Final Fantasy XVI

[Tashasaurous]

I never understood why the games were called Final Fantasy, or why almost all of them never even mentioned the meaning of the titles within the stories. The only games that did mention the word Final Fantasy as far as I know were Dissidia Final Fantasy(and it's prequel/remake) and Final Fantasy Type 0(HD).

 

[Obsidian Fire]

So... Final Fantasy 1 was called "Final Fantasy" because Square Soft was very, very sure it was going to be the last game they ever could make because of how much economic trouble they were in at the time. It was pretty much the last "hurrah!" for the game company. Instead it sold ridiculously well, saved the company from going under and in the process launched what would become one of the most beloved JRPG franchises in gaming history.

The tiles of "Final Fantasy" games have nothing to do with what the game is actually about. Which can be kind of frusterating on one hand, on the other, it also means the "title" can be whatever you want it to be and doesn't inform a lot about the kind of game you expect just by reading the title.

 

[looneymoon]

tbh I just want some simplicity and coherence to the story telling. not needing to rely on 3 entries of supplementary media, and bunch of side story novellas, and 3 ultimania to have the narrative come across with any sort of clarity would be a relief.

other than that, go ham with setting, design, whatever

 

[Odysseus]

Hopefully the development won't be the same clusterfuck that XV had, yeah. It kinda blew my mind when Lex pointed out that XIII was the last standard, original FF we've had, since XV started as part of XIII's EU and XIV is an MMO. I'm hoping that whatever XVI is, they take the opportunity to get a real fresh start with things.

 

[Ite]

They've actually already played that game before.

That's what Bravely Default: The Flying Fairy is.

Bravely Default: FF

Dangit Mako my "To Play" pile can only get so big

I mean since we have zero knowledge about this thing and are spitballing like crazy, I would love to see something like a white mage main character. "W.Wiz" was Nintendo-speak for "AD&D Priest," but what it did, perhaps unintentionally, was create a completely new 'secular healer' archetype* that has endured through FF as well as its copycats and then into the general zeitgeist. I think it's a fascinating concept, and it hasn't really gotten the main character treatment before.

What made FF7R and FFXII feel like true-blue Final Fantasy games, maybe more than anything else, was seeing words like Firaga and Hi-Potion and scrolling through spell and inventory lists mid-combat. There's a kind of jargon to the Final Fantasy combat flow, that's been pretty consistent throughout the series (inb4 "Cure2" stans). Otherwise, we can always expect the unexpected with a FF title (is this what they meant at E3 when they said "complete final fantasy experience"??) but I do expect three things: 1. a party of characters that you control, 2. lots of options in combat, and 3. chocobos. XV backpedaled after skipping on the first of these things, and the MMOs obviously eschewed this, but isn't that why XV was "unfinished" and the MMO's "don't count"?

I don't expect coherency or depth anymore. Hope? Yes. Expect? Fool me twice...

Re: @ForceStealer if we're counting optional characters, VI breaks this rule with Mog. If we're not counting optional characters, VII breaks this rule with Yuffie. Also, I love how small V's cast is that it still has a majority female cast despite following this rule

*

Spoiler: srsly tho

I've been sitting on this post for 30 mins chatting with my friend trying to think of another healer character from myth or pop culture who wasn't tied to some form of higher power. Yuna's story has you visiting temples on a holy pilgrimmage to beg celestials to do your fighting for you... I don't think that counts. Wolverine gets the main character status but isn't a healer per-se, more the unstoppable barbarian archetype. Greek centaur Chiron invented medicine but he's descended from gods and is basically himself a "divine" conduit (in a very creepy way from a sociology standpoint, oh The Greeks...). Stories across time have shamans and miracle workers but they're all tied to higher powers. We thought Moana for a bit, but even then her central function as a healer is to heal a god. Where are my doctors at!?!? Hospital procedural shows are the only type of story where secular healers get the spotlight. GIVE ME THAT IN A FANTASY WORLD WHERE IT IS MAGIC INSTEAD INSULIN. Give me Fantasy Adventure Grey's Anatomy. Wait a minute, hold the phone, Tangled might count, that's basically a white mage and a rogue... I would be so easily sold if I saw a Final Fantasy that looked as charming as Tangled (that didn't have Donald Duck in it).

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I want them to make something they love and believe in, that combines emotional depth and powerful themes with utter goofiness. Give me characters of diverse genders, ages, ethnicities and backgrounds, including one talking animal. There must be many plot-holes.

