In Defense of Final Fantasy

by Howard Kleinman

Maybe Darkeye Heruelen wasn't speaking directly to me in his editorial. I am a gamer who plays, buys, and enjoys RPGs by companies other than Squaresoft. I own both a Dreamcast and a PS2 and wouldn't be averse to saying that I prefer Grandia II and Skies of Arcadia to Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story and numerous other highly praised Squaresoft titles. I've written editorials on this sight praising the works of Game Arts for being on the same level of excellence of Squaresoft RPGs and would gladly include developers like Overworks and Tri-Ace on my list of favorite RPG developers. If you look over my history in the editorial archives you will find me discussing games by other developers as frequently as I discuss games by Squaresoft. So I suppose I'm not one of those people who considers Squaresoft and the Final Fantasy series to be the be all and end all of console RPG-gaming.

However, I DO consider the Final Fantasy series to be the best RPG series I have had the pleasure to play and await every new Final Fantasy title with a sense of acute anticipation and excitement. This is despite the fact that I consider myself a devout "Lunartic" who wrote an editorial about how the Magic Emperor is the best antagonist yet seen in an RPG and the fact that I bought a Dreamcast just so I could play Grandia II and Skies of Arcadia. I see no reason to dismiss the Final Fantasy series as inferior based on some esoteric criticisms of the use of the word "fantasy" and what is most likely a long held Sega bias intensified by the recent collapse of the Dreamcast.

Heruelen seems to direct the majority of his ire at Final Fantasy VII, most specifically at the villain, Sephiroth, and the death of Aeris, an event which touched many gamers, myself included, very deeply. He contrasts these with Phantasy Star IV's Zio and the death of that certain character who he chose not to name (I will respect Heruelen's decision to leave this character unnamed). First I would like to address Zio as a villain. I personally could not stand Zio. As Lunar's Magic Emperor was a well rounded, fully believable character with complex motives and an agenda that is not pure destruction which the heroes assumed, Zio is a stereotypical, simplistic blowhard with an obssession with Dark Force. As the Magic Emperor had top quality, highly memorable dialogue, Zio gave the usual "I will destroy you all! Hahahaha!" brand of dialogue. And while the death was certainly an unexpected and well handled twist, I believe that the handling of Aeris' death was vastly superior.

Unlike Phantasy Star IV's victim, Aeris was not a soldier, she was just a common flower girl who everyone in the world wanted to use as an object. She spent her entire youth in a slum, yet remained mysteriously untouched by the darkness, death and despair surrounding her existence. The only real color and life we see in Midgar is from Aeris' flowers. She is an innate healer and her actions seem to be guided by a strangely childlike innocence and compassion. She is the last of the Cetra, the last true heiress to the planet. In a more ideal world, Aeris could have led those who desired to heal the world. The planet itself spoke to her and guided her actions towards a path of life. As the bearer of the white materia, Aeris was the only one who could stop the meteor once summoned, and it was her spirit's presence in the lifestream that seemed to guide the ultimate destruction of the meteor. How brutal is it that the innocent, lively Aeris have to be sacrificed to give the species that abused the planet and gave rise to Sephiroth a chance at survival? With Aeris' death, the only light in the world of FFVII was extinguished. The shocking brutality of her death is just as effective in its shocking brevity as PSIV's death was in its lengthy deterioration, if not more so. This is compounded further by the great music of Nobuo Uematsu which I consider to be far more dramatic and heartbreaking than the techno inspired beeping of Phantasy Star IV. In a great RPG, characters should be more than statistics manipulated for the best advantage in battle. Aeris' limit breaks weren't meant to be powerful assaults, she was the lone character whose abilities were focused on life, protection and healing, while the others were focused on violence, blood and death. Thematically, Aeris' abilities only aid the storytelling of the game, and can be quite useful if you are a more cautious player.

As for Zio's cruelty, it is easily surpassed by the cruelty of Kefka. Kefka's genocide of the people of Doma and destruction of the planet combined with his great lines like "Nothing beats the sounds of hundreds of voices screaming in unison! " and "Run! Run! Or you'll be well done!" easily outstrip the by the numbers villainy of Zio. I found myself laughing at Zio's revelation that his religion served Dark Force because EVERYTHING in EVERY Phantasy Star game is the result of Dark Force. Phantasy Star II is only half an exception. If you wish to speak of a lack of creativity in villainy, none surpasses the repetitiveness of the good old Dark Force which likes to corrupt the world and destroy things for no apparent reason.

As for the final segment of Heruelen's editorial, I barely think it needs to be addressed. The definition of a game's title is rather meaningless. Would it matter that a dragoon is supposed to be a mounted soldier? In Legend of Dragoon a Dragoon is some sort of Power Ranger style dragon armor wearing super person. That's a misuse of a word right there. And what exactly is "Phantasy" anyway? It's not even a real word. My point is that such an argument over definitions is rather esoteric and meaningless in terms of a game's overall quality. In any case, Legend of Dragoon is hardly the bastion of creativity Heruelen claims it to be. Indeed, Legend of Dragoon seems to be a compilation of ideas from Square titles, most specifically Xenogears and Final Fantasy IV.

Yes, Final Fantasy has the largest following of any RPG series, and I find it unfortunate that so few people are aware of great games like Lunar or Valkyrie Profile. The fact that other companies produce amazing titles DOES NOT negate the greatness of what Square has produced. Final Fantasy IV was the first RPG I've seen to feature a complex story based on characters who are actually developed with personalities and not simple roles in a script. It was the first RPG to break from the conventional and slow moving turn based battles and introduced time and a sense of tension the occurrences of the game. It featured a soundtrack of film score quality. Final Fantasy VI had perhaps the deepest RPG world I've ever seen, a huge and well developed cast of characters, a phenomenal villain scenario and had the courage to actually kill the world in which it took place. Final Fantasy VII broke RPGs to the mainstream and were it not for FFVII's success I doubt we would have seen games like Star Ocean: The Second Story or Grandia on these shores. The Final Fantasy series has provided a consistent high water mark for quality gaming, and I, for one, feel it deserves its reputation.

Original Editorial: Final Fantasy? No Such Luck