RPG: The Ultimate Fantasy
by Keara22HI, HSM team writer
There’s been an age-old debate with video games: which matters more, plot or graphics?
On one hand, you have first-person shooters which, graphically, are becoming eerily photorealistic. The emphasis is placed on the immersive gaming experience, and perhaps less so on intricate plot. And there’s nothing wrong with this. Michael Bay made an entire career out of delivering visual spectacles that turn your brains into mashed sushi.
On the other hand, you have RPG titles, which can actually get away with having less-than-stellar graphics as long as there’s an engrossing plot and storyline. Think of some of your favorite RPG titles from yesteryear: some of the early Ultima titles were massively addictive experiences, despite having rather simplistic graphics, simply because Richard Garriott is the Joseph Campbell of video games. The early Bard’s Tale adventures worked because of Michael Stackpole’s wit. Wasteland was a Bryan Fargo novel with a color monitor. The Wizardry games made NES graphics look like Stanley Kubrick films. And Zork I didn’t even have any graphics at all.
And yet these games endure. They were created in an era when an Apple iie computer with 128k was considered cutting edge. There was no such thing as the internet. The Berlin Wall still existed. MTV played music videos. How the world has changed.
Not only do these RPGs endure, but they are still played, discussed, debated and praised, decades after their release. Even in the modern age of multi-million dollar RPG spectacles, isn’t it interesting that the one Final Fantasy title which is generally regarded as the zenith of the series is Final Fantasy VI?
What all of these titles have in common is that they rely on story and character, first and foremost.
And that is why RPGs go on and on as a game genre. They require an emotional commitment not found in most other video-game genres. The story arc is all-important. Character development of NPCs is essential. Non-linear game play, when available, is a major plus. And the music can be amazing! I would contend that Nobuo Uematsu is the John Williams of video games.
I sent a rough draft of this article to David Gaider, at BioWare, for his opinion on why players are so passionate about rpgs. Here is his response:
“RPG’s have a tactical element, so they can certainly appeal to a fan who’s interested in that, but primarily they’re about emotional engagement. A good RPG throws out some hooks in an effort to get buy-in from the player, so they care about the goal. They might care for entirely different reasons: one player might really hate the enemy and want to see them defeated, another might care because their companions care and they’ve come to want what they want while still another might be more interested in the potential rewards. It doesn’t matter; what’s important is that they care, and thus fans of RPG’s tend to be the most passionate and engaged fans you’ll find for that very reason. Whether it’s romance, adventure or the visceral thrill of combat that engages them most, they’re playing for the experience—the ability to believe, even if it’s just for a short time, that they’re in another world and involved in the lives of all these interesting people. Call it escapism if you will, the whole point of fantasy is to be whisked away to a place that provokes the imagination.”
Think of the first Final Fantasy title you ever played. Or, going further back, the first Ultima.
Even a clunky turn-based battle system and antiquated cell-shaded graphics will not deter the rpg fanatic. It is the story. The total immersion into another persona, another time, another place is the attraction. The personal interaction with the other characters becomes of paramount performance. More and more often, the ‘boss’ is not a mindless monster but a tragic character driven by circumstances over which they have no control. And the dialog between characters! Oh, the dialog that makes the story an obsession, saving the kingdom a mandate, and freeing the elves from bondage a moral imperative. For anyone out there who has played the first two Knights of the Old Republic titles, I think it can easily be posited that they are far more emotionally engrossing experiences and satisfying narratives than the Star Wars prequel trilogy itself.
Speaking of characters, you know you have a classic rpg when it is set in some long ago, far away location lost in the mists of time and/or the depths of space. Yes, there are some rpgs, like the Persona series or the .hack games set in modern day locations (usually Japan), but that’s a subject for another article. Classic rpgs originated in the fertile minds of Dungeons & Dragons players, armed with pencils, graph paper, and a fiendishly clever friend or relative acting as Dungeon Master.
Along came the earliest days of computers — and a genius, Richard Garriott (aka Lord British), appeared on the computer software shelf in the Ultima series. In those days, games were almost entirely text. Graphics were still relatively new.
