Fantasy Not Final

A few years back Final Fantasy VII, on loan from my friend Rey, introduced me to the world of Final Fantasy. At first, it didn't appeal to me. The characters were cartoonish and LEGO®-like, and the story was very basic. A mercenary ran around with a team on a mission to blow up something in a power plant for some reason, and occasionally a random battle would occur. The enemies were usually boring guys with guns, and the hero had to wait for his turn to take action. When it was my turn, I had to choose an option from the menu to attack. The foes weren't very powerful, but a lot stronger than my character and at first I lost a lot. I didn't know it then, but I would eventually commit over 63 hours to that game, and be sad enough when it was all over to play it again from the beginning, this time clearing any and all side missions.

In any RPG, players are rewarded for their victories with experience. Gain enough experience, and you go up a level. It's a lot like life in that aspect. The more experience we gain, the stronger we become and, as a result, the easier certain challenges become. At some point the hero of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife, became strong enough to take out many of his early opponents with one attack. Of course, just as the heroes get stronger in an RPG, so too do their enemies. By the end of the game, Cloud and his allies would wield advanced versions of their initial weapons, massive hit points, and various spells including the ability to summon powerful monsters such as the dragon Bahamut. With giant robot WEAPONs roaming their world, and their enemy Sephiroth reaching godlike levels of power, winning even with such assets would prove nearly impossible. No RPG is impossible however, to a player willing to invest the time building his or her characters up to be even stronger. Sooner or later, you can defeat any opponent.

Every Final Fantasy game, while sharing common themes, presents an independent story with new characters. The tale is epic in scope, and resolved completely by the end. Each fantasy in and of itself is final. FFVII may be the most popular game in the series, but FFX, the only other game in the series I've played, had been the only one to have a sequel, FFX-2. Now the popular FFVII continues, beyond cameo appearances of its characters in the Kingdom Hearts games, with a DVD movie sequel, Advent Children. This is not the first film to bear the name Final Fantasy, but unlike 2001's science fiction masterpiece (and box office dud) The Spirits Within, it is the first Final Fantasy movie with a direct connection to the game. Someone who's never played the game could enjoy the movie on its own, but it's a dream come true for fans with a sharp memory and a careful eye. The opening sequence of the movie is an exact recreation of the very last scene of the game. At one point after a fight, the victory music played after every fight in the game is heard, and subsequently revealed to be the ringtone on the defeated opponent's cellphone. Quick flashbacks fill in the blanks for newcomers, but the movie is definitely a love letter to the fans.

I won't spoil the plot too much, but many familiar faces reappear. The computer animation, much like The Spirits Within and Final Flight of the Osiris, retains the same level of detail and borderline reality. The game's greatest strengths were its intricate plot, engaging characters, and epic blend of humor, tragedy, hope and despair. One of its biggest weaknesses was the blend of graphics. In story mode, the characters were rendered in a simplified cartoonish style and looked like toys. During fights, the graphics were much sharper but limited to a few poses. It was only during the full movie sequences that told the story in between the action, that the visual aspect of the game truly shone. I found it very satisfying to see a fully-rendered feature film of a world and characters I'd loved. The story doesn't quite reach the epic level of the game, but then it couldn't possibly in 1/42nd the time. The soundtrack is superb, updating and incorporating many of the game themes into rock and operatic presentations. The action sequences are dizzying, and there are very few quiet moments in the film once the action begins. Emotional impact is high given the nostalgia factor, and during one particular scene I felt a dampening of my eyes. The humor is great as well, and comic relief comes best from Reno and Rude, ultra-cool villains from the game who evolve into anti-heroes in the film. Enforcers from a fallen corporation, a threat to their world gives them a common cause with Cloud's group.

This fantasy is no longer final. Later this year a new game, Dirge of Cerebus, will feature the FFVII character Vincent. Additionally, the prequel Before Crisis, focusing on the Turks gang of enforcers, will be coming to U.S. mobile phones, and another prequel, Crisis Core starring the character Zack, is destined for the PSP. I've yet to make my way through all the special features on Advent Children, but I especially enjoyed “Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII”, a 24 minute collection of chronological clips from the game that summarize the overall epic quite nicely, giving me a taste of the magic without requiring that I play the game through a third time. After all, the fantasy has to be a little bit final, to fit in some of that pesky reality.