Topic: Final Fantasy XIV gets trashed

[shelverton.]

I was actually gonna play this game. It would be my first MMORPG ever. The numerical installments in the Final Fantasy series always get good reviews, even the less great games score at least 8.5-9 and are usually worth checking out in my opinion, for the high production value if nothing else.. But now it seems SquareEnix lost it for real this time. I may not trust every review I ever read, especially not from GameSpot and GameTrailers, but Final Fantasy XIV has scored 4.2 out of 10 from Gametrailers, and 4.0 out of 10 from Gamespot. And the game looks atrocious!

This is actually rather hilarious.
A numerical installment in Final Fantasy series is trashed by critics for the very first time.
These are dark times for Squeenix - time's without hope. What motivates a gaming company to release a game that most of us would run from?

With the disappointing release that was Final Fantasy XIII, my only hope now lies with FF Versus XIII. I am however worried how very little information/screenshots/gameplay footage we've seen so far, considering how long we've known about its existance. Do I smell problems?

[Dark Nemesis]

This is actually rather hilarious.
A numerical installment in Final Fantasy series is trashed by critics for the very first time.
These are dark times for Squeenix - time's without hope. What motivates a gaming company to release a game that most of us would run from?

lol!!!

FFXIII is already a dissapointment to me and i wouldn't play FFXIV. It's just not my style of gaming!!!! I think that SquareEnix has ruined one of the best RPG series with FFXIII and FIV...............

[Harrycombs]

I can't imagine that Square could release a game worse than 13... Square has been dead ever since Sakaguchi left about 10 years ago IMO.

Also, have you seen the footage that they showed at TGS of Versus? There was only like, 15 seconds of it. And the game has been in development for what, 4 years now? There was almost nothing finished. The city they showed was empty except the monster the guy was fighting, and the combat looked slow and clunky. Then it showed him walking around this wasteland where there was only one building and nothing else around it. What the hell has Square-Enix been doing these days? Once they run out of classic games to re-release they are going to go bankrupt.

[X]

I think Square Enix was iffy about releasing FFXIII since it was released in japan several years prior to us getting it over here. And hot on the heels of a desaster comes another one; FFXIV. Personally if I were in charge, I'd go back to a more simpler concept, like it was with the first six games.

What the hell has Square-Enix been doing these days? Once they run out of classic games to re-release they are going to go bankrupt.

They have yet to re-release Enix's other classic jems like Actraizer I & II, SoulBlazer, Ilusion of Gaia, etc. Good games and the all seem to have that same feel about them. I wonder if they're all part of the same story.

-X

[OmegaDL50]

They have yet to re-release Enix's other classic jems like Actraizer I & II, SoulBlazer, Ilusion of Gaia, etc. Good games and the all seem to have that same feel about them. I wonder if they're all part of the same story.

-X

SoulBlazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma are all sort of part of the same series sharing traits between one another in terms of story and gameplay progression (Basically needing to recreate the world after it was nearly destroyed). While they are Enix franchises they were developed by a company called Quintet.

ActRaiser which was also developed by Quintet as well also shares some similarities with the above games in that you are essentially God needing to recreate the world that was destroyed by a great evil.

At least there are some series that are still marketable and are decent that Square-Enix has yet to drive into the ground. Notably Dragon Quest for example.

Rather then focusing entirely on Final Fantasy and spin offs, there are many other IPs they have that could be explored for some diversity. A new Chrono game for example, Possibly a follow up to Einhander. Square also acquired Eidos and Taito, so there are those companies franchises to also consider for potential projects in terms of game development.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I think that ff well has run dry.

And yeah, there soooooooo many good games they could be working on. I'd love a ds version of Terranigma or a sequel to Secret of Evermore (I don't know why but I. Love that game).

Instead, it's crappy ff after crappy ff.  Ffxiii is sitting on a shelf, abandoned.

Also LOL Zobek quote! XD

[shelverton.]

Hopefully the reviews of FF14 is a wake-up call for Squeenix, but I wouldn't count on it... I'm under the impression that the company feel it's OMG invincible and that critics and gamers will love whatever it pulls out of its megalomaniac ass. Maybe Squeenix think that people will continue buying their products regardless of the quality? That may be the case for a while - the Final Fantasy brand is after all TEH HUEG! - but I'm willing to bet that FF14 will not be the commercial success of its forefathers. And once you hit the downhill slope... well, companies have gone from BIG to bankrupt before.

Imagine what would've happened to Nintendo if the DS and the Wii hadn't become so succesful. The difference between Nintendo and SquareEnix is that Nintendo knows what they're doing. I'm not crazy about Nintendo but DAMN! ...They really turned the ship around. It was totally unexpected after the "semi-failure" of the Gamecube, and I totally admire Nintendo for it.

And YES! Secret of Evermore ftw. I am also forever in love with Secret of Mana and wouldn't mind a 3DS (or even Wii) remake of it. Or even better; Seiken Densetsu 3. The day SquareEnix announced that Seiken 3 wouldn't get a worldwide release, I literally cried for hours. I was a nerdy kid with no friends, mind you.

[Kale]

I thought gamecube was relatively successful. it paled in comparison to the ps2, but still good.

[crisis]

I too am a fan of Secret of Evermore.


But if Square-Enix were to start making sequels to beloved franchises like Chrono, then I'm afraid it would horribly backfire IMO. The company just isn't what it used to be, with their EXTREMELY LONG development cycles & cheesy influences. The SNES era is where they shined, when they were still SquareSoft.


Nowadays a third Chrono title would prolly be called "Chrono Trigger: Triple Locked X 33rd," with cel-shaded graphics & somehow part of the Fabula Nova Crystalis-whatever universe. Blegh.

