Just like many other people(or people in my generation, at least), I got into the Final Fantasy series because of the 7th one. Say what you will about that game but I still remember the moment when Aerith died and that was one of the saddest moments for me. Yeah yeah, other RPGs have done it blah blah blah. But you cannot expect a little kid version of me to play every single JRPG that was out at its time. To me, Aerith dying was not only one of the most saddest moments, but also, one of the most memorable moments. I would go as far as it shaped how I saw(or still see on some extent) JRPGs.

Since 7, I played every single Final Fantasy that came out afterwards except for the online ones. Really did not like the 8, and enjoyed the 9. I liked 10th purely because it was a PS2 game. I thought it was visually amazing but I did not love it as much as other people did.

It was then that I kinda stopped. I just stopped caring about it. The story did not interest me anymore, the characters never felt as good as Cloud, tired of the victory theme music, etc. I just did not see myself enjoying the game anymore.

When the 12th came out, I thought "okay, this is going to be the last Final Fantasy that I am going to care about." Weirdly, however, I enjoyed it. But I enjoyed it as an RPG but not as a Final Fantasy game. As much as people have complained about the combat system, I got the hang of it and I strangely enjoyed it(and I know I'm in the minority). But I realized that "this is actually a good RPG game(at least for me) that SquareEnix just slapped the Final Fantasy name on it so that people like me would buy." That really bummed me down.

And then, 13 came out!

And, because I'm a fool, I purchased it for two reasons: a) since I did enjoy 12, I thought there is a possibility for me enjoy this. b) Final Fantasy game for this current gen? HELL YEAH I'M BUYING IT!!

At the end, however, 13 left nothing but bad taste in my mouth. Even though I enjoyed the new combat system(which I would argue it is just a better version of 12's system), I hated everything else about the game. I did not look at those characters and think "they're pretty" anymore. I could not stand their terrible voice actings anymore and I really disliked the cheesy lines. I did not want to finish the story because I hated the characters' lines and voice actings. But I did finish it and I thought "fuck Final Fantasy." I realized this series was over for me.

Now, 13-2 is out and I cannot care less about it. As a person who once held his franchise dearly to his heart, it makes me sad what Final Fantasy has become and it is even sadder to see people saying "guy, Final Fantasy is still okay!" because I honestly think it is not. It is an opinion so I guess I do not have any rights to criticize them. But play Persona series. They managed to modernize JRPG genre without losing its "Japanessness" flavors. I wish Final Fantasy comes around and become THE JPRG again. But this route that SquareEnix has taken is wrong. I miss Cloud.

Ending your post with, "I miss Cloud," cracked me up so much.

You are not the only one. The thirteenth installment divided the fanbase quite a bit. I played them starting with the fourth installment and followed the series through many console generations. I think my growing apathy toward the series has more to do with my changing tastes in gaming. When I started playing the PS3 it really was the first time I was introduced to the concept of open world gaming. I was overwhelmed by the idea ( I will never forget the moment I left the vault in Fallout 3) but quickly learned to love this style of gaming. As time went on I just couldn't go back to the more linear style of gaming that many JRPGs tend to have. Interestingly enough I am replaying FF12 at the moment and found my opinion of it vastly improved. I loved the more open ended gameplay of that one. While FF13 is a flawed game (I am sorry, I am not going to devote twenty hours of my time for it to "get good") I would hate to say a final goodbye to a series that has played prominently in my gaming experience. I think it is going to take a big change though to revive my interests in the franchise once again.