Final Fantasy IV

Although fourth in the series, this 1991 offering for the SNES was only the second to be released in North America, and is often still referred to as Final Fantasy II for that reason. It has, like the original game, been remade several times for a number of systems. As the innovator of any number of conventions that would later be used in the series and notable for having the first playable Cid—a character that has appeared in some form in every FF since II—this game is among the top contenders for the highly contested rank of Best Final Fantasy Game Ever.

The story focuses on Cecil, Dark Knight and captain of the Red Wings, the fleet of airships belonging to the country of Baron. After being sent to a peaceful town to steal a Crystal in what amounted to a massacre, Cecil questions his king's motives. Given a vague reassurance, he is sent on a mission to deliver a package to another town. Accompanied by his best friend, Kain—who can't quite disguise his love for Cecil's girlfriend, Rosa—Cecil journeys to Mist, home of the Summoners, only to discover that the package he is carrying is actually a bomb. The entire town is obliterated, leaving a young girl as the sole survivor. The girl, Rydia, summons Titan with the last of her strength, causing an earthquake that changes the landscape and separates Cecil and Kain. Angered by the betrayal and grieved by the destruction he inadvertently caused, Cecil undertakes a quest to redeem himself and stop his former king. Betrayal, redemption, and sacrifice abound as Cecil gathers companions only to lose them again, culminating in an otherworldly showdown with a force of primal hatred and destruction.

Images:

Concept art of Cecil
Concept art of Kain
Concept art of Rosa
Concept art of Cecil, post-redemption
Screenshot of Cecil confronting Baron's king
Cecil and Kain fighting the Mist dragon
Game introduction video for the GBA vs. the SNES
Trailer for the DS remake

Final Fantasy

The beginning of an era. This 1987 game, originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, has generated a large amount of numbered sequels an un-numbered spinoffs. It's been remade and ported onto at least six different platforms (MSX 2, WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, PSP, and a downloadable verson for some mobile phones), and even has a popular webcomic based on it. A game given a tongue-in-cheek name (it was the Final game they'd make, and a Fantasy RPG) by a dying company, it revitalized Square when it became one of the highest-selling games of all time.

The outline of the game is amazingly simple. You create a party of four characters from six available classes. They are the fabled Light Warriors (or Warriors of Light, depending on the translation), and need to quest for Orbs of the four classic elements (earth, fire, water, and air) to reenergize the corresponding crystal, which will in turn allow them to defeat the power of Chaos which has the world trapped in an eternal time loop. Being as close to a true role playing game as a video game can come there's absolutely no character development beyond your imagination, but in a time dominated by arcade-style games FF was a rarity of complex storytelling.

Images:

A random battle from the original NES
A random battle from Final Fantasy Origins for the PSX
Concept art by Yoshitaka Amano
Intro FMV for the PSX

Kingdom Hearts II

This sequel to Kingdom Hearts was released in 2006, again for the PS2. Picking up the story about two years after the end of the first game, KHII answers some questions left open in the previous game, as well as asking some new ones, including some ponderings on the nature of existance.

The game opens with Roxas, a friendly, happy boy enjoying the last days of summer with his friends in Twilight Town, but who has strange dreams and visions of someone else's memories. He is plagued by creatures, and the occasional black-cloaked person, attacking him and making cryptic comments about remembering who he is. Roxas' story soon gives way to Sora's as Sora wakes from a long sleep with no memories following the end of the previous game. He is quickly embroiled in a new adventure, faced at every turn with the secretive Organization XIII, Heartless, and Nobodies—the shell left behind when a Heartless is made. Sora, Donald, and Goofy must once again travel the different worlds in an effort to save them, visiting both familiar ones (Olympus Colosseum, Agrabah, Halloween Town) and new worlds (The Pride Lands, Land of Dragons, Port Royal) alike. Familiar characters put in an appearance alongside new ones as the search continues for the elusive King Mickey, Riku, and the leader of the group bent on the eradication of all the worlds.

