(March 27, 2012 02:52:14 AM)Kevio17 Wrote:  If it came to it, I would consider myself a 'true' fan simply because I'm a genuine fan who has played lots of the series and enjoyed most of it. If I went around saying 'zomg i luv sephy<3<3' yet have only seen his fight scenes in AC, then I wouldn't be a true fan, I'd be a fake fan.

^ THIS, THIS, AND MORE OF THIS!

It's like my nephew for example.

He has thus far only played through FFX, DoCFFVII and FFX-2
He has played a good portion of FFVII, and FFVIII
He played a small bit of FFI, FFIV, FFVI, and FFXII

now sadly, he has not shown much interest in the 2D ones, he seemed more interested in the 3D ones (and he specifically chose to play the DS version of 4 over the PS1 version, mainly because of the voice acting, but I think he would quickly turn away from the game due to graphics)

He also wasn't too interested in 12 for the record...

now, he claims himself to be an FF fan, but is he a true FF fan? I'd say give him more time to honestly warm up to the old games first ^_^;

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I think this is an important differentiation to make: If someone calls themselves a "huge FF Fan" but has only played ones released from around FFXIII's release... That's like a handful of games at most; not even a quarter of the whole series? At what point does it go from someone being a "FFXIII Fan" to an "FF Fan"? I would like to say that you've played a majority of the main title games to be able to be able to accurately call yourself a fan of the series as a whole.

But if that's the case, there are nuances lost. I've played every main FF title since FFVII (let's ignore spinoffs for now). That's 6 games, not quite half. Under the description I proposed above, I wouldn't be classed an FF Fan. So I think that people should be more specific when talking about their fandom. I'm not an "old school FF fan" (that is from FFVI backwards), purely because I've never really had the chance to play any of them before, but that doesn't really make any difference to my enjoyment/knowledge/etc of the newer ones. Heck, you can't even really call FFVII "new school FF" any more. It's like FFI - FFVI are old school. FFVII - FFIX are mid school. FFX - FFXIII new school. (Now I feel old ). I think if people were more specific about how far their reach expands then it's far more difficult to dispute their "fan" levels.

It's difficult to even define how far you have to go to be considered a fan. Do you have to buy it, play it and have completed it? Is it okay to have rented it to completion? How about people who own it but have yet to finish? What about people that own every game on multiple platforms and have every piece of merch they can get their hands on? It's just too difficult to ever define one set of things you need to have before you're a fan. Some fans are 12 year olds. Some fans have no money to spend. I think fandom shouldn't depend on that.

IMO, if you have only played one or two games and loved them, that's great, but say that you're an "FFXIII fan" until you go and enjoy some more. If you only really love anything before FFVII say you're an "old school FF fan". If you haven't completed them all, that's fine; keep trying! You shouldn't be ashamed. You've got nothing to prove to anybody if you're having fun with what you're playing. It does really annoy me when people talk about how they're such a huge fan when they've not even *wanted* to check out the majority of games. The intention behind saying you love a series as a whole but not actually getting behind it to play most of them is very very clear (that is, people that have access to the newer games but don't actually play them... Actions and intentions should be differed here).

ANYWAY. It doesn't really matter. Play the games you love. Talk to people about the games you love. Value the opinion of people who you know have an opinion worth listening to. Encourage those that don't to become more knowledgeable on what they're talking about. Recommend your favourite FF to them if they've not played it fully, talk to them about why you love what you love and dislike what you dislike. Be courteous, but don't apologise for the way you are a fan for something you like. Be honest.

You guys should all know by now how far I go to show my fangirl-ness for the things I love *points to everything Uncharted*. I had never really played a shooter before. I suck at shooters. But just because I'm crap at the actual gameplay, doesn't change the fact that I know large chunks of the dialogue from UC2. And I think the fact that despite being crap at it, I pushed through Crushing to platinum the game, just shows how much bigger a fan of the game I am compared to someone who only chucked in 15 hours and had no difficulty with it. I believe that if your enthusiasm for something can't be contained, you're a fan.

(Sorry, I rambled) XD

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I remember hearing this back when I used to post on a Metallica forum.
"I only like the first 4 albums because they sold out after that so I'm a true fan."
"I like from The Black Album onwards. That's over half their career. So I'm a true fan."
"I like everything they've released and follow them blindly, regardless of if they make terrible music. So I'm a true fan."
"I pick and choose what I like and don't like. I'm a true fan."

I don't put any stock in the phrase "true fan". Everyone has a different definition which ultimately renders it meaningless. And whenever someone claims to be a true fan and someone else disagrees they invariably fall into the no true Scotsman fallacy.

Sorry for being a buzzkill, but I felt like contributing.

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I always laugh when someone calls themselves a "true final fantasy fan". Maybe I'm just ignorant because I never really liked any final fantasy games, but to me, there is no such thing a 'Final Fantasy Fan'. Let me explain...

Final Fantasy games are completely independent of each other. Final Fantasy 7 has nothing to do with Final Fantasy 8, and 8 has nothing to do with 9, and so on. Each has a different cast of characters, a different story, a different universe, different developers, different everything. The only thing the two games have in common is the fact that "Final Fantasy" has been slapped on the cover of the box, and both were published by the same company.

So, saying you are a 'final fantasy fan' means nothing. You could say that you are a JRPG fan, or a Square Enix fan, or a turn-based battle system fan, or a fan of a certain development teams, or a fan of games that had at least a certain budget, but you cannot say you are a general final fantasy fan, unless of course you only buy the games because you think the term "Final Fantasy" is catchy...

