Who even gives a fuck about the modern, non-MMO FF's anymore? FFXIII was the death knell for the series, XV and especially FF7R cemented the fact that modern Square, or better Square Enix, can't make a good FF even if their lives would depend on it.
I know the games still sell and the revenue from FFXIV subscriptions practically funds their whole business operation but from a sheer gameplay- and story perspective the modern FF titles are nowhere even near their glory days. The modern titles all look very pretty but, at the risk of sounding like a retarded /v/irgin, they have a distinct lack of SOUL. Hell, FFXII was borderline already but still had enough of what made FF FF, after that they shouldn't even have bothered with naming the games Final Fantasy anymore. FFXIII is probably my biggest disappointment in gaming, next to Diablo 3.
I don't know exactly what happened after the merger but that's when Squaresoft's creative genius started to wither, little by little, game by game but especially noticeable in the FF franchise.
Also 9>7 and 5>6, FFT GOTYAY.