According to Wikipedia: “Many innovations of the early Ultimas – in particular Ultima III: Exodus (1983) – eventually became standard among later RPGs in both the console (if somewhat simplified to fit the gamepad) and the personal computer markets, such as the use of tiled graphics and party-based combat, its mix of fantasy and science-fiction elements, and the introduction of time travel as a plot device.[1] In turn, some of these elements were inspired by Wizardry, specifically the party-based combat.[2] Exodus was also revolutionary in its use of a written narrative to convey a larger story than the typically minimal plots that were common at the time. Most video games – including Garriott’s own Ultima I and II and Akalabeth – tended to focus primarily on things like combat without venturing much further.[3] In addition, Garriott would introduce in Ultima IV a theme that would persist throughout later Ultimas – a system of chivalry and code of conduct in which the player, or “Avatar”, is tested periodically (in both obvious and unseen ways) and judged according to his or her actions. This system of morals and ethics was unique, in that in other video games players could for the most part act and do as they wished without having to consider the consequences of their actions.[3]“
Nowadays, it is an automatic theme in most rpgs: a sense of honor, integrity, and ultimate justice in between the lines. You begin to identify with the characters and get emotionally involved in what happens to them. In some rpgs, such as the aforementioned Knights of the Old Republic, you can make morality choices which affect the storyline and, in some instances, how characters react to you as well as the ending. Somehow, I don’t think NBA Jam offered anything like that.
(Not that there’s anything wrong with NBA Jam. It’s just that…oh, never mind. You know what I’m going to say.)
Other story arcs even touch on subjects you would not expect to see in games, such as the implicit racial prejudice in Dragon Age Origins. The elves were second-class citizens, just a few brief steps away from exploitation and slavery. I played the game through as a female elven archer who fell madly in love with the male hero, Alistair. I schemed and plotted to get him the kingdom, fought by his side every inch of the way, and gave up my ‘maidenly virtue’ in a tent by the campfire in a scene that was so good it had to be saved and replayed at least ten times. After all that – battles won, throne secured, and one last fling in that tent, Alistair tells me I can never be his wife because the citizens would never accept an elf as queen. Then he sends me from the palace so he can marry the politically expedient daughter of another noble.
I was so angry that I played the game all the way through a second time, this time as a human noblewoman, just so I could seduce Alistair all over again. And, this time, throne won, he proposes marriage and I dump him. What a blow to strike for minority women! Take THAT, you rotten bunch of asterisks. Go marry that simpering brainless princess and have a palace full of chubby brats!
And then I realized: whoa. This is just a game. And yet I’m more worked up about Alistair than some of the actual relationships I’ve had in my life.
I’m really struggling to think of another video-game genre which, aside from the occasional exceptional title, is so good at consistently pounding emotional buttons like John Bonham with a set of Taiko drums.
So, of course I have pre-ordered the Dragon Age sequel coming out in March. Like, duh.
Meanwhile, back to the subject of why you should be playing RPGs: if Joseph Campbell is correct in his assertion in The Hero’s Journey that we as a species naturally gravitate to heroic journeys of enlightenment, then one of the most addictive aspects of RPG gaming is something which, obliquely, can be found in Home: building your own character.
There are so many choices in character building these days. The classic choice is gender. Many men in Home have told me they often choose the female role simply because it can make the game very interesting. More emphasis on brains than brawn because most of the female heroines, in classic video-game narratives, tend to be mages, clerics, or archers rather than frontline warriors. (It should be noted, however, that the Jedi Exile from The Sith Lords is canonically regarded as female.)
Then, in many top-notch rpgs, the second choice is race. Again, there are some classics, usually taken straight from the Tolkien pantheon: humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, some variation of sentient reptile, fairies, mechanical beings, and even sympathetic monsters (or, if you have played a lot of Disgaea, some UNsympathetic monsters).
In some instances you also choose your character’s station in life: royalty, merchant, noble, slave, foot-soldier, student, etc.
Now for battle assignments. Warrior? In most games these are the Arnold Schwarzenegger character out of Conan the Barbarian, with most of his attribute points gone to strength and build. If you look really good in an animal pelt loin-cloth, this one’s for you – especially if you really want to be on the front lines swinging an axe, a two-handed sword, a spear, a halberd or any one of a large number of medieval weaponry such as maces.
Most games also offer the Thief/Rogue option as a character. Smaller, faster, and great with short blades and picking locks (as well as pockets), this is a good choice after you get tired of playing as a Warrior in one game after another. I always like having a Thief on the team because the possibilities of scoring some good loot in battle drops increases greatly. The Thief archetype is usually notable for being the guy with flowing locks, musical ability and a way with ladies. Must be the iambic tetrameter.
