Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: Square's Flawed Attempt to Simplify Final Fantasy for the U.S. Market

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was made to appeal to U.S. audiences, so it simplified combat, abilities, and exploration compared to main Final Fantasy games.
It stripped away choice, freedom, and complexity that defined Final Fantasy, resulting in a flawed, uninteresting game.
Though a failure, Mystic Quest showed Final Fantasy's spirit of innovation, even if ideas didn't carry over to future titles.
The game is a time capsule of when Square struggled in the U.S. and made radical changes to appeal to Western audiences.
It represents an era of more experimentation before rising costs and risk-aversion limited innovation in the industry.

inverse.com

Relevant topic timeline:

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