Quote Originally Posted by Shurrikhan View Post
A lot of that has to do with the simple fact that you can't put a full storyboard on a platter to feed to the fans. For many, that's precisely because it's the meat of the meal meant to be enjoyed later.

Note that you still had "What's the story?" on that list. While I agree that the as a concept is hugely intertwined with the aesthetics of the game (just as camera work or scene display is with the storytelling), it is also... well... story. And as long as the rest are good (good is enough), that'll be the hook that gets me.
I don't know. I think it has more to do with the fast that what pleases Final Fantasy fans most are the story and graphics aspects of the game. I mean, that's what people who create FF games focus on tweaking the most. Because those are the aspects of the game that it's usually built around and for. A huge emphasis is put on gameplay and story. That's what fans of the series clamor for. Not how the game controls. As long as it's at least controllable, awesome. Final Fantasy is graded on mostly aesthetics.