Final Fantasy 13 was one of the most intense RPGs I'd ever played. However, the entire experience just felt terribly imbalanced.

Now that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is coming out next year, I'm really hoping that Square can save the future of the floundering Final Fantasy franchise.

Unlike some of the people who played through Final Fantasy 13, I enjoyed every part of the first half of the game. I especially loved the crazy fight against a giant helicopter. I think this was the first Final Fantasy where I felt like an almighty sorceror in a cyber-punk world.

In my opinion, the real problem of Final Fantasy 13 had little to do with the number of cutscenes or the overblown drama. The developers just really structured the game in such a way that made almost everyone a little upset.

People who only played the first part of the game hated the linear maps and the nonsensical storyline. Players who survived up to chapter 12 probably hated how the developers left them to wander the Gran Pulse overworld with almost nothing left to do. On top of that, almost everyone hated Hope, the whiniest kid in a Final Fantasy game.

I hope the Final Fantasy series can only get better from this point on, because the series accomplished a lot. The developer, Square-Enix, created a magnificent game engine with some of the best looking 3D graphics I'd ever seen.

The fighting system is an exciting breath of fresh air, mashing real-time strategy with an active time battle system for a high-adrenaline experience.

So I figured I'd write a checklist of changes that I want for the Final Fantasy 13 sequel. Here are four ways to fix the problems in the next Final Fantasy game:

1. Balance the linear and non-linear gameplay

Many gamers don't like running in a straight line with only the next cutscene to look forward to. At the same time, they also don't like running around a gigantic pasture with no one to talk to and almost nothing to do. The next game had better balance the time between dramatic cutscenes and free exploration, or people will really hate the Final Fantasy franchise.

2. Design some better paths

Square-Enix needs some more logical ways to keep us running in the direction they want us to go. For instance, there's no reason that an army of soldiers would set up a straight path so that l'Cie warriors could infiltrate their city.

There's nothing wrong with letting the player choose whichever path might be best, rather than setting up walls of boxes to keep them in a single path.

3. Develop a more relatable storyline

The high-octane action sequences looked cool, but they seemed more like eye-candy rather than face-to-face drama. The sequel needs some more meaningful dialogue that doesn't involve incessant ranting about the hopeless life of a l'Cie.

4. Compose better looping songs

As much as I liked the game's soundtrack by Masashi Hamauzu, some of those looping tracks started to sound really annoying. The worst was the elevator music track on the planet of Gran Pulse, "The Yaschas Massif." Masashi Hamauzu had better not repeat that song in the sequel, or it'll drive me crazy.

There's a myriad of other items in my checklist, but these four resolutions will keep me satisfied. This is one of the best franchises in the Japanese video game industry. If Square-Enix plans to keep its old-time fan base coming back for more, it needs some more fresh momentum to keep Final Fantasy alive.

What kinds of changes would you like to see in the next Final Fantasy games? This includes games such as Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Kingdom Hearts 3 if it ever comes out. Feel free to write about it in the comments below.