History of Final Fantasy: Final Fantasy 6

So, in spite of much illness and a project to prove how video games have the potential to educate, I have continued work on this series.  Today, we are going to look at the longest video I have ever made, my favorite Final Fantasy game, and quite possibly, the best game in the series.  It's not perfect, and I will discuss the many problems it faces, but it captured a kind of magic from both the series and the 16-bit generation that has never since been replicated.  And with this, we end the golden age of RPGs, even though I will still talk about a game that was in the golden age next time, which was not terribly good.

Anyway, without further ado, Final Fantasy 6, ladies and gentleman.

Month of Characters Continued: Top 10 Villains I Love to Hate

A good villain is one who is both intimidating, yet admirable to a degree.  Not admirable in that you want to be like them, but you can respect their power, or their motives, or they are relatable, in that you find something about them in yourself.  These villains are ones we love because we hate them.  They are the perfect opposing force for our heroes.  And here's a tribute to the 10 villains I love to hate the most.  Needless to say, there will be spoilers.

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Kefka (Final Fantasy 6)

I bet everyone knew this was coming.  Kefka, the psychotic clown.  Of course he makes the list.  There's something undeniably scary, but also silly about Kefka.  Despite wielding immense magical power, he never really does much with his life besides kill.  And normally, this would be horrific, but he's so gleeful and childlike at times that it's hard to chastise him.  Kefka laughs and rhymes and makes terrible jokes and is garbed in harlequin's makeup.  Despite being a truly evil villain, he's one of the silliest characters in all of Final Fantasy.  What makes Kefka more intimidating, however, is that despite being silly and childish, he's ruthlessly clever, cunning, and unconstrained by morals.  He'll poison an entire population just for fun, kill his master to serve his ambition, and all the while seem like an unassuming fool.  Kefka literally becomes a god halfway through Final Fantasy 6, merging with the three mystic forces that created the world to take full control over them and become a god of magic.  The world is turned inside out and Kefka watches it burn with unprecedented glee.  For all his malice, though, Kefka seems like he's lacking.  He finds no use or purpose in life and so wants to end all of it.  Nihilism at its core.  Even becoming a god didn't cure him of it.  While he is maliciously evil, Kefka has a kind of charm to him, with his horrific acts juxtaposed by his crazy personality and clown-like appearance.  Also, while most villains seek to control or destroy the world but are always thwarted, Kefka managed to do both and was only stopped years after he'd become a god.  Perhaps what is most interesting is that Kefka's death is almost like a middle finger to the heroes, as all their magic is now useless without him, the god of magic.  If they want to live, he's forcing them to do it the hard way.  For how irredeemably evil, yet undeniably fun and funny he is, Kefka remains a favorite of mine even years after I first saw his goofy face and heard him proclaim "You son of a submariner!"

The fool dances to his own tune, creating and destroying in equal measure.  He is totally self involved, unaware that all his sound and fury ultimately signify nothing.

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7)

I know some people are going to roll their eyes at this inclusion, but hear me out.  You see, when I first played Final Fantasy 7 in 1996, Sephiroth wasn't the overpowered, momma's boy, bishounen that he eventually became thanks to media overexposure and what not over the years.  My first encounter with Sephiroth was when I had escaped the prison in Shinra tower and discovered that all hell had broken loose.  The tower was decimated, countless guards were dead, and the president of Shinra had been impaled on a sword.  I went in with about four guys and had to sneak, battle, and work my way up to the top, but one guy utterly destroyed the place.  For a little bit, I was actually scared.  Sephiroth created an atmosphere around him throughout much of the game that made him scary, because chaos and death were always on his heels.  He goes to Nibleheim?  Town is burned to the ground and almost everyone dies.  Follow him to the Ancient City?  One of your team permanently dies.  What impressed me the most, however, was the Midgar Zloom.  It's a giant snake that's easily ten times your size and which can casually annihilate your party when they first meet it.  When the party cross the Midgar Zloom's marsh via chocobo, they see a Zloom impaled upon a giant tree trunk by Sephiroth, as if it were nothing.  That is power, cruelty, and terror.  Sure, he's had a bit too much exposure lately, but Sephiroth was true fear for a while, creating an atmosphere more in line with survival horror than a JRPG.  That's one of the reasons I still love him.

The devil spreads death and chaos wherever he goes.  He is fear made manifest and his cruelty extends to all things, good or evil.

One man did all this.  No...not a man.  A monster.

Grahf (Xenogears)

Words do not describe the sheer oddity or the sheer terror that Grahf inspires.  Grahf is, in a nutshell, a split personality of an ancestor of our hero, Fei Fong Wong, that became a parasitic psychic entity after he lost his most cherished friend and lover.  This entity became obsessed with power and would frequently body snatch those close to his reincarnated self, as his body and spirit had died, but this facet of his personality lived on.  Grahf seeks ultimate power for the purpose of destruction, reducing all those around him to ash.  Yet, he is also a cautionary tale about how absolute power corrupts and will ultimately destroy us.  Grahf is constantly watching Fei Fong Wong in Xenogears for the purpose of using him, as he is another reincarnation of Grahf's previous form and Grahf believes Fei will lead him to the ultimate power he seeks.  Fei, possessing a similarly destructive split personality, is both at odds with and subservient to Grahf, as his evil persona, ID, was trained and manipulated by Grahf from childhood to adulthood.  Perhaps Grahf's most signature trait is that he possesses the ability to give others extraordinary power.  Power that is so intense that it will literally burn them out, leaving them naught but a withered husk of their former selves.  The real kicker?  Grahf needs a body for his persona to attach to and when he makes his final stand against Fei, it's revealed that the body he took was that of Fei's father.  Grahf has no redeeming qualities, but is interesting for his aesthetic, resembling something like Darth Vader if he were more dramatic and monstrous, and for his situation, being a psychic entity which has walked the earth for centuries seeking the power to purify it in flames.  While a bit one note at times, Grahf is an interesting look at just how out there a villain can be while still being taken seriously.  In spite of his odd back story, Grahf stands tall as a villain, acting as both the catalyst for Fei to overcome his own weakness and as a cautionary tale of how power and loss can corrupt even the best of us.

The seeker is forever in search of power, freely giving or taking with no regards for those hurt in his quest.  This power will consume him and all the world.  Knowing this, he continues on, for he has nothing left to protect.  Only things to destroy.

