The Ideal Final Fantasy

by Alex Winn

Okay, I've been holding this off for awhile, but I think I'm finally ready to send this in. I'm going to start off with all the necessary precautions. I'm not saying I'm right, I'm not saying anyone else is wrong, I'm merely giving an idea. There are actually quite a few debates about Final Fantasy and I'm willing to bet one of them is about which is the BEST Final Fantasy. That is very arguable. Some might say FF1 because it was the original. Others might say FF4, because it was the first for SNES, or FF6 because it was so well done. Others might say FF7 because it had great graphics in addition to a captivating story, and still more might say FF8 because Squall is a cool guy. And then we go back and there might be a few who think the Japanese games are the best, although I personally thought FF2 was too different from the rest to really judge.

Of course, there are also people who feel that, after the SNES versions, Final Fantasy's quality begins to decline. Does Square spend more time on graphics than anything else? Probably not. Would they have released the soundtrack if they had. And if graphics were so important, would they have bothered to have an interesting story at all? This editorial isn't about that though. It's about what the next Final Fantasy could and should be like. I know Final Fantasy Tactics got a lot of good responses. It had a great story, an excellent battle system, and people want a sequel. I noticed one thing about Final Fantasy Tactics which I've seen no one mention so far.

In order to see this, follow a few simple mental steps. Take four FFT characters, either common soldiers or NPCs. Line them up in Mario RPG battle fashion in one corner of the screen. Take several monsters and put them on the other side. Do you see where this is going? Now rotate the field a little bit and flatten out the characters. Get rid of a few colors and details and what do you have? A 2D Final Fantasy.

What I'm trying to say is, the next step after FF6 should have been a world drawn in FFTs style. It combines the best of both worlds: 3D graphics with that classic feeling of the NES days. I believe you could greatly improve the original FFs by using FFT graphics, and if Square wants to appeal to some old-time gamers they'll make a branch of Final Fantasy that uses them. Awhile ago someone suggested that Square start making two types of Final Fantasies, one type with super graphics and another type with simple graphics. I have a feeling that if they use my idea, many people will be satisfied.

Of course, I know graphics are not everything and I believe there are some other guidelines Square should follow. Firstly, if they are going to make characters with names, backgrounds, appearances, and attitudes, then these characters should have their own unique abilities to be used during battle. There should be something about them that is different. One thing I realized while playing FF8, was that I was getting confused as to which character was up, because I usually identify characters by their command list. The Job System should also not be used with pre made characters, as it was in FF5, because Square has already established who the characters are and what they do. It was good in FF3 where you had four no-name characters to change to whatever you saw fit. I didn't really see Lenna as a Fighter, and I don't think Square has ever done that before. Even Tifa's attacks weren't that strong and she could probably be classified as a monk. If people are worried about gender, then use another FFT element, and allow the player to choose the sex of their character at the beginning. Or recruit them during the game like in FFLegend(and in FFT for that matter). Which leads to my other point, if you have no-name characters as the main characters, then Square should include the Job System. I would say that a lack of the Job System in FF1 was a drawback, except that the characters were simple enough that one of each would suit the party for the entire game. My final suggestion is, PLEASE don't bring back the junction system. I don't know how many people liked it, but I just couldn't deal with it. Took me forever to figure out the best way to set it up, and then I learned that I had to do it every time I changed my party so that my characters would have sufficient HP for the coming battles. The next Final Fantasy could be entirely FMV with no role-playing or linearity. I don't care as long as it doesn't have the junction system. *Huff puff* Whew! Okay, that was my outburst.

Well, I hope someone out there will consider my suggestion about the FFT graphics in a normal FF game. Like I said, that really should have been their next step after FF6. And they should've tried out that 3D rendering of FF6 or at least something similar before making FF7. Maybe it would have helped us grow into things better(or just delay the inevitable. Who knows.)