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(March 10, 2011 08:09:41 PM)Darryl Wrote:  Grammar Nazi: Aaron (15 Votes)

BlahblahblahBlahblahblah

(March 27, 2012 01:54:53 PM)Aaron Wrote:  different developers, different everything. The only thing the two games have in common is the fact that "Final Fantasy" has been slapped on the cover of the box, and both were published by the same company.

That's where you're wrong, up until 10, the games were produced by the same team.
Yeah, they were new stories with different characters, but there was always some sort of connection somewhere. They were all essentially the same universe. Sometime that's all a series needs

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(March 27, 2012 02:00:05 PM)Zero Wrote:  That's where you're wrong, up until 10, the games were produced by the same team.
Yeah, they were new stories with different characters, but there was always some sort of connection somewhere. They were all essentially the same universe. Sometime that's all a series needs

Even if that's true, I still just think of "Final Fantasy Fan" as interchangeable with "that development team that worked until 10- fan that still somehow is a fan even though the team doesn't exist anymore"

Judging by your response, I guess you more or less agree with this sentiment?

Another thing I notice is how few people who call themselves fans of final fantasy don't like the spinoffs. That doesn't seem like a true fan of the series to me, that seems like a fan of just the main games that have a huge budget. But I guess that's just my personal view.

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(March 10, 2011 08:09:41 PM)Darryl Wrote:  Grammar Nazi: Aaron (15 Votes)

BlahblahblahBlahblahblah

(March 27, 2012 02:09:34 PM)Aaron Wrote:  Even if that's true, I still just think of "Final Fantasy Fan" as interchangeable with "that development team that worked until 10- fan that still somehow is a fan even though the team doesn't exist anymore"

Judging by your response, I guess you more or less agree with this sentiment?

well, at that point it leaves it down to the fact that XI, XII, XIII, and XIV are still the same universe in a way. After all, they are Final Fantasy. It's not always the development team or the company that fans like, but the universe in which it's immersed.

(March 27, 2012 02:09:34 PM)Aaron Wrote:  Another thing I notice is how few people who call themselves fans of final fantasy don't like the spinoffs. That doesn't seem like a true fan of the series to me, that seems like a fan of just the main games that have a huge budget. But I guess that's just my personal view.

a lot of people who call themselves fans of anything don't like spin-offs, or at least claim that much. Look at Kingdom Hearts, every time they announce a new title within the spin-offs, fans whine and complain, and as much as they might want to deny it at this point, KH3D is no different.

That being said, as far as I know, Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Advance 1 and 2 are well loved. Crystal Chronicles has a cult following. Final Fantasy Fables is generally a loved spinoff (but then again, how can you not love Chocobo ^_^). and then there's my personal favorite spinoff: Seiken Densetsu ^_^

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(March 27, 2012 02:27:28 PM)Zero Wrote:  a lot of people who call themselves fans of anything don't like spin-offs, or at least claim that much. Look at Kingdom Hearts, every time they announce a new title within the spin-offs, fans whine and complain, and as much as they might want to deny it at this point, KH3D is no different.

That being said, as far as I know, Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Advance 1 and 2 are well loved. Crystal Chronicles has a cult following. Final Fantasy Fables is generally a loved spinoff (but then again, how can you not love Chocobo ^_^). and then there's my personal favorite spinoff: Seiken Densetsu ^_^

I'm fairly certain that Kingdom Hearts' spinoffs are still looked upon favorably. People complain about the spinoffs because they have to buy a new console every time another is released, not because they don't like the spinoffs. Heck, Kingdom Hearts doesn't sell as well as Final Fantasy, but the sales of Kingdom Hearts' spinoffs dwarf the sales of Final Fantasy Spinoffs.

But, as you said, there are some cultists out there that do love some Final Fantasy spinoff series.

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(March 10, 2011 08:09:41 PM)Darryl Wrote:  Grammar Nazi: Aaron (15 Votes)

BlahblahblahBlahblahblah

(March 27, 2012 04:25:54 PM)Aaron Wrote:  I'm fairly certain that Kingdom Hearts' spinoffs are still looked upon favorably.

Now hold on a second!
Chain of Memories - iirc a lot of people didn't like it because of the battle system
358/2 days - many people say it's stale and repetitive
Coded - I have not heard a single fan say anything good about it
Birth By Sleep - The only one that I've heard the majority of fans say good things about
Dream Drop Distance - up until recently, it wasn't just the fact that it was on a new system, people just didn't wanna like this one.
tell me I'm wrong, go ahead!

(March 27, 2012 04:25:54 PM)Aaron Wrote:  But, as you said, there are some cultists out there that do love some Final Fantasy spinoff series.

now hold it! don't twist my words, the only spin-off I claimed had a cultist following is the Crystal Chronicles spin-offs. Tactics has a strong following, and so do the Chocobo games. Not to mention Seiken Densetsu (the Mana series), which in and of itself has a following separate of Final Fantasy.

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On the topic of spin-offs, I feel fans probably wouldn't have much to complain about if: A) they are usually the exception and not the normal product Square-Enix pushes out from their production line. Seriously, as much as the concept Dissidia and Crisis Core appealed to many fans, it's hard - for me anyways - to blame their anger when they are delivered "fluff" material while they wait for news about the next big game in the franchise; and B) these spin-offs weren't so divided among platforms. Some would argue that Kingdom Hearts has always been more of a PlayStation IP than anything else, so for those who are compelled to pick up the spin-offs would have to purchase handhelds in order to stay in the loop, as it were. So far, the Kingdom Hearts series have seen games being developed for the GameBoy Advance, PSP, the DS, and now the 3DS. That's four separate plotforms minus the main series on the PlayStation 2. And while many of us love Kingdom Hearts, not all of us have the patience nor the wallet to buy an entirely new console just to experience one game.

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