Kotaku: The Final Fantasy XV Problem

Members see less ads - sign up now for free and join the community!

  • This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.

LeonBlade

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Site Staff
Oct 25, 2013
2,026
1,864
32
Blossvale, New York
#41
Honestly, I think it's better when the sequels are planned and are parts of something bigger than when they are forced, unnecessary and ridiculous like X-2 or XIII-2.
If Nomura wants sequel(s) he should plan it now (maybe then it won't end up like KH with its million spin-offs and overly convoluted story, which were definitely not planned from the beginning).
EXACTLY! No offence Crystal, but who would complain about sequels being planned...? Take a look at the XIII trainwreck, a game that never planned to have sequels but had two shoved down the consumer's throats. You PLAN sequels if you want things to go over well. Or, at the very least, you leave things open to be continued based on success.

XV would never get a direct sequel anyways. Most likely, there will be other content to extend the story, and it likely won't be another game, but perhaps a light novel or some sort of mobile experience as described.
 

Crystal Power

Keyblade Master
Nov 29, 2013
712
243
United States
#42
I think you both might be confused? The Final Fantasy XIII sequels most likely happened because this VERY reason. Square Enix probably planned them before XIII released and it would have been a waste to discard them, so despite the criticism they released more Final Fantasy XIII games.

It makes no sense to plan and announce a sequel to something you don't know will be well accepted. Don't get it wrong, it's okay for a developer to anticipate or have hope they get to make a sequel to their games but to be in development of a game (especially in a series known for having each title be a stand alone experience) and to already be planning sequels might be overkill.

They should wait to see how well the game is received before moving towards sequels. As I mention Final Fantasy 'was' known for having each title being a stand alone game.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#43
Final Fantasy XIII was never intended to be a trilogy. Was never the plan. It only became a plan once they started to experience the struggles of HD development and realized what making games like this would mean from now on.
 
Last edited:
Likes: LeonBlade

Crystal Power

Keyblade Master
Nov 29, 2013
712
243
United States
#44
Alright, but I still dislike the idea of planning sequels for this type of series. I guess we will have to look forward to Final Fantasy XV-2, and XVI-2, and XVII-2, and XVIII-2, and XIX-2. Well Final Fantasy XV Compilation is planned so there will be multiple XV games I suppose.

Don't even have a release date yet a sequel is planned lol.
 

Orenji

Clan Centurio Member
Oct 15, 2013
132
33
34
Mataró
orenji-chan.blogspot.com
#47
If I recall correctly, when asked again about this same topic, Nomura said that it was still undetermined if there'd be a sequel or sequels after all. I'm totally against sequels because of the ones they've released so far (X-2 was horrible, and I didn't even play the XIII ones because I didn't like the main entry). Also, I've always preferred the 'one number - one story' concept of the first nine entries. I'd like them to focus on XVI after XV. Probably not gonna happen...
 

