What do you think every Final Fantasy game should have?

[Rydia]

So, the stories of Final Fantasy themselves are not connected together and each game can stand on it's own. However, there are common elements found in Final Fantasy games. What do you think should be in every Final Fantasy game so that the game feels like a Final Fantasy game and not just another RPG? (Also, I mean the main series, not any spinoffs, sequels, prequels, or off brands)


Cid: luckily every game has a Cid . He was even mentioned in one, but I don't know if this was just added in rereleases of the game. I think the first thing I do when I put in a new FF game is look for the Cid character.

The summons: Bahamut, Leviathan, Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh. Unfortunantly, Ramuh wasn't replaced in VIII and again in X. Leviathan did not appear in X, and everyone was replaced in XII. I like to have these summons because they are the only reoccuring characters in the FF series.

Crystals: Ok, I always thought that they should have kept the crystals in the games. The stories don't have to revolve around saving the crystals. Heck they can just sit there and look pretty the entire damn time in later games. Keeping them would have made the games feel more tied together. And it's what the games were built on. They say in VI and VII that the magicite and the materia were supposed to be the crystals.

Crystal theme in the opening menu: I like the menu music for VIII, IX, X, and XII, but I feel that they should have used the crystal theme instead. It's a small detail, but it would have made the last four games feel like FF games.

FF main theme in the credits. X didn't do this and I think they should have somewhere because it didn't feel right for me.


Chocobos: Best method of travel in the game.

Chocobo music. Every game but 1 has it I don't particularly care for the versions in VI, VII, VIII, X, and XII but it's there so I'm happy.

Cactuars, Malboros, tonberries, and Behemoth. Yeah they are all a pain in the ass, but I love them.

 

[Aerius Sygale]

They don't all have this, but I think each FF game should have a more interesting looking party member, not just somebody with an interesting personality.

What I am getting at is more FF games should have a character (like Nanaki) that isn't just some other human/hume character, but a unique character that isn't another human, not even necessarily humanoid, just as long as they are capable of speech so it is easy enough to understand and interact with.

Kimahri is the most humanoid non-human playable character that I make an exception with, there is plenty about him that is not human-like (fur, horn, etc. ).

 

[Linnaete]

I pretty much agree with the suggestions made so far. I really would not want SE to radically change so much in the future games - I want them to keep in the elements that tie the Final Fantasy games together.

+Airships- It would be nice to be able to fly one, although the newer FF games sadly do not let you do so. But nevertheless every FF game should have an airship in any way, shape or form.

+Moogles- They are my favourite creatures in the FF franchise and it would be tragic for me if SE decided to get rid of them. What is there not to like about Moogles? Cute little faces, bright pompoms, how they say "Kupo" at the end of every sentence. I also want more Moogles in the future - and not just in cameos.

I'll probably think of more later.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Chocobos/moogles/cactuars/moomba's
Many NPC's (audio + eventually subtitles)
1 or more Non-Human party member(s)
Controllable Airships and other vehicles
Hidden towns/caves/ruins/spots
Many unique shops with plenty different merchants divided
4 or more gigantic cities
6 or more towns/villages
1 fishing town/harbour (cool atmosphere) Boat trip always a plus!
Trains and metro cutscenes/storyline etc. (it was always cool to be on board on a train and see the story revolving/interacting while in the train waiting)
Fully Controllable Summons
8-10 Playable Characters (each will have his/her past/life/story in detail shown eventually)
Drama/Love/Action and for once maybe real HORROR would do FF some good, a real sinister FF title


cant think of more aspects/ingredients

 

[Black Butler]

More in depth for the mysterious characters like vincent from 7,kimahri from 10.the characters usually make the game intresting cuz they could be funny or badass.what makes the characters mysterious is them having no past or childhood details.

 

[DeadFantasy]

Moogles and Chocobos-
The game just isn't the same without them FF, moogles and chocobos go baaaaack man xD. I mean it as if they were meant to be in this series.

