Japanese PSN Gets Another Final Fantasy Legend

[Harry Buddha Palm]

I finally got around to playing Final Fantasy VI last year after about a decade of hearing about how great it was and I was sorely disappointed. The plot is basically Star Wars and there are MANY allusions to Star Wars as well, some subtle, some not so subtle. There was even a monster in the game that looked exactly like an Imperial Probe Droid. Then there was Kefka. I had heard so much about how he was such a great villain and he turned out to be a lame Joker rip-off. How the hell does a clown become a general in an army? I thought he flat out sucked. He wasn't funny and he had no depth. He's just one of those villains that wants to destroy the world because he's the villain and that's just what villains do. Another problem with the game was that there were far too many playable characters. This was compounded by the fact that the Esper system really encourages you to use as few characters as possible because only the ones that you are actively using are gaining spells. The fact that many characters were by far inferior to others was also a problem. Some of the characters were pretty interesting, but most were just there. If they had cut the number of characters in half, they could've had a really strong cast, but they wen't for quantity instead of quality.

Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't think the game was BAD. It was a decent game that had it's moments, but I think it's a game that people remember being better than it actually was. I probably would've liked it when I was a kid if I had played it back then, but I'm not a kid anymore. It's an OK game, but it's hardly "The Greatest JRPG Ever!!!". It has some good parts and some bad parts.

And as far as Sephiroth vs. Kefka goes, Sephiroth is the much better villain because he has two things that most video game villains (including Kefka) don't: depth and motivation.

 

[Defense]

Kefka sucks, he's every single generic, shallow RPG villian seen in most Final Fantasy games. He just gets more love because he has lines that make people "lol".

Quite the statement,
so then, care to give an example of a good villain?

Final Fantasy Tactics is probably the best example I can give, but it's morally ambiguous. It deals with Duke Larg, the White Lion fighting for the people, and Duke Goltana who represents the aristocracy. They're fighting for control of Ivalice, and neither of them are actually bad characters. They have intentions that they believe are best for everyone. I don't count the last boss as the main antagonist because it pulls a Zemus and fights you at the last part of the game only.

Even Sephiroth and ShinRa are better antagonists than Kefka. ShinRa is the oil company of Gaia and slowly kills the planet for money, and Sephiroth takes revenge on people because he believes that the humans killed his mother. Their goals are pretty understandable in my opinion.

The Reapers from Mass Effect are also a great example.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Ok, im going to issue a challenge here.

Im not a FF fan, but I dont dislike it either.

Assuming the fans are going to be spewing appreciation over this thread soon...

Convince me why I should buy this.

Nope, notr even going to try.


But my good sir, have you ever suplex a train?

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Kefka sucks, he's every single generic, shallow RPG villian seen in most Final Fantasy games. He just gets more love because he has lines that make people "lol".

Quite the statement,
so then, care to give an example of a good villain?

Final Fantasy Tactics is probably the best example I can give, but it's morally ambiguous. It deals with Duke Larg, the White Lion fighting for the people, and Duke Goltana who represents the aristocracy. They're fighting for control of Ivalice, and neither of them are actually bad characters. They have intentions that they believe are best for everyone. I don't count the last boss as the main antagonist because it pulls a Zemus and fights you at the last part of the game only.

Even Sephiroth and ShinRa are better antagonists than Kefka. ShinRa is the oil company of Gaia and slowly kills the planet for money, and Sephiroth takes revenge on people because he believes that the humans killed his mother. Their goals are pretty understandable in my opinion.

The Reapers from Mass Effect are also a great example.

Ah, yes, villainous motivation you can understand or even relate to.
Makes sense.
(Seems like you're the kind of guy who'd also appreciate the 'villains' from the first two Shadow Hearts games.)

Though the Reapers seem a bit off in that list. I mean, yeah, in the original Mass Effect, when the deal with Sovereign came to light, I also had a bit of an "oh snap" moment. But they're pretty much just evil for the sake of being evil, aren't they?

 

[vxicepickxv]

Man, here I was thinking it was actually one of the actual Final Fantasy Legend games from the Game Boy era.

Kefka is the Joker of Video Games, not counting Batman games with The Joker in them.

 

[Aisaku]

Don't diss Kefka. He is a deranged psychopath, a card-carrying chaotic evil villian which, in my book is leagues better than Sephiroth's I'm an unloved test tube child.

