How to Fix Final Fantasy

Remember Your Audience

I get it. You’re a Japanese developer. There will always be little idioms and quirks we won’t understand on account of the fact that there’s a significant cultural barrier between us. I’m not asking for these moments to be translated into something we can understand during localization; I’m asking for you to stop alienating the massive non-Japanese audience you have. This is why I run to Final Fantasy after I’ve been brutally assaulted by a SoftMax game, I seek the comfort of a foreign dev that understands the need to transcend the overtly-odd that many find endearing about Japanese games. For years, I’ve been able to find something I can relate to in FF. Regardless of language and culture, Final Fantasy has been able to exist in two worlds. Yet XIII never quite crossed that threshold into our comfort zone. This is a much larger issue than many of you may realize, especially if you don’t understand the history of Final Fantasy’s localization. The Japanese language uses so many devices that we just don’t understand here that a direct translation is near impossible– harder so to make it interesting to us. If the plot is rotten to the core, then this process won’t fix much, but the responsibility lies in preparing it for Western audiences: remember how we speak. Certain words and phrases just don’t work in our language. Ridiculous pep talks and “we’ll go see her together’s,” are not powerful, nor are they appreciated. Most of us don’t understand the significance of speaking without turning to face the conversation partner– something that occurs a lot in Japanese games and cinema. Fist pumps and hand gestures are interpreted as goofy rather than humorous. We don’t enjoy multiple, blatant scenes of introspection and existentialism. “What are you thinking about? Something complicated?” Of course he is, Vanille. His mother is freaking dead and he’s going to turn into a monster unless he blows something up. Why do you ask the most obvious crap? There were far too melodramatic moments that ended with me asking, “wait, was I supposed to care?” In short: Don’t alienate your audiences. The dialog should resonate with everyone, regardless of their native language.

Come Back to Earth

Even during the pixel years, Final Fantasy’s worlds possessed some element of tangibility, despite the fantastical elements within them. From the industrial backdrops of Narshe to the dark cityscape of Midgar, these worlds reflect the state of their inhabitants. There was something tangible about them, but distant enough to be considered fantasy. When I want to be whisked away to an imaginary world, I want more than whimsy and elegance: I need something that makes this world believable, a suggestion that it could exist, or at least that they exist for their digital denizens. While Pulse and Cocoon were beautiful, they were far too pristine and ethereal for me to believe in them. Hovering cars and cities and fireworks are all well and good, but far-fetched. Ground us with some science or explanations, a little realistic wear and tear. For all the people who exist in this floating sphere, there seems to be so little evidence of practicality. Sure, it’s Final Fantasy. There’s no rule book that dictates explicitly what a town in this series should look like, but I believe there’s an unspoken expectation. Cocoon and Pulse, for all their beauty, were sterile and uninspired. I still remember the backdrop of the lake where Aeris was laid to rest, the spiraling conch. Even the castle of Alexandria is burned into my mind– and it was no masterpiece, but XIII’s scenes were quickly forgotten. Yet how do you tell a developer to create something memorable? Does it just “happen,” or is it a per-meditated effort? Whatever it is, XIII didn’t quite nail it. In short: Create a world meant to be lived in, not looked at.

Strive for Balance

One of the most common complaints about XIII had to do with the painfully linear plot. Most Final Fantasies are fairly linear journeys– they were simply disguised better with optional side quests or world maps to help players feel like they weren’t being squeezed through a tube of toothpaste onto boss fight after boss fight. The illusion of choice was believable enough to keep me complacent. Many will argue that if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it and will apply this logic to combat in the Final Fantasy series. Yes, turn-based combat works, but it isn’t for everybody and I can’t fault a developer for trying to re-invent this portion of the experience. I will, however, assert that if you’re going to overhaul the gameplay, the story must reflect the quality of the combat, and vice versa. As one of the more outspoken supporters of Final Fantasy XII’s deviation from the “my turn, your turn” battles, I’ve been unable to condemn Square for the same effort in XIII. Did I like it? No, not really. I found the battles a little too Michael Bay in their presentation, which made the so-called “on the fly” tactics frustrating and haphazard. Yet I don’t feel that this was the deal-breaker. I eventually came to understand this process, but found that these fights were unrewarding and the stars meant virtually nothing to me. I missed standard experience points and the joys of over-levelling prior to a boss battle. I also mourned the significance of a summon, or eidolon. It seemed that these super powerful creatures eventually lost their luster and could barely put a dent in an average world monster. Each element of battle must have its purpose and value. Final Fantasy VIII suffered from this problem. Re-purposing magic led to issues with the junction system, and Guardian Forces became obsolete as the game progressed. Why create a gameplay element that you know will eventually fall by the wayside once the plot’s reached a certain point? Furthermore, for whatever linear content provided, you should also offer suitable distractions and side quests in the mean time. Give players a chance to understand this world outside of the primary story. Flesh out a character with a personal quest or offer some non-essential challenge akin to Triple Triad, Battle Arena, or Blitzball. While hardly integral to the plot, there’s plenty to be gained by investing time in these seemingly innocuous side events– the rewards alone were worth the effort. In short: Balance linear plots with optional side quests, and ensure that the combat shares the same quality treatment as the story.

Optional Sixth Fix: Don’t Do Anything Without Uematsu or Nomura

Testuya Nomura’s stories work. Games blessed with his original stories seem to soar. Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts were unanimous successes, so once he’s done with Versus, you get him back and don’t do anything until he approves it. And then there’s Nobuo Uematsu. Without Nobuo, these worlds are flat, stagnant and lifeless places. Don’t ever for a second think that over-synthed tracks and peppy J-Pop melodies will ever replace the power and emotion that he imparts with his music. When every character’s “theme” sounds almost identical, then you’ve done something very, very wrong. Two words: Terra’s Theme. In short: Uematsu and Nomura or nothing.

I don’t believe that I’ve become too jaded to appreciate what Final Fantasy has to offer, but I will entertain the idea that perhaps my tastes have changed just enough to sour this series for me. Still, I find myself perfectly capable of sitting down with a copy of almost any previous entry in this saga, and losing myself to it. As much as I wanted to love XIII, I knew there was something wrong with this “wacky-gang-romp-to-save/destroy-the-world.” No, I don’t want remakes of past titles, nor do I want an amalgamation of them all. I believe that along the way, Square lost something, and Final Fantasy suffered. Change is wonderful and exciting, but can sour so quickly when it doesn’t work. I thought Final Fantasy XI and XII were excellent examples of risks that paid off and would love to see more like them. I have an abundant supply of faith. I believe that as long as Square is willing to go back and learn a lesson from the past, they might just ensure that Final Fantasy survives the future.

Stephanie has many opinions that you may not agree with and that’s a-ok. If you’d like to discuss it further, tell her on Twitter: @SigmaRue