Suikoden vs Final Fantasy VII – Stompy Rampage
Two classic, epic RPG’s… But which has the better bad guy?
Final Fantasy VII has received tremendous praise. It is often referred to as the best PSX game, best RPG, best game of all time, best display of characters that complain so much it is a wonder that anything gets done. Well, not so much the last one, but certainly the rest. Now while I am not as big a fan as many people are, I can completely understand why FFVII is so influential and important in gaming history. It was quite groundbreaking. I honestly believe that fans of RPGs will shun newer RPGs and praise this game, in spite of its age and many dated mechanics, without any nostalgic attachment. In short, FFVII is jawsome and influential. The million bajillion copies sold and ports made reflect this.
But only a hundred-thousand platinum editions… They’re rare.
There are people who argue the same of Suikoden II, but obviously not to the same frequency. The lower, but not bad, sales reflect this reality. I imagine some people reading, especially those who aren’t fans of RPGs, will have at least heard of FFVII, but had no idea SII exists. Which I think is quite a shame, it has a lot of advances that put it ahead of FFVII, and many other RPGs even to this day. I have seen reviews where people cover this in more detail, so I encourage you to seek those out. We are not here to discuss that, we are here to find one concept that excels in the more widely accepted, inferior game.
In spite of both of these games being birthed in the same era, the differences are astounding. Short of there being characters and sound, they aren’t the same in so many respects. One is top-down 2D, the other 3D; one has an adaptive leveling system, the other has grinding experience the standard, universal way; the way the overworld is utilized greatly differs; the list is almost endless. Referring back to the characters, we will use this similarity to show why SII is leaps and bounds ahead of FFVII. More specifically, let’s compare the two main villains: The one-winged angel of FFVII, Sephiroth, and the ever-so delightful tyrant of SII, Luca Blight. THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!! Thought I’d get that out of the way, I can’t make my point without references.
First we will talk about Sephiroth. He has an incredible theme song, which is even more incredible when heard in concert. But I suppose that has nothing to do with him, does it?
Sephiroth is a difficult character to summarize. Not because he is so astoundingly complex that only playing the game would allow players to understand him. But because when I hear about the hype for him and what I experienced, I think he is over-praised. He has this incredibly confusing complex that seems to get him to do two things: whine and obsess over Jenova, and to try to destroy the world for whatever reason. He just seems to be the equivalent to a kid who is throwing a stompy, temper tantrum that goes too far.
He is a great deal of impractical tropes mashed into one big DeviantArt like trope: long, flowing, grey hair that would always get in the way; a big, mysterious, black trenchcoat to add coolness and mystery; and an absurdly long and skinny sword that wouldn’t be of any real use in a fight against anyone. He seems to demonstrate this when he throws waves of enemies at you, never fighting for himself, then is a total pushover when he does finally make an attempt on your team’s life.
He doesn’t seem to be a threat, his surroundings prove to be greater threats. He’s not a terrible character by any means, I just don’t get what the fuss is about. I think being in the context of such a stellar game, hides how lame he is.
As you probably guessed, now we’re onto SII and Luca Blight. This man is a total psychopath. He has a complete and total, reckless disregard for anyone around him. He is indifferent to how people feel. All he wants is to be on top of the world. Nothing will stop him from doing so… short of death of course.
This is why Luca Blight is so great. He is consistent, the player knows what he is all about. He stands in his brilliant suit of armour, gazing down upon others with his ‘I’m a maniac’ sort of look, and just destroys. Right at the beginning of the game he sets fire to a camp full of junior soldiers, burns down another town, and makes a villager oink like a pig to save her life, then kills her anyways. This is all done very early in the game, so it really sets the tone for how hate-filled and intense he is. This intensity is what helps SII excel and be much more impactful.
Throughout FFVII, Sephiroth seems to just be in places. You know he is the villain, but he only kills a few unimportant people before you had the chance to, and just makes appearances. The game continues to tell you that he needs to be followed and stopped, but there doesn’t seem to be a compelling reason to do so short of because the game said so.
Luca Blight on the other hand, is a psycho that needs to be stopped. His presence is undeniable, and he makes it very clear that you would be doing the world a disservice by not ending his rampage.
Both games have side stories and other reasons to progress, but to me, the main story drive is much more compelling when there is a real threat. Luca Blight accomplishes this, whereas Sephiroth is just sort of there, looking all DeviantArt-like.
There are many other reasons that SII reigns over FFVII, and vise versa, but I thought I would highlight one of the better reasons. Maybe in the future we will revive this vs match, but for now, we will leave it at this: more people need to be talking about Luca Blight. And you can finally do so on the PSN without costing yourself an arm and a leg for the ludicrously priced physical copy. I suggest getting SII now. Now!