....Wait, what was FFXII and FFXV then?
LOL see
this is what I'm talking about. The fact some fans seemingly grasp onto arbitrary (and I mean arbitrary in the sense that it's held as the paragon of a trope/setting/etc) entries yet memory hole others that do precisely what they seemingly say they look for or want, speaks to the futility of "wanting" an FF for a particular reason or "need."
A future FF could literally do e
very single thing every person in this threads states they want. Let's say hypothetically S-E is listening to this very thread and 8 years from now FFXVI is released and it is a massive, content rich 4 disc Blu Ray game that within the story covers numerous settings, weapon styles, incorporated numerous political dramas, carries a fantasy AND high tech aesthetic, and tells the most compelling, well written character story that is simultaneously timeless yet cogent to the times we live in. It's without question, a critically acclaimed masterpiece of storytelling and gameplay.
....Half of the people here would still hate it anyways or find it to be lacking.
Why? Because the inclusion of any arbitrary standard or trope isn't going to magically make a game good or appealing. Plenty of bad games have good elements fans like, yet they still are terrible. FF games aren't good because they are more of X, or Y and less of Z or A. I don't care how similar FF games may be back to back, if they are good, they will be
good because they will be good in their development and writing.
Coming out of the double critical acclaim of FFVII and FFVIII, the masses were not clamouring to a return to old school Nintendo FF roots.
Some may have been, but the majority were not. They wanted to see the modern technological and futuristic setting juxtaposed with reality pushed further. The last thing on their minds were call backs to the NES or SNES. It was the cusp of the transition to next gen, where graphics and tech were on the rise. FFX was what people were salivating for, not IX. Yet IX stands as one of the greatest entries in the franchise. Because it's
phenomenal.
I'm going to put one of my favorite games on blast but Resident Evil 6 is a cautionary tale of what happens when you take a heavily invested fanbase too seriously. Resident Evil has the problem if needing to evolve the franchise and maintain it's identity as a survival horror franchise but grow market liquidity and interest through appealing to a broad demographic. Which creates at least 3 opposing camps of fans that are on the RE train. Fans of pure survival horror, fans of heart racing action, and fans who like lore, puzzles and story. Capcom got the bright idea to mash EVERYTHING together in the largest, heaviest, most content rich and varied RE installment which included the most popular characters in the franchise. It literally has everything fans explicitly said they wanted at the time and the result?
They pleased very few. They got hammered for it. I personally believe it was a reactionary backlash but the fact is that because they listened to their fans and formulaically tried to cater to the wants and needs of their fans they paradoxically displeased them in the process. If you'd have asked me what the next main RE game I would have wanted after 6, I'd have told you a game that features Jill and a game that looks at what the fuck happened to Jake Mueller. I certainly wouldn't have said a first person game starring a random fucking nobody named Ethan that takes place in Louisiana and the most threatening monster is a goddamn sadistic nutbag Louisiana Southerner who chases you through a house with a shovel and then tries to kill you with his car.
But it is what I wanted. It's my favorite! I just didn't know it at the time!
Aside from rare exceptions like FFVII Remake, no one's favorites spawn from an audience placing an order like at a restaurant. It happens because the artists and workers exhibit a creative talent and skill that resonates. I was cold towards FFIX, and FFXIII because the entries that came before them made me want more of what I just consumed. Yet, when I engaged with the title on its own merits, I
loved them. Because while they weren't what I wanted, they were what I needed.
It won't mean a damn thing if XVI has a sword wielding angsty protagonist who rides a Chocobo out a medieval castle surrounded by orcs, to prevent a world ending cataclysm that inevitably ends with him dying gruesomely at the end. As long as it's good, genuine and tells a meaningful story with entertaining gameplay, those choices will mean nothing. You can argue that them reaching those quality goals might be more difficult because they (the writers) choose to go that direction, but people play on hard mode all the time. Throwing down absolutes like, that would be the deal breaker for the game, makes no sense. Final Fantasy isn't a menu curated experience. They're going to create something, that will not be based on some arbitrary standard. It will reflect fantasy. It'll be like a dream. Some dreams are so good you never want to wake up from. Some dreams are obviously dreams that leave you knowing you're dreaming. And some dreams are
nightmares. But they're all fantasy, and that's what we will get.