Images

Roxas and friends
Sora's new outfit
Riku's changed, as well
And an older Kairi rounds out the trio
Sora and Mickey in Timeless River
Axel, of Organization XIII
A cloaked Organization XIII member
Game intro movie

Kingdom Hearts

In 2002, this unlikely collaboration of Disney and Squaresoft resulted in a compelling game for the PS2, blending favorite Disney characters, popular Final Fantasy characters, and original characters in a massive, multi-world quest.

Sora and his friends, Kairi and Riku, live on the idyllic Destiny Island, yet dream of going to other worlds. Donald and Goofy have been sent on a mission by the now-absent King Mickey to find and follow the Key. Maleficent and a mysterious, cloaked man are trying to unlock a power known as Kingdom Hearts, each using the Heartless—creatures which have had their hearts taken and now hunger for the hearts of others—in different ways. When the Heartless come and darkness destroys Destiny Island, the friends are cast onto different paths. Kairi is missing, Sora is granted the power of the Keyblade and joined by Donald and Goofy, and Riku falls in with Maleficent, who grants him his wish for power. Can Sora save his friends and all the worlds?

Images:

Sora
Riku
Kairi
Sephiroth!
Game intro movie

Shadow of the Colossus

The creators of ICO released this PS2 title as a spiritual successor in 2005, capturing every ounce of its predecessor's staggering beauty and adding even more grandiose majesty. As with ICO, the lack of characters is made up in the personality of the environment, and the openness of the story allows for nearly any interpretation.

Your nameless character arrives at a desolate, ruined temple bearing the body of a young woman. You betrayed a trust, stole a sacred sword, and entered a forbidden land in order to strike a deal with the collective power imprisoned there, known as Dormin, to destroy the sixteen colossi sealing them, and, in return, have them bring the woman back to life. You and your loyal horse, Agro, must explore a vast, breathtaking land in search of each gigantic creature in order to destroy them. Meanwhile, the pursuit from your village closes in, intent on reclaiming the sword and stopping the release of Dormin.

Images:

You, compared to a colossus
In the temple of Dormin
You and Agro
Chasing down a colossus
Another sense of your comparative size
Game introduction

ICO

This 2001 game for the PS2 was an underground sensation. It was never a massive commercial hit, but the sheer, lyrical beauty of it swayed a devoted audience.

Ico is a young boy, born into a village that periodically produces a child with horns; the child is regarded as a curse and is taken to a castle to be entombed alive. Ico escapes his death due to the decrepit nature of the castle, but the hundreds of similar tombs speak to the fate of the horned children that preceded him. He finds a strange girl called Yorda locked in a cage, who speaks an unknown language, and together they must work to escape. Ico must defend Yorda from the shadows that pursue them and seek to capture her, and Yorda is host to a mysterious power that, alone, can unlock the path to freedom. Neither can leave without the other, and their alliance is the only spark of hope amidst the vast emptiness of the hostile edifice.

Images:

Ico being brought to the castle
Ico and Yorda
The castle courtyard
Light through the windows
The game trailer

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The 2006 incarnation of Nintendo’s popular Legend of Zelda series for the Wii and Gamecube, Twilight Princess brings some new twists to the classic format. As ever, the land of Hyrule is in danger and the green-clad Link, with his loyal horse Epona, must save it and its princess, Zelda.

This version of Link is a rancher in the small village of Ordon, in the south of Hyrule. When a wave of darkness rolls over the land, Link is warped by it, transformed into a wolf. He is captured and imprisoned, where he meets a strange imp named Midna, who agrees to help him escape if he will help her in her quest to overthrow Zant, a wizard who has usurped the realm of Twilight. Their wary quid pro quo gradually changes into a genuine friendship, and they each sacrifice for the other in order to stop Zant and, ultimately, Ganon.

Images:

Wolf-form Link and Midna
Link
Zelda
Zant
Ganon
Game trailer

In the beginning...

... there wasn't much to do for fun. Fortunately, humans have developed any number of ways to amuse themselves. Gaming is one of the more recent ones that libraries have adopted, but it's still fairly new to most of us. That's why I've started this: to talk about games the way we already talk about books. Short blurbs to get your interest up, as well as more in depth discussion, should the mood strike.

Welcome to my world. I hope you enjoy it.