Article: Final Fantasy XV is an All Male Road Trip

[Freya]

http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1544/15443861/2660233-screenshot1.jpg


Final Fantasy XV recently had another trailer (http://home.eyesonff.com/content.php/3265-NEW-TRAILER-OMG!!!!) released to show off the in progress demo. As we join our party to glimpse their adventure, many fans noticed and felt that the game had a road trip like feel. 4gamer (http://www.4gamer.net/games/260/G026084/20140917119/) (as relayed by siliconera (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/09/22/final-fantasy-xv-will-feel-like-group-guys-going-road-trip/)) asked Hajime Tabata, the new director, just that.

"Exactly. We’re designing it to be a road movie that you can experience as an RPG. You’ll feel the romance of going on a trip, and such," Tabata says.

While that's all well in good, they went on to mention that it is all male characters on this adventure, of what we've seen that is. They commented on how the only women we've seen so far have been in cutscenes. Will there be any playable women? "The party will only have male characters," replies Tabata, "and that hasn't changed since its previous form of [Final Fantasy Versus XIII]."

Guys night out! Road tripping, grilling burgers and fighting adamantoise. Unlike the previous numbered single player console only Final fantasy that focused on a female MC, Final Fantasy XV will not have any playable female characters.

Thoughts about the road trip of brotime?

[Del Murder]

It's certainly disappointing to hear about the lack of female characters. Very disappointing. When was the last time FF had an all-male cast? Back to the NES days, when you couldn't really tell gender in the sprites anyway.

I'm trying to look at this game as just another game and not hype it up with the 'numbered FF' label but it's just hard. As a main FF I don't like the direction it's going in but then again most of this stuff sounds cool for a typical game. The action gameplay, real world-like setting, and lack of female party members are par for the course in a typical AAA title but are big departures from the stuff you've come to expect from the main FF franchise.

[FFFFsephychibi]

Roadtrip brotime is a win, I'm all for these studs.

[Shauna]

I... see. If that's what they think will be cool...

[Freya]

I'm a little bothered that there wont be any female playable characters. I mean it may fit the setting to have a bunch of guys but, come on. :/

This also means, yes, the car is an entire game thing.

[Pumpkin]

I am very disappointed by the lack of female playable characters. When I look at a game, that's one of the main things I look for and I have shot down a good number of games because they had no playable ladies.

This has dropped my hype about 80%

[Freya]

Although it makes me disappointed, I don't want them to just add a female character just to have the token diverse character either though. Maybe they NPC females will be awesome. Stella was supposed to be a strong female character so we'll see. I just want another freya :(

[Bolivar]

The more I hear about this game, the less interested I am. I typically roll my eyes at the feminist angle in gaming today but having no female party members really rubs me the wrong way.

[Sephiroth]

This is not cool and it would never have been done if another title was planned as Final Fantasy XV in the first place. I hope Stella is very present in the story and that Noctis at least has a real love interest in a way. I knew why I was interested in Final Fantasy XIII more. Still it could easily be a great and entertaining experience.

[Spooniest]

I sense a disturbance in the Force.

[Sephiroth]

I also have the feeling that no character will join the team.

[Jinx]

Dumb and boring. Agree with shion: definitely less hyped now.

And while the roadtrip concept is kind of cool, I'm not sure how invested I'd be in an entire game of it.

[metagloria]

Given that one of my all-time favorite FFs had a single-gender cast, I can certainly get behind this.

Also, here's hoping they use this opportunity to advance a gay character. (Not that I'm equivocating "gay" with "female" or even "feminine", just saying, it would bring some sort of diversity.)

[chionos]

I don't know that not having a female is necessarily a sexist issue. The overall story will determine whether or not it was an essential move or an arbitrary one. I mean, it kind of sucks either way, but the reactionism is a little silly. If the story warrants an all-male cast than that's what it should have.

That said, I can't wait for SE to get past FFXV. I'm actually looking forward to the game now, but I'm also more looking past FFXV toward them finally giving us some real old-fashioned quality JRPFFG love, with Real FantasyTM, elements, crystals, moogles, knights, castles, airships, fun (if ridiculous) weaponry, CLASSES/JOBS, bad guys with mmmph, bad guys who are psychotic and fun, stories that suck me in and keep me playing for hours and days and weeks, plot twists and sacrifices, dirt and grime and ugliness*, honest-to-goodness humo(u)r, a world I actually want to experience and can experience, and lastly but not leastly a cast I can give a smurf about. Seriously, when 16-bit sprites evoke more emotion than your million-dollar CG centerpiece, you're doing something wrong.

