Character Select: Rydia of Mist (Final Fantasy IV)

Once in a blue moon, I come across a video game that I would consider ‘definitive’ to its genre or series. Final Fantasy IV is one such game, taking the essence of what turn-based JRPGs are all about, and cranking the gameplay up a notch with the introduction of the active-time battle system. It takes the medieval fantasy aesthetic to fantastical settings, with a skeleton wall bearing down on Cecil Harvey and company deep below the surface of their world, a massive tower that bursts forth from the ground to loom over the countryside, and a journey to the moon in order to make the final strike against the true foe of this epic adventure. And while Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Yang, Cid, and the rest of the playable cast were a lovable, iconic bunch, the one character that I adored from the moment of her introduction to the climactic finale was Rydia of Mist.

I think it is not much of a stretch to say that Final Fantasy IV spoiled me, in a way, offering me such a perfect balancing of party members over the course of the game, Rydia being chief among them. She is unquestionably the greatest black mage I have encountered in a Final Fantasy title to date, a role that has long been a core element to my strategies in JRPGs. Even more impressive is the fact that, on top of this, she is also the best summoner I have encountered in the series. I have made mention a number of times that my experiences with the proper numbered Final Fantasy titles remains limited to about six games, but even in the company of other JRPGs that I very much enjoyed, like Persona 4, Rydia still stands out as a force to be reckoned with. She never feels overpowered, per se, but the sheer variety of summons and spells at her disposal late in Final Fantasy IV is incredible.

Her story is also quite well-written – simple enough to juggle with the narratives surrounding all the other major players in FFIV, but elaborate enough to give players a reason to care about her plight. When Cecil and Kain first encounter Rydia, she is saddened by the destruction brought upon her village by the Red Wings, the very team that Cecil and Kain serve, and the fact that the two dark knights inadvertently caused the death of her mother while fighting her Eidolon. All this sorrow and anger causes the young girl to call upon an Eidolon of her own, displaying firsthand to Cecil and Kain the unthinkable powers they have upset. Though their alliance is uneasy at first, Cecil’s decision to abandon his role as dark knight and seek out the underlying machinations involving Golbez leads Rydia to see him as someone more human and trustworthy than she initially believed.

After an attack at sea by Leviathan, the rest of the party believes the young girl has died, and mourns her, only to later discover she was taken to the Feymarch, home of the Eidolons. Because time passes faster in the Feymarch, Rydia was able to hone her skills as both black mage and summoner, growing from child into young woman, and returning to aid her friends and allies when they needed her most. As an adult, Rydia is more calm and collected, and carries a noticeable air of confidence about her. There is, however, a certain element of pep and feistiness to the way that she takes on foes in battle – perhaps due to the fact that, having improved all of her abilities, she knows that her Eidolons are capable of laying waste to as many foes might stand in her way.

"You Look Terrible, Snake" #1 - Final Fantasy X

“You look terrible, Snake. You haven’t aged well.” – Gray Fox (Metal Gear Solid)

You may have noticed how the vast majority of the games I review on this blog end up with scores of a ‘7 out of 10’ or higher. Being that this is a one-man show, I typically find that any game I feel is going to score considerably lower than that is something I’d prefer not to waste my time on. There are the occasional anomalies – within the last year I scored The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds a 6.75, while Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes fared even poorer, earning a 4.5, though to be fair, both of those titles were considerably shorter than many of the other games I completed in 2014.

This is the start of a new series of articles, one that will likely be delivered infrequently, as I don’t want to come across as a downer too often. That said, this series will explore games that left me thoroughly disappointed for a number of reasons. Some of these games were still solid products on the whole, but failed to deliver on key design points. Others are total stinkers in my book, and I have a hunch that some of you will not agree with my take on at least a few of the titles to come. But that’s one of the great things about reviewing video games – for as much time as I might spend picking a game apart and voicing a negative opinion of it, there is someone else out there who hails it as one of their personal favorites, and vice-versa. With all that out of the way, the first game in this series will be Final Fantasy X.

My familiarity with the core Final Fantasy series was, until about five years ago, practically nonexistent. I could have told you which box art went with which game, that I understood the seventh game in the series was heralded by many as one of the best video game releases of all time, and that the tenth entry was supposed to be a strong contender as well. During my college years, I decided to pick up some used copies of a handful of Final Fantasy titles, after having played FFXIII, the DS remake of FFIV, and the Wii Virtual Console re-release of the original Final Fantasy. FFVII and FFX were the two among these gently-used purchases that I was most eager to experience, and were the two titles that had most frequently been recommended to me.

