A True Fan of the FF Series? (Square Enix and it's greedy need for wealth)

[Monkey]

This was on another forum, and it turned to a very long and engaging discussion on the series, let's see what we can get here.

On a recent topic, some individuals are claiming that if you stop at Final Fantasy XII, that is refuse to play any FFs afterwards, then you are not a real fan. I believe that this is by far one of the stupidest comments I have ever read in my life. Look, I'm 20 years old now, a little old for videogames and all, and in my day I have defeated countless videogames, the majority being RPGs. As far as FF goes, I've defeated FFs I - X and in the process mastered, that is basically complete the game 100%, all of them. How many of you can claim that you still own the golden cartrige of the original Final Fantasy, a working copy of it and a working NES. I can, and it wasn't too long ago since I played the game last. But thats not the point, bragging rights aside I believe that everyone that's on this board claiming they are a true fan has probably defeated FFs I - X and have probably defeated X-2, XI, Crystal Chronicles and maybe (if you can read Japanese) FFXII.

The point is this, and I've stated it several times: SQUARE IS RIPPING OFF ITS FANS! I'm not the only one that has been spreading this message on this Union. I love FF, I really do, but why would I, and I know this is pissing a lot of FF fans off: WHY SHOULD I BUY THREE GAMES, ON DIFFERENT PLATFORMS, TO COMPLETE MY FFXIII EXPERIENCE? In fact, why the heck is Square even making three games if we, the actual fans of the series, haven't even approved any of the games yet?

I'll tell you why, because Square realizes that it has an army of gamers who are just dying to play the next FF game no matter how expensive it is. Have any of you become sick already of all the FFVII bull thats running rampant in the RPG world lately? How many spawns do we need from that game? FF7:AC, FF7OC, FF7:CC, all of the Kingdom Hearts references, a possible remake.....come on! Its all about the cash when it comes to Square lately and calling yourself a true fan just because you're stupid enough to pay massive amounts of money to play anything Square releases with the tag "Final Fantasy" on it is ridiculous. Then you look at the price tag of the PS3, and well, personally for a student in business school on a very tight budget I'm not willing to shell out that type of cash to play a game that may not even be a complete experience cause the rest of it may be concluded on the mobile version! Don't put it past Square to do it either!

Final Fantasy XII, from the way things have been going with Square lately, may just be the last time a gamer can pick up a brand new FF and play THAT GAME AND THAT GAME ALONE to truly experience Square's latest masterpiece. No sequels, no movies, no expensive extras, NONE OF THAT!

So to close, I'll leave you all with this: If I am not a true FF fan for defeating all the "true" games in the series and pretty much memorizing their storylines and falling in love with their characters, buying their action figures, buying merchandise such as posters and clothing and devoting thousands, SEVERAL THOUSANDS, of hours playing each game, then I am sad to say that I guess I will never be a true fan of Final Fantasy. If having to pay every extra cent I have and willing taking slaps in the face from Square is the only way to become a "true fan", then count me out! Personally, I have other great RPGs I can play that won't cost me a fortune, or force me to buy the most expensive platform being released in the next generation of gaming, I certainly do not have to play FFXIII when I have Shadow Hearts: From the New World, Star Ocean Till the End of Time, Grandia III etc.....so with that, I am officially declaring, in complete disgust with Square and its business practices lately, the Final Fantasy XII will also be my last FF ever! Thank you all.

I personally can agree with this guy in many respects, but there are a few I think he's overdoing.

[Savior of Dawn]

It is true, Square Enix has definatley become a consumerist corporation... But he is going a little overboard. Personally, I would never say you have to own every FF game to be an true FF fan. True FF fans argue over the dumbest things, and enjoy older games, and don't require the new ones. They're the ones that prefer certain FFs, but usually play all of them. That, and this guy doesn't seem to understand the concept of "Patience" and "waiting" I didn't get FF-X until after X-2 came out. I didn't even get a PS2 until about when X-2 came about as well.

Square Enix may make some bad games here and there, so we rent them or buy them, we don't like them much, but we play them. Thing is, sometimes things are good, sometimes things are bad, you have to get used to it. As it becomes more popular, yes it's likely to become not as high quality a game, but it is also as likely to become better. People have certian standards for FF games, though hopefully they're not as high as this guy's is, maybe SE will shape up. Not every FF can be perfect. This guy is really simply ranting on how he thinks it's getting too expensive, and how he declares himself a fan because he own a whole bunch of old FFs.

