Finally Final Fantasy

     I started playing Final Fantasy 3 (or 6, if you're hardcore and insist on referring to it by the original Japanese designation) this last week. It's an odd story that got me there--albeit said story is a bit of a tangent. See, we were at the thrift store looking for pants for my pregnant wife when I heard somebody's cell phone go off. The notification ring was the sound effect used when Mario hits a block and gets a coin. For some reason, this got me thinking that I should play Mario. Note that I did not say "play Mario again." See, I had a Sega when I was a kid, so what we got was Sonic the Hedgehog. I've never actually played any of the Mario games, with a few minor instances where I put in an hour or so at a friend's house.
     But this is not to be a discourse on the pros or cons of Mario versus Sonic. And really, this desire to play Mario morphed into a more general desire to play something more old-school. I had tried this some time ago, but failed. Link to the Past beat me, that's all there is to it. I'd rather not talk about it too much.
     Anyway, I thought it only fair to give FF 3/6 another shot, considering our checkered past. See, when I was in high school, I dated a girl who was obsessed with the game. Now, I know some people who are obsessed with things, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. But this was one of those times where it went to an unhealthy degree. Not just a writing-fan-fiction-and-inserting-yourself-as-a-character degree (which is bad enough), but a you're-not-allowed-to-like-that-game-because-I-love-it-and-it's-mine degree. If FF 3/6 had been a rock star, she probably would have murdered it just to make sure that nobody else could have it.
     Not surprisingly, that relationship did not end well. And some of the scars I carried from it were shaped like this game. Ten years later, I think I'm ready now to see it with fresh, not-crazy eyes. I'm only about 9 hours into the game, but I've already had some revelations.
     1) Considering how many characters there are, they really did not skimp on the characterization. I mean, I've played modern RPGs where you only get a handful of people in your party, but they're all pretty two-dimensional. Sure, some of the characterization is a bit hokey and seems cliche now, but I have to remind myself how old this game is. The depth it gives the game makes me almost understand how you could get obsessed with it.

Also, why do you even bother with a concept artist?

     2) This is probably one of the best steampunk-style games I've seen aside from Arcanum. Now, I know all FFs merge magic and technology to a certain degree, but I think most of the others lean much more heavily towards one or the other. For instance, FF7 was much closer to sci-fi, whereas FF9 was practically just regular fantasy with only a bit of tech thrown in. Also, a lot of FF tech is powered by magic (or some such thing), whereas this one is very specifically steam-power. Makes me think the guys at the Alternate History track at D*C are missing some obvious costuming ideas. Note: I may just be stuck on this element of the game because my favorite character is Edgar, who kills people with steampunk weapons (like phonograph-shaped sonic blasters, giant drills, chemical sprayers, and crossbows that fire like machine guns).
     3) Why, oh why weren't any of these great RPGs ever made for the Sega? The only thing they had was stuff like Fatal Labyrinth, in which there was no story or characters and the only thing that made it remotely like an RPG is that you leveled up and got more stuff. I didn't discover true video game RPGs until I started playing things like Fallout and Baldur's Gate on my computer. I could have grown up with Chrono Trigger and the like? I was robbed.
     4) Does it seem sexist to anyone else that its always the girl characters in a Final Fantasy that are the magic users?
     Anyway, I've torn myself away long enough. I just got Edgar a chainsaw, so don't mind the evil cackles coming from the living room.