Kato (Shadow Hearts: Covenant)

In a game series full of tragedy, where the bad endings are frequently canon, Kato appears as a most unlikely villain.  A special forces agent for Japan at the turn of the 19th century, Kato has unlucky metaphorically stamped on his forehead.  He lost the woman he loved due to internal fighting and betrayal and became jaded about his own weakness, especially after seeing his friend Yuri Hyuga defying fate.  So, Kato did what many men in the series did and set about trying to change his destiny.  He used forbidden necromantic documents to revive the woman he loved in an artificial body, though she held no memories, created artificial super soldiers, and tried to make Japan strong by enslaving a biblical demon from Europe.  Yuri and his friends had to stop him, but Yuri and Kato understood one another, both having lost their true loves.  Yuri had to stop Kato because he knew what would happen if that power ran amok.  And Kato tried anyway, out of love.  In the end, Kato lost his love a second time and tried to change fate directly, meddling with time itself, in order to settle things.  However, even as he and Yuri squared off, there were no hard feelings.  They both knew that there was no turning back.  And that's why I like Kato.  Honorable, true to his friends and his convictions, and a romantic at heart.  He started the Shadow Hearts series as a weak incidental character but improved himself and made himself strong.  All for the sake of love.  Kato is the perfect sympathetic villain, as you both feel sorry for him but cannot allow him to continue, for the greater good.  Over the course of the game, players even get a chance to control Kato's super soldiers and work with him, endearing him to the audience, despite his goals, and his introduction was early enough that the players probably didn't see him as becoming the main villain, even though it makes perfect sense when he does.  It seems as if Kato is meant to suffer, but his drive is a force to be reckoned with.

The soldier is supposed to work for the betterment of his country.  Must he then sacrifice all he holds dear to achieve this?  Or shall he defy fate for a chance at happiness and redemption?

Lezard Valeth (Valkyrie Profile series)

There has never been a more obnoxious, arrogant, and hilarious bastard in Midgard or Asgard than Lezard Valeth.  He's a sorcerer with immense natural talent, an inquisitive mind, and no moral qualms about furthering his research.  He's Shakespearean in his wording and loves to analyze and argue points.  He's charming, despite being a tad insane, and he's madly in love with the warrior goddess Lenneth Valkyrie, who he's trying to build a mortal body for.  Lezard, despite being really, REALLY, evil, is too silly, crazy, powerful, and...human, to dislike.  In fact, to further his goals of attaining his love, he actually helps save her from death by putting her into one of the artificial bodies he made.  Later, he warps back in time to try and kill Odin, lord of the gods, and usurp his position.  And he does it with ease.  Coupled with all that, Lezard possesses the philosopher's stone and was the only human not under the protection of Lenneth Valkyrie to survive the end of the world, Ragnarok.  Even if his schemes are evil, horrific, or morally questionable, there's always a sense of fun with him.  Lezard is both respected by his colleagues and victims, but also the butt of many jokes, as a classmate of his frequently teases him and calls him a freak with a lolita complex despite his immense power.  Perhaps what's scariest about Lezard, however, is that even though he has a fun loving, inquisitive, and enjoyable demeanor, he can be ruthlessly cunning and totally amoral.  When he warped into the past, he lied and hid his true nature to become an apprentice to three sorcerers and got close to another Valkyrie named Silmeria.  No one suspected a thing until he was already ruling Asgard.  He also outright admits that the majority of his plan to take control of Asgard and alter history was just to lure Lenneth into a situation where he could control her.  It is only through the intervention of the other Valkyrie and their allies that he is stopped.  However, even if he is a villain, Lezard is just fun.  He laughs frequently, tells lewd jokes, and just enjoys life, even if he's the only one having fun at the time.  What's not to love about Lezard Valeth?

The magician revels in knowledge and power, feeling no sacrifice is too great or compromise too unlikely for the sake of his experiment.

Galcian (Skies of Arcadia)

Galcian is a fascinating villain for all his nuances.  He's the leader of an evil empire's airship armada, skilled with a blade to the point where he's almost untouchable, stealthy enough to manipulate his empress and his enemies while cunning enough to appear on the level to both, and surprisingly loyal to his comrades, all things considered.  Even those he turns on, he treats with some degree of honor and respect.  Galcian once had to kill an old friend of his for letting a group of sky pirates escape him and they fought.  Galcian won, but warned the guards to take care of the body, for it was worth far more than any of them.  His most trusted assistant, Ramirez, held the key to ultimate power in his body and would have sacrificed his life so that Galcian could remove it.  Instead, Galcian found another way, in order to spare the life of his associate.  Nothing seems to phase Galcian, as he is prepared for all outcomes in a battle, even if it is a loss.  The single time he shows any manner of shock is right before his death, and that was likely due to the way he died.  Galcian shows no favoritism to allies and only respects those who are useful, which is quite refreshing as one of the minor villains of Skies of Arcadia is a snobby, but incompetent, aristocrat who acts as an airship captain.  He lies and cheats his way into the army's top brass and frequently makes excuses, but Galcian doesn't take any of it and disciplines and demotes him regardless.  Even though he acts without remorse, Galcian's vision of the world is almost one people can get behind, with his armada acting as a police force.  People would be welcome to live in peace and without fear so long as they obeyed his will.  True, it would be totalitarian, but compared to the empire he would be replacing, it'd be much more desirable.  Galcian's ambitions are to destroy his corrupt empire and conquer the world for his own sake.  And he believes he can do it.  Everyone believes he can do it.  That's what makes him so dangerous.  And, to top it off, he has a beautiful woman for a girlfriend who also commands a battalion of airships for him.  Bonus.

The emperor holds dominion over all he surveys.  Strong, just, confident and utterly ruthless, his greatest flaw is putting his ambition before his heart. 

Gannondorf (LoZ Twilight Princess)

With Gannondorf, I'm kind of being selfish, because he's not a well rounded villain, a well spoken villain, or even a very deep villain.  But I admire his power and his aesthetic.  Gannondorf is gifted with the Triforce of power, because he desires power over all things and this strength of his is what allowed him to reach out from beyond the Twilight realms and corrupt the false king, Zant, thus starting the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess proper.  He is able to control others, turn into a giant beast, summon a horse and riders to support him and when facing a monster formed of ancient and destructive twilight magic, Gannondorf shrugs it off and crushes its head.  Gannondorf is not very nuanced, but his power makes him pretty bad ass.  And it's not just that he has power which makes him cool, but rather, the way in which he uses it.  For example, he could fight Link head to head, but instead amuses himself using Zelda as his puppet and fighting through her.  Or, as a show of irony, uses the sword which impaled him as his personal weapon.  Even if few words pass Gannondorf's lips, it's plain to see that there's something's going on behind those cold eyes.  Apart from that, Gannondorf just looks like a conquering king, with his tied back dreadlocks almost forming a crown, his pitch black armor, and his ability to ride and fight on a horse.  Gannondorf, to me, also wins this spot for his role in Super Smash Brothers Melee and Brawl, where his obscene power is enough to punch people beyond the realm of the screen and kill them with very little effort.  He takes skill to use, but he is a fun villain to have on my list.  Gannondorf is power and style, all wrapped up in a nice little package.

