Final Fantasy trailer proves Square-Enix has lost it

Final Fantasy sure has changed over the years.

These days, Square is substituting surface flashiness for that unique FF element that, in earlier titles, conjured genuine wonderment. This is especially evident in the new trailer for XIII. The original FF magic has been lost, and unfortunately, it’s in Square-Enix’s best interest to cultivate the evolution.

Some fans claim the franchise peaked around VI, others that XIII will be the best one yet. One thing’s certain: no matter how much the older fans miss bygone FF eras, the games will never be the same again.

The rule, as we all know, is that as technology becomes flashier, so must FF. Having never grown to love the older games, newer crowds appreciate the voice acting and sparkly graphics in recent titles. This is fine, because FF should sound and look good, after all.

There's so much drama in XIII, it's too cheesy, even for FF.

That said, the XIII trailer takes the cake for melodrama, with seemingly all the characters falling to their knees and screaming out loud to vent their anger/disdain/hopelessness at the world. Hell, there’s even a climactic near-death moment revealed, and game isn’t even released yet.

People say FF has been always been this melodramatic, but I beg to differ. The silent-movie aspect of the earlier ones maintained a certain distance from the characters, and hence, perhaps a higher level of maturity. But since we first heard Tidus’ voice in X, it’s been a steady downhill trend regarding the whine factor.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because lots of people love their FF when it oozes with cheese. Fans have come to expect it from the franchise, and Square need only sustain the ruse to keep their audience hooked.

Who knows? Maybe Squall from VIII would’ve sounded just as emo if he talked out loud. But now, instead of being left to imagine for ourselves just how whiny the main characters are, we find out the second they open their mouths.

It's the attack of the clones, FF style.

As for graphics, we know every FF setting has blended historical high fantasy with elements of science fiction. In this respect, XIII feels familiar. But its Star Wars, space opera styling is still a bigger departure than what we’ve seen before. Never has an FF felt so cyber punk as this one (though looking back on X-2, the evolution seems natural).

The trendy clothing and Power Rangers action moves are familiar, too, but newer graphics make this corniness even more over-the-top than in the younger days. Dare I say XIII feels too stylized? It makes me wish for little 2D sprites, just so I wouldn’t have to see characters pulling off such sophisticated back flips all the time.

FF was already dramatic back then, and now it's blown up even further.

So what’s this boil down to?

Let’s say, just for giggles, that Square-Enix were to make a VII remake. I’ve a feeling they’d try to make it too cool, which would result in the same style-over-substance debacle we saw with X-2, Advent Children and now XIII. We would hear Cloud talk and see him pull off crazy moves in next-gen graphics glory, but would it be better?

It just seems that, now that they have flashier tech, Square-Enix can’t conjure the old FF magic anymore. And new audiences, looking forward to XIII, don’t want the magic anyway.

But there’s more to FF than nonstop slickness. Or there was before the franchise changed, and older fans will be left forever wishing for the good old days.
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The first three screenshots are plucked from the YouTube video provided in first link.
The last one is from this video.