I think it important to point out that I did not (nor do I have any intention to) finish Final Fantasy X. I am, however, very much aware of the fact that any meaty JRPG like those in the Final Fantasy series require patience to grow accustomed to and allow the story to take shape. And so I waited. And waited. And waited, all the while slowly growing to realize how much I did not enjoy the experience. The battle system was unnecessarily obtuse in design, making encounters with foes boring, even sometimes frustrating. The freedom to level characters up as you so desired was one of the best mechanics in the game, and I certainly appreciated its role as predecessor to FFXIII’s crystarium, but its value was brought down by the fact that the characters I had to choose from were an uninspired and cliché lot.

At least Auron is alright as the stand-in for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Lulu was a one-dimensional byproduct of the emo/goth subculture of the early 2000s, snapping at Wakka for his saying something that upset her, yet leaving Tidus and myself in the dark as to why such a response was necessary or justified, let alone how she was supposedly a deep character with a complicated past tying into Wakka's own. Meanwhile, Kimahri’s strong silent and mysterious nature coupled with his tall and furry body made him a dead ringer as a Chewbacca wannabe. Tidus proved obnoxious one moment, with his inhuman laugh and awkward bumbling through conversations with Yuna and Lulu, then super flat and unconvincing the next, as his dialogue served to imply genuine concern or curiosity regarding his comrades and the journey ahead, yet the way these lines were delivered showed just how uninterested the cast members were with this whole ordeal. Auron, the one character that I actually gravitated toward and wanted to learn more about, was denied time in the spotlight over and over. While I realize much of this was likely due for dramatic buildup for a later plot twist, the lack of information I was being fed eventually led me to give up on caring about him as well.

I similarly found myself in a position of not giving two hoots about impossible-hair-sporting Seymour Guado. I loved the ‘bring it on’ attitude Golbez and his four most trusted generals displayed in FFIV, the laser-faced monstrosity that was Barthendelus in FFXIII; heck, even Caius Ballad was an entertaining (if not a tad shallow) extremist in his attempts to defy time and fate. While FFVII’s Sephiroth is arguably more important as a plot device than multifaceted foe, the compounding of his and Jenova’s involvement in the plot made for an ever-mysterious, yet consistently compelling major plot thread. In FFX, Seymour is just sort of a cocky and generally unlikeable individual. He only gets what he wants on account of his social status and charms, and has seemingly never been told ‘no’ by anyone. The idea that so many people held him in high regard was a mystery to me, as I was given no basis as to why he was supposed to be so well-received, and thus similarly the idea that there was a complex ‘love-to-hate-this-guy’ dynamic at play was entirely lost. As far as I was concerned, Seymour was even more boring and uncharismatic as most of the core cast members.

Seymour's hairdo is one of the dumbest video game character design points I have ever seen.

Which in turn, added to my not caring about the world, its people, or the story at large. With a game that requires so much time to complete, and that places its conflict on such a large scale, one would hope it would utilize its heroes, villains, culture, and major plot points to craft something larger than the sum of its parts. But with so many paper-thin aspects to this creative vision, it resulted in the overall product lacking any real entertaining direction, which in turn, killed my desire to continue forward with it. Giant fish that signals the end of an era? Bring it up here and there, but fail to elaborate on it when the opportunity presents itself. Blitzball? An abysmal mess that is as messy in concept as it is in execution. Each time the game was presented ample opportunity to flesh out its narrative and elaborate on what was happening and attempt to convince me as to why I should be the slightest bit invested, it casually cruised right past them.

But perhaps Final Fantasy X’s greatest sin comes from the lack of freedom in picking a play style that suits you. I understand that many older RPGs tend to focus on a core cast, emphasizing them as the game progresses. FFIV did this, but it did it well, as the game chugs along at such a pace that you are allotted plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the abilities of the White Mages, the Knights, the Summoners, and so forth, that when you reach the later legs of the journey, you are well-versed in strategizing with Kain, Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, and Edge. Each has their own specific skill set, yes, but they also offer sufficient flexibility that you are not simply going through the motions as picking the one end-all be-all path to success.

FFXIII, while host to a smaller playable cast, emphasizes two to three skill trees per character, allowing Snow to offer up his Ravager and Sentinel skills to the part, Fang to juggle Commando and Saboteur, and Hope to try his hand at both Medic and Synergist. Of course late in the game, the other three trees per character that were deemed ‘less than ideal’ are expanded upon, but by the time that portion of the adventure is reached, each character has effectively already come into his/her primary roles. FFX, on the other hand, is designed with the mentality of the player adhering to how the game believes it should be played, with a very odd and unbalanced set of roles to select from. Both Kimahri and Auron fit the heavy-hitter physical attackers, while Tidus is meant to be the sort of middle ground 'knight', albeit with significantly less impressive results that Cloud, Lightning, Cecil, or even that which the vanilla Knights from FFI offered up.

