We Deserve More Traditional Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda Games

The situation is particularly grim in the case of The Legend of Zelda. After all, for as incredible and successful as Tears of the Kingdom is, it really is similar to Breath of the Wild in many ways. For as incredible and successful as Breath of the Wild was, it was notably different from more “traditional” Zelda games in many ways. It emphasized a massive open world with numerous survival elements (most notably, breakable weapons) and removed, or severely altered, numerous classic Zelda tropes like boss fights, dungeons, and even puzzle design elements.

Tears of the Kingdom bridges the gap between those styles a bit, but the core issue remains the same. Those who love those classic Zelda games will only find traces of the things they love in these modern titles. More importantly, those who love more traditional Zelda games really aren’t able to rely on Nintendo to consistently deliver them.

So what happened to those classic Zelda games? That’s a fantastic question. Since the release of 2013’s A Link Between Worlds, Nintendo has drastically decreased its production of new Zelda games that follow the traditional franchise formula. The closest we’ve gotten to a “new” game in that vein was 2019’s The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which was an extensive remake of the Game Boy game of the same name. Beyond that, we’ve had to rely on the occasional remaster of a classic Zelda title. Even then, it seems like Nintendo isn’t in a hurry to provide such remasters at a rate greater than “once in a while.” 

It’s a slightly different story in the case of Final Fantasy. After all, there have actually been a number of Final Fantasy games released over the years, each of which typically emphasizes a wildly different playstyle that caters to different kinds of fans. Final Fantasy 14 is one of the best MMORPGs ever. Final Fantasy 16 is an ARPG that emphasizes the “action” portion of the program. The Final Fantasy 7 remake even offered a kind of hybrid combat system that aimed to find a middle-ground between menu-based and real-time action. 

What you won’t find in recent years, though, are many Final Fantasy games that resemble the early turn-based JRPGs that put the franchise on the map. How long it’s been since we’ve gotten such a game kind of depends on your definition of those titles. However, you could certainly argue that 2001’s Final Fantasy X was really the last major Final Fantasy title that felt more “traditional” in the ways fans often ask for. Even then, that entry made a number of changes to what many people thought of when they thought of a Final Fantasy game up until that point.

Mainline entries into the Final Fantasy franchise since then have made numerous (and increasingly drastic) changes to that formula. The various Final Fantasy spin-offs have been even bolder than that. Like The Legend of Zelda, those looking for traditional Final Fantasy games in recent years have largely had to rely on remakes and remasters of previous titles. Unlike Legend of Zelda, those remakes and remasters have varied wildly in quality. They’re sometimes delivered with the enthusiasm of a baron tossing a coin to a beggar. Of course, Final Fantasy Tactics fans have it even worse, but that’s a story for another day.