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Top 20 Videogames of the Past Decade #4

4. The Final Fantasy franchise (PS2, PS3, PSP, GBA, DS, GameCube, Wii, 360, mobile)

Once, this series would have ranked right at the top of my list; that was back in the previous decade, the 1990s, when Square was arguably at the top of their game. However, the turn of the century saw a marked drop-off in production, as well as some stagnation, to be frank.

The proper installments that actually were released in the past decade include Final Fantasy IX on PSone in 2000, Final Fantasy X on PS2 in 2001, and the MMO-RPG, Final Fantasy XI on multiple platforms in 2002. Then there was the long silence before, late in the life of the PS2, Square released the long-awaited Final Fantasy XII in 2006… and it was almost overshadowed by the release of the PS3.

Japan already saw the release of Final Fantasy XIII in 2009, but it will be a new decade by the time the title hits US shores, so it just doesn’t count.

Still, each Final Fantasy installment was beautiful for its time; FFIX was a wonderful swan song for the PSone platform, FFX was a platform-defining game for the PS2, a model which all other PS2-era RPGs paid homage to, and FFXII was a glorious swan song on PS2 that made some people wonder why a new generation of hardware was even necessary.

The only real stinker in the series proper was the MMO-RPG, FFXI, which has seen regular updates and is due to be replaced sometime early in the new decade (2010 or 2011) by Final Fantasy XIV. Still, for series purists like me, FFXI doesn’t count and should never have been made part of the main series’ numbering, but the launch of a new online-only series that could have been called Final Fantasy Online or something like that.

Sure, like a lot of people, I didn’t care for the sit-n-watch combat system of FFXII; but at least it saved me loads of joint pain from all that button-mashing hitting the X button tends to inspire in other Final Fantasy titles.

Be that as it may, and despite all the missteps and delays this decade, the wonderful gaming memories I’ve enjoyed at the hands of FFIX, FFX and FFXII still rank this RPG as an all-time favorite series… in this past decade or any other it has been part of.

Final Fantasy: Better than expected, but not much new

SquareEnix simply never learns to adapt.

I’m not talking about new titles; I’m talking about remaking their old ones. At last count, following its initial release on the original NES, SquareEnix has issued remakes of the original Final Fantasy for WonderSwan, PSone, GBA and now, PSP as well. Over the course of at least five versions of the game, while the graphics have been upgraded mildly, the element that’s never really been mussed with is the core of the game’s thin story and lackluster game play, compared to more modern Final Fantasy titles.

Sure, you might say, the throwback game is slightly improved but the general story is so bald of plot and motivation and character depth, if it were a 40-something guy, you’d simply tell him he needs a hair transplant.

What America Idle DEN would like to see is for SquareEnix to invest enough time and talent into the game to really, deeply remake it from scratch. Sure, retain some of the most important core elements and tones of the original, but most importantly, find a way to make these four generic warriors (who in the original didn’t even have character names, though they do on PSP) as deep and intriguing and complex as Yuna or Cloud Strife or Vaan or … whoever. Bring the game world up to at least a PS2 “Final Fantasy XII” level of presentation, if not a PS3 / Final Fantasy XIII level.

In other words, divorce the game from its yesteryear technology without losing the elements that made the game a breakout hit in the first place. Think of the way the original Tomb Raider compares to Tomb Raider Anniversary; it would have to be at least that dramatic to make sense.

Of course, the likelihood of this happening is as slim as new 6’8″ Minnesota Timberwolves SG/SF, Corey Brewer. In other words, the company is still – and probably wisely – more interested in developing all-new Final Fantasy titles, rather than remaking old ones.

But then they should perhaps forget about the half-hearted measures and just stop putting out these cosmetically-enhanced, half-effort retreads and forge ahead with something new already. Like Parasite Eve 3!

Will Blue Dragon live up to hype?

Grab some gel pens and mark it down: as much potential as Microsoft’s forthcoming 360 RPG, Blue Dragon, has, it does bear a lot of potential to fall short of the expectations built by the hype surrounding the game.

Sure, the Mistwalker crew of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, and Nobuo Uematsu are something of a dream team. But with such prestigious names associated with the same title, taking on an all-new, unproven IP, the unfamiliarity of the new franchise could make the game a bit of a harder sell than many are expecting.

Think of it this way: you have the character designer of DragonBall Z, the creator of Final Fantasy, and one of the music producers of Chrono Trigger. But none of them are working on DragonBallZ, Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger. It’s something new, and fans coming to the title expecting it to be a lot like DBZ, FF or CT may come away disappointed by the differences between Blue Dragon and those beloved properties.

That’s not to say Blue Dragon will be a disappointment or a failure. Not at all. But if anyone is expecting it to sell on the same level as a Final Fantasy title, they could be disappointed. A better point of comparison would be Fable.

Fable was a new IP when it debuted on the original Xbox. It had a great set of creative types behind it. And it sold very well … for a first title in a new IP. Within a year or so, Fable 2 will debut on the 360 and is expected to far exceed the sales of the first Fable… because it’s now a known quantity.

I expect a similar reception for Blue Dragon. It will do quite well, for the first title in a new series. But sales likely won’t approach the same level as the top RPG franchises right out of the gate; that will come as future chapters are released. Perhaps by the time Blue Dragon III is unleashed, it will be able to challenge the sales figures of the top RPG franchises.

That’s what happened to Shadow Hearts. Sales figures like that are not shabby. But anyone expecting Final Fantasy XII sales figures from Blue Dragon will be setting up a false expectation of what success for the title will look like.