Final Fantasy is one of those series where fans have been known to nitpick at the smallest details. I am one of those nitpickers, and today, I am nitpicking character design and development. Several of the main Final Fantasy 13 characters bear strong resemblance to people we met in Final Fantasies 7, 8 and 10. Now, while I don’t mind minor similarities for the most part, I do mind when it seems not one of the main cast is 100% original. And not one of them is completely “new” to the franchise.

Lightning (FF13), Cloud Strife (FF7), Serah (FF13)

Lightning & Serah Farron

Let’s start this off with the Farron sisters. It’s common knowledge that they wanted a female Cloud to lead the cast of FF13, hence the moody facial expression and the wild bangs brushing to the right side of the face. Both wield giant swords and have parental issues. Both are soldiers. But where Cloud just remained a whiny “woe is me” downer for the entire game, Lightning grows to accept that she has been wrong in the past and wishes to make amends. As Lightning’s sister, it was only natural that Serah look similar in appearance, and she provides a softer and happier personality.

Snow Villiers

Snow (FF13) & Irvine (FF8)

Everytime I see Snow in my party or during a cut scene, I think “Maybe this time he’ll talk like a cowboy.” But it never happens. Irvine was the gentlemanly, eternally optimistic member of Squall’s entourage in Final Fantasy 8, a welcome contrast to Squall’s brooding and Seifer’s arrogance.

Snow is equally optimistic, vowing to rescue the love of his life, protecting as many as he can and refusing to give up hope.

Hope Estheim

Hope (FF13) & Tidus (FF10/X-2)

Because it wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy game if there wasn’t at least one moody teenager sulking around, blaming other people for what transpires instead of seeing his mother only wanted to protect him, no matter what. (Granted, I don’t recall FF9 having a supremely moody character.) And this same character has daddy issues….. what a shock! No wonder Hope reminds me so much of Tidus. At first I thought it was just the clothes, but once we learned more about his strained relationship with his father, it was like they decided to bring Tidus back, slap a new name on him and hope we’d like him a little more.

So far there is no evidence of Hope being an athlete or a fan of Blitzball.

Sazh (FF13) & Wakka (FF10/X-2)

Sazh Katzroy

The Japanese have this thing with hair. Whether it is simply dyed a hue unnatural to their race or a style so outrageous only a mother could still love the face underneath it.

Not only is Sazh like Wakka when it comes to hair, but both are fathers and fill the “we need someone of a different skin tone to add in” role. I think both would make excellent pirates. I mean, they are dressed for it. Maybe Sazh moreso than Wakka…..

Vanille (FF13), Yuna (FF10/X-2) and Selphie (FF8)

Oerba Dia Vanille

Half Yuna, Half Selphie, Vanille never lets anything get her down. And if she does start to feel sad, its not for long. Vanille wields a giant “fishing rod” and doesn’t know much about Cocoon – with good reason.

I think Vanille is a decent enough character. Only one thing stops me from liking her more than I do: her voice. The actress who provides Vanille’s vocal chords has one of the worst voices ever. Even Sugar from YTV could have done a better job at an Australian accent (apparently people from Pulse are Aussies). This is one reason why I am extremely upset the Japanese audio was not included in the North American release of the game.

Fang (FF13) & Rinoa (FF8)

Oerba Yun Fang

If Rinoa had been a slightly more rebellious child, she would have looked more like Fang.

Fang is a very strong character, showing her soft side when it comes to the safety and well-being of Vanille. This is reminiscent of Rinoa’s involvement with the Forest Owls resistance group from Final Fantasy 8.

All that seems to be missing is a small animal companion for Fang. Preferably one with a good set of teeth.

Jihl (FF13) & Quistis (FF8)

Jihl Nabaat

Long dirty blonde hair: check

Glasses: check

Educated woman: check

Clothes: definite check

Seriously, just look at the clothing. It’s Quistis all over again. Except meaner and not holding a whip. Although I think a whip would be very fitting for Jihl.

Cid (FF13) & Squall (FF8)

Cid Raines

Every Final Fantasy has its version of a Cid. This time Cid happens to have an aircraft (surprise, surprise) and isn’t too fond of the establishment.

