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Good evening GUSsacks. Today, March 9, 2010, is a momentous day in the video game world as well as a momentous day for avid video gamers. Finally, after 4 long years of wait, software publisher Square Enix has released the newest installement of their flagship video game series Final Fantasy: Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII. This game is being released across two different gaming consoles; Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's X-box 360. The game is sure to be a tour de force boasting state-of-the-art graphics and video animation cut-scenes (especially on Sony's PS3), fluid controls and gameplay, a refined battle engine, excellent musical score, an intricate storyline and heavy character development, and without a doubt countless hours of video gaming fun. Here is a trailer of this highly anticipated game.
Only one word can summerize this game from the trailer you have just seen: AWESOME! Yet, the Final Fantasy series has come a long way since its inception in 1987 for the old 8-bit console the Nintendo Entertainment System. Who would have ever thought that a bankrupt video game publisher named Squaresoft would develop one of the best Role Playing Games (RPGs) of all time. The creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed the series in order to save Squaresoft. The first Final Fantasy was such a big success that it not only saved Squaresoft, it paved the way for future sequels of Final Fantasy. I am sure the question on your minds is, "How can a game developed over 20 years ago still be having sequels?" Surely, the creator and developers have run out of ideas to keep the sequel going. Well, therein lies the catch fellow GUSsacks. Squaresoft (now Square Enix) has a long standing tradition which states that each Final Fantasy is a story of its own and not a direct sequel. Hence, instead of being parts of the same game, they are different chapters within a continuing book. Each Final Fantasy has its own story to tell with unique characters, lands, customs, and languages. Therefore, it is possible to start playing the Final Fantasy series with Final Fantasy XIII and not be lost in the game. This tradition of sequels has only been broken once when in 2003 Square Enix released the direct sequel to Final Fantasy X; namely Final Fantasy X-2. One more note, Squaresoft does not exist anymore. It was bought out by Enix in a merger and has since 2003 been known as Square Enix.
Final Fantasy has the distinction of being a Role Playing Game to take place in either a Fantasy or Science Fantasy setting. In a fantasy setting, the backdrop, towns, weapons, clothing, and technology appear as if you were in Medieval Europe. Final Fantasy IX and XII have a medieval setting. The only distinction is that in Final Fantasy XII there is use of advanced airships. In a science fantasy setting, technology, clothing, backdrops, and cities take on a more futuristic theme. In this type of setting, outer space is also a prevelent backdrop to the story. The best example is Final Fantasy VII, the first of the Final Fantasies to make the transition into 3D. One important thing to remember is the following; no matter what setting you are in a, fantasy or science fantasy setting, you weaponary will consist of swords, spears, axes, and some firearms. The use of magic be it either black, white, green, time, or arcane is also prevelant in both the fantasy or science fantasy settings. These are the most notable distinctions of the Final Fantasy series. However, the distinctions don't end there. Read further and you will discover a world within a world that will hook you in from the opening scenes all the way to the end. The beauty of the Final Fantasy world is that it is interactive and you, the player, assume the lead role and you play the game as that character. Hence, the video game phrase "Role Playing Game" is apt to describe the genre that Final Fantasy is a part of.
What else is the Final Fantasy series known for? First and foremost, the FF series is known for their battle engines namely Conditional Turned-Based Battle (CTB) and Active Dimension Battle (ADB). It is the form of battling that makes Final Fantasy unique in the world of RPGs. For either engine, you will battle with your main player along with 2 to 3 playable characters and non-playable characters. Hence, when you battle a sub-boss or boss you will have a total of 3 or 4 players in battle. However, what is the difference between the CTB and ADB engine? Battles in CTB take place in a fixed setting and a set time. When you are exploring in the video game your screen will break from exploration mode and go to battle mode. In battle mode, you cannot explore anymore and thus you have to finish the battle. During the battle, you take turns attacking, healing, or casting magic by giving each player a condition based on the turn. Once the enemy is defeated, your screen returns to normal and you can resume exlporing. By contrast, ADB does not have a battle screen or exploration screen. Battles with enemies in ADB take place in real time. This gives you the advantage of either engaging enemies or avoiding them. You can still make your playable characters take commands such as attacking, healing, casting magic while in battle. The only difference is that the flow of battle coincides with the real time of the video game. I have played both styles and my peference is for ADB as it makes for a smoother gameplay. Final Fantasy X is the perfect example of CTB, while Final Fantasy XII is ADB's perfect example. Final Fantasy XIII uses a newer, more modified, and advanced version of the ADB engine. Whether it is the CTB or ADB engine, the main point of the battle is to think strategically. With each move you make, you have to think; Am I going to attack the enemy? Heal a party member who is low on health or has a harmful status? Or will I cast magic? The choice in both engines is entirely up to the player.
