Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. Why can't Tidus pick up issues of Penthouse Letters instead of those boring Al Bhed primers? Don't say we didn't warn you.

I keep telling myself I'm going to take a break from FF-related topics because it's starting to look like I receive a steady paycheck from Square, yet whenever I devote a day to this caviar RPG I get triple the usual amount of letters - more importantly, not all of which are people bitching about what a Square whore I am. A lot of you just really really like your FF.

And why not; after all, it rocks so hard Square's contemplating putting half-steps in the series lest they run out of whole numbers.

In other news, tonight's column is not all spoiler, but it's damn near all indirect spoiler. That is, the "mood" of FFX and FFX's ending are oft-referenced items tonight, and spoiling the mood of a scene, I'm told, is a gravely more serious offense than can be classified as a "minor" spoiler. So, fearing for my life should I be held to my promises of seppuku, I've attempted to mark any and all spiritual spoilers, but, as I told the staff earlier, I am something of an incurable retard where spoilers are concerned. Consider that a disclaimer.

Let's go.

Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, and sure as hell know when to stay away from Kenny Rogers quotes

Erin, A direct sequel to FF7 or any other FF game would absolutely weaken the series. Imagine if, Dr Robotnik style, Sephiroth magically turned out not to have died at the end of the previous FF7 and was now appearing in FF7 4. Sounds pretty awful to me - you can get away with resurrecting a dead villain in a Sonic or Crash Bandicoot game where no-one gives two shits about the story, but not in an RPG. Trying to create a new villain and fit himinto an established world would be equally as disastrous. Perhaps a sequel could work if they made it into a non-linear series of events in which you find out more about what happens to individual charcters, but even so I'm not sure if it would work without a strong narrative. Besides, unlike a lot of people, I would prefer not to know exactly what happens to Cloud, Tifa and co. after the end of the game - sure you can get a bit attached to charcters in a game like an RPG, but I just assume that they'll all end up pretty happy, which is enough for me. My view on direct sequels generally? Well, if a game is more gameplay-based than story-based, and the sequel significantly improves and/or refines the gameplay, that's fine by me. If a game is story-based, I would say that a sequel only really works if the developers planned from the start that there would be multiple games in the series, or in some cases if it takes place a significant amount of time into the future. Oh yeah, i have a question though. I seem to remember continual references to the great 'Mage Wars' which had taken place in the past when I was playing through FF6. These had resulted in the banning of magic, and the banishing of all of the summons from the FF6 world, because they had been used for destructive purposes during the Mage Wars. When I was playing through FF9, I got the impression that it might have been done as a kind of prequel to FF6, because a lot of what happened in the past in FF6 sounds like the events in FF9. The problem is that my memory of FF6 is hazy, and in the end of FF9 there's nothing to hint that magic or eidolons are about to be banned - but still, surely it's possible that Square started off with the basic principles of a 'Mage War' and summons being used for destructive purposes and built up FF9's story around them - or am I just crazy? Paulo

This letter brings to mind the advice a great writer whose name currently escapes me and who I'm about to paraphrase the hell out of for want of a better memory: "You have to know when to quit, when to just get out of your characters' lives and let them be."

I suppose the writer can't have been all that great for me to have completely forgotten his or name, but the gist of the advice was significantly pointed enough for me to remember all these years.

When you're telling a story, generally you have at least a vague idea of what your final destination will be. Until you get there, it's all well and good to tag along with a cast of characters and share their interesting times, but once you've reached that last outpost, you really gotta say goodbye. The characters may live on after whatever adventured you've been through together, but at some point you gotta leave them to their happy ending or their abysmal jump off a cliff. At some point, you're just getting in the way. Story's over. Go home, folks.

As far as linking FFVI's War of the Magi to FFIX, Espers were rather a different force, to my reckoning, than FFIX's Eidolons, and voluntarily sealed themselves away lest they once again become a target for the power-hungry. If FFIX in any way smacks of VI, it's probably because one of the game's earliest goals was to pay homage to the series' lineage....

I got a good feeling!

