Personally, I think it's just another world named Ivalice, with similar tone to the Tactics ones, hence the use of the name.
As to the whole Squareenix games conversation.
I've liked the recent Final Fantasies.
It's my belief that an RPG has to be looked at on three fronts.
Story, gameplay, and graphics (Sound rather goes in with graphics, as they both pertain to the game's 'prettiness').
Any of those can Redeem the quality of a game, if impressive enough, but if they are bad enough, they can also topple it.
But when speaking of graphics quality, you have to look at what the hardware can do.
I firmly believe that EVERY Final Fantasy has had amazing graphics for it's platform. Even 1. You're hardpressed to find a game on NES that really had a smoother, cleaner, and flashier look than the original couple Final Fantasies. (I would say Mario 3 is anotherone at about the same level of polish.) Then look at the SNES era. Alright, 4 was a little weak graphically, but so were most of the first SNES games. Look at 6. For 16 bit, 2D graphics, the game is amazing. FF6 and Chrono Trigger look just as good as a lot of the 2D Playstation games. 7, 8, and 9 were some of the prettiest games on the Playstation, and X and X-2 have, quite likely, the best graphics on the PS2. 11, in my opinion, is one of the prettiest MMOs out there, as well.
But these last few go without saying, and a lot of people consider that the problem. let's look at gameplay and storyline.
Final Fantasy gameplays and story rather do follow a formula. It's a formula that works, when the right input is given.
Story formula is as follows. Big Evil wants to destroy the world. Ragtag* group of intrepid heros journey all around the world, facing conflict on all possible levels. (Man vs. Man, Man vs. Technology, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Nature, and Man vs. Self.) Eventually, at the very last level of an oversized dungeon, Big Evil is confronted by the heroes, defeated, and all in the world is right again.
It usually works out well. Conflict, being the core of the story, is what makes or breaks the story. Lets compare 7 and 8. This is where things get subjective. I personally think 7 is the much better game, and I think most of you agree, but I'm not gonna say anyone else's opinion on the matter is wrong. I'm just going to show the evidence that I base my own on.
Both stories had some big plot holes, but 7s holes are smaller, and in the background, where as a lot of 8s holes were larger, or at least, they effected the main conflict of the storyline. I know a lot of people who beat FF8 and were sitting there at the end saying "Wtf?"
The GFs and the fact that they consume memory was used as a MAJOR deus ex machina. If you aren't familiar with the term, it means "God via machine." and refers to ancient roman theatre, and a technique stolen from greek theatre, in which a god would be lowered into the scene with a crane, and the god would instantly sort out the conflict and problem. In modern use, it refers to any outside force that enters the story right at the climax right at the climax to solve the problem. (Final Fantasy 9 inverted this, and sort of gave a "Diabolus Ex Machina." Introducing the final boss 3 seconds before you fight him.) Deus Ex Machina is considered the weakest form of resolution for a conflict. In 8, the GFs just happened to stop them all from remembering that they grew up together in an orphanage, yet none of them really seemed concious of the fact that they couldn't remember their childhood. Well, I guess Squall sort of did, but it wasn't that firm... Squall never was that firm on anything except ...whatever...
Another small note about storyline.... X-2. Final Fantasy X-2 has a great story, if you enjoyed Charlies Angels. Personally, I didn't, and I couldn't really stomach more than the first chapter of X-2 because of the girl-power oozing from every polygon of the game.
As far as gameplay goes, the Final Fantasy series has always been a rather shining example, sorry FF8 fans, but I'm going to pick on it again. FF8 is one of the largest exceptions to that fact. The junction system was messy and awkward. I'm not saying that it was bad, nor impossible to learn, but one of the nice things about the final fantasy games has always been that it's not that hard for someone to pick one up and play it. I know a lot of casual gamers that had a hard time wrapping their fingers around that system. And I understand why. Junctioning GF, junctioning magic, junctioning abilities, controlling GF growth, paying attention to GF loyalty, or whatever they called it, to who they were junctioned to... There was a *lot* to that system, and quite a bit of it was unnessecary, or at least needlessly complicated.
Also, I think the gameplay of X-2 was it's biggest redeeming factor. For the first time EVER in a turn-based RPG, I felt that combat moved at a reasonable pace. I actually have had adrenaline rushes in some of the fights in that game, and it really felt like combat. I also give it HUGE props for the incorporation of in-combat class switching. Something that I know a lot of people who have for in Final Fantasy games. But a lot of those same people have turned their noses up at X-2 because it feels too much like playing dressup and watching Sailor Moon. And I can agree with that, but I still look at it from the strategic side.
But to look at X-2 as a whole, I've seen a lot of people blame it's fault on the pretty graphics. And I think that's unfair. Anything square makes is going to be pretty, they rather have the premiere 3d animators on the face of the planet. They might as well put them to good use. It would be a shame to split the talent up, when they can do things like Advent Children that blow away every other bit of 3d animation I've ever seen. Sorry Pixar and Dreamworks. The graphics are a plus for X-2, but they aren't enough to redeem it. The gameplay is very fluid and fast paced, and I love it, but it alone does not make the game great. The biggest problem is in the story writing. I liked the story of 10, I did. I really enjoyed X and it's probably my third favorite RPG on Playstation 2. (Behind Wild Arms 3 and Xenosaga 1.) But X-2 took it downhill. Yuna did not come out of her religious crisis as a better person. Moreover, after she 'lost God', she became a bubbly, dimwitted airhead. Now a story can survive with one of those (rikku), but two of them, and a half gothic jrock-styled cold bitch, pardon the french, do not lead to any really interesting character dynamics. And all teh characters, EVEN Paine, seem so genuinely nice that very little conflict comes out of the story. Moreover, what I've seen of the story doesn't seem to even remotely fit into the Final Fantasy/Jrpg formula. At least, it the parts can be put into the formula, but the equation doesn't quite balance.
But while that does make the game, all in all, sub par, it still has good gameplay (which is subjective, as not everyone looks for the same thing, but I find it fun.) and amazing graphics. To totally fault the game would be unfair.
On the topic of 11 and 12. 11 deviated very far from Final Fantasy. Yes, it's style did resemble that of the oldest games, but I still didn't feel that the game translated well into MMO format. It could have done so, but it didn't. The BIGGEST flaw I felt was the gameplay. It really feels NOTHING like playing a final fantasy. It feels like playing an MMORPG. As for 12, from what I've heard they are using 11's gameplay system. I really mourn the loss of good gameplay in the series. I've seen what happens when one tries to port MMO gameplay into a single player game.... I thought the .hack// games sucked, myself.
To make a far too long story incredibly short, I really think that the Modern Final Fantasies are just as good as the oldies, and I really think that labelling Squeenix a graphics whore and being done with is grossly unfair to the company. However, they are making some mistakes that they could avoid, but it's rediculous to say that their attention to graphical detail is the cause.
Just my two bits. If you don't agree with me, more power to ya.
~Contra~
*Ragtag is optional, but usual. However, the Light Warriors in FF1 were not ragtag at all. They were heroes, and they knew it.