Here is an example of a battle in Final Fantasy X. Notice how the screen at the beginning shimmers into battle mode. That is because you are fighting a major boss. If you fought regular enemies, the screen literally breaks into battle mode.
Compare that to the battles happening here in Final Fantasy XII. Notice how the screen does not break or shimmer into battle mode. The screen remains in real time along with the enemies and battles.
I want to give you a bit more information on playable characters, party members, leveling up, and powering up. A playable character is a character that you play or control in the video game. Hence, you can command this character to attack, heal, or cast magic. This differs from a non-playable character in that the non-playable is either a boss, sub-boss, story character, or a guest party memeber. You cannot control the non-playable character for it has its own programmed AI. Party member refers to those who participate in battle with you. In Final Fantasy XII, there is a total of 4 party members, 3 of which are playable characters. The fourth one is a guest that is non-playable. Final Fantasy X has 3 playable characters in the party and no guest non-playable characters. The non-playabe characters in Final Fantasy X are the bosses, sub-bosses, and story characters.
It is only logical that your characters within a certain Final Fantasy installment be able to aquire strength, speed, weapons, or magical abilities as the games moves forward. The terms "power up" and "level up" are frequently used to describe how strong or what attributes a playalbe character has. To power up a character simply means to add attributes such as casting black magics or white magics. You can also power up your character by unlocking certain powerful weapons or protective armors. These attributes will help you in future battles as the enemies will get stronger. Also certain enemies are weak to certain magics and weapons, hence it is vital that you power up your characters. Level up simply means that your playable character moves up to the next numerical level. You main playable character will begin at level one. As other members join your party, they will be at different levels. It is always recomemend that you go into battle and gain experience points to level up your playable character to next level. Why is this important? Well, when you go into a boss battle, the enemy will have a set level. Hence, you want to be leveled up by being at the enemy's level or a high level. If not, you will die in battle for being under level. Leveling up makes your playalabe character strike harder and take more damage. You also extend your playalbe characters "Health Points (HP)" and "Magic Points (MP)." The more HP and MP your playable have, the better for future battles. HP and MP refers to the total number of points in your health and magic meter. The maximum level in any Final Fantasy is 99.
How do you power up or level up in a Final Fantasy game? Well, it all depends on the Final Fantasy installment you are playing. For Final Fantasies I-IX, each playalbe character is set with certain attributes or abilities. Hence, only one could cast black magic or only one could strike with a sword. All you had to do was level up each character so that they became stronger. There is no need to open attributes to the playalabe character in Final Fantasies I-IX. Final Fantasy X changed that by introducing a virtual grid known as the "Sphere Grid." (Sphere Grid image here.) All the playalabe characters are on the grid and you have to unlock attributes as the game moves along. After each battle in FFX, all those involved with the battle gain Ability Points which in turn are used to move ont the Sphere Grid. The Sphere Grid has several Sphere nodes that you can reach and activate by having acquired Ability Points. Each sphere node is either a Health node, Magic Node, Speed Node, Ability Node, and so on. With each node that you open, you make your character stronger, faster, and you add magical abilities as well as HP and MP. In Final Fantasy X, there is no need to level up as the Sphere Grid does this for you. What you basically do is move a "Sphere Level." Final Fantasy XII borrows a bit from I-IX and X. You have level up your characters numerically up to level 99 just like in I-IX. Certain enemies defeated in FFXII are worth experience points which are used to level up your playalbe characters. You also have to open magical abilities, weapons, and armor by using a big virtual chessboard called the "License board" which is the equivalent of the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy 10. (Liscense board image here.) In Final Fantasy XII, each enemy you defeat is worth a certain amount of License Points. These License Points are used to open attributes and weapons on the License Board.
