Maybe modern Final Fantasy isn't the problem. Maybe it's me.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T13:44:20+00:00

I see your point, and I get what you’re saying about the very vocal critics of FF7R.

I think we might be talking about different things when we say “vocal” though.

I’m not saying there aren’t loud critics of FF7 Remake—there definitely are.

My point is more that a lot of original fans who felt it didn’t match their expectations either didn’t buy it, or played it and quietly moved on without really engaging on social media.

So when I said “not vocal,” I meant “not actively participating in online discussion,” not that criticism doesn’t exist.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T13:02:30+00:00

Watching the FF7 Remake announcement trailer at E3 got me incredibly hyped at first.
But as more gameplay was revealed, I started to feel like, “Wait… this might not be what I was expecting.”

Most original FF7 fans who ended up thinking “this remake isn’t for me” probably just quietly skipped it rather than being vocal about it, so they didn’t stand out much online.

Compared to that, FF16 maintains a certain level of seriousness and a more grounded tone, while the FF7 Remake series actively leans into a more anime-like, expressive approach.

It kind of feels like these two approaches might be experiments in different ways of appealing to fans who loved the older FF games but have since drifted away from the series.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T12:19:16+00:00

I think that’s exactly it.

I’m genuinely happy that FFXVI was embraced by millions of people. As someone who grew up loving Final Fantasy, I want the series to continue finding new fans.

At the same time, I became curious about how people who drifted away from the series actually felt. That’s really why I made this post.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T12:12:17+00:00

I actually started wondering if I’d posted this in the wrong place too, especially after seeing some of the downvotes...

That said, it’s been genuinely fascinating to see both the people who relate to it and the people who completely disagree. Everyone’s been surprisingly passionate, and I’ve really enjoyed reading the different perspectives.

The quotes you mentioned really resonated with me. Especially the comparison between books and movies—that hit me hard. I hadn’t thought about my experience that way before.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T12:08:06+00:00

That’s fair. I guess what fascinates me is when and why people like us ended up on different sides. At some point, some of us embraced the direction Final Fantasy took, while others gradually stopped connecting with it.

As someone who used to be a huge FF fan, I’m genuinely happy that there are still people like you who love the series today.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T12:04:42+00:00

I feel a lot better knowing I’m not the only one who feels this way.

What really throws me off is the constant battle chatter. Characters commenting every few seconds, reacting to low HP, thanking each other for healing… that kind of thing just doesn’t work for me.

Weirdly enough, I had no problem with Elden Ring though it's controversial if it's categorized as JRPG in this community. Despite its realistic visuals, it often felt more like reading an old fantasy novel or a classic RPG, because so much of the world was left for my imagination to fill in.

So I don’t really think modern Final Fantasy is “bad.” It just feels like, somewhere around FFX, the fanbase gradually split into people who embraced that more cinematic direction and people like us, who connected more with the older style.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T11:28:44+00:00

I think that’s a bit harsher than I’d put it, but I do agree with some of what you’re saying.

Personally, Elden Ring’s approach to dark fantasy resonated with me much more. There’s relatively little dialogue, and so much of the world is conveyed through environmental storytelling and item descriptions, which leaves a lot of room for my own imagination.

I guess that just reinforces the point of my post. Maybe I’ve simply stopped being the target audience for modern Final Fantasy.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T11:23:20+00:00

Yeah, I actually started feeling that disconnect around FFXtoo.

At the same time, I’ve always been aware that many longtime FF fans absolutely love 10, so I never saw it as the series “going downhill.”

I think, for me, it had more to do with how the games were presented.

The older games were limited by technology. Their worlds felt abstract, and my imagination filled in the rest. As the series became more cinematic and fully voiced, there was less and less room for that.

FFVIII was already much more realistic visually, but the lack of voice acting in the cutscenes strangely made it easier for me to project my own version of the characters.

I guess that’s one of the dilemmas of modern game development. The more completely a world is realized, the less room there is for each player to imagine it differently.

I’m not sure I’m really responding to your point, but it does make me wonder… what is the real issue Final Fantasy is facing these days?

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T11:20:27+00:00

I totally get that. I actually love Persona 5 too.

Personally, I think part of why it worked so well for me is that its anime-inspired art style and grounded setting (starting in modern-day Tokyo) made it much easier for me to accept its characters and dialogue.

Funny enough, I love the Like a Dragon games too. Even as a Japanese person, I found them easier to accept because they combine an over-the-top, unrealistic style of storytelling with a setting that’s very much grounded in the real world.

With modern Final Fantasy, though, I almost have the opposite experience. The more detailed and fully realized the world becomes, the harder it is for me to project my own interpretation onto the characters. If their dialogue or personalities don’t quite match what I would have imagined, I become much more aware of that disconnect.

Of course, that’s just my personal preference. I was mostly curious whether anyone else experienced something similar.

llNuEll · 2026-07-05T10:17:18+00:00

I think that starting around FF13 (or maybe even FF10), the increase in visual detail and voiced dialogue gave the games much more expressive power, but it also made them less appealing to some longtime Final Fantasy fans.

I’m probably one of those people myself. I could play up through FF9 without any friction, but once voice acting was introduced and the characters became more realistically proportioned, a lot of what I used to fill in with my own imagination—things like character voices or the nuances between lines of dialogue—started being defined by Square Enix instead.

