[Ginkasa]

Just an update partially to say "Hey, I'm still playin!" but also because I'm bored.

Right now I'm about to enter the Tower of Babil. I've held off for a couple of days 'cause I really haven't had that much time to play and the Tower of Babil is a bit of a longer dungeon. Yes, I have "Quicksave," but I hate to quit in the middle of a dungeon.

Anyway....

Rather than writing an awesome novel or making a cool short video or concocting a plan to make in Hollywood I was thinking about the FF series the other day. Particularly I was thinking about a pattern I had once heard about. Basically, I had read once that "fans" considered the series to follow a "even/odd" pattern similarly to the Star Trek movies. However, instead of one being good and the other bad, the odds focused on gameplay and the evens focused on story. This only applied to I-VI.

I was thinking about that and decided they were wrong. While I do agree you could see a pattern with the odds and evens it wasn't what they thought. I think they both focus on story and gameplay equally (for the most part). It has more to do with the tone and themes of the games. Essentially, if someone played I, III, and V and told those were part of one series and then played II, IV, and VI and were told those were part of a different series, I think they could be easily convinced.

Let's look at the odds: I, III, and V. Each game has the "Job system" in some form. In "I" you choose the jobs at the very beginning and are stuck with them except for one optional upgrade. III and V allow you to switch throughout the game. V let's you trade abilities between jobs.

They also have stories that focus on crystals, elemental demons, and destined Warriors of Light. In each game there are 4 Warriors (with a replacement 5th member in V) that are predestined to be Warriors. They don't really rise up and prove their worth; they display crystals or orbs or Jobs and have their worth handed to them. In I and III (minus the DS remake) they don't even have names or personalities. Just their titles.

They battle not against empires or men, but forces larger than mere human comprehension. A mysterious dark force that steals light from the crystals or a demon from beyond time. The villains have no real personality or even motive beyond the death of everything.

The evens are different - II, IV, and VI. These games don't necessarily feature one continuous gameplay feature like the Job system, but they do have and different theme and tone from the other games.

For one, they each have a larger cast of characters each with personalities and personal histories with VI, of course, being the largest. Each hero is, if not necessarily a "normal" person, is also not destined to be a hero or a legend. They are gifted individuals who see evil in the world and rise up against it, even if the odds are stacked against their favor. They have relationships and hopes and dreams beyond just the current struggle or battle.

The enemies are also more complex and less ambiguous. The heroes battle earthly forces - empires and armies. The villains have reasons beyond simply "being evil" for their wicked ways. They're not demons or gods, at least not until the end - they're just really bad men.

The only hiccup to this formula is IV. It has crystals and Zermous pretty easily fits the bill for evil ambigous evil that wants to destroy existence. Also, while it doesn't have the Job system it does have characters who are clearly said to fit within the Jobs from the prior games. However, it also Golbez, who is just an really powerful (moon) man and armies and whatnot.

Maybe later I'll get into more detail about why I think the other pattern is bollocks.