Owning Final Fantasys does not make you a true FF fan, enjoying them does.

[Banishing Blade]

Personally, I agree on most of the comments he made.

Square Enix has realized the fanbase they've built for Final Fantasy, and they plan to squeeze every penny out of them that they can. Sure, they may say that the FFVII compilation was for the fans, but it wasn't. The 'fans' wanted a remake, not four freaking spin-offs (all of which, so far, IMO, look like a waste of money).

This FFXIII thing is... needs to be rethought out, from what I've read about it. I don't want three games, I want one complete one. Why should I pay three times as much for what could be all put on one disc, and cost the same as any other game. The answer: Because of the name.

I'm currently working on playing through the old FFs (1, 4 and 6 to be beaten by the end of the summer, hopefully) and I have to say, they are the best. I find that the older ones are better than the newer ones. If that trend keeps up, it only means the games are going to get worse.

Within the past year, I've had way more fun playing games that did not contain the name "Final Fantasy" in the title. The other games are better, IMO. Why? Because they're not very popular, so they need to be good so that they sell. If the name sells, no need for decent content. If the name doesn't sell, the content has to pick up the slack.

But there is a point where that guy makes no sense. He says he doesn't want to spend a fortune paying for the new games, yet he'll spend his hard-earned money on posters, action figures etc? That just leaves me dumbfounded.

[SuperEclipse]

I agree 100%

Though I don't see how you can beat FFXI, unless you do all the mission and quest, and get all the jobs to lvl75. And that going to take over 3-4 years:P

This FFXIII thing is... needs to be rethought out, from what I've read about it. I don't want three games, I want one complete one. Why should I pay three times as much for what could be all put on one disc, and cost the same as any other game. The answer: Because of the name.

Agreed, I think Square-Enix, is just trying to milk another game. FFVII first PS1 FF, milked so much, and not even that great. FFXIII first FF on the PS3, I'm guessing they want to turn this into the next FFVII. SE is about making money now in my eyes, Not games.. I enjoyed playing there older games more..

FFXIII just FFXIII looks great. They lost what FF ment.. One FF, no FFnumber-2 or spin offs..

I'm currently working on playing through the old FFs (1, 4 and 6 to be beaten by the end of the summer, hopefully) and I have to say, they are the best. I find that the older ones are better than the newer ones. If that trend keeps up, it only means the games are going to get worse.

Indeed..The only one that I loved so much after FFVI was FFIX.. FFVII, FFVIII, FFX, didn't do it for me..There was okay..but the others was more fun. FFXII is great game, I will own the English copy as well..

Nomura I don't know if him or not, but I think they would be doing alot better without him and I wish Hironobu Sakaguchi was still at Square-Enix. Every game Nomura has done wasn't that great.. The one he didn't work on or have main big part in.. Thoughs games did supra..

In my eyes true fans, would say SE you ___ing up and not OMFG, ''SE you made AC you guys own'' Thats not a fan, thats a nooblet..

[SOLDIER Cloud]

I am tired, so I may give a full comment on this later, but as of now, I just want to say that, I have the gold cart of every major game that was ever released with them. And I have the working NES. I am all for the VII stuff, having all ready played that game and all, it was a stand alone game, what they are doing with XIII is borderline despicable. I kinda figured when they released Tactics Advance (great game, but completely not needed) that the money grubbing may be on the way, but I did not know it would be like this.

[billabong]

Ah. This makes my completion of FFVII-X-2 seem rather flimsy.

If anyone's a true fan, it's that guy. He has respect for Square's old days and enough dignity to stop buying when Square shoves spinoff crap in his face.

And he has everything FF from I-X which is something most of us can't even come close to.

[Square Ninja]

Article=win

Square-Enix did a good job of killing the experience for me when they made FFX-2 and the recent surge of cashcow milking. I'm not sure if I'll even bother with Final Fantasy anymore.

[RTP49]

FF also needs to stop piggybacking on the KH franchise.

I play KH for the KH. Not the FF.

Then there are the fangirls who jumped from KH to FF suddenly say their liek, the 'Number one Vincent fangirl'...

[SuperEclipse]

^^^ you could allways go with to Mistwalker games..

It may sound crazy, really crazy, but I think Square will fall behind, and Mistwalker start to pwn with games. Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. It looks beautiful.. I bet it will kill FFXIII when both games come out :P..