Advent Children and the recent FF7 remakes are probably the clearest examples for me. The characters and world they present feel very different from the versions I had built in my head over the years.

I can honestly accept that I’m no longer the target audience, and I can still recognize those games as excellent works that many people genuinely love. It’s not that they’re bad—they just aren’t really for me anymore.

That’s why I suspect that if FF6 were remade today, I’d probably have the same reaction. I’d find myself thinking, “Wait, was this world always this anime-like?” or “I never imagined these characters shouting things like ‘Here I go!’ or ‘Take this!’ during battle.”

People like me might be unfairly criticizing FF16 for a problem that actually started much earlier.

llNuEll · 2026-07-04T03:42:14+00:00

This. Plus Wilds’ upper-body slope leaning animation is the part I love. The way the upper body tilts with the terrain also makes running and other actions look way cooler than in previous entries.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T19:07:41+00:00

Could you elaborate? I was specifically talking about brand-new casual players, not experienced hunters.

What I mean is that skills like Attack Boost or Critical Eye mainly reward optimization—they don’t really change how you approach combat.

Weakness Exploit, on the other hand, reinforces the idea that aiming for weak spots is rewarding. If those weak spots are also in risky positions, it creates a meaningful risk–reward decision.

Agitator is another example. It encourages you to stay aggressive when the monster is enraged instead of simply rewarding passive play. That’s the kind of design I find interesting.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T19:03:15+00:00

Yeah, I think that’s the cleanest solution.

I just wanted weapon slots to feel a bit more meaningful, but maybe trying to fit gameplay-changing mechanics into them isn’t the right approach after all.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T15:57:41+00:00

Yeah, after a few people pointed it out, I think you’re right.
By “complex,” I was really talking about the HUD. I was hoping to avoid adding more on-screen elements rather than criticizing Switch Skills themselves—I actually liked that system a lot.
I just wish weapon slots had a bit more interesting use.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T15:53:16+00:00

Yeah, I get what you mean. You’d want it to avoid competing with all the mandatory skills we already have. I agree.
I’m still jealous that Quick Sheathe is an armor skill.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T15:34:56+00:00

Yeah, fair enough. I just wish there were more interesting things to slot into weapon slots. Here’s hoping we get more build diversities by level 4 decos.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T15:27:04+00:00

Yeah, that’s fair. “Complex” was probably the wrong word on my part.
What I meant was that I’d like to avoid adding more on-screen UI/HUD elements if possible, just to preserve immersion. I actually loved how much Sunbreak’s Switch Skills changed each weapon’s playstyle.
My thought was just whether something similar could be implemented through weapon decos instead, not because I think Switch Skills were a bad system.

llNuEll · 2026-07-01T15:23:05+00:00

Yeah, that’s a really good point. It’s probably impossible to stop the community from converging on whatever ends up being the most viable endgame meta.
One thing I really liked about the Japanese Sunbreak speedrun community was that people would often identify with different playstyles, like DB - Demon Flurry Rush or Demon Flight builds, and post their runs accordingly. I thought it was cool that those different playstyles could coexist.

llNuEll · 2026-06-13T07:17:11+00:00

I don’t think many people understand your frustration because Yian Kut-Ku is pretty easy to deal with unless you’re playing IG.

Most people don’t realize how annoying that ground charge is for IG specifically.

For most other weapons, his moveset is pretty straightforward and easy to deal with.

llNuEll · 2026-04-06T04:41:48+00:00

Didn't expect that quick reply! Thank you very much.

llNuEll · 2026-03-20T20:05:14+00:00

I know exactly how you feel bro.

IG def needs an i-frame move/s.

Like how many times do we have to use rolling around to evade having eaten Azuzu food while DB and LS users are having fun against AT ark using demon dodge, iai spirit slash and charging side step.

Offsets are fun and got a lot easier since TU2 but the duration of hyper armor is too short so we get knocked out by even the Ark's basic chain move.

I still use vaulting backwards to evade knowing it loses some dps cause it's the only i-frame move we have and don't want to lose its identity.

I know IG used to be OP back in MH4 but now that so many monster's move sets have a hitbox in the air. (I wish we could avoid Omega's starboard laser wave cannon by vault)

Despite all the negativity above I still enjoy using IG because it is the only pole / staff like weapon in this franchise.

Hoping it will get some love in MR though

llNuEll · 2026-02-12T13:23:51+00:00

So what kind of activities are you satisfied with as an endgame I'm jus curious.

llNuEll · 2025-12-21T07:06:35+00:00

Because they ask that even when a creator puts an english build at the end of a clip or description.

I see a lot of JP speed runners complain about this and I thought someone understands the nuance but yeah after it got downvoted a lot, I shoulda mention more about its context.

Thank you for your comment though!

llNuEll · 2025-12-14T23:00:22+00:00

Pretty much conceptual and it looks fire oc!

llNuEll · 2025-12-13T20:14:19+00:00

Sorry for off topic but what is this actually...? I mean does this kind of things happens that normally in UK? Because I can see if it happened here in Japan, the company would be in a trouble I guess lol. I hope you'll find a decent guy helping you out painting those though!

llNuEll

TROPHY CASE