He Frag, She Frag

Well now, my fellow followers of He Frag, She Frag…it’s been a while hasn’t it? So here I am to satisfy you of your naughty little voyeuristic habit. As many of you may know, I am a fan of the Final Fantasy series. I don’t tout I’m a supreme expert, but I have played a number of them over the years. Though, one that eluded me was Final Fantasy 6. Although in my defense I will say it’s because I never owned a Super Nintendo.

Moving on, I’ve been having problems with playing my version of Final Fantasy 7 and it had been causing me some distress lately. Mike, being the wonderful husband he is, set off on a quest roaming the internet for anything that might help my dilemma. However, he came across some fan boys arguing over the greatest debate ever: which Final Fantasy is the best? Each installment has their own fan base, though these particular individuals were arguing that Final Fantasy 6 was perhaps the best game of the series.

After the evening rush and rituals involved in taking care of our family, he sat me down and explained to me very gently that he wanted me to try it, since I was visibly upset in not having any games to play. I scoffed at first, but decided I’d give it a try. He went through all that trouble, after all.

It turned out I am pretty much obsessed with the game. Even in all its 16-bit glory, I find it calling out to me in the middle of the night, wherein I awake in a cold sweat to find a glowing beacon by my side. I pat it reassuringly, murmuring promises of the night forthcoming.

Er..that is, I really enjoy the game.

One of the most compelling things about the game is the music. I love Nobuo Uematsu. I know, I am that much of a dork, but this game has a much better quality and diversity of MIDI’s. Yes, MIDI’s they are, but I find myself humming tunes from the games at odd times, and belting out the fan fare after I have done something triumphant. Which happens frequently throughout my day.

The story, obviously, is the biggest selling point. It’s set in an alternate steampunk universe where magic abilities are rare. It’s a rebellious time, as it always is. An evil Empire has fostered a most devious man who wants all power for himself. A patchwork of different rogue’s gallery types develop a mismatched alliance set out to take down the evil once and for all, whilst learning more about themselves in the process. The characters are well thought out and you can sympathize with them, most of the time. The combat system is just as you would expect a game of the series to be. The only drawback, as with any JRPG, is there are way too many random encounters. A minor setback, but always a very annoying one.

Bearing in mind its age, I still think this game stands the test of time. It could possibly become one of those games I play religiously every year from now on.