I had been talking to a friend of mine about videogames and movies. Check this out. The Spider-Man films are still pretty recent and it's getting a reboot already! Look at games such as Devil May Cry and even the upcoming Everquest game. With all that said aren't you surprised that even after 20 years, Final Fantasy hasn't had a single massive overhauled reboot considering the trend of videogames in recent history? Or would you consider each installment just a revision of the core concept since they're seperate from each other?
The marvel films are a different prospect. It's easy for film-makers to adapt a comic book onto a movie screen and keep on rebooting it. The studio's just want to continue making profit considering how notorious the titles "Spiderman", "Batman" and "Superman" are towards die hard fans. Their universes all connected in the same reality so there's plenty installed for the future whether it'd be revitalizing either heroes.
But with Final Fantasy, since the merge with Enix/Square all they've done is expanded their horizons is by procrastinating with spin-offs and superfluous fanservice. At times I feel like they're moving forward, but then they suddenly decide to take a step back. We had XIV come out late last year, now they've announced XIII-2. The only reasons why some of the early era games got remade was for accessbility sake. I don't think an all out reboot is necessary. Each game in its own right should stay the way it is.
Everything is rebooting these days, movie franchises, games, even the DC universe. But I don't think Final Fantasy needs too. I think they should get back to the basics of what makes a FF game, or any RPG game good.
What would a Final Fantasy reboot be? Each one is already very different aside from a few themes names. Even the gameplay is sometimes completely different. So how could you possibly "reboot" it?
I'd say primarily changing the feel that most FF games have. I guess I'd start with the appearance; like try to cast aside the jrpg look and try to make it look a little more real. What I mean is that in Final Fantasy, everything is perfect, from the characters to the environments they live in. I think that has to change.
Don't really undersatnd what you mean by "everything is perfect." But XIII changed the feel of the series quite a bit. I'd say that's as close to a reboot as you could get in the Final Fantasy series.
By perfect I mean what I described. All of the characters are beautiful....well, the main characters anyway. All of the places to go are perfect, too, just how they look. It's hard to describe.
I just want the villain to destroy those who oppose him and not lose to some goodie goodie, I'm the chosen one BS. I wonder if Final Fantasy or any other JRPG could pull it off.
I think it's just kinda hard to create an epic quest for someone who is just trying to destory the world or something, if that's what you mean. But I suppose it could be done. I just can't really imagine something like that being that cool though really, but maybe.
Well... actually, there is one RPG series where you play as the villion: Pokemon. I mean seriously, is there anyone who honestly thinks Team Plasma are the bad guys and your team are the good guys? You are inslaving Pokemon and all Plasma wants is to free them!
Well how about making it more "choice" in regards to the story? Give you options instead of being stuck on destinys path from start to finish. No i dont mean exploration and/or side quests. Choosing which action to take. Bring more of an InFamous feel to it. Or Even Mass Effect. As long as it keeps its Final Fantasy elements then i'm good with that. I prefer having more control over what i do and how or why i do it. I tend to almost construct my own personality into my character(s). I'm the type of person who thinks "thats not what i would do" when playing a game. Especially in "destinys path" type of games. I have a strange way of doing things... most of the time.
Well how about making it more "choice" in regards to the story? Give you options instead of being stuck on destinys path from start to finish. No i dont mean exploration and/or side quests. Choosing which action to take. Bring more of an InFamous feel to it. Or Even Mass Effect. As long as it keeps its Final Fantasy elements then i'm good with that. I prefer having more control over what i do and how or why i do it. I tend to almost construct my own personality into my character(s). I'm the type of person who thinks "thats not what i would do" when playing a game. Especially in "destinys path" type of games. I have a strange way of doing things... most of the time.ffxjunky06
What I feel makes these games great is the amount of work and detail that goes into plot and character design. Choice on the part of the player hurts these elements because it takes creativity away from the designers. In order for a plot to be as detailed as the ones found in many FF games, the characters need to be in specific places, under specific circumstances. Events need to unfold along a set path in order for the story to be told the way it was intended. Your Yuna sig is awesome, and she is an iconic member of FF canon, but Yuna is the same character to you as she is to everyone else because she was designed with very specific traits in mind, and with a set path for her development to follow. If Yuna did and said what the player wanted her to, she wouldn't be Yuna, she would just be a girl in a kimono. No one would talk about or remember her cuz she would've been just an avatar. As it stands she is more than that. And that "more" comes from all the work Square put into creating and fleshing her out.
I love games with multiple endings. It gives high replayability and it just keeps you busy trying to get each one. I feel very accomplished if I get the 'best ending' a game can offer because typically it can be a lot harder to get than other endings.
The multiple paths introduced in Crono Trigger worked-out realy well, and it looks like FFXIII-2 is going to implement some kind of "choice" element, so we'll see how that goes...my main concern is that "create-a-character" or "choose your own adventure" elements don't enter the series cuz then there will be no plot or character design on Square's part and that's what I'm in it for. If I thought I could design better campaigns and characters than them, I would be playing Dungeons and Dragons. I play Final Fantasy cuz I want to see what Square comes up with, and I have yet to be disappointed.
