Queen's Blood (Final Fantasy Thread)

[probablyoliver]

I liked XII.

[Draevyn]

I always thought XII was MMORPG. I take it I was wrong?

[Benji]

Over time I've grown to appreciate XII and XIII (and its spin-offs), but they're still not what I want. They're good games, and if they didn't have the expectations of Final Fantasy tied to it then I'm sure my immediate reactions to them would've been kinder, but the fact of the matter is that they do have those expectations. It's like Tactics - I loved Tactics because I was told in the name not to expect my standard Final Fantasy, and that was still more like any pre-X FF than XII and XIII were.

I've said it over and over but they should've split the franchise into action based games and ATB based games, but then they probably wouldn't have sold as much so... I get where the company is coming from financially, but from a fan stand point it feels like I'm being told I'm being fed Lindt chocolate truffles when it's really just Tesco value chocolate bar - it still tastes nice, but it's no Lindt chocolate truffle.

[Schlitzbrille]

I liked XII.

Me too. Would LOVE to see an HD remaster...thoughts I'm almost certain I've mentioned earlier in this thread.

[gunnar hendershow]

As Skummy said, the problem is that the overall market for the traditional JRPG has fractured and the people making FF games have evolved to cater to the new market in the way they dominated the market when turn-based was the focus. There are so many reasons why. Turn-based games in the mold of FF still get made, they just don't make a ton of money. They are part of a genre whose audience has shrunk over the years. A company like Square, with the amount of money it has, isn't going to make a technologically inferior game on a major console. They'll use handhelds and mobiles for that. Other companies (Atlus) have tried to take new spins on the old turn-based JRPG genre but there's only so much innovation you can do. They do a lot of it, but in a world when not every game needs to have what it had 15-20 years ago there just isn't going to be as big of an audience. As soon as games came out that broke from turn-based, it was impossible to go back and have that exact same level of relevancy. Kids and young adults these days don't want turn-based games, they're not used to them or they are tired of them. They're the bulk of the market at this point and they're the ones who get catered to with the biggest releases.

It's just at this point too tiring to read the same dead horse about the FF franchise and JRPGs in general. You can do what Atlus is doing and barely stay afloat targeting a niche audience or you can do what Square is doing a targeting a wider audience and staying afloat. What decision do you make?

[Ruki]

As Skummy said, the problem is that the overall market for the traditional JRPG has fractured and the people making FF games have evolved to cater to the new market in the way they dominated the market when turn-based was the focus. There are so many reasons why. Turn-based games in the mold of FF still get made, they just don't make a ton of money. They are part of a genre whose audience has shrunk over the years. A company like Square, with the amount of money it has, isn't going to make a technologically inferior game on a major console. They'll use handhelds and mobiles for that. Other companies (Atlus) have tried to take new spins on the old turn-based JRPG genre but there's only so much innovation you can do. They do a lot of it, but in a world when not every game needs to have what it had 15-20 years ago there just isn't going to be as big of an audience. As soon as games came out that broke from turn-based, it was impossible to go back and have that exact same level of relevancy. Kids and young adults these days don't want turn-based games, they're not used to them or they are tired of them. They're the bulk of the market at this point and they're the ones who get catered to with the biggest releases.

It's just at this point too tiring to read the same dead horse about the FF franchise and JRPGs in general. You can do what Atlus is doing and barely stay afloat targeting a niche audience or you can do what Square is doing a targeting a wider audience and staying afloat. What decision do you make?

Coming from a completely selfish point of view? The one that comes out with good games.

All aboard the Atlus Train!!! First stop: Person Q!

[Benji]

As Skummy said, the problem is that the overall market for the traditional JRPG has fractured and the people making FF games have evolved to cater to the new market in the way they dominated the market when turn-based was the focus. There are so many reasons why. Turn-based games in the mold of FF still get made, they just don't make a ton of money. They are part of a genre whose audience has shrunk over the years. A company like Square, with the amount of money it has, isn't going to make a technologically inferior game on a major console. They'll use handhelds and mobiles for that. Other companies (Atlus) have tried to take new spins on the old turn-based JRPG genre but there's only so much innovation you can do. They do a lot of it, but in a world when not every game needs to have what it had 15-20 years ago there just isn't going to be as big of an audience. As soon as games came out that broke from turn-based, it was impossible to go back and have that exact same level of relevancy. Kids and young adults these days don't want turn-based games, they're not used to them or they are tired of them. They're the bulk of the market at this point and they're the ones who get catered to with the biggest releases.

It's just at this point too tiring to read the same dead horse about the FF franchise and JRPGs in general. You can do what Atlus is doing and barely stay afloat targeting a niche audience or you can do what Square is doing a targeting a wider audience and staying afloat. What decision do you make?

Nobody's ever argued against that in this thread as far as I'm aware, quite the opposite, we get why they do it. The fact of the matter is that we are fans, not Square-Enix's accounting department, we're going to complain if the thing being put out isn't what we want or have come to expect, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Avenged Probably]

I got FFIV (the remake) in a sale the other day for Steam.

