"…And Protect Your SOLDIER Honor" Part One
Since their inception, video games have been vying to become a legitimate storytelling medium. From Pac-Man’s simple tale of ghost-busting bravado to Dragon Quest’s Japanese spin on D&D swords ‘n’ sorcery, even early games attempted to provide players with compelling plots to back up their sometimes nonsensical gameplay. But if one were to plot out the pivotal points in gaming’s evolution as a storytelling medium, while Pac-Man and Dragon Quest would certainly snag invitations to the show, Final Fantasy VII would likely receive top honors. Regardless of its inferiority to Final Fantasy VI, FFVII introduced to players a fantastically beautiful, movie-esque world that (at the time) existed in a class of its own. Most importantly, FFVII is the game that set many developers on their quest to make gamers cry. Aerith’s death at the hands of the manically insane Sephiroth sent legions of gamers searching for a way to revive their favorite pink-clad flower peddler, but none succeeded. It seems fitting, then, that FFVII’s prequel, Crisis Core, is one of the best examples of character death in video games yet.
When Aerith blocked Sephiroth’s 12-foot long katana using only her midsection, gamers were shocked. This character who, in all likelihood, they had recently taken on a “date,” couldn’t die. It was madness. Crisis Core turns this idea on its head; anyone who’s played Final Fantasy VII (released in 1997) already knows Zack Faire is going to die. It’s been in the books so long, it has three or four special editions. So, if shock isn’t the catalyst for sadness here, then what is? Simple: Square Enix puts you, the player, in the shoes of this cheerful, exuberant, idealistic character — infusing you with his dreams and goals — for 20 hours. Then, after you’ve become comfortable in Zack’s shoes, they brutally snuff out his light; bullet-ridden and soaked in blood, Zack — a hero in the truest sense — dies. You steered him down this road, knowing it was a march to his untimely death, and secretly, you probably hoped he’d find a convenient trap door exit and escape at the last minute, or get carried away by the Turks, or something. But he didn’t, and you can’t help but regret it.
This concept of regret gives rise to Square Enix’s most brilliant decision in regard to Zack’s death: you play his final battle. After controlling his every step for so long, it’s only fitting. Faced with thousands of uncaring Shinra troops, guns gleaming in the desert sunlight, Zack chooses to make his stand. “There’s a high price for freedom,” he quips, and then, Buster Sword raised, he charges into battle. As you dodge missiles, avoid machine gun fire, and cleave hundreds of soldiers into thousands of half-soldiers, the DMW, Crisis Core’s central gameplay concept, is going crazy. See, throughout the game, the DMW acted as a back-end while creating the illusion of slot-machine randomness. Every time it landed on multiple matching numbers, Zack would gain a special stat buff, use an earth-shatteringly powerful attack, or even level up. These events, however, were packed with Zack’s personality; each number on the DMW’s wheel is attached to the portrait of a character in the game, and Zack’s emotions play into that. So, for instance, when the DMW grants you triple-Sephiroths, Zack might flash back to a comical scene wherein he tells Sephiroth to go on ahead while he engages a gang of bloodthirsty beasts, only to turn around and find that Sephiroth has already mangled them in the blink of an eye. And while Zack is hacking and slashing desperately to hold off the Reaper, the DMW is “malfunctioning” — Zack’s life is flashing before the player’s eyes. Sights, sounds, voices, events, joy, anger, love — everything is spewing out of Zack’s mind as a mournful reminder of all he’s left undone. At the same time, however, these DMW scenes aren’t overt tear-jerkers; they’re all over the place.
Come back tomorrow for part two of “…And Protect Your SOLDIER Honor,” where I’ll be discussing Square’s subtlety, Zack’s regrets, and why Tidus and Zack probably play on the same Blitzball team in Final Fantasy heaven.
Game Diary: The "I’m still addicted to Crisis Core" Edition
Crisis Core’s compelling yet mostly-known tale is nearly at an end, and I’m still just as enamored with the game as when I started. In my eyes, this is the mark of a truly great game — it crosses the dividing road between “good” and “amazing,” a road paved with the soulless game cases of many an “almost, but not quite.” In order to cross such an insurmountable divide, a game must pay attention to every little detail — an area in which Crisis Core excels. Whether it’s the initially simplistic materia fusion system or the way Zack plucks an umbrella from a sandy beach to use as a makeshift buster sword, Crisis Core never stops surprising you with imaginative ideas, both large and small. This veritable onslaught of creativity, then, keeps the player chomping at the bit to see what’s next. Truth be told, Crisis Core has brought me closer to understanding the equine mentality than any scientific study — the game revels in carrot-on-a-stick incentives, and I gleefully gallop in its wake.
