Concepts/Ideas you wish FF games implemented but haven't yet.

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
I was having a conversation with my fellow mechaphile Kaihedgie about the Magitek Armors in FF6/FF13/FF14/FF15 and how they are used mostly as afterthoughts in the games they've been in.

Not really even something you could take advantage of or hijack, but just a post-game unlock, if even that.

What the heck?

FF13 even demonstrated the idea of a summon you could RIDE, but it was limited to cutscenes and short battle events.

It's like they have all these excellent ideas but just CANNOT get them to connect or operate well.

There's so much good stuff out there they could do but haven't. I've seen Batman games pull off more over-the-top ideas than most FFs have tried.

As a prospecting game designer, I want to KNOW what people want to see... Even examples of ways it can be done.

Well, that's what this thread is for. Brainstorming ways to make a better RPG than Square-Enix!
 

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
I know it makes cutscenes more difficult but I feel they can do another try at a hireable partymember like Shadow. But in a more expansive game where he doesn't just appear and reappear but rather leads his own life in the gameworld
 

ChipNoir

Pro Adventurer
I've been fascinated by the idea of a Noir-Horror FF world. I know a lot of what VII was going to be got channeled into Parasite Eve, but there's also still a lot that got lost even in that transference.
 

Lulcielid

Eyes of the Lord
AKA
Lulcy
I was having a conversation with my fellow mechaphile Kaihedgie about the Magitek Armors in FF6/FF13/FF14/FF15 and how they are used mostly as afterthoughts in the games they've been in.

Not really even something you could take advantage of or hijack, but just a post-game unlock, if even that.

What the heck?

FF13 even demonstrated the idea of a summon you could RIDE, but it was limited to cutscenes and short battle events.

It's like they have all these excellent ideas but just CANNOT get them to connect or operate well.
For the Magitek Armor thing, my reasoning is that they are not something that they could constantly and consitently put/use as part of the core game loop in meaningful ways and thus they were not worth investing effort in making them usable. In simpler terms, why waste effort in something that won't be used a lot (or can't justify having it as something crucially needed for the experience).
 

Obsidian Fire

Ahk Morn!
AKA
The Engineer
^In one of the FFXIV developer streams around the 4.1 patch, the devs said that most of the FFVII mini-games were a result of having too many (board) programmers working on the game.

As far as ridable mecha go... FFXIV's new PvP mode is going to have them.
 

X-SOLDIER

Harbinger O Great Justice
AKA
X
For a number of reasons: I wanna see something where Chocobos are solidly integrated into the very core game experience.

Like it's you as the main character and your Chocobo through thick and thin, and the other folk you meet along the way on X mission to stop whatever force of darkness. When you start out, you name & design your Chocobo companion to your liking (colour and whatnot), and then you use them to go from A to B to start your journey. They don't work like a character, but sometimes they'll dash into battle to assist you, and you'll get some moves that call on them for help. Then there're times where they can't follow you in somewhere, and you don't get those benefits. You'll have minigames where you can choose to race them, and there're other integrated IX-like hot-cold minigames with them as well, so that you can hunt for items for the both of you to use.

I also think it'd be cool to have that as another FF game focus really heavily on the fantasy elements of it, because that seems more important in a setting with little to no technology. Take some of the little fantastical things from all of the games to build the world: Mogs (big and small), Chocobos, Moomba, Black Mages, etc. Make the airships like boats, and cannons are about the only technological weaponry there. Big on magic and spells as a source of all your technology-equivalent things, so that the Summons and other things really stand out as being overwhelmingly powerful, but it's all grounded by the sort of "me & my chocobo" viewpoint to keep the scope in check.


Also, the Chocobo ALWAYS overcomes the trials and things where it might even be at risk to try and save you. No dying heroically. Moments of being separated and reuniting are fine. Happy ending with you & the chocobo required.




X :neo:
 

ChipNoir

Pro Adventurer
I think they were working on something like that, using a bizzaro track-ball set up control, but the idea fell by the wayside.