The usurper is power made manifest.  Nothing can stop him.  Not royalty, not sages, not death.  He turns his pain into power and fights without fear.

Xehanort: All Incarnations (Kingdom Hearts series)

I find something positively enchanting about all incarnations of this Kingdom Hearts villain.  Despite his role as ultimate evil, a greedy, selfish incarnation of how a good power can be turned wicked, Xehanort remains pretty engaging as a character, in my opinion.  In the first Kingdom Hearts game he is a very dramatic, almost Shakespearean figure, using his words and his mere presence, which at that time was without physical form, to manipulate Riku, best friend to our hero, Sora, before ultimately possessing him.  Xehanort only evolves from there, going from a shadow of his former self to a being gifted with power over the darkness in hearts, which grants him near limitless strength, as all hearts contain at least some darkness.  He uses this power to continue his pursuit of knowledge and the ultimate heart, Kingdom Hearts.  Even after his defeat, he lingers within Riku, tempting him with offers of power but also helping the boy to grow into his own.  After all is settled in Kingdom Hearts 2, the prequel story, Birth by Sleep, reveals the truth of Xehanort.  A grim, jaded old man who despite his frail appearance is one of the strongest Keyblade masters to ever live.  His search for the truth of the heart and for knowledge led him to become cunning and deceptive, so that he could corrupt and manipulate a youth named Terra before stealing his body.  Xehanort is interesting because while he will not hesitate to manipulate, corrupt, fight, or lie to achieve his ends, he is a scholarly individual, musing on the nature of good and evil, light and darkness, right and wrong, and constantly seeks knowledge for his goals.  He's revealed to not be entirely heartless either, such as when he managed to aid Riku and encourage him, or when after hurting his own apprentice, he returned him to the islands he grew up on so the apprentice could rest.  While his plans can be a bit too elaborate at times, he's interesting for his scholarly pursuits and because there are shades of a time when he was actually a warrior for the light, before his obsession and fear surrounding death and heartlessness jaded him.

The scholar quests for answers within the darkness.  He cares not for those hurt by his goals, he cares only for truth.  No act is too cruel, no betrayal too great, so long as he finds answers.

There was a time when the scholar sought answers in the light.  However it blinded him and he became jaded.  Thus, he turned to the dark.  The scholar is corrupted, but wise.  Demonic, but not without a human heart.  He is selfish, but shades of a hero remain.

Creator (Aquaria)

Children are selfish.  Children act without thinking.  Children are almost always sure they are right.  And the Creator in Aquaria is a millenia old child.  Formed when a child falls from a city in the sky into the ocean and merges with a god-like power, the Creator is one of the most despicable, but also tragic villains I've ever met.  He lost his home and his mother and spent his eternal life trying to recreate her under the sea.  And each time he failed to make her "Perfect" he destroyed the civilization that had been created by his "mother."  This means the Creator of Aquaria has singlehandedly committed genocide almost 12 times, sparing only the mother figures, usually, out of some misguided form of love.  He hounds Naija, the hero of Aquaria, throughout the game, constantly seeking her mother, Mia, his "perfect" creation.  And yet, in the end, he was just a child given power he never wanted.  He only desired to return home and be with his mother.  And when Naija defeats him, his final request is that she sing him to sleep with the lullaby of his mother.  The Creator is an interesting look at both the psychology of a child and how gods can be very much like children.  You see, children only develop ideas of right and wrong after a certain age when their brains become advanced enough to understand morality.  But the Creator never seemed to understand what was wrong with his actions, following the logic of, "I created it, it is mine, I can do with it what I please."  This draws a nice parallel to other gods in myth and religion because while they always act like they are right, they can at times be petulant children.  They will punish their creations on a whim and call it just because they are the ones who made them.  They lack basic ideas of morality or willfully ignore them for their own pleasure.  The Creator is an interesting look at how pathetic a god can be when brought low...and also how tragic they can be, since despite his power, the Creator could never have what he truly wanted.  He only found peace when Naija sang him to sleep.

The child thinks himself a god.  He sees no consequences of creation and no wrongs in destruction.  Without a guiding hand, he will continue to spread misery until it engulfs him entirely.

Creator (Final Fantasy Legend)

The Creator from Final Fantasy Legend was something of a tossup, since I only had 9 villains who absolutely had to make the list.  But, let's just say that the Creator is kind of beautiful in shock value, symbolism, and in how his actions affect the players.  You see, in Final Fantasy Legend, heroes must climb a tower that reaches into the sky, fighting fiends and monsters on each floor they arrive on and seeing all manner of sights, from an ocean world, to a cloud kingdom, to a dystopian nightmare.  However, when they get high enough, they fight Ashura, who offers to give them worlds of their own to rule.  When they refuse and beat Ashura, they are deposited back in the first world and, with no further fiends above them, reach the top of the tower, where it is revealed that the entire tower and the worlds below are merely a game for the Creator, the god of the world.  In essence, he created the tower, Ashura, and the worlds as a game, creating everything for the purpose of entertainment.  He was amused by the heroes efforts to reach paradise, at the top of the tower, and watched them every step of the way.  He is the designer of this world...a game designer.  The Creator sees nothing wrong with what he's done, since to him the characters are little more than bits of data, but the heroes are horrified at having their lives and the lives of their friends manipulated by this callous god.  So, they defeat him and are presented with an opportunity to see behind the Creator's door, to enter his world, a place none have ever seen, possibly the paradise they have been seeking.  And they choose to go home instead.  Even if their world was just a game, it had become something real to them.  I love this villain because you never saw it coming, but it kinda makes sense in a metaphysical way.  His actions and thoughts likely mirror our own, making both designer and player kind of the villain here, but it also shows that constantly moving forward isn't the only way.  Sometimes, when the adventure is done, it's nice to return home and spin your stories around a campfire.
 