 

[Wol]

I want a realized world that builds its themes and lore through sidequests that doesn't offend my intelligence... doesn't make me waste time doing vapid chores.

 

[Roger]

....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 every 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.

Resident Evil had been moving further away from survival horror and more towards action with every single entry until 7. Resident Evil 6 is NOT what every single fan said they wanted. Plenty of people had been clamoring for it to be more survival horror. And is horror about being scared, vulnerable. Being part of taskforce specially skilled in dealing with zombies and having a partner at your side who doesn't need to protecting but is as competent as you are isn't scary.

And I'm not throwing down absolute likes but this is a Final Fantasy discussion forum, there's nothing wrong with discussing what we would like to see in the next game. Or to discuss things one has consistently disliked in previous entries.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Any game that figures out how to make side-quests not feel like chores will go down in history for not having fetch quests.

FFXIV has the Scholar healer that heals with magic shaped by math. I kid you not. Granted, it has healing fairies beside you, but it's clarified from the get-go that those are essentially ethereal AIs created a while ago and not actually gods. Astrologin might also count as a "secular" healer as it's healing spells and buffs directly stem from the aether of space and distant stars instead of any god/religion in particular...

I do expect three things: 1. a party of characters that you control, 2. lots of options in combat, and 3. chocobos.

I'd say the first two are on the out in a lot of ways. Even back in the days of ATB, you were really only issuing orders to one character at a time... It was just that you could issue orders to the entire party one by one. Ever since FFXII, the AI has picked up on the slack of that so you're effectively only controlling one character at once (if that in FFXII and FFXIII). FFVIIR is attempting to let you control everyone at a much faster pace with a lot more options, but it doesn't feel like an FF game to me. It feels and looks like an action game with the FF brand and characters. I've kinda given up on FF games giving me combat I actually want to play at this point; it's become obvious that the combat system isn't part of what makes an FF game an FF game as far as SE are concerned.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Every sidequest is a meaningless busy exercise that simply window dresses itself to make you forget that is what it is.

Sidequests are those types of things where the player experience and preference ultimately define it's validity. There's no one-size-fits or exemplary model that uniformly confirms the best way to make it work. There may be strong examples of side quests that are mostly poorly thought out and lame, but that's always easier to establish since it's the absence of quality.

Sania Yeagre having you, a prince on a quest to save your country from invasion, hunt camouflaged frogs for a fucking Ribbon, is easy to establish as the baseline of terrible ass sidequesting. But that's the bottom. The further from the bottom you get, the harder it is to determine the paragon.

Resident Evil had been moving further away from survival horror and more towards action with every single entry until 7. Resident Evil 6 is NOT what every single fan said they wanted. Plenty of people had been clamoring for it to be more survival horror. And is horror about being scared, vulnerable. Being part of taskforce specially skilled in dealing with zombies and having a partner at your side who doesn't need to protecting but is as competent as you are isn't scary.

And I'm not throwing down absolute likes but this is a Final Fantasy discussion forum, there's nothing wrong with discussing what we would like to see in the next game. Or to discuss things one has consistently disliked in previous entries.

Leon and Helena's campaign, along with part of Ada's is a love song to the Survival Horror of Resident Evil 6. It is a tacit acknowledgement from Capcom saying, "This is what you all like right? Here, this is it, right here." And it serves this somewhat, but it is effectively diluted and ineffective.

Resident Evil 6 does this for the varying competing factions of the fandom, by smashing them all together in a Red Mage-esque game that is a Jack-of-All-Trade but master of none. Yes, a sizable RE fanbase wants more Survival Horror, but there are also fans who want more action, more "lore," and more things like action, that are different. The Survival Horror base is considered the default, but they aren't the only audience.

And sure, you can discuss what you want to see in the next game, but the point I was making is, those wants do not necessarily create a good Final Fantasy. In fact, those wants can be easily met and satisfied, yet still cause a Final Fantasy to still be completely invalid. FFs that include the very things some people say they want, already exist, but because of some other factor, they are either forgotten or seen as insufficient. An FF needs to be good, not just arbitrarily meeting a list.

 

[Ite]

And I'm not throwing down absolute likes but this is a Final Fantasy discussion forum, there's nothing wrong with discussing what we would like to see in the next game. Or to discuss things one has consistently disliked in previous entries.

