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Final Fantasy Articles
Post-Mortem: Final Fantasy I-X - [ Author: NOIR
]
( Read: Post-Mortem is not a review nor a history on the Final
Fantasy
series. It is meant as a perspective look on the series )
I like a good story. I also like a good gameplay. So Final Fantasy
is a
rarity. It does not have a good story, neither is it a good game.
Lest those
remarks incur the wrath of every single fan on me, let me put it
this way -
a good game with a solid storyline would be akin to a David Flincher
film,
even a Stanley Kubrick film. Final Fantasy would be the equivalent
of an
Akira Kurasawa film, a George Lucas' Star Wars. Epic narration. Pounding
game system. In short, A Final Fantasy tradition.
Final Fantasy I, II, III are milestones, maturity in the early
days of 8-bit
NES shallow arcade action. This hallmark tends to undo itself. The
emerging
trends are minimial and not justifiable as a whole. Left with simple
intuitive systems and a little more than plausible plots, FF I to
III would
not have survived if the 8-bit NES didn't exist.
No where did the Final Fantasy tradition began than in Final Fantasy
IV. FF
IV gives specific characters with their own personalities, agendas,
talents
and sets of abilities. Its storyline achieved an unprecedented depth,
putting pre-scripted events that would take place at predetermined
points in
the game. The many dramatic scenes unfolds, Cecil's ascension, the
tragedy
of Palom and Porom. Characters a gamer end up caring for, whether
in events
or battles, and the emotional surge when a scripted scene suddenly
change
things. FF IV fits the term I coined interactive immersion. To learn
about
the characters both through direct control and watching them act
out their
volition. FF IV is an astounding game despite the limitations of
SNES days,
and still is today.
In the face of its predecessor, Final Fantasy V practically went
AWOL. The
scope may be still there, but the plot could barely hold the game
together.
Actually, if there is one. Only half of the FF tradition is in FF
V.
Clearly, the game is supported by its venerable Job System. And that
is it.
FF V felt like a testing software for the Job System made by the
developer.
A game is a game when there is a storyline for a gameplay to act
on.
It was a relief that Final fantasy VI kept the tradition. Many
fans view it
as a masterpiece, as important as the original FF IV. It is difficult
for me
to disagree, but FF VI is where a fatal flaw began to plague the
tradition.
I'm not saying it isn't a great game. First off, FF VI is the FF
game with a
totally mixed setting, where magicial abilities and cybernetic machinery
coexisted ( one of the emerging trends I mentioned ). Like FF IV,
it has
epic scale with varied characters, but the Esper System blurred the
line.
Whereas once unique abilities contributed to the team as a whole;
a summoner
summons monsters, a healer heals and so on; Esper System allows every
character to learn every esper magic regardless of uniqueness and
class. A
thief that could cast ICE 3 alongside a magic user doesn't make gaming
sense. For a customizable gameplay, the system ended up homogenizing
playable characters. In the World of Ruin, where everyone could easily
learn
Altima, that was the last straw.
Final Fantasy VII changed FF. In appearance and more. A fantastic
game with
an amount of non-linearity fun that dots the world. Alas, the magic
and
skill system is progressively weaker here. The plague has struck,
albeit
less noticable than FF VI. With Materia System, any ability is possible
for
use with any characters. The customizability for a gamer to create
a party
that match their specifications exactly is worse than the homogenizaton
in
FF VI. It strips the character of their unique identities. Battles
seem
separate from the rest of the game; someone brags about being the
greatest
swordfighter in the world one minute, but then starts slinging spells.
Limit
breaks do not a personality make. A gamer uses them only once in
a while.
The storyline in FF VII is somewhat less refine, and the use of FMV
to make
up for its shortcomings may not be completely unsubstantiated.
Final Fantasy VIII is a welcome addition to the series. The FF
tradition
moves forward with more mature themes and life-sized characters.
Its focus
on personal struggles in an impending war is refreshing. Yet the
story was
woven weakly. The sparks in character conflicts was lacking due in
reasons (
more likely ) to the writers' handling of the plot. So instead of
brillance
that shine in war movies like The English Patient, FF VIII is like
a Tori
Spelling's Beverly Hills 90210. And with a Junction System that encompass
the battle sans the importance of weapons, armors and money, the
Guardian
Forces lets any character use any spell and ability ( I'm seeing
a pattern
here ). In truth, the Junction System could have been as good as
the Job
System of FF V. If, it was venerable and less confusing. Moreover,
it should
discard the general FF game design mentality that homogenization
is
customization. That's a farce, as true customizability can be clearly
seen
in games like the Fallout series and Arcanum. The animations when
summoning
is also got annoying. From FF VII to FF VIII, this is twice the annoyance.
The animations makes battles long drawn and extremely passive. More
often, I
just want to skip the battles and watch the FMV.
A long running series needs a tribute, and Final Fantasy IX is
nostalgic.
Flesh and bone. For an FF game to comprises things from the whole
series, FF
IX shouldn't be part of the series but more of a separate title.
A
celebration on Final Fantasy. Good and bad.
A new console, a new game. But this next FF is more than that.
While FF IV
has faded away with its gameplay, saving a fire armor for that journey
to
the depths of earth, and newer FFs' in problematic disillusion; this
marks
the revitalisation of the series. Final Fantasy X is not FF IV. It's
better.
Much better than all its predecessors. For Tidus, Yuna and gang boost
strong
characterizations with voiceovers. The plot of FF X closes in on
characters
more compellingly than FF VIII, and focus on the panaramic epic with
the
ease of FF IV. Both exist in seamlessness. FF X's Sphere Grid System
and
true turn-based gameplay deserves kudos, as it shows that even a
great
series needs to learn a thing or two from PC RPG. Because of that,
FF X
contains the most varied customizability, strategy, and fun without
taking
away unique identities and abilities of characters. Final Fantasy
X is a
triumph of the series.
Lastly, We come to Final Fantasy XI. What is there to say of this
FF? Well,
that's another Post-Mortem from me, for another time ^_^
[ This article is a copyright of the author. ]
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