It’s not perfect, however; nits run rampant, and I aim to pick them. Nit number one requires tweezers, as it’s smaller than its brethren — an outcast of sorts, with nary a glowing red nose to be found. At one point in the later stages of the game, Zack is essentially asked whether he prefers the Turks’ petite brunette, Cissnei, or everyone’s favorite soon-to-be martyr, Aerith*. Now, regardless of who you choose, Zack’s only going to have eyes for Aerith, but what if that minute choice impacted the game’s storyline? What if, in a game like Crisis Core — a prequel with a plot that’s already been elaborated upon numerous times — you could completely alter the story? Really, it’s perfect for Crisis Core; Zack (SPOILER) dies at the end of the game, and thus, peoples’ perceptions of him are all that remain in the Final Fantasy VII universe. Maybe he wasn’t as close to Aerith as people think. Crisis Core and prequels of its ilk tend to serve as fanservice with a side of plot development. Why not elevate such prequels to a new level — one that really makes players reconsider things they once understood to be fact in their favorite video game worlds?
The second nit is definitely larger, featuring the nit’s characteristic — well, what do nits look like? Anyway, after Zack, Tseng, and Cloud’s helicopter is hit by an off-screen missile, they crash in a permafrost, snow lightly falling around them. After shrugging off what should’ve been lethal wounds, Zack and co. happen upon a fortuitously-placed enemy fort. Bearing in mind that he is, at this point, a demi-god of sorts, and can fell normal soldiers with a glance from his mako-enfused eyes (that sadly, don’t fire lasers), Zack does the sensible thing and engages in Solid Snake style enemy-avoidance tactics. Wait, what? Yep, Square Enix decided to add Crisis Core to the ranks of clandestine greats like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and, actually, Final Fantasy VII. Their excuse: enemy soldiers are collecting items from chests scattered around their own base, but only if they catch you. So, every time a soldier — one who’s significantly weaker than Zack — catches up with our hero, Zack is unceremoniously hurled out of the fort and pursued by three enemies. After blinking, Zack is then able to re-enter the fort and try again, but with the disheartening realization that a chest is gone! Why can’t Zack just beat up the guys who stole their own stuff? Who knows? But here’s the best part: after getting caught for the umpteenbajillionth time, Zack is able to continue because all of the soldiers are rotting in the ground. So, what happened to the sticky-fingered soldiers who partook of the chests? Dead, I’m guessing. Why can’t Zack steal the stuff from them now? Too GTA for his tastes? Developers: random stealth is bad stealth. It doesn’t divy up gameplay sections; it just pisses me, and legions of like-minded individuals, off.
The final nit resembles a small mammal more than it does a nit; it’s not a problem Crisis Core possesses so much as it is an idea. Crisis Core has an engaging battle system that incorporates action elements while retaining the core of an RPG. More so than other such action-RPGs, however, Crisis Core creates an illusion of true action — far removed from the watered-down, overtly turn-based battles that are so prominent in the sub-genre. Meanwhile, in lands mysterious and unknown to Crisis Core, MMORPGs are struggling to move beyond turn-based battle systems while maintaining some semblance of fun. A few have succeeded, but they sold their swords and sorcery to the devil in exchange for decent battle systems; games like Auto Assault don’t even utilize humanoid characters at all. At this point, I imagine you can see where I’m going; let’s relentlessly petition Square Enix to create an MMORPG based around Crisis Core’s battle system. Can you imagine it? You’re running through an open field, dodging and rolling while hacking away at a large monster with a sword the size of a larger monster. Don’t get ahead of yourself, though; this isn’t Monster Hunter. With a roll of the DMW (Crisis Core’s back-end that, well, it’s a slot machine), you have temporary infinite MP — Hell Thundaga, go! And PVP would still work because everyone would have access to the DMV. And if Square were to slap the Final Fantasy VII name on this little slice of brilliance, it’d be sure to succeed — even amongst Japan’s MMO-less heathens.
Vahn16 was about to craft an excellent conclusion to this rambling post, but he was accosted by a number of ants and dragged under the nearest refrigerator. He didn’t fight back because he was positive they were nits, and, therefore, harmless.
—————————————————————————————
*At another point, Kunsel asks Zack why he looks so down. Zack can respond in one of two ways: “I’m gonna be away from Aerith for a long time” or “…I love you, man!” I like the Aerith vs. Cissnei example better, though, for obvious reasons. Plus, I’m sure fan fiction writers have already taken care of Zack and Kunsel’s budding romance.
