In recent years, many gaming franchises have struct a balance between retro and modern title with at least some level of success.
I look at franchises like The Legend of Zelda, which has kept alive its top-down 2D approach. I also look at Dragon Quest, which has remade its original trilogy in Square Enix’s HD-2D style.
It’s Final Fantasy‘s turn.
My suggestion is to adopt an every-other approach where even number mainline games are more experimental while odd number games are more traditional. You could also flip this to make even games traditional and odd ones more modern.
In terms of the franchise, Final Fantasy has blazed ahead with cinematics, awesome graphics, and overall big storytelling. This includes 2023’s Final Fantasy XVI and the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. This approach has largely left behind the 2D games that made many fans of the franchise in the first place.
Of course, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles released last year to much fanfare. This remake/remaster stayed faithful to the original graphics, marking a stark difference from other recent Final Fantasy releases.
This is a trend I would love to see the franchise embrace more. Not only providing the large cinematic experiences, but also providing a more traditional, turn-based 2D experience.
Final Fantasy has always been about innovation. The franchise prides itself on shaking up its formula every few games. This is an exciting approach but one that can alienate long-time fans.
Adopting an every other approach would make everyone happy.
For one, it took seven years between the two most recent mainline games. FFXV released in 2016 while FFXVI came out in 2023. Of course, two fully-realized FFVII remakes also released.
Having every other game lean more to the 2D or PlayStation 1 approach would provide something in between the more cinematic games. It could give us Final Fantasy XVII sooner while the developer take their time with Final Fantasy XVIII.
Recent releases show that there is an appetite for this. The original Dragon Quest trilogy has gotten a lot of love recently. Furthermore, The Legend of Zelda seems to be purposefully keeping its top-down games alive with the Link’s Awakening remake and Echoes of Wisdom.
Zelda fans had to wait a similar time period between major releases with Breath of the Wild (2017) and Tears of the Kingdom (2023) having a sizeable gap. It didn’t feel as long because there was a steady stream of smaller games that game out between.
That approach has appealed to all fans. It kept traditional Zelda dungeons alive while still allowing Nintendo to work on the open-world games. Final Fantasy could enjoy the same pacing and reach the same sectors of the audience.
Final Fantasy is in that weird spot where it’s trying to appeal to new fans while potentially alienating long-time players. Providing more 2D games would satiate the longtime crowd and could potentially draw in new players.
It doesn’t have to be all in on one format. Providing both would raise the franchise all around as fans may be inclined to either lean into nostalgia or try something with the name of a franchise they have come to love in recent years.
Square Enix still has some loose ends to wrap up with the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. When its done, there could be a space for injecting more traditional games into the schedule.
The data is there to support this approach and Square Enix does have inroads thanks to the Final Fantasy Tactics remaster. The trick is to trust the process and give it a shot.
What about you? Would you like to see more traditional Final Fantasy games? How would you like Square Enix to build it into the mainline releases? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Square Enix (via Game Rant)
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