*SPOILER NOTICE*
I just want to say that all though I will sound highly critical, I did enjoy this game. The main story was amazing how it took so many elements that seemed like simple piling on and brought them all together very well. However, many many people have praised this endlessly and I just can't say this has been the great experience that many others have had.
My biggest problem comes with some things the designers did to make the game "bigger" outside of the story line. Sure, people can give estimates anywhere from 50-100 hours of gameplay, but in many ways, that means little if they're not quality hours. Just because a movie's three hours doesn't immediately make it a masterpiece. Do I need to bring Pearl Harbor into this? There are many things that could've been cut straight out of the game without anyone missing anything. The biggest example is the time spent in Kislev. There's more than eight hours spent in an area made up of mostly browns and boringness. Eight hours. That's a full day's work spent just to get one character in your party and to establish another. And spending at least a fourth of that time in a sewer is just too much (sewers have to be the absolute worst places to be installed into RPGs since they overdid the 3-D areas in the late 80s and early 90s). Plus, there are times when they are about to reveal key secrets to the game and they pull the "But first.... HERE'S THE MOST COMPLICATED PLACE KNOWN TO MAN WITH THE HARDEST ENEMIES YOU'LL FIND!" Krelian's lab and the final area of the game are good examples. I know it's a game and challenge is required, but come on, there's a point between anxious anticipation and aggrivation that this game crossed a few times with me. And the constant fights don't help either. I don't care what battle system you have. They get irritating after a long time (except for FF Tactics, because battles were the whole point!) As for the religious references, for the record I am a Christian, but since a lot of games have the "conquering of God" theme (there's a well-known series of game whose recent entry follows along the same lines, but that's all I'll say about that). For the most part, I'm OK with with it, but there are times when they grow too much of an ego. I don't know if it's just one of many translational problems this game had or what, but I hate it when they highlight some of the references like they do with *ABEL*. It's like they're saying, "Look, we made a Biblical reference! Aren't we the most brilliant people on Earth!" Modesty, ladies and gentlemen. Modesty. Also, I didn't appreciate the scene where they crucified some characters for no apparent reason! Now, maybe I missed something, but just sending people to the cross without the slightest idea of how that fits into the mythology of the game is just wrong! I mean, it's going fine with high-brow criticism and then it brings something which is offensive and worse, offesnsive without any reason to be! If it was a full-blown allegory, I'd understand, but it isn't. It makes religious references and makes some characters like character from different religions, but they aren't full-blown depictions.
I personally prefer Breath fo Fire II's criticism where it has a monster that creates a Christian-like religion and uses the prayers of people to drain their energy and their souls. It shocks into realizing that most people are using tools of prayer for personal greed and that simply makes us empty, and that sets in. I'm just lukewarm to this one, simply because it sometimes acts as self-rightious as the people they're attacking. And they perhaps add too much fantasy aspects that it distances itself from the things it criticizes. The Catholic Church has been accused of a lot of things, but I don't think it ever did human experimentation, turning people into blood-sucking zombies. In my mind, that's probably the LAST thing they'd do, judging from their stance on stem-cell research and the like, but hey, maybe it's a metaphor.
As for other parts of the game, I used to dislike the music, but it's grown on me. The main reason I didn't like it is that they overuse and overuse certain tracks until you'd rather put a gun to your head than listen to it again (ex. Yggdrasil and Aveh's theme). I mean Mitsuda's work is wonderful, but I don't think it's right for the repeatitive listening game music requires. Chrono Chross is a much better use of Mitsuda's work as game music even though the game is inferior. The anime cut scenes aside from the opener don't add much. There are times when I wondered why they put one in at all. Also the inclusion of CG isn't all that seamless. Sometimes, it looks like they're mixing Reboot with a comic book. For an example of this done people, try the Lunar Complete series for the PSX. While Xenogears may have been rushed and the Lunar games were given plenty of production times, still, we have to judge the finished project as the finished project. As for the regular graphics, the graphics sometimes make it hard to tell where people are and sometimes WHO people are. Also, sometimes it leaves you somewhere without a goal and you must spend at least an hour rummaging around listening to the same villagers and their dry, commoner dialogue to figure where to go and what to do (Aveh again). Plus, the translation problems make some odd conspiracy theories. In reading some internet articles regarding the referencees made, many of them said that some harsh religious references existed but were less noticable because of misspellings. Now, I'm sure it's probably a case of mistaking some letters, and with working with such a massive work, it's hard to check. However, some people who are finger-pointing censorphobes may beg to differ. It would've been better to get it right. Overall, the game is really good as far as plot goes. However, the framing of it is something that at times, makes it difficult for me to be gripped into the game. But there's very little I'm truly angry at. In fact, the only thing I'm angry at is that they blatently ripped off the movie Soylent Green and don't fess up. Instead, they integrate it completely in like there's nothing wrong. And it distracts those who get the reference too. I was yanked clean out of the game by the roots because of it. However, for most of you who weren't even born when Soylent Green came out, there should be no problem. In the end, I'm glad I own it, but, as an avid Opera buffo, there's no topping FF VI in my mind.
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