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Many middle volumes struggle to maintain momentum as they move through the tricky traditional structure of middle acts.
Everything sucks at the start, and it’s gonna get worse before the end.
Original Final Fantasy 7 protagonist Cloud Strife
But, the best of them?
The Empire Strikes Backs and The Two Towers?
Each of their sequels push their respective envelopes without betraying expectations."
Original Final Fantasy 7 protagonist Cloud Strife
But to find its future, Final Fantasy can look to its past for all the answers.
Revolution or evolution?
“But with Final Fantasy we’ve always put an emphasis on strong visuals.”
That’s one of the staples of the Final Fantasy series, that we change things up every game.
We don’t like doing ‘upgrade version’ style sequels.
Our staff would become completely bored if we had to work like that.
That’s why we don’t mind changing up the game systems every time.
Sequels that only change the story and nothing else are boring, right?
I hope players will enjoy experiencing a new Final Fantasy world each game."
Final Fantasy 5 improved upon 3’s job system, and retained its more straightforward plot.
Final Fantasy 6 took 4’s narrative success and bifurcated it into dozens of smaller, interconnected stories.
And, well, you get the point.
Original Final Fantasy 7 protagonist Cloud Strife
This style of iterative experimentation essentially defined the series for its first nine entries.
They felt like Final Fantasy.
Eight years separated 10 and 13, and it would be another seven years before 15.
So, what can Final Fantasy learn from its past success to return to form?
Experimentation within Final Fantasy used to be iterative and focused, rather than wholesale reinvention with each new title.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was just one of the titles we chose for ourbest games of 2024ranking
