http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/ybbqrs/gametrailers-com-memo-to-square-enix
After watching the video in the link above, I just rolled my eyes. If you did not watch the video it was basically old fans complaining about Final Fantasy games like XIII and you can presume they wish things were as great as VII. This all seems like game politics to me and in real politics I am conservative but in terms of game politics, when it comes to game play difficulty I lean farther toward the hardcore player direction but some might paint me as a liberal with other aspects which might qualify me as a moderate and I don't like being moderate xD.
Final Fantasy X was the first game I played from the Final Fantasy series and I really liked most of the games aspects except Blitzball because I sucked at it. I liked the music, story, characters, graphics, monsters, environments, and gameplay. I played it when I was in elementary school so I never beaten it for a while in fact I would sometimes just stop playing it for months and come back to it. Even today I would replay it again and I can't wait till the updated version comes out. I also played X-2 but I haven't beaten it yet. The main difference I noticed was that the gameplay was different and the game seemed to have more of a feminine edge which I didn't mind.
When I got FF XII, it was interesting at first but it didn't seem as exciting as X and the gameplay was difficult so I quit on it a long time ago. If I had it today, I would probably just play for the sake of beating it but I would probably use guides. Overall it isn't one of my favorites.
As for the XIII series, I liked most aspects of it just like I did with FF X. FF XIII 1 and 2 aswell as Lightning Returns have received the most criticism from Final Fantasy fans because of its gameplay and difficulty. The games to me were somewhat challenging to me but I did beat it quicker than FFX. The only difficulty I ever really met in XIII was near the end where I couldn't get passed certain trash mobs. I finished the game later on. As for XIII-2, I got lost with the time travel and couldn't progress through the main story line and I wasn't much of a fan of its music nor its two players and 1 Pokemon battle team lol. Now that I've beaten both, I'm now looking forward for Lightning Returns
I've never played any Final Fantasy game before 10 so that makes me part of the new crowd for Square Enix. I can see how some of the older players have problems with this the recent games, especially 13, because I too have played a game that has been out for a considerate amount of time. That game is World of Warcraft which I played for more than five years and I think its going down the toilet because Blizzard is catering to the casual players, the story isn't impressive anymore, and it lost its touch. I've actually stopped playing it and am waiting for FF XIV ARR to come out and be the new MMO I play because it seems promising with just about every aspect I care about in a game. As for WOW, I think it will be out for a while even though I sometimes think it's reaching its end time. I think I've simply just lost interest of playing it.
When it comes to the Final Fantasy games before FFX, I think I would give them a try if ever having the opportunity. The only thing that makes me move away from those games are the players that played them and heavily label these games as the worst FF games ever. Their criticism makes me think that the FF games that came out around my generation's times are the worst ever. These critics seem to love FF VII a lot and even judge FF XIV ARR which I think has potential to be a great game. I'm not asking for or saying that the old generation players to come together with the newer generation players, I just think its very annoying. The whole point of this forum post is purely expression and I welcome discussion on other similar or different views. :)