I'm a little under ten hours in and I can honestly say that if the game continues the way it's started then it's definitely going to be my favourite.

[Benji]

I got FFIV (the remake) in a sale the other day for Steam.

I'm a little under ten hours in and I can honestly say that if the game continues the way it's started then it's definitely going to be my favourite.

Don't read this spoiler Avenged (seriously, big spoilers)...

"Stays the same" heh. Seriously, Avenged, don't click this next spoiler if you already did. I'm 99% sure people know what I'm about to post...

[Benji]

[Skummy]

I hate the whole "remake Final Fantasy VII" bollocks, as if it would fix anything. Square Enix would just follow it up with another shitty new game and learn nothing, and the idea that it's "easy" because the game "already exists" does them a massive disservice. Not to mention that it's always an argument of the self-professed "real fan" - something I hate in any medium - who insists that the new games rely on graphics too much...yet want them to remake their favourite one with better graphics...hmm...

Also, just look at the sequels, prequels and extraneous bullshit that grew up around Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core and Advent Children are both po-faced bits of shit that completely miss the point that Final Fantasy VII, while having no shortage of dark and brooding bits, was also very, very silly and charming, the Vincent sequel thing on PS2 misses the point of what the characters' motivations were and butchers the backstory, while all the prequel stuff decide that, actually, Zack is really important and you should care about that guy more than the characters you're already invested in.

I have absolutely no faith that Square Enix, right now, could do a Final Fantasy VII remake without doing an absolute hatchet job of it, and then they'd put it out and say "you asked for this".

[Benji]

I just want to play a game I loved with prettier graphics. See: Final Fantasy X.

[Skummy]

http://ff7remake-pc.yolasite.com/ff7-remake-pc-complete.php

[Benji]

I tried that but I fail miserably at installing mods and the such Plus my PC is utter wank if I want to run anything more than light graphics options.

[Bobfoc]

If they just made a version of Final Fantasy VII that got rid of random encounters and allowed you to save anywhere, I'd be perfectly happy. The rest is totally fine the way it is. It's also the only Final Fantasy game I've played, so I might not be the best person to ask.

[TKz]

I hate the whole "remake Final Fantasy VII" bollocks, as if it would fix anything. Square Enix would just follow it up with another shitty new game and learn nothing, and the idea that it's "easy" because the game "already exists" does them a massive disservice. Not to mention that it's always an argument of the self-professed "real fan" - something I hate in any medium - who insists that the new games rely on graphics too much...yet want them to remake their favourite one with better graphics...hmm...

Also, just look at the sequels, prequels and extraneous bullshit that grew up around Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core and Advent Children are both po-faced bits of shit that completely miss the point that Final Fantasy VII, while having no shortage of dark and brooding bits, was also very, very silly and charming, the Vincent sequel thing on PS2 misses the point of what the characters' motivations were and butchers the backstory, while all the prequel stuff decide that, actually, Zack is really important and you should care about that guy more than the characters you're already invested in.

I have absolutely no faith that Square Enix, right now, could do a Final Fantasy VII remake without doing an absolute hatchet job of it, and then they'd put it out and say "you asked for this".

I also love the idea that it'd be easy because it already exists. Ah yes, because nothing could be easier than using a decade old system and just... giving it new graphics!

I don't even get why you'd WANT new graphics. Final Fantasy 7 has gorgeous backgrounds and adorable in game models that're like, 70% of the charm. I don't want to live in a world where Cloud Strife has real hands.

You're totally wrong about Crisis Core, though. That game was fun as hell and had plenty of silly bits. It's the only thing that's come close to actually capturing the feel of FF7.

[Benji]

Crisis Core was amazing. Probably my favourite handheld game ever if it weren't for Pokémon.

[gunnar hendershow]

If they just made a version of Final Fantasy VII that got rid of random encounters and allowed you to save anywhere, I'd be perfectly happy. The rest is totally fine the way it is. It's also the only Final Fantasy game I've played, so I might not be the best person to ask.

Yeah those are both things that belong in the past. The battle system could be made a little smoother too with updated technology, and they could add a lot to materia to make it less exploitable.

But anyway I hate "remakes" if they just stick to the original. They'd need to change a ton to make this worthwhile, see how Pokemon does its remakes and just go with that formula.

[Draevyn]

I don't even want new graphics. I don't want them to get rid of anything. I want them to put the same games I used to play (VII, VIII and IX) on a system I own rather than a system I'd have to go out and buy just to play them. So basically, what I'm really saying is I don't want a remake of the game, I just want backwards compatibility for the systems damn it!

[stokeriño]

I don't even want new graphics. I don't want them to get rid of anything. I want them to put the same games I used to play (VII, VIII and IX) on a system I own rather than a system I'd have to go out and buy just to play them.

What system is it that you own?

They're available to purchase on PSN, last time I looked...