Will Love Grow?

by Benjamin Avner 

FFVIII rumors run rampant, as can be expected. One statement that’s sparked a lot of discussion is a Square representative’s response to the question of what FFVIII’s main theme is. The statement itself is something to the effect of "FFVIII has many themes. Tetsuya Nomura says that one of the main themes is love." Ever-objective and accurate, online reporters are ranting, based on this statement, about how good or bad it is that the main theme of FFVIII will be romantic love between two main characters.

Even if we do assume that love will be the main theme, and not just a theme, and we assume that Nomura means romantic love, and we assume that it will occur among main characters, there are still many questions. Will Square handle it well? Will it be meaningful or cheesy? I think I can give a qualified answer: we don’t know. Love has almost always played a background role in Square RPGs, and love interests for key characters have often been NPCs. A Square game heavily based on love will be a new experience for us all.

In the days of the original Dragon Quest/Warrior and the earliest 8-bit RPGs, it was traditional for romance to play some kind of role. The Great and Noble Hero would, along the way to his triumph over the Evil Force, rescue and win the hand of a Beautiful and Helpless Princess, whose only dialogue would consist of repeatedly affirming her love for said Hero. It seemed traditional for cheap fantasy. However, the better RPG companies were anything but cheap and redundant. Square and Sega seemed to know from the beginning, and Enix seemed to learn (though Nintendo never did) that love was too complex a theme to be dealt with in this way. For several years, romance just wasn’t a part of Square’s games.

When Square made the jump to the 16-bit platform, they decided to try incorporating love into Final Fantasy IV in a more major way, involving a central character. As far as I’m concerned, they failed miserably. Cecil and Rosa are inexplicably in love, despite doing absolutely nothing for each other. Rosa supposedly wants to be near Cecil, but neither seems to really benefit or grow; they just vaguely state that they care for each other over and over ad nauseum. Since FFIV is Cecil’s story, Rosa is the one who ends up as one of the most sickeningly shallow, clichéd, and boring characters in RPG history.

One can detect a certain caution in Square’s attempts at love stories since then. Purim in Secret of Mana is driven by her love for Dyluck. This is done well enough that I could believe that they loved each other. This romance still isn’t developed much, but for a good reason; Dyluck is offscreen for the vast majority of the game. Amidst the myriad of interesting characters in Final Fantasy VI, the only ones who are involved romantically are Locke and Celes, and even that is open to debate. Their relationship is handled fairly well, except when Celes breaks character to be a Damsel in Distress, but so much of it is beneath the surface, in non-verbal cues. The word "love" is certainly never mentioned, and many people doubt whether Locke really has any interest in her.

In recent Square games, relationships are more open, but not necessarily more complex. Crono and Marle have a clearer relationship: she seems to like him. That’s it. Of course, since Crono’s dialogue isn’t written in the game, it’s hard to get any further than that. FFVII’s Cloud and Aeris have a relationship, as evidenced by the fact that she hits on him within thirty seconds of introducing herself. As with Crono and Marle, the two make a cute couple, but that’s about it. Cloud and Aeris’s relationship is decidedly hollow and one-sided (he can help her, but she can’t really do anything for him in return). For me, part of the tragedy of Aeris’s death from a romantic point of view is that both the date scene and Cait Sith’s second prediction hint that Cloud and Aeris could have gone further, and really loved each other. Guess it wasn’t meant to be. Fortunately, we don’t get a Rosa syndrome in FFVII, since, like Locke and Celes, both characters are interesting on their own. FFVII’s real prize from a romantic point of view is the Cloud/Tifa relationship. This represents Square’s best handling of a romance so far. Cloud and Tifa seem made for each other, at least to me; it enhances their characters, not takes away from it. Neither character seems quite the same without the other. This is Square’s first real success in getting into deep feelings and true love. But yet again, so much of this relationship is expressed non-verbally. "Love" is never mentioned, and many people seem to doubt that Cloud and Tifa actually are together by the end of the game (I don’t, though). It works here (can you imagine either Cloud or Tifa giving a mushy love speech?), but it keeps the relationship a background element.

Let me summarize my point with an example. In FFVII’s ending, Cloud sees Aeris’s hand beckoning him. He reaches for it, and finds that it’s really Tifa’s, and that if he doesn’t grab it, he’ll fall to his death. I’ll (over?)-generalize and divide gamers into two types. Type A gamers (like me, to a degree) will say "Wow. That said it better than any words could have." Type B gamers will say "What the hell was that about? If you’re trying to tell me something, then tell me; don’t just hint and throw symbolism at it and hope I get the point." Well, my point is, Square’s successes with romance among main characters (Locke/Celes, Cloud/Tifa) have been almost entirely aimed at type A gamers. We haven’t seen an openly-stated, foreground love story from Square before. FFVIII will be something new. Will they be able to make it work? I don’t know. All I can say is, Square usually manages to pleasantly surprise me, especially when they try out new ideas.