My personal favorite: the distance fighters such as the archers and mages. Give me the chance to be an archer/mage with an unending quiver full of arrows and some juicy leveled-up spells, and I am a happy camper (in and out of that tent). Spells usually fall into two categories: that which heals, and that which causes everything on your screen to blow up for minutes on end.
In a typical RPG, as the game progresses, you accumulate points for character developments (strength, speed, dexterity, hp, mp, etc.) and money/geld/baht whatever to use for the purchase of ever stronger weapons and spells. In some instances, it can be more advantageous to ‘upgrade’ and/or enhance the weapon you are currently using if you are really comfortable with it. Or save up a lot of points and go for the humongous big axe that you just know will kill a dragon in one swat. This is a fairly basic level-grinding economic reward system. Spells, however, are trickier. In most games you would have to play through several times to get every possible spell maxed out, so you have to decide: am I happier with a lot of highest level fire spells, or a mix of mid-level ice and lightning, or…you see what I mean. The choices are gut wrenching. That’s when you scramble to the message boards and start asking for recommendations.
Bosses are the big issue in a classic RPG. In most titles from this genre, a boss isn’t a boss unless it’s something out of a Wagnerian opera. The first time I beat Kefka in FinalFantasy VI and did it on the first try, while my son needed several times to achieve the same feat, gave me bragging rights that exist to this day. The bosses in most RPGs become so iconic that their names, like Sephiroth, are still found in Home in avatar names more than a decade after the game was released.
Speaking of names: the mish-mash of names, places, and items out of the mists of mythology is astonishing – and universal – in RPGs. Tolkien would be amazed to see how in this new millennium, many of his inventions have turned into archetypal shorthand for a multi-billion-dollar industry. Mithril is so real to us that I expect to hear the e-Trade baby recommend buying mithril mining stock anytime now. Somehow, Yggdrasil gets planted in places all over this world and others, doing strange and wonderful things never envisioned in Norse myths. Valkyries ride dragons, and Dwarves somehow become a second race of humans living underground and mining ore. Orcs are so common as monsters to be hunted and slain that I would not be surprised to see a circus trying to pass off some overgrown komodo dragon as an orc in the cage next to the one-horned goat ‘unicorn’.
Final word of warning: beware all who enter here. RPGs are addictive. And they have spread online, proliferating worldwide. Sooner or later you will want to go online and try it and will find yourself on a mic explaining to a Warrior from Puerto Rico, a Rogue from Germany, and a White Mage from England, what a nice old granny from Hawaii is doing as Morgana the Black Mage on their team. Then you just have to kick some major butt and prove your worth. Have fun!
March 1st, 2011 by keara22hi | 14 comments
Keara is also known in Home as DarthGranny. She is a wicked little old lady with a wild sense of humor.
My 1st Rpg was D&D and ever since they have been 1 of my favorite genres.The leveling up and exploring hidden/new lands is always good but for me the deal sealer/breaker is the boss battles.If i can beat the early boss fights in 2or3 ho-hum moves its ejection and forgetting time.Truely great rpg bad guys will have a few wins against some individuals of my party,in D&D my best friend repeatedly ran into a female jewel thief that always seemed to end up with his jewels in her hands.It was a great day when i was able to return his pilfered manhood by returning the jewels she had stolen from him along with her invisibility cloak and her head,lol good times.Oblivion is as close to the D&D i used to play as any ps3 game ive played,which is why i logged an ungodly amount of hours on oblivion,and i can’t wait til the new one comes out.
Really enjoyed reading this. Your article brought back a lot og fond memories. On my first computer, an Apple ][ computer, I played Zork and then Wizardry. I remember staying up late mapping out dungeons on graph paper. My son also loves RPG games and is currently playing Final Fantasy VII (LOL, bragging rights. I can relate to that with my own son). It is not the graphics it is the story and the characters. Since junior high, I have been a reader of science fiction and fantasy and it was a natural progression to RPGs. This is what was ineresting about Home: a fantasy world where I can dress like I wouldn’t in real life, embark on adventures with friends, and become emtionally connected wirh those friends. The big obvious difference between Home and RPGs is that the characters on Home are real people, genuine friends, with friendships that transcends beyond turning off the game.
Ah, RPG’s my absolute favorite genre. Like many I grew up reading fantasy books and still do to this day it is my favorite genre as well. Final Fantasy is my favorite series, and I have played and beaten almost all of the PS2 fantasy games that were available and also the ones on Game Cube (though they are few). I have played Dragon Age and Awakenings on PS3 as well as Final Fantasy 13 of course, in fact that one is why I bought the console. I can’t wait til DA2 comes out in a few days, I pre-ordered of course.
