Gaming: Final Fantasy: The 13th Installment

Gaming

Final Fantasy: The 13th Installment

By our guest blogger, Jeff Hwang

When analyzing an entertainment series, the concept of success usually hovers around a sequel or so, but nothing more. Trilogies are common, but that is as far as they go. However, when the "Final Fantasy" franchise announced they were going to release their 13th title, no one was really surprised.

In fact, consumers were ecstatic.

It all started in 1987, when a lone title called “Final Fantasy” was released for the Famicom--the Japanese version of the first Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)--to save a small media company called Square Co. Back then, Square was suffering from heavy financial losses as a result of producing less-than-enjoyable video games. Yet even with the success of “Final Fantasy,” the company could not guess that they were going to make entertainment history.

That was 23 years ago. In 2003, Square had merged with the Enix Corporation, another media company, to form Square Enix. In the two decades since the release of “Final Fantasy,” the role-playing game had spawned a myriad of sequels, spin-off titles, animations, films and other merchandise. When Square Enix is mentioned, the "Final Fantasy" franchise is usually tied into the conversation as well. The two names are nearly synonymous.

How or why the franchise became such a global phenomenon is a mystery. Regardless, as new installments continue to arrive, fans around the world simply keep begging for more. They are now up to 13 titles, with the 14th already in the works. But for the time being, the subject is “Final Fantasy XIII.”

At a glance, one would have trouble determining whether “Final Fantasy XIII” is a video game or a feature CGI film. Truthfully, it is indeed a video game and that is it. Transitions between player-controlled scenarios and full-length cinematic sequences are virtually flawless.

With each series, it almost seems as if the worlds become grander, the music becomes more dynamic, the graphics become more realistic and the storylines become deeper and more complicated. When “Final Fantasy XIII” was announced for seventh-generation consoles Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, only anticipation awaited. Many of the recurring Final Fantasy elements remain, but of course with improvements.

Bear in mind that the Final Fantasy games are originally in Japanese. Because of this, voice acting and lip-syncing do not work very well in English translations. Square titles such as “Final Fantasy X” and the Kingdom Hearts series have subpar dubbing performances. However, scenes in the English version of “Final Fantasy XIII” have exceeded and raised the dubbing bar to a new level. It is not perfect--those who choose to can set the audio to Japanese and subtitles to English--but it has improved immensely. In fact, it seems that every aspect of “Final Fantasy XIII”--aside from the storyline, which is always debatable--has set a new standard. It could be because of the new engine in the seventh-generation game consoles, but nonetheless, “epic” would be the proper term to summarize this game.

For over 20 years the Final Fantasy franchise has existed. Games, movies and other media merchandise have already been written into the entertainment history books. With the release of “Final Fantasy XIII” and a pending release of “Final Fantasy XIV,” it does not look like Square Enix will be slowing down anytime soon.