Final Fantasy is also known for having recurring characters, races, animals, and even music themes. The most famous of the recurring characters is Gilgamesh. He appears in Final Fantasy V and in Final Fantasy XII as a master swordsman. He is always in search of rare swords to have especially the fabled and rare Excalibur. He is also very flamboyant in showing off which leads him to being clumsy. In Final Fantasy XII, Gilgamesh is accompanied by his loyal pet lion or tiger (I don't know) Enkidu. Please find an image of Gilgamesh and Enkidu here and here. These are images of Gilgamesh and Enkidu from Final Fantasy XII. Another of Final Fantasy's recurring characters is Cid. He has the most recurring of the roles in the series. Here are images of Cid from Final Fantasy XII here and from Final Fantasy XIII here. Cid's full name in FFXII is Cidolfus Demen Bunansa and in FFXIII it is Cid Raines. As for the recurring animals, the most famous is the Chocobo. A Chocobo is a giant chicken-like or ostrich-like bird that you can ride. Plese find the image of a Chocobo here. This particular Chocobo is seen in Final Fantasy X. Lastly, the most recurrent of the races in Final Fantasy is that of the Moogles. They are a cute and cuddly rabbit-like race with bat wings that fly. They are excellent engineers and can fix machines and buildings alike. They also are master cartographers and in Final Fantasy XII have a guild that sells you maps of every new area you explore. One of their more notable quirks is to refer to the player with a strange sounding moniker; "Kupo". Please find an image of Moogles here. There are other recurring characters such as Shiva and Bahamut, which in the interest of time and length I will not discuss here. I will discuss the recurring music themes in the next paragraph wherein I detail the music of Final Fantasy.
We get to my favorite part of Final Fantasy; the music. Final Fantasy is knonn for having some of the most beautiful and emotional music in any video game series. Most of the music in Final Fantasy tends to have an orchestral feel to it. With technology advancing very much in the last few years, Final Fantasy's music team has moved from using MIDI sounds to full symphony orchestra. Therefore, the music team of Final Fantasy uses a mixture of MIDI and real-life orchestra for there video games.
For Final Fantasies I-IX, the main composer was Nobuo Uematsu (No-boo-oh Ooh-eh-maht-soo). He is known as the "John Williams" of video games and scored I-IX all by himself. With Final Fantasy X, Uematsu had the help of two other composers for the game's music. However, Uematsu was responsible for scoring the main theme "Suteki da ne" of Final Fantasy X. Please listen to the main theme song of FFX below.
Here are the translated lyrics for "Suteki da ne" (Isn't it Beautiful):
My heart was swimming
in words gathered by the wind.
My voice bounded
into a cloud-carried tomorrow.
My heart trembled
in the moon-swayed mirror.
Soft tears,
spilled with a stream of stars.
Isn't it beautiful?
If we could walk, hand in hand,
I'd want to go
to your town, your home, in your arms.
I dream of being
against your chest,
my body in your keeping
disappearing into the evening.
Words halted by wind are
a gentle illusion.
A tomorrow torn by clouds is
the voice of a distant place.
My heart that had been
in a moon-blurred mirror that flowed,
Those stars that trembled and spilled
cannot hide my tears.
Isn't it beautiful?
If we could walk, hand in hand,
I'd want to go
to your town, your home, in your arms.
My dream of your face,
that I softly touch,
melts in the morning.
Aside from composing this beautiful and hearfelt love theme for FFX, he also wrote the opening music for FFX titled "To Zanarkand". Please listen to it as it is heavenly.
I also would like to add that Uematsu uses clever variations of these two themes through out the game. Here is a example of a variation for "Sutaki Da Ne" titled "Spira Unplugged."
As for the variation for "To Zanarkdand" I have included this piece of music: "Movement in Green."
Please listen to these variations and you will hear the master and genius that is Nobuo Uematsu.
