- Nov 27, 2001
- 30,383
- 912
- 126
Final Fantasy started it! Metal Gear Solid didn't have that many cutscenes, and IIRC it was all in engine. FF7 however...
Doesn't MGS4 have a 30 minute cutscene at the end? Final Fantasy 7 certainly used a lot of cutscenes, but it was also the first Final Fantasy game to use FMVs. I also didn't find them to be too intrusive since they were just for the story. If I sat there doing chocobo races for hours, I didn't encounter a single FMV.
The problem is they take these stereotypical character roles to the extreme. I hate kids in pretty much anything. They are kids. They don't belong in any quest group unless the goal is to make it to Chuck E Cheese's.
What about Palom and Porom in Final Fantasy IV?
I think the biggest problem with using children in video games is when you make them so the player is unable to relate to them. This is really easy to do with children, because you expect them to be immature and have problems that are typical of children. I think that's where the aforementioned example of Palom and Porom differ. Sure, they were immature characters with some of their dialog, but their biggest effect on the story was a very mature moment when they sacrificed themselves to save the party. :'(
I've always stressed the point that we want to play as heroes... not wimps.
Also, the comic relief characters are just awful. They aren't funny and are just clownish. Anime has much better examples: see Kuwabara in YuYu Hakusho, prefect blend of comic relief and qualities you want in a character. Sadly, before Lost Odyssey I hadn't played a good JRPG since Wild Arms 2 and that game had its big shortcomings.
Outside of FMVs, I think that comedy can be a bit difficult in games when you're relying on the user to read the text.
Speaking of Mistwalker, I think Blue Dragon would have been a great game if they paid more attention to their characters and story. The game looked fantastic and had a good system built into it.