The god sees all the world as a game.  For his own amusement, people fight and die.  However, is is only when the god is brought low that he realizes his folly.  The world is far more than just a game.

 And those were the greatest villains I've discovered.  They each have something special about them which endears them to the audience, which is important, but are also unapologetic about their actions which seek to hurt countless innocent lives.  It makes sense for the heroes to stop them, no matter how charming they may be.  And in my opinion, that's what makes a good villain.  They are likeable, even understandable, but also unapologetically evil, doing either malicious or selfish acts for their own personal gain.  They aren't evil because "Wooooooo the plot needs a bad guy!" they're evil because it serves their needs.  That's understandable.  That's human.  And that's scary.

May, the month of Characters: Top 10 heroes I admire

May, the month of Characters:

This is sort of a personal project for me since Video Game Growing Pains is not just a blog about the industry and how change can help, but also a personal blog looking at my journey through the world of gaming as it stands.  And, inspired by the works of Doug Walker and the Blisteredthumbs.net Characters With Character panel, I decided that I would do a bit of reflection on characters that mean a lot to me.  May is going to be the month of characters, with 4 separate lists about characters I think truly make gaming wonderful, or deplorable, and the reasons why.  Hopefully, people can use these characters as baseline comparisons when crafting their own heroes or villains.  Or they can just enjoy the list.  So, let's start with a few heroes.  Here are the 10 heroes I most admire, in no particular order.

Top 10 heroes I admire:

Many people would argue that there aren't enough heroes in the world.  I say it's all about where you look.  In gaming, while we do stray too far sometimes into the generic RPG hero, the fun but ultimately flat platformer heroes, or the often morally bankrupt heroes of shooters, there are times when heroes are born that can move you.  And this is a tribute to the heroes who've moved me the most in my life.  Needless to say, there will be spoilers.

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy 7)

A lot of people will sigh or roll their eyes at this inclusion, but Cloud Strife, as both an image and as a character, moved me when I was a kid.  He was different from other heroes.  Larger than life with his five foot tall buster sword and his hardened persona, which seemed self serving but which ultimately did what was right, Cloud was different from the RPG heroes I'd grown up with.  Underneath the more gritty persona, however, Cloud was an engaging character who, for me at least, embodied courage.  True, most of the game sees him chasing after his rival, Sephiroth, for answers, only to be revealed to be a puppet in a greater plot and a failed clone of Sephiroth, but it is how he deals with these situations that makes me say he is courageous.  Cloud will not hesitate to fight for his friends, even if the odds are stacked against him and even if his magic has been stolen.  But more than that, Cloud, with the help of his childhood friend Tifa, has to come to terms with the fact that he was, and is, a failure.  He identified himself as a member of Soldier, an elite group of warriors, when he repressed the fact that he actually failed to gain entry into Soldier and it was a friend of his, Zach, who became a Soldier.  He even inadvertently caused Zach's death, because Zach died trying to protect him.  Cloud had to accept his own weakness in order to get beyond it.  To truly become himself and not a copy of Zach or Sephiroth.  But even before this realization, Cloud showed boundless courage when trying to save those around him.  Before the main game started, it is revealed that Sephiroth burned Cloud's home down and that no one, not even Zach, could stop him.  Sephiroth was truly a monster, capable of slaughtering dragons and other giant beasts with his bare hands.  But after seeing everything he loved in flames, Cloud took Zach's fallen sword and fought Sephiroth, managing to defeat him and toss him aside, though he fell unconscious from his own wounds.  He did this partly out of revenge, but Tifa and Zach had been injured and would have been killed if Sephiroth was not stopped.  So, for their sakes, Cloud fought him.  Even against a monster like that, Cloud didn't turn away when it came time to protect others.  This is especially important because Cloud knows by the end of the game that there may not be any way to save the world.  Sephiroth is trying to drop a meteor onto the planet and even if he is defeated, it may not stop.  But for those he cares about and those who have fallen before him, Cloud does not give up.  However, grim determination isn't all there is to Cloud.  Throughout the game, he's shown to have a softer side, one more open to humor and wackiness, such as crossdressing or participating in plays, and even though he deals with some self loathing throughout his growth as a character, he always faces his fears and fights for those who cannot protect themselves.  Now, Cloud's been interpreted many different ways, from the boring emo character to nothing more than a tool of the plot, but I disagree.  The first time I played Final Fantasy 7, I saw courage in his actions.  And I cannot help but admire the strength he wields in facing his inner demons.

Swathed in black and wielding a giant sword, this warrior's piercing eyes are full of courage.

Fei Fong Wong (Xenogears)

Kindness, madness, denial, and self loathing.  These four words describe the four unique personalities that exist within Fei Fong Wong.  Truly a remarkable character in his own right, Fei has dissociative personality disorder, giving him, at the start of the game, three split personalities.  Near the end of the game, Fei splits himself even further when he realizes some of the atrocities he's unwittingly committed as some of his other personas, giving him four personalities.  But, on his own, Fei is one of the nicest people in gaming.  A martial artist and a painter of sorts, he trains only for self advancement, until war comes to his tiny village, leaving a stranded giant robot and enemy troops coming up around him.  Fei takes the robot and pilots it...only to destroy half the village in an uncontrolled burst of energy, killing two of his oldest friends and ostracizing him from the other villagers.  After which, he sets out on a self imposed exile, accompanied only by an old friend and his self loathing.  Fei is a character with boundless capacity for good, but who fears his own power, especially after what happened to his village.  And with good reason.  Dwelling within Fei is a destructive split personality that can rip humans and robots alike to shreds with his bare hands.  You see, when Fei was a boy he had terrible experiments performed on him, in which his child self went into hiding in the back of his mind, cherishing the good memories, and leaving only a bitter husk of anger behind.  When he was finally subdued and freed from those who would use him, Fei contracted amnesia and, because of that, his current persona of the kind and dedicated martial artist became dominant.  And for Fei to come to terms with all this is one hell of a trial.  Fei meets reliable friends who are fighting for independence, salvation, or just basic human rights along the way and despite his quirks and how dangerous he proves to be, they all care for him, helping Fei to cope with and accept his nature.  He even falls in love with Elly, a young woman who caused the calamity in his village by stealing the robot in the first place.  She too is afraid, but more so of weakness, failure, and a loss of control.  They meet in a forest shortly after Fei leaves his village and end up strangely close, despite Fei's frustration and anger and Elly's bravado.  The next time they meet, Elly's been drugged up on a performance enhancer which increases aggression.  It's up to Fei to save her, having experienced his own form of lost control and knowing what it can do to yourself and others, Fei is able to snap Elly out of her blood rage.  Fei understands pain and is able to empathize and help others better because of it.  By the end of the game, it is even revealed that he and Elly have been brought together through reincarnation countless times throughout history, only to be separated by tragedy each time.  Once Fei is able to merge his separate personas into one, he is able to save Elly from being absorbed by a psychic entity which takes her over and return to their home planet together, thus breaking the cycle of tragedy.  Even though he only wanted a peaceful life, Fei's empathy, kindness, will, strength, and his drive to save others helped change the world, freeing it from a corrupt nation lording over it and helping to establish global peace after a calamity.  Fei Fong Wong is unbelievably complex and nuanced, but at heart, he's just a man trying to help others and do what's right.