*Final Fantasy used to do dirtiness so well. FFVI, FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, FFT all had a certain level of grittiness and ugliness built into their worlds that juxtaposed so nicely with all the prettiness, and also came across as more realistic and more poignant. The heroes weren't shiny and sleek. They weren't perfect. Think of any character from any of those games: they all had serious and interesting flaws that added tension to the characters, that added tension between the characters, that propelled the stories' plots, that made the player feel involved and made the player actually care. Steiner, one of my favorite characters, is a typical knight-in-shining-armor, except he's a bumbling idiot, his armor is rusty, his valor and honor are unbalanced, in short he's a wreck of a character, AND SO THERE'S SOMETHING TO DEVELOP. For a while there, SE was using characterization to play with but also work against tropes, against archetypes (some of which they had created in the first place), in some very interesting ways, and it feels like that's all been lost now. The tension, that beautiful sexy tension, that flowed through the games during those glory years seems all but lost.

So yeah, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, woo-hoo, road trip.

[Pumpkin]

I'm not looking at it as sexist, I'm just looking at it from my own enjoyment, because I've found I become much more immersed in a story and world when I have a female character that I like to latch on to like kind of a personal avatar. That's just a personal thing. I've found over the years that when I play a game without this female avatar type role, I feel like its just a game and although it can still be enjoyable, its noticeable less so. When I do have that character, however, I feel like I'm in the story, which makes me much more invested in everything (world, stories, characters, etc etc) so for me personally, not having a playable female character is probably going to mean I won't enjoy the game as much as I could have. Doesn't mean I won't give it a try or that this won't be one of the few all-male games that does the same thing for me, but yeah it does make me less excited.

But again, I'm not trying to say look how sexist, I'm just commenting on my own play style and why this has me concerned.

[Markus. D]

i pretend i'm not bothered, but then i think back to all the other ff games? i tend to gravitate to the female characters (like belt mage from ffx). but who knows. bara is in and there's definitely a bara. a-okay!

[Endless]

I'll wait to see if the women are actual characters with a real role or yet others ditzy and/or damsels in distress. That would be really sad.

[Fynn]

As a feminist, I really don't see this as an issue. If it fits in the story, it fits. We have this wolf pack dynamic between the characters, going on a road trip - it is something new that seems fresh and if throwing in female characters just to please fans would compromise that, then I don't think they should. Let's just watch and see how this plays out. I'm pretty confident that the dynamics between the characters will be awesome.

Also, X-2 had an all-female party. I liked that game despite it's terrible story and thought it was really fun, and I don't really remember anyone complaining about the lack of male party members.

So let's just see what the creators have in mind for them ;) I'm sure it'll be different, and different can go both ways. I'm pretty confident it'll at least be fun.

[Psychotic]

You can't break the three female rule!

A lot of people had reservations about X-2 being a girly dress up fest and I gave it a chance and enjoyed it. I'm happy to give the brofest road trip a go too.

[Del Murder]

X-2 was a sequel of a game that had a pretty diverse cast so I think it was a little bit different situation and you could take more liberties there. But maybe FFXV-2 will have some chicks in it. As long as they don't all have similar personalities and the female NPCs aren't relegated to damsel roles then it may be fine.

[Psychotic]

True enough, though if you think about it, Versus-XIII was meant to be part of a series with a wide and diverse cast, including three games with female leads. From what I've seen Stella seems to be a very important character and a strong one too, so I'm willing to give it a chance.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm not really bothered by this, as other people have pointed out, if it works for the narrative then the gender dynamics shouldn't really matter.

[Shauna]

Yeah, I'm willing to give it a shot. I mean, I side-eye it a little bit, but then I think that it might be okay.

Don't let us down, Square! :3

[Del Murder]

Yeah like I said in my first post I try to think of this as Versus rather than FFXV and so it's just not going to have the traditional cornerstones one would expect from the main FF series. The most important thing about the characters is not their gender but their personalities so hopefully SE writes them to be engaging. Hopefully we don't get something like:

1. Rebellious and reckless rich kid
2. Fun loving best friend
3. Mysterious quiet guy
4. Serious older mentor guy

[Fynn]

They look pretty engaging already, if you ask me. They seem to have a really fun, organic dynamic.

[Psychotic]

1. Rebellious and reckless rich kidNoctis is said to be a shy person, but he initially tries to hