Final Fantasy Guilt

Like some movie-goers, a lot of gamers stick to one genre. Whether the genre reflects real-world interests like sports or j-pop line dancing, or whether it allows them to live out a fantasy opposite of their own boring, desk ridden lives, most gamers tend to hone in on one particular type of game and set up camp. I call these gamers "genre gnomes"...well sort of. I mean technically I didn't really have a name for them until right now, but now I do so fuck off. Anyways, genre gnomes are great, and many of us start off as genre gnomes, but what genre gnomes lack is the breadth of experience required to be a gamer-pimp. Gamer pimps do it all, and if you intend on reaching true gamer pimpdom, you have to play EVERYTHING from Rapala Bass Fishing to Hal0 2....on PC....in spanish.

I will openly admit, I'm not a gamer pimp. I play a lot of games, but I'm the first to admit my forte is the FPS and I dabble in Strategy games. Not to mention I play mainly on the PC, which is something worth writing a whole other article about (if I didn't want every jackass fanboy from both camps spitting insults like Michael Richards on a bad day). The point is, there's still a lot of games I haven't played. I missed out on everything on PS2, Gamecube, and 360 as well. That's a lot of awesome gaming I didn't do, which is a fact I don't hide. I do try to keep up on new games coming out on other systems I don't own. I think its a pretty good alternative, all though nothing beats experiencing a game for real. One series in particular has eluded me for a long time, and that's the Final Fantasy series. I played FF Tactics, 7, and 8 all on PS but aside from that have not played another title in the series all the way through. Recently Square Enix has been releasing a few titles, and of course there is still FF9-12 that I haven't even bothered looking at. To be honest, i wish I had been able to play more than 3 FF games, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Anyways, whats horrible about it is some people try and give you shit.

I mean, is it just me or do some gamers give you a little scoff when you say you only played 7 and 8? The worst is, the truly snobby ones will often times bash 7 as being "overrated" just to fuck with those whose introduction to the series was on PS1 (often simply because of the age of the gamer). Whats with that? Is it because most gamers actually suck at gaming and have to make up for skill at gaming, for the amount of gaming they do?

"Oh, you didn't buy an SNES and play the original Final Fantasy games? Oh, no, I mean...I just thought you were a gamer."

"Oh you haven't beaten Contra? Oh, I mean...thats cool...I mean I can beat it in under a minute but, whatever. Ur ....a gamer....I guess. pWn ownzers teh"



You get the same response when you say you haven't beat Contra yet. Yeah. I'll admit it, I probably won't be playing contra any time soon, not unless it comes out on Wii Virtual Console, and to be honest I might even think twice about spending Wii points on it. It's supposed to be an amazing game, but good games come out all the time and theres only so much time I have to game in the day. I have played about 3 hours total of contra, and someday I'll beat it. That will be a cool day, because contra is a good game. End of story.

The Bottom line is, there should be no guilt associated with gaming. If you buy a bunch of games and you don't beat them you shouldn't feel bad that you didn't beat them, you should feel bad you spent money on something you didn't really use. Even then, if you're really rich or like wasting money (or simply don't care) then you should just do whatever you want and not let whiny jealous bitches get in your way from doing what games were meant for. TO HAVE FUN. That's right people, don't forget that video games are a form of entertainment, just like Die Hard: With a Vengeance (which was fucking sick). There shouldn't be any guilt involved with them, whether you beat them, what games you've played, how many "classics" you've finished? That's all bullshit that people throw in to...what? Yes, that's right: overcompensate. People like that are lame, and are missing the point. I play a game all the way through when, and ONLY when I think the game is fun. If the game isn't fun, then even the awesome storyline and cool characters ARE A WASTE. If the game wasn't worth finishing to you, it doesn't have to be for some grand reason, it can be just because you didn't think it was that fun.

The last thing I'm going to say before I end this little rant is on the subject of walk throughs. I personally think that a game isn't much fun beating if you did it with a guide in your hand. Games take skill, and part of the fun of games is the challenge they bring to you. They work out your mind, your hands, and sometimes your patience but in the end you will always feel more accomplished beating a game without a guide.
Some people, particularly in the RPG crowd, seem to disagree with me. This is because, they argue, RPG's are all about the story. If you put the time in to level up, and then get stuck on some stupid puzzle and can't move on in the story then you're missing out on the most important thing: the plot of the game. This is something I strangely agree with.
Getting stuck for 3 weeks on one puzzle is DUMB. If you can't figure it out on your own, you might be an idiot, but even idiots deserve to finish good games. So go online, and fucking see how to finish the puzzle. Then keep playing, and probably beat the game. If you're lucky enough to unlock EVERYTHING in a game, without a guide, then you are really smart and I applaud you. If not, don't feel any guilt. Chances are you're stuck because you didn't notice something really minute, or the answer was right in front of you and you ignored it. I call this a brain fart, and it's no reason to throw away a game.

So there you have it, throw away your game related guilt, feel comfortable as a genre gnome, a super gamer pimp, or anything in between. Games are for fun, that's the bottom line.