There are two recurring themes in the Final Fantasy series. One of the themes begins with the most famous arppegios of the video game world. This theme is titled "The Crystal Theme" and is usually the starting theme for some of the Final Fantasy games. Here it is:
The other theme is for the recurring characater of Gilgamesh. I have included the orginal version from FFV and the re-orchestration of FFXII. Here they are:
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy XII
After Final Fantasy X, Nobuo Uematsu left Square Enix to form his own company called Smile Please. Hence, Final Fantasy XI, XII and XIII have different composers with Uematsu composoing the main theme song. One more note, the re-orchestration for FFXII was done by Hitoshi Sakimoto with permission from Nobuo Uematsu. Hitoshi Sakimoto was the main composer for Final Fantasy XII and he had some very big shoes to fill with Uematsu's departure. He went ahead and wrote his score for FFXII and I feel he did an excellent job with the score. Here are a few of my favorite tracks from Final Fantasy XII:
This is music for the area known as the Ozmone Plain. It has a pastoral feeling to it and you can almost hear the horses galloping about. Please take a listen.
This music plays at the Eruyt Village home of the wood-dwelling and sexy Viera. (Image of Fran, a Viera from FFXII, here.) Just so beautiful. I mean the music and not Fran. ;-)
This piece has a mysterious and mystical feel to it. This music adorns the Great Crystal of Giruvegan (Gee-roo-veh-gan)
This eerie music provides the background mood for the area known as the Necrohol of Nabudis. Notice the almost horror-like quality to it and the sense that all hope is lost.
This is from the area known as the Cerobi Steppe. This is music evokes traquility and serentiy. Yet, the area of Cerobi Steppe has some of the toughest enemies. Quite a contradiction.
I will like to add some good news, Nobuo Uematsu will be scoring Final Fantasy XIV which is due out later this year. Lastly, as a treat to myself and as a way of closing the music section. I have included my favorite piece of music from Final Fantasy X titled "Calm Before the Storm." To me this the epitome of Nobuo Uematsu's music. Notice the constant use of arpeggios in the music. That is Uematsu's vintage signature.
I will now take the time to discuss the game Final Fantasy X. If you are interested in playing this game, then I suggest you stop reading or skip to the end as there will be spoilers. I want to give a synopsis of at least one game so that you all get an idea of the work and thought that goes into creating a Final Fantasy game. I also feel that after telling the story of one game, some of you may be inclined to give video games a try; either be it by playing them yourself or at least spend some time with a video gamer and just look on as he or she plays. Also, I am discussing Final Fantasy X because its whole story fascinates and amazes me. It is a story that touches on many aspects of humanity such as love, friendship, betrayal, hate, life, death, and the afterlife. Without further ado, I will now give a synopsis Final Fantasy X.
Final Fantasy X
Our story begins "in medias res" and you hear the beautiful music of the theme "To Zanarkand." You see a group of people sitting around a campfire as dusk descends on them. In the distance you see the ruins of an abandon city. Tha game's protagonist and narrator, Tidus, gets up and looks into the distance. Then you hear him say, "Listen to my story. This may be our last chance.
The scene then transitions to a beautiful city filled with endless lights and advanced machines. This is the city of Zanarkand, the home of Tidus. You see Tidus preparing for a blitzball game, which is a type of water polo sport. The blitzball match begins and Tidus is in full swing playing his game. The scene changes to a man in a red coat standing atop a building and looking towards the ocean. In the distance you see the water start to bulge into a huge sphere and levitate out into the air. All the man in the red coat does is look on. As Tidus plays his game, he makes a move for the the blitzball and catches a glimpse of the water shpere. The water begins to attack the city of Zanarkand with devastating effect. People start panicking and running for their lives. Tidus does othe only thing he can and starts to run as well. He leaves the the blitzball stadium and proceeds to the outside. He bumps into the man in the red coat outiside the blitzball stadium and recognizes him and says his name, "Auron." Tidus wants to know what is going on and Auron says that the city is being attacked by "Sin." Tidus and Auron battle their way out of the city in order to escape Sin. They fight many fiends along the way. At one point, Tidus loses his balance on a destroyed bridge, falls and hangs from the edge, and asks Auron for help. As Auron extends his hand he asks the entity known as Sin, "Is this what you want?" He looks down at Tidus and says, "Your story begins here." All of a sudden, time starts to slow to a halt and Tidus is sucked into Sin. Tidus then is seen floating in mid air above the city of Zanarkand and his hears the voice of Jecht, his father who disappeared ten years ago. After this weird scene, Tidus awakens in the water near an abandon temple without knowing where his is. All he knows is that he is nowhere near Zanarkand.
