Let's Make Final Fantasy Interesting Again.

Because A Review Isn't Enough, The Brog Needs Another Final Fantasy Article That Hates The Many Quirks Of Final Fantasy.

 

Its odd to see an RPG mimic qualities that plague the superficial elements of first-person shooters. The haircuts and the zippers are unique to a Japanese development style and an accepted necessary evil. I look to Andrew Webster's article for inspiration, but my little diatribe has more to do with the state of franchises battling with creativity. The prime and unique example proposed is the recent direction the Final Fantasy series taken with its core releases over the past three generations of PlayStation consoles.

 

I write this having played through 30 hours of Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XIII. A game rife with problems and achievements, Final Fantasy XIII stands as the latest development benchmark for how Japanese role playing games will be viewed by the general gaming audiences all over the world. I should correct myself, Final Fantasy XIII is a game with a production budget of [if not] a hundred million dollars. So when I say, 'this is how the general gaming audience will view Japanese role playing games' what I mean to say is, this how the general gaming audience will view Final Fantasy games.

For a while the Final Fantasy franchise has existed in their own little billion dollar bubble. With each iteration of these single insular stories a kind of commonality that has been infused into each game since Final Fantasy VII. A disconnected hero, a sassy sidekick and lets not forget those hundred-dollar haircuts. For a series that has championed bringing a unique story with each of its core releases, Final Fantasy has felt aesthetically and thematically similar for the past 15 years.

Sazh? Is That You? Oh...No...Just Another 'Over-The-Top' Chris Tucker Character That Would Influence Japanese Developers For Years To Come.

I've already showed my disdain for how African American characters are depicted in video games, specifically in the most recent Final Fantasy. There is no further belly aching on my part in that regard. Let's be real, a large sum of game developers aren't familiar with the joys of penny candy, free lunches at community centers and of course purple Kool Aid at a basketball court. This isn't relegated to race, but to upbringing. Seeing Sazh as the hybrid of a Chris Tucker character from Fifth Element and an old, gruff soul channeling Danny Glover [in any movie he's been in] is supposed to be progress. The odd evolution occurring in Final Fantasy that brings us here -- is that the artists and developers over at Square-Enix have set the stage for misrepresenting fantastical races and genders.

Perspective has a humorous meaning when looking at the stories and characters of the Final Fantasy games released on the many generations of Sony PlayStation's. The step to 3D has forced developers to focus on so many moving parts and I'm sure, especially after playing Final Fantasy XIII, games of this budget and audience pass through many hands before getting the rubber stamp of approval from higher-ups. The problem is with games like Final Fantasy VII, X and especially XIII is that as individual games they have their pros and cons, but what they mean for the system trumps any amount of creativity and complex design poured into the game at the time.

I Know Its An Old Joke, But Seriously, Tidus' Hair Is So Luxurious!

I loved Edea, the antagonist from Final Fantasy VIII. The Golden Saucer area [baring the annoying theme music] was an addictive little time suck in Final Fantasy VII. Blitzball was a helpful distraction from the oddly paced love story between Meg Ryan and whoever the lesbian love interest was. As an RPG, it seems the Final Fantasy series is moving away from the weighty term. Its cool, an RPG evolving to be its own genre, but to insult the intelligence of gamers during this forced evolution is quite sad. Taking the mildly interesting character development that existed in the PSOne era for better wardrobe and environment detail in the PS2 era hurt the series. In the PS3 era we have this hodge-podge gumbo of, lavish design that you can minimally interact with and a story that would take the Rosetta Stone to decipher.
 


The CG cut scenes in VII were mandatory additions to a game that plays majorly like an isometric RPG. Welcome to the future of 3-dimensional gaming where cut scenes never get old and pull the gamer in by playing with their heartstrings. Final Fantasy X bolstered the power of DVD buy putting lavishly detailed environments and larger-than-Standard Definition screen-monsters on a tiny disc. This all evolved in a big, bloated catastrophe and cry for help in the 13th installment.

However, because of this need to draw in new gamers I contest that hand-holding isn't the move to make. After playing 25 hours of Final Fantasy XIII and still getting tutorials accompanied by a single-path to follow, I realized that because of this game's immediate success [PS3: 4+ million units, 360: 1.4 million units] future RPGs may be willing to mimic the formula of what makes a game franchise sell though gamers may not be completely satisfied with the product. I mean, that's what we are talking about right? Let's put the 'games as art' debate to the wayside and open our eyes and see that the time and care that goes into producing these masterpieces rely more on marketing style coupled with an advertising push.

The One Thing That Could Have Made Zell A Better Character; If He Were A Violent Rapist Of A Cannibal.

Let's make Final Fantasy interesting again. It shouldn't take a slip in sales to give us odd classics like Final Fantasy IX. Why is it difficult for Square-Enix's biggest franchise to take a creative risk? I guess, depending on how you look at the game, they did with XIII. We need better characters, but for that we need better stories in Final Fantasy games. Or are we cool with amnesia effecting the main character time and time again? 

I really don't think I'm asking a lot. Western RPG developers have taken their lumps and some still are [*cough* Alpha Protocol] and I'm painting with a broad brush when it comes to the Final Fantasy games; there is a lot the series does right on every big outing. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe the 5 million-plus-units sold are just an example of how relevant Final Fantasy games still are with the gaming public. If this is the case then Final Fantasy XIII was the cure for my Stockholm Syndrome. I won't have to put up with horrendous English dialogue parroting Japanese humor. If I hear another overacted 'sigh' when nothing heavy is being lifted or surprised 'aw' when nothing of note happened -- I'm pretty sure the future of my current Final Fantasy games will serve as wonderful table coasters.

Any ideas as to what could make the long-standing JRPG [and I use the term lightly] Final Fantasy series more relevant than just a role playing cinematic experience...I'm all ears.

Comments

[DrPolio232]

Well, having actual towns is a great idea. FFXIII had three major problems for me. First and foremost is that it isn't open world, and feels so incredibly confined when you have to walk back and fourth between those retarded and boring Crystal quest. I will not finish the game simply because of this. Two, the characters are dull and uninteresting. Three, TOWNS...Where the hell were all the towns? I love towns! And talking to people in towns and all that jazz. That was just...Ugh.

[Isaiah T. Taylor]

Lol. Solid points. Seems like the devs should have factored in that most of the players of FF games aren't ten years old for the most part