Summons-
The same thing goes for summons as it did for the moogles and chocobos. It's something that will always be something I think FF should incooperate.

Interesting Characters-
I don't want the characters to all be the same but, I still want the characters to be "decent" if you know what I mean. A character that I at least can put up with.

Mini games-
I liked the mini games that FF put into their games. Something that if I got tired of grinding I could take a break and play those mini games XD



Idunno this and pretty much what was said already xD

 

[.Ted]

I agree with pretty much everything here.

Summons-
The King of Dragons, he's an old summon (that's Bahamut, btw). I believe he should be in all FF games in the future, in some shape or form. They did a decent job on him in FFI. Heck, make him like a humanoid king and I'll be happy.

Mini games-
FFI had that one number game, FFII had Memory, VIII and IX had cards, X had blitzball. Give the players something to do when they want a break from the main story besides grinding for hours.

Chocobos and Moogles-
Chocobos made their debut in II, and the very first time you could get one could save you some time if you wanted to rescue Hilda right away. And what's not to like about Moogles? They even got a chance to shine in Kingdom Hearts, and I also loved the "Mognet" feature in IX. I hope they bring that in the near future. It's fun reading the silly messages (when they're not serious, though).

Crystals-
I got to agree on the crystal part. Never gave it much thought, but at least they gave the game covers a nicer look.

Various character types-
And not just the ones that take the life out of every situation. A good example is Firion. He seems pretty selfless, helping the Wild Rose rebellion at the risk of losing his life. Another is Zidane, whose actions in the ending of his respective game are just something you never see not just in video games but also in actual human beings. Someone who's silent and mysterious is fine, but selflessness is one thing I look in heroes.

And finally, Cid and Airships, as in some games both are linked (II and IX's Cids were Airship owners ). It was nice for SE to take that to the next level when Cid Highwind became a Gummi Ship expert in the Kingdom Hearts games.

 

[Gaige]

To be honest, I think all FF games should have a male and female minor villain. Neither of them have to be the main villains, but the likes of Jihl and Rosch in the upcoming XIII and Yunalesca and Seymour in X.

A world map is a must. I don't see any reason they got rid of them in the PS2 games. A world map makes the place seem larger and more real.

 

[GBJoker]

Gonna have to go with Pussolini, and say world maps. Or at least something more like XI. But not like XII. Capisce? No? I dunno. A big zone with it's area specific monsters, and world monsters, but not split up into 10 areas like XII's zones are. And again, to go closer to XI, farther from XII, you can go in a somewhat straight line across zones in XI to get to the next place, but XII can really mess you up by making do almost a spiralling staircase. (IE, you see the exit right in front of you, but you have to around 90% of the zone to reach the exit.... It's annoying.)

I agree with Tedo and DeadFantasy on mini-games, but want to expand on it. Mini-games that you can do at any point of the story, and not that ten minute mark before the final boss. Yes, yes, you can do Blitzball the second you finish in Luca... But with only half the best guys. You can do Chocobo racing (I think) as soon as you hit that casino city in VII, but not really win anything worthwhile (If I remember it all correctly.)

Other things not mentioned:

Bombs. Or, more specifically, enemies that you have to defeat quickly, or in a certain way that are common, and not bosses.

The choice of battlefield or not. The same as subtitles or not. I know, I know, it'd be a total pain in the butt to get both of those in one game, but it'd be cool.

A reason to do quests. Save the world is fine. Go get item for me so I can just tell you that I'm not strong enough to help you, so go talk to other guy who wants different item, is not good enough. Example, Aeris gets kidnapped by Shinra... Okay, I'll go get her back, no problem. In XII, guy wants me to go to Tomb of Raithwall, risk my life, fight massive onslaughts of baddies to acquire item at far back, bring it back to him, and him say, "Ohp, time to go to Archades, far north of here."

I might have gone into a bit of a rant, but you guys get the point.