I Can’t Feel Final Fantasy XIII
Yeah, I’m slightly late to the party. Never mind people mistaking budget issues for an “innovating” path Square Enix failed to tread. Never mind the fact that Final Fantasy XIII somehow effectively molded itself into spectator sport. Never mind the fact that the entire anatomy of the game is in total disharmony—we won’t even discuss the so-called soundtrack. It isn’t the lack of towns, shops, or its failure to be a legitimately solid Final Fantasy that kills me inside, though. Its Square Enix’s need to shove yet another number down my throat, shoo me away, and tell me “this is what you’re all asking for.” Thirteen games later, its the lack of heart.So, the other day, said friend named Final Fantasy XIII “exhausting.” Um, OK. “The characters fail to be people,” he said. “I got so tired of trying to relate. It was… hard.”
“Vanille. Do people really act like this in Japan? I complained about this on a forum and some dude told me Japanese chicks behave this way, but I dunno ‘cause I’ve never been to Japan.” I LOL’d. “I presume young girls of any nationality could very well act squirrelly,” I said.
By “act this way” I suppose he meant the JRPG way of exasperating awkward emotional reactions—like the “ugh-ing,”“ah-ing” and “oh-ing” in every scene, I guess. “Maybe this is why I prefer Western RPGs,” he said. Sure, you could say he was highly annoyed. He said he’d held his tongue a good forty hours into the game before he realized he couldn’t build an attachment to it. I still found it funny that said friend blamed his dislike of Final Fantasy XIII on Japan’s “social norms.” In his usual nonsensical fashion, I presumed he was trying to say that he wasn’t used to trying so hard to like the characters in a Final Fantasy game. I agreed because, well, I wasn’t either.
Welp, our Twitter stream didn’t help. People were calling it “epic.” I’m not gunna lie, this made me cringe. Lets not forget telling nay sayers to “blame technology.” Sorry to say, “Better” technology doesn’t necessitate a poorly designed game and I can’t imagine, say, the turn-based battle system of Final Fantasy games up until XIII being a forced design mechanic. Even now, we’re still seeing numerous JRPG titles being made “traditionally.” This isn’t the root of the issue, though. If Final Fantasy XIII was half as “polished” as people say, I would gladly accept it.
It was like, XIII grew so overly concerned with forcing a dynamic cast of characters; So much in fact, that Square Enix probably forgot they’re attempting to create fathomable people. This game however, only manages to produce hollow creatures, beautifully designed yet completely unremarkable in every other aspect. The funny thing is, I wouldn’t complain about this if Final Fantasy XIII didn’t try so hard to force emotion into me and… it tries really, really hard. I was confused. Do I put the blame on its terribly, messy narrative direction? Or is my maturity rendering me unable to buy into the “fantasy” aspect anymore? I was scared. In the entirety of this installment, I realized I’ve never felt so utterly detached.
People look at Final Fantasy and usually, a particular age-group and “type” of gamer come to mind. I’ve never believed that. I do believe that it possesses (or possessed) something to offer everyone if they at least try it and that’s why I continue to play it. You can’t sit there however, and try to convince me that nostalgia isn’t one, definite reason why Final Fantasy continues to ship millions of units worldwide. The majority of people purchase Final Fantasy based on their expectations of previous games. I must realistically add, that, whatever potential this game possessed at being “a good Final Fantasy” is far more important than it being “a good game.”
This is because Final Fantasy IS distinguished by its characters. Final Fantasy IS to what degree of emotional investment I place in its characters. Final Fantasy hinges on the strength of its plot. Its what we’d hope for all JRPGs but rarely, recently especially, ever find. Its what we hope to find by continually purchasing every Final Fantasy game and every side-game relating to it. All XIII offered me was a series of poor ideas and poor excuses for ideas. Regardless of how long it took to hit shelves, it was weak.
Should I just accept the fact that I’ll never feel like I felt in IV? What about II? Or VII, VIII, IX, X…? I’m not asking for another dip in the Lifestream, but should I care if Vanille gets shot? Probably. They’re trying to make me to care. I’m trying really hard to care. Sorry, I don’t care. If Square Enix wasn’t planning on making an actual Final Fantasy game, they shouldn’t have titled it as such.
I think the defining reason for our, to say the least, disappointment over Final Fantasy XIII was that it made us realize just how empty an aesthetically pleasing game was capable of being.
Gamewatch: Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy IV
It should’ve launched with a bang, but it seems Valve’s crazy-AI physics-puzzler Portal 2 (PC, Mac, PS3, Xbox 360) could emerge later than expected. Valve teased an early release and set gamers to work crunching an ahead-of-schedule game launch, but the game may only beat its original release time by a few hours, emerging in the wee morning hours when no one’s around to care. Still, the early buzz on this one’s mostly positive, so there’s that.
The once bloodiest fighting franchise celebrates its ninth release with Mortal Kombat (PS3, Xbox 360), a version designed to appeal to all stripes, casual to expert. Think one-on-one fighting along a 2D backplane, attack buttons mapped to limbs (like Tekken), new online modes, and given the Mature rating, plenty of gory finishing moves.
Another year, another Final Fantasy IV (PSP) update. Instead of porting over the Nintendo DS 3D remake released a few years ago, this version cleans up the original 2D art so it jibes with the PSP’s widescreen 480 by 272 resolution. Square Enix subtitles this version “The Complete Collection” because it includes a visually enhanced version of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the sequel previously released for Japanese mobile phones in 2008.
The rest due this week, by platform.
PC: Assassin's Creed Ultimate Collection (1 & 2), Brother's In Arms: Complete Collection, Elements of War
Xbox 360: Section 8: Prejudice (XBLA), Triple Pack: Xbox Live Arcade Compilation
PlayStation 3: Arcana Heart 3 (PSN), Prince of Persia Trilogy HD, SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals
Wii: Conduit 2, My Little Baby (WiiWare), Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska
Nintendo DS: DodoGo! Robo (DSiWare), GO Series: Captain Sub (DSiWare), Trackmania Turbo: Build to Race
PlayStation Portable: Mad Blocker Alpha: Revenge of the Fluzzles (PSN)
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