| Back when the "Fantasy" part meant something |
I'm not gonna lie, I haven't played every single Final Fantasy game there is (I've played 7,8,10,10-2,13,13-2 and Lightning Returns) but you don't really need to have played every single game in the franchise to know that it is really starting to head the wrong way; so here are some ideas I have that Square Enix might wanna borrow ( or steal..totally ok with that) in order to bring the series back to it's former glory.
1. Fix the combat/upgrade/leveling system: I know, I know that there are gamers out there who love nothing more than to have time stop as you decide which spells to cast and which enemy to target but we are long since past those days of JRPGs. There needs to be a serious effort from Square to revamp the combat system and not half way do it like they did in the "13" series, honestly this obsession with the "Active Time Battle" system is getting annoying. I don't know why Square insists on having ATB but if they are serious about wanting to compete with the action rpgs ( which are taking over the genre) then it needs to look at what other series cough*Tales*cough are doing and try to emulate that while maintaining the Final Fantasy spirit; which means don't let the gameplay sacrifice because you want to streamline the experience, I don't want auto-battle.
The combat system needs an overhaul and so does the upgrade system. What the hell where they thinking in the last 3 games? I understand that grinding is apart of the genre but the drop rates were atrocious ( I'm looking at you trapezohedron) and it is so cumbersome that I don't even wanna do it half the time. In Lightning Returns, you have to beat the game and play a new game+ just so you can upgrade your weapons...yep...you need to beat the whole game, start a new game with that save data and then have the ability to upgrade weapons, oh but only after you get items that drop at a lower rate that you use to upgrade the weapons; the entire experience is so convoluted and pointless, much like the leveling system. Lightning Returns has the dumbest leveling up gimmick in the entire FF series, you have to do sidequests to level up instead of fighting. I say scrap that and use either a regular leveling system or the Sphere Grid system of FFX/the leveling of 13-2, anything is better than going on sidequests to get random level boosts.
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| Auto-battle...because thinking is too hard |
2. Bring back the fantasy/exploration: I remember when I first played Final Fantasy X, I was blown away by the setting and the overall feel of it. Spira was its own world and I was completely drawn into a sprawling,
fantastical world; when I popped in Final Fantasy 13 ( or any game from the 13 trilogy) I didn't get that feeling, instead I was treated to a world growing increasingly more sci fi than fantasy. A big part of what makes this series work is the level of imagination and creativity seen within the game world, that is magic unto itself and desperately needs to comeback. It's fine to have modern looking cities but they shouldn't come at the cost of having awesome landscapes like the Zanarkand Ruins of FFX; either find a way to combine the fantasy and the futuristic or just go full fantasy because I'm going to start calling it " Final I really like neon signs on buildings and have dreams of being an architect for a metropolitan area in the year 2042"...or something like that.
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| More of this |
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| Less of this |
Remember when you were playing Final Fantasy 13 and you got to explore the land and found secret boss dungeons and treasures spread throughout the game? You shouldn't because that level of freedom hasn't been found in any recent games in the series; it seems Square has decided that we want linear experiences and that means no exploration for you! Who really wants to be able to roam around freely when you can go from point A to point B with little to no distraction?I know this complaint has been made before but I'm making it again because it hasn't been addressed properly within the games; Final Fantasy 13-2 tried to give the illusion of player freedom but you were really just revisiting the same areas with just a few cosmetic changes...that's not good enough, not when other games give you freedom to explore right out of the gate, Square needs to let us have the option of playing linearly in an open game, not forcing us into playing linearly.
3. Get Nobuo Uematsu back: I don't think this needs to be explained, the music quality has dropped so much in this series that it's not even all the memorable aside from "Blinded by the Lightning" and " Chaotic Guardian". The boss music has been so sad lately too...just bring him back, promise to help produce Lost Odyssey 2 or Blue Dragon 2, just do what you gotta do to bring the man back ok Squenix?
4. Make better characters: This seems like a no duh right? Obviously you need to make characters that are engaging and draw the player in..but they created Hope Estheim so yeah. Keep it simple, that magic you did in Final Fantasy 12 needs to be recreated because the chemistry was great and Balthier was awesome.
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| So awesome |
5. For the love of god bring limit breaks: I played Tales of Vesperia when it first came out on the Xbox 360 and when I busted out that " Savage Wolf Fury"....man I realized I missed that in Final Fantasy. The limit break ( or desperation attack) was the physical representation of my frustration at certain bosses ya know? " You're gonna be immune to my status effects? Fine, eat this Omnislash you giant red bitch!" I may have just had a moment there but anyways I can't be the only one who wishes these made a comeback...screw you staggers and Army of One. If you want to see how I want my limit breaks to look, you need to play Tales of Vesperia.....in fact here you go
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I am fully aware that Final Fantasy XV is coming out soon and it's futuristic looking but it looks really freaking great, this wasn't for that but for future titles in the series. I really do love the FF series and want to see it do well and I think if they just stop trying to be too good to look at other franchises for influence then they will be doomed to repeat themselves; I mean how cool would it be to have a Final Fantasy game that has a combat system like the Tales series....just imagine Cloud messing someone up and then finishing them off with an epic Omnislash....you know you want that
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