Lately I have been engrossed in RDR which is a cross between shooter and rpg, and also the first shooting game I have ever liked.
As usual you have hit the nail on the head with this article Granny. I usually play as a male when given the option though, I like their strength. I played DA all the way through as a male, low caste dwarf rogue, a first for me. One of the many things I like about being able to create your own characters is naming them, it is fun to try and find the right name to match the avatar you create. My dwarf was Griegs.
I just wish they would make a few rpgs we could play with friends online, like rdr is. Now that would be a gas. Great job.
Final Fantasy 13 was the reason I bought the PS3 console too.
For me, RPG is all about storytelling. It’s why text-based RPGs work, and why the early FF titles are still playable — you are living the story in your head, and don’t need no fancy graphics.
When I was a Dungeon Master, I did my best to give my group an immersive story-telling experience. I made all my own monsters out of polymer claw (my lumpy original rats showed up in every adventure), collected little props to liven up the kitchen table, and engaged my players in every way I could dream up.
My final epic adventure was based on Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”. At one point I handed out lyric sheets and had my party sing the hymn of praise to Sarastro (Zorrastro in my version) to the original Mozart melody. I should still have that somewhere…. (rootles around on the hard disk)… yes, here it is! Woot!
All hail to Zorrastro!
We praise his decisions,
His Wisdom and Int
And his religious visions!
With Lawfulness and Goodness he rules church and state.
He has high Charisma--we think he is great!
(We think he is great! We think he is great!)
Hooray for Zorrastro!
We’ll always adore him!
We’ll fight on his side
And we’ll do favors for him.
With virtue he wins us the favor divine
He’s pals with the gods, and we think he’s so fine!
(We think he’s so fine! We think he’s so fine!)
We all dig Zorrastro!
We’re crazy about him!
We cannot imagine
Existence without him!
His magic protects us from Ogre and Ghoul.
He’s one mighty dude, and we think he is cool!
(We think he is cool! We think he is cool!)
We all love Zorrastro
Because he’s terrific!
His judgements are just
And his reign is pacific.
He does stuff with magic like no-one else can.
He’s handsome and strong, and we think he’s the Man!
(We think he’s the Man! We think he’s the Man!)
OMG!!!the long lost memory of games on the old atari and commodores!! ALTERNATE REALITY, BABY!!! excellent game on the atari. the first final fantasy on the nintendo, link, zelda, the star ocean series,ALL the ultimas, WOO HOO!! ooo, memorylane. WONDERFUL article, just perfect. oh, and for the kids out there. back during the ultimas, with no internet, there WAS the BBS (bulletin board system). you would have to actually get your computer to literally phone someones number and hope thier computer was hooked up or they would get this high pitched squeeling in thier ear as my computer is trying to talk to thiers. it was all text. just talking to each other, unless you ‘downloaded’ the information off thiers threw sound signals, if that made sence. try loading a game threw your cassette recorder for half an hour and see how much fun THAT is. yeah, you oldies like me know what im talking about. or SAVING your game onto a cassette. then forgetting its a game and play a high pitched squeel in your car, blowing everyones eardrums out. ahhh, the fun. (i bet THATS why the invented 8 tracks. oops, dating myself again.) lil mouse
I am one of those “Final Fantasy VI” RPG fan. My whole gaming experience changed after Final Fantasy VI, before then it was limited to playing Road rash and Carmageddon on primitive PC and PS one. I took the bait of RPG and got hooked, There is no known cure for it *_*
I still pop in Final Fantasy VI every once in while. I kept my copy of Final Fantasy Anthology and play it on the PS3. The large cast of relatable interesting characters each with different skill paths was incredible. One game not mentioned here that I think brings some of that same varied combat skills is Mass Effect 2. It has an incredible immersive world with a great story. Long live Commander Shepard!
I am not sure that I ever got to play FFVI but I think my fave all time is FF7. I truly wish the would take Cloud and crew and remake that title with modern graphics. Now that would be epic!!!
cool article i still play final fantasy7 on my PS1 ^^ i still say we should have could strife costume on home lol cool article
Loved the article. Being an elder gamer,I can certainly remember the old days. Playing Phantasy Star on my Sega Master System. My love began there. Today I really enjoy playing Mass Effect 1 & 2. Just terrific and deep content that has replay value.
