Why I am no longer a Final Fantasy fan

My FF collection

My first exposure to Final Fantasy was on the Super Nintendo with 4. It was the first game that really blew my mind. I had conquered Mario and Zelda by this point, but Final Fantasy 4 gave me something that I had never really associated with video games before, a story. It was incredible, and even at such a young age, I grinded levels, built my party, and eventually beat Golbez on the moon. FF4 was always my answer to the favorite game question for years to come.

Square really had me by the balls as a teenager. Final Fantasy 7 changed what video games are, and the standard they are held too, and Final Fantasy 8 completely changed what can be accomplished musically. I fondly remember beating FF9 and devouring 10's religious based story. I wasted hundreds and hundreds of dollars on FF11, and even 12 was damn good. It really seemed as if Square couldn't fuck up their signature franchise, then of course, they did.

The Final Fantasy series has always cranked out disappointments, but they were never the signature installments, the core games were always great. But games like Crystal Chronicles, Chocobo's Dungeon, Dissidia, Revenant Wings, and Mystic Quest were all donkey shit, and the product milking was always bearable, because the actually numerical installments of Final Fantasy were always good. Until 13.

After the success of Kingdom Hearts and it's vague, friendship feelgood story, Tetsuya Nomura took over the Final Fantasy directing job after 12. What he wrote for us, was absolute garbage. Instead of morally ambiguous politics like in 12, we got teen angst. Instead of the religious power abuse we got in 10, he gave us a convoluted race relations snore story. We got a linear path to a vague story, complete with probably the worst dialogue I've ever seen in a big budget RPG. Also, NO TOWNS IN A FUCKING 80 HOUR ROLE PLAYING GAME.

Exactly where this shitty game is from

So if Square just made one bad game out of 14, then why do I want out so bad? It's the same reason Cubs fans leave their beloved team after years of devotion, the company simply doesn't care about quality anymore. I guess it was bound to happen, but Square really has devoted itself to making money, and money alone. Games get direct sequels now, anime spinoffs, major motion pictures, and formulaic, cookie cutter characters that have proven their worth by being popular in other games. Its artistic laziness, and its sad, because I do really believe that Square has, in the past, told some of the most interesting, unique, and exciting stories in video games. They made me cry before. And now, its a Disney Channel tween show, complete with every single anime cliche you can think of.

Should Square re-make 7? I don't think so, but honestly, I've stopped caring. If Square wants to enjoy the return of their hardcore fans, then stop making sequels, stop re-treading over the old stuff, and really pour your hearts and souls into making 15 the juggernaut of story telling that we used to think Final Fantasy was. However, they won't do that, and with western RPG companies like Bethesda, Bioware, Lionhead, 2K, and competing Japanese RPG companies like the always innovative Atlus, there really isn't any need to pay attention to Square anymore. Thanks for the childhood memories guys, but I'm moving on.