I was born with a 7 foot long sword and a Chocobo beside me. I eat phoenix downs for breakfast and elixirs for dinner. I slay Tonberries while sleeping and quell Cactuars for fun. We can all dream right? If you recognize any of these references you're a nerd, but also, this article is for you. I've been a diehard FF fan since...well forever. I've racked up countless hours needlessly leveling up my characters and delving into giant maze dungeons and for what? For FUN. I love it! Lately however, I've been pretty disappointed with Square Enix and how they've been responding to their fanbase. Let me rephrase, stop remaking games and give me something original! But that isn't the only problem, their new found "originality" is stale, often boring and nonsensical. Yes I said it, the last few Final Fantasy games have not been impressive to say the least and plainly offend me as a long time RPG lover and avid fan. Now I know this is pure opinion and conjecture, but hear me out.
Lets recap the origins of my dying loyalty. In my opinion, the last great FF game was FFX (FF11 if you count MMOs). I think it went all downhill after that. The 10th addition to the franchise has intense plot, great graphics, amazing music, and well developed characters tied together by a massive chain of back-story (even though the main protagonist intensely annoying). All of those items are components Square Enix usually masters and is known for. FF12 was an ok game. Not quite up to the same caliber as earlier titles. The best thing about that particular game was the huge environments and sidequests. I don't remember the plot and don't care too; the only recollection I have about story of that game was it gave me a very "knights of the round table" kind of feel which I didn't appreciate and what's up with Lord Larsa?? I was unsure if IT was a man or a woman for the entire game; green stockings and pink high heels are not appropriate for any boy, just saying. Now lets move on to the REAL reason I've denounced my old favorite series and why I'm writing this article right now.
Final Fantasy 13 failed at everything that defines Final Fantasy...except the graphics. How far can beautiful environments and detail really distract you from the mishaps of this game? Lets take a look. FF13 took a very interesting approach in its progression. Typical RPG fashion often dictates a relatively a linear course in which players reach a new environment, beat a boss, and often gain a new character; wash rinse and repeat. FF13 however takes this to the extreme. Your characters are separated into groups of two or three for the majority of the game and you cannot pick which character you choose to play as during battle until the whole party is together at chapter 10/11. The ten out of thirteen chapters that take place in the land in the sky or Cocoon were boring and uninspired with no towns, stores, or other people to talk to. I felt isolated and disconnected to the beautiful world Square Enix created, the characters included.
Judging by the constant flurry of commercials, the pictures on the net, and the previews in magazines, I had assumed the main character of the game would be the bold, pink-haired heroine Lightning. However I quickly noticed that the narrator was not Lightning but the even pinker haired Vanille. I can take it, just a little bit misleading. Many of the characters were very one dimensional portraying a single emotion regardless of the situation. Annoyance abound.
I could delve deeper into all the reasons why FF13 did not live up to the hype and disappointed many but I don't expect many can handle a 10 page hate fest. If you'd like me to continue shoot me an email and I'll write it out in full Smile.
Despite the failure of this game among some fans, it was embraced well enough among the mainstream community to initiate a sequel which is currently in the works. If you are a one of those people who loved FF13 I'm happy it entertained you more than me. I personally am not prepared to invest time and money into a franchise I no longer believe in. You never know they could turn around and surprise me, I certainly hope so. How do you guys feel about the Final Fantasy series as a whole as compared to FF13?
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