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The story
A thread titled “So what actually makes something feel like Final Fantasy?” went up on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board, sparking debate over what really ties the series together. Some pointed to realistic graphics and tall character proportions, Hironobu Sakaguchi’s scenarios paired with Nobuo Uematsu’s music, and the series’ tradition of overhauling its systems with every entry — while opinions split over how to place divisive titles like FF8, FF9, and FF13 within that identity. The discussion widened further with comparisons to the Tales series, mentions of Kingdom Hearts’ distinctive world-building, and eventually criticism of the franchise’s “host-club-style” character designs.
What people said
Couldn't get into the designs in Theatrhythm
Pixel art would've been just fine
I'm pretty sure FF Tactics and FF12 are technically set in the same world
The era treated as an ultra-advanced ancient magical civilization in Tactics is the era FF12 takes place in
And introducing a brand-new system every single time
In the end that tradition stopped after 11, didn't it…
[Good news] Lost Odyssey basically was FF
In the original almost everyone dies
There's even Yang's kitchen knife left behind as a keepsake
but I guess to people who've played a lot of the series, that game has zero 'FF-ness'?
In a way, it's the most 'FF' game there is, since it shattered the expectations of longtime fans and JRPG conventions alike
Especially the music — I still listen to the soundtrack on repeat to this day
The regular trash-mob battles were so garbage I dropped it halfway through
Sunleth Waterscape was great though
I thought that was a description of Ainori (a Japanese reality dating show where a group travels together in search of love)
The type of RPG where you travel with your buddies and somehow end up saving the world before you know it
Whoa, hold on, you're really gonna say that?
Huh. I don't really think that's it, though
Though before that happens, some brand-new series that blows up could end up becoming the face of the Reiwa era — but there's no sign of any new JRPG IP showing up at all
Not gonna happen, the fanbase numbers just aren't there…
They'd need something like a middle-aged, English-speaking lesbian protagonist to actually shake things up
Running out of fresh ideas happens to every series
That's exactly why Tales, which just keeps giving fans what they love, comes out on top
Honestly, I feel bad for kids overseas
They start out thrilled like 'Wait, I get to go on an adventure with Donald and Goofy!?'
and then suddenly it's all talk of 'light' and 'darkness,' until finally a bunch of mysterious spiky-haired guys in black hoods start floating around in midair
they must've been legitimately terrified
If anything, 12 got criticized precisely because it *wasn't* full of host/hostess types
Isn't 9 basically just a puppet show of a guy wooing a girl like a host would?
9 isn't even FF
It's a shoujo manga
Couldn't they do something good based on General Leo from FF6?
That's why I keep saying: remake 2 in high-res.
FF2's serious world-building,
a handsome lead like Firion,
and a story built around the beautiful Maria
That's exactly the perfect source material for today's graphics-obsessed FF
Fantasy plus advanced science
Low-stress system UI
Deep post-game content
Sound effects and music
and so on
So what exactly do you people want!?
Square Enix is at a loss too, lol
Honestly, you're the reason it keeps losing its way in the first place
Seeing FF16's graphics confirmed it for me
Make an FF2 remake
That's literally what they've always done
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The Final Fantasy series has been running for nearly 40 years since the original debuted in 1987, and both Hironobu Sakaguchi (the series’ creator) and Nobuo Uematsu (its early composer) have since left Square Enix. The thread’s disagreement broke down into two main points: first, a divide between those who prioritize “realistic graphics and proportions” and those who prioritize “the challenge of overhauling the system with every entry,” and second, differing views on whether to treat divisive entries like FF8 and FF9 as part of the series’ mainstream identity. Worth noting, though not mentioned in the original thread, is that the claim that FF Tactics and FF12 share the same world isn’t mere speculation — it’s an officially confirmed setting known as the “Ivalice Alliance.” Also easy to misread: the comparisons to the Tales series are being used to gauge FF’s position within the broader JRPG genre, not to declare one series definitively better than the other.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “So What Actually Makes Something Feel Like Final Fantasy?.”
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