Admitting I play too many video games.

Okay, I never thought that a condom commercial would stir so much drama! So, to make up for it a semi-rebuttal of one of NotKieran‘s points about the first of something being regarded as the "best."

"Note: The Final Fantasy effect can also be called the Star Wars effect: the first thing on the market that is recognisably that of a certain genre is often the worst representative of that genre, because the followers have had years to improve on what you see as the weaknesses of that first pioneer. Consider, for example, Halo 1. Better yet, compare the gameplay of Final Fantasy and, for example, Shadow Hearts. Or Valkyrie Profile, or Chrono Cross. The shortcomings of the traditional FF combat system (by which I refer to the system up to FFX) in comparison to these games become evident very rapidly."

This is true but only to someone that doesn’t know anything about the topic. For instance Halo 1, what of it? The game that revolutionized console FPS games was Goldeneye for the N64. It was the first non-port of a PC game and the first FPS (to my knowledge) to easily allow for more than just 1 on 1 multiplayer. It had vehicle driving (in the form of a tank), a good solid story, zooming weapons. More than Halo it had selectable characters in multiplayer rather than just color, it had multiple play modes, tons of unlockable cheats. In almost every way it was superior to what Halo 1 did for the console FPS, and look at the huge flop that was Halo for PC. However Halo was the first popular console FPS. Goldeneye was for the N64 a vastly underrated console that few people gave a chance, let alone people wanting to play FPS games. Those people by and large were PC users and it wasn’t until the Xbox (or to a lesser degree PS2) that consoles became dedicated PCs. And everyone played it because of the graphic intensive nature of most gamers starting with that generation. Or perhaps more accurately with the Xbox the mainstream saw games as something not for nerds or kids.

Another thing that falls flat in that argument is the use of Final Fantasy. When people refer to Final Fantasy unless they are actual fans of the series they are speaking of the franchise, not the actual title. Final Fantasy as a franchise has something to the tune of 23 titles. He speaks of gameplay and comparing other games to the core gameplay of Final Fantasy. First consider that there are three basic console JRPGs (which NotKieran’s speaking about), Dragon Warrior (Quest), Final Fantasy, and (Shin) Megami Tensei. The third has much in common with standard PC WRPGS including a first person perspective, non-linear gameplay, and party creation. Dragon Warrior presented a simple non-customizable character system with a simple standard story. What Final Fantasy did was begin the trend of customizable characters that often still had unique skills available only to them (with the exception of FFIV that is). But, by and large console JPRGS haven’t changed that much in the 20-odd years of their existence. They all basically are exactly the same, pick a party, take turns attacking, get stuff. The major difference between Shadow Hearts and Final Fantasy is the action ring, other than that the two games are very similar to each other. And really there’s not much customization. Admitted I never played Valkyrie Profile (Always wanted to, but never got my hands on a copy). A decade later there’s still Materia set-ups in FFVII that are being experimented with.

Which Final Fantasy to you say is recognized as the "best?" Even hardcore Final Fantasy fans can’t agree with 7-10 being regarded as the "best." Note that Dragon Warrior and Valkyrie Profile is made by Enix, Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger/Cross by Square which not long after both Valkyrie Profile and Chrono Cross merged to form Square-enix. Basically gameplay has not evolved that much, only the amount of complexity allowed by the consoles and the increased main-stream-ness of console JRPGs. By RPG fans the best RPGs include Persona, Suikoden, Chrono Trigger, Lunar, Star Ocean, and Breath of Fire III. This being said, however, according to non-RPG fans Final Fantasy is THE RPG.

An even more classic example would be the RTS genre of games. The first would probably have to be Stonkers released in the 80’s, however the first to become popular was Dune II released in 92. Basically everything that RTS games ARE is still what Dune II was. However MOST people would say that Starcraft is THE RTS. There are games that came out BEFORE Starcraft that are better, most notably Total Annihilation, it was the first to begin to go with a more 3D direction, it included units gaining ranks/levels for kills, massive armies, "hero" units (most noted in your commander), free online gameplay with Boneyard. Almost everything in the game is better Starcraft, however Starcraft became more popular.

Also, survival horror as a genre has existed much longer than Resident Evil would lead us to believe.  Before RE there was Alone in the Dark, and Clock Tower (though Clock Tower has more in common with point and click adventures).  Alone in the Dark allowed you to move furniture to block entryways and things that would become great mainstays of the genre later.  Both Clock Tower and Alone in the Dark were far scarier than RE ever hoped to be.  However when you ask someone "What’s the best Survival Horror game"  They will say Resident Evil, and probably further specify 2, or 4.  However Silent Hill (specifically 2) is far better on almost every front.  It’s not as popular though.  To fans of the Genre you’ll get Silent Hill being better than Resident Evil, and would possibly get a mention of Fatal Frame.  However Fatal Frame is more of a JHorror game with Siren.

Basically the more vague and general the definition of a genre the more apt you are to get a sup-par and generic example of that genre, specifically from someone who does not particularly associate themselves as being a lover of that genre.  RPG is as generic a term as "rock music."  Perhaps Fantasy JRPG would more accurately elicit Final Fantasy as "the best" from lovers of the genre.  Shadow Hearts would be mentioned (perhaps by true fans of the genre) if you were to say "horror themed RPGs."  Within the RPG genre there are many different aspects that make RPGs too diversified to be lumped together.  Broadly you have console RPGs, Strategy RPGs, PC RPGs, and Action RPGs and each category (though all RPGs) has little in common with one another aside from character growth and advancement.  Yet as with all things uninformed people will give uniformed answers and instead of quantifying what makes something better than something else they fall back on equating popularity with quality.

–RK