The OG Black Mage/Summoner, Rydia of Mist.

 Wakka’s enchanted weaponry gets the job done early on, but also caps out too soon for any long-term use to be a worthwhile consideration. Meanwhile, Lulu is the most pathetic excuse for a Black Mage I’ve encountered in any JRPG I’ve played to date. For a while, I thought perhaps I was simply being too harsh toward her skill set, considering I had only recently completed FFIV before I started FFX, and that it would be one heck of a tall order for anyone to stack up to Rydia. Yet, Yuna does just fine with her White Mage/Summoner combo, as unorthodox as it might be. And yeah, of course Yuna is going to have weaker defense than most of her comrades, but while Lulu is intended to be a glass cannon, her shots are practically nonexistent. Hell, the blue-robed and yellow-eyed sprites from FFI put up a bombastic display in comparison, and their attacks – while still specialized – are nowhere near as expansive as any of the Final Fantasy titles that followed.

The soundtrack is great – in my opinion, one of the best in the series. And both the graphical and art direction stood out to me as early hooks that made me want to get lost and immersed in this game’s story and style. Final Fantasy X was a game that I wanted so desperately to enjoy, and it failed me in spades.

Final Fantasy VII journal - entry one

I’ve known the general story of Final Fantasy VII for years now. Even the most basic search results have a tendency to spoil the game’s “huge plot twist”. And knowing how kids from my generation who grew up with anime like the original Transformers and Gundam Wing can sometimes forget how things actually were and simply look back on entertainment from their childhoods through rose-colored glasses, I was skeptical (to say the least) of Final Fantasy VII’s ability to hold up some fifteen years after its initial release. At the same time, this is one video game that I had previously never experienced – heck, the closest I’d come to indulging in the Playstation One classic was watching the Advent Children film (which left something to be desired, I might add). So while I felt it was a necessary and logical course of action to fill this void in my gaming experience, my expectations were not set particularly high.

For some inexplicable reason, I was under the impression that Cloud would be a rather quiet protagonist, allowing the other party members to convey the story (not unlike Link from Ocarina of Time, released the following year). However, Cloud is a rather talkative fellow – perhaps even more so than Lighting in FFXIII or Cecil in FFIV (the other two core Final Fantasy titles I have played that are driven by a predetermined cast of characters). And this probably has a lot to do with the fact that FFVII is, at its core, a story about Cloud. Yes, Tifa, Barret, Aeris, and company are important, but every cutscene or flashback concerning another character ends up coming back around to reveal more about Cloud.

The battle system is fantastic – considering how akin to FFIV’s it is, it may end up among my favorite battle systems in the series. The Limit Breaker ability is a nifty addition, and while Cloud, Barret, and Red XIII’s powerful attacks are nice, I find Aeris’ Healing Wind the most convenient of them all. The boss encounters thus far have not been overly imaginative, but there has been decent variation, at least. The top-down perspective with Cloud traversing pre-rendered surfaces can be a bit confusing at times, as it is not always clear whether a doorway or a ramp leads from one surface or another. There have also been a few instances where I came across spots that looked like they would lead to new areas, but found they were simply empty spaces.

Now that I have some context for characters and plot points, I have a greater appreciation for the soundtrack. Yes, it’s MIDI, but I can appreciate it – Majora’s Mask is host to one of my favorite soundtracks in any video game, and it uses the same format. The graphics look pretty good for their day, though the cutscenes are far more visually appealing than the greyscale streets of Midgar. And though I’ve only scratched the surface on the relationship shared by Cloud and Sephiroth, the development of events has been rather believable and well-paced. I actually feel a little bad for Sephiroth now that I’ve seen the first flashback detailing his mission to Nibelheim.

Both the sometimes-vulgar language used by characters and the recurring theme of death in FFVII make it pretty clear to me why this game earned a ‘T’ rating. Barret’s mannerisms are a bit excessive and his depiction is somewhat racist, to be frank. Many of the artistic and style choices, along with subplots and minor events, are typical of 1990s Japanese entertainment. Final Fantasy VII would seem overly cliché if it weren’t for the fact that it does a really good job at combining the industrial futurist city of Midgar with old world weapons and modern modes of transportation. It’s a curious approach, but also thoroughly interesting for its day. Though I can’t say it has surpassed Final Fantasy IV for me in terms of its overall quality, Final Fantasy VII is certainly playing out far better than I had anticipated.

