I started this topic, If You Could End Any Series You Wanted To..., a while ago, mostly to see if people shared my rage against Kingdom Hearts. I don't know if they do or not, because they went after bigger, more popular series instead. On reflection of why I would want to end a series, it makes sense - there are a couple of majorfactors that really are geared towards more popular games.
1. They're annoying, and I never want to hear about them.
2. I wish people were playing something else so that games that are actually quality get some more attention.
3. I wish game companies would make games that are actually quality instead of churning out drivel that sells because it's got the right brand name on it. For example, the "Tales of" series of RPGs have great gameplay. I love action RPGs, and being able to play co-op (at least in a number of them) is a huge plus. Unfortunately, Namco's been reusing the same art and stories since Tales of Eternia, and it's getting really old. These games are designed to have very immersive plots and great character development, but the plots are extremely weak and are mostly drawn from other games and cliches, and the characters are the same stock characters that have been recycled over and over again. I really wish Namco would jettison their artists and writers, stop trying to churn out 2 Tales games a year, and do something decent with the great game design they've got, hopefullywithout polluting it with weak plot and characters.
4. Media attention for a terrible set of games undermines the image of gaming in general. This is like how lots of people think anime is idiotic based on Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, and Naruto, since those are the series that get a lot of attention. They don't realize that there are more mature or serious shows that are not fair to dismiss along with the popular animes. When everyone thinks video games are Lara Croft and GTA, many think that gaming isn't a respectable field or hobby. Or if they think all the "best" JRPGs are Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy, the genre suffers when those people avoid JRPGs in general based on their impressions from these games.
5. Games that insult my intelligence continuously. I don't think Final Fantasy should end (though the FF7 sequels are a different story), since it doesn't bother me for any of the reasons I listed above. They're largely good games, but boy do they thinkthe player isan idiot. I don't want to make Ashe the queen of Dalmasca. I don't believe in monarchies, and I think she's a moron, anyways. Can't I push her off a cliff and run my own rebellion? I haven't levelled her up; she's only level 4! (note to Square: don't make games where the badguys don't start unambiguously evil! You're just making me want to switch sides, since your position for the main characters sucks.) Less egregiously, Final Fantasy 10 seems to think I want to listen to Tidus's internal monologues, which have about the value of a ten-year-old's complaints about the mean kidat his school.No, I've actually read something with literary merit, and it is not any of Tidus's lines. Don't tell me that you think I should think these are deep and meaningful, and that I should actually get something from them. They are funny, because they're so bad, but I don't think that's the point.
I ended up spending too much time illustrating most of these, but I hope you get my point. I'd love to hear others' reflections on this, since in the thread, they got lost in a sea of Halo and Nintendo hate. :P
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