if you are working on something else. Take 3 years, and create a complete game with all your man power.

No to the article, and no to the comments here so far.

FF doesn't need Western inspiration, and I don't want it in my FF. The "feel of combat" should be different in each game, as various mechanics should be unique to that particular world. And as far as hiring big names for voice actors...why?

As for the people saying FF needs to go back to its roots... why is it that only you people seem to think that going backwards is a good way to go forward? When every other genre- and even other franchises in the genre- is changing and adding new things to tried and true formulas, only FF fans seem trapped in the 80s... or, in the case of VII fanboys, the 90s.

Instead of wishing the game was more like something you've already played, how about seeing if the game does a good job at what it's attempting to do? How well does the battle system work? How easy to use/intuitive is the growth mechanic? Does the story make sense, and is it delivered effectively?

Whatever it is, if the game does it well, it doesn't matter if it's not like the others. Judge the game based on its own merits, not what you think should be there.

I don't think the author knows what they're talking about. Really i think the first two ideas would completely ruin what it means to be Final Fantasy especially the first one if people what to play an rpg with a western viewpoint then people should play a western rpg. Though I think that 3rd idea is irrelevant since it never matters to me when I recognize a big named actor or not.

Versus looks good and so does type-0 and even XIV after seeing the latest trailer. The only problem is they are not out yet so we can't judge.

The only way to take FF forward is for SE to allocate resources better and to not let games take so long. We all know they are very capable of making great games but it's just taking too long with the way they spread themselves thin.

Oh dear god, the article reeks of nationalistic conceit. When they wrote: "hire a writer from the west to work alongside those at Final Fantasy HQ to get to grips with the core mythology of the characters," I nearly fell out of my seat. Sure, Square Enix isn't the go-to developer for storytelling these days, but to contest that they need the can-do-no-wrong talent from the west is simply arrogant and pompous.

Actually those 3 ideas are wrong. Final Fantasy successful because it's Japanese franchise, Japanese mindset, etc.. When they try to be westernise, that's when it's all go wrong.

I think FF tries to emphasize too much on graphics and realism these days. They should just use their old module and us ff6 or ff9's style.

This article writer is arguing that the FF series should be Westernized to the point of having its stories written by a Westerner and having big name Western voice actors. A story written by a Westerner will contain Western values, and at that point, it will no longer be a JRPG, but a WRPG at its core. Can anyone accept FF as a WRPG? I know I won't.

I believe FF should take its inspiration from other JRPG competitors namely the Tales series and the Sora no Kiseki series (aka Trails in the Sky). Both of these series have demonstrated wonderful storytelling and a natural evolution in the genre.

I think theyre doing fine although im not a fan of the mmo's (11 and 14). I like ff because it can change and be a new experience but still keep the feel of ff. I loved 7-9, really loved 10 and 12, and loved 13. 13 still felt like ff, had a great world, great story, and awesome music and graphics. Vs13 looks like the best one yet, type o looks amazing, and 13-2 adds towns, npc's, and builds off of 13. The problem is they take too long to make and SE announces games way too early. The 13 hate is crazy, yea it lacked towns and npc's but it was a fantastic game. I bet if it stayed exclusive there would be little to no hate. FF is FF because its japanese, western designs and influinces would ruin the charm. Just make games faster and id like to see more smaller jrpgs. Take chances make new ip's, we will support them if theyre good. Id also like to see a ff with the old turn based battles and static backgrounds with set camera veiws. Basically copy Lost Odyssey lol (which was basically ffx).

too lazy to read all the comments above so I'm sorry if this has been said. Why couldn't the series grow with its fans? I mean sh*t, I bought FF7 when it came out back in the day, I'm almost 30. Do you think I wanna see f**king chibi moogles and japanese pop highschool character design. Come on!

If everything this article says is true then FFVersus 13 fits the description perfectly.
1. The Story is very Westernized(Romeo and Juliet)
2. The pace and Combat isn't turn based anymore.(very action oriented)
3. The voice actors are the only ones I'm not sure about.

1. Open world.
2. Control over all 3 (or 4?) characters in battle.
3. Lots of side quests, and not only killing side quests.
4. Useful summons.
5. Crystarium with different paths to choose.
6. Profit!

of three ideas hironobu sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu are two , so there one left , maybe rename the company squaresoft again

He said it was bad to critics? It is at 83 on metacritic, not the standard 90 that FFs usually get but critically it was a very well received game. This author doesn't even research his points before he tries to make then. Why can anyone these days write editorials when they have no knowledge of the subject matter.

All male cast kicked ass, up until the final hours, the game was pretty good.

Who cares now!

FFXV was such a let down, it's not a bad game on the surface but once you play it enough and get to the end you see how overall disappointing it actually is.

The story is all over the place and you can clearly see things are missing. It's painfully obvious the game had two versions and what we got was a some kind of mismatched Frankenstein's monster out of it where some things either have no build up or some things come out of nowhere because it was obviously a plot point of when it was still XIII Versus.

The ending is a shame aswell because the last scene is beautiful as it stands but when you think about the build up and what was developed / not developed it doesn't earn what it gives you, especially since Luna was poorly under developed and hardly featured in the story at all. Luna had more development with Nyx in the Kingsglaive film then she did with Noct in the main game.

Loved 15 after the royal edition fixed it. Certainly more of a FF game than 16 was in every way