Wise birbday wisdom <3

If there is an announcement, our conversation will shift from "what is a final fantasy" to "what is this up in here?" "who dat? he pretty!" "architecture!" All in due time.

I remember the before and after of XII's announcement. Knowing that a new FF was coming down the pipes was all about "will it be another mmo?" "will it be fantasy or sci-fi" very similar to this thread actually. Once there was a poster of the main character the discussion became COMPLETELY about Vaan's chest for like six months. I'm interested to discuss what we end up looking at, too, but I actually love this pre-announcement buzz. It gives me a cool window into what general things stick with people, what trends have overstayed (or understayed) their welcome.

Goddamnit it, why am I still a Final Fantasy geek!? Curse you, duplicitous mistress!

 

[looneymoon]

Good side quests really falls on how well written they are tbh. That's what makes you want to stray from the main path to follow them. Create some intrigue - make a fascinating narrative within the narrative. This is what's made The Witcher games so praise worthy - a lot of the side quests are stories that are just as, if not more, compelling than the main narrative.

A fetch quest can be fine if you create some motivation to see what happens in the next part of the chain. Put some thought in making the mcguffin something of interest. Develop the NPCs. Don't make the outcome of the questlines painfully predictable. Give them some layers to their plots. The recent single player FFs (FF13s, FFXV, FF7R) haven't been very good with this.

 

[Claymore]

And I'm not throwing down absolute likes but this is a Final Fantasy discussion forum, there's nothing wrong with discussing what we would like to see in the next game. Or to discuss things one has consistently disliked in previous entries.

Thank you. This right here.

 

[Roger]

Leon and Helena's campaign, along with part of Ada's is a love song to the Survival Horror of Resident Evil 6. It is a tacit acknowledgement from Capcom saying, "This is what you all like right? Here, this is it, right here." And it serves this somewhat, but it is effectively diluted and ineffective.

Resident Evil 6 does this for the varying competing factions of the fandom, by smashing them all together in a Red Mage-esque game that is a Jack-of-All-Trade but master of none. Yes, a sizable RE fanbase wants more Survival Horror, but there are also fans who want more action, more "lore," and more things like action, that are different. The Survival Horror base is considered the default, but they aren't the only audience.

Leon and Ada are both highly competent, trained individuals who know exactly what they are dealing with and feel powerful to play with. Even if they weren't, it's entirely predictable to try and do it in the same game with same combat and controls as the Chris action hero adventure isn't gonna be as effective as a game designed to be something specific from the ground up. Resident Evil 6 being the worst wasn't a surprise to anyone.

And sure, you can discuss what you want to see in the next game, but the point I was making is, those wants do not necessarily create a good Final Fantasy. In fact, those wants can be easily met and satisfied, yet still cause a Final Fantasy to still be completely invalid. FFs that include the very things some people say they want, already exist, but because of some other factor, they are either forgotten or seen as insufficient. An FF needs to be good, not just arbitrarily meeting a list.

FFXIV does a great job exploring what it means to be a dark knight, more so then any other FF before it. It helped that it was a setting where knights, people with swords and armor were walking around on the regular, same with dragoons and dragons and so on. If you want a main character to for instance be monk, a setting where monastics orders are a thing would help. We haven't really had one of those in a single player FF in a while. We are gonna see plenty of classic FF elements thrown into the next game, not having them isn't an option on the table really. I think the setting is generally stronger if they get played straight instead of the chocobos just being found in a petting zoo because they aren't actually useful in their current society anymore.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Leon and Ada are both highly competent, trained individuals who know exactly what they are dealing with and feel powerful to play with. Even if they weren't, it's entirely predictable to try and do it in the same game with same combat and controls as the Chris action hero adventure isn't gonna be as effective as a game designed to be something specific from the ground up. Resident Evil 6 being the worst wasn't a surprise to anyone.

...But, if it wasn't a surprise to anyone, why would Capcom have made it?

Obviously, that's not how it played out. It certainly surprised someone at Capcom, because it didn't meet the earnings projections for the quarter. It did well, but not as well as expected. No game developer seeks out to make a bad game or a mediocre game. It happens through a series of choices and miscalculations that they believed were an appeasement of the audience. And that appeasement is ironically, the action that ends up damning the game entirely. By trying to include everything for everyone. Feeding the fans what they say and think that they want.

 

[Roger]

...But, if it wasn't a surprise to anyone, why would Capcom have made it?

