5 Games That Prove Final Fantasy Has Become Nothing More Than A Cash Cow
Can Final Fantasy XV revive a series that has become so tarnished by subpar releases?
Final Fantasy has long been considered one of the most beloved and prestigious gaming franchises. Between 1987 and 2001, developers Square released no fewer than ten original titles (supplemented by a handful of spin offs), many of which continue to be considered amongst the greatest games of all time even today, renowned for their beautifully crafted worlds and stories.
Since Square merged with fellow Japanese developer Enix in 2004, however, the series has arguably gone downhill. Just three entries have been developed for the main series since then, none of which lived up to their predecessors in terms of reception.
These have been supplemented by a seemingly endless array of remakes, sequels and spin-offs, some of which have admittedly earned considerable acclaim and been a delight to play.
The majority, however, have been released with little fanfare and quickly forgotten, with the Final Fantasy name struggling to mean what it once did given how many sub-par titles it has been attached to.
Over the next few pages, some of the worst offenders and their 'crimes' are profiled. Here's hoping that the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XV in September can cast aside some of the more bitter memories and steer the series back to its former glory...
5. Various Mobile Titles
Exemplifies - Too Much Of The Same
Mobius Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade, Final Fantasy Dimensions...the list is almost endless.
Now many of these games have been enjoyable to play, but the fact of the matter is that it's impossible to keep up given just how many mobile games that Square-Enix have slapped the Final Fantasy name on. True, premises do differ from game to game, but not considerably enough to make them confusingly interchangeable to all but the most hardcore of fans.
The company have well and truly embraced the casual mobile gaming revolution that has emerged in the market in recent years. Whilst it's probably serving them well financially given that each game typically gets several million downloads, the fact that they're saturating the market with games diminishes the value of the Final Fantasy brand, which has taken a big enough hit in recent years as it is.
From time to time, a truly unique concept does emerge, such as Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, which takes one of the series' best loved elements - its music - and uses it as the background for a rhythm-based action game. Titles such as this are not getting the love they deserve, however, when a search for Final Fantasy in the Apple or Google Play stores yields multiple pages of results and they get lost in the crowd.
Thankfully, Theatrhythm was given a console release on the Nintendo 3DS, but as portable gaming consoles continue to lose market share to smartphones, who knows how many more titles that Square-Enix will consider making for them before they switch to the mobile community exclusively?