Lick your smackers, here come the crackers

by Mephistopheles

I remember a time when anyone who said nay about Square would quickly become the target of a lynch mob. These days, of course, they have their share of criticism to deal with, and I can't help but wonder what happened. Of course, many people will immediately point out the whole FFVII mess, and I do indeed think that that was the beginning of the end.

Square themselves made an interesting point on their web site: they said that RPG's had a very small following outside Japan; they, like many other companies (and most people) wanted to become more successful, and they go on to say that a brand name is necessary for the level of success they were looking for. Now, I don't blame them for this, but I think that the fans that were loyal from the beginning were feeling just a wee bit left out. After all, something beloved to them is now just a catchy game, not taken very seriously by the masses. Isn't it perfectly natural to be offended when something you love is treated trivially? Of course it is!

But is Final Fantasy VII really that different from its predecessors? I don't think that it is. The plot and characters are a bit more developed (and anyone that says the the characters from the previous games are more developed is wrong, simply because the characters were less complex, and there was less to develop), but otherwise very similar in quality to previous games. If the story is about the same in quality, isn't it how we look at it that's different? Really, the only radically different things between the old and new games are the homogenization of the characters and the new magic system. The new magic system should have come as a surprise to no one; Square has used a new system practically every game, for crying out loud. The characters being basically the same, however, I will admit is a big flaw in the game. I agree with everyone who says that the difference between Rydia and Cecil was great. On the other hand, the characters have been growing similar since FFVI, where everyone could get all magicks. Final Fantasy VII really just took that one step further, so it really isn't anything new.

Aside from the obvious differences, I think that the same kind of love on the part of the game makers who put together the first six Final Fantasies was still there. For example, the graphics that many people complained about (complaining about good graphics seems weird to me, it should be vice versa) were absolutely stunningly crafted, and the level of detail was superb. Would someone who didn't love their work really go to the trouble of making a beautiful room in an inn, its only purpose being to house an X-Potion? Well, I think it's unlikely. If Square was really as eager to ditch quality as some say they are, I don't think they would have done that kind of thing when a lesser job would have sufficed.

I think that because the love still seems to be there, the game is that much better for it, and maybe Square hasn't forgotten their fans at all, they're just trying to make some more cash while still doing what they do best. And look at the bright side: without the incredible success of Final Fantasy VII, the Square/EA merger probably wouldn't have happened, and without the merger, far less games would make it to North American shores. I know many of you (including me) would have loved to have seen Seiken Densetsu 3, but Square just didn't have the resources to translate it at the time. Now they do, so hopefully we'll be missing a far lesser number of games.

I realize I'm being a bit scatterbrained with this whole thing, and I would like to think that I am much better when I have some feedback, so let 'er rip! But please, don't just say, "You suck! You're wrong!" Give me something to work with!