There's definitely a reason why i'm a mod for the "General Discussion" section and not any of the gaming sections. I really don't even consider myself good at video games.
I've never beaten a Final Fantasy game or a RPG. I really struggle with them. I mainly play them for the story, and don't really care for the turn-based combat. I am getting Final Fantasy because it seems more action oriented and kind of reminds me of Kingdom Hearts for some reason. Bringing the game to a wider audience while still making it complex isn't a bad thing in my mind.
Very rarely does anyone care for the turn based combat. Like the table top rpg's they evolved from, the combat was simply the best fit representation for the time and technology. Games that made such poor combat the main focus of the game were called the derrogitary term 'hack n slash' to indicate their lack of substance, a term thats meaning has been lost.
The RPG's known for enjoyable turn based combat are rare, and typically groundbreaking, like the system in chrono trigger, or a less rigid more player controlled battle simulation like xenoblades. What jrpg's, the good ones, came to be known for, what was so great that the player would put up with the often mediocre combat, was a world full of wonder and awe to explore. Compared to other genres, it was the difference between going on a safari into uncharted territories, and going on the frontierland safari adventure at disneyland.
FFXV is not more action oriented. Its not anything oriented. You dont even really play it. The computer does. You push a single button, and the computer selects the 'most appropriate' move from your deck to use. You hold the button and the computer does all your moves, then reshuffles the deck to continue.
Okay, so the combat is terrible, but at least its flashy. RPG players have put up with often mediocre combat plenty of times before to get the good out of rpg's...
Oh, this one has no goods. Its on rails, literally, the game is glued to a highway, it is a theme park ride. Just like every single other AAA bubblegum blockbuster. There is no shortage of games like ffXV. The AAA market is beyond oversaturated with them, so there is no shortage of games for the 'wider market'.
Contrary to that, games for the people who enjoyed what ff used to be have all but gone extinct. ESPECIALLY, the ones that focus on having an engaging world as the main mechanic. There are more beasties in the Loch than games for us. There was Xenoblade, back in 2010, and in 2015, there is Xenoblade chronicles X. Thats it. That is all there is.
So yes,Squeenix saying theyve given up on trying to figure out where they went wrong with engaging rpg's (FFVII was the turning point into doom) and making a AAA theme park ride instead, is like taking a small crusted peice of bread away from a skeletal starving man, and tossing it onto a giant mountain of food reserved for gelatinous blobs of overindulged bloated, morbidly obese gluttons.
Forgive us if we find something wrong with that.
