1. Remake Final Fantasy VII
No! Stop talking about it. Seriously. Now, on to the real #1...
1. Make Final Fantasy XV Portable
Speaking of the world map, starting with the tenth entry in the series on the PlayStation 2, Final Fantasy began to move away from many of its key conventions. The aforementioned world map with its towns and caves was replaced with a singular path that took the party forward. The Active Time Battle system, which largely dominated the games since Final Fantasy IV, was gone and replaced with the Conditional Turn Based system which bore more in common with Final Fantasy Tactics than any of the main series games (though it was still really fun). As gaming hardware progressed, the character models grew more realistic and better scaled to the world around them. However, it wasn't really until Final Fantasy XIII that it became painfully obvious that the series earlier charm had completely disappeared (barring Sazh's baby chocobo, of course). While it's true that the twelfth entry in the series drastically changed in tone (heavy on political drama/intrigue) and gameplay, FFXII had a touch of nostalgia and smart game design that kept most players interested. A good way to recapture that classic charm and shake things up a bit is to create the next main series Final Fantasy game for a portable system like the PlayStation Vita or Nintendo 3DS. It worked for Dragon Quest IX and it could work for Final Fantasy. Even though both the Vita and 3DS are far more powerful than their respective predecessors, a return to lush pixelated graphics and a spritzing of those beloved Final Fantasy staples may be just what Doctor Cid ordered. Oh, and did I mention they've already kind of done this once before? After a string of titles set in more modern worlds (VI, VII, VIII), Square gave us Final Fantasy IX. With the tagline "The Crystal Comes Back," FFIX was a full-on nostalgia trip, but with new features and top-notch execution so it didn't feel like a retread or a cheap cash-in. Square-Enix should also consider implementing some sort of optional multiplayer component that can be utilized locally or over the PlayStation/Nintendo Network whether it be adventuring with your friends or perhaps just a mini game. Remember the card games in FFVIII and IX? Wouldn't it be fun to collect cards in the main game and then be able to use them to play Triple Triad with your friends? Of course it would! What if it were Vita exclusive? Let's face it, Sony needs something to move consoles and this could potentially do it. Do you have any other ideas? Would you accept a portable main series Final Fantasy game? Are you pumped for Versus XIII? Do you have any stories from the FFXIV beta/launch? Comment away!