A controversial look at Final Fantasy

Try to think back before Final Fantasy VII. Remember the good old days when every character had a unique class that they were assigned such as fighter, or magic users, or even a combination of both, and it left a good impression on us fans? Remember the good old times when we thought that Final Fantasy meant the pinnacle of storyline and character developments due to their intricate uses of both class jobs and unique characterizations found in titles such as Final Fantasy IV and VI. Remember a time when the name Final Fantasy was hardly a thing to be referred to as "overrated" or "sloppy plotlines" or a term used frequently "terrible JUNCTION system." Well, you can thank the minds of those who have greenlighted the idea that "Final Fantasy and cyberpunk" can make a good mixture. And who other than the one person who has been assigning ideas for these games: Yoshinori Kitase. He is single-handedly responsible for ruining a good series that brought the "fantasy" into Final Fantasy, and making damn sure that whatever little specs found in this once immortal series be mixed in futuristic elements. (Do moogles and genetically enhanced microbes seem like a good mix to you?) And apparantly, the only thing that made this wasted mixture seem like a good done deal was with top-of-the-line graphics that pushes technology to its very limit. Thus, destroying a series that has followed the fundamental roots of a medieval fantasy setting.

The only games from Final Fantasy that I found overrated were the ones that involved Yoshinori Kitase (Directed Final Fantasy VII and VIII, and produced the Final Fantasy X + X-2 series). The characters in all of Kitase's games are strictly conventional, which is a problem that I seem to have watching anime nowadays. Plus, the configuration systems are flawed, not technically, but in the form of characteracterization for every character. These so-called "materia - junction - dress" systems have been used with little care and respect to the characters that assist these systems, and it's a shame that such candidates, who had potential to bring "uniqueness" to the Final Fantasy world of "before" had to suffer and tolerate the "hack" who is Yoshinori Kitase. The systems left a shallow mark in the growth and development of the characters, especially to the storyline, because it makes all the characters in every game linear and with no sense of variety.

Aside from the initial weapons they use, the characters in every Kitase game doesn't have this sense of "uniqueness" that have spawned Final Fantasy for a whole decade before the "overrated" Final Fantasy VII, and I speak that dreaded word in all honesty and generosity. Before Final Fantasy VII, it was a actually a "pleasurable" experience to level up your characters, because every character in your roster had a clear characteristic or class that comments on their unique skills in combat, rather than watching some cyberpunk-influenced hacks pulling off moves that no one in their damn minds would think they could pull off in real instances. I mean, really, haven't your asked yourself when playing either Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X, or X-2 how each and every character can pull off the same damn "magic" or "summons" as their allies? Or how about the fact that they are even able to remotely "create" magic or "call forth" beasts from the depths of the world. I'm sorry if I may be breaking some barrier as to this "logic" of how things work in the minds of Yoshinori Kitase, but damn, would you even consider some black with a gun strapped to his right-hand who didn't know anything about the logic of how materia was to be utilized, be able to call forth Bahamut? My God, how do you explain the logic?

But you know what, maybe I was being a little too drastic in that previous paragraph. I mean, after all, there is this little sub-plot somewhere hidden in the deranged capsules of Final Fantasy VII that explains that materia or "remnants of the Ancients" would give people who inherit these remnants the power to control these magical pieces of ancient memory, as long as they learn to harness their soul with the planet. As absurd as that stupid piece of logic was, it was forgivable in Final Fantasy VII. And you know what, if it weren't for that piece of sub-plot, Final Fantasy VII would have been a ruined piece of garbage that supports the logic of "anything can be overly successful with pretty graphics and just a dash of pretty-looking cyberpunks that can appeal to almost anyone." However, even though the materia sub-plot managed to gain some favoritism among fans, it still left some dry shallowness on the "uniqueness" of the characters. All the characters seemed more "conventional" than "fantasy-esque." And having cyberpunks do the works of what "real" fantasy people should be doing, such as black mages, completely ruins the "fantasy" in Final Fantasy. Why didn't they just slap this game to another name brand or something new ? Oh, because otherwise, this post-apocolyptic futuristic setting that had no association with the "Final Fantasy" brand in the past wouldn't have been as successful if it didn't have the "Final Fantasy" tagged to it.

