Dang! Here's the list of upcoming FF games:

Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates

Anyone actually interested in FF these days (other than say, remakes)? Seems like the marketing ploy from Squenix these days is to make a game, and then plop the words Final Fantasy in front of the title.

cheers,

-avatar!

I'm curious about FFXIII (mostly for the music) but it's going to take more than just that to get me to buy a PS3.

Sadly(?), if your 'upcoming' FF includes even FFVersusXIII, more games could be listed (e.g. some for Wii, PSP or even cell phones).

Although it will likely be time-consuming again, and bomb like EQ2, the only one I care about is a next FF MMO since I love the setting of Vana diel and much prefer it over the later Ivalice games. I wish they would have released a spin off based on FFXI, rather than those from FFT or FFXII which Ryouma Ito, one of the worst character designers, has been assigned to, and ruined (half barring FFT A2 where a ghost designer was hired as far as the main characters go).

Hey, look at the bright side - they aren't remakes or ports - although I'd say FFIV on DS shouldn't be dismissed for being such.

My interest in Final Fantasy plummeted with VIII, and completely died with XII. Other than Crisis Core (which seems barely worth it), I don't think I'll be following Final Fantasy anymore.

Let's not forget:

Final Fantasy Agito XIII
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land
Dissidia Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy IV DS (and the inevitable FF5 and FF6 DS)
Final Fantasy IV The After: Return to the Moon

That would be a big no.  The only ones of the above I have any interest in are the DS remakes.

I'm not too interested in Ring of Fates even though every single person I spoke to absolutely loved it.

I'm cautiously interested in Crisis Core, but not entirely sure if it's worth getting a PSP for.
The same goes for Dissidia. But knowing there's gonna be a new KH-related game has me almost buying one.

I'm absolutely completely HYPED for anything FFXIII, versus or not, and I am DEFINITELY getting a PS3 for these games if they're not coming to other platforms.
XIII looks really cool, and just knowing that the team responsible for Kingdom Hearts is behind Versus XIII is MORE than enough to secure my money, cos I hold the KH series in the highest regard.

Edit: Actually, it's the OLD FF games I can't stand. Playing the DS remake has only reaffirmed my intense hatred for FFIV. FFIII was okay in itself but far too much hassle, and even if they decide to remake FFV as well, I still won't care very much.
As far as I'm concerned anything pre-FFVI can go to Hell.

i want to see a mario vs chocobo fighting game with some brutal mortal kombatesque finishing moves...

im still midquest in my first ff9 quest that i started in 2000... i  was at the beginning of disc 3 and had just gotten the ship,, was supposed to find vivis home land, but ill be damned if i remember anything about the overworld map after so long...

the ps3 is looking less and less interesting... Silent hill has moved to the psp,, and the new katamari game ended up on xbox.. WTF?!?!?

Let's not forget, also, the DQ whoring: Joker, Swords, Rocket Slime, IX, IV (and presumably V and VI) DS.

What I've heard from analysts is that in general, the Japanese market is stagnating at a terrifying rate, and the situation is turning into Cater Or Die. DQIX was originally going to be a radically different (for the series) action-RPG, but outrage impelled a reversion back to the Same Old Thing. And Basch was apparently supposed to be the main character of FFXII until management balked at another RPG with a middle-aged character in the lead after Vagrant Story's failure (and horribly bland as Vaan and Penelo may be, the game's generally positive sales in Japan seem to have validated the idea).

So with the new and unfamiliar amount to dirty words, of course there's going to be FF and DQ retreads funneling out of S-E until you puke. The real question is, what happens when even they are sick of the endless stream, and a core-series multimillion-dollar entry falls to Earth with a wet, sickening thud?

As for my opinion of FF in general? It ain't what it used to be, that's for sure. I've not finished a non-remake since FFX, and stopped paying attention to news of XIII after they revealed that they intend to milk it for a full decade.

What's that? Wait for Suikoden VI before I even consider playing another RPG? Sounds like a plan to me...

