Am I the only one who feels this way?
Let me preface everything by saying that the FF series is some of the most well produced role-playing games ever created. I have memories that will last forever of playing FF VII and VIII. The latter is my personal favorite; loved Squall, that whole operatic intro and the sorceress Ultemicia - it also featured the most predominant and adult love story of the series.
I am not one of those wingy gamers, either. Not the type to complain about loosing exclusives, not enjoying my purchase. For Chrissakes, it's a PS3, it looks and plays beautifully, games are here - Resistance, Motorstorm, Armored Core, Oblivion - and more are comming. What is there to go on about?
But I digress.
As far as the FF series goes, in my opnion, it has been in steady decline for some time now. I picked up XII, played through the whole game, and found myself rushing at the end - skipped secret bosses and weapons, which I never do - to get back to Resistance and *gasp* Untold Legends.
While the FF series is undeniably impeccably produced, the "magic", the "wow" factor seems to have gone for me. Even the once awe-inspiring summon spells were muted. I cast each once or twice but never used the system thoroughly. I aquired an esper, conjured him up, watched his/ her summon, then tucked them away. (The whole esper/ summon mechanic in XII was nerfed signifigantly and totally useless unless you had incredibly underpowered, underequipped characters).
Granted, the FF series have tried a few new things over the past few years. Different "battle systems" - wait, active, etc.. Graphically, it has always been at the top of it's game and technically, it is executed flawlessly. Yet, it appears to suffer from the "Hollywood Movie Syndrome" - hereafter defined as "HMS". Something which is so overproduced and made grand, that it is glossed and bloated. Shiny on the surface, so to conceal the basest of plots and interactions beneath. XII's story was basically a hacked greek tradgedy (just missing a mother for the whole Oedipus thing). Nothing in it suprised me or took my breath away aside from the occasional grapical flourish.
Yes, some stories work because the tell inherent moral truths about good and evil or life and death or whatever, and can be told countless times. Or so one would think. With a few exceptions here and there, FF has been telling the same story for well over a decade now and it's getting rather old.
Personally, I could care less if FF goes mutliplatform. The series as a whole is convoluted and fractured, storylines and continuity (of which there has really never been much to speak of between series) scattered and cast across different systems with wildly varying degrees of production value. XII, moving to DS, while innovative, changes the creative vision of the original story. Same can be said for FF X-2; while fun, it was frivolous and detracted from the aspect of tradgedy that made X memorable.
I am far more interested in the "Indie" sort of game. Something that tells a moral story between good and evil (which is generally the theme in a RP game) in a different way. Take the Shadow Hearts series that began with Kouldelka back on the PS. It took you into the moral conflict in a much more adult and interesting way. That is a series that has continued to evolve; and not just graphically, but in terms of it's storytelling and artistic direction.
Wild Arms, is another one of my favorites, White Knight Story and the Devil summoner series come to mind as well.
These are the games that excite me and tell stories that while I am somewhat familiar with, are always engaging and present me with new things. Honestly, I don't know how many more Shivas or Firagas or Evil Empires I have in me. Give me a long lost sister who is possessed by the essence of worldy evil (Shadow Hearts: New World), or the choice to choose between Good and Evil or somewhere inbetween (Devil Summoners) or a tale of survival laid against the backdrop of a dying world and set against the over-arching theme of global disaster and our responsibility in it (Wild Arms series).
These are the stories that inspire me in gaming. Not some cookie cutter Evil Empire bollocks. While there are so many things that the FF series does right, originality is not one of them.
Just my two cents,
Cheers,
- C
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