Why FF7 & 8 ... are FF games!

by Nick Powell

Although I'm glad to see a few people with some sense out there finally realizing that the two newest edition of a fantastic series aren't pure evil. Most of you blind bashers out there still don't realize a simple, simple fact.

FF8 and FF7 are no different than any other Final Fantasy game.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't notice when good graphics became a recipe for crap: Now, I'm of the class of people that think that gameplay is about ten times more important than the 30 millions polygons or cool lighting effects. But I still love good graphics, WHAT point is there in NOT liking something because of an improvement? And with the improvement of these graphics, there is no way that companies can sanely keep on using super-deformed characters. I loved the little bodies and big heads too, but I hate looking at FF7's 2" biceps and 40" fists, as 3D becomes more and more used, super-deformed characters will disappear, because they don't lend themselves at all to the environment.

Would everyone PLEASE stop whining about FMV. I HATE FMV that detracts from a game, in that it looks nothing like the actual gameplay, and therefore breaks up the continuity, but in games like FF8 and 7, FMV comes completely naturally. Seeing as how the backgrounds throughout are themselves simply stills of the movies (in a sense), it breaks up nothing. And it doesn't take away anything either, how does two hours worth of FMV take away from a game that takes atleast 40 hours to beat, the argument that more FMV = less gameplay makes no sense at all.

And WHY is everyone whining about the linearity in these two, they are JUST as linear as the first 6 versions! If not LESS linear. None of the ones before had deep, expansive sidequests that can take you just as long to go through as the rest of the game by itself(like Chocobo racing and the Bonus Weapons, or in FF8 there was Triple Triad and the Queen of Cards)!

You same people that hate the 'linearity' whine about the customizability and the loss of individuality in battle (if the learning curve in FF8 is a problem for you...LOOK AT THE TUTORIAL). Well when I last checked, Final Fantasy was a ROLE_PLAYING series! Am I wrong? Oh yeah, you think materia and junctioning is crude and too openended? TRY FF5!! The job system is FAR worse than GF's or whatever you wish to despise.

So tell me, what's the difference between FF7 and FF3? Or FF8 and FF5?

NOTHING! Stop whining like little babies and play the games already! Have some fun! Sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds that now are the FF series, what the hell do you gain by criticizing games that are the SAME as ones you love!?!