The Final Fantasy Series: Words That Start With B.

[J. T./Jessica]

The Final Fantasy Series: Brains, Brawn, Beauty, Balls, and Other Words That Start With 'B'.
(Another rant brought to you by Magnus Commentatries.)



Excluding FFIII/VI (Terra was the main character), FFT (where though Meliadoul or Agrias can be implied, there was no romantic interest), and FFX-2 (Yuna was the main character and ALL the party was female), Squaresoft has been a bit... stereotyping when it comes to roles. Cecil (2/4), Bart (5), Squall (8), Zidane (9) and Tidus (X), and depending on how you play the game, Cloud (7), every male Final Fantasy main character has been a fighter, specifically a sword-wielder, and their romantic interest has been a Summoner, White Mage, or someone who is both. (The exception being if you play FF7 with a Cloud/Tifa slant in your actions. The default pairing, game wise... and I remember someone actually did some calculations on this for a Date Guide for FF7, the default pairing is Cloud/Aeris.)

Rosa - White Mage.
(What WAS her name?) - White Mage.
Aeris - neither, technically since magic was Materia-based, but the personality was that of a White Mage.
Rinoa - Similar to Aeris, magic was Draw-based, but being a Sorceress with true Magic instead of 'Para-Magic' (Game's own terms here) would be similar, and she had the personality.
Garnet - White Mage AND Summoner
Yuna - Summoner AND White Mage
(The difference in these last two being the priority - in FFIX, Garnet doesn't have her Eidolons for the whole game like she does her White Magic, and in FFX, Yuna is the only Summoner while everyone can learn White Magic with time and spheres, she just starts with it.)


This is gender-stereotyping! When will the hero wind up with the 'Capable Lady' (read: the girl in the game who can kick ass herself) by default?

I mean, think about it, in real life, does that ever happen? Hell no. Alex would be classified as a ...Red Mage, or maybe a Blue Mage, I think, since he's not exactly a White or Black Mage, Amanda would probably be a Black Mage and they're a couple. Jessica and I are both fighters, and we're a couple.

Yes, I know that since the whole STUPID shift towards Final Fantasies being online ("STUPID!" -- Marlene, FF7), there won't BE anymore Final Fantasies, but if there were, I wish they'd address this factor, just once... Let you CHOOSE what kind of hero you want to be (I mean, think about it, excluding FFs 7 and 8 since the Buster Sword and Gunblade played their own parts in those stories, would if have REALLY done anything to the stories in FFIX or FFX for Zidane or Tidus to be mages instead of warriors?)

[Enigma!]

A customizable ensemble of characters in a FF game?

*Bows to J.T.* Inspired! Ingenius! Full of common sense!

*Stands up and turns his back to J.T.* And... as long as 9/10 of the FF players are male geeks that wish they were as cool as the swordsmen that get the White Mage girls, NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.

But, you knew that...

(And, Red Mage sounds about right.)

[J. T./Jessica]

*Shrugs* Yeah, I knew that.

But just once I'd like to be able to play a main character that uses something other than a sword. Like his fists, that'd be nice...

[Enigma!]

And why are they all white? That's what I wanna know. Barret is the only black man in the entire series, and he's, more or less, Mr. T. with a prosthetic arm/machine gun! If FFXII is truly the last Final Fantasy, I'd make it revolutionary and different from the others.

The hero: A black monk/mage/archer, who isn't stereotypical, or destined to save anything
The heroine: A swordswoman, who can kick much ass, and is also not destined to save anything.

That's just for starters.

[J. T./Jessica]

*Raises an eyebrow.*

And I'm SURE the fact that those discriptions would match Amanda and you doesn't have a THING to do with it, huh?


But yeah, and the hero can remember ALL of his life...

[Enigma!]

turbomagnus said:

*Raises an eyebrow.*

And I'm SURE the fact that those discriptions would match Amanda and you doesn't have a THING to do with it, huh?

... I actually never thought of that. *Smiles.* My sub-concious mind is wise.

But yes, the hero remembers EVERYTHING about his life. And the villain isn't either EFES (Evil For Evil's Sake. I'm looking at you, Kefka.), or a whiny/psycho bishonen (Every FF villain from VII forward).

[REBB01]

That was why i liked tactics The story was way different than any they had done And you could make the main Character almost any way you wanted and also he did remember all his past.

[J. T./Jessica]

Yep...

You know, instead of making all these "Advanced" FFs, I'd like to see them completely redone, same characters and storyline, but the graphics and everything scrapped and started over from scratch with modern technology and techniques.

[Enigma!]

Starting with FFVI. That was arguably the best game in the series.

[J. T./Jessica]

Do you mean 6 or 7?

[Enigma!]

6.