Hey, Remember When People Used to Care About Final Fantasy?

As a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, I used to be angry.

I’ve been angry ever since Final Fantasy XIII, even though I played that game – and FFXIII-2 – because they were still, at the very least, decent productions. They didn’t feel like Final Fantasy but hey, they were okay. I tried playing Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII but it was so freakin’ depressing that I just had to stop. The game was mediocre. FF games are not supposed to be medicore…oh, how the mighty have fallen.

And really, I’ve been annoyed for years. It’s the logical reaction when a company opts to completely ignore its fanbase and inexplicably attempt to cater to an entirely new set of gamers, all the while leaving their loyal followers behind. It didn’t work, as each of the three previous FFs have sold significantly less than its predecessor. Lightning Returns was a sales flop, relatively speaking.

But there’s no sense being angry any longer.

The bitterness and disappointment gets old after a while…just let it go

I know a lot of people like me, who grew up with Final Fantasy and still consider it to be one of the greatest – if not the greatest – video game franchises of all time. With each new entry came new awe and wonder, and a new benchmark for RPGs as far as many were concerned. RPG fanatics used to compare every new RPG with Final Fantasy, and that’s because Squaresoft’s vaunted series acted as a perennial measuring stick. But no longer.

Thing is, how long can we go around whining and lamenting? It obviously hasn’t done us any good, as we’ve been complaining for years and Square Enix has turned a deaf ear to every last one of us. They’re intent on not being “left behind,” on making sure they produce a globally appealing product, because after all, gaming is mainstream now. And yet, how they ever thought they’d get the Call of Duty followers to embrace Final Fantasy is beyond me.

Countless articles, countless threads in forums; all written by dejected one-time FF fans. And where has it gotten us?

Thing is, now we don’t really care how Square Enix continues to ruin Final Fantasy

After all this time, apathy is finally starting to settle in. You may notice it during your online travels. Where there was once heated indignation there’s now a dismissive shrug of the shoulders. Final Fantasy was a common discussion point, but that trend is dying. Granted, if Square Enix has showed off Final Fantasy XV at E3 this year, I’m sure some people would be talking about it. I’m also sure there’d be far fewer excited people than we all think, and that’s because apathy is like a disease.

It kills interest in a franchise, much faster than hate and indignation. For example, there was a time when I’d always read any FF news I saw, and many fans I know did the same thing. Now, we just sort of gloss over it, uncaring and unfeeling. We’re convinced we won’t like what we read, anyway, and besides, there are lots of other games out there now. There are better games and better RPGs and that’s that.

Happy trails, Final Fantasy. You and I are through.