I'm very surprised a serious attempt at a chocobo breeding and racing game has never been tried. I know there was some facebook mobile game, but that hardly counts.
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
On that subject, Bartz and Boco come to mind. Was really nice the way of life Bartz had in FFV.

Odin had a similar relationship with Lightning in FFXIIILR.
 

Lex

Administrator
X, Lightning Returns kinda does all that with the chocobo.

I'd like to see party banter in a game that lets me switch out characters a la dragon age. Yes there was party banter in XV but it doesn't have the same replayability.
 

Joker

We have come to terms
AKA
Godot
There are a lot of basic game systems that are missing from most ff games. The first one that comes to mind is crafting. The only games that had any level of crafting were 8, 9, and 10 (12 doesn't quite count), but only 10 had actual customization. What I'd like to see is crafting on the level of materia, where it fundamentaslly changes how the character plays. For example, let's take Cloud and the Buster Sword. Maybe I'd like to play him as a speedy physical attacker, so I'd customize it to deal less damage while increasing speed and maybe crit rate. Mayybe I want him to just hit hard, so he would be slower but deal more damage. Maybe I want him to be tankier, so he's a bit heavier, slowing him down but increasing his defenses (he could hide behind it while defending lul). Magic? Sure, why not. Being able to shape your character's playstyles with weapon and armor customization would be great.

Then there's things like body part vulnerabilities, a la xenosaga, more sidequests (9 had the right idea here), and more superbosses (10 had several, 7 had two, it had like four, etc).

I like choice in my games, and not just in the dialogue, so things that let me play the game how i want to play are key.
 

ChipNoir

Pro Adventurer
There are a lot of basic game systems that are missing from most ff games. The first one that comes to mind is crafting. The only games that had any level of crafting were 8, 9, and 10 (12 doesn't quite count), but only 10 had actual customization. What I'd like to see is crafting on the level of materia, where it fundamentaslly changes how the character plays. For example, let's take Cloud and the Buster Sword. Maybe I'd like to play him as a speedy physical attacker, so I'd customize it to deal less damage while increasing speed and maybe crit rate. Mayybe I want him to just hit hard, so he would be slower but deal more damage. Maybe I want him to be tankier, so he's a bit heavier, slowing him down but increasing his defenses (he could hide behind it while defending lul). Magic? Sure, why not. Being able to shape your character's playstyles with weapon and armor customization would be great.

Then there's things like body part vulnerabilities, a la xenosaga, more sidequests (9 had the right idea here), and more superbosses (10 had several, 7 had two, it had like four, etc).

I like choice in my games, and not just in the dialogue, so things that let me play the game how i want to play are key.

We've known for a while now that body part vulnerability is gonna be a thing in FFVII-R. And you can bet we're gonna have SOME sort of crafting element for keeping the gameplay fresh across possibly three whole games.

Plus that kinda thing would be extremely helpful for multi-player elements, which Square is now sniffing around quite intensely.
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
If there was one thing I always wanted, it was an Equipment System like FFXIV has that reflects your appearance.

I'm not talking job-class specific though that might come in to play, but a game that reflects on traditional FF equipment older games had.

A good example is Warrior of Light from Dissidia. His equipment evokes Amano a lot, which I loved design-wise. If you could change your equipment for your whole party (not just jackets or shirts like FFXV which is a modern take), it would invoke a very classic FF style that I appreciated.
 

ChipNoir

Pro Adventurer
If there was one thing I always wanted, it was an Equipment System like FFXIV has that reflects your appearance.

I'm not talking job-class specific though that might come in to play, but a game that reflects on traditional FF equipment older games had.

A good example is Warrior of Light from Dissidia. His equipment evokes Amano a lot, which I loved design-wise. If you could change your equipment for your whole party (not just jackets or shirts like FFXV which is a modern take), it would invoke a very classic FF style that I appreciated.

Problem with that is form and function almost always clash in RPGs. Nothing sucks more than finding the armor you like the look of most has shit stats, or vice versa.
 