And as if the materia system wasn't bad enough, Kitase made a move that was unforgivable to many people (absurd sub-plot or not). Not only did Kitase once again brought forth another cyberpunk-influenced trash that tries to blend in a mixture of "Final Fantasy" summons, but it not only made gameplay to many people a tedious chore of watching cutscene after cutscene of the same *****ing summon spell over and over again, but there was no sub-plot to explain the very logic of how Squall and the rest of his team of wasted characters are even able to remotely able to arise and call forth these beasts of the otherworld. The only clear logical explanation on how they can be gained is through the use of a computerized machine that, for some reason, grants you the ability to summon powerful beasts. Damn. Who knew that a computer could implant mythical creatures that have been mysteriously downloaded into a singular computer into your very soul, and all just the press of a button. What seemed like a very rigorous training/gaining process in previous games (and Final Fantasy IX and X) has been reduced to a mere request of a computer. *begin sarcasm* How original! *end sarcasm* To make the problem worse, this not only makes all the playable characters in this game linear and lacking uniqueness, but this brings a new batch of problems of gameplay which goes in a whole heap of directions.

Final Fantasy X might not have the kind of questionable outputs of Final Fantasy VII and VIII, as the game has been lended a more believable and fantasy-esque setting, the grid system, while an effective way customizing your character to whatever pleases you, there is a major flaw in the game: The grid system gives a clear indication that every character can be given the same types of abilities including magic. Just when we thought that Final Fantasy might be given both farewell to the futistic setting of the atrocities of both Final Fantasy VII and VIII and an apology for those mistaken efforts, but Kitase has once taken a misguided route into carelessness and made all the characters have the abilities to cast spells such as Holy and Ultima!

Many of you might be questioning my reasons on why I so despise these small quibbles so much. The simple fact is this: The logic just doesn't make any damn sense! Even the damn dress-sphere system is so illogical. The point is that the characters from Final Fantasy of before have been so special to us in the past, because each character had this uniqueness in themselves that distinguishes themselves apart from their allies. This simple fact made those games both fun and understandably tolerable, in that you didn't questions what the motives of each character were, because they are simply laid for you as clearly as you can see them. I mean, every individual in Final Fantasy VI didn't have the kind of convoluted configurations that deemed all of Kitase's games. It didn't have this sense of irony that every damn character in the game can do the same sort of abilities as his allied counterpart, thus eliminating the very cause of why the creators intended the characters to be this way. Final Fantasy VI had individuals with "unique" cappabilities that distinguished themselves as what they are: special classes.

I am only grateful that Final Fantasy IX, which is in my opinion, the only Final Fantasy game of this current generation of high-quality quality graphics and technology that hadn't falter to carelessness of efforts from Yoshinori Kitase. This is the only Final Fantasy game in the next-gen world that has stayed true to its roots not only fundamentally, but musically as well (which is a blessing to fans of the old, golden age of Final Fantasy). It's only in this game where you can experience top-notch storytelling, character development, character customization, and graphics beyond what words can describe, and all the same time, keeping true to what made Final Fantasy so special and enchanting to behold. It's also appropriate, since the box, not the game itself, is filtered with nostalgic entities: the crystal as the trademark symbol, the return of the fan-favorite black mage, and the quote - "The Crystals Come Back." And who else to bring the crystal-theme back from the dead and resurrect it into the realms of state-of-the-art graphics? None other than director Hiroyuki Itou of Final Fantasy VI fame, and making his grand debut as a full-fledged writer of a Final Fantasy game since his concept of Final Fantasy I, Hironobu Sakaguchi, who brought back the "fantasy" into Final Fantasy.

As I look back towards this controversial history of Final Fantasy and its inception of Yoshinori Kitase, I remind myself that the upcoming installment of the next Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy XII) would have no association of Kitase whatsoever. And that the director of the game (Yasumi Matsuno has directed such major spin-offs such as Final Fantasy Tactics and the highly underrated Vagrant Story. However, it is not direction of the new installment that appeals to me about this game. It's the fact that the Art Director would be Hideo Minaba, who was also the Art Director of Final Fantasy VI, IX, and XII. According to this information, I suppose that he/she is the one responsible for creating worlds that blend technology and magic together that we have encountered in both Final Fantasy VI and IX. So, I'm having great anticipation to what sort of technology/magic world we can expect from Hideo Minaba.