His own worst enemy, despite the earth shattering power he wields, this man's kindness is his true strength.

Lenneth Valkyrie (Valkyrie Profile)

Valkyries are choosers of the slain in Norse mythology, who ride down to humans who die worthy deaths in battle and take them to Valhalla to feast and fight for all eternity.  Lenneth is a different kind of valkyrie.  She serves Odin, the all-father, at first, but has an unbelievable capacity to empathize with mortals about the situations revolving their deaths.  More than once, she is asked by these mortals to take their lives so that others might be saved, thus earning her approval.  Lenneth also cannot abide people profaning the dead or attempting to use dark power to hurt others and will strike them down if she sees them.  Why does a god have such empathy?  Because when Lenneth is not choosing the slain, she lives as a human, bereft of her divine memories, to experience life as they live.  This is where the story gets interesting.  Fearing Lenneth might rebel against the gods for the sake of humans, or that she would be unable to do her job, Odin sealed her memories and used her as a tool.  But at one point, Lenneth's memories are awakened by a man she knew as a human, after he has been killed by a traitor to the gods named Loki.  This sends Lenneth into shock and leads Odin to try and put her back to sleep, awakening her crueler sister, Hrist, and nearly destroying Lenneth in the process.  Ironically, her empathy for humans is a two way streak, as those she has chosen from the dead to be her allies save her and help restore her to power, with some assistance from a sorcerer who has been stalking her.  Together, she is able to rise above Odin and is given the ability to create and protect.  A plot by Loki disrupts the balance of Asgard, leaving Odin dead and his toadies in a panic.  Lenneth walks through them and fights Loki, for revenge and to protect others.  Loki causes the end of the world, but with her new power, Lenneth causes the world to be reborn, and protects all the living souls within it.  Lenneth's story is not merely one of love, but also one of rising above patriarchal bonds.  Odin decides what is best for Lenneth, but like many in power, his obstinance and assurance that he is correct blinds him.  The other two valkyrie under his command are treated just as carelessly.  Lenneth's younger sister Silmeria is imprisoned for being too empathetic to humans and her elder sister Hrist is cruel to them, using humans as tools, like Odin.  Lenneth finds the balance between the two and ultimately proves wiser than Odin by putting her faith in humanity rather than power or sacred objects.  What amuses me most, however, is that while Odin claims himself to be lord of the gods, father of all, etc. etc. Lenneth and her sisters, when combining their power, can change fate, making them his superior.  A patriarchal figure suppressing a woman out of fear only to have the tables turned on him?  Deliciously ironic.  Lenneth shows detachment at first, but grows to love and respect her human allies as she tries to understand their sometimes irrational actions.  In the end, she is rewarded by being reunited with the man Loki slew, who she now realizes she loves.  Lenneth is an admirable female figure in her own right, made all the more impressive by her boundless ability to care for others and her wisdom in dealing with the trials thrown her way.

Chooser of the slain, her empathy and wisdom allowed her to stand above even the gods.

Chrono (Chrono Trigger)

Chrono is not deep at all.  He's another silent RPG protagonist.  Yet, that doesn't mean he has no character.  Chrono has a unique look, tons of reliable friends, and a loving family life, all while being skilled with the katana.  And when one of his friends is sent back to the past and stranded by a time machine, Chrono embarks on a journey to save her.  In so doing, he discovers that several hundred years after he will die, the world will be destroyed by an intergalactic entity called Lavos.  Even though he need not fear it, Chrono sees the devastation and the hopelessness that engulfs the world after Lavos appears and, with his faithful friends, decides to fight against this evil, even if the odds are stacked against them.  Chrono cares about helping others no matter the time or the place because he is a good hearted soul.  He's also very lucky, too.  At one point in the game, Chrono is outright slain and wiped from existence by Lavos.  However, his friends go back in time to the moment of his death and swap his body out for a cheap clone they were able to find, effectively defying fate to save him.  With Chrono back to life, he is not shaken by fear or the realization of what very nearly could have happened to him, but redoubles his efforts to save others from Lavos's power.  Along the way, he and one of his friends, Marle, develop a close bond.  Eventually, they fall in love.  Marle was the one who saved Chrono, after all.  Chrono is an avatar of the player to some degree, but even if silent, he still maintains a unique personality through his body language and the actions he chooses to take.  I suppose what I love most about this character is his perseverance.  Despite the odds, Chrono never gives up and will fight on.  Even after dying, his memory inspires the others and eventually ends up having him resurrected.  He may not say much, but for the sake of his friends and for the sake of people everywhere, Chrono will travel to the ends of time itself, fight dinosaurs, robots, and monsters, and do it all while having the time of his life.  Chrono never gives up.

A timeless hero, he shall traverse the ancient past and the far off future to protect the innocent.  Even in death, he perseveres.

NiGHTS (Nights into Dreams)

What could be more admirable than a character who embodies dreams and protects others from nightmares?  Nights is a spirit who was originally created to cause nightmares, but broke free of his master's control to enjoy and protect pleasant dreams.  Dreams are hope.  Nightmares are despair.  And when children in despair come to the world of dreams, Nights can help them to find their own strength.  Courage gives Nights power and with that power, Nights helps children recover control of their dreams.  Nights is hope in despair.  Neither male nor female, Nights is a fragment of dreams and imagination that is playful, free spirited, and perhaps most interestingly, vulnerable.  Nights is unable to fight the nightmares without the aid of children who doubt.  Because courage is not something that can be taken from you in the world of dreams.  Even if hope is lost, courage remains.  And it is the courage of children that grants Nights the power to fight.  Nights helps people find the strength within themselves, the strength they always had but were unable to see.  That's why I can't help but admire Nights.  Nights fosters self improvement and hope in people, showing them that if they believe and keep moving forward, then they can face their fears, their doubts, and all the horrors of the real world and their nightmares.  Through Nights, we realize our own power.