Tidus meets up with a group of people at the temple who speak a strange langauge. Tidus and the group of people fight off a fiend and board a salvage ship. It is here that Tidus meets a girl named Rikku, who knows his language. Tidus asks who she is and where he is. Rikku says she an Al Bhed salvager and that Tidus is in the land of Spira. Rikku in turn is curious to know where Tidus is from. Tidus replies that he is from the city of Zanarkand much to Rikku's amazement. Tidus is surprised at the reaction and ask why. Rikku says that the city of Zanarkand was destroyed 1,000 years ago and that all that remains are ruins. It is considered a holy place for only a chosen few people who make a pilgrimage. Tidus is distraught because he just came from Zanarkand. So, Tidus helps on the salvage in order to get food. After a salvage mission, everyone is relaxing when Sin attacks the ship and Tidus is thrown into the water. Tidus awakens again in the water near an island. He sees a group of men playing blitzball and they throw Tidus the ball in order to make sure is alive. Tidus responds by performing an impressive move and kicks the ball back. He swims to shore and meets a young name Wakka from the island of Besaid. Wakka happens to be the captain of the Besaid Aurochs blitzball team and a guardian to a summoner.
Tidus then meets a girl named Yuna who is also a summoner. She is preparing to go on a pilgrimage, along with her guardians Wakka and Lulu, to the holy city of Zanarkand in order to destroy Sin. Tidus joins this group in the hopes of finding a way back to his Zanarkand. At some point, Tidus meets up with Auron again who tells Tidus that his father Jecht, Yuna's father, Braska, and himself made the pilgrimage ten years earlier. Auron also says that Sin always comes back for it is reincarnated and that this current incarnation of Sin is actually Tidus' father Jecht. The party continues their pilgrimage all the way to Mount Gagazet. As the party reaches the summit, they notice countless bodies of people in the mountain side. It is explained that the spirits or fayth of these people are doing a massive summoning. Tidus touches the mountain side and has a dream where he meets a child that explains what is going on. Tidus learns that these fayth are summoning an exact replica of the Zanarkand destroyed 1,000 years ago and that Tidus is from this replica. This Zanarkand is known as Dream Zanarkand and it is basically a city created from the memories of the fayth. Tidus is therefore a dream and not real. The child goes on to explain that a 1,000 years ago a war between Bevelle and Zanarkand was taking a toll on Zanarkand and that it was doomed to destruction. The leader of Zanarkand, Yu Yevon, convinces the survivors of the city to become fayth in order to preserve the memory of Zanarkand. Yu Yevon then creates an armor made of fayth known as Sin in order to protect this Dream Zanarkand. Dream Zanarkand is summoned far away from people in the ocean in order to keep it secret. Sin is the defender of Dream Zanarkkand and is instructed to destroy any advanced city in order to halt technology and ensure no one finds Dream Zanarkand. However, the strain of summoning Dream Zanarkand and creating Sin was so great that Yu Yevon that he lost his humanity. Sin's first action was to destroy the now-abandon city of Zanarkand for it had advanced technology. Hence, Sin is a gargantuan beast that runs on instinct to destroy technological progress. (Images of Sin here and here.)
When Tidus, Yuna, Auron, Wakka and the rest of the guardians reach the Zanarkand temple Yunalesca, the first summoner to defeat Sin, tells Yuna that she must sacrifice a guardian so that the Final Aeon can be created. The Final Aeon is the only being that can pierce Sin's armor and render it vulnerable. Yunalesca also tells the party that Sin is eternal and always is reborn. On hearing this, Tidus, Yuna, and the rest of the guardians decided not sacrifice anyone to defeat Sin. They fight Yunalesca in order to break the spiral of death. Yunalesca is defeated but now the party must find a way to pierce Sin's armor without the Final Aeon. They decide to attack Sin head on just enough to enter Sin via his mouth. Once inside, they make there way to the place where Jecht, Tidus' father, is waiting. Jecht tells Auron and the others to not stop the fight once he turns into Braska's Final Aeon. The party fights Braska's Final Aeon and successfully defeat it. The party next confronts Yu Yevon deep within Sin and end up defeating it. As soon as that happens, Sin's armor is pierced. All the fayth that made up the armor start to fly to the farplane. As this happens, Tidus along with Auron begin to dissapate into fayth as well. Why Auron? He died ten years earlier and was never sent to the farplane. Tidus starts to dissapate for he is a dream of the fayth. He became real when he touched Sin and was sent to Spira. As long as the fayth dream Zanarkand, Tidus lives. If the dream ends, he is no more. Tidus hugs and kisses Yuna one last time and runs, jumps of the airship and hits the farplane. Tidus is then seen high-fiving his father signaling that old grievances and estrangement between both is gone. They have now reconciled. Thus, I conclude the story of Final Fantasy X.