I think it's a great idea. 8-) This isn't Square's first attempt at making a "gaiden" or side story to FF. The first one was none other than FF9. It was meant to be a tribute to all those previous, glory-day FFs. Somewhere along the way, though, it got too big for its britches, the story got fleshed out from being a "hey-look-remember-this-bit-in-this-game" to having its own mind and spirit, and it became a full-fledged member of the series. I loved the numerous nods and nudges to good ol' FF games in there that still made it, but it became something bigger in the end. I hope that won't happen here. 8-) Personally, I haven't even played FFX yet, but I'm sure that a sequel would be an excellent undertaking for Square. Would it move as many units as a fresh new game? Probably not. But it would be immensely satisfactory for the legions of fans inundated with the characters and story (which I forbid anyone to mention to me until I finally do play it). And remember that it's not part of the actual FF series, any more than I consider FFXI to be part of the actual series. (Yes, it has a number, but it also has a subtitle, which no other game in the series has.) That being said, it could be argued that whatever it does, it's not affecting the actual series in any way. But let's face it - who out there hasn't wished they could see what happened after a game ended? How many hundreds or thousands of fanfics are there explaining events after FF4, 6, or 7 (those are the most popular ones, anyway)? This is a chance for Square to flex their own creative muscle, and more power to 'em, I say! As a last note, I'd like to point to the Star Ocean series, which has made its mark by being direct sequels (although only two games, Star Ocean: Second Story and Star Ocean: Bluesphere, had the exact same characters). It's a great feeling to recognize people who you've actually seen and played with, see how they've changed and how they will change, and go on Further Adventures. It's not so awesome for people who haven't played the first game, but almost anyone who liked the first game will definitely be dying to play the direct sequel. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put these cotton balls back in my ears and these blinders back over my eyes... --Cidolfas RPGClassics.com / FFCompendium.com

I must confess to having been guilty of presuming to carry on the stories of FFs VI and VII. It always sounds like a grand idea right after we've finished a game and we're still enamoured of its cast & setting to continue their adventures, even if their respective ultimate evil's been duly slapped down and everybody's happy.

I also make no pretenses about dislking direct or near-direct sequels at large. Suikoden II pulled off recycling a game world and 40 or so characters in a grand style, Lunar: EB unleashes a new menace on an old familiar civilization with panache, and Link has scarcely ridden off into the sunset of OoT before that bastard imp traps him in MM's hellish three days, but our Hylian hero doesn't skip a beat.

But Final Fantasy has always been about exploring and liberating a wholly new world with every title, and FFX was meant, I can only assume, as a complete thought. To tack on another chapter just seems ... yeah ... fanficesque. Or, if you'd rather, DBZesque....

Villain impotence - it's not something to be ashamed about (Wicked fierce FFX spoilers)

Salve Erin, Mistress of the Tonberries, Well, there are two answers to the question laid out: the short and the slightly longer. The short: It could be done, but it shouldn't be done. The slightly longer: Well, first off, consider that Dragon Quest/Warrior I-III are actually parts of a single timeline (the Legend of Loto), that Lufia II - Rise of the Sinistrals was a prequel to Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, and that there other RPG series where a continuous storyline exists between installments. So, yes, you can continue the storyline of a Final Fantasy game. But there are some good reasons that it shouldn't be done. First off, consider the scope of the plots. FF tends to be more cinematic in its production than its rivals - while Enix was still tinkering with the "nameless warriors" party, Square had begun to flesh out the party with personalities and pasts, allowing for interaction of the characters. By the time FFVII hit the PSX, Square had become very good in making their characters into believable characters with a unique identity. Would the death of Aeris been as major an event if she was instead "Hireling No. 12"? In other words, whereas in the other games the plot comes from the setting of the world, FF plots tend to come from the characters and their interactions - whereas the heroes of DW I-III are forced to do venture forth by their birth, the heroes of FF get involved because of the interpersonal relationships between the heroes and the villains. Cloud didn't save the world because he was a born hero - he did it because he had a score to settle with Sepiroth. Once Cloud killed him, the plot was over. End of story. In FFX, the relationship between Tidus and Jecht is a key element of why Tidus decides to fight Sin. So, if you're going to make an FF sequel, you need to create a villain to act as a foil to the hero of the game you're continuing. And, to be honest, you're never going to get that deep a bond. FFIV, Cecil and Golbez were brothers. FFVI, Terra had been enslaved by Kefka. FFVII, Cloud had looked up to Sepiroth as a role model. FFVIII, Squall and Seifer were rivals for asignifigant portion of their lives. FFX, Tidus has a strained relationship with Jecht, his father, and Yuna feels that she must live up to her father's name. In the end, all of these foils are conquered. Any new villain isn't going to have the same relationship to the hero - concequently, they will pale to the original (after all, we have yet to see a villain comparable to Sepiroth, have we?) In the end, the sequel's villain will most likely be a shadow of the original. Then, we also have the "DBZ syndrome". Basically, this is when meaningful content (like character relationships) that generates good, meaningful plot is subordinated to over the top action to generate interest. How many times can you kill the UberBoss Mark V before it gets old? Again, the reason that the villains of FF are so potent is because the connect to the heroes at such a personal level - making the villain ridiculously potent is a poor substitute for a villain that has an intimate connection to the hero. So, in summation, a direct sequel of any FF game is a bad thing, because there is no way to replicate the intimate connection between the original villain and the hero - and anything less would be a poor substitute. Sincerely, AngelKnight, who is forced to ponder if he should play FFX or Civ3.

