For many, this was the pinnacle the Super NES gaming experience. When Final Fantasy III (now VI to mesh up with non-US releases) was released it represented the next (and, though we didn’t know it then, last) in a line of supremely awesome games on the Nintendo platform. Starting with the original Final Fantasy on the Nintendo Entertainment System, a game which arguably pioneered the standard video game RPG formula, the years that followed contained some of gaming’s greatest moments - all on Nintendo systems.

Years passed, Nintendo experienced lean times with uninspired platforms, and our favorite RPGs moved to other platforms. The Playstation 2 became the ultimate system for any fan of Japanese-style Role Playing Games, and life went on.

Then Nintendo had a second wind. Nintendo seemed to adopt a new philosophy, stuck to their guns despite the naysaying, and released an enormously successful handheld platform, the Nintendo DS. They followed it up with the shockingly refreshing Nintendo Wii and now, in early 2007, it seems like the glory days of Nintendo might return. The Wii is the only current-gen console that just won’t stay on the shelves. You can find stacks of PS3 and Xbox 360s, but good luck getting your hands on a Nintendo Wii or even a Nintendo DS.

The runaway success of the Nintendo DS is the reason Square-Enix recently shocked the gaming world with their announcement that the next installment of their most popular franchise, Dragon Quest, would be an exclusive DS release. This bucks the trend of releasing spin-offs of major franchises on the handheld systems and keeping the major releases on the “big” consoles. Dragon Quest IX is no spin-off. This is the next major Dragon Quest game. Dragon Quest is by and far the most popular Square-Enix role playing game in Japan. It is more popular than Final Fantasy (in the US and Europe, Final Fantasy outsells Dragon Quest). In fact, it is so popular in Japan that it has crossed over into the realm of “cultural phenomenon”. Seriously folks, ballets have been produced about this stuff. We want to impart to you, the non-Japanese reader, how important this game is to the Japanese consumer.

With this added weight, we repeat that Square-Enix brought this franchise back home to Nintendo.

For some, however, this is not enough. Games like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy often have extremely devoted fans; sometimes complaining about the details of the next release, but never even thinking about not buying it. These die-hard fans are often the same people who are very brand-loyal to their game console as well. For years, these fans lamented every release of a Final Fantasy game, wondering when the day would come that they could stop having to choose between their loyalty to Nintendo, and their loyalty to Final Fantasy.

Is there any hope?

When Final Fantsay Tactics came out on the Gameboy Advance, these fans saw it as a turning point: Final Fantasy’s long-awaited return to their beloved Nintendo. It didn’t last, however; they were disappointed again when Final Fantasy XII was developed for the Playstation 2. The latest insult is that Final Fanasy Tactics: Zodiac Brave Story is going to be released for the PSP. Final Fantasy XIII is being developed for the PS3 instead of the Wii. How could they pass up the opportunity to incorporate the Wii’s innovative control scheme into a non-spinoff Final Fantasy game? The world may never know.

Final Fantasy fans have been willing to shell out the cash for the Playstation just to play their favorite Squaresoft games, but with the Playstation 3’s excessively high entry price, even the most devoted Final Fantasy fan is going to find it difficult to justify such an expense.

It seems in poor taste to wish for the demise of another, but the Playstation 3 does not seem to be pulling in the sales that Sony expected. The Wii has been accepted as so much more accessible, and roundly fun, that by the time Final Fantasy XIII is released (in 2008), there is a chance that the Playstaion 3 will have started down the same sad road taken by poor, poor Sega Dreamcast. If that’s true, there is a very good chance that Final Fantasy XIV will be back home on Nintendo… where it belongs.

Tags: gaming, PS3, Wii