The True Focus of Final Fantasy

by David Boudreau

It always makes me laugh, or at least chuckle a little, when I read about how the Final Fantasy “template” has become unoriginal, or see someone express their opinion that the Final Fantasy battle system has run its course and should not be made again. It’s funny, because quite frankly these people seem to me to be missing the point entirely.

Final Fantasy has always been more about story than battles. From the standard and admittedly bland heroes journey to save the world (Final Fantasy I), to the conflicted hero must fight his brother to prevent destruction (Final Fantasy IV), and even the sullen and moody hero must confront his past in order to grow as a person (Final Fantasy VIII), these stories have been what drove the multitudes of gamers to continue to battle. After all, why fight if fighting is pointless? If it doesn’t bring a goal closer, if indeed the goal is non-existent in the first place, then all you have is a turn-based fighting system, and how fun can that really be?

The battle system of Final Fantasy IV may indeed be strikingly similar to the system used in Final Fantasy IX, but take the time to consider that maybe the battle system, while extremely central to the overall enjoyment of the game, is merely a vehicle with which the programmers tried to convey a story that they thought was important. And there’s nothing wrong with that. How many people played Suikoden III despite its “flawed” battle system? Who can say that they refused to continue playing Dragon Warrior VII after they discovered the primitive battle system? These games are good not necessarily because of the battle system, but because of the story and the characters and any number of other factors.

The Final Fantasy series, when analyzed, uses the same battle system, from Final Fantasy I through to Final Fantasy IX. Even Final Fantasy X had many elements of the first game in its “brand-new” Conditional Time Battle system. The system is tweaked and changed for each game, but the core elements remain the same. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the Final Fantasy series has been, for the most part, spectacular. As indicated by sales reports, the series only seems to get stronger as time goes on, not weaker.

With Final Fantasy X recently shipping with the “Greatest Hits” label, it joins the previous three games in becoming million sellers in North America, not to mention the world. And with more Final Fantasy games on the horizon, including the ambitious (perhaps overly so) Final Fantasy XI, and the first ever direct Final Fantasy sequel being released in North America soon, it seems that the series will not die out, stop, or indeed, become stale. At least not to the general masses. Those that wish the series would end seem to be in the minority, and for this editorialist, thankfully so.