I'm curious about the XIII's, but I haven't even played XII (I own it), and haven't finished an FF since IX.  I"m curious about Dissidia, but have found all of Square's fighting games to suck it hard.  I'll get an FFVI remake, and maybe the original back on the GBA unless they release it on VC as they should, but that's it.  If they remake VII or re-release it in some fashion (I got rid of it a long time ago), I'll give Dirge and Crisis a shot.  I'm not holding my breath.

X-2 was overkill for me. It was the first FF I didn't bother completing and the last one I bought. Unless FF Tactics Advance came out afterwards, in which case I bought that. But the main games and most spin-offs have been left behind.

I'm excited about the Crystal Chronicles games, especially considering how fun Ring of Fates was at the Square Enix Party (though the other three players could've been better... I expected Japanese otaku to at least know how to cure/revive).  I'm really worried about The Crystal Bearers and will be EXTREMELY disappointed if that gets dropped in favor of only releasing the Wii Ware title.  Hopefully it being "in trouble" means they've taken it back to the drawing board and decided to actually put effort into multiplayer.  My biggest fear about it previously was how much they talked about the focus on a single player adventure.  The world needs more co-op fantasy.

FFXII Revenant Wings is good, so at least Square Enix can still put out some quality. Basically, they're covering their bases because the Final Fantasy name is diminishing: something for the old-time fans (FFIV DS), FF7 fans (Crisis Core), the new VIII, X and X-2 audience (FFXIII), Wii owners (the Crystal games), FF Tactics fans (War of the Lions and FFTA2), and so on. It's doubtful anyone is looking forward to all of these, but each has its target group which is interested in a few of the games. So while the FF fanbase is dispersing, Square Enix is catering more to those dispersing tastes, and it's likely that even FFXIII won't see the sales numbers of its predecessors. It's a lot of titles, but most people will play only a few of them.

Hey, DQ: Rocket Slime was actually a really, really fun game (I had to pry it away from my wife's DS).  I hope they make a sequel.

People, you're acting like SQEX has committed some inforgiveable sin by remaking FF all the time.  Really, they know fanboys (and girls) will pay for decent remakes, and that's what they're doing.  Consider the new generation of gamers who have yet to discover what we grew up on.  They'd probably enjoy going through FF1 on the PSP because it's new to them. 

I know we're probably all jaded and expect a whole lot from every new FF game that comes out, but really, if it's a good game, then we're all going to play it, right?   I was very skeptical when I started playing FFXII, but it grew on me.  That being said, I would have loved to see Basch (or even Balthier) as a main character.  But, the emo teenage character identifies with a good chunk of the market playing the game.  A 12 year old kid isn't going to want to play as a 30-something character (at least for the most part). 

What about Link?  He's still in his teen years (or is he? Twilight Princess?) and we're not calling "Shenanigans" on Nintendo.

My interest in the FF games has dropped to almost nil, although my interest in the music still remains moderate. I hated Crystal Chronicles for the annoying chalice aspect, but I did love the action-adventure basis of it. And now that I heard Ring of Fates has done away with the chalice, I might -- MIIIIIIGHT -- actually pick up the game. I'm still intent on finishing FF10 (I'm somewhere in the end game, have been so for the past several years, heh), FF12 (never started it yet) and possibly FFX-2. I should get rid of my portable FF remakes...haven't touched 'em and it's unlikely I ever will.

Zelda has a few issues as well, but in general every Zelda game that comes out is of a very high caliber and always adds something new to the gaming experience. Not to mention the fact that there aren't that many Zelda games released. It first came out in 1987 (in the US) and since then there have been 14 Zelda games released (and no remakes)!

Final Fantasy came out in 1990 and since then there have been how many FF games released? Definitely more than one per year, and most of them since FFVII (released in 1997)! Gobs of remakes and releases... bleh! If Nintendo did the same thing with the Zelda series it too would be dead in the water.

cheers,

-avatar!

There have re-release and ports though. The first three all went to GBA. LA got a DX re-release. And the OOT port to the GC...

