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Final Final Fantasy?

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Will FF XIII be the last FF of its kind?

Final Fantasy XIII was released with much fanfare and excited many FF fans around the world (I myself included). However, FF XIII had met with some criticisms mainly on the linearity of the game and lack of side quests. Having played and completed the game, I’ve found this FF title enjoyable and certainly worth playing. While the game may really be quite linear at times (sometimes you just have to keep walking through monster-littered path until you reach the next cut-scene), the battle system is by far the most fast-paced and challenging of all times.

Now after completing FF XIII, am I looking forward towards the next installment? I am afraid not. Final Fantasy XIV (now even the Roman number is getting a bit messy…) is going to be a MMORPG similar to FF XI. I, myself, am not any MMORPG fan. I prefer the good old FF RPG style. According to some reports, FF XIII maybe the last FF installment that features the ‘old’ single player RPG. The way to go for future FF installments is going to be MMORPG.

FF14 is going to be a MMOPRG

This is a real bad news for FF fans like me who still prefer the single player RPG style. I hope SquareEnix will not forget about gamers like me and keep making more FF installment like FF XIII. I do see why SquareEnix is moving on to MMORPG. After all, MMORPG has a longer playing hours then traditional FF titles. Furthermore, subscription-based games can generate more revenue for them.
After playing almost the entire FF series (I’ve even tried FF I, II, III, IV, V and VI), I feel that the awesome fantasy world created by Square should be left to explore even after the player completed the game. However, after completing all possible side-quest, there is simply nothing to do! This could be the reason why SquareEnix is moving on to MMORPG, a realm where the virtual fantasy world could be perpetual (if they keep updating with quests and attract enough players).

FF XIV gameplay - Picture Courtesy of SquareEnix

Therefore, I would like to propose a new genre for the FF series, SPMMORPG 🙂 . It stands for ‘Single Player Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Basically, the game will still feature a main single player storyline similar to past title (with nice cut-scene of course!), but after completing the game, the player can now explore the world in a MMORPG setting. If any of the SquareEnix staff happens to read this article, do help me propose this idea for FFXV. I am sure that game will be a hit! Or at least I would be buying it!

Anyway, kudos to the FF XIII team for coming out with such a nice game. Hope to see a better FF XV!
By the way, there is a poll for favourite FF female characters at our forum here. Do cast your vote!

PS: For those who don’t own a PS3 or Xbox 360 but wish to see how the game is like, there is a person who painstakingly uploaded the entire full gameplay with cut scene onto youtube! Below is the second video of the 90 over parts. Amazing stuff!

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