Obviously, that's not how it played out. It certainly surprised someone at Capcom, because it didn't meet the earnings projections for the quarter. It did well, but not as well as expected. No game developer seeks out to make a bad game or a mediocre game. It happens through a series of choices and miscalculations that they believed were an appeasement of the audience. And that appeasement is ironically, the action that ends up damning the game entirely. By trying to include everything for everyone. Feeding the fans what they say and think that they want.

Resident Evil started as a game set in a single mansion on a single day happening to small cast of characters dropped into a situation they don't understand. Resident Evil 6 is the most bombastic, globespanning entry with the most different number of paralell storylines going on in the franchise yet. A fan that requested something more like Resident Evil 1 can objectively point to RE6 and say this isn't that.

Saying there was nothing but the best of intentions and that every fan was listened to equally and every demand was in fact met and included simply isn't the case. RE6 took making Resident Evil protags into a team of superheros as far as it could, Resident 7 went back to the roots of narrowing the scope, cutting down on the cast of characters, and have the protagonist be in the dark about what is going on around him. And it turns out the latter is just a better a fit for zombie game.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Resident Evil started as a game set in a single mansion on a single day happening to small cast of characters dropped into a situation they don't understand. Resident Evil 6 is the most bombastic, globespanning entry with the most different number of paralell storylines going on in the franchise yet. A fan that requested something more like Resident Evil 1 can objectively point to RE6 and say this isn't that.

Again. That may have been how it started, but Resident Evil is a franchise that has appeal broader than that. That's obviously not the only genre of game it's done since then. Dead Aim, Gun Survivor, RE4, RE5, etc, etc. Even before RE6, to say Resident Evil was only a survival horror series would not be honest.

Saying there was nothing but the best of intentions and that every fan was listened to equally and every demand was in fact met and included simply isn't the case. RE6 took making Resident Evil protags into a team of superheros as far as it could, Resident 7 went back to the roots of narrowing the scope, cutting down on the cast of characters, and have the protagonist be in the dark about what is going on around him. And it turns out the latter is just a better a fit for zombie game.

Oh.. Really?

1UP: We wanted to know what your goals were at the start of the Resident Evil 6 project, and what was the scope of the game early on in development.

YH: To answer the first part of that question, one of our original goals was to create a horror game, of course, but we wanted to create what we're calling "horror entertainment." We realized that there's a segment of the population out there that likes entertainment, but not necessarily horror. They're put off by horror. So how can we combine the two in a way that would bring in people who usually have an aversion to horror-related things? How could we bring them in and allow them to enjoy it? That was the first goal of the game. And I know that when I explain it like that, it seems like those ideas are contradictory, and that it would be hard to achieve something like that. I don't necessarily disagree. On paper, it sounds hard, and I knew it would be hard. But I thought that just because it sounds hard or impossible, it doesn't mean I shouldn't give it a try. We should see if we can combine these two segments into one thing and see what we can do. I think that because we gave it a try, we were able to do it.

ES: As far as the scope of the game goes, I guess you could say that we originally intended the scope that the game has now. From the very beginning, I wanted to have an ensemble cast, with these different protagonists. The only way to do that was to split them up and give them their own stages where they could really shine. That's where I realized we'd need a section set in America, one in Eastern Europe, one in China, and just go big with this game. Because of what I wanted to do originally with the cast, that's how the rest of the game came about.

1UP: Why haven't puzzles been as prevalent in the modern Resident Evil games, up until 6? You didn't see as many... I mean, I'm really glad that Ada's campaign has that section. But that was something we'd seen scaled back. Why do you think that's happened?

YH: A lot of that, to a degree, comes back to fan reactions. There is a certain group that's fond of the puzzle elements in Resident Evil, there's still a vocal element that's against them. That's the part of Resident Evil they dislike the most. When we were testing RE5 with our North American play testers, a lot of people got hung up the most on the puzzle-solving aspects. So maybe there's a silent majority out there that doesn't enjoy that aspect of Resident Evil. I personally do like puzzle elements in games, though, and I want to see them as a part of a Resident Evil game. A challenge for us this time out was seeing if we could make the puzzles more enjoyable, so that even people who don't normally like puzzles could have fun with the ones we have in the game.