King Bimpy

Clan Centurio Member
Jul 11, 2014
127
46
32
#50
It's disappointing they are planning sequels already when the game itself hasn't even released.
It's an epic. An epic is a large story like Lord of the Rings. Final Fantasy XV's premise is simple rather than overly complex for complexity's sake (extra dimensional timey wimey Gody retcon the dead stuff because yeah that makes any fiction sophisticated -> Nomura and Tabata = HELL NO in the context of their latest Final Fantasy. Defeats the purpose of the story their telling) . A sequel to a character-driven game is not bad if Nomura said it ends at the climax (I assume he means that by While Final Fantasy XV will have one climax, as a story, we plan to continue it further). Final Fantasy sequels tend to not do well because they don't feel so coherently compact due to how much the loose ends are tied up (flat out ended, why more?). Was there a reason to bring back Tidus and Sephiroth again? Why was there little to none build up of those newly introduced characters? It's a problem for JRPGs in general. This wouldn't be the case for XV if it picks up where it left off like Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. The point is to get Lucis's crystal back. Lucis is confirmed as a battleground and Nomura described it as the biggest city yet in the Final Fantasy franchise (molded after Shinjuku and Shibuya in size and scale), so if Noctis is kicked out it would take some time to go back home. Is Idola the final boss or a bigger bad than him? The key lies with the final boss. A “climactic” battle that doesn’t actually vanquish the villain similar to Star Wars (Sith and Vader) or Marvel movies (Loki). Nomura has to leave resolution for a direct sequel. What if Noc doesn’t manage to accomplish his goal because the enemy overpowered him in the final battle? Well now he has to get back on his two feet and try even harder. The damage he inflected on the enemy is worth noting but he still lost to a much larger degree. Fight is not over. This doesn't seem like the time goes by trope JRPGs almost always embrace. Sequels need circularity, which tie up the loose ends (in the Marvel movie verse, Captain America the Winter Soldier and Agent Cater explains what happened to Hydra. The signs were subtle enough to see throughout each time SHIELD's government interfered with an issue, therefore the twist fit contextually). If the whos, whats, whys, wheres, whens, and hows are covered from head to toe in Final Fantasy XV 1 then the sequel would just expand upon them instead of making whole new shit up, while recapping former events. Stuff has to make sense. Not random. There is an anti-convoluted sensation here. Tabata doesn't favor the craziness of Fabula Nova Crystallis, while Nomura desires only to use the concepts behind l'Cie and blah blah rather than their actually.

Also note, Final Fantasy XV is a road movie. This a genre of film. The protagonist hike from A to Z. In-between the two, they stop off at B, C, D, E, and you get my point. At each letter something important happens. These things teach each hero something they didn't know about themself. Since Final Fantasy XV is about bringing back a crystal to its rightful place the stops must be brief, being less about input location and more about how it relates to the larger crystal story. Road movies are called road movies because they tend to use a lot of a vehicles. Nomura already said his game has a usable car. The vastness of the road in a road movie is VAST. The big event is challenging Niflihuiem, not all the tiny sub plots of each location that create the larger story (I'm looking at you Star Ocean 4, opposite of road movie).

Final Fantasy XV 2 should demonstrate proper sequel structure. However, he can scrap sequels, cramming them into Final Fantasy XV, which would mean the game has to be SUPER long.
 
Last edited:

Crystal Power

Keyblade Master
Nov 29, 2013
712
243
United States
#51
I would honestly prefer all that be in Final Fantasy XV 'The First' and play that "SUPER long" game, but oh what the hell!? That Final Fantasy XIII-2 ending isn't looking to bad.

Hopefully Stella is playable in Final Fantasy XV-2. :)
 

KOKAYI5

Knight of Death
May 28, 2014
458
91
38
VIRGINIA
www.behance.net
#52
Its a solid point though. Properly done sequels can be loved. Maybe each game of the 15s are on different continents. So it'll always be fresh. What if your chara level is save from each game like dot hack games and it's transferred to the sequel? I'd be ok with a legit direct sequel like that.
 
Last edited:

UNKLE

Red Wings Commander
Oct 26, 2013
109
7
35
#53
I dont know imo this game not going to bring any revelation in jrpg and i dare to say not going much better than any ff13 fabula world game.And i still believe square staff changed things in story and characters from 2006 version they say what they want we never gonna know the truth.And i dont believe in square enix anymore its getting worse than EA.And i hope they never gonna make sequels for FF games, i rather buy new dlc-s like new place/or monster to beat.If i remember correct they said back 2005-2006 when FF13 debut, (read in PC GURU) FF13 maybe the last FF and look what they did now.And i still think ff13 would be much better for ps3 only and would be better if they was release big dlc-s for the game like new places on coccon or on gran pluse, new eidolons fal,cie etc..No game should take longer than 3-4 year to develop what square doing that is idiocy they started for ps3 and now they make next-gen multiplatform with old engine which is idiocy because its more complicated what they doing.
 
