RPG Maker Dungeon #9: Final Fantasy ? (Hatena)
Link: https://catbox.moe/c/jwrxup
Originally published on July 1, 2023
In the wake of Final Fantasy XVI's release, fans have been struggling to define what makes the series what it is. Is it turn based battles? Party members? Cinematic cutscenes? What about spin-offs like Final Fantasy Tactics or Strangers From Paradise? Every game in the series has defenders and detractors. As Harper Jay wrote in their cohost series on Final Fantasy XVI, the Final Fantasy franchise is a mirror. Each entry reflects the time in which it was made, and the audience as well. Why not, then, examine the games made by the audience?
RPG Maker has a long and storied history with Final Fantasy fangames. Final Fantasy Blackmoon Prophecy (finally released in 2012 after years of development) sought to capture the look and feel of the SNES titles. 2002's Final Fantasy: Endless Nova repurposed Final Fantasy II's "learn by doing" system within a science fiction story. Maranda ignored gameplay entirely to tell a short story within the world of Final Fantasy VI. Then of course there are countless unfinished demos such as Final Fantasy Empires and Final Fantasy Discovery. It's extraordinarily difficult to make games of this type in the RPG Maker engine. But that hasn't stopped folks from trying.
One of the more impressive projects I've seen in this vein is Final Fantasy ? (also known as Final Fantasy Hatena), developed by Norikarn. Like Blackmoon Prophecy, FF? borrows graphics and music from the SNES trilogy as well as the NES titles. Unlike Blackmoon Prophecy, though, the story is an afterthought. You begin the game with three main characters: a dragoon, a white mage and a black mage. They develop in power over the course of the game, but not in personality.
Despite being made in RPG Maker 2000, FF?'s battle interface is comparable to SNES-era Final Fantasy. The dragoon Ryuno has a Jump command that works directly from the menu, normally an impossible feat within the default RPG Maker battle system. Even better, the game lets you change a character's equipment during battle, use elemental staves from the item menu, and switch between single and group magic targeting. These feats would be impressive in a modern RPG Maker version like VX Ace or MV. They are truly remarkable in an old engine like RPG Maker 2000.
As you'd expect, FF? references many of the NES/SNES Final Fantasy titles, often in a playful way. Ryuno and his friends encounter Final Fantasy VI's famous talking octopus Ultros in a waterlogged cave; weakening him in battle leads Ultros to call on Final Fantasy IV's Octomammoth for help. Later, Ryuno visits Baron and meets the hero of Final Fantasy IV, Cecil. Ryuno can even visit Cecil's archrival Kain, who brags that he has mastered white magic to become a "Holy Dragoon." There's a fair number of Dragon Quest gags, too. I laughed when I found myself fighting Slimes at the very beginning of the game. There are Metal Slimes out there as well, if you can find them...
FF? is also notable for being a Japanese RPG Maker fangame, translated in 2022 by 4chan's /vrpg/ board. As a result, its cultural touchstones are subtly different from those of English-language Final Fantasy fans. An early quest pays homage to Final Fantasy III, which didn't recieve a legal English release resembling its NES iteration until 2021's Pixel Remaster. English language critics insist to this day that III is a minor entry in the series, despite the game's influence upon later titles. FF? reminds us that cultural exposure, as much as the games themselves, determine how video game history is written.
I respect FF? for its attention to detail, and for capturing the rhythms of Final Fantasy combat. Yet playing the game reminds me of just how much else the early Final Fantasy games accomplished, despite their simplicity. III surprised the player with gimmick boss battles and a transforming world map. IV grounded its pulpy twists and turns in its (admittedly two-dimensional) cast of characters. V let the player overcome its diverse set of challenges their way through its famous Job system. VI evolved the dramatic flourishes of IV and V even further, to the point that they became the game itself.
Few of these aspects can be found in FF?. Dungeons lack the diversity of the early Final Fantasy titles despite their sprawl. Boss battles require strategy but lack notable gimmicks. Without Final Fantasy IV's revolving door of party members or V's character customization, FF?'s three party members use the same tricks from the beginning to the end of the game. The strategy remains the same, and thus all the carefully rendered battles start to blend together.
Folks who are frustrated by Final Fantasy XVI's lack of turn-based combat may be happy to find an abundance of it in FF?. Yet XVI grounds its mechanics in world and character (regardless of execution) while FF? does not. FF? builds its world around an ATB combat system and learnable white and black magic not because these aspects are key to the design and the story, but because the developer clearly believed a Final Fantasy game ought to have those aspects. They work as intended, but (at least in my book) at the cost of what makes Final Fantasy special.
As stifling as FF? may be in some respects, though, it offers freedoms that have not been seen in the franchise for years. Castles and towns hide many hidden treasures. The land is dotted with optional dungeons, a number of which are accessible the moment the party lays hands on an airship. FF? also offers the player additional build options not available in the SNES Final Fantasy games. Observant players may notice that the "white" and "black" mages Minoa and Ifumui can in truth learn any magic they please. If you want Minoa to throw a fireball or Ifumui to cast Haste, they can do so.
My favorite aspect of the Final Fantasy series is its generosity, which is both blessing and curse. Just about every game in the series is flawed in some way or another, which just adds to their appeal. Final Fantasy ? is no different. It's a game that has plenty to offer, so long as you happen to share its priorities. At this point in my life, I'm not entirely sure if I do. Yet I can't deny it: when I'm leading Ryuno and company through the basement of Walse in search of a King's Sword, running from powerful foes, it's like the fantasy never ended.