[QUOTE="ffxjunky06"]Well how about making it more "choice" in regards to the story? Give you options instead of being stuck on destinys path from start to finish. No i dont mean exploration and/or side quests. Choosing which action to take. Bring more of an InFamous feel to it. Or Even Mass Effect. As long as it keeps its Final Fantasy elements then i'm good with that. I prefer having more control over what i do and how or why i do it. I tend to almost construct my own personality into my character(s). I'm the type of person who thinks "thats not what i would do" when playing a game. Especially in "destinys path" type of games. I have a strange way of doing things... most of the time.cjimrun
What I feel makes these games great is the amount of work and detail that goes into plot and character design. Choice on the part of the player hurts these elements because it takes creativity away from the designers. In order for a plot to be as detailed as the ones found in many FF games, the characters need to be in specific places, under specific circumstances. Events need to unfold along a set path in order for the story to be told the way it was intended. Your Yuna sig is awesome, and she is an iconic member of FF canon, but Yuna is the same character to you as she is to everyone else because she was designed with very specific traits in mind, and with a set path for her development to follow. If Yuna did and said what the player wanted her to, she wouldn't be Yuna, she would just be a girl in a kimono. No one would talk about or remember her cuz she would've been just an avatar. As it stands she is more than that. And that "more" comes from all the work Square put into creating and fleshing her out.
I think game developers have come a long way with character development in dynamic storytelling. Look at John Shepard and his crew throughout the Mass Effect series. And even the Witcher...it very easy to get attach to said characters and their supporting cast especially when you have their fates in hand.
Having a forked path storytelling system is definitely a innovative idea. The question is how they're going to split the screentime and character development evenly. Sort of like a "Morality" system for the contingencies of events that occur due to this or those actions.
I will admit that with dynamic storytelling character progression only really happens when you have certain people in your party. Of course the main character is always in play but if you do not interact with the companions that do not join him or her in combat then those left sit in the dust. But I agree with FG about going back to the root of all things. At the same time a reboot could mean a entirely different concept. Regardless of what Final Fantasy is..they all do have many things in common even regarding story elements.
Cutting-edge, cinematic, character-driven jrpg. That's what Final Fantasy is to me. Airships, crystals, chocobos and moogles should ideally be in there too, but are not necessary. If they can introduce an element of flexibility to the plot and characters without dumbing them down then great, but it just doesn't seem likely to me. FFXII gives you a massive amount of freedom when it comes to where you go and when, but in the end, it is still pre-scripted and you have to go particular places for the plot to move. FF has always been that way.
^ Like what you said. A main plot should be there, but allow us gamrs to make a choice to make a little outcome in some aspects. In FFVII, this usually happens in side quests.
I would agree to that, but optional, non-official ending liek that one in FFX-2 is all right... Just don't make the main, true ending very hard to get!
What would define the true ending; the one where the good guys win?
Valkyrie Profile:COTP was a lot like this (I know I reference this game a lot, but I liked it). The only really 'good' ending was very difficult to get on your first playthrough. I had to do a second playthrough to get it.Â
Well, the true ending the one which the author of the story really intends to be its real ending. xDFantasy_Gamer
I don't see why the devs ever pick a "true" ending in games like that. Unless they make a sequal. Which usually bugs me when they do that with games with multiple endings. Even more so when the true ending is very hard to get.
Overal I'm just not a big fan of games with multiple endings, I just like it better when they have one set story to tell. I don't need any extra motivation to replay games, I enjoy doing it anyway.
There are some exeptions though... Dead Rising has multiple endings and I like the way that did it. And the sequal just continues with the most succesful ending. And it is a reasonable difficulty to get.
[QUOTE="Fantasy_Gamer"]Well, the true ending the one which the author of the story really intends to be its real ending. xDlazyathew
Overal I'm just not a big fan of games with multiple endings, I just like it better when they have one set story to tell. I don't need any extra motivation to replay games, I enjoy doing it anyway.
Amen to this. I've played Crono Trigger a ridiculous amount of times and I always go for the same ending. The one where they fly through time in Epoch and it shows all the characters in their home times. To me it's the best and truest ending to the game and it's the only one where I feel it's actually complete.
Lol. I found that hard to do without a character like Ayla, who doesn't appear until later on in the game. I haven't trained up on Marle much, so I wouldn't confront Lavos with just her and Crono. I have her at like level 65 or so, but not with all of her skills.
Even if Marle was built-up, she would be keeping Crono alive while he did all the heavy lifting. Maybe she could chime-in with an Ice Sword 2 if there was a turn she didn't need to heal but otherwise...
I don't remember ever seeing that picture before, but it is exactly what my figure looks like so that's obviously where it came from. I can't help picking these things up when I see them cuz I have such fond memories of the characters and their journeys.
I gotta ask, does it bug anyone else here that Toriyama's characters all look like one of a few designs he has? Well, more then a few... But basicly, most look like someone from Dragon Ball. I've never played a full game with his art yet, (Aside from Dragon Ball games) but whenever I look at the art... like this picture shown here, that girl is totally Bulma, no difference whatsoever. I've also seen her in Blue Dragon. The main character of Blue Dragon is Goku as well.
Every Dragon Quest game must feel like you are controling the same cast with different names and personalities. Along with anything else he does. I do wanna play Chrono Trigger sometime though.
How about Square Enix makes a game where you play a Peter Pan-look alike who rides around on a horse and can only say "AAAHH!" and you have to save a cross-dressing princess who thinks she is a ninja/pirate from an evil pig man who wants to rule the world.
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