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When Fan Service Becomes Dumb

simsalabim77simsalabim77 Member RarePosts: 1,607
in Final Fantasy XIV

I just recently found out that XIV:ARR will feature a questline and costume dedicated to one of the characters in FFXIII and FFXIII-2. Does this seem a bit stupid to anyone else? I can't wrap my head around why they would include a character from a completely different universe in an MMO based on a world all it's own. I understand fan service which is what the Moogles, Behemoths, and the rest of the bestiary is for, but forcing a character from a stand-alone RPG into an MMO is just silly. Perhaps a nod to one of the characters in a very subtle way would be fine, but having the character make an appearance is really pushing it IMO. 

 

I don't particularly care for the storyline in an MMO one way or the other, but I'm curious to know what people who do enjoy storylines in MMO's think about this. I feel like they'll justify the presence of the character with some awful cliche i.e. time travel, parallel universe, rip in space-time etc. For a franchise heavily steeped in storytelling, I don't know why they would do this. Does this level of fan service appeal to people?

 

I can't help but ask, "What's next?" Will we eventually see Cloud, Tidus, Sepheroth, and Kefka play a game of Blitzball or something? 

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Comments

  • ShubawkssShubawkss Member Posts: 55

    Why does something like this upset you? It's ADDING something to the game, not removing anything - it benefits people that want it, you don't have to buy it.

     

    Either way - it's still FINAL FANTASY, as a brand - they can move things from universe to universe, that's what other brands usually do, it's an ode to another game. There are tons of other games that do it too.

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  • JigkiroJigkiro Member UncommonPosts: 21
    I won't lie and say I know all or any of the details of the quest that is being mentioned. But, what I do have to say is, didn't we get to this new time/era from a space/time warp? So it wouldn't be -that- farfetched for it to be the case. Just my 2 cents.

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  • bigbudzbigbudz Member Posts: 52
    I hope so I loved blitzball. It was like another game unto itself similar to cards in FF8. I miss all the extra side things to do that were FF staple before 12.

    Current PC Build

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  • TaoMcDohlTaoMcDohl Member UncommonPosts: 103

    Yes, because all the other MMOs that include pop-culture references are MUCH better.  

     

    Sir, well done making that ant hill into a mountain.  

  • simsalabim77simsalabim77 Member RarePosts: 1,607
    Originally posted by Shubawkss

    Why does something like this upset you? It's ADDING something to the game, not removing anything - it benefits people that want it, you don't have to buy it.

     

    Either way - it's still FINAL FANTASY, as a brand - they can move things from universe to universe, that's what other brands usually do, it's an ode to another game. There are tons of other games that do it too.

     

    I'm not sure why you think I'm upset as I didn't get all ragey in my post, but okay. It seems a bit tacky to me to take an entire character from one game and incorporate it into another. There are tasteful ways to go about paying homage to another game. I don't think this is a good way to do it. It adds to the game, but I personally think it will detract from the storyline. 

  • YaevinduskYaevindusk Member RarePosts: 2,094

     

    A Realm Reborn was meant to be a congregation of near all the numbered Final Fantasies from the start.  It was among their first words that they wanted to bring in such things as Gold Saucer and Red XIII into the game at some point.  They also take elements from nearly every Final Fantasy game such as the Crystals, Warriors of Light, Crystal Tower, Gold Saucer, Materia System, Job System, Soul Crystals, Costa Del Sol, Magitek Armor, Magitek Empire, The Lifeblood of the Planet, returning to the lifestream when you die, Judges (Legatus), Primal Egis, Meteor, A scene with a villain walking through fire (1.0), Cid, The summons and Primal Battles, Gunblades, Gunlances,  Airships ("The Enterprise" reference from FFII which referenced Star Trek), Chocobo Raising, Moogles that take part of the delivery service (FFIX), armor that looks like it's from previous games, etc.

     

    That's just the tip of the iceberg.  It's a game that's all about fanfare and making it feel like a Final Fantasy game where anything from the series could happen while also reserving the main storylines for the, well... main story.

     

    :P

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  • PurutzilPurutzil Member UncommonPosts: 3,048
    Whats wrong with references? Pretty common in MMOs, heck they often stick out MORE then what this game is doing with them, often throwing them in your face.
  • SinakuSinaku Member UncommonPosts: 552

    Originally posted by simsalabim77
    I just recently found out that XIV:ARR will feature a questline and costume dedicated to one of the characters in FFXIII and FFXIII-2. Does this seem a bit stupid to anyone else? I can't wrap my head around why they would include a character from a completely different universe in an MMO based on a world all it's own. I understand fan service which is what the Moogles, Behemoths, and the rest of the bestiary is for, but forcing a character from a stand-alone RPG into an MMO is just silly. Perhaps a nod to one of the characters in a very subtle way would be fine, but having the character make an appearance is really pushing it IMO.  I don't particularly care for the storyline in an MMO one way or the other, but I'm curious to know what people who do enjoy storylines in MMO's think about this. I feel like they'll justify the presence of the character with some awful cliche i.e. time travel, parallel universe, rip in space-time etc. For a franchise heavily steeped in storytelling, I don't know why they would do this. Does this level of fan service appeal to people? I can't help but ask, "What's next?" Will we eventually see Cloud, Tidus, Sepheroth, and Kefka play a game of Blitzball or something? 

    Final Fantasy is all set in the same Universe on either different worlds or at different periods in time. Just saying the stretch isn't too far. I mean all of the classes/races are from other final fantasy games and not to mention the War Mechs and Chocobos...cmon...