I'm also starting to see a pattern between the generations of Final Fantasies: Final Fantasy VI, which was the last game in the series for the 16-bit generation that has brought the limits of the Super Nintendo and its team of artists to its peak both in terms of artistry and musically. The same can be said of Final Fantasy IX for the PlayStation era both artistically and musically. I have this special name for Final Fantasy IX and it's called, "The Mary Poppins of Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu." Quite a special name that I picked up myself after doing some research. The reason for this name is because Mary Poppins was the culmination of what Walt Disney had achieved in his lifetime. And so, with Final Fantasy IX, it is the culmination of what Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu had gained from their experiences of Final Fantasy and pulling out everything they can dig up into one masterpiece that the series may never again touch upon since the duo, who have made the most contributions to the series as a whole, have been resignated from Square to work on new projects, never again to embark on the Final Fantasy series that they had so made popular and controversial. Well, until at least after Final Fantasy XII, which is the next game in the pattern. And it just so happens that every third game (except III) in the twelve installments of Final Fantasy had Hideo Minaba as the Art Director, and pushing the system accompanied to its very limit. This drives more aniticipation for the release of this game. The only sad news about this is that it's not coming out anytime soon, and Uematsu will only contribute one piece of music to this game. However, that leaves more room for the composers of Matsuno's other pieces of work, which have also gained acclaim from fans. So, we can expect great things from the composers of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Thank you for taking the time and tolerance of looking back at the controversial history Yoshinori Kitase's Final Fantasy series, and an inspiring look into the future of the series. The future of Final Fantasy may look bleak with no news of upcoming Final Fantasies into the next-generation of videogames. The last thing we (or at least I) need from the Final Fantasy series is another abomination from Yoshinori Kitase, who might not have destroyed the games as gameplay and graphics material, but as the series that have made it special and not so varied and convoluted. If this is to be the very last Final Fantasy, we can expect that the team working on this game will be putting all the stops into making the third game of this generation-pattern as masterfully done as the previous thirds.

A "FINAL" remark: If this were to be the "final" Final Fantasy, then let's hope that Uematsu's "final" contribution to the series is as memorably "FINAL" as the Final Fantasy name. A fitting end to the person who began with Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy would end with him. Such a solid "finale."

Hmm...I'd have to say, I agree with you on certain levels. FFVIII isn't really what I consider a good final fantasy, as I do hate the junctioning and sphere grid systems. Yoshinori did a good job with VII, and as for FFVIII, I never finished it, and never really felt inclined to. I don't know if I would totally go out and say they were all that futuristic, FFVII had vehicles and a massive city and such, but when you think back, what did FF6 (which is my favorite, right up there with FF7) have? A castle that could travel underground across two continents. if that isn't futuristic, nothing is. What else did it have? Magitek Suits. Genetic experiments on Magitek knights (including Kefka.) steam boats. airships.

My point there is, the futuristic aspects don't take away from the fantasy too much, as long as it isn't used as much as in FF8. There was less fantasy than scifi in that game, and the story was not that great, but I point out: FF1 had the worst story ever. who produced it? Not Kitase. He isn't that much to blame for everything.

FFX was entertaining, but I found it difficult. The villain sucked, but the emotions were real, and I even shed a tear for Tidus's loss of his father, who he so often conflicted with.

X-2, you got me on that one. I hate the fact that nothing really has a point. Saving the world? no. recurring characters (biggest mistake ever) check.

FF7 is claimed to be overated, but it deserves credibility for having great characters, and I think the reason that FF7 is so acclaimed is that it was the first 3D FF, so you felt even closer in the experience. FF7 was full of mysticism and religion issues hidden through an amaglamation of science and mystery, and a main character actually perished. It kept me playing till the very end, and is still my very favorite final fantasy, because it kept the heart and soul of FF.

Some could even argue FF7 is a more futuristic version of FF6.

Shinra President=Emperor- fate: died by the hand of military experiment.
Sephiroth=Kefka- fate: military experiments who turned on their gov. leaders.
Shinra=Empire


Those are the main similarites, but there are also many differences. Yoshinori screwed up FF8 and X-2, but I believe the others still live up to the FF name.

FF6 didn't have the "every character gets magic" thing that Square introduced with 7. There was actually some challenge with setting up your party in 6, as you actually had to look at your characters abilities, not just swap powered up materia from one character to another.

The one thing I found ZelShaded89 was complaining about most was the many attempts that Square-Enix has made to make your character's all unique and different, because YOU pick the skills they'll learn and YOU pick who has what stats. They do this to add replay value to their games. You can't blame them for trying to make every play through different. You could blame them though, for not getting the system right for a couple of games I'd like to look at right now.

Final Fantasy VI had a controlled customizable skill learning system. I won't go into details on this one, other than saying that it worked out pretty well.

Final Fantasy VII, did not have a controlled system for customization in it's game. Any character could use any magic. That magic could then be traded to another character, in a sense making all the character's the same.

Final Fantasy VIII was Square's most complex and sophisticated attempt at customization, albeit at only a medium amount of checks were put in place to balance the customizing. It worked pretty well, but was famously flawed.

