I'm sorry, this is Abuse

by Gabe Carr

An argument, as was so elegantly put by Michael Palin, is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. Why is it, then, that the debate over the quality of Final Fantasy VII ranges from "that game is God's Gift to RPGamers" to "that game is utter trash as are its players"? The vast majority of these people make sweeping assertions about the quality of the game that are entirely baseless. Some editorials, particularly the recent piece by Jeff Marshall (to which this editorial is partly in response- we supporters are out there!), do objectively explain reasons why the game was so successful, and do so well. However, having also tried to write such editorials, I know that these are very often responded to via e-mail by insightful people sending messages such as (paraphrased, but not much) "no, in fact, it's a very bad game. You're mistaken." So I will endeavor to address the main arguments against the game and why they are clearly bunk. So, if you are a frothing anti-FFVII activist, you know what to do (make sure you get your head in front of the shotgun before you fire).

Whine #1: "Every new RPG is compared to FFVII."

FFVII incorporated revolutionary new features into the RPG world. It was completely different from every RPG before it. It was also massively well received by the public. When a product makes such an impact, it becomes an industry standard. Thus, it is used as a comparison to judge new additions to the same industry. This is true for any industry, and is utterly harmless. No more whining.

Whine #2: "FFVII's graphics are horrible."

When people whine about this, I must assume they mean the 'super deformed' character representations. I assume this because the backgrounds are amazingly realistic, the CG is well rendered and directed, and the character graphics in the battles are as realistic as any polygonal figure in any game on the market. Sure, the super deformed cloud doesn't look like cloud; in fact, he looks like a bunch of boxes with eyes. RPG's used to require something called "suspension of disbelief." Nowadays, with all the fantastic graphic qualities I've listed, people see the character icons of FFVII which blink, perform 3d movements, and adopt noteworthy stances, and the people cannot accept this as a part of the game. Perhaps these people should not use the ONE point at which the game's graphics come up short to judge the graphic quality of that game. Perhaps people should stop whining.

Whine #3: "The characters aren't developed enough."

Enough is exactly how much each character is developed. The main characters, such as Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Barrett, are developed throughout pretty much the whole game. However, not every character is a main character. Yuffie and Vincent should absolutely not be developed as much as Cloud. I agree with Jeff Marshall on this point. Each character received as much development as was appropriate for his relevance to the plot of the game. Stop whining about the characters.

Whine #4: "The villian is shallow/not mean enough."

The game traces Sephiroth's journey from a respected colleague of Cloud to a hateful monster bent on world domination. The characters have actual conversations with him. It seems that the script writers even try to make the player relate to him at some points. There's not much more you can ask from a villian-- unless, of course, you're the type who believes a villian should be a harbinger of absolute, cold, remorseless evil with little personality. See: Jenova. Stop whining.

Whine #5: "The plot is stupid/poorly written/boring/unoriginal."

Go and get Joseph Campbell's book. You might learn that there are a limited number of stories: every story in existence falls into a definite pattern of call to action, journey, obstacles, conflict, and redemption. If you think these elements are trite and overused, go play Harvest Moon and stop whining. The only things that change about these plot points are the details. I don't think I have to list the plot twists and conflicts in FFVII. People also complain about cheesy writing. Sure, Cloud and others occasionaly have an incongruous and silly line, but so do characters in every RPG in existence. If you condemn the game for that, then condemn them all equally. Otherwise, stop whining.

Whine #6: "Translation."

Could anybody possibly come up with a more astoundingly insignificant problem to complain about? English and Japanese are as different as two languages can be. They developed on opposite sides of the planet. Amazingly enough, however, certain members of our high-brow American Condescension Brigade expect Square to translate the script of a 60 hour game with no mistakes! I remember that there were some (meaning I could count them on one hand) mistakes in the game, but the only one I can name is the one at the last boss, and that's just because it was the last boss. This means that these mistakes had no impact whatsoever on my gaming experience. This is coming from somebody who's uptight about grammar. Stop Whining.

Whine #7: "It's too easy."

This is completely subjective. It depends almost entirely on whether you spend time building levels, how you select your party, and how you manage your items and materia. And, unless you're extremely lucky and figure out the alchemical procedure for breeding a gold chocobo, you don't even get knights of the round until you play the game for the third time. Here's a hint: don't use the strategy guide and then complain about how easy the game is. Stop the whining.

Debate is all well and good, but not at the point where it ceases to be debate and becomes people sending e-mails that say "FFVII is bad." At a certain point there are objective facts that must be considered. These facts are found through common sense and logic. I would love to hear a single well supported argument against Final Fantasy VII as opposed to the current ranks of meaningless assertions. So let's wrap it up, RPGamers; if you're going to argue, argue. If you're going to whine, do it elsewhere.