Taking FFX & FFXII retrospect, if remakes of these games occurs, I expect these influences.
FF1: A science fiction version of Lord of the Rings.
FF2: Middle East and India with a bit from Fist of the North Star.
FFV: Combination of Greek (World 1) and Chinese (World 2) cultures.
Fract: Could you give more specific examples? FFV didn’t feel like those cultures to me, in fact most FFs just feel like the same generic “Medieval European Fantasy with a few Modern elements”. Of course some games vary this, FFVII for example was basically Cyberpunk (minus, curiously enough, a cyberspace) . Not that I would mind if they used more historical cultural references. The last FF that I felt gave an original atmosphere was FFX with its (apparently) Polynesian-based island culture. Or they could just invent whole cultures of their own, that works too as long as it’s something different.
(Note, it might simply be that the older games didn’t have the graphic means to help us visualize those cultures- FFIV obviously had several races with different customs but the graphics were too limited to tell them apart well.)
True, but I am working it around Dissidia (FFXII Gilgamesh and FFV OVA) Also, FFX was based on the Japanese culture(especially around Okinawa).
FFV: Greek as in Disney’s Hercules (or Kingdom Hearts’ version of Zack Fair) and Clash of the Titans with a touch of Naboo styling for the Tycoon Royal family (Star Wars Episode 1). The Chinese element, like the anime Houshin, for the culture of the second world. But seeing your prespect, pretty much both western culture in general and eastern culture to make up the two splintered worlds. But the united world would be like FFV’s OVA, a blending of the two cultures.
Ah, I see what you mean now. Yes, it would be more fun if any remakes did more than just update the graphics and redesigned the settings according to more varied cultures. That would depend on the degree of interest (and cost) of the project though.
And I would certainly enjoy to see something more than Medieval (or Modern) stand-in cultures in RPGs (not just FF.) I remember how I enjoyed Grandia because the architecture of the “New Land” they explored had a kind of Aztec/Maya feel to it. (But then the whole game could be seen as a SF/F take on the Conquest of The Americas.)
I would disagree all Final Fantays have the same “culture” or the same type of society. There’s actually great diversity between the games…
Final Fantasy VII is a satire of America, with most of the different towns representing different aspects of American society. For instance, the Sector Slums are American urban ghettos; the Gold Saucer is Disney World; Cosmo Canyon represents American hippie culture; Korral, the poor working class; etc. And of course, there is the reference to the “pointless war” that Midgar fought with Wutai, an Asian country(does this scenario seem familiar to anyone)?
But most of all, the theme of a privileged, but complacent and apathetic middle-class living atop(in FF7’s case, literally living above on the upper plates) teeming ghettos is an explicit criticism of American society, as are the various diversions(Costa Del Sol, the Golden Saucer) that the people of FF7’s world partake in while the poverty-stricken suffer. Its no coincidence that the Golden Saucer - a metaphor for Disney World - literally exists above a garbage heap. Or that the people who work to support it, can’t afford themselves to visit it.
Final Fantasy VIII has a World War II look and feeling to it. Galbadia seems to have at least in part been based on WWII-era Germany, and Dollet and Timber closely resemble WWII era England/France, visually as well as thematically. Generally, FF8 doesn’t concern itself with societal criticism or examination as FF7 did, instead focusing on human relationships.
blah I ended up talking mostly about FFVII, but I’ll think of things for the other games later.