Regardless of what people think of the most recent game of the franchise, the Final Fantasy series has been the dominant player in the role playing genre for the past twenty years. The level of quality Square Enix pumps into their games is top notch and the story telling is some of the best in gaming. One thing that stands out about each game is how it’s never a continuation of the story that came before.
While talking to Nintendo Power, Akitoshi Kawazu an Executive Producer at Square Enix, explains why each game is different:
“It wasn’t so much a personal decision as it was driven by the fact that the entire team had the mentality of wanting to challenge something new. Mr. [Hironobu] Sakaguchi who was leading development on Final Fantasy II, he said himself, ‘there’s no point in doing the same thing.” That was intended to mean we should keep trying to create new things, but the other side to it was that he was not completely satisfied with the first Final Fantasy.”
I applaud any developer who takes the risk of trying something new. Sure, not every Final Fantasy was a smash hit but even those who didn’t receive critical acclaim were better than other games of the genre. Square Enix set the standard and many followed in their footsteps. The best things I like about the Final Fantasy games is that you know you’re getting a new story. When a sequel to a game comes out many people ask “do I have to play the previous one in order to get into this one?” Or, people play the last entry in the series just to prepare for what’s to come. With the exception of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 you don’t have to do any of that.
In fact, if you’ve played any Final Fantasy game you’re pretty much set. The basic gameplay (except for the battle system) and themes such as magic, Chocobos and that stupid Tonberry stabbing you in the shins, haven’t strayed far from their origin. Kawazu goes on to say:
“When Final Fantasy II was released, some people offered opinions like, ‘as long as you change scenario for RPGs, you don’t have to change the rest of the system.’ But I don’t think that the Final Fantasy series would be where it is today if we had followed that advice.”
Ranters, are you glad Square didn’t follow that advice, or are you wondering where the heck Final Fantasy VII-2 is? Which Final Fantasy story/character is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Nintendo Everything
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Not huge on Final Fantasy but I have wondered about this. Good to know.
So…..they thought this needed explaining?
I really think it was a relief that they didn’t listened to that advice. From my point of view i think People would like that Square ENIX. left som sort of cliff-hanger in the story or i would think that it would be quiet diffucult to continiou the story.
Tidus FTW
Personal favorite is 9 because it put the biggest smile on my face. I wonder how tough a battle was fought to make FF8 with new characters after the success of 7. And then to give us X-2? I just want my crazy hairdos and my obnoxious sword back.
Final Fantasy XI is the near ending game. SE continue to upgrade, update, and expand it with every passing year. Its greatest strength, though, is in the diversity of the players from around the world, which gives it fun and enjoyment beyond that of a video game. The multiple storylines are indeepth, connected, and energetic. The job system for each character, combined with the stories, insures players with a non-stop, on-going adventure for year, if not decades to come. FF14 while similar will only complement FF11 and not be its replacement unless players desire it.
Things you cannot deny about Final Fantasy XIII:
The story was alright.
The characters were VERY…varied. Hope is a bitch.
The battle system WAS AWESOME.
Final Fantasy VII will always be the best in my eyes.
lightning looks like cloud…. no srlsy
http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/7/73/Nothing_alike_75.jpg
Oh holy crap she does look like Cloud!
Meh never been a huge Final Fantasy fan and honestly this is one of my main three reasons. I’ve only enjoyed 3 of the games to be fair though one of them was much better than enjoyed because I absolutely loved FF7 it’s one of the greatest games ever made as far as I’m concerned. An FF7-2 would not only get bought brand new by me but i’d pre order the moment it was announced. The closest we got was the prequal Crisis Core on PSP which to me was the second best FF game. I really alot of hardcore FF fans will disagree but I just never found FF to be all that great aside from FF7, and Crosis Core.