Loved your examples and comments on how some of the originals have endured. Of note: Just to give an example of how well they have endured.
Treyarch, the developer of the recent installment to the huge Call of Duty series, embedded an ‘Easter Egg’ in their game Black Ops. It’s found right in the title screen. As you sit strapped to your chair, you may notice you can move your arms by alternating R & L triggers. Doing so rapidly will break you free of the binds and allow you to freely move around the room. Against the wall ahead and slightly left of your chair, there is an old commodore 64 style computer on a table. You can actually log in to this computer, and proceed to do many things, such as access user data bases, emails, and yes! Unlock ‘Easter Eggs’ like the Zork game itself. So nice to see Treyach pay tribute to the RGP genre like this.
Anywho. Enjoyed the article, as well as David’s comments.
Generally speaking, what I enjoy most about RPGs is that they’re intellectually and emotionally engrossing, because they focus more on story than action.
This isn’t to say that I don’t passionately enjoy other genres as well; there’s something to be said for the thrill of perfectly kissing the apex of a corner in F-Zero, or nailing that perfect headshot in SOCOM. I’ve gone into Street Fighter and beaten down an opponent so hard that you’d think he was from Carthage. But, generally speaking, it’s RPG titles which tend to stay with me.
God, the Ultima series. Played the first five titles religiously when I was a kid. Ultima V, in particular, took *months* of dedicated gameplay. I felt like Nigel Terry riding around with my own Richard Wagner soundtrack. The ideas of virtues to aspire to, and shrines, and the quest for self-englightenment…Chrétien de Troyes would be proud. Sure, I played Bard’s Tale and Wasteland and Wizardry and the rest, but Ultima always did it for me.
The Final Fantasy titles, of course, always have to mentioned. I’m fairly certain FFIV is the first video game I played where the soundtrack *wouldn’t get out of my head.* There’s a whole lot of Nobuo Uematsu in my iTunes.
S-RPG titles, as well, are insanely addictive. A typical Front Mission 3 playthrough takes me about 118 hours. And that’s just for the Emma missions. The Alisa storyline is wildly different. And Vandal Hearts or the first two Shining Force titles? Oh baby. Hell, I still play Kessen II to this day.
And, of course, BioWare — from KOTOR to Dragon Age and beyond — knows how to bring the epic. We’re finally entering an age where developers are willing to interject a lot of moral gray areas into game narratives, and this makes them infinitely more interesting.
The single most interesting video game character I’ve ever encountered — and it frankly disgusts me that she’s not more respected, because Obsidian put some *amazing* writing into her — is Kreia, from KOTOR II. She is possibly the single most amoral character ever encountered in a video game, and she really makes me think.
God, I love this genre.
I know what you mean about story, Norse. Story, and emotional impact.
Final Fantasy VII was the first game that ever made me cry. The death of Aeris left me sitting stunned, staring at the screen. How could they DO this? I was sure she would somehow be reincarnated, that death would not be final — lord knows “General Hospital” and “X-Men” had taught me that a story need not be limited by a simple thing like death, witnessed on-screen and agreed to by all present. Aeris would be back, for sure.
But she wasn’t. At least not as a living character. And that simple fact gave me a profound respect for Final Fantasy’s creators. They had respected the logic of the story. Death was death, final and irrevocable, with its own integrity. Even Conan Doyle couldn’t resist the temptation of bringing Sherlock Holmes back from that abyss.
But the death of Aeris, wrenching as it was, was nothing compared to the ending of Final Fantasy X. I still haven’t quite forgiven them for that one. I mean… Tidus! Gah! But I profoundly respect the artistic decision.
And writing this, years later, I’m getting a little leaky around the eyes again. That is why RPGs will always be my favorite game genre. How many books and movies have that kind of lasting effect on your inner life? They’re far and few, believe me.
Funny u should mention carthage,this is kinda off topic but i was re-reading a book on hannibal the great and encountered Scipio(the younger)Aemilianus’obituary of carthage which he uttered as he put it to the torch,it goes like this.”God of Death and War,bring infernal terrors into this cursed city of Carthage,and against it’s armies and it’s people.We curse,with the utmost strength of our being,this people and army.We curse whoever occupied these places,whoever worked in these fields,whoever lived upon this soil.We implore that they may never again behold light from above.Let eternal silence and desolation remain here.Accursed be they who return.Let a two-fold curse be upon those who try to resurrect these ruins.”In other words if your from carthage you got big troubles.