What happened now is, Square-Enix can’t produce overrated game anymore, they just use superior graphic and give title of their RPG game with the name of Final Fantasy, ruin every image that Hironobu Sakaguchi was build. If you hear “Shootie HG – Crazy Chocobo from FF XIII2″ you’ll know what I mean. In previous game, Final Fantasy is like a music with harmonic composition, even tough they’re not strong enough to make you awake from sleep, but you enjoy daydreaming with it. While today Final Fantasy, they just like a pop music, it’s strong enough to get your attention, however, it’s waking you up from the sleep and you can’t daydreaming with it.

Previous Final Fantasy, is polished again and again, if you give attention to detail you’ll know what I mean, the boat is pushed to cross the river with extreme current. Today they’re flawing like a boat which follow the water, they had the skill to make it good today, only that. Previous Final Fantasy, they don’t have a skill to make it, yet, they’re so brave to answer it, to make the game beyond their limit. This is what really make the different of Final Fantasy you grew up and Final Fantasy today. Today Final Fantasy is really good game for this era, but Final Fantasy yesterday is better game at their era. :) You get what I mean?

Now, I enjoy The Last Story (feeling getting back of what I lost), what bad from Last Story is I can’t get enough exploration of the world, enjoying side game and the story feeling like too short for me. I get the feeling I’m still hungry. Other game I really enjoy, is Xenoblade which really fill what lack in The Last Story, so it’s pair one on one for me. But still, I think I enjoy them too much. I can’t get enough, it feel like I found what I lost in both game, really.

Anyway, I do research of The Last Story logo for Indonesia Art Institute. While I’m in research, I get so much message from Hironobu Sakaguchi/maybe previous Final Fantasy team. They hide it in game, their feeling of Final Fantasy. :) You may want to check it out your self.

Actually I think you hit it on the head. I’d put it at 9 though…I played and enjoyed 10, 11, and 12, but something started draining out of the company after they left the PSX format…and their current state is just sad and corporate. I’ve sunk years of my life into SE products (literally….XI playtime was over 400 days when I quit) and even I feel utterly ambivalent about what they do now.

My favorite was VII, but its not just that I “liked” FFVII, its like a part of my soul is wrapped up in that game. Literally. Playing that game shaped my education and career choices up til the present.

Even like 15 years later the memory of first playing that game is fresh in my mind. It was pure liquid imagination. It was the fresh burst of air as you undock your ship from the shore, that feeling of anything being possible.

But now were all older and live in a world where most things are possible, but also come at a great cost.