I’ve never played aFinal Fantasygame. This is somewhat embarrassing to admit, because of what I do for a living, but I’ve simply never felt the desire to. Though my peers started early, playing the first few games on Playstation Portables and Game Boy Advances, my parents refused to buy me any handheld devices for fear that they’d lose my already intermittent attention forever. I had an Xbox, but Square Enix wasn’t making games for Xbox back then. I also, frankly, didn’t have that many friends that played anything butDota. This combination of factors led to Final Fantasy more or less passing me right by. I knew what it was in the vaguest sense, but nobody around me played it and I didn’t have the means.
But Tessa, I hear you say, why didn’t you play Final Fantasy 15? It was released on the PlayStation 4, and you owned that console. There’s no excuse. To that I say, no, I didn’t play it because I was too busy trying not to fail out of college, and also, I didn’t want to spend my limited funds on a game in a series I’d never played, and also, how did you know that I had a PS4? That’s weird. The fact is that I don’t have any nostalgia for the series, because I didn’t grow up playing it. Everybody talks about the appeal the games have, but I have no way of knowing in any concrete terms what that is.
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I’ll probably be playing FF16, but not on release – I don’t want to have to shell out for a PS5 just to play a game I’m not sure I’m going to like. It’s not that any aspect of Final Fantasy specifically puts me off, but reception for recent previous installments was mixed at best. The MMORPGFF14had mostly bad reviews on launch, and was lambasted for being broken on release, and badly paced. It was so bad that Square Enix relaunched it as a brand new MMORPG, which was far better received… but still.FF15also had mixed reviews, with critics praising the characters but still feeling the story was disappointing, while the much wider world than previous games (which will grow wider still in FF16) was described as hollow.
Despite the very real potential that FF16 will disappoint me, I’m trying to stay optimistic. So far, FF16 seems to be getting praise inpreviewsfor its darker tone, voice acting, and combat mechanics. It’s a very grown up addition to the series, by all accounts. I wouldn’t know, obviously, but I’m hoping they’re right – a high fantasy game with darker themes sounds very up my alley, if it delivers all that it promises.
Though previews have largely focused on the speed and flow of combat, I’m hoping for the emotionally strong, narratively compelling stories that Final Fantasy fans swear to me the games are known for. TheGamer’s preview said that FF16 has a “darker”, “grittier” world, and that the demo teased an “intricate narrative with misdirection, turmoil and heartache”. Those are all my favourite words. I’m actually excited to let Final Fantasy 16 break my heart when it does eventually come out for PC – though there’s no telling when that will be.
