News
07-04-2004, 01:12 AM
<P>July 3, 2004: The mother of all debates part two!</P>
<P>This week we will analyze two rival RPG games. Both of them are responsible for being the biggest voices in their genre for a particular generation. The unusual thing is both of them came from the same dynasty. One showed the video game industry what an RPG could be and the other showed them what it could be for the new generation. The first title was released on November 13, 1994. The other was released on September 7, 1997. Ladies and gentlemen, I gave you:</P>
<P>Final Fantasy VI vs. Final Fantasy VII! Let the battle begin!</P>
<P>Round One: Story. The winner: Final Fantasy VII. I thought we'd get this one over with. The RPG is almost entirely dependent on story. It is the reason that we get out of bed and bother with it at all. FFVI and FFVII are two that have the best stories in the entire history of video games. Final Fantasy VI has a group of rebels fighting the evil Kefka and Emperor Gestahl, who are trying to rule the world with their magic. The key to the puzzle is a young woman named Terra. She is rescued by Locke. From there, an odd assortment of characters joins your party. The game has everything building to a resounding conclusion and it pulls a hard right turn at the end of the first half of the game. Thus, a new world begins. Very well written with a good sense of humor to level the seriousness that is rampant throughout the game. The opera scene is one of the finest in video games.</P>
<P>Final Fantasy VII goes to a more modern world. The plot is reminiscent of David Lynch in where you are thrown into the middle of a scenario and you learn the puzzle pieces in a very intricate, layered manner. FFVII has a wonderful way of telling the story and makes Sephiroth a more complex and layered villain than one might realize. He learns of his heritage and he goes mad when he learns the truth about his people. Cloud, who knew him long ago, is now out to stop him after he learns that he is still alive. Sephiroth had supposedly died years ago. How he supposedly died is a twist I won't dare reveal. The story makes very good use of the central characters and makes them very three-dimensional. It has one of the greatest scenes ever as well at the end of the first disc. It lacks the character-driven plot but makes up for it by driving the plot very well. Most RPG's only wish they could be as good as this one. FFVII wins by a hair.</P>
<P>Round Two: The magic system. Winner: Final Fantasy VI. Both the Esper and Materia systems are novel concepts. There is no denying that. When push comes to shove, the Esper system is better balanced and it gives the player the choice of making all of his characters specialists in one thing. One character can be a specialist with fire and another can be really good with ice. The other thing that is nice is that some are far superior with magic. Terra and Celes are good examples. Final Fantasy VII allows everyone to use magic instantly. While there are some differences in who is better with magic, it doesn't have the same intimacy. Only Aeris is really gung-ho on the magic. Everyone else (except for Tifa and Barret) seem to play the field level. Even in the latter case, they're still pretty good with it.</P>
<P>Round Three: Graphics. Winner: Final Fantasy VI. I'll try and be as fair as I can. Before FFVI, RPG's had been known to have mediocre graphics. Dragon Warrior, Phantasy Star, and the early FF games did not do the most credible job in this regard. Of course, it was all about the story, right? Well, before FFVI came along, it was. FFVI elevated the graphics to sit with the best of the best in the SNES department. The environments were lush and detailed and they showed a new side of the RPG that we had never seen before. </P>
<P>Final Fantasy VII did show the RPG in a new light. It was brilliant 3-D gaming with realistic graphics and settings. The characters did look a bit on the cartoonish side. They didn't even have mouths. Not knocking it, the FMV sequences are among the best in gaming. My favorites include the scene with Aeris, the WEAPON attack on Junon, and the death of Rufus. They do bring a sense of high-art drama and poignancy to the game. The graphics are very good, but their age has shown more. FFVI has retained its age on the SNES.</P>
<P>Round Four: Sound. Winner: Final Fantasy VII. Even with the brilliant opera, FFVII wins this round. Final Fantasy VI's music isn't as catchy and it doesn't mark the emotions in the various scenes as well as Final Fantasy VII does. The music in Nibelheim when Cloud sees his hometown on fire really brings a much darker emotion to the game. Looking in Sephiroth's eyes, we know how evil he is. Kefka doesn't get that going for him when he poisons Doma. While that scene is very chilling, it could have been so much more with the right music. </P>
<P>Round Five: Challenge. Winner: Final Fantasy VI. Back to the old deciding category, I see. Neither game is going to give you a real run for the money. On the challenge scale, they're about medium. For an experienced RPG veteran, they should sail through both games in about 35 hours. Final Fantasy VI gets the nod on the grounds that it never used two ultra-hard optional bosses to elevate the challenge of the game. It was fine with what it had. The Emerald and Ruby WEAPON bosses require a lot of luck and skill to win both times. Also, in terms of final bosses, Sephiroth isn't as challenging as Kefka.</P>
<P>There you have it, boys and girls. Next week will be a good one. Zelda II vs. Mario 2. Hope to see you then.</P>