While it might not be visible to everyone, I see a lot of Squall in Cid’s design. Unfortunately, Cid is still a very minor character, which so far hasn’t given me much more to go on (I’m still playing the game) so I base this comparison purely on my first couple encounters with the Brigadier.

Yaag (FF13) & Sephiroth (FF7)

Yaag Rosch

I was never a Sephiroth fan. Granted, Final Fantasy 7 is not my favourite in the series, as I think it was too moody and whiny all around.

For those fans who are sad that FF7 will never be remade and that Advent Children was the last time they’ll get a new story, this Yaag’s for you. While his hair does have a bit more of a Kate Gosselin look to it, it’s clear to me that Sephy was the inspiration for the PSICOM soldier.

# 6 THE BOUNCER

What do you get when you cross an angry, German pro-wrestler with a dash of Kingdom Hearts and a tattooed Asian? We get Volt Krueger, Sion Barzahd and Kou Leifoh, the three super-karate-fied heroes of Squaresoft’s first Playstation 2 title! SURPRISE! “The Bouncer!” Yep, this little number was the very first game I purchased for the Playstation 2.. This was when “Square” and “Soft” lived together in perfect harmony—still moderately cool, right? Anywho, “The Bouncer” turned from a bar fight into a space oddity in lightning speed and I couldn’t decide what was more bizarre, Echidna’s super-hold, cone-headed hair-do or the fact that Dominique was a cute, bug-eyed, blonde…cyborg thingy. I’m not sure why I focused all my attention on Squaresoft games back in the day, maybe it was because I felt the need to be one of those biased, disturbing fangirls after playing Final Fantasy VIII as a wee lass. You could say that “The Bouncer” was nothing special, but I try to discount all the mostly mediocre reviews because that’s just my style. Basically, it’s just a slew of short, cinematic cut scenes placed in-between fun “beat-em-up” gameplay and you can bet every, single character has their own suave taunt for amusing purposes. I do know one thing, “The Bouncer” was more entertaining than your mom and whipped cream on a Saturday night and surprisingly, it still remains so in this gal’s heart of hearts. I’ll admit, the “Story Mode” hardly made any real sense to me, but nothing was better than getting into brawls after school with my girlfriends. That is, until somebody would just have to pick Mugetsu. Remember him? He was that unbearably annoying ninja with an awesome ROFL copter roll move…thing. Also, something about Echidna’s Capoiera dance just makes me want to pop this bad-boy in again and again…and…

# 5 SUMMONER

I was one of those close-minded girls who refused to play anything that required less than forty hours to get through, so you can probably deduce I believed myself to one of those pseudo-cool gamer gals with an RPG-based diet. Of course, by now I’ve made it clear to “RPG” that I am promiscuous, but I’ve learned something valuable during my fidelity. RPG’s just adore their friggin’ “summons.” Occasionally, developers get risqué, so we’ve been duped into thinking a “Guardian Force,” “Aeon,”and “Element” are all different. So, this may sound lame but, in all my nagging, “Summoner” is an awesome game. Initially, I didn’t think it would be. As if the whole “Summoner” title couldn’t have been any less appealing to thine eyes, the cover-art displayed a dude on a mountain. Whoop-Dee-Freaking-Doo, right? The truth is, it was eleven bucks plus tax and I was aching for a fix. It is my ideal RPG albeit non-traditional in that the battle-system is not reminiscent of Final Fantasy and the side-quests are as massive as the main story-line. I enjoyed not standing in a straight line. I enjoyed the heartfelt storyline. I enjoyed getting to know the NPC’s and listening to their tales, whether of daily life or religious nuttery (I usually loathe the whole NPC portion, by the way). Overall, I just dig the feeling of “Summoner” and it taught me an important lesson: the video-game shelf is soiled with many bland, cheap, cliché, overlooked, and overhyped titles made just for you. Don’t judge, darnit! Get a doggy bag, slide-on a rubber (glove) and pick-up as many pieces of poop as you can handle and just maybe, it’ll turn to gold. “Summoner Geeks” is pretty legendary, though.

