Final Fantasy 6 and video game storytelling

[Cerah]

My WoW account is expired until payday, so yesterday, I looked over at my long-neglected Nintendo DS Lite, and put in a GBA remake of an old favourite -- Final Fantasy 6.

Ah, back when games didn't have fancy graphics and other shiny things to rely on, when the mark of a good game was an engaging storyline! And FF6 is one of the best, if not the best example! 14 playable characters and almost all of them have engaging stories, totally relevant to the overall plot, without the game seeming cluttered! Even years after playing the original on my SNES, there are still scenes that bring tears to my eyes: When Doma's poisoned, the anguish Cyan goes through with his family's death. When Terra first remembers her tragic family history, when the Figaro Brothers first return to their kingdom together, when Celes wakes up into Kefka's World of Ruin and suicide seems her only way out, when Gau tries to reach out to his crazy father. Setzer's pain at his girfriend Darryl's death, and Locke's obsessive quest to redeem himself for failing Rachel. These were tiny little sprites with less expression than a 60 year old Looney Toons cartoon, yet I related so much to these characters, felt so much for them, even for some of the NPCs! That's the power of a truly great story, and is something that too many gaming companies, Square and Blizzard included, have lost over the years.

If Cataclysm had half the emotional impact that Final Fantasy 6 has, I probably wouldn't find myself getting so bored with it. We don't need shiny graphics and new toys with every patch to keep engaged with a game. What we need is real emotional connection with the characters, with the world. We need reasons to care. If a game doesn't have that, well, it's only a matter of time before we stop caring, and stop playing. I think the thread discussing how many X thousands of players have been leaving WoW illustrates that.

I think I just miss what has become an "old school" method of making a game. Yes, I know WoW is an MMORPG, and that necessitates differences from one-player games like FF6, or other great story based games, like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or Chrono Trigger. But still, I think these older games had actual literay merits, and lessons that modern ones like WoW shouldn't pass up. What do you guys think? What do you think older, more literary games have to offer to the modern?

[Kaleos]

So true, and FF 6 was such an amazing game.