Last edited:

King Bimpy

Clan Centurio Member
Jul 11, 2014
127
46
32
#55
Alright, but I still dislike the idea of planning sequels for this type of series. I guess we will have to look forward to Final Fantasy XV-2, and XVI-2, and XVII-2, and XVIII-2, and XIX-2. Well Final Fantasy XV Compilation is planned so there will be multiple XV games I suppose.

Don't even have a release date yet a sequel is planned lol.
Because of that, I’m considering the idea of a Final Fantasy XV compilation to make it complete. Nothing wrong here if your story is written large scale. It would be like ranting on Metal Gear
I dont know imo this game not going to bring any revelation in jrpg and i dare to say not going much better than any ff13 fabula world game.And i still believe square staff changed things in story and characters from 2006 version they say what they want we never gonna know the truth.And i dont believe in square enix anymore its getting worse than EA.And i hope they never gonna make sequels for FF games, i rather buy new dlc-s like new place/or monster to beat.If i remember correct they said back 2005-2006 when FF13 debut, (read in PC GURU) FF13 maybe the last FF and look what they did now.And i still think ff13 would be much better for ps3 only and would be better if they was release big dlc-s for the game like new places on coccon or on gran pluse, new eidolons fal,cie etc..No game should take longer than 3-4 year to develop what square doing that is idiocy they started for ps3 and now they make next-gen multiplatform with old engine which is idiocy because its more complicated what they doing.
The story/characters/setting never changed. It's still fantasy based on reality. Nomura still claims it is edgier, darker, and less shoneny than previous installments. His interviews are coherent when it comes to the narrative at hand. Some of the clips are the same ones as before, which are story ceneteric
 

Crystal Power

Keyblade Master
Nov 29, 2013
712
243
United States
#56
Because of that, I’m considering the idea of a Final Fantasy XV compilation to make it complete. Nothing wrong here if your story is written large scale. It would be like ranting on Metal Gear
Eh, not really. Doesn't each Metal Gear take place in the same universe? I never played the series. But whatever, I obviously can't get my point to be understood lol.
 

yeah_93

Warrior of Light
Sep 27, 2013
1,512
570
Venezuela
#57
Eh, not really. Doesn't each Metal Gear take place in the same universe? I never played the series. But whatever, I obviously can't get my point to be understood lol.
Metal Gear takes place from the 1960's to the 2020's (IIRC). In 1 and 4 you play as Solid Snake, 3 and 5 you play as Big Boss, while in 2 you play as Raiden.
 

Crystal Power

Keyblade Master
Nov 29, 2013
712
243
United States
#58
Metal Gear takes place from the 1960's to the 2020's (IIRC). In 1 and 4 you play as Solid Snake, 3 and 5 you play as Big Boss, while in 2 you play as Raiden.
Okay. :) What I'm trying to say is Metal Gear is different from Final Fantasy. It all takes place in one world. Final Fantasy originally was 'new title, different universe'. But now with all these sequels it seems each title is becoming it 'own' series, or like splitting hairs. Now they are planning sequels before the games even release.

I guess this just means things won't ever be like the Final Fantasy I - IX era. Final Fantasy VII has actually became it's own series now it seems lol.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
#59
I'm willing to bet Versus XIII/XV was never planned to have sequels either.

I don't have a problem with sequels as long as the first game is good. If the first game is crap, then who cares about sequels. Sequels also need to stay faithful to what the first game did and not do anything drastically different (LR:FFXIII for example).
 
Likes: Crystal Power

Crystal Power

Keyblade Master
Nov 29, 2013
712
243
United States
#60
As I mention before here, I don't mind them either (though I'd prefer the former of what I said above like FFI-IX). I just simply don't like the planning of a compilation or sequels before the game even release for this type of series. I very much prefer how Hideo Baba and Bandai Namco are handling the Tales Series, which is similar to the structure of Final Fantasy 'each main installment having a different universe'.