Wada unsure of Final Fantasy's future

Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada has admitted that Final Fantasy XIII met with a mixed reaction from gamers, and that he's not sure if the long-running RPG series should look to change in the future.

"When it comes to the customers' reaction to the quality of the game, some value it highly and some are not very happy with it," Wada told Gamasutra.

"I think this is a product that was able to meet the expectations for those who know Final Fantasy," he said. "There are all kinds of games around in the market today. Should Final Fantasy become a new type of the game or should Final Fantasy not become a new type of game?

"The customers have different opinions. It's very difficult to determine which way it should go."

Final Fantasy XIII was criticised by many for its slow pacing and linear first half, for adhering too strongly to some Japanese RPG traditions, and for diverging from others. However, Wada pointed out that despite varying review scores, the game was a commercial success.

"Looking at the numbers alone, it is pretty good, because we were able to release the latest Final Fantasy in all three markets of Japan, United States and Europe in a very short period of time, and we were able to reach 5 million units rapidly - and I think this product will grow further."

We suspect that will influence his thinking on what direction Final Fantasy will take more than the complaints of gamers on the internet. Us? We liked it.