Individuality

by Megane

Okay, fine. You don't like Final Fantasy VIII. Or VII. Is it because you just don't want to because it has elements (In the story, setting, and characters as well as special effects) that go against 'tradition'? Well, let me ask you something. What is 'tradition'? Since when has there been real 'tradition' with Final Fantasy. Alright, granted, there's some. Goddess forbid there ever be an FF game without Cid, or some sort of flying vehicle, or moogles, or chocobos. But I'm referring to the other stuff. Face it, the entire series has changed with the times. As technology got better, so Squaresoft was willing to take advantage of it. They didn't hesitate when the SNES came out, they immediately made plans for FFIV.

Here's an interesting tidbit. I bet way back then, people were bashing that game, too. Ironic, huh? Now we have our high-tech playstation, and the fact that programmers are able to use polygons and FMV. And so gamers are bashing it again.

That's the technology element. Now, as for the storylines...

First, we had I. Numero Uno. The big thing that started everything. This was a pure fantasy setting, almost frighteningly so. (The moment you set foot in the game, you were immediately assualted by panicked citizens begging you to save the princess. I found this a trifle unnerving.)

Two and Three I've never played, so never mind that. Four was another almost pure fantasy one. You had the main character, an angsty dark knight, and his schizophrenic buddy. However, as far as I know, this was the first to introduce the 'technology' element. Not only was it for a brand new system, but it areas like the Tower of Zot, high technology was obviously what the programmers were trying to give the impression of. Strange, it was there in this game, yet people bash it in the new ones, and praise this.

Five. Another almost pure fantasy. You had a carefree mercenary (Who in my opinion was one of the blandest characters I've ever seen), a stubborn princess (cliche) a bad-ass pirate chick (Who also just happened to be a princess on the side), an old amnesiac who kicked ass in battle, and when he kicked it, his daughter. Who was another princess. It had a few high-tech kind of things in it, like the flying ruins, but seemed kind of stuck in the middle on account of graphics/setting between four and six. However, it -did- have a kickass final area, in my own opinion.

Six was a big one. I don't remember much bashing going on here, yet high technology reigned supreme. Here we first met moogles, and got to experience a villain that seemed like a crazed cross between Marilyn Manson and Dennis Rodman. *shrug* Plus, as far as I can tell, had the lead character be a female role, for the first time, all was well, then...

Final Fantasy Seven. Out with the old, in with the new. FMV's, computer-rendered backgrounds, polygons. You name it. People bashed it. I don't understand why. This game was one of my all-time favorites. And not because of the graphics. The story. The lead character was a mentally disturbed scientific failure. His party included a cat-shaped AI, a big black guy who yelled a lot and had a gun on his arm, a bar hostess, and a trash-talking machine jockey.(But not limited to.) And the main thing, though, that got me was the religious themes. PLEASE tell me that you know what 'Sephiroth' really means. Anyone who knows even the slightest bit of new-age information can tell you that. It is the path to Heaven, supposedly, the 'Tree of Life'. His 'Reunion' was a reference to when one attains 'enlightenment', or the Judeo-Christian version thereof, and becomes one with God. I loved this, but hey, I'm a theology buff. Now, I'm sure this startling (Yeah, right) revelation will spark new flames. ("Burn the sacreligious Squaresoft heathens! PURGE!!") But showed a certain amount of dedication on the part of the story developers. You gotta admit, Square really did their homework here. [It was the same with Xenogears, but that's beside the point.]

Final Fantasy 8. Yes, there are -lots- of FMV's here. Perhaps it does play more like a movie than a game, but if you learn to appreciate it from a story perspective, you have a classic. This is the stuff from which great literature is made, were it a novel. However, I have a real complaint with this one. It's too damn easy. The whole 'enemies are always the same level as you' thing really does not work for me. It makes the game entirely too easy to get through. But otherwise, it's great. I haven't detected any religious themes yet, though. If there are any, point it out to me. (I'm only on disc 2).

Anyway, my purpose in this long rant was to explain that the Final Fantasy series may be lumped together under one name, but if you just look at the games as individual ones and not as a big series of the same thing, it'll be a lot easier to enjoy.

Trust me.