<P>This week we will analyze two rival RPG games. Both of them are responsible for being the biggest voices in their genre for a particular generation. The unusual thing is both of them came from the same dynasty. One showed the video game industry what an RPG could be and the other showed them what it could be for the new generation. The first title was released on November 13, 1994. The other was released on September 7, 1997. Ladies and gentlemen, I gave you:</P>
<P>Final Fantasy VI vs. Final Fantasy VII! Let the battle begin!</P>
<P>Round One: Story. The winner: Final Fantasy VII. I thought we'd get this one over with. The RPG is almost entirely dependent on story. It is the reason that we get out of bed and bother with it at all. FFVI and FFVII are two that have the best stories in the entire history of video games. Final Fantasy VI has a group of rebels fighting the evil Kefka and Emperor Gestahl, who are trying to rule the world with their magic. The key to the puzzle is a young woman named Terra. She is rescued by Locke. From there, an odd assortment of characters joins your party. The game has everything building to a resounding conclusion and it pulls a hard right turn at the end of the first half of the game. Thus, a new world begins. Very well written with a good sense of humor to level the seriousness that is rampant throughout the game. The opera scene is one of the finest in video games.</P>
<P>Final Fantasy VII goes to a more modern world. The plot is reminiscent of David Lynch in where you are thrown into the middle of a scenario and you learn the puzzle pieces in a very intricate, layered manner. FFVII has a wonderful way of telling the story and makes Sephiroth a more complex and layered villain than one might realize. He learns of his heritage and he goes mad when he learns the truth about his people. Cloud, who knew him long ago, is now out to stop him after he learns that he is still alive. Sephiroth had supposedly died years ago. How he supposedly died is a twist I won't dare reveal. The story makes very good use of the central characters and makes them very three-dimensional. It has one of the greatest scenes ever as well at the end of the first disc. It lacks the character-driven plot but makes up for it by driving the plot very well. Most RPG's only wish they could be as good as this one. FFVII wins by a hair.</P>
<P>Round Two: The magic system. Winner: Final Fantasy VI. Both the Esper and Materia systems are novel concepts. There is no denying that. When push comes to shove, the Esper system is better balanced and it gives the player the choice of making all of his characters specialists in one thing. One character can be a specialist with fire and another can be really good with ice. The other thing that is nice is that some are far superior with magic. Terra and Celes are good examples. Final Fantasy VII allows everyone to use magic instantly. While there are some differences in who is better with magic, it doesn't have the same intimacy. Only Aeris is really gung-ho on the magic. Everyone else (except for Tifa and Barret) seem to play the field level. Even in the latter case, they're still pretty good with it.</P>
<P>Round Three: Graphics. Winner: Final Fantasy VI. I'll try and be as fair as I can. Before FFVI, RPG's had been known to have mediocre graphics. Dragon Warrior, Phantasy Star, and the early FF games did not do the most credible job in this regard. Of course, it was all about the story, right? Well, before FFVI came along, it was. FFVI elevated the graphics to sit with the best of the best in the SNES department. The environments were lush and detailed and they showed a new side of the RPG that we had never seen before. </P>
<P>Final Fantasy VII did show the RPG in a new light. It was brilliant 3-D gaming with realistic graphics and settings. The characters did look a bit on the cartoonish side. They didn't even have mouths. Not knocking it, the FMV sequences are among the best in gaming. My favorites include the scene with Aeris, the WEAPON attack on Junon, and the death of Rufus. They do bring a sense of high-art drama and poignancy to the game. The graphics are very good, but their age has shown more. FFVI has retained its age on the SNES.</P>
<P>Round Four: Sound. Winner: Final Fantasy VII. Even with the brilliant opera, FFVII wins this round. Final Fantasy VI's music isn't as catchy and it doesn't mark the emotions in the various scenes as well as Final Fantasy VII does. The music in Nibelheim when Cloud sees his hometown on fire really brings a much darker emotion to the game. Looking in Sephiroth's eyes, we know how evil he is. Kefka doesn't get that going for him when he poisons Doma. While that scene is very chilling, it could have been so much more with the right music. </P>
<P>Round Five: Challenge. Winner: Final Fantasy VI. Back to the old deciding category, I see. Neither game is going to give you a real run for the money. On the challenge scale, they're about medium. For an experienced RPG veteran, they should sail through both games in about 35 hours. Final Fantasy VI gets the nod on the grounds that it never used two ultra-hard optional bosses to elevate the challenge of the game. It was fine with what it had. The Emerald and Ruby WEAPON bosses require a lot of luck and skill to win both times. Also, in terms of final bosses, Sephiroth isn't as challenging as Kefka.</P>
<P>There you have it, boys and girls. Next week will be a good one. Zelda II vs. Mario 2. Hope to see you then.</P>