Last Generation Gamer: The unappreciated feminism of Final Fantasy VII

Game does not work, time to blow the dust out.

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

Video games come under a lot of fire for being generally misogynistic. These accusations are usually dead on. People like Anita Sarkeesian have been pointing out the male gaze inserted in our popular culture. The girl as a prize, Mario saving the princess again, Ms Pac Man not having the right to keep her maiden name, there are way too many examples of men ruling the video gaming world. Horrid events like gamergate continue to show the communication hold that misogynists have on the industry. Things are slowly getting better with games giving us FemShep, Samus Aran, and Lara Croft as solid protagonists who happen to be female. Unfortunately these heroes have a few of their own issues related to misogyny. You can win Samus in swimsuit in the many Metroid games, Lara Croft has her iconic assets, and FemShep gets the most idiotic formal outfit (without all the mods or DLC)imaginable in a great game like Mass Effect 3. These heroes are still strong protagonists and these unfortunate additions do not alter their story arcs, yet it still holds the empowerment back.

The Final Fantasy series has always had some issues with damsels in distress and the woman as the prize. Great games like Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy X have incredibly powerful women who heavily rely on the weaker men in the game to save the day. Final Fantasy X-2 has only women as playable characters, yet there is still the eye rolling hot bath scene mid way through a game about the end of the world. Plus Yuna's main goal in X-2 is to find a boy.

Final Fantasy VII (Playstation 1997) was a groundbreaking game in the popular series due to the inclusion of 3D graphics and full motion video cut scenes. The in game story was massive and required 30 or more hours to complete. The characters all had very in depth backstories that were unnecessary to complete, but brought a richness to the entire game.

When exploring the full depth of these backstories, the hidden feminism comes to the forefront of Final Fantasy VII's story. The three playable female characters, Aeris, Yuffie, and Tifa, all have their own agency and do not rely on the men to be the hero. In the standalone world of Final Fantasy VII (I am only talking about the original game, not any of the extra games or movies associated with original Square-Enix release) the female protagonists are fiercely independent and vital to defeating the conflict. These powerful women seemed out of place since there was never a "wait for the man to show me how moment" from any of these characters. During my first play through I never thought about the feminism, yet as the years go on, and I remember how great Final Fantasy VII is, the feminism seems quite clear. 

The game begins and ends with Aeris (or Aerith) Gainsbourough's face. She suffers her horrible fate at the midpoint of the game, and never acts as the damsel in distress. Aeris goes to her fate thinking she can win, and the hero fails in his rescue. Yuffie is the daughter of nobility and runs from her duties. When you visit Yuffie's father, she stands on her own to prove her worth as a warrior and leader. Both of these women do not need the men to save them. Both control their own destiny.

Tifa Lockhart is the true feminist hero of Final Fantasy VII. On the  surface Tifa seems like every other video game woman. She has the halter top and she seems to pine for the hero's affection. Once you play through the game Tifa is not defined, or made stronger, by Cloud. She is her own person, with her own dreams. Tifa may want something more from Cloud, but his obliviousness does not make her follow him like a puppy. Tifa is responsible for bringing Cloud back into the fight. Cloud is Tifa's damsel in distress.

Final Fantasy VII still has some unfortunate parts of the game. There is the outdated and uncomfortable time spent on the Don Corneo quest, and the costume choice for Tifa. With the upcoming remake for the Playstation 4 some of the games warts may, or may not, be wiped away. Even with the problems, Final Fantasy VII still managed to put in the game three female characters who were not in distress, did not need the male hero, and could be counted on as the leaders. Square-Enix may not have wanted to create feminist icons in Final Fantasy VII, but the gaming community is lucky to have Aeris, Yuffie, and Tifa in our history.

Special thanks should go out to my good friend Wikipedia and www.feministfrequency.com for providing insight and facts.

RD Kulik

RD is the head editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He still gets mad when blocky Sephiroth stabs blocky Aeris with a blocky sword. Think RD is crazy? Come tell us why.