  • ilovetopvpilovetopvp Member UncommonPosts: 18

    I dont mind it, people who want it can play that quest line.

    people who dont, wont.

     

    No loss,

  • TaoMcDohlTaoMcDohl Member UncommonPosts: 103
    Originally posted by Mtibbs1989
    Originally posted by TaoMcDohl

    Yes, because all the other MMOs that include pop-culture references are MUCH better.  

     

    Sir, well done making that ant hill into a mountain.  

    They take nothing away from the game that would already be there.

    You mean like an entire zone dedicated to spoofing Indiana Jones?  :)  

  • rhavokrhavok Member Posts: 117

    I cannot fathom why so many people are up in Arms about Lightning's look being added to the game.  Like many have said before me... how does it hurt you?  If you don't want the gear don't get it.  There are plenty of people who do want it.  FFXIII was not my favorite game, but if people want to look like Lightning or Snow, great now they have the chance!

    If I get a chance to look like Cid Highwind, you can be sure I will be getting that gear.  I will just walk around taverns yelling at players to "sit down, shut up, and drink their tea."

  • MidBossMidBoss Member Posts: 93

    Really? This has really spilled over from the official forums now?

    This is such a non-factor issue, frankly I'm glad people canceled their pre-order over this. Means I won't ever have to play with them.

    Also, Lalafells look adorable in lightning's outfit. How could anyone disapprove of it?

  • redcloud16redcloud16 Member UncommonPosts: 220

    It's a game, not matter how immersive it is the primary goal is to have fun. Her presence doesn't take away from anything, she's not a part of any story line, shes just in there because its fun. 

     

    Lightning is my favorite and I am stooooooooked and excited she has a cameo in my favorite game! It's going to be great! 

    image

  • ShubawkssShubawkss Member Posts: 55
    Originally posted by simsalabim77
    Originally posted by Shubawkss

    Why does something like this upset you? It's ADDING something to the game, not removing anything - it benefits people that want it, you don't have to buy it.

     

    Either way - it's still FINAL FANTASY, as a brand - they can move things from universe to universe, that's what other brands usually do, it's an ode to another game. There are tons of other games that do it too.

     

    I'm not sure why you think I'm upset as I didn't get all ragey in my post, but okay. It seems a bit tacky to me to take an entire character from one game and incorporate it into another. There are tasteful ways to go about paying homage to another game. I don't think this is a good way to do it. It adds to the game, but I personally think it will detract from the storyline. 

    Yes, because other MMO players running around in a world will "detract from the storyline" what kind of game are you playing here? lol

  • BraindomeBraindome Member UncommonPosts: 959

    As long as I get an Ifrit costume I really don't care.

    Cause I just wanna run around as Ifrit all day and lay some fart emotes on everyone.

  • ElRenmazuoElRenmazuo Member RarePosts: 5,361
    They are trying to milk the shit out of their worst final fantasy (13)
  • simsalabim77simsalabim77 Member RarePosts: 1,607
    Just to clarify, this isn't a dealbreaker for me, and I doubt it would be for many people. It just annoys me that they would willingly shoehorn a character from a totally unrelated series of games into ARR. I'm okay with character inspired costumes, but having the character make an appearance and have a questline seems a bit much to me.
  • evilizedevilized Member UncommonPosts: 576

    every final fantasy game is tied together in the final fantasy universe. ever wonder why the airship captain is ALWAYS named cid? or there is always a crystal involved as the main portion of the storyline? chocobos, moogles, cactaur, the elemental summons, the spells, the class archtypes (to a lesser degree). it all remains consistent throughout the series.

     

    i am perfectly fine with them adding easter eggs from other FF games, because that's how final fantasy has always been. it's pretty much a tradition.

  • Maik36Maik36 Member CommonPosts: 59
    Now, all I want is to do this quest. It would be so cool to have outfits from previous Final Fantasy games.
  • free2playfree2play Member UncommonPosts: 2,043

    Having  a Tifa Lockheart  outfit sounds right up my alley,

     

    Every X-Men, Avengers, Marvel movie made is fan service to the extreme. It's fun.

     

    This kind of fan service beats the lunchbox trash video games we get when a blockbuster movie comes out. At least it's video game specific.

  • GeezerGamerGeezerGamer Member EpicPosts: 8,857
    So, you prefer.....

    http://www.wowhead.com/npc=5482/stephen-ryback

    http://www.wowhead.com/npc=42288/robbie-flay

    http://www.wowhead.com/npc=49701/bario-matalli

     

    Those are just 3 trainers in one zone for a specific skill.

    WoW was so riddled with fan service and shout outs it was ridiculous.

     

    Remember in TBC? Toshly's Station? The quest Picking up Power Converters?

    http://www.wowhead.com/quest=10584/picking-up-some-power-converters

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X66jntR0MVE

  • ArcticnoonArcticnoon Member Posts: 141

    Op I agree with you. If you're going to put a character in FFXIV, make it Cloud Strife. But I don't believe we will be seeing Lightning in FFXIV. Just her and Snow's outfits along with weapons from FFXIII. The Axe for War looks bad ass btw.

    I believe what the OP is trying to say, is if you are going to write a story about dragons and wizards, don't have an alien with a light saber show up in the middle of it. The story loses credibility.

  • Jerek_Jerek_ Member Posts: 409
    stuff like this doesn't bother me.  More options are better, just having it there doesn't hurt the people that don't want it and it makes the ones that do want it happy.  What I would like to see in a MMO is the monster capture/taming system from 13-2.  That could be a great alternate advancement type system for a MMO.
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