No, I won’t help Final Fantasy XV turn profit. There’s some context to this. Lots of it. Nearly 12 years of it when we first saw this title as Versus XIII, planned to co-exist with the XIII entry which would be called out for its’ “linear” approach to a hit RPG series. After the trip to Ivalice for the near 4th time(with expanded universes trailing back from 1997, when Tactics was born out of the Ogre Battle genius). After several changes, rebranding, and the upgrade to 8th gen, you’d believe that I’d still hold steadfast. Clearly, I’d support, right?
Again, I Won’t Help Final Fantasy XV
Let’s rewind a bit to a couple of weeks ago, when Square Enix took two respected journalists or media personalities, Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, their American and Japanese heads, the series forefathers including producer-turned-retired-rapper Hironobu Sakaguchi, to put all JRPG fans and FF heads to rest on when Final Fantasy XV will be released. Yes, Final Fantasy XV Universe was a spectacle. Out of that shot Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, an anime that focused on the core members of the boyband warrior protagonists, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV – the Advent Children’s take on Noctis’ father’s backstory and events that surrounded XV starring Aaron Paul and Sean Bean. And of course, with a whopping $270 USD kitchen-sink Ultimate edition, only available in 30,000 units, a decade felt as though it was still quite a wait.
In that timeframe, Final Fantasy XV underwent several revisions to accommodate the shift in the gaming wind. The combat being one of the best things to come out of the entry’s point. Perhaps the Advent Children, XII, XIII, and Dissidia influenced the style. There’s lots of movement compared to the wait-your-turn portions from its’ other fellows. We were treated to two demos, Episode Duscae and Platinum Demo, which sliced a sweet piece of what’s yet to come. It was acceptable and quite enjoyable to attack a group of soldiers in the forest, then have to defend yourself against a group of goblins who nearly attacked said soldiers while you were in a locked position. Both demos shown off the handiwork of their decade toil. Unlike The Last Guardian, there’s a reality here. Someone at Square Enix started using S.M.A.R.T. goals to get us the all male cast sooner than later.
After the fanfare of Uncovered died out, Square Enix’s Hajime Tabata mentioned in a press conference, that FFXV needs a lifetime sales that surmounted to defeat its’ own record holder – Final Fantasy VII – in sales at the mark of 10 million copies. Well, Geek.com already lost faith. Personally, so have I. FFVII did damage with ports and it was still not enough for a 20 year old title to knock out GTA V with near 60 million units. At the same time: I’m disgusted at the fact that this was public knowledge right after Universe unveiled a well-thought-out strategy to engage their audience. Good luck at defeating Grand Theft Auto V. A damn good reason why I won’t help Final Fantasy XV.
If this was a marketing ploy, to encourage gamers to support Square Enix for its’ newfound admiration for its’ former self, publicly announcing the figures needed for Final Fantasy XV to get to great status, was the worst move. The title has gone through several rehashes, two demos, and one of the most ambtious expanded universe plots ever to be hatched from its’ father. An expanded universe that came near the game’s release instead of as an internal fanservice reaction a la Final Fantasy VII’s cult stature. To believe that this number needed to be brought to light may give out a weakness and lack of faith in the management of its’ PR. Like I said, I’m not here to save Square Enix. I won’t help Final Fantasy XV turn profit. I’ll still put my eggs into the FFXV basket and hope for September 30th to transcend holiday status. The title is quite phenominal for what it has and as a gamer, the title’s overall appeal for purchase never includes a “save the company” title. Besides that, it’s a bit more personal. I have been waiting since 2006 after all. 10 million copies is a stretch of the imagination for a current release to achieve that, but at least we’ve got something to end the drought.
