5 Things Square-Enix Can Do To Save Final Fantasy
Square-Enix has had some problems with the Final Fantasy brand lately, especially in the west. Final Fantasy 13 was a linear, surreal journey through a nonsensical world that made no effort to actually explain anything beyond directing the player to a glossary. Final Fantasy 14 was a middling MMO that angered players so much a major Square-Enix investor pulled millions of dollars out out of the company after playing it. The company seems to be ignoring gamers' called for a remake or legitimate sequel of Final Fantasy 7, and even the vaguely related Kingdom Hearts series has gotten so sidetracked it's seen more prequels, sidequels, and retcons than actual series games. If you're not happy with safe, predictable Dragon Quest games, this isn't a good time to be a Square-Enix fan.
The days of fans holding their breaths for the next Final Fantasy game are long gone, but they can come back. Square-Enix can salvage the brand, but it has to make some major changes and realize just where it started to mess things up. It doesn't have to turn to the Dragon Quest formula of keeping nearly every element the same, but it does need to tone down the bizarre bullshit it's been doing. I still hold Final Fantasy 4, 5, 6, and 7 dear to my heart, so I've put together six things Square-Enix can do to put Final Fantasy back on the right track.
Square-Enix Fan Quits FF14, Sells $27 Million In Stock
Wow, Square-Enix really upset people with Final Fantasy 14. Not only is it shaping up to not be a World of Warcraft competitor in the American market, not only is it receiving terrible reviews, but it's apparently so bad it caused a major shareholder in Square-Enix to quit the game and sell all his shares.
According to FF14Core (via Geek.com), an unidentified Square-Enix stockholder and FF14 player quit the game and sold his shares in the company. This shares amounted to approximately 1% of Square-Enix's outstanding stock, or about $27 million worth of holdings. That's a lot of cash. The sale actually caused Square-Enix stock to dip from 1800 yen to 1735 yen, before stabilizing near 1800 again. It doesn't seem to be having any long-term effect on Square-Enix's stock prices, but it still has to be a pretty big blow to the company's pride and pocketbook.
Subscribe to both Final Fantasy 11 and 14, get… shoes, a fancy name, and $5 off
I can understand a love for most older games, but MMOs? Once the newest version or expansion pack of an MMO comes out, is there any reason to stay in the old version's world? MMORPGs are fundamentally a massive time sink and if you can show me someone who can balance two at the same time, I'll show you someone with two computers, two brains, and four arms.
Still, Square-Enix is trying to entice Final Fantasy fans to embrace Final Fantasy 11 and Final Fantasy 14 simultaneously with a set of bonuses to players who subscribe to both games at the same time. To start, if you get Final Fantasy 14, you'll get $5 off your subscription to Final Fantasy 11, cutting your rates down to $7 per month. The discount only works for the base subscription of FF11, and you can only get one discount per FF14 service account. According to Square-Enix, if you have two FF14 accounts and three FF11 accounts, you'll only get $5 off on two of the FF11 accounts. According to me, if you have two FF14 accounts and three FF11 accounts, you are completely insane.
From the Game: Dragon Quest slime trading figure keychains
Slimes are the most famous "characters" of the Dragon Quest series. They're the series mascots, burbling, smiling lumps of goo that has been a part of the series since the very first game, gotten their own surprisingly good action-adventure spin-off on the DS
These Dragon Quest slime keychains are Japanese toys I picked up at E3 2006 from Square-Enix's booth. They're just three out of over a dozen potential keychains, running the full gamut of Dragon Quest slimes. Besides their well-known blue goopy slime versions, there are metal slimes, king slimes, bubble slimes, heal slimes, slime knights, and others. These three are the Sea Slime (blue slime with white shell), Medislime (green jellyfish-like slime), and Platinum King Jewel (clear, jewel-shaped slime).
The Last Story: Sakaguchi back at the helm
As many of you know, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, is currently working on an project named The Last Story, being developed for the Nintendo Wii. It is tentatively to be released in Japan, at the end of 2010. In a interview he did about a week ago, Sakaguchi explained about his motivations and the restless feeling he had during development of The Last Story.
A New Final Fantasy Legend
Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi ("Warriors of Light and Darkness") is coming soon to a (Japanese) mobile phone near you. Andriasang reports that the team behind Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is developing an original title set for release in Japan this September. It will have 2D sprite based visuals as well as many traditional Final Fantasy elements and plot details such as crystals, light and darkness, and a job system. Square-Enix also said that "the distribution model of the game's scenarios will shine a spotlight on the jobs." Though no mention was made of an international release, a precedence has been set through FFIV: The After Years release on WiiWare.
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