The playful dreamer offers hope in despair, showing us the strength within ourselves.

Terra Branford (Final Fantasy 6)

Terra's one of my favorite characters ever.  I first met her when I was just a child, playing Final Fantasy 6, so part of this is nostalgia.  But there's more to it than that.  Terra is a character who goes through a remarkable journey and immense personal growth to overcome a lifetime of slavery and oppression.  You see, Terra was taken from her parents as a baby, raised by a totalitarian empire that saw her as only a weapon, and made to kill and slaughter against her will.  When she is freed from their control, she is horrified at her actions.  Terra is a warrior with great power, but underneath it all is a scared girl who wants to understand who and what she is.  The child of a magical being called an esper and a human, Terra begins without the ability to control her vast stores of power and is a danger to those around her.  But through her friends, she is able to find joy and acceptance, even learning to make peace with her two different lineages.  Terra, despite doubting herself, decides to fight for others, joining a resistance movement to fight the empire at first, and when the world is destroyed, Terra devotes herself to raising and protecting children in a tiny village.  The children even give her the strength to fight to save the world in the end.  Terra acts as a mother without children, seeking to find meaning in her own life.  That's why I admire her.  Even with all her doubts, even with being horrified at her actions, and even with being torn by her very blood, she always finds a way to fight.  To protect.  Her kindness and innocence coupled with her immense power juxtapose nicely with the Kefka, the main villain, who is cruel, self serving, insane, and in possession of godlike power.  When the Kefka asks her what the point of life is, why people live, even when all that remains for them is pain, Terra has finally found the answer.  We take pride in our small victories.  In kindness.  In protecting others.  In hope.  We find our own reason to live.  Terra knows these struggles more than anyone else, being born into slavery and having to discover her own purpose for being alive.  Once the game ends and Kefka is dead, Terra too starts to die, as magic and the espers which spawned her cannot exist without Kefka's power.  However, she chooses life and embraces humanity fully, remembering that she has found her reason to live and will continue to exist, even without magic.

The girl struggles with her two lineages, but ultimately finds her reason to live.  Armed with this reason, she fights to save the world.

Vyse (Skies of Arcadia)

Everyone loves pirates because of their swashbuckling spirit.  The search for adventure, the exploration, the threat of the unknown, the magic...it's why even today we look back nostalgically at pirates and the age of exploration.  Vyse takes that to the next level.  He's a sky pirate.  In a world made up of islands and continents which float in an ocean of clouds and air rather than water, he soars the skies with his trusty crew of pirates seeking adventure and fortune.  However, Vyse is no Blackbeard.  Vyse is a kind, noble individual.  He's a member of the blue rogues, a group of pirates who are noticeable for sparing the innocent, only robbing the rich, and basically being good hearted people.  He saved a girl named Fina when she was in trouble and together with his childhood friend, Aika, they go out of their way to help Fina recover six ancient artifacts to prevent an evil empire from taking over the world.  Along the course of his journey, Vyse gets stuck working for an old sailor and a ladies man, is forced to sneak into a prison to save his family and friends, and is wrongfully accused of being a thief and a villain.  However, he never loses his good nature, his humor, or his sense of wonder.  No one is bound by their circumstances according to Vyse.  He strikes out on his own with naught but his friends for support and he frequently encourages others to do the same.  He shows an old sea captain that revenge may not be the answer.  He offers a young prince the chance to do what he believes is right rather than what is expected.  He even convinces several of his enemies to pursue their true goals, be it love, honor, or to become pirates themselves.  Vyse defines freedom and choice. Everywhere he goes, he finds undiscovered lands and treasures and visits ruins and people who were lost or isolated from the rest of the world.  In fact, the wonder of exploration and his friends are why he goes out of his way to save the world.  Vyse's ultimate goal is to have his own pirate ship and sail the endless skies.  And he can't do that if the world's destroyed.  He wants to see everything that he can and experience as much of the world as possible.  Vyse is a strong fighter, a reliable friend, and a capable captain, but above all else, he's an explorer, charting the skies of Arcadia, free as a bird.

The pirate flies free as a bird through the skies of Arcadia, ever seeking new treasures to discover.

Naija (Aquaria)

There is something wondrous about Naija.  Every new vista she sees and strange sight she encounters causes her to gasp at the beauty around her.  Naija is a girl who loves to explore and the thrill of unknown waters washing over her fins is what constantly pushes her forward.  Naija is interesting because she still retains a sense of child-like wonder and awe at the world despite having to learn to fend for herself, frequently killing others for meat or power in order to survive the dangerous waters of Aquaria.  Even though she must kill to survive and find answers as to why she is alone, she never forgets to stop and smell the kelp flowers or ride a seahorse for fun, or sun herself on the beach.  Even love is all about exploring and experiencing new things to her, which leads her to fall for a human diver named Li.  These feelings of wonder are precious to Naija and she protects them ferociously, dolling out punishment to those who would defile the world or harm her love.  I find something unbelievably beautiful about this creature who started out young and fragile, only to become hardened and tough, while still being able to be moved by the beauty of the world around her.  This is especially true, considering that her mother stole her memories from her.  The one complaint I have about Naija is that her story is not complete.  We only know half and may only ever know half.  It's a bit depressing.  Still, for the half we do know, Naija is someone I admire because of her ability to be moved by all that she sees.  The wonder of exploration is Naija in a nutshell.

The child of the sea truly knows she is alive when uncharted waters wash over her fins and new vistas appear before her.

