fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #366 ]

⌈ Secret Post #366 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE MSPAINT USE A BACKGROUND COLOR, PLEAAAASE

Secrets Left to Post: 11 pages, 252 secrets from Secret Submission Post #053.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 ] broken links, [ 1 2 ] not!secrets, 0 not!fandom.
Next Secret Post: Tomorrow, Monday, January 7th, 2008.
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

14. FFXII was subtle and beautiful. The characters were involved and real. Like people. The story was something complex and realistic (withing the fantasy-esque genre) too. It made you think. It wasn't just another "teenage angst saves the day" story like a lot of other FF stuff.

But most people want broad brush strokes for characters. They can't be assed enough to pay attention to things like subtle details and some of the looks the characters gave each other. Yes, that's right. They showed character development through expressions. Not just through a character explaining their emotion.

BASICALLY, you're not the only person on the internet who feels similarly.

Barring the fact that the technology to allow characters to show that amount of subtle emotion in their faces is still relatively new, and for years and years we RPG fans were relying almost solely on text and ellipses to understand what was going through a character's head, I don't really like the implication that people who didn't appreciate the development in FFXII aren't intelligent enough to understand "omg REAL character development."

I think there were a few characters in the game who were incredibly well done (Fran, Balthier and Larsa, without debate. And okay, I love Dr. Cid), but for the most part FFXII was a dire case of telling and not showing. For a good chunk of the game, everyone and their uncle was cautioning Ashe about how she was being corrupted by her quest for power, and all I could say about it was: "O RLY." She never shows any indication one way or the other besides looking pensively to the side once and a while and being told by others that she should be afraid of it. That's the kind of crap that gets on my nerves with FFXII- I can't think of many lines that characters had that weren't direct exposition, and while it may be more realistic that a party of traveling heroes would spend most of their time talking about the task at hand, when I compare it to things like Lunar, Tales of the Abyss, Grandia or Final Fantasy IX which go OVERBOARD letting you get to know the characters through the inanity of everyday life, it's hard for me to go back to FFXII without it looking a little lifeless.

Honestly, I just expected better from the people who made Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story. FFT in particular has some of the most amazing, subtle and profound character development of any RPG I've ever played, and it managed to do it through a crappy translation and with characters that have no noses.

I'm not saying that you're wrong for seeing the amazing development in FFXII- actually, I'm a little envious because I keep desperately looking for reasons to like the game more than I do. I'm just saying that just because it appears to be more subtle doesn't automatically make it "better" and "more mature"; older RPGs may be cartoonish, overblown and melodramatic, but to a lot of people the characters are just as real and layered. Honestly: if you have to spend 50+ hours with a bunch of people, I think more is ALWAYS better than less.

Edited 2008-01-07 18:07 (UTC)

That's definitely a huge part in why I love FFXII so much. It was the subtleness that let you think up your own interpretations of the characters. I loved how the main party and Vayne had the same goal in mind, but chose different paths to get there. I love the serious overtone of it. And most of all, it wasn't about saving the entire world from an insane overlord.

Thanks for your comment♥ I'm so glad to see more fans of this game.

[ SECRET POST #366 ]

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OP 14