Final Fantasy Turns 20
1Up has a multi-part article series up about the Final Fantasy game series, which has now passed the two-decade mark.

An interesting note which I'd heard before, but was unsure of its veracity: The name of the game came about because the company was expected to fail, and this game was going to be its swan song. Twenty years later, plus a couple of movies and an anime cartoon series, there's not much "Final" about it.

Final Fantasy's 20th Anniversary Retrospective, Part 1

Final Fantasy's 20th Anniversary Retrospective, Part 2

Final Fantasy's 20th Anniversary Retrospective, Part 3

Final Fantasy's 20th Anniversary Retrospective, Part 4

There are several statements in the first article that really fascinate me:

"Final Fantasy was an easy sell to Japanese gamers already in love with Dragon Quest, but American gamers initially weren't enthusiastic about the meditative process of level grinding..."

"Though Final Fantasy II had no trouble capturing the hearts of fans, the series remained relegated to just that niche audience: fans. Overall, American gamers still weren't interested in the RPG genre, so Final Fantasy belonged exclusively to the "nerd" demographic, which was pretty content with its own secret, unspoiled slice of gaming heaven..."

"Most (American fans) had no idea that any Final Fantasy titles existed beyond the few in America. With Internet use on the rise, American fans would soon discover that they'd missed out on Final Fantasy V, which had been slated for localization as Final Fantasy Extreme. It was ultimately passed over due to the perception that it was too challenging and complex for American players."

So... Americans... what was our problem? Part of me wonders if it was the popularity of PC games here in the U.S. Back in the early 90's, the PC was the platform of choice for the more slower-paced strategic / "thinking" games, and consoles were still very much for arcade-style action. This wasn't an exclusive division, particularly after Doom happened on the PC. But we PC gamers were quietly enjoying our Ultimas and Might & Magics and Wizardries and "Gold Box" Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games and Magic Candles around this time frame, which were taking a completely different evolutionary course.

Admittedly, I was part of the problem. I am a PC gamer, and my first console was a Playstation. My introduction to the series came with Final Fantasy VII (discussed in Part 2). While very different in flavor and style from the RPGs I was used to, and following the plot was difficult at best (I was never sure if it was translation problems or just a really weird, complicated plot), I enjoyed it thoroughly. Not that it made me enjoy my hard-core western RPGs any less.

(Vaguely) related
* Why Was Final Fantasy VII So Successful?
* The 16 Essential RPGs
* The Evolution of Computer RPGs
* Ultimate Utopia XXIII
.

Labels: Mainstream Games, Roleplaying Games

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