Has Final Fantasy jumped the shark?

[Gamerforlife]

I don't know if I'd say it "jumped the shark" though. When I think of game franchises that have "jumped the shark", I think of Silent Hill or Sonic The Hedgehog.

I think this is a good point. I think I'd say that Final Fantasy is more having an identity crisis than jumping the shark (similar, but not quite the same).

Final Fantasy has always kind of been out there, though.

Good point, it's not as bad as the Sonic series has gotten

And yes to the identity crisis thing. If you think about it, there is little that the past three FF games have in common. It's like they keep trying to re-define the series.

My biggest gripe has been with the stories. FF12's story was good, but not memorable. FF 13's story sucks. FFX 2's story didn't need to even exist. FF X was the last story I truly enjoyed. Though nothing has been as good as FF6's story

[Shabba]

Whenever I play FF13 (and I like the game for what my opinion is worth), I think of how far the series has come, whether positive or negative, since FF1. Maybe it's an age thing, but FF1 will never be topped in my mind, simply because it was so different and so much fun when it came out. FF7 gets a lot of attention and I can see why. It is a fantastic game that changed the institution of Final Fantasy in so many ways...I can still remember being mind-boggled by the graphics and being so happy that it didn't suck when the series made the jump to Sony from Nintendo.
I have to agree with whomever said the series hasn't so much jumped the shark as it is suffering from an identity crisis. Not to compare the series to what writers are saying about Tim Tebow, but the earlier games had so many "intangibles" that it's pretty hard to duplicate. Maybe the later games have less personality than the earlier ones? FF1 was so hands on and the latest one is, well, not so much. It's more about flash.

[Dylan]

^ I definitely agree about the flash thing. Final Fantasy has had a huge emphasis on graphics starting at FF7 and becoming more apparent over time. This isn't necessarily bad, but I also notice that's about when the stories started to suffer. Gameplay has always been okay for me throughout the series, except for maybe 2 and 8.

My biggest gripe has been with the stories. FF12's story was good, but not memorable. FF 13's story sucks. FFX 2's story didn't need to even exist. FF X was the last story I truly enjoyed. Though nothing has been as good as FF6's story

I absolutely agree. As I mentioned, it seems like an emphasis on graphics drove away the story (could just be coincidence, though). I just wish we could have another Final Fantasy like 6, incredibly memorable characters, an in-depth and exciting world, and a simple but dynamic battle system. Nothing besides this is truly necessary.

[Pulsar_t]

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/04/ana ... _aging.php

[Ack]

Personally, I always felt they jumped the shark when they went 3D...

[J T]

Excuse me for my ignorance but what does "jumped the shark" mean?

It's a reference to a Happy Days episode where the Fonze was in this waterskiing competition where he jumped over a shark. It's basically when something really ridiculous happens and you know that a show has taken a turn for the worse that it likely won't recover from.

The laughing scene in Final Fantasy X was probably the series' shark jump.

[jp1]

For me: FF7 = The shark.

[J T]

I remember when Final Fantasy II came out because it didn't make sense to have a sequel to a fantasy game that claimed to be the final one. It's funny that all these years later they still haven't had a fantasy that finalized the series.

[Capcomwarrior]

I don't think the series has "jumped the shark", but I agree that Square began to focus more on graphics, but really on 6. Sure, 7 has the largest graphical improvement, but with new hardware to utilize. I remember when 6 came out, it was the best graphics we had seen yet in an RPG with great colors and some new effects. Then Square did Chrono (before going to psx). I'd say 6 marks the focus shift to graphics... if there really was one.

Ya know, the more I think about it... I remember the FF series always being revered for its graphics - maybe more now than in the early 90s, but then again they have more to work creativity with now.

No shark, IMO though

[Hobie-wan]

Excuse me for my ignorance but what does "jumped the shark" mean?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... ngTheShark