My whole love affair with Final Fantasy is an interesting story. In December 2003, I received FFX as a Christmas gift from my ex-fiancee. I began playing the game with much gusto until I got stuck at a part where I kept dying. I stopped playing FFX as I could not get feel for the battle engine. Instead, I played other video games such as Grand Theft Auto, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Resident Evil, and God of War. In early December of 2006, my brother gave me a copy of Final Fantasy XII Collector's Edition for Christmas. I was happy, but I could not play it as I was finishing other games. Then, in early December 2008, I sat down and started my file for FFXII. I was hesitant as I remembered my experience with FFX, but decided to give it a fair chance. I played the game, but I kept dying and dying. I decided to read up on the game by consulting a online strategy guide. It was this and continuous insistance that finally made me understand this game. It was only with time that I learned that I needed to power and level up. I also learned that enemies are weak to certain weapons or elements. I learned the use of armor and weapons. Suffice it to say, I was hooked with Final Fantasy XII and it became my favorite as it was the one responsible to introduce me to the series. After, I beat FFXII, I went ahead and re-started my FFX file and took all the knowledge I had gained and applied it to FFX. In the end, it worked as I was able to beat the game after five years of receiving as a gift.
Why do I tell you this? I tell you so that you will take a chance playing one of these games. Remember, you can start with today's release of Final Fantasy XIII and not be lost. However, you must give video games a fair chance and not throw them aside as mindless entertainment. Video games nowadays, require the player to be skilled and to be able to think logically. Video games are not just about killing or defeating bosses, they also require you to solve puzzles. If you are intersted, then go get a PS3 and buy FFXIII and start your video game playing days. You will not regret it. If I have not, then I hope you learned something tonight and realize that there is more to video games than meets the eye .
You are probably wondering, "Why did he not discuss Final Fantasy XIII." Well, as avid video gamer, part of the thrill is not knowing what the game is about. I could give you preview information, but I feel that would spoil the fun. Watching the trailer at the beginning is enough inticement for me to go get this game. I also hope the trailer was enough to whet your appetite for video games. If you are inclined to play this game, then I don't want to spoil it for you.
Well, I will start to close this lengthy diary. I want to say that I have posted other diaries before here on DKos. However, this is the first time I am posting as a GUS member and I hope that all of you enjoyed it. If you did not, then at least your mind was busy and you were not thinking about smoking. GUSsacks, please be gentle with me in the comments section as it is my first time. That being said, feedback is welcomed in the form of comments, constructive criticism, or any questions. Have a great evening GUSsacks.
***Update***
WOW! Final Fantasy XIII really kicks ass! The game has hooked me in from the beginning. I actually like one of the characters so far and her name is Vanille. She is so cute and has slight southern accent. The graphics of the game are superb and expected from a Square Enix production. The battle engine is a hybrid of ADB and CTB mixed into one. At least that is what I think. It took me a little bit to get used to it. However, when the battle flow smoothly and quite fast and this is having the game at normal speed. As for the music, the theme I like so far is the battle theme. At some points during the cutscenes, the background music sounded as if it were by Nobuo Uematsu. I could have sworn for a moment that I was hearing music from Final Fantasy X. However, I remembered that it is a different composer for this game. My recommendation is that if you are interested in playing FFXII, then go get a PS3. I ended up playing from about 10:00pm all the way until 2:00am when I said enough for I was tired. I think that even though I played much last night, I have only scratched the surface of the game.