Claymore

3x3 Eyes
I've always wanted a fully fledged context sensitive / timing combat system, and I felt really teased by the inclusion of pressing R1 for more damage in VIII. I'm really surprised that they haven't done something yet, as it helps bridge the gap between turn based and action gameplay. Something akin to the Shadow Hearts series, where you unleash a combo - of varying lengths - depending on if you succeed in pressing the onscreen button prompts.

But FF could go into a heck of a lot more depth. Pressing the correct button prompts could strengthen the base damage of a magic attack. Or a different combo could allow less damage but the feature to attack multiple targets. A second layer of this could be chaining combos together, allowing party members to work combinations together, including new fusions and outcomes of magic attacks.

The other thing was like Gog mentioned about specific body part targeting. I don't know how indepth the VIIR is going to be, but Vagrant Story was just amazing in that regard.
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
If there was one thing I always wanted, it was an Equipment System like FFXIV has that reflects your appearance.

I'm not talking job-class specific though that might come in to play, but a game that reflects on traditional FF equipment older games had.

A good example is Warrior of Light from Dissidia. His equipment evokes Amano a lot, which I loved design-wise. If you could change your equipment for your whole party (not just jackets or shirts like FFXV which is a modern take), it would invoke a very classic FF style that I appreciated.

Problem with that is form and function almost always clash in RPGs. Nothing sucks more than finding the armor you like the look of most has shit stats, or vice versa.

That can easily be remedied with Equipment customization/Item Making.

Remember how in FFXIII-2 they had Monsters you could tweak the abilities of?

Same idea, equipment could be modified and have it's own unique stats to suit a player's needs.
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
Yeahp.

You'd use the Equipment you "want" as a base, and adjust the stats/abilities by item enhancements.
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
I really want there to be a free cam, especially since they're focusing more on an open world type of game style, with programmed AIs living lives and stuff. Some of my favorite things to do in FFs is gawk at the details, and a free cam would allow me to focus in on that bird's nest in Costa del Sol, or look at Rabanastre from a unique vantage point.
 

Obsidian Fire

Ahk Morn!
AKA
The Engineer
^My one complaint with the /gpose camera in FFXIV (which is awesome by the way) is that the camera is still locked to your character when you move it. It would be great if we had the option to unlock it and then move it.
 

Geostigma

Pro Adventurer
AKA
gabe
I wish Final Fantasy 14 (well any MMO to be completely honest) would just completely rip off everything about BDO that isn't the combat/cash shop gated side grades.


Seriously. Black Desert Online is an incredible game that is just ruined by an insane experience grind post level 56 (were talking weeks per level up here) and other slight money gouging tactics that prevent you from fully optimizing your game time.


The good stuff though? Jeez I've never played a game like it.

The profession system is so.freaking.robust, it's not like most games where you pick from like 2 main professions and a few sub professions. Nope it just splits the whole thing off into "life skills" and you can use and level up any profession at your leisure. The catch is that executing an action in most professions (especially gathering) uses up a point of "energy"

How do you get more "energy" You explore the world! Talk to every NPC and have conversations with them. There is sort of like a index you can fill out with locations, topography (being at the base of a mountain wont cut it! :P) , NPC's etc. The more of the world you experience the more Energy your toons get. Furthermore through having favorable conversations with NPC's you can gain favor with them for better prices, and even unlock quests and new dialogue which may increase your chances of gaining better standing with other NPC's.

With that in mind back to professions, they also did a great job of making every profession worth while. In fact some of the richest players in the game are near maxed out in several professions. Every item you can gather or generate has value, and if it doesn't sell well on the market there is another profession called "Trading" which is great for offloading items you don't want to put in the market place, which if you level it up enough is actually an incredible way to get rich if you pair with another profession and trade off items you craft in mass.