No, Capcom did not have a magical suggestion box where all fans were capable of literally putting in specific, minute requests for the next game. But.... The fact that Yoshiaki and Eiichiro specifically went into developing this game with the intention of trying to please all the disparate factions of Resident Evil fandom, speaks to the point I made. And these games are tested with focus groups of fans who get the honor of sharing their opinions and dictating the direction of the games. These opinions reach Capcom. These opinions do exist from significant segments of the fanbase. Resident Evil 6 was made with the specific intent to "please everyone." They literally went into development, with the goal of pleasing not just the fans of horror, but the fans who hate horror and prefer action, entertainment, and plot. And that's clearly what they attempted. It's apparent in their words and through their product. Yes, they did try and fulfill the wish of what both camps wanted. You have segments of horror, you have tension, you have zombies, you have areas where you have to survive and manage your resources, and the atmosphere is foreboding and unnerving. You have moments of stealth, puzzle solving, and having to avoid combat or risk instant death.

And then you have Call of Duty-esque fire fights, meleeing, and Chris going rambo. And hand-to-hand brawling.

So yeah, they tried to fit in everything fans of RE wanted. And that's why RE6 ended up the way it did.

 

[Wol]

Would you guys be open for character creation in FF (mainline)? I mean, FFXV had the avatara system making it possible to replace Noctis with a player-created character.

Maybe having the option would be entertaining.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Sure! Nobody has to use that option if they don't want to.

 

[Glaurung]

I just want a good story, characters with a distinctive personality which don't meld into a grey mass in the group, a compelling villain that I can love to hate (and feel a bit guilty for kicking him/her/whatever) and please, please, please, all in one installment, PLEASE! I don't feel like chasing down lore throughout several media and fan-translations anymore. XV depleted that kind of patience.

For the setting, give me whatever. I was wowed by Kingsglaive and I loved very much the modern setting of XV. Again, IX has a special place in my heart, just like V. Just give me pretty landscapes and beautiful towns to explore. Pick whatever culture you want, I don't care.

 

[Tetsujin]

I wonder when we can expect this game. Obviously the internet is already doing their "ENJOY IN 2026 LMAO" shtick and it's not like Square Enix isn't infamous for announcing stuff way too early. But from what I gather this game might have possibly been in development for a few years already so maybe they learnt their lesson for once (and XIV actually was announced only a year before release so there's precedent for that too). And I absolutely do believe it's gonna be the next big thing before VIIR-2.
So basically I think their flagship FF release schedule could be

2020: VII Remake (✓)
2021: XIV Expansion 6.0
2022: XVI
2023: VII Remake 2 + probably XIV Expansion 7.0

 

[Wol]

I wonder when we can expect this game. Obviously the internet is already doing their "ENJOY IN 2026 LMAO" shtick and it's not like Square Enix isn't infamous for announcing stuff way too early. But from what I gather this game might have possibly been in development for a few years already so maybe they learnt their lesson for once (and XIV actually was announced only a year before release so there's precedent for that too). And I absolutely do believe it's gonna be the next big thing before VIIR-2.
So basically I think their flagship FF release schedule could be

2020: VII Remake (✓)
2021: XIV Expansion 6.0
2022: XVI
2023: VII Remake 2 + probably XIV Expansion 7.0

God, I can't believe I jumped an entire FFXIV expansion cycle. I feel impure, even...

 

[Prism]

Would you guys be open for character creation in FF (mainline)? I mean, FFXV had the avatara system making it possible to replace Noctis with a player-created character.

Maybe having the option would be entertaining.

Naaaaah - player-created characters tend to be a hollow shell that just nod and go along with everyone else with no conviction of their own. Plus having a specifically designed character for a role makes for more memorable heroes.

You know I am a huge fan of Dragon’s Dogma, and I love being able to come up with my own character there, but that’s not something I would wanna see in a mainline FF game.

 

[Claymore]

As much as I would enjoy replacing their bog standard sword-wielding main hero with something different, it would ultimately be hollow. Even with dialogue tree options or the option for different weapon sets (highly unlikely) you are just diluting the potential and narrative force of the story with this shell of a character that can only have so much interaction with the rest of the cast and events. I've personally only seen it really pulled off well once ... and even that had meaningless decisions and the fallout of taking all your control away come the final part.

This is one thing I'm glad that FF doesn't do. I want to be fully absorbed into the story, warts and all - but not literally by having a facsimile character of myself reflected in it.

 

[Lex]

An update on the timing of the announcement (more industry people)