benlehman

For those rare times when, you know, I talk about Polaris

Speaking of which, anyone reading this want to playtest Bliss Stage?

So, while lying sick-as-a-dog from cold or flu or something (no, not bird flu) in my hostel bed in Nanjing, I've been taking the opportunity to replay some of the old videogames from my youth on emulation, trying to beat them this time and finally vindicate myself.

I am beginning to form the opinion that late-NES (FF3j) and mid-game boy (FFL, FFL2, FFA) is the point in which Squaresoft really hit its peak as a company. Now, I realize that there's a lot to be said for the SNES period (FF4-6 + FFL3), and that there are at least two die-hard FF7 fans reading this. I used to think more highly of FF4-6 myself. But, on replaying, a lot of the depth, grandeur and theme of the other games is done, and done better, by the earlier games, in particular FF3 and FFL, ironically some of the last games that actually let you name your party members without defaults. My hunch is that the lack of characterization of the protagonists was actually a very productive creative constraint in terms of video game design.

I think that the only game of comparable quality, at least in terms of narrative, that Squaresoft has produced (discounting the excellent FF9 disc one), was FFTactics, which I'm given to understand was actually not designed in-house at all, but was a last minute retooling of a half-way finished Russian game. (Man, what I would give to see that design team actually finish a game, given full time and resources.)

Not coincidentally, FFL and FF3 are some of the first games I know of to address, in any way, the video-game nature of the medium itself. Later attempts are generally only fourth-wall breaking for comedic value (lots of games), hopelessly pretentious wankering by computer programmers (Metal Gear Solid 2), or both.

Of course, I'm not finished with FF3 yet, so it still has time to crash, but it already has the best moment ever in a Squaresoft game, possibly any videogame I've ever played.

They'll be longer essays and arguments about why I think that these are good games, possibly here but probably on This Is My Blog. I only want to post one place, but if people here are interested I'll do a notification when the essays start.