#3 GTA: VICE CITY

There’s nothing more satisfying than being a smooth-talking, Italian mobster voiced by Ray Liotta himself. Although I don’t have a long track-record of loving the whole “Sandbox” genre, GTA is perfect when I’m my emotions are raging in all different directions. Plus, I adore mob movies exponentially. Miami isn’t safe with a broad like me on the loose and this game has often made me wonder about my pleasure-seeking ways. I enjoy the pool of GTA titles for many different reasons; GTA allows me to destroy a city with no inhibitions and not go to jail if I run fast enough; that’s just awesome. GTA is a better reenactment of “Scarface” than the corresponding video-game title and I had been begging to explore my inner Tony Montana. GTA takes place in the 80’s, the time of loafers with no socks and odd music videos. As Mr. Shlomi would say, “I don’t know it sells itself!” I suppose “Vice City” stands-out over the others because it’s just one of those unquestionable instant classics in pop-culture. It has all the ingredients of a troubled era, all mixed-together in an entertaining game. I’ve enjoyed how “Grand Theft Auto” has progressed with simple things, but I’m always anxious to see how Rockstar will continue to push the boundaries of stealing, murdering, and casual sex.

# 2 PRIMAL

The story of a girl and her gargoyle would have never felt like a great idea until “Primal” proved me wrong. This game is cleverly composed of so many awesome elements that have pushed me to plug-in my Playstation 2 time and again. “Primal” is a prime example of overflowing badassery; from its eerie graphical arrangement to its masterful soundtrack, it had me compelled from the get-go. Something about being this demonic, crimson-lipped bird searching for her boyfriend in the planes of oblivion had some real-life appeal to me, maybe? If you want to know the truth, I was hooked on this Jennifer Tate character. There’s definitely a difference between living “on the edge” and hanging off one with one-hand, but Ms. Tate has it down. She was funny, sexy, charming, witty, and was accompanied by a useful side-kick—what more could you ask for, really? Although Jennifer sported some butt-squeezing attire and a fierce attitude to match, it was hardly enough to knock Lara into the bog below, but it was enough to convince me of my love for this heroine. Besides my weird girl-crush, one of my favorite aspects of this game is solving puzzles in different perspectives as both Jen and Scree, an endearing duo. I liked flashy effects and I liked transforming into all these advantageous freaky-deaky creatures from hell. The combat gameplay satisfied my nightly blood-lust as a latent sinner in this fabulous, virtual realm. Holy Gargoyles Batman! So much trouble for one boyfriend, but I’m sure he’d do the same for Jennifer, right?

# 1 ICO

The whole Princess in the castle bit has always gone way over my head, which is probably why I progressed away from Mario, Peach, and Nintendo in general fairly quickly. Although I enjoy the classic “brave savior” tale once in a great while, “ICO” happens to be one of my favorite games of all time—totally contradicting, I know. I mean, no, I don’t think I’ve ever been more annoyed with the concept of holding a girl’s hand but it somehow makes me feel important, you know? What’s so great about being a boy with horns being slapped with responsibility to defend a beautiful chick against menacing shadows? I guess it’s the immersive factor, really. The environments are vast and totally gorgeous. You see, I’m one of those gals who enjoys a painful amount of information overload during every, single conversation (I’m looking at you, “Mass Effect”) but “ICO” doesn’t blabber and I enjoyed that. It’s all very visual and emotional and as Lead Developer Fumito Ueda envisioned back in ’97, he wanted a game that played-out like a film and, despite the lack of heavy dialogue, would solidify a powerful bond between a boy and a girl. After fours years in development, I can truly say that this video-game is a piece of priceless art. It’s extremely hard not to appreciate Ueda’s imagination and this is exactly why I see games such as “ICO” and “Shadow Of The Colossus” refraining from getting lost in the whole next-generation craze. If there was one game I couldn’t say enough good things about, it would probably be “ICO.” Although rare, it’s totally worth it when you finally stumble upon a game like this and it’s totally worth it when a corny game is totally worth it.

I can feel myself coming down with something mean already, Dear School. What are some of your favorite PS2 titles, guys and gals?