[shelverton.]

I thought gamecube was relatively successful. it paled in comparison to the ps2, but still good.

It was probably doing alright, but it paled not only in comparision to the PS2, but was also somewhat overshadowed by the original Xbox, which was Microsofts first attempt at the console market whilst Nintendo had years of experience.

Point is, Nintendo went from being a frontrunner in the 80's (and the better part of the 90's), to being a harmless bystander. At least in the console wars. It all began with the N64, continued with the Virtual Boy and then culminated with the Gamecube, which admittedly was a damn fine console which enjoyed reasonable success, but not by Nintendo standards. It seems it wasn't really taken seriously.

More importantly, nobody expected Nintendo to ever compete for real with Sony and Microsoft again, probably not even Nintendo itself, which is obvious when you look at the Wii which is sort of playing in its very own league this generation.

[Harrycombs]

Point is, Nintendo went from being a frontrunner in the 80's (and the better part of the 90's), to being a harmless bystander. At least in the console wars. It all began with the N64, continued with the Virtual Boy and then culminated with the Gamecube, which admittedly was a damn fine console which enjoyed reasonable success, but not by Nintendo standards. It seems it wasn't really taken seriously.

Nintendo pretty much met no competition with the Game Boy Advance, which was highly successful at the same time. They were doing pretty damn well despite the Gamecube's lackluster results.

[shelverton.]

Nintendo pretty much met no competition with the Game Boy Advance, which was highly successful at the same time. They were doing pretty damn well despite the Gamecube's lackluster results.

Yeah, hence the "harmless bystander. At least in the console wars". Nintendo always did well in the handheld market, but they used to be at the very top of the console market too. And now they are, again, despite a few hard years. Sega couldn't do it, but I guess they had it worse than Nintendo...

Anyway, I'm getting way off topic now. I was meaning to say that if SquareEnix start slipping, I don't think they'll recover. If they start making Final Fantasy games that not even the game critics like, people will stop buying them, and the Final Fantasy name is doomed. A 4.0 out of 10 score is not just "bad", it's really really terrible. I'm sure it's gonna have an impact on sales, anything below 5.0 usually has. Or maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember a game like that selling a lot of copies...

[OmegaDL50]

To be perfectly honest, I think the main contributing factor that made FFXIV an unmitigated disaster was that it is an online title and everyone should know how FFXI was not as well received because it was also an online title.

But again FFXIII also has seen it's share of harsh criticism mostly due to the fact of the lack of exploration and extreme linear progression and character interaction was mostly exclusive to just your own party members with very few significant NPCs. Most of the  series conventions thrown out the window such as the removal of most statistical values leaving only HP, STR, MAG which in turn gave less depth to the combat and building your characters. There is also the issue that Tetsuya Nomura behind the game and every single FF game in which he had a major involvement he has never done a single title that takes place during a medieval era or was flavored with strong western or European designs or locales.

FFVII, VIII, X, and XIII are all FF games in which Nomura had a major influence as character artist and art direction and not a single one of these games had that medieval appeal of the series earliest installments or the more recent non-Nomura titles such as FFIX and FFXII which both titles felt completely different in terms of style and art direction which also affected the types of characters and locales present in the game.

The last and probably most predominate reason why I feel that the FF series is rapidly losing touch with it's fanbase is the fact that each game in the series does something different the previous game before it. Be it the Junction System from FF8, or Materia from FF7, or even the License Board in FF12. The only true constant in the FF series is that something will change in some shape or form. However there has been so much change the last couple of games that there very little to be recognized that the series is based on.

Take example of the Dragon Quest series for example. If you put Dragon Quest 1 along side Dragon Quest 8 or even 9 and compare the original title with the more recent one you can easily see comparisons and similarities to be had between the two.

However if you take FF1 and compare it with FF13, there is almost little to no recognition to be had between the two and one could almost think both games are from two completely different series.

I want that cohesiveness that gives the Final Fantasy games a recognizable image to return to. A level of familiarity somewhat.

I just want another FF title along the lines of something like FF6 or FF9. A massive adventure with some freedom of exploration, a conventional leveling and growth system, a medieval or steampunk setting filled with Knights and Sorcery in a traditional single player package. This is my hopes for the next idea single player FF game.

I just hope because FF14 used a medieval setting and was a failure doesn't doom future single player installments from trying such more classic FF approach.

And before it is stated "Why not just play one of the older games then if you want that then"

Because I want an entirely NEW game, with NEW characters, and NEW enemies, with it's own story and unique locales, but a modernized take on the medieval and classic FF formula, not a rehash of an old game to redundancy.

[Munchy]

New. Act. Raiser.

Where is it, Square Enix? WHERE?

[ShinAkumaXX]

The last FF I bought was 12, I've had no interest in 13 sadly. It just doesn't look that cool. I think I like my FF medieval and magical looking. With knights and wizards. Maybe a ninja. Any how my favorite was Tactics, and they never did a sequel for a console. Why isn't there another Chrono game? Get Akira Toriyama, and make something that looks like Chrono Trigger in cartoon mode. Now that they can actually do games like that. That would be sweet, something like Dragon Quest VIII type but of course in the current HD quality. Heck they can remake the old RPGs I already have and love. That sort of thing would be fine with me, and they could introduce them to new players. I'm sure everyone would love FFVII totally redone right? Why did they make numerical FF games as MMORPG's anyhow? They should of just had some game called Final Fantasy Online. Not interested at all in any case. Shoot I don't have any square games on 360. Sad. There aren't any that look awesome to me. Half my ps1 games are from Square but only a few on ps2. I think they went down hill for me after ps1 then. But I prefer the RPGs on ps1 and SNES by far so I guess that's okay.