Top 5 Final Fantasy Battle Themes

For this month's top five list, I decided to focus on the Final Fantasy series and the accompanying soundtracks that are so widely respected. While everyone has their own favorite tracks from each game, one of the defining constants through all the years has been the battle theme. Each game is host to a distinctly different spin on the battle theme, generally as a reflection of the story and setting of that numbered entry into the series. The following is a list of my five favorite battle themes from the core Final Fantasy games. Spinoffs such as Crystal Chronicles and sequels like XIII-2 and FFIV: The After Years will not be considered for this list, nor will boss battle themes or variants of the primary battle theme. Each of these entries is limited to the main battle theme from the respective games.

#5 - Final Fantasy IX: With a classic nineties vibe to it, Final Fantasy IX's battle theme certainly stands out from the rest of the pack. It's something of a nontraditional approach to the battle theme, using heavily synthesized sounds to give it an electronic style. But it's certainly an interesting listen.



#4 - Final Fantasy VI: The battle theme from Final Fantasy VI has a darker tone to it, as if the battle at hand is of a most dire consequence. I really enjoy the way that this tune is coupled with the steampunk-esque world of FFVI, and think it is a strong reminder of the darker territory the series began to explore in FFVI and the games that followed.



#3 - Final Fantasy II: Taking a wildly different approach than that of its predecessor, the battle theme in Final Fantasy II is fast-paced, loud, and reflective of the medieval fantasy roots of the long-running JRPG. It screams action with every note, and despite it being so radically different than the rest, I quite like it.



#2 - Final Fantasy XIII: This song played time and time again during my play through Final Fantasy XIII, and I looked forward to it every time. Final Fantasy XIII's soundtrack is among my favorite video game soundtracks of all time, and while the battle theme does not rank as high for me personally as the likes of "Fighting Fate" or "Born Anew", it's still and awesome track. It's a great fit for the futuristic sci-fi/fantasy hybrid realm that Lightning and friends spend their time exploring.



#1 - Final Fantasy: Above all the rest, the original Final Fantasy battle theme is easily my favorite. Its approach is more simplistic than the rest, but for an NES tune, it's pretty intense. It really captures the atmosphere of the battle, and is an instant classic for me. Plus, it is the formula that practically every other Final Fantasy battle theme followed. It's an oldie-but-a-goodie, for sure.

Final Fantasy X journal - entry one

I'm really digging the pacing of Final Fantasy X. It's taken its time to set things up, but also introduced the party members in a most timely fashion. I'm honestly not sure where the story will go, but I'm far enough into the game to get a general sense of what might lie ahead. As the game seems to have confirmed, Auron has access to something that allows him to travel through time. I assume this is Sin, but how exactly he is able to move backwards is beyond me at present.

If I'm being completely honest, I was not particularly thrilled about having Tidus as the main character early on. He came across as rather obnoxious, decided to cop a serious 'tude when Rikku and her Al Bhed group came to his rescue, and somehow took to all his confusion and misfortune as being trivial the moment he saw Wakka playing Blitzball. He was stupid, brash and impulsive; even a bit whiny. Thankfully, his character has improved over the course of a few hours. Now that he's accepted the possibility that he might never return to Zanarkand, he's become a much more likeable character, and has presented a few moments of rather deep thought. I really like the way that I (as the player) am constantly exposed to two versions of Tidus - the version of him that is embarking on the journey, learning as he goes, and the future version of him who is reflecting on his travels with Yuna and company.

One thing that stood out to me after only a few hours of play is the fact that Final Fantasy X is, by and large, quite linear in its design. That's not to say that I don't enjoy it. It's just that I feel most criticisms about how linear Final Fantasy XIII is are unmerited, considering this is nothing new to the series. As of right now, Final Fantasy X's battle system is my favorite of the four core games I've played. While I like Final Fantasy IV's battle system, it can present some really tense moments as I try to balance offense and defense, knowing that the enemy can still attack while I choosing my moves. I've messed up more than a few times trying to beat the AI in FFIV, which, in some cases, cost me a lot. FFX's battle system seemed a little strange a first, but in reality it isn't too far removed from that of the original Final Fantasy. And it works really well, so I'm not complaining.

The soundtrack is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Some of the tracks may not be on as epic a scale of those in, say, FFXIII. But they certainly fit the atmosphere of FFX wonderfully. Though it is a 2001 release, the graphics and art style both look pretty good. In all honesty, I was never much a fan of the artistic direction Square chose for Final Fantasy VII. X has the right blend of realistic characters and stylized environments. The cutscenes are beautifully rendered as always, and the transitions between gameplay and cutscenes have proven surprisingly fluid. I expected the load times and transitional phases to be a bit longer, but the reality of it all has been a most pleasant surprise.