I won't count the VC as counting though, for obvious reasons.

-Joshua

He doesn't talk.

And FF doesn't?
If anything, people seem to be bashing the most recent FF's for adding TOO MANY new things and being too different from the old ones.

And personally, I don't give a damn if they keep remaking old games. Like someone already said, it's a good way of introducing new gamers to old games, plus fans will love to see their favorite game in a new shiny coat.
And even if they don't, then just don't buy it, easy as that. They'll get the message soon enough.

Seriously, I don't see where all this sudden FF hate is coming from (Just because 12 was disappointing?), but I've said it before and I'll say it again, being a jaded Cranky Kong kind of gamer seems to be all the rage these past few years.

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My thoughts exactly.  I mean, I understand if Mana fans are upset, but most recent Final Fantasy titles have been quite enjoyable (and even at their worst, they're still a decent amount of fun).  What's the problem with *more* fun games being released?

There are quite a few people on the STC board that I don't think can ever be satisfied, and they seem to have made up their mind about certain titles long before they're even released.  I specifically remember all the people a year ago who absolutely hated FFVI Advance before it was out, which I thought was pretty absurd (the game turned out to be a damn good port, too), and I've noticed those same attitudes coming up quite a few times since - it makes quite a few of you look like arrogant snobs.  Hating everything doesn't make you any cooler, guys.

Personally, I've long belonged to the group who just doesn't have time to play games, especially long, drawn-out RPGs that have crazy leveling elements like FF seems to have lately, which is the main reason my interest in FF -- and most other RPGs -- has dropped to almost nothing. I'm kind of surprised that I made it through Hotel Dusk in about 2 months, but then there's no leveling (much less an insane sphere grid that requires hours of staring at). Still trying to find time to get through the rest of Super Paper Mario, I have a bunch of Mana games just to crack open, if I ever maintain interest, and about 4 Zelda games to start/complete (including TP).

So, yeah. FF? Not too interesting for me anymore.

You really think people are hating on the series just for the sake of hating it? Maybe some people had legitimate reasons for gradually growing out of it, or just not liking it altogether.

The fact of the matter is that no series has polarized it's fanbase as much as Square has done with Final Fantasy, and this is especially true with the post-SNES era of entries. FFVII, VIII, IX, and X, I ruefully acknowledge, were arguably the first in the series where there was a large, detectable contingent that simply disliked the game(s) for whatever reason. Characters (or character designs), music, storylines, gameplay innovations, length or any other factor for determining a game's quality are all subjective to the people playing the game, and to lump a distaste for something like this under one category is absurd.

I could write a small essay on why I disliked the entries that I dislike, but I and probably many others certainly don't hate because it makes me sound cool.

@Idolores: No, of course I'm not saying that everyone who dislikes FF is hating for the sake of hating, but I will say that most of the hating seems to be done BECAUSE it's Final Fantasy. It seems a lot of people are bothered by the fact that the series has gained a base of rabid fanboys and suddenly want nothing to do with it anymore, just because of that, and although I am as annoyed by fanboys as the next guy, it does not make me appreciate the games any less.

If you simply lost interest because you don't have the time to play 40+ hour-RPG anymore, then that's perfectly alright, but some people kinda make it sound like that's the game's fault or something.

Lately? My perception has been that the need for leveling has declined in recent entries, to the point where simply fighting whatever you encounter along the way will get you 90% of the way there.

I was actually just talking to a friend the other day about how Square had better darn well NOT remake FF6 with 3D graphics - otherwise all the fanboys who draw their little line between 6 and 7 will realize just how similar they are when you take away the superficial technical differences.  Or, ya know, maybe that would actually be a good thing.

FF 6 remake for DS with again slightly better graphics as in FF IV and I would be sold. (Actually, just a remake would be nice for DS. :P)

And I'm still a bit of a FF-fanboy so, sure, new FF-titles do interest me, if they're not CC-part. Never much liked it, except the soundtrack. And the 'new' trailers to XIII parts have raised my interest in those games, too bad that Nomura is in charge. If something rots with new FF-games, it's Nomura. I've grown to hate his works after KH-series (thought earlier stuff is still nice).

