final fantasy is one of the best videogame series i have ever played. the depth in character and game design is so inspiring that i can’t believe it sometimes. If you look at the modern RPG industry today, you’ll find FF everywhere (case in point, grunties from .hack. I almost expected them to kweh, or wark or whatever).
Then again, FF has been affected as much by the videogame industry as the industry by it. Recent rends in new FF’s show a new strain of RPG that will undoubtably draw new fans to the series ( such as thongs and faster battle sequences). Which can only be a good.
But we, as grizzled vets of wars fought between monkey boys and light warriors, need to help usher these newbies in, right?
If you you don’t, you can only stop someone from having as much fun as they could possibly have with a videogame ( without being unholy…).
Sure it rocks, but it’s not the be-all-end-all of RPGs. I can get into heated arguments with people who think the series is lackluster, but your fanboyism is slightly excessive. Grizzled war veterans? That’s a bit melodramatic. One of the new guys in our anime club here at college uses Squall as a nickname, honest to God, and even as nerdish as the rest of us are, we can barely believe it.
Fanboyism?
I hardly call myself a fanboy, but being called one is kind of like a compliment for me. However, Final FAntasy dosen’t happen to be my number one game right now, and i guess i can see your qualms with it. Yes, the series is evolving slowly, some might say too slowly, but the stuff i hear about FF12 has me interested. They even have decided to scrap the victory fanfare from it.
but fanboyism? is that even a word? But thanx all the same, if you’re gonna call someone something, at least use a real word, it what Jesus would want.
it has not been my day…
They’re getting rid of the fanfare? Oh deear God no.
They can’t be serious @@ Some things should always be a part of Final Fantasy, regardless of the changes to the games. I have that tune on my mobile phone, dammit ><
I have to agree… there are certain things which should definitely stay, or what’s the point of calling it a “Final Fantasy”? I’m all for evolution, but the game still does have to be part of the series in some regard.
Recent trends in new FF’s show a new strain of RPG that will undoubtedly draw new fans to the series (such as thongs…) Which can only be good.
Damn straight.
I have to argue against the “depth” of character design. Sure, all 4 of the lead heros of the more popular FF’s are different, but they all follow one basic template and are kinda…predictable. Cloud, Squall, Zidane and Tidus. I think the most non-generic male out of them is Zidane, but even then like…he’s not that deep and incredibly spectacular, blowing every other character to exist, away.
Hopefuly they will not. I know the traditional victory fanfare wasn’t in FFX-2 because Nobuo Uematsu didn’t do the music in it. I don’t think he had any part in FFX-2 because of his concert or preparing for it, that’s why the music wasn’t as good as it should of been. FFX-2 had decent music, but it wasn’t Final Fantasy music. Hopefuly they will learn from that mistake.
IIRC Nobuo did one tune in X-2, one of the main ones but can’t remember which.
…They’re not going to scrap the fanfare. Simple reason is that they do, after all, have a decent sense of tradition. Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet, guys 
Then again, Prelude (in its original form) hasn’t been heard in a while…
I loved FFX-2 music. It wasn’t traditional, it was more modern and upbeat and reflected the nature of the game so…I say rock on. It was great.
The prelude is on XI, there are many of the older FF elements in 11, like the skill system is very similar to FF2’s. I think they should make an offline SP version of 11. It would be very cool to get the storyline without the bullshit. I’ve been able to get some of the storyline behind Sandy, enough to work the feud between Piejue and Trion into my fanfic (which i am still working on chapter 3 of).
While i do agree with Cid about evolution, there is a certain line to cross, i dont want the company to turn into one that just does what the fans want to make money… As long as they keep producing original stuff as an artform, rather than crowd-pleaser, i’ll keep buying their stuff. When art comes from the heart, it is always so much better than when it’s made for show, or to please crowds… Maybe i’m just too much of a romantic traditionalist… or traditionalism idealist… or some weird combo of those uber flamboyant words…
what is final fantasy?
I must say I never really pay attention to most of the songs. If I ever hear them outside of playing the games, I’ll usually recognise it, but not be able to place it. Of course that doesn’t count for the main tracks from each one.
And for the first time I think I’m going to have to agree with BL on what he said. As long as Square keep making the games original (to a degree), and don’t just do it for the sole reason of making money. Then the series should keep going at a reasonable quality for quite some time.
It’s kinda hard to pin, 'cause I don’t think there’s any one thing that was in all the Final Fantasy games. (Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong there!)
I like to look at the title. “Final Fantasy”. Final is last, and Fantasy is a genre that deals with things that cannot happen in our reality. So it’s an end to fantasy. Because of this, I always tend to think of the Final Fantasy games as being characterized by a mixture of magic and technology, with magic beginning to die out. In this sense, FFVI was always one of the most aptly named, in my opinion anyways.
Granted, I haven’t played all the games, but that’s my interpretation. How the creator’s thought of it, only they could say.
I’m going to take off my big dork hat now…
dude he was being sarcastic 
Actually, JadeDixon is the only person who got it as I meant it, I think.
It probably DID sound sarcastic, but JD replied like I was hoping someone would. However, I had not cared enough, afterposting it, to make it more clear… >_>
THanks JD
However: From what I’ve read, the reason it was called “Final Fantasy” in the first place was because Square was going down hill before it’s release, and they dubbed it “Final Fantasy” because it was thier last game. It actually saved thier company and thus turned into a franchise that we now know and love.
Thats what I heard, at least.
But really, what IS final fantasy? I mean, what makes it a Final Fantasy game, you know? If it doesnt have the cliche things that we love from previous games, is it just the logo that makes it a “FINAL FANTASY”? I mean, surely its not the “bestest stories in teh worlds” that make it good, because there are books and games out there with stories that beat Final Fantasy. Is it the game play? Since 7, the gameplay has been QUITE different from each previous game… This leads me to wonder why is it that we cling to “Final Fantasy” instead of just appriciating all “Fantasy” games as they come.
OOOOH i got you now. Sowwy. I don’t think of one or a few things that tie the games all together. That’s what I like.
For one, it is the people who make it that make it “final fantasy”. There isnt any one element, or aspect that makes a game final fantasy. You cant just say “ohh, it has Bahamut, so it’s a true final fantasy” or “hey, There are swords and magic, it’s a final fantasy”. If that were the case, than i’d be saying “Chrono Trigger is a final fantasy game !”, but it isnt. It’s like a family tree, each game represents a new generation, and new traits, new aspects, both good and bad, but there is always the shadow of the original. Some cases, like FF8, you have to look really hard for it, and others like FF9, it is very self-evident, but it’s there in every FF game. or movie, if you really think about it.
I think i am one of the few people who actually liked TSW.
I’m glad I got your meaning right, Izlude. Maybe it’s just because that’s something I’ve thought about before myself… That story you related about it being their ‘last’ game does make a lot of sense though.
I have a friend who is obsessed with Final Fantasy. He actually went through the games to try and find some specific element they all had in common. The list he came up with was kind of scary. The ‘Fight’ command, and I think ‘Cure’, or some really general things like that. It really makes you wonder, like you’ve said, what is Final Fantasy?
I actually have to say I like Born_Loser’s explanation about the ‘family tree’. It’s something that’s grown, and while they may not all have the same elements all the time, there’s always something related to a previous game in the series. Just like we don’t look exactly like our relatives, but you can see the similarities.
And BL, I like Spirit’s Within, too. It reminded me a lot of FF7 though… I used to have fun thinking up ways that SW could be a prequel to seven ('cause I am a really big dork with no life… :fungah:)