To me, what constitutes a Final Fantasy is:
  • Nobuo Uematsu's genius music (most important identifier to me)
  • A handful of ragtag heroes
  • Turn-based battling
  • Chocobos
  • Loosely-linear world exploration
  • Airships
  • Your staple summoning magic
  • Seeking crystals or other Shiny Plot Devices
  • Chocobos

And saving the best for last...
  • Memorable villains


But wait, there's more:

Quote Originally Posted by SOLDIER #819 View Post
I suppose the one thing that hasn't changed is that there will always be diehard fans that do nothing but praise the generation they were born into and say that it has mostly degraded since, like with every other hobby out there.
What a cynical take on older-generation gamers! Even the most hardened die-hard fan can see that things generally degrade over time, especially when piles of money, mass popularity and target audiences inflate the equation! Come here so I can smack some sense into you with this staff---that's right, a staff! This isn't a cane, boy! Back in my day we called it a WOODEN STAFF. We had to walk uphill, downhill, then up-hill both ways through giant forests and grassy terrain just so we could find enough imps to bludgeon for G! Then we had to go back through the same forests and MORE imps to spend a hard-earned 5G! For EACH staff wielder! It was pitiful weapon---a stick, really---BUT WE EQUIPPED IT AND WE LIKED IT! Feel the unbridled wrath of 6 ATK!

You take 6 DMG! You cry!