Hate Final Fantasy VII because of the Ending? You've Completely Forgotten...

by Kevin Leung 

Console RPGs should no longer be released in America. "Hey Square, don't bother translating Xenogears and Final Fantasy VIII. We just aren't ready."

Why? Well, this article section of RPGamer has proved to me that some of today's role playing gamers that constantly bicker over "incomplete endings" and "racist overtones" have forgotten what it means to play videogames.

Last night, after many hours of gameplay, I finished Final Fantasy VII for the first time. I watched the final CG scene in complete awe. After the moment washed over me, I decided to visit RPGamer and read what others thought of the game. What I found were people who were very irate because they thought Barret "should swear less" and the game had "no plot closures for every single character." If this is what North American gamers lose sleep over then we truly are a sad lot and deserve to be ridiculed by the Japanese.

I will not argue whether Final Fantasy VII's ending was good or bad, but if that's all you care about then you have completely missed the point of playing Final Fantasy VII. Let me ask you a question: do you remember what kind of games you played when you were a child? Tag? Yes, that's a game. Checkers? Excellent! Baseball? Right on! Now, how about videogames? Are they not games as well? But of course they are, dear.

I'm sorry if I'm treating some of you like five year olds, but some of the authors in this article section need to be talked down to. I enjoyed Final Fantasy Tactics because I could plan strategies and move pieces on the battlefield like a careful game of chess, not because the story made hints towards the Catholic Church and criticized religion. If you can't handle that then that's you're problem. As far as the ending of the "game" in Final Fantasy VII is concerned, the game ended well for everyone. They obviously defeated Sephiroth and were victorious like me. They could whoop for joy and tell friends and families of their long, hard battle over the forces of evil! The fact that you felt proud after taming your first Chocobo, or got a rush at the sight of Bahamut, or became frustrated that you got lost in the snowy hills of Ice Gate, or felt intense pressure over a fallen party member during the battle with Ultimate Weapon is a fine testament to the concept of a Square RPG to evoke emotion from any human being. That in itself is the most powerful experience. Do you see what I'm saying here? It is the journey that we should talk about and all that we felt and saw, things so beautiful you can almost reach out and touch them, not whether the animated ending was good or bad. But if you buy an RPG solely for the ending alone and nothing else, you are definitetly in the wrong form of entertainment. Please, go and watch T.V, you'll be much safer.

By the way, did you have fun while playing Final Fantasy VII? I mean, that's what really counts, folks. If you did then I'm happy. You truly understand what makes videogames such a wonderfully fulfilling and rewarding experience. Never forget that a well crafted game is most important. However, if you proceeded to smash your FF VII discs in a fit of blind rage, start petitions and spat at the stars, well, you obviously didn't enjoy yourself at all. Poor thing. But remember that Square is not the unfortunate one here: it is you.