Last Generation Gamer: Satoru Iwata 1959-2015

Last weekend Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was laid to rest. His death was a very large news story because Nintendo is one of the giants in the video game industry. There are some great features on who Satoru Inwata was, and why he is so important (my favorite piece came from Kotaku). His career, his accomplishments, and his love of video games (check out his interviews with Nintendo employees ) makes his passing one of great loss to everyone who has loved video games.

Thinking of Satoru Iwata and what he has meant to my life long love of video games makes me appreciate how influential he was not only to me, but also to my child. I am old enough to have played and enjoy an Atari 2600. It was my third favorite thing, Star Wars was number one followed by Superman comics. When I first saw the Nintendo Entertainment System, video games became my second favorite thing, still behind Star Wars. Once I entered college, the scholars I associated with were die hard Sega devotees. Nintendo fell by the wayside and I started to get interested in more modern games. The Sony Playstation was the future of my gaming life.

In the first part of the 21st century Nintendo did something different. They learned that the kids who grew up with the NES were now adults who had young children. These adults were not going to let their kids play Grand Theft Auto or Halo (even if those adults still played those games). In came the Nintendo DS, mobile gaming's father (the Gameboy is the great great grandfather). The DS had touch controls, over internet multiplayer, and incredible games. The adults who played the original Mario Kart could now play Mario Kart DS, anywhere. I had a pink DS Lite (it was a Christmas gift and I was too lazy to return it for a different color). I was working as a lobbyist and would spend a lot of time waiting for meetings in government offices. Brain Age, Animal Crossing, and of course Mario Kart were always with me and my trusty pink DS in the halls of power. 

In the spring of 2007 I was leaving a public hearing in Dayton Ohio and decided to make a stop at the local Best Buy to check out some of the goods. When I was looking at Playstation 2 games I saw a cart with four Nintendo Wiis sitting in the aisle. Suddenly I was a kid on Christmas morning, I was so excited. In less than ten minutes all of those Wiis were gone, one in my hand. I raced home and played Wii sports until after midnight with my wife. It was the second happiest day of our marriage up to that point. Shortly after we acquired our Wii, my wife and I had downloaded Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid from the virtual console. Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros: Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy 2 were soon added to our gaming library.

In 2010 my son was born. In 2013 my small family moved out of our city condo into a suburban home. While we were unpacking I decided to hook up the Wii to play some Mario Kart. Within a few months my young son was regularly winning races against his mother and me. His love for Mario Kart (Peach and Luigi were his racers) was immediate. We, I mean Santa, got him a 2DS for Christmas (the kid is young, I do not need the 3D messing his eyes up). Mario Kart 7 was the first game to be loaded into the system. A few months ago we gave him a Wii U and Mario Kart 8, plus a Luigi Amiibo. The kid uses the Wii U not only to play Mario Kart, but he is getting into the old Wii games. The other day he wanted to play Super Mario Bros, the one from the NES.

This is why Satoru Iwata's passing hit me. He is the man who steered Nintendo during the early part of the 21st century. He brought me back to Nintendo. He is the face behind the DS, Wii, and Wii U. He is the man who ran the company with not all the good games, Nintendo had the best games. Mario Galaxy 2 is far and away the best video game I have ever played. Mario Kart has no equal in the racing game genre. Any Zelda game can go toe to toe with Final Fantasy. Super Smash Brothers can never be beat down by the Mortal Kombats or Tekkens of the time.  Satoru Iwata was a game maker and a game player. The gamer press has always wanted to knock Nintendo for being a kid company, and for many years they were right. Satoru Iwata took Nintendo's reputation, and used it to build a gaming environment that my young son, my wife, and myself will participate in.

Rest in peace Satoru Iwata. Your love for the industry, and your connection to my life will be missed. The legacy you left will assure Nintendo in this home. Thank you.

RD Kulik

RD is the creator of Seed Sing. He loves video games, but is not very good at them. Come write for Seed Sing.