C'mon? You wouldn't want to take on Ultima-Omega Final Aeon Super Sin Mark V, now fighting with 80% of his power (as opposed to the paltry 75% he used in the first game), in an epic battle spread thinly enough to allow you to miss 5 episo - I mean, games - and still know exactly what's going on in the story?

When Tolkien wrote the LotR he knew it was going to span a few books. When Lucas told Luke to put the kabosh on the first Death Star he feared he might not have the cash to make another film, but the rest of the original SW trilogy had already unfolded in his brain. When, after having presumably saved the world, there comes another fateful knock at Ness' door at the close of Earthbound/Mother 2, it was doubtlessly a segue into the apparitious Mother 3.

Yeah, Nintendo. How 'bout Mother 3?

But I digress.... When you plan an epic to span several of whatever medium it's presented in, sequels are good, natural things. When you stick them on as ill-fitted afterthought appendages, their weakness often not only prevents them taking off - they drag down the original along with them.

The A-Team (More badass FFX spoilers)

Erin, I do not think a direct sequel would weaken the FF series. Like most Final Fantasy fans, I think the chance to revist with some of my favorite characters would be a good thing. Square has released numerous FF spinoffs so there is a precedent. The most successful spinoff is a tactical rpg (which hews closest to the original FF games) so perhaps a spinoff which was even more similar to the core FF series would be even more successful. I have no problem with direct sequels as long as they not only bring back what I liked about the original property , but add in some interesting new features. I think the comparison to the Aladdin spinoffs is misleading, even if both creations are motivated by financial considerations. Aladdin was something created by one of Disney's A-teams on a very large budget, but the straight to video sequels were made on a smaller budget and handled by one of Disney's B-teams. Disney just wanted to make money, they did not care if they ran the series into the ground. Final Fantasy is Square's most important series, so doubtless if they went about making a direct sequel, they would seek to maintain the franchise's reputation by giving the original team more money and maybe even more people to ensure that the sequel that equals or surpasses the original. Personally, I doubt Square is doing a sequel to FFX, but if they are I would be happy to encounter Yuna and the gang again, to find out how Yuna is coping with the loss of Tidus, to find out what has replaced the church of Yevon, to find out what new threat has arisen in a Spira, and last but not least, to find out if Rikku succeeded in her ambition to grow up to be like Lulu :). - Mark

You make a nice point about Square's success with the franchise-spinoff FFT, yet it's really something of an apples-to-oranges comparison. FFT is not a recycling of characters or setting or story: rather, it's just the slapping-on of chocobos and Bahamut in a new gameplay construct. A direct sequel to FFX would be more akin to ... say, whoring Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth out to sell a few copies of a half-assedly executed fighting game. Not that Square would ever do such a thing.