Gwendolyn (Odin Sphere)

When people say games are inherently misogynist, Gwendolyn is the character I point to that breaks that rule in every way possible.  Gwendolyn is a valkyrie, a warrior woman whose greatest joy is battle and whose greatest fear is marriage and subjugation by a man.  Despite this, she is a respectful daughter and will do anything to make her father, Odin, happy, even if it means she must suffer.  While this could make people think she's a straw feminist with daddy issues, Gwendolyn comes off as surprisingly human, questioning her own motives and thinking some pretty horrible thoughts from time to time.  When she meets her much more beloved half sister, for example, she thinks, "If she's dead, I'll be daddy's favorite.  I'll be all he has left."  However when faced with the chance to let her sister die at the hands of one of her father's generals, she slaughters the general and frees her sister, telling her to run.  And when her father confronts her about her actions, she accepts his punishment, believing she has done what was right in protecting the child he loved.  At first, Gwendolyn never strays from her duty, doing all that she can to grant her father victory in his war with the fairies, even going so far as to betray the trust of someone who loves her.  However, she is not blind to what happens around her and starts to learn that duty is not all there is to life.  Slowly, she starts to change, following her heart rather than her duty as a soldier or a daughter or even as a wife.  She always tries to do the right thing and in the case of saving her sister, her father enchanted her to love her bitterest enemy, the shadow knight, Oswald, as punishment for her betrayal.  Only...Odin didn't.  He didn't enchant her and counted on her loyalty so that he could get a special ring the knight had bequeathed her as an engagement gift.  Gwendolyn didn't know and out of respect for her father, she retrieved the ring for him and saved him from being killed by a traitor.  When she realized afterwards that Oswald killed the king of the dragons to get that ring, which he gave to her as an engagement present, she started to wonder about her feelings and sought to protect Oswald.  She saved him from being slain by another dragon and when her ring was stolen from her father, she fought through a small army to get it back.  When Oswald learned she had given it away, he fell into despair because he knew that she was not enchanted to love him and had tried to win her love through his devotion and actions.  As soon as he learned of Gwendolyn's betrayal, however, he felt that she had chosen not to love him and died from sadness.  Gwendolyn refused to accept this and went into the netherworld itself to retrieve him, killing the queen of the netherworld to save her husband and standing up to her father, at last, for herself and for the sake of her love.  Gwendolyn is a character who is very human.  She is conflicted about her choices quite often and ultimately ends up hurting people she loves.  However, she accepts her mistakes and tries to make amends.  She is strong willed, refusing Oswald's advances at first, even though she believed she had no choice, and strong in body, routinely battling dragons and huge beasts.  She's a romantic and loyal to her dear friends.  Gwendolyn moved me for being exactly the kind of female protagonist I wanted.  Strong and capable, but not just a man with breasts...she was flawed and human, facing very real concerns about being a woman, such as the fear of childbirth and subjugation in a male dominated world.  She and Oswald made a good pair in that regard, as he would never treat her as an object.  I suppose what I admire most is the love Gwendolyn and Oswald share, even though they grew up as enemies.  They respect and care for one another because of all that they have gone through to be together.

The valkyrie faithfully does her duty, until love makes her realize her true duty is to her heart.

Yuri Hyuga (Shadow Hearts)

Poor, poor, Yuri.  He's suffered all his life, lost his mother, father, his lover, his friends, his soul, and eventually his life.  Yet, for all that, he's pretty bad ass.  Yuri is sarcastic, snarky, and lives everyday with purpose, whether that means getting into a fight for fun or just trying to make the voices in his head quiet down.  He's an honest and kind young man underneath the tough street punk that was born out of his mother's death.  In fact, if it weren't for his ability to fuse with demons as a harmonixer, he might well be the star of a dozen different action movies.  Yuri is cursed by his demonic powers and is filled with malice that must constantly be purified, lest he lose his soul.  He doesn't really know compassion till he meets his beloved, Alice, and she gives her life to save his.  Despite the loss, Yuri continues forward, protecting her grave and any people he finds with his power.  Yuri even goes so far as to try and revive her from the dead with his friend, Roger Bacon.  It fails and all he's left with is Alice saying she loves him before she dies once again.  Depressingly tragic, Yuri never lets his misfortune get him down too much.  While he laments Alice's death, he has friends he can depend on, even among the enemy, and tries to make the most of his time, which is sadly limited due to a curse.  When all is said and done, though, Yuri manages to defy fate and return to the moment he first met Alice, this time, sure that he can save her.  Yuri is a survivor.  He keeps on moving no matter what is thrown his way and will protect those who can't protect themselves.  This attitude earns him the respect of his friends and enemies alike.  No one is too high and mighty for Yuri, who isn't above smacking a god with his brass knuckled fists for causing trouble.  What I find most endearing about Yuri though is his romantic streak.  Never having known love besides his mother, he cares so deeply for Alice that he seeks to revive her from the dead.  And when that fails, he defies fate in order to try one more time.  Yuri Hyuga.  He makes even fate quake with fear.

The harmonixer is without fear.  For his love, he will stand against fate itself and emerge triumphant.

Well, that's the top 10 characters I admire, in no particular order.  These heroes are my favorite amongst all the hundreds of games I've played.  Tune in next week for my top 10 villains I love to Hate.

Manual Mayhem: Where Did Our cloth Maps Go?

I was born in 1988 and grew up in the grip of Nintendo mania.  During that time, I played a number of fantastic games from the NES and SNES, as well as the Sega Genesis and Master system.  However, the games were only half the fun for me, as a child.  My brother liked to hog the systems, so I amused my self with his copies of Nintendo Power or with the manuals that came with our games.  Why?  Because in that era, manuals for video games were works of art unto themselves.   Which is why today, it pains me to denounce the video games industry for their exceedingly pathetic supplemental material for modern video games.

3 pages.  Why is this manual 3 pages?!

            Now, for anyone born after 1998, this may raise a few eyebrows.  Video games come with manuals, naturally, but they aren't anything special.  They give you a little background into the game, the story, the characters, and tell you the controls.  However, as time wore on, the need for manuals seemingly decreased.  Games had tutorials for teaching players the mechanics and if they wanted story, they could just play the game.  However, this logic is, in my opinion, horribly flawed.  Game manuals and supplemental materials can do far more for video games than simply instruct.  They can immerse.

            For example, Final Fantasy 3(6) for the SNES was a crowning achievement in 16-bit RPGs, meshing charming graphics and an unforgettable score with a moving story full of unique characters.  However, the game wasn't the only part of Final Fantasy 3(6) which was special.

            Showcased above are images from the manual.  They are in color and chocked full of interesting illustrations from the Final Fantasy series's longest running character designer, Yoshitaka Amano.  It's more like an artbook than a manual in some places.  Next to each character is a small poetic description, meant to excite the players.  Along with these descriptions, the characters get their own illustrations and a thorough explanation on how their special moves work, some coming with necessary advice or tips to make them more effective.  The back of the manual is full of tips and advice, while the front contains a dramatic recounting of the War of the Magi, a conflict central to the plot of Final Fantasy 3(6).  It immerses players in the world's lore, while giving them advice on how to proceed.  It wasn't the only thing that came with the game though.  There was also a full color, double sided map to help keep players on track.  This entire package sold, at the time of its release, for near what a collector's edition sells for now.  However, this was just the standard edition.  Final Fantasy 3(6) came with all this standard.

