Final Fantasy

[Josquius]

12 was alright.  Story was awful but the combat and game mechanics were enjoyable and it was a large world to explore.

Really just want a FFVII remake though.

Should've never left Midgard in that game. That first part was the best.

True enough.
A entire game with you as a terrorist just running around blowing up reactors and whatnot would have been great.

[HisMajestyBOB]

12 was alright.  Story was awful but the combat and game mechanics were enjoyable and it was a large world to explore.

Really just want a FFVII remake though.

Should've never left Midgard in that game. That first part was the best.

True enough.
A entire game with you as a terrorist just running around blowing up reactors and whatnot would have been great.

Damn Straight!

[Fate]

That would have been a terrible game. FF7 rocked because you had such a large world to explore.

[Cecil]

JRPG 

[HisMajestyBOB]

That would have been a terrible game. FF7 rocked because you had such a large world to explore.

A whole wide world filled with blah.
Just like most 8-bit era JRPGs, too.

[Jaron]

That would have been a terrible game. FF7 rocked because you had such a large world to explore.

A whole wide world filled with blah.
Just like most 8-bit era JRPGs, too.

Disagree.

[MadImmortalMan]

Looks like 13 is out. Anybody play it?

[Neil]

Word on the street that it is absolutely linear, with almost no exploration, as a direct response to the fact that 12 had almost no direction.

Personally, I think that the franchise is really weakening, and has been for years.

[Sophie Scholl]

It's been downhill since III (VI if you're Japanese).  VII was a downgrade, VIII was an even bigger downgrade.  It just keeps getting worse.

[Razgovory]

III was the last one I played.

[Jaron]

Word on the street that it is absolutely linear, with almost no exploration, as a direct response to the fact that 12 had almost no direction.

Personally, I think that the franchise is really weakening, and has been for years.

Haven't Final Fantasys been that way for awhile? World exploration hasn't really been a hallmark of the series in quite some time, unless you consider traveling on a world map from point A to point B < exploration >

I think the last one that was really semi-non-linear was maybe 3/6. After the floating continent, you were pretty much free to reassemble your allies in whatever order. You could even go straight to the final boss. 7 had a little exploration in that there were some side quests to chase after.

What is different now?

[Monoriu]

Looks like 13 is out. Anybody play it?

I'm playing it. 

Pros -

Stunning graphics
Compelling story
Interesting battles.  Player actions have a real impact on outcome.  The battles don't feel too repetitive.  Less micromanagement than previous installments.
Good general production values - the voice acting is good, the music is good, the scenaries are well-designed, battle difficulty and balance is good, etc.

Cons -

Extremely linear so far (I'm up to Ch. 7).  There is basically no exploration, no talking to NPCs, no choice whatsoever.  It is so linear that I won't call it an RPG.  It is a movie, one in which you are not allowed to watch the next part until you fight and win some battles. 
No real choice and trade-offs in character development.  They have an interesting system in place, but it is just an illusion.  In reality the players don't need to choose how to develop their characters. 

My verdict - if you don't mind the linear aspect, it is an addictive game well-worth the investment.  If that aspect really bothers you, then this is not your game. 

[Monoriu]

Word on the street that it is absolutely linear, with almost no exploration, as a direct response to the fact that 12 had almost no direction.

Personally, I think that the franchise is really weakening, and has been for years.

FF7 is the high point of the series. 

[garbon]

FF8

[Josquius]

I've not played it but my idiot of a flatmate bought it and his beast of a gf played it through.
It apparently takes all the bad things from 12 and expands on them. Just dungeons, dungeons, dungeons.
FF is dead to me. It reached its best with X and there it also ended.