Does SE know how to make good, fun games anymore?

[Winterclaw]

What was the last time you really enjoyed a final fantasy game or dragon quest?

For me it was FFX and DQ8. I've been playing the remakes of the older DQ games. Those were kinda fun. I've played the FF:T remake and have been playing the tactics ogre remake. Those were fun too just so long as you don't have a class or three that's way under leveled and needs to be brought back up to par. KH was popular, but I haven't played any of those. Yet aside from those as a possibility, I'm not sure I can say anything that square enix has released more recently have been that good compared to what they were able to produce in the past (FF6,7,10, most of the DQ games, etc).

FF12 - it was okay but nothing special
FF13 - again, okay but nothing special
DQ9 - stuck to the formula, but nothing special

There is something those three games all have in common IMO, they all lack involvement in the story. They have a story, but their stories are that great and they don't really move you any. The characters are relatively forgettable as well.

Then you take a look at FF14. It has all the trappings of an MMO, but it is empty (not talking about lack of players). It has no real heart or soul... kinda like some of the other recent offerings. You go grind combat levels for a week. Get a little more story. You go grind crafting levels for a few hours, quit in frustration. I log into the game and I don't particularly feel like I'm having fun. Most of the times I don't feel like I'm doing anything heroic either... I feel more like the Dirty Jobs guy.

Take GW. It's a great game for a single player or someone who's come over from non-MMOs. Why? It has a story (a weak/bad one, but compared to FF14 it's good). It also has good pacing. Do a quest or two, do a mission. Do a quest or two, do a mission. You don't have to spend hours grinding. Unless you started in proph and rushed through it, you don't have to worry about gaining a level or two.

IMO, I think half of the problem with FF14 is a corporate issue, they try to make big budget games but have somehow forgotten what a game, and gaming, is about. However I would like someone to be able to show me otherwise.

[Ostia]

Ibf4 Lock!

They are not the same company as they once where, but they do make fun games from time to time, they just dont make classics like before

[Winterclaw]

hey do make fun games from time to time, they just dont make classics like before

This is a fair perspective, so why not?

[C56]

This is a fair perspective, so why not?

because square married enix, and their offspring brought enix's fail into the gene pool

[Rentahamster]

Well, whatever the reason, they need to hand control to the creative people with vision and insight, rather than the bureaucrats.

[Nephera]

13 was straight line, the videogame.

http://www.notcliche.com/lbw/wp-cont...traightmap.jpg

I liked 12 but really only because it was in Ivalice and to top that off i liked everyone besides the protagonist a lot more than the protagonist.

edit: I laughed when more North American players voted that the final fantasy name was their favorite thing about the game than Japanese players did.

[JayvirDeforte]

What was the last time I really enjoyed a FF game? Well, FFXIII. Did you ever think that maybe the company hasn't lost touch? Maybe you just dont get the same enjoyment out of games that you used to. Some people have such rose-tinted glasses on that they'll never be able to play a new game with the same sense of wonder they did 10 years ago.

[Krausus]

I have not played a DQ game since the original nintendo, but I still enjoy SE games I really like XIII I didn't much care for XII. I also like other SE games not related to FF or DQ such as Neir, and I'm looking forward to the new Dues Ex coming in august the new FF games in the pipeline and a PS3 Kingdom Hearts. I think what the main issue is someone always has a #1 FF game to them and holds every other FF game to the standards of their favorite. This would make sense of the FF games were actually sequels but they are not, they are all for the most part different.

[Ostia]

They have bleed to much talent, sakaguchi left, team xeno left, team tactics left, all they do now days is either pump their flagships or pump remakes

[Balbanes]

12 was a great game. 13... people seem to be split down the middle on that one. Financially, it did very well. I didn't care for it much, myself.