            Other games in the early 90s, realizing how difficult they could be, had full color, hundred page strategy guides pre packaged with their games.  Phantasy Star 3 is one such example, offering complete maps, bestiaries, and item lists for gamers looking to get a little help with their RPGs.

            Even more basic games which didn't have name brand value at least gave it their all.  The game manual for the NES title Crystalis had explanations of all the items, a few tips, story bits, and illustrations based on the actual gameplay.  They had effort.

            Compare that to manuals of today.  In front of you is the manual for White Knight Chronicles 2, part of a pair of games that are incredibly complex, have a deep character driven plot, gorgeous graphics, and lots of story.  So, how do they do this epic justice?  With seven pages giving the most basic description of controls with no attempt made to actually educate gamers on some of the nuances of game play.  The manual comes up to fourteen pages if, and only if, players count the foreign language sections.  This is pathetic, showing no effort or attempt to immerse or engage the players.  It is the most bare bones, waste of space manual one can have. 

            When did manuals start receiving such disrespect?  I remember a time when the manual was an integral part of the game because it offered something the game couldn't.  Take the manual to Metal Gear Solid 2.  It contains within it a small comic that actually explains gameplay by showing how it would work in the game.  The main character dodges guards, avoids alarms, and uses his weapons or his fists in the comic in the same way the game uses them.  It shows an attempt to engage players with a unique approach to tutorials and interesting art design.

            But games do not even need to be this inventive.  Adapting gameplay into comic form is hard.  However, incorporating world building can be astonishingly easy for those with a little forethought.  Take the manual to Final Fantasy Legend on the Game Boy.  It contains many useful tips as well as information on players, the world, and items.  However in the very back of the book is an adventurer's diary.  It tells the first few levels of the game as if they were straight out of a novel or a diary of a fallen adventurer, talking about characters fighting, leveling up, and advancing through the game.  It is engaging and it is little more than a few words on a page with the occasional bit of art thrown in, like a helmet or a sword.  It requires no effort beyond someone typing up a few pages of fluff on a computer.  This.  Is.  Easy.  Why don't developers use this more?  After all, an engaged player is a player more likely to come back to the same game series and the same developer.

             Some games can have basic manuals, but can require players to think outside the box as well.  Literally.  The original Metal Gear Solid, along with its remake on the Game Cube, had players look on the back of the box for a code necessary to advance through the game.  This fourth wall breaking approach adds not only humor but a sense of involvement from the player in the game, making them more engaged.

            The current trend of pitifully uninspired game manuals saddens me greatly.  True, not all manuals need to be epic novels, but they are as much a part of the game as the story or gameplay.  They deserve respect.  And it is only in recent years that the plight of manuals have become so dire.  While I never owned any of the Ultima games, they came with special fluff books and cloth maps that fleshed out the game world.  These days, games with these "extras" require a premium price. 

            There are exceptions to this rule, of course.  Take the Last Story.  It was a game released in packaging that resembled a book, with an artbook inside as well as a fully equipped manual that gave character descriptions, world building elements, and tutorials.  However, this game was only released as such because it was a pre-order only release.  A re-release of Tactics Ogre on the Playstation Portable included a pack of tarot cards matching those used in the series.  But only if players pre-ordered it.  The Arc The Lad Collection on the Playstation 1 contained a huge full color art book that doubled as the instruction manual, included standard.  However, the collection was rare, as games localized by Working Designs were wont to be.  Only for a premium price or in rare cases do game manuals get the respect they deserve.

            Players who think that this is not an issue should take a short trip through time with me.  From 1993-1998, the Legend of Zelda games have included a delightful assortment of manuals.  They are all colorful, with cartoonish illustrations of items, fold out or separate maps, and in-depth character backgrounds.  Compare that to the White Knight Chronicles manual, with it's black and white walls of text meant to give as little imagination as possible.  Game manuals have slowly, but steadily been dying out or getting worse.  Even the Skyward Sword manual, which I no longer have, sadly, was in color, even though it lacked maps or character bios.

1992

1993

1998

            On one level, I understand.  The world of video games is going further and further towards digital releases.  Steam, XBLA, PSN, the Virtual Console.  All of these negate the need for manuals to a degree.  Yet, many still include manuals or instructions within the game.  So, let me make an ultimatum for game developers.  Games are constantly being re-released, released with pre-order only content, or released in collector's editions for this supplementary material which was once standard.  Yet mainstream games are criminally neglected.  It's time to make a choice.  Do not try to play both sides, games industry.  Either have your collector's editions, while giving us the manuals we deserve, that do world building, engage, inspire, etc...or eliminate them altogether and go digital.  I do not want to see manuals die out, as they helped me learn to read as a child.  However, the world is going in a new direction.  And sometimes we have to adapt to change.  But what I hate is a games industry trying to play both sides, by showing zero effort with their manuals on regular editions, but releasing "the good" versions for collectors just so they can milk another 10-60 dollars from players.  Do not short change manuals to save a buck if you're still going to pretend that they need to be there.  Go all or nothing.

            I grew up with video games which were fighting for their audience.  And all the pictures above are of games and supplemental material from my personal collection.  I decided to include them because I wanted to show how these older games had to engage players on a greater level than games of today.  They included guides, maps, colorful booklets...and that's why I lament seeing a tiny instruction manual like the one in White Knight Chronicles 2.  It shows a general lack of effort in the game industry, which has punctuated this generation of gaming.  A lack of effort which disengages gamers.  Why is this personally important to me?  Well, because I've got a list of modern games I thought I wanted to play.  But no matter how cheap they get, I can't bring myself to buy them, because they are so samey.  So unengaging.  So...boring.  Compared to the games I just mentioned, they are like trying to tell someone that a piece of lead is actually gold, painted grey.  And that is bad for the whole games industry...whether they realize it or not.

            That brings me back to the question asked in the title of this article.  Where have all our cloth maps gone?  They've either been trashed to save a few dollars, or they've been stuffed into an expensive collector's edition.  A cruel fate for something that can do so much for world building.  And without a solid foundation for world building...these game worlds will eventually come crumbling down.