When I really started playing video games more than 20 years ago, it didn’t take me long to get into RPGs, specifically anything that Squaresoft (now Square Enix) released. I fondly remember going through Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX. I finished Chrono Cross multiple times and really enjoyed (although never managed to finish) Vagrant Story. For me, my PlayStation was mostly for sports, role-playing, and action-adventure type games. In most situations, anything related to the Final Fantasy series, or developed by Squaresoft, had my attention.
This trend continued into the PlayStation 2 era. I remember spending my Christmas Break in 2001 playing through Final Fantasy X. Years later, I even went so far as getting a PS2 HDD so I could play FF XI (then paying the monthly sub even when I quickly lost interest). I still kept track of the stuff coming from them, including Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and even The Bouncer.
While I can’t quite put an exact date to it, my interest in the series and in some case (now) Square Enix started to waver. Yes, I still kept track of upcoming games from the developer but I just couldn’t get around to playing or finishing their games. I bought the collector’s edition of Final Fantasy XII but never actually bothered to start it. A few years later, I would buy FF XIII, get about halfway through then gave up. It was strange how my excitement for the company and its games stopped.
It’s not like I just straight up gave up on Square Enix. During that time period, I still played and even finished games they either developed or published. I reviewed (and probably one the few people that liked) Front Mission Evolved. I finally got around to playing and completing the Nintendo DS version of Chrono Trigger. If they released anything on the PlayStation Portable, I wanted to play it (yup, even the Dissidia series).
But shifting back specifically to the Final Fantasy series, I still can’t quite point the finger as to why my interest in the series just stopped. Usually if you stop liking something, you just give it up and move on. In my situation, I still spent money on their games. I bought Final Fantasy X-2. With Final Fantasy XIII, I also bought XIII-2 (I didn’t buy XIII-3). Same situation with Final Fantasy XV. I bought the collector’s edition, played the demo, but never actually started the game. I have World of Final Fantasy on my PlayStation Vita and I doubt I’ll ever go back and finish it. This trend continued with the fact that I also recently bought the Nintendo Switch version of Final Fantasy XII, played for about two hours and only went back so I could grab a screenshot for this blog post.
So, with the Final Fantasy VII Remake just around the corner, I finally hit that point where my interest in the series is low. While I downloaded the demo with the intention to play it but it wasn’t until the time of this posting that I actually made an effort to try it out.
I will admit, the demo is pretty enjoyable. The combat is fun and the graphics are incredible but I am still not sure if I would immediately buy it on day one. While I am sure it’s going to be one of the more talked about games of 2020, I don’t think am I at a point where I would actually pick it up on Day One, start playing it, and then actually finishing it. However, if there is enough of a positive response from the masses, I may be easily swayed in a different direction.