhim]

Ummm you do realize Vaan is in Final Fantasy XII right?
http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy.../e/e5/Vaan.PNG

He hardly counts as Matsuno didn't even want him in there in the first place. Vaan only exists due to SE corporate and marketing having their way once Matsuno was released from the project. In short, he was SE's attempt at pandering to the demographic I mentioned.

Of course as I implied, most of that post was in jest anyway.

[Zantetsuken]

Matsuno didn't even want him in there in the first place. Vaan only exists due to SE corporate and marketing having their way once Matsuno was released from the project. In short, he was SE's attempt at pandering to the demographic I mentioned.

Fascinating~ I never knew that...

It makes sense because as a main character, Vaan is an almost completely insignificant tag-along.

On the other hand, casting Balthier main character makes much more sense as it adds much considerable weight to the struggle with Gabranth. In fact, looking back on his in-game dialogue, the references to himself as the "leading man" seem to be a not-so-subtle jab at the inclusion of Vaan.

I really did enjoy FFXII though.

[Eldaena]

Fascinating~ I never knew that...

It makes sense because as a main character, Vaan is an almost completely insignificant tag-along.

On the other hand, casting Balthier main character makes much more sense as it adds much considerable weight to the struggle with Gabranth. In fact, looking back on his in-game dialogue, the references to himself as the "leading man" seem to be a not-so-subtle jab at the inclusion of Vaan.

I really did enjoy FFXII though.

Nice Signature. =p

[Shai]

You know, one thing that is hard to convey in an MMO is "world-changing."

Some of you have listed tangible things that make "Final Fantasy" what it is (such as crystals, chocobos) but I think that's small picture stuff. The scope is too narrowed.

Personally, I think Final Fantasy has always been great due to a few things. A sense of exploration is one of them. This is XIII's biggest weakness and I think most critics agree the best part of XIII is exploring Pulse. XI did a good job of this as you were barred from areas in several ways - either plot related or due to monsters that would tear you a new one just for trespassing into their territory.

I was Rank 30 when I got to both Camps in Mor Dhona. XIV has good exploration but it's over too quickly (and the fact that once you've seen a zone, you seen about 80% of what that zone has to offer). The ride is simply over too quickly in XIV (so far). It should have been different, more diverse, and/or barred access to pieces. There are plenty of unimplemented things, but that's not what I mean. I mean - something you could work toward to explore a new chunk of the world. That isn't there once you have seen Mor Dhona.

I also think (as I mentioned) player driven meaningful changes to the world aren't happening. We aren't rescuing any Princess Sara(s) or rekindling the light in any crystals. We don't even know who our enemy is. We spend the entire story chasing shadows and pulling at straws. We learn practically nothing. We influence nothing. The finale is basically an epic let down (epic to watch; let down cause you are humbled and have to pick up the pieces). I feel XIV has a strong story and I like where it's going. I expect the next chapter to have some meaningful things but so far it's missing. I think XIV will have a good "Final Fantasy" story once they stop not-telling-us everything and start understanding the Echo, Primals, Garlean objectives, etc.

I think I've said enough for now. I think these are two distinct "grand picture" differences between XIII, XIV and the rest of the series.

[Shai]

He hardly counts as Matsuno didn't even want him in there in the first place. Vaan only exists due to SE corporate and marketing having their way once Matsuno was released from the project. In short, he was SE's attempt at pandering to the demographic I mentioned.

Of course as I implied, most of that post was in jest anyway.

The conjecture was - since the merge SE has made worse Final Fantasies and you're saying the same thing using different words as a defense. SE has made some pretty bad choices since 2000. Vaan is one of them.

[Malakhim]

The conjecture was - since the merge SE has made worse Final Fantasies and you're saying the same thing using different words as a defense. SE has made some pretty bad choices since 2000. Vaan is one of them.

I said one thing about FFXII. You can say that in general, SE has weakened since their PSX days pre-Enix merger, but I've always thought that every Final Fantasy entry(well, everyone excluding XIV in its current state) has been solid. I'm probably one of the few FFX-2 defenders out there.