In Final Fantasy IX, ZelShaded89 saw the restricted level of customization that was seen in some of the pre-PS era. You could choose what abilities your character could learn, but those abilities were restricted by class.

Finally, in Final Fantasy X, Square once again gave a decent/somewhat perfect amount of personalizing to the skill system. Every character could learn every ability, but unlike VII, each character had to individually work for said ability by leveling, and by earning special spheres that would unlock other character's skills.

Most games these days are trying to make it so all the character's can learn all the abilities to a certain extent. It gives you more of a choice of how the game will be played, and makes it seem more personal. Though this doesn't always work, especially in cases like Xenosaga II and Final Fantasy VII, with the right amount of restrictions, the customizations can lead to a more enjoyable experience.

ZelShaded89, they're just video games. They don't have to make sense. I mean, we could sit here and complain about how you can find hearts in the grass in Zelda, but we don't. You just gotta accept these kinds of things and enjoy them.

Final Fantasy is just like many other hit franchises it will never end. Your thinking about it WAY to hard.

I agree with Zelshaded39 on many aspects, but I have to give credit to FFX for having the best method for gaining new abilities. It was a happy medium between being locked by a job for each character and having all characters instantly be able to do any move. That's one of the things I hated about FF7, and one point I agree with you on. It was just stupid that any character could use about any move just as long as they had the Materia and a slot. You're right, Barrett should not have been able to summon.

I really like FFX's system. Initially, you're locked into a class for each character (Lulu-Black Mage; Yuna-White Mage; Auron-Warrior; Wakka-Archer; Rikku-Thief/Alchemist; etc.), but you can access different areas of the grid later to learn some new moves outside of your class. I can't tell you how much I loved this system. Strike that--I can. I can even give an example.

While moving Tidus on the grid, I accidentally had him enter Rikku's area. I really didn't mean to do it and I was worried I had lost some ground on his progress. While I was in this area, I taught him "Use" and "Steal." Once I got a Return Sphere, I took him back on track. Much to my surprise, Tidus's ability to use "Use" helped me more than I ever could have imagined, mainly because it allowed him to use Al Bhed potions in addition to Rikku. I had two characters how could use not only Al Bhed potions, but Grenades, Elemental Gems, and many other useful items that originally only Rikku could use.

That's why FFX had an awesome levelling up system, in my opinion. And yes, a character can hypothetically learn every single move, but man oh man, that's about unfathomable to me. Seeing as though it gets progressively harder to gain levels on the grid (by the end of the game, I was only getting one sphere level each for beating a major boss), I can't imagine how long it would take to achieve such a feat. Anyone who has managed to do that has wasted an incredibly large amount of time doing so.

My thoughts are pretty simple. The latest have good stories but god FFVII, FFVIII, and FX-2 battle system was terrible. Sometimes while playing FFVII I just couldn't stand it anymore. Bosses had no uniqueness (is that even a word), get exp was pointless since the bosses get harder as you level up, and man the plot was practically nothing. However they fixed that god awful mistake by creating FFIX.

On a side note I never liked FFVI from the beginning 3 minutes of play was all I needed (to whom it may concern , sorry).

Kitase's customization techniques were different from the traditional forms, and I welcomed that change. In the games with classes, the only factor of team building was pretty much choice of characters. In the games where characters could learn almost everything, character choice was mostly based on personal preference, but you can create a unique character with regards to abilities. The materia system offered some interesting combinations, the junction system boosted even more room for creativity, and I liked that. It wasn't as straightforward as balancing the team with fixed classes.

As for the setting, I think the introduction of sci-fi makes Final Fantasy even more unusual. Every game has a very distinct feel. Even seemingly mediaeval FFIX had a little sci-fi. The conflict or harmony of magic and science seem to play a big theme in these modern FFs.

Originally Posted by LoserMaster

(regarding FFVII) ...and man the plot was practically nothing.

Wow. I've seriously never heard that one before. Confusing, yes. Mindblowing, yes. Insane, yes. But "nothing"?

Anyway, I can't really share your sentiments about FFVII and VIII being bad games. I love them both and thought the materia and junction/draw systems were great.

I only find FFX to be overrated. I have no love whatsoever for FFX-2. It should never have been made.

I'm just gonna say that FFXII better be damn good if it's taking this long!

Final Fantasy has become weak, but for me, the decline started with FFX-2. What is all this "Dirge of Cerberus" and "Before Crisis" crap that is being made? There was a time when Final Fantasy was my most beloved franchise... those days are long gone. Ever since Squaresoft became Square-Enix, Final Fantasy has been lackluster. So naturally, I blame it on the Enix-influence. Enix is eeevilll!