TLC (Vague, "feely" spoilers of the kind we discussed earlier)

Hello, oh Exalted Agent Erin, This is my first time writing, so I suppose I need to make an offering... Um... I think my baby sister's pet hamster will suffice. Here you go. Anyway, onto the topic at hand: a direct sequel to Final Fantasy X. This is a tantalizing possibility, and if done properly, could be a dream come true. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt the despair as the credits rolled by, and bit my lip in masculine stubborness when I felt the tears welling up, realizing that this was the last we'd see of Spira, and the people there who had grown on us over the past forty hours (though, admittedly, I've already begun my third play-through). And so, a direct sequel to my favorite RPG--nay, GAME--of all time... well, heck, I'm hoping. Of course, there's always the possibility that Square could completely screw the whole thing up in an attempt to make up for their LAST disaster. What I mean is, a Gaiden game most likely wouldn't get the sort of attention it would deserve. With all their efforts going toward Final Fantasy XI and XII, how much TLC to you think little ol' FFX Gaiden would receive? My fear is, not much. Would I still play it? Well, yeah. But I wouldn't like it as much. Branden, who wishes he were capable of getting to the freaking point without spending sentence upon sentence shooting random crapola at the good Agent Erin, who is very tolerant and wonderful and deserves all the pie in the world, because... wait, I'll just shut up.

FFs XI and XII are being handled by entirely independant groups, actually, while the Kitase team, to the best of the GIA's knowledge, is currently twiddling their thumbs between projects, which goes a long way towards allaying fears of an "Aladdin" treatment....

You're right. I didn't see that one coming either.

"While I somehow doubt Square is actually planning to go through with a direct sequel to FFX..." Well, you also probably didn't think Square would take a FF sequel and make it a Everquest type online RPG now did you? You also bring up the point how doing a direct sequel would weaken the series because each new FF game refreshes itself anew. Well knowing Square I'm sure they wouldn't have the same play mechanics as FFX and would come with a whole new bunch of systems like they always too. And I bet they would take the story and world in such a wild new direction that you could barely tell that it was a direct FFX sequel were in not for a few tie-ins they would have to put in along the way. I bet it would be something similar to Dragon Warrior 3 where you don't know it's directly related to DW1 and DW2 until almost the very end of the game where you get to the last area. Pendy the DQ/DW guy http://dqnn.alefgard.com

Somehow, I find the concept of a less direct sequel more palatable - say, if this FFX.5 makes use of some of FFX's locales and worldly traditions for a new quest with new characters pursuing new goals rather than Yunie & crew picking up immediately where they left off and going on to ... well ... find something else to do.

A word from that damn kid (Minor FFX spoilers)

Erin, nice choice of words - "direct" sequel. Lunar 2:EB is now disqualified. Rule #1: Good game - potential for good sequel. Easy enough. Rule #2: Bad game - bad sequel. Exceptions exist (Saga Frontier 2?), but why would you bother? The problem for "direct sequel" RPGs, in particular console RPGs, is that the first game really has to be designed for it. Most, if not all, RPGs are open-ended, in the sense that your characters can get as powerful as they want. Which is fine, within the context of that game. But now you want a sequel. Same characters, same background/backstory, new quest/mission/goal/enemy. Great, except for one thing. How do you explain how everyone went from being uber-mensch (or -frisch, I think, German 100 was a long time ago) to useless? Or alternatively, how do you provide a challenge for a group that has (for example) every character having activated all Sphere nodes, gained Ultimate weapons (and other, practically-Ultimate weapons) and slays Nemesis (or Ultima King or whatever it's called) like it's a dingo or condor? It doesn't really work, and you can get into some tortured logic trying to get there i.e evil being #2 sucking away everyone's power or portaling to another world (yeah Zelda:MM,. I'm looking at you). On the other hand, it's a really good idea, if you can make it work. It would be nice to explore a world where everyone refers to you as "The Great Hero Orin who saved the world from certain doom" as opposed to "that damn kid". In my mind the solution is to start the game with the intention of making a direct sequel, and limit the character's growth (in a power/experience sense) until the last installment. Baldur's Gate (PC) being an example of this type of game. Of course, the last expansion falls victim to the second scenario above (unbeatable challenges for unbeatable characters). But if the game is good enough, it will work, see rule #1. For what it's worth, it's easier in other genres (FPS and RTS come to mind) because the whole experience/power factor is either absent or more readily mitigated (mmm, yummy lawyer-word). Orin the Lawyer - really sick and tired of playing as "that damn kid"

