Too Much Information, Too Soon!

by Chris Kohler 

The other day, while exploring a Walgreens pharmacy in North Haven, CT, I happened upon the latest Tips and Tricks magazine. I was tempted to look through it--not because of the FFVII spread on the cover, but because I heard that they occasionally review fanzines, amateur publications like mine.

Later, at home, I began reading the rest of the articles. I happened upon the Final Fantasy VII section. The six or so pages seemed to cover the entire game from beginning to end. And as I glanced through the pages, I noticed a giant box that said, "Sephiroth: The final boss."

Great, I thought. I even avoided downloading the damn .S3M with the boss' name in it because I wanted to be surprised, and now, through no fault of my own, I know that the end boss is Sephiroth. I don't even know who that is, but I now know that the entire drama of the storyline is probably gonna be shot. And as I thought about this, I realized how much else I knew about FFVII.

I know that the main character is Cloud Strife, a soldier-for-hire with the group, erm... Avalanche, that's it. And his pal is Tifa Lockheart, and then there's Barret, Cait Sith, a cat on top of a Moogle, and then there's Aerith. Gainsborough. And I know, even before I've seen her in the game, that she's going to die.

Well, great. What's the point in me playing the game now? I never went looking for information about FFVII, and now, due to complete media SATURATION, I already know of two plot-spoiling twists. Super. And if you think about it, this just about happens for every game. If you read magazines or visit game-related sites, you're going to find this helpful information, from plot twists to characters to cheat codes, usually before you even have the chance to play a game. There's no sense of exploration anymore. There's nothing left to do except actually play the game, the experience of which has been corrupted.

And there's no stopping it. Who's to stop game media from reporting on the latest developments? I wouldn't want them to. But it's too hard to avoid it being shoved into your face. Of course, maybe only knowing basic character info and a few major plot details won't kill me. I mean, if I really wanted to, I could have read the FAQ and already know how to solve every puzzle in the game, right? And I don't. And maybe... no, I'm sure that there's just so much in the game that I don't know about yet. I'm still excited and waiting for FFVII to come. Maybe I don't have a thing to whine about.

But I still wish I didn't know so much.