Final Fantasy Bishoujo Question

[tyciol]

Do you guys think that FF games are getting to be a lot more Bishoujo? I think it's a gradual thing... but I find with that, and Kingdom Hearts, I get really interested in the female interests of the male leads that you tend to play. Of course, I was like that since FF4 and FF6 so maybe it's me.

Obviously the original games weren't very variable, but with all the multiple choices on what to say with new games, would it count like that, even if it is not the main purpose?

[mikey]

For me, no. It's a good thing, but I don't actually consider the game as bishoujo unless the girls/love is the core focus. In FF you probably still have to fight things and manage numbers. So it's an added value, and I like to be able to have at least some control, or even a romantic branch (Baldur's Gate, as I have heard?), but unless it's the main focus, one can usually feel that it's... not.

[musical74]

Having played Final fantasy 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, FF Tactics, and FF mystic quest, I think I can offer a view on this.

I don't think the games are bishoujo because that's not the core element. LOVE has been a factor to some degree since FF 4, but the games themselves are not *Bishoujo* because that's not the focus. In FF4, it was Cecil and Rosa. FF6, Locke and Celes...and Egdar and every female he spots. FF7, Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris. In each case, LOVE played a role, but that was a side, not the focus. The main focus of each of the games mentioned was *Stop evil person (or people) from ruining everything*. I think if Final Fantasy were to make a game that centered around bishoujo , they would lose a fair amount of fans.

[GLACIER]

Bear in mind that bishoujo doesn't necessarily involve remance either. The main draw of the genre is the predominant emphasis on young and attractive girls in terms of artwork (therefore, something like Princess Maker might even apply).

At any rate, I tend to agree with mikey's assessment on Final Fantasy. Romantic elements can be found in countless entertainment works (for example, it's a common marketing tool for movies). However, unless the stories center around romance, it makes little sense to fix them into such a specific genre.

[lordcloudx]

having played the same final fantasies as musical74, I'd say no the ff series certainly isn't bishoujo nor leaning towards it... but the psx rpg Thousand Arms could certainly qualify with its date system which actually affects which magic you acquire and which girl you end up with in the end and the heavy emphasis on Meis being able to flirt with all the girls.

anyway, it's a rule of console rpg cliche's that the all the female characters are usually young and pretty because they're there to be potentially seduced by the main character.

[Adorya]

As well as the famous Sakura Teisen serie

[Vatina]

What about how you can date the different characters in FF7? I never got to date Barret.... but I bet it would be fun >D

I never thought of look at FF as bishoujo.... the others have already made good points on why.
But I once saw in a magazine that someone had made a "FF Memorial" dating sim somewhere on the net - unfortunately I never got to try it, because the link doesn't work anymore

[mikey]

There is the FF Sim Date on Newgrounds
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/207482
Is that it?

[Vatina]

Lol that looks bizarre. Haven't tried it properly yet though.

But no, I don't think that's the one

[GLACIER]

I had a look at the Final Fantasy Memorial demo once. iirc, it was actually a visual novel rather than a love sim. Nonetheless, the demo featured various FF characters in some kind of school setting (the characters were all wearing typical school uniforms. Perhaps this was a re-envisioning of that place from FFVIII?), hence the comparison to Tokimeki Memorial.

All the text was in Japanese, so I only looked at it for about a minute or two.