Or Square could just wade on, oblivious, through these tricky waters by sticking a long, lazy chronological interim between the two storylines, during which everyone atrophied right back to Lv. 1 in their fat, dumb, happy peacetime... Except for Wakka, of course, who had to keep in top shape to carry on his Blitz career once the Guardian biz dried up, and.... Oh. I see what you mean, now.

As if our anal retentive bickering over a vague rumour wasn't proof enough....

With a series as hit-and-miss as Final Fantasy, it's tough to say that any new game will "dishonor" the series name. Frankly, Square could rerelease Pong, call it "FFX 2" or whatever, people would buy it, say - justly - that it sucks... and promptly buy the next FF game that comes out regardless. Witness, for instance, the people that ravenously devoured FFIX after bitching and moaning about how much they hated FFVIII. Part of this, I think, is *because* the series reinvents itself with every game. If you despised FFVIII, and then they made a direct sequel, chances are you wouldn't buy it. Why should you? The first one sucked, and likely so will the second one. But since FF comes out with a completely new game every time, people say, "Well, it's all new, so it could be better this time around." In short, direct sequel or not, it don't matter. It's gonna sell millions anyway. And for those naysayers who constantly make themselves look foolish by blindly asserting that originals are *always* better than the sequels, no matter what, I have one word: GTA3. -Eightball, stopped playing FF after VII

And there's your bottom line for the night. Do what you will, Square. We may bitch, but we'll buy it anyway.

Working Designs not working?

Ms. Loveleaver: Interesting story posted earlier today on your site: http://www.thegia.com/news/0201/n09c.html A small summary: Working Designs has cancelled the PC version of Lunar SSSC, and will be re-re-releasing Lunar SSSC for the PSOne. Now, I've known this for a long time, due to some informants closer to the source. But you don't need informants to see that Working Designs is in trouble. They very seldom release games, and when they do, those games are cost-prohibitive to all but the most hardcode RPGers, due to excessive extras that are of no interest to all but the most hardcore RPGers. This re-re-release marks the third time they've published Lunar; the upcoming GBA version will be the fourth. They've published Lunar 2 twice. Their Spaz division hasn't published anything since RayCrisis, which I understand sold miserably. From what I hear, if the upcoming Arc the Lad Collection isn't a big hit for them, it will probably be the last game they release. Now, Working Designs is a fine company. They're stuck in an old-school philosophy but that doesn't stop them from putting plenty of effort and (too much) time into the games they release. There are some Japanese developers that have made it clear they won't have their games published here unless WD publishes them. Personally, I don't want them to fail, especially with Lunar 3 on the horizon. I could write all day about all the things WD has done wrong, but it's more important to consider what WD needs to do to stay on its feet. To you and your readers I ask your opinion: What path should Working Designs take? -Nij My life is twenty-four hours a day.

WD's "Spaz" division was merely phased out. Spaz-ish games like Gungriffon Blaze continue to trickle forth.

More importantky, WD's "old-school" philosophy has earned them quite a legion of die-hard supporters (myself included) whom I don't doubt will turn up in droves to slap down $74.99 for their Arc Collection - nay, who've already brutally bludgeoned the crap out of their piggy banks in preorder readiness.

Nevertheless, if a topic's not afoot, I dunno what is....

Closing Comments:

There you go, sports fans.

With his small but vengeful horde of followers slavering at his heels, Vic Ireland seems the quintessential boyish hero perservering in the face of adversity in archetypical RPG style - kicking ass, taking names, and wielding a honkin' big-ass sword against a nebulous Ultimate Evil.

Who, in your opinion, is this Ultimate Evil, and who do you suppose will gain (or retain) the upper hand in future?

-Erin Mehlos