I maybe crazy for thinking that..<.< but oh well..

[Square Ninja]

...or you could screw all the mediocre stuff and play something like a Megami Tensei RPG.

[RTP49]

...Or you can defect to the Russians and play more NIS RPGs. (wry, hello thar disgaea 2)

[Square Ninja]

...Or you can defect to the Russians and play more NIS RPGs. (wry, hello that disgaea 2)

Persona 2>Disgaea 2



(............)

[SuperEclipse]

Megami Tensei RPG.

I do plan to get Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner.. :P

[Sir Jecht]

OK I'm really tired but I still wanna say something before I go to bed....
I agree with this guy alot....for I came into the gaming world when FFVII was released and enjoined it very much..and FFVIII..but once I played FFIX I felt like it was may first true FF/RPG game(it just had more of a Fantasy element to it)....I have only been able to play FFVI...for the rest are very hard to find(if anyone knows how to get them could you tell me)....I only wish I could experience the "true" Fantasy that Square had when FFI-V was made(for I dont own these)...I wouldnt say a true fan is someone who owns all of these games...like Savior of Dawn said..but I think this guy really enjoys each and every game....Now about this FFXIII thing...I personally am on the fence when it comes to this title....for I'm not sure if I want to buy it or not (but I have my own personal reason for why and why not)..nor three other titles of the game...unless they have a good plot/storyline,fun gameplay..etc..for those are the reasons why I buy games..not because SE slaps FF on it...but because I want to have fun and enjoy a great game....Now he makes a comment about the FFVII spin-offs and yes it is true that Square is simply in it for the money..I dont blame them for this..for I recently heard that they are in the red with some of their product sales...For them to capitalize on the FFVII Fan-base is not wrong on an financial/economical stand point(but I wouldnt know for sure for I dont know Business or economics)....but I still understand that it is no excuse not to make good games..but personally I have not played any of these titles yet(the FFVII spin-offs) and do not know if they are good or bad...but from the looks of it..these games are lacking the true meaning of "Fantasy"....in Final Fantasy...but once again..I am not sure..

This whole your not a true FF fan...has me wondering is Square a true fan of their FF fans..what I mean is does Square even see their fan-base as gamers that want a decent game or just as another dollar in their pockets...When Square made FF1 it was their last attempt at the gaming world...and thanks to them wanting to give fans a final great game.. their game created new fans.. and they continued to survive for this long..the fans of these are what(some) people call "True" FF fans...but why must a "True" FF fan be one who has played all of the games...cant a True fan simply admire what Square has done and enjoy playing their games....I'm not saying that this man is saying that..but to be a "True" fan of anything you(IMO) should either respect what you base your fandom on..or simply love whatever you base your fandom on its real essence....I have not played all of FF but I love the games...and I respect all the work that Square did on them and I have enjoined most of their games and would like to play the older titles...does this not make me a "True" fan..I am not sure for I do not put labels on myself I see myself as just a fan of Square and their "true" gaming products....for if a fan buys all three titles of FFXIII does that make them a SE/FF lackey..I dont necessarily think so....if the fan enjoys the game then why can they not be a true fan....even with the FFVII spin-offs...if a fan of FF("true" or not) buys them and enjoys them does that make them less of a Fan....if they are ready to defend themselves on the ground that they are not a "True" fan just because they enjoy playing theses games...are they any less of a fan....I do not enjoy when people who claim they are "True" fans...cannot accept newer gamers that love both old and the new school of FF....now I admit that buying a FFVII spin-off game just because it has Cloud in it...does in a way lack "True" fan qualities...but if that person enjoined that game so much that they want to buy it and enjoy it..who are we(I'm just saying) to say that you are a SE/FF lackey who knows nothing of the true FF series...and are not a "True" fan..for doesnt a "True" fan buy action figures and whatnot that in others eyes shows that you just buy things that have so and so on it....(that man says he has bought many things that deal with FF)..but is that not the same as buying a game just because it is has your favorite character on it.....

My rambling will have to stop for now for I think I am loosing sight of the topic and I'm not completely saying what I want in a way that is undersatnable..so I'll go on later and edit...for I know that half of this makes no sense..but I just had to say something even if it was Half A__ed....

Edit:..O_o..I wrote allll...of THAT???!!

[Square Ninja]

I do plan to get Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner.. :P

...and Kazunoha Raidou, right?