Its the FINAL fantasy...AGAIN

So Final Fantasy XIII has touched down in the US with much anticipation, I guess 'cause its the first next gen FF, and from what I heard XII sucked, or at least the battle system was passive and led to boring, monotonous gameplay. Thankfully things on Planet 13 don't seem to be that way! You can read reviews to get the overall gist of the gameplay, but I have some specific thoughts on the whole thing. First of all, there's massive complaint about how linear this game is, how you basically just run down a restrictive path and fight enemies, more like a Super Mario Bros. level than an RPG. But its been brought up that past FFs are also linear, but disguised this fact by having an world map that gave the illusion of freedom. From what I can tell, this is a totally true and valid point. Classics like FFVII and VIII started off extremely limited, only opening up into a larger world far into the game, and even then your only option was to get to the next pre-determined point on the map. The only difference here is that SquareEnix chucks the illusion, instead letting you feast on the most bad-ass battle system I think I've ever seen in an RPG (Now, I'm not an RPG expert, my first RPG being Super Mario RPG (SUPER bad-ass game, check it out if you haven't) and then FFVII and VIII, most of the first Xenosaga, and yeah I think that's it).

But before I get into the battle system, I have to note that traditionally people have viewed JRPGS as have very strong, linear storytelling-based gameplay, and that's one of their strengths. So comparing FFXIII to, say, Fallout 3 (Oh yeah! The last RPG I played) reveals how insanely open ended gameplay (Fallout) can lead to a laundry list of problems, i.e., not knowing what the hell to do, trying to take advantage of the open-endedness but not being able to cause you don't have any equipment and get killed every five seconds, forcing you to follow the story line, and when you DO get into the open-endedness, finding a series of dungeons which are EXACTLY the same, and overall the game is kind of hypnotizingly depressing and fascinating and I suggest you check it out, but yeah open end stuff ain't all its cracked up to be. My point is that FFXIII shepherds through what seems to be an extremely robust gameplay system, and while yes the story is force fed to you, and the dialogue is cheesy, but I mean good grief don't play video games if you want Shakespeare! Concessions must be made, and open ended games like Fallout or even GTAIV just can't have the kind of graphics possible in the liner game like FFXIII. It seems like when you offer the open ended gamplay, there's just not enough time, money, and console power to offer both.

Another big complaint, and this seems to be about all new FF games, is the lack of charm. FFVII is especially noted for its charm, and from what I can tell this is referring to the quirky, funny, appealing characters, the "Ultimate Good vs. Ultimate Evil" nature of its story, and the awesome soundtrack. Oh, and the fact that there's towns. First I wanna address the characters. Now, nobody has seemed to have brought this up, but its seems the LACK of graphically capacity and the inability for voice-overs seems to have allowed for this perceived "charm" to take effect. Like reading a book with simplistic drawings, the Lego kids look and dialogue bubbles allowed the player to flesh out the characters in their imagination, basking in the absence of ridiculously delivered English-dubbed anime voiceover. Combined with the evocative, masterful score by Nobuo Uematsu, FFVII deliver great characters and story at the players leisure, yet this is ultimately due to the technological limitations of the time. But I have to give a special nod to the score, possibly my favorite from any video game ever. I think that score seriously elevates that game, and as many of the main characters (Aeris, Tifa) have incredible themes that give their characters a sort of sonic signature, the game would have charm even if made with today's standard of technology. But I can't help but feel those more simplistic, thematic musical themes were the result of the limited MIDI capabilities present in the PS1. FFXIII has a bombastic, at times Disney-esque score that at times is emotionally evocative yet usually only brings empty energy. And I guess everyone's bitching about the Lenoa Lewis theme that replaced the original Japanese one, so I'll have to look into that.

Now there is a flip side to that, and a great example is Metal Gear Solid 1. In that game, the voice-overs MAKE the characters, driving the plot and immersing you in the brutal, gritty world of Solid Snake. Yet the series ultimately falls victim to the same loss of charm, as seeing everything played out in the long cutscenes of MGS4 simply isn't as exciting as the radio-show back and forth of the first installment. The empty void is where the magic happens. By forcing us to fill-out, and thus take part in the creation of the experience, we are entertained. Imagination is the ultimate source of entertainment. Keep it Digital!