Why do we play RPG's? For the story.

by Kain O'Donnell 

In Jesse Goonsantiviboon's editorial, "Laments from an Old-School Gamer", I totally remember saving the princess from Gariland and searching up and down a bridge to find WarMech. Final Fantasy 1 was one of the first RPG's that I had ever played.

It was cool within it's time, but upon looking back, there was no history to the characters whatsoever. The plot line was rather bland (get all four orbs, defeat Chaos, and save the world). We had no idea about the heroes' history or even their hometowns. The same could be said for The Legend of Zelda. Link has to save the triforce of power from Gannon, rescue Zelda, and re-assemble the triforce of wisdom. Nothing else was there. Not how Link and Zelda met, or why Gannon went after the triforce in the first place.

As more and more RPG's come out, each company gets better with what they do. Final Fantasy II (4j) was much more involved with plot than Final Fantasy I was. We learned about who's Cecil's father was, Tellah's affection for his daughter, and more. However, that still wasn't enough. There were even more gap holes. How did Cecil and Rosa meet? What ever happened to Kain?

When Final Fantasy III (6j) was released, we even got to learn more about the characters' and the plot line. Locke's love for Celes, Edgar and Sabin's family history, and Terra's past. Even plot twists were getting more sophisticated. Kefka killing Gestahl? I would have never thought of it. Yet we demanded more. Why did Kefka go slowly insane? Why is Banon the leader of the Returners?

When Final Fantasy VII came out, the plot line and character development were awesome. By far the best in the FF series. A lot of people fail to see this by the graphics or "the battles were to easy". Most people forgot why you play RPG's in the first place. RPG stands for Role Playing Game. You assume the role of the main character, and develop them as best as your ability can. There was each little character development scenario, from Cloud to the little ones of Vincent and Cait Sith. The plot was also great. I certainly wasn't expecting the turks, for whom I've wasted so many potions and ether on, to become friends with me near the end.

Shining Force II came out around 1994. It is, by far, my favorite RPG of all time. Game play was OK and the graphics were iffy, but the plot was fantastic. Character development was awesome. You couldn't ask for a story with greater plot twists. Who knew that Vulcanon wouldn't help he people of earth? Who knew that Oddler would turn into Odd Eye, the most vile demon of all? I sure didn't.

Perhaps I focus too much on the story line rather than the game play. Sure, you can kill everyone with a Fire3 spell with a master materia. Even I admit that FFVII's game play was somewhat easily. But, which is more important to you: How easily you can kill all the monsters, or finding out what happens to Cloud? To Tellah? To Strago? To Rydia? To Alma? Game play and graphics are added pluses to a game, but when it comes down to it, I always look for the story line.

Who knows what Final Fantasy VIII will come up with?