I think Hajime Tabata has diagnosed me correctly. I got a disease.
When Tekken producer Katsushiro Harada, representing Japanese gaming site 4Gamer, sat down with Tabata-san, director of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV, Tabata-san mentioned having to combat what he termed “Final Fantasy disease”. Tabata-san uses the term to describe the backlash during his work on the upcoming Japanese-themed Role-Playing Game (JRPG).
“Oh yeah, there was,” Tabata said when discussing the backlash. “It wasn’t only from inside the team, but outside as well. The reason was that if my way of doing it ended up working, there are those whose circumstances will worsen.”
He laughed after saying that.
As a Final Fanstasy fan since the original hit the NES in 1990, I wanted to strangle the man for laughing. I thought, “He’s just trying to justify his own shit game, Final Fantasy XV, which isn’t a real Final Fantasy game anyway!”
“Around that time, I realized that among fans as well, there are people who’ve caught FF disease,” Tabata said.
I was still upset, but I was listening.
My disdain for Square Enix is pretty much on the public record. On every podcast where they’re mentioned, the venom I spit threatens to bypass the pop filter and melt my microphone. #FuckSquareEnix is a hashtag I would unleash every third tweet if I only used Twitter more often. My dislike for them is real and palpable.
First among my complaints about the company is their treatment of the Final Fantasy series. I have been a fan of JRPGs in general – and Final Fantasy in particular – for quite a while, and I can’t stand where the series has ended up. While the Dragon Quest series, another franchise I revere and they own, has received better treatment, I almost felt as if Square Enix was ruining the franchise just to spite me. Some of the games, especially Final Fantasy XIII, seemed not just unplayable messes, but cruel jokes meant to mock fans.
Suddenly I read Tabata-san’s interview, translated on a Kotaku article, and I feel differently. I feel as if the Final Fantasy series was ruined because the developers thought like…me.
“[Final Fantasy disease] refers to people within the company who can’t imagine anything other than their own view of Final Fantasy. Since the root is a strong self-affirmation, one’s own view of Final Fantasy takes more priority than the team’s success. If that view of Final Fantasy isn’t fulfilled, then they’re convinced that it’s bad for Final Fantasy. They think, ‘Since Final Fantasy is a special team, then we are also special because we are making it. When the new Final Fantasy comes out, everybody is going to be so into it.’ But that’s not the reality of the situation, is it?”
“Because of that, there was a time I told off the team, saying, ‘We’re not special. Wake Up.’ Yet, I realized that when Final Fantasy XV news was made public, this wasn’t only inside the company. Everyone has FF disease.”
Something clicked in my head right then. Suddenly, I wanted to choke on my own tongue. You’re right, Dr. Tabata-san. I got the disease. I’ve let my view of the perfect Final Fantasy game infect me.
My perfect Final Fantasy game lies in the series’ second trilogy: Final Fantasy IV-VI. Many other series fans prefer Final Fantasy VII, which was the game that really propelled the series, and JRPGs, into the stratosphere. I love that game, but not as much as the second trilogy. Those games, especially IV and VI – which were released here for the SNES as Final Fantasy II and III – were the games that really blew my mind. Everything about those games resonates with me. The story, the musical score, and the total presentation – they resonated with me back then and still do to this day. I didn’t play Final Fantasy V until I picked up Final Fantasy Anthology for the PS1 in 1999, but once I did, I loved it just as much. In my mind, the perfect Final Fantasy game would look and feel like that trilogy.
For years, I have perpetuated Dr. Tabata-san’s description of the symptoms. I compared every Final Fantasy game released to my ideal Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy VII was a masterpiece that felt true to my ideal. Final Fantasy VIII was weaker but enjoyable, and Final Fantasy IX, while flawed, was like an old-school callback. It may have not looked the same, but it was spiritually true. Then Final Fantasy X happened.
That game, my son’s first real solo dive into the series, turned me off completely. He thinks it still holds up. I think it grates on the nerves and makes me feel dumber as I play it. Needless to say, it is a thorny subject for us. We both, however, share common hatred for everything from Final Fantasy X-2 on.
Then Final Fantasy XIV happened.
When the original iteration of that MMO JRPG came out, it was an hot mess. Not by my opinion, mind you, but by general consensus. Released on September 30, 2010 and panned by everyone, the game was so bad that Square Enix pulled the game and publically apologized. Personally, I was ecstatic. “Finally,” I thought to myself. “Those bastards that ruined Final Fantasy got knocked down a peg!”
When Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn in 2013 and earned praise, I went into denial. I now know that it wasn’t me talking; it was the Final Fantasy disease. I couldn’t fathom a good Final Fantasy game that didn’t meet MY expectations. “What, a Final Fantasy MMO? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??? Why won’t they just make the Final Fantasy game that I WANT???”
Yup! Those are frank symptoms.
Look, it’s not like I’m averse to change. Some of my all-time favorite video games are ones that deviated so far from the original mold that they were chastised, either at first or for all time. Resident Evil 4. Metroid Prime. Super Mario Sunshine. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Those are games that reinvented their series, went off on a different direction, and I still loved.
(Holy shit! I just realized that all those games were released on the Nintendo GameCube. Not sure what that means.)
But, for some reason, I can’t fathom Final Fantasy deviating from the formula I have deemed perfect. Hell, when I played the Platinum demo of Final Fantasy XV, I enjoyed the game. I liked the art style, I liked the mechanics, and I liked the combat. The game was good…but I said it wasn’t Final Fantasy.
Now I know why: I got a disease.
Hopefully, now that I have recognized the disease, I can set about to curing it. I’m downloading the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn trial now and will give it a proper spin. I will play the Final Fantasy XV Platinum demo afterward, looking at it from a different perspective. I will look at all news and information regarding Final Fantasy objectively, without the bias my disease causes.
But if Final Fantasy XV sucks anyway? I’ll introduce Dr. Tabata-san to a new disease: FINAL FANTASY RAGE!!!
