Instructinator

FF6 – Evolution of adventure storytelling

Description:
Final Fantasy 6, was an RPG for the Super Nintendo which is widely known by fans of the series to be the best. There are several reasons for this. However these reasons do not include best graphics, or best sound quality, or the best characters, or the best enemies or combat system. The reason for this being voted best final fantasy game by an overwhelming majority of 81% in 2001, is because of it’s illusion of non-linearity, it’s great ending and its diffusion of the ancient recipe for myth and heroism.

System:
Who is the main character in FF6? There is none. There are cohesive arguments for at least 6 of the characters to be the “main protagonist” in FF6. because they all have equal screen time and equally important roles in the overarching story.

The player starts off controlling the enemy. Which includes one of the heroes who later joins the rebels. Then the scene cuts and you are thrust into the shoes of another avatar. This one meets up the first and they escape, meeting up with an old friend of theirs in the next town, and by this point the player’s expectations are already thoroughly confused. This pattern is amplified in the beginning of the second half when you wake up on a beach with none of your party but a girl who had only recently joined the group as your only available avatar.

By hopping between characters and their motives as the focus for different segments of the game the player cannot easily determine the outcome based on the formulae they are used to experiencing. The normal arc of a story is cut up and divided among the group with an overarching story which affects them all. Other games that have tried this and failed have not gone so far as to make precisely equal that amount of content for each character, or worse have not had the balls to take the player away from the “main protagonist” for more than a short period of time.

Implication:
This is the evolution of the “hero’s quest” story structure. This is the “party’s quest” story structure that has yet to be fully discovered. Other mediums have done other things to try and put this feeling of decentralization across to the user. The movie Pulp Fiction used a non-linear showing of it’s scenes to isolate the protagonists and their conflicts and was successful for those of the audience who were not simply confused by it. In games we have the luxury of interactivity and huge amounts of time to get the job done. So it falls to us to flesh this tool out and document it for whatever medium will follow.

Jeff Mundee March 11, 2004