What consumers expect of a FF-title

[Keisuna]

The whole franchise is based on a denial. People played these simple stories while they were young enough to appreciate them and that experience is being directly applied to anything that has come afterwards.

I don't think so. I was well into adulthood when I finally got my hands on Final Fantasy III and I enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed the previous games. Personal preference and nostalgia may be a factor, but it's not the whole story by a long shot. The feel of a game is very much a product of the people who designed it. Suggesting that these people can be interchanged without altering the entire feel of the game doesn't make sense at all.

[Betelgeuzah]

I don't think so. I was well into adulthood when I finally got my hands on Final Fantasy III and I enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed the previous games. Personal preference and nostalgia may be a factor, but it's not the whole story by a long shot. The feel of a game is very much a product of the people who designed it. Suggesting that these people can be interchanged without altering the entire feel of the game doesn't make sense at all.

The fact that it's a different form of media than you're used to is surely to be a factor that can not be denied. Especially considering the (possible) expectations you have set beforehand for stories in said format, in the age of Super Marios and Sonic the Hedgehogs forming the standard with barebones stories in them.

We can also think about the experience of improved visuals factoring into the total package. PSX after SNES was a huge leap in visual quality (a core part of gaming in general) and the same can be said about PS2. Then, it should also be noted that the games in question were released early in their respective consoles lifespans (starting from VII) which further accounted for the perception of the overall experience.

None of these factors have anything to do with the story but nonetheless account into why exactly people feel the way they do about these games.

[Keisuna]

The fact that it's a different form of media than you're used to is surely to be a factor that can not be denied. Especially considering the (possible) expectations you have set beforehand for stories in said format, in the age of Super Marios and Sonic the Hedgehogs forming the standard with barebones stories in them.

We can also think about the experience of improved visuals factoring into the total package. PSX after SNES was a huge leap in visual quality (a core part of gaming in general) and the same can be said about PS2. Then, it should also be noted that the games in question were released early in their respective consoles lifespans (starting from VII) which further accounted for the perception of the overall experience.

None of these factors have anything to do with the story but nonetheless account into why exactly people feel the way they do about these games.

Wait, so now you're blaming the increase in graphic fidelity? I don't understand. Yes, it's a factor in how we experience games, but it's not why the FF games went downhill. It's much more than how many pixels or polygons they had to work with, it was what they did with them.

[Betelgeuzah]

Wait, so now you're blaming the increase in graphic fidelity? I don't understand. Yes, it's a factor in how we experience games, but it's not why the FF games went downhill. It's much more than how many pixels or polygons they had to work with, it was what they did with them.

It's not "either or". Denying that the great leap in graphical quality going from SNES to PSX and later PS2 had nothing to do with how the franchise was perceived is quite a claim. On the other hand the jump from PS2 to PS3, while still large, already had signs of less graphical improvement for added polygons. Not to mention the first HD FF came four years after the generation had started.

What is it with your vague claim there? If I knew what you were thinking it would be easier to reply properly, but now I would just be shooting in the dark.

Also to make any claims to as why a certain person likes a certain game over another is absurd

So to state that age and life experience has nothing to do with it is completely absurd? I disagree, as it certainly does. To state that they somehow don't- now that is a bold claim.

Your first point does not really resonate with anything. Is the point you're trying to make that subsequent playthroughs are completely similar and just as good and memorable as the first one? Maybe you live on a completely different plane of existence than I, then, as I have never heard of a person who can play the same game twice and experience it the same way both times.

I have played Xenogears. Religion in a game, it must be good when they are using such theme! At least when compared to other games. The stakes are high.