Going back to my previous post, I'm a bit relieved that Final Fantasy VII didn't live up to its hype. And what hype. When released in 1997, it was backed by the unprecedented weight of Sony making it the flagship game of their first foray in video game consoles. The game was marketed everywhere as a kind of "movie as a game", placing emphasis on the FMVs (part of a $100 million publicity campaign, including television and cinema, for 3 months). For many, Final Fantasy VII was their first video game experience.
Let's step back a bit and look at its predecessor, Final Fantasy VI (named "Final Fantasy III" on Nintendo platforms). Its setting was exactly halfway between "Dungeons and Dragons" style of fantasy and Shinto-style fantasy in the present day. It does so by making its setting a world where magic vanished for a thousand years and the world evolved into a "steampunk" style. It successfully explains, through its story, the source of magic in this world, including deep ethical considerations of its use.
The game presents the story through a large group of characters, without a clear, single "hero", and this is done deliberately so as an important theme later in the game. The dramatic elements are at times mature and dark, yet presented subtly (as if to evade Nintendo's sensibilities), dealing with themes of death and suicide unseen on a kid-friendly game platform before. For years I found the game to dark for my liking, the same way I disliked Zelda: Majora's Mask. The themes in Final Fantasy VI are perfectly integrated with the gameplay, visual art and music. Speaking of which, the game's graphic design and music are masterpieces of their authors, Amano and Uematsu.
But Final Fantasy VI was too weird. Being overly focused on its artistic statements, it doesn't please enough neither Western nor Japanese sensibilities. A cross between steampunk and Dungeons and Dragons, with multiple narratives and realism like Game of Thrones? That's not what kids want? And so with VII they started pandering to their audience, with anime-like effeminate "Japanese Boy Band" characters, over-the-top drama presented with in-your-face imagery that make Evangelion subtle, lots of FMVs and cool characters, and since they won't really like RPGs anyway, let's throw as many mini-games in there as possible.
Over time, they became niche of their own captive market anyway. But mass-market appeal pretty much died out with Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, meaning that people that never played any Final Fantasy are unlikely to even try the latest instalments. Still, the damage was done. A new generation of video game players didn't really cared about gameplay, but more the over-pretentious low quality movie experience that surrounds it. It's style over substance, and even if you focused on the art, it was superficial crap made for teenagers that didn't knew any better. The latest Final Fantasy XV trailer looks like an expensive car ad. Magical realism can only go so far before it becomes ridiculous (Zoolander, the game?).
Essentially, Final Fantasy VII and Sony started a movement that, by the mid-2000s, nearly destroyed the video game industry, temporarily saved by the Wii and morally questionable free-to-play games. Only with the recent raise of retro and indie gaming we are starting to see the market increase again.
All to say that I now hate Final Fantasy VII with a passion. Its predecessor is a timeless masterpiece, and I'm not saying this out of nostalgia or because I was influenced by marketing as a teenager. Final Fantasy VI is the best RPG I can recommend, and is now out on iOS and Android, also 50% off at $8 (Canadian Dollars) until January 5, 2015.
Published on December 30, 2014 at 20:49 EST
Older post: Final Fantasy VII, a Late Review
Newer post: Alpha: My First PC