[quote=@Dynamo Frokane] Is this the Regina George defense? People hate COD, GTA, Battlefield and Madden because they are popular too, and they sell good just like FF. Yes no one is denying the appeal of the games, its the McDonalds of RPGs, a lot of people know it and purchase it, doesn't make half the mainline series any less tepid. I feel like 'decent' is misleading and setting the bar a little to low. I don't think any of the games outside of 2 and 13 are outright crap, but the non-great entries are really just average, enjoyable sometimes, kinda dull, if 1,3,5,8 and 12 didnt have the name final fantasy in the title they would be as throwaway as the Shin Megami spin offs (barring persona). [/quote] People hate COD and Madden because they have very minor changes from release to release, moreso in the case of Madden since COD players are divided if they like the Advanced Warfare style or the more classic style when it comes to mechanics and movement and such. But despite what it seems, COD is still a pretty well regarded franchise; it's just easy for someone to flex their 'real gamer cred' by saying fuck Call of Duty. Call of Duty 4 was basically the FF7 of modern first person shooters. If I said half the mainline series was 'great' you'd have the same response gif anyway. Half the mainline series is great and the franchise is important to the world of video games as a whole, and I don't just mean FF7. You can't honestly claim that if 1 didn't have the name it would be throwaway because when 1 came out literally no one had heard of Final Fantasy and the game itself was like a revelation back in the 80s. It was one of the most influential games within the genre and helped popularize the genre as well. There's nothing throwaway about it unless someone plays it today and takes it only at surface value. 5 was popular back in the day too and it wasn't even widely available. 12 was widely acclaimed and was the first Final Fantasy game to get a perfect score in Famitsu. 8 followed in the footsteps of 7 and still managed to be accepted in its own right. If the games didn't have Final Fantasy in the title they probably would not have sold as well, no, but they'd still be as widely regarded. But the franchise has earned its name and place and recognition because it's one of the few franchises that has been consistently decent since its inception. You can count on one hand the number of genuinely bad mainline FF games.