Tokyo Game Show started today and SquareSoft just released an awe-inspiring trailer for the long awaited installation in their flagship franchise. Now this is what you call a next generation game. [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT3dyanB3pk[/yt]
I see this trailer as proof that actual progress has actually been made in the production of FFXV. FFXV has great graphics? Expected. Takes place on an open battlefield? Pretty much expected. What is the gameplay like? Are you shoved down a completely linear corridor? Does the story interrupt you ever five minutes? Are the characters likable or are they whiny and angsty? Can you control your allies in battle? Does the combat have any strategy or is it focused only on cinematography? Are your chances of winning based on your tactics or just based on level? No information one way or another. Of course I'll buy it. It's Final Fantasy. But that purchase will be more speculative and nostalgic, as I haven't really loved a Final Fantasy game since Tactics. It is possible it will be a great game. But this trailer doesn't give any information as to whether it actually is. It just makes the game slightly less mythical and more real. It convinces me the game exists and I will eventually be able to buy it. That's a good thing.
Apparently your whole party is just a bunch of young guys? Wow, that's real progressive. Great job, Squeenix.
Every single Final Fantasy game for the last 30 years has had a decent sized female cast and strong female characters. The previous game's main character, Lightning, a female by the way, has become the de facto mascot of the franchise for the past five years and has received her very own spinoff and loads of merchandise (consoles with her on the front, novels, etc.). But you're going to call Square sexist for a 2 minute trailer for a game that's still years away. Yeah, that's reasonable.
It's looks like a road trip game, kinda like Stand by Me a movie about 4 boys going to see a dead body. I don't see a problem with that movie at all since it's a coming of age story. So why call out that video game, when there tons of movies with an all male main cast? Not to mention FFX-2 had an all female cast.
"Every single" is pushing it, but it's true, they used to be better in this regard. I didn't call them sexist, of course. In any case, it was also based on the information here: "Currently known" is the operative phrase here and I am willing to be more positive later, if it turns out there are playable female characters in the game. Uh, because this is a thread about a video game so randomly discussing a movie would make no sense? Wow, a game from over 10 years ago. What an excellent point.
Stories are stories. If there's a legitimate reason to have an all male cast in a movie, then there's a legitimate reason to have an all male cast in a video game. Although I don't think Final Fantasy XV will be one of them. I'd be shocked if the game doesn't include a few playable female characters.
"Legitimate" is the wrong word. Any story can include women (or anyone, really) should those crafting it wish to put forth the effort. I guess we'll see.
I can't recall the last time a Final Fantasy game had a main party that consisted of only four people, let alone all men. I'm sure Noctis will have more party members than just his three childhood friends.
Well, let's get back to the game itself. Kotaku has an interesting article breaking down the game's combat system. I thought that Final Fantasy XII had the best combat system in the series (outside of Tactics of course), so I'm really excited to see an evolution of that system. I really hope that this game lives up to the hype.
Also I don't see how every single fictional story that comes out is on the line to carry the progressive flag with its every creative decision. I care more about the characters being interesting than I do about their genders. All male, all female, whatever, just so long as they don't whine and angst too much.
Well, with an all-male cast, I hope we at least get to see a good degree of super-Japanese, awkward bromance with lots of nose-bleeding*. *Persona 4, anyone?
It's pretty pathetic that including women as playable characters is even considered "progressive" in the first place. Women are more than half the population. Seems like the very least one could do is avoid marginalizing them.
I agree it's a good thing when there are strong women in games. Just, they should include strong women because they had a great idea that called for a strong woman, not out of some feeling of obligation to fight the good fight.
I don't think you really understand how this works. Ideas don't form out of nothing. "There are no women in this because no women came to mind while I was creating it" isn't really a good excuse--it's actually a sign that the person developing the narrative doesn't give any thought to the issue. Storytellers are generally supposed to be thoughtful people, who think through the implications of their worlds, their stories, their characters. And when somehow almost all the characters default to being male, it's not a sign of a limitation in the story, but rather a limitation in the storyteller's thinking. There is nothing wrong with pointing out these limitations, either. It is a valid criticism. Obviously, the game isn't out yet so it's possible there will be playable female characters with prominent roles, but the material available so far makes this look like a step backward for the series, retreating into emo bro territory rather than trying to break new narrative ground.
FFXII 1, 2 and 3 went from a mixed group to a male/female pair to a solo female lead... Besides 2 spin-off games the mayority of FF games had mixed male/female groups as main characters, so if they decide to go with an all-male group it would result in 1 game with a male lead, 1 with a female lead, 1 with a pair, 1 with an all female group, 1 with an all male group and the rest with mixed groups... So statistically not a big freaking deal if FFXV goes with an all male group as main characters...