Dramatic Conclusions

Having decided that one hundred seventy hours is more than enough to devote to a game when others await completion, we drove Final Fantasy XII through its plot's closing arc. In a move highly atypical for our journeys through Square Enix epics, much of the non-essential content was left unseen. I will probably wander back to explore most of it, although even a rabid completionist like myself is unsure about this guy.

I remember reading in an old issue of Game Informer that the conclusion of a Final Fantasy title can leave the player with an empty feeling. I cannot say why Andrew Reiner wrote those words back in the day, but I think the vacuum comes from the acknowledgment that you will likely never revisit that world and those characters. As much as I adored Vivi Orunitia and his compatriots from Final Fantasy IX (well, mainly Vivi), part of me knew that my time with him was over when the credits rolled. Second playthroughs of massive roleplaying games are simply not an option for many of us. That emptiness is, perhaps, the greatest testament that can be given for the brilliant work the Squaresoft/Square Enix folks do in crafting their characters. Even when their respective worlds have been saved, we want more time with Cecil . . . with Red XIII . . . with Vivi . . . with Balthier.

Or maybe not. Who knows?

Game well this week, and if you get the previous line, you know whereof I speak.