Back before Final Fantasy 9 came out, it was heralded as the return to epic greatness that the series had experienced with 4, 5, 6, and 7. It was — for the most part — but battle animations were slow and the story devolved into some bizarre nonsensery near the end. Early buzz around Final Fantasy 12 promised the same redemption, but the title was marred by the Gambit system, which may as well have been called “autopilot”, and a generally weak soundtrack.

Now, there’s not any indication that Final Fantasy 15 is going to be the moogle’s teats — hell, there’s not even any official word that it’s in development (the logo above is just a fan concept), but come on, of course it is — however, that doesn’t mean I can’t fantasize about what it would be like in a perfect world. I sometimes yearn to have an experience like I did the first time I played Final Fantasy 4, 5, 6, and 7, each of which gave me a unique and profound sensation. I can’t put a value on what it would be like to have such an experience again with a Final Fantasy game, and though I doubt 15 will provide me with that special sense of adventure, here’s my vision of what it might be like if it did.