And one beef with FF-games is that we don't get those International-versions much, would like to get FF XII's Int. version, just because of those job license boards.

And I still wait for the day when we start talking about Suikoden overkill, game or soundtrack wise.

You do realize that not all people have found XII, Dirge of Cerberus, X-2, Crisis Core and so on, fun? But we're just hatin' for the sake of hatin', it's not that the quality of the games has changed!

Theory verified.  Since when did we all become so jaded?

Well, I guess I'm on the "haters" side... I mean I don't really "hate" Square Enix but so much of what release is hardly inspired by this point. Granted many of the titles they are re-releasing I found much enjoyment in on the PS1 (and hopefully newer generations will too) but outside original products (like Final Fantasy XIII) I see little to no risk... where is that company that had a new, interesting IP (VS, PE, ToF, XG, BFM, etc.) every time one turned around? The former bunny is now a turtle that - for the most part - retracts into its protective shell of past successes.

In my case I'm pretty jaded, but this doesn't mean I'm incapable of being reached as a customer... it just easy, no-brainer tactics like the above are hardly going to make me take notice. It's not just "remakes" either - Capcom has done a fine job making Mega Man so unappealing it appalling - as if cranking up the difficulty ten notches makes the game "fun'' to play.

Maybe partially incorrect. The initial protagonist of FFXII was certainly a middle-age guy and called Basch, but he is not that Basch that finally appeared in our game. I also suspect Matsuno was forcibly or otherwise asked to introduce a younger protagonist to the series' fanboys/girls's liking. After all, Sakaguchi shouldn't have hired Matsuno for the position, but I won't ramble more since this thread isn't particularly for Matsuno and FFXII

Well, knowning how SERIOUS BUSINESS game industry is, maybe SquareEnix just doesn't want to risk making a new IP, when earlier 'new' IP's have failed somewhat, like Code Age Commanders.

Speak for yourself. And if you were jaded, you wouldn't like anything. Growing up doesn't mean you can't recognize quality.

I admit there is a bit of "blind hate", but it's mostly related to how I felt about the series since VIII (which is where the so-called innovation really started to annoy me) and THEN seeing it blow up into "let's milk this shit and hope the fanboys bite...Oh, and the two people most synonymous with the series left our company...No one will notice" THEN, I saw the part about the whole compilation of FFVII and how FFXIII would be multiple games. And then there's cases like FFXII, where I just plain old didn't like what I played, so it was hardly worth my time to go further and continued to make me wonder what the big deal was about the series anymore. All that shit kind of takes its' toll on a series' image, even if there are gems buried in there. I'm certainly not buying everything to find SOME good in there, when the rest of it looks so unappealing.

I just don't really see how anyone can still hold this series in high regard anymore, considering the blatantly obvious lengths it's going to being milked. I just feel a sense of desperation from SE and a need to please stockholders now when I hear FF...And if I sound elitist for saying that, so be it...

As far as remakes go...I have no issues with classics being remade for another audience. The quality and circumstances of some of these ports...That's another story. FF4 Advance (at least the US version) was a joke. I like how they gutted the difficulty from FF1, so now people complain its' too easy. And they put out FF1 and 2 seperately on the PSP, after packing it as a compilation for years? Did they think no one would notice? And I'm still pretty bitter over FF Anthology/Chronicles (since when was a screwed up port of Chrono Trigger a Final Fantasy game anyway?)

And really...It just doesn't matter anymore, because RPG's have to do quite a bit to gain my attention nowadays and nothing FF-related has come close to what I felt playing or seeing FF4/6 or Chrono Trigger (hey, Square says it's an FF game...why get in the way of a good lie?) unfold and aesthetically, the series does nothing for me nowadays, but I'll just say I don't care about any of current on-staff/collaborative composers or artists Square has right now, so it's not FF-only there.