I think that most people have a natural aversion to submitting to expectations. For example: Have you ever had a friend talk your ear off about a movie that they thought was really funny? “It’s absolutely hysterical,” they said. “You’re going to die laughing the whole time. I just know you’ll love it as much as I did.” You know what that does? It makes it really hard to genuinely relax and laugh during the movie, because you know that in so doing you’re proving your friend right. Plus, emotions only affect us properly when they come about unexpectedly. You can anticipate enjoying and laughing at a movie, but you can’t expect it – that only ruins it.
I’ve been told that I’m frustratingly stubborn, and I think that I probably can be. That’s why I wish I never would have seen Hajime Tabata’s comments in a recent feature in Game Informer. In it, the Final Fantasy XV director claims that he really wants us to have a deep emotional response to the end of the game. “I want to create a very emotional ending to the game and want to make as many people cry as possible.” You know what that does? It makes it really hard to genuinely cry.
It’s because of comments like this that we’re better off not knowing very much about these highly anticipated games. When it comes to games we’ve been dying to play, Final Fantasy XV has been on the top of that list for almost a decade, and now I feel like I’m being told how I should feel about the ending. That’s like a twisted sub-spoiler, Tabata-san! Maybe I’m getting too worked up.
Hajime Tabata may not be a name that you instantly recognize, but he’s been around the block, and he’s no stranger to Final Fantasy. He’s directed a few projects, including Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy Type-0 . Crisis Core was a game that I enjoyed very much, and it had an incredibly emotional ending that resonated deeply with me and FF VII fans everywhere. Tabata would like to recreate those feelings. “There are some team members that were here for VII. They’re taking on the challenge of trying to exceed that title once more…”
This is another thing that actually worries me a bit. Yes, Tabata has cut his teeth on some impressive projects, and yes he’s intimately familiar with FF VII, a game that occupies a precious place in most of our hearts, and what made it so powerful. But when you think of FF VII, and you think of crying, there’s only one scene that comes to mind. If for some batty reason you haven’t played that game then I won’t spoil it for, but someone dies, and it sucks.
I now have this nagging fear that in order to move the player, Tabata is going to kill off someone that we spend tens of hours learning to love. To me, that would be a low blow; a cheap shot. That’s not a genuine emotional response borne from great storytelling. That would be, as our beloved editor-in-chief put it, “the equivalent of taking away a baby’s toy and watching it cry.” Hyperbolic? Yes. But that is exactly how I’ll feel if I have to deal with another soul-crushing death just so these guys can try to one-up FF VII. Please Tabata-san, we’ve waited ten years for this; let us cry happy tears.