What makes Kefka such a refreshing idea at the time, and even now is that this is a openly amoral megalomaniac, who doesn't care even for those that are foolish enough to ally with him. He's not the trite sort that would have the heroes listen to his diabolical plan, no, he just goes with his impulses. Completely against the grain of previous JRPG villians. That's what makes Kefka so good.

If you must, take DC Comics' Joker. That's the same twisted, dark corner of human nature Kefka comes from.

 

[fulano]

Kefka sucks, he's every single generic, shallow RPG villian seen in most Final Fantasy games. He just gets more love because he has lines that make people "lol".

Nope. The appeal of Kefka is the exact same appeal of the Joker, as portrayed by Heath Ledger. There's a vague backstory about the guy being the first schmuck that got fried by Magitek technology, turning him into whatever the fuck he ended up being, unlike Celes who turned out fine. Either way, dude wasn't a goner, he was just an asshole with a flair for theatrics and sadism.

He gets more love because he was a genuinely entertaining character that has stood the test of time. He would gladly off people left and right, grow bored, become a god, grow bored with that, and fuck over the world just because. The dude wasn't a walking tragedy coated in pathos. He was, again, just an asshole.

 

[gigastar]

Ok, im going to issue a challenge here.

Im not a FF fan, but I dont dislike it either.

Assuming the fans are going to be spewing appreciation over this thread soon...

Convince me why I should buy this.

Nope, notr even going to try.


But my good sir, have you ever suplex a train?

Ok, that made me laugh.

Spoiler: But have you ever piledrived Galactus?

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I hope it comes over to US PSN as well - I would still play that game annually if my playstation hadn't been seized by younger siblings.

 

[deathbydeath]

Mr. Funk, you sir are a king amongst men.


And now for the comparison.
[spoiler/]
Sephiroth- Mommy issues; attempted to destroy the planet, didn't succeed but got close.
Kefka- Sociopathic ************, attempted to become a god, succeeded in spades and was so for roughly a good 6 months.
[/spoiler]

i'd say the main reason why kefka is better (imo) is because he isn't taken seriously. sephiroth has the look of a badass, a cliched one admittedly, but kefka is so refreshing because he isnt supposed to make sense. he's just an evil god-clown who brought the apoc. much more original.

 

[John Funk]

Frankly, even as an enormous fan of Final Fantasy VI, I was never a particular fan of Kefka. I won't say he is a worse villain than Sephiroth (beacuse Sephiroth is quite weak in his own right), but he isn't much better either. People praise him for destroying the world for no particular reason, but that isn't exactly a point in his favour...on the contrary, all it means is that he has about as much depth and complexity as a Saturday Morning Cartoon villain. Infact, I would even go so far as to say that Final Fantasy VI is one of the few fictional works where the protagonists are generally far more interesting than the antagonists.

Also, nice job [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NiceJobBreakingItHero], Funk. Thanks to the way you expressed yourself in the news post, you've just given trolls an excuse to badmouth anybody for having the sheer audacity of liking VII. =/....=P

Convince me why I should buy this.

It has solid gameplay, a (genuinely) good story, memorable protagonists, a unique world that combines Fantasy and Steampunk elements and fantastic music. Simply put, it is one of the best entries in the entire series.

If that doesn't convince you to give it a try...well, frankly, not much else will.

Anyway, good news for people who use PSN, although I personally don't and already have the Advance version of the game.

If you like FF7 you deserve what you get!

 

[Mahorfeus]

Final Fantasy VII was overrated, yes. But was it a bad game? Hell no.

But I have to say, I'm not looking forward to seeing the crossdressing part in HD.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I've never played Final Fantasy VI. Judging by all the love that it receives--and the fact that many people are quick to point out that it crushes all other Final Fantasy games--I should probably try it one day.

 

[Lord Devius]

If you like FF7 you deserve what you get!

A decent battle system latched onto a dull story and duller characters?

I'm still working my way through the FF series, and if this version boasts better load times than the PSX version, somehow, then I'll be happy. It should be on PSP, right?

 

[John Funk]

If you like FF7 you deserve what you get!

A good game?

A decent one, surpassed by at least four other games in the series, yeah.

 

[Scrythe]

Dear Square,
If you release this in the States, I will take back all the mean things I said about XIII.


With love,
Scrythe

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Ok, im going to issue a challenge here.

Im not a FF fan, but I dont dislike it either.

Assuming the fans are going to be spewing appreciation over this thread soon...

Convince me why I should buy this.

Nope, notr even going to try.


But my good sir, have you ever suplex a train?

Ok, that made me laugh.

Spoiler: But have you ever piledrived Galactus?

All night, every night.