Due to the way the professions and the NPC's interact with each other it also feels like a real world. If you really want to make the most of it you need to experience as much as you can in the world and go exploring. I can't tell you how awesome it felt when I made my first little raft and was able to go out into the ocean. I literally spent 2 hours out there just goofing off, my mind was even more blown when I almost got killed by a big ass shark thing, or when I realized I could get off my boat and dive and there were items to gather even at the bottom lol.




The real thing that just blows my mind is the "Worker" system. You can if you want basically become a slave driver and have an auto gathering and crafting system empire rolling while you are online (This is both amazing and a problem which I'll get to in a second).

So to explain the mechanics there is a third energy system called "Contribution Points" , in BDO quests don't give experience at all they give Contribution Experience. Every time you level up your contribution you get 1 point etc. IIRC you can get up to around 250 but there are some people with much more.

So in every city there is a housing system. You can rent out houses with various functions and you pay for it with Contribution. These functions range from being Tailor huts, to Blacksmiths and importantly Worker Housing.

In every city there is also a Work Manager NPC who you can purchase randomly Generated Workers or also Workers that other players have leveled up. There are 3 types with varying pros and cons, basically goblins are fast, humans are balanced, giants are slow but can get better luck gathering.

Every time the Workers complete a task they get experience and can level up and learn new attributes and perks which may make them better suited for different tasks. The things you can make these guys do is almost limitless they can do basically all crafting (they can even make boats), they can gather , cook etc.

On top of the housing system is a "Node" System it's basically areas in the world map that branch out from the City's that you can send a worker to to gather. Different nodes have different items to get some are amazing, some are terrible.

The cool thing is that in order to be able to send a worker there you need to unlock the node. You have to physically go out there and open it up, and several are surrounded by really really tough monsters. Additionally in order for a node to be active it must have all nodes between it and the city active as well.

So if I have a Node that I want thats far left of City B, Ideally I would want to send a worker I purchased and housed in City B to go there. Since sending a worker from City A would require me to connect every node between City A and B together on top of the nodes between the Node and City B.

Here is an image of my nodes in the south west portion of the map to give you an idea

2xfZ4On.png
So this system ends up being a cool game with in the game, because if you really really want to optimize your worker routes you have to account for travel speed, managing your contribution points for housing and nodes and also setting up optimal paths. And of course having to go out in the world to explore and find said nodes. It's very neat and really feels nice once you have an optimal empire up and running.

So for the most part Workers generally gather slower than you do in any one task. Of course the difference being is that Workers don't have "Energy Points" to worry about and well you can have like 30 of them out at once so it adds up over time.

Here in lies the problem with the worker empire though (and to an extent the game). They only work when you are online. This has lead to basically every serious player of the game basically never logging out. Since Gold is how you gain strength in BDO and not necessarily leveling up, in order to get the gold and keep up with the economy you have to keep the empire running constantly.

Which is well pretty shit lol.

Over all though the game is wonderful in it's own weird way. I honestly just can't downplay the sense of wonder I had in this game when I first went out on the ocean or when I caught my first horse. The life Skills side of the game is just so good and it really makes you feel like you can do anything you want. It's just brought down by tiny things that add up so fast.

I really wish more games would rip off its systems lol.
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
See also: valkyrie profile

do that again

Something I've really liked about the VP series: Map flying.

Mode 7 (SNES term, look it up) was always awesome.

I know Airships or in FFXV's case "flying cars" can do it... but modern RPGs rarely do this idea of global flying anymore, either because of 3D loading issues or some other factor.

The closest I've seen is the transition used in the Batman Arkham games... where Batman can float/dive/grapel to his destinations.

Superman'ing around from several kilometers in the sky is an epic feeling... and I think more RPGs need to implement it.
 

Sprites

Waiting for something
AKA
Gems
I'd like to see summons interact more with the person they're given too, it'd be really cool if they had a conversation every now and again with their summoner in their mind or something, gave them advice on battles I feel like they only touch briefly on this idea, it'd be kinda cool to explore it more.
 

jazzflower92

Pro Adventurer
AKA
The Girl With A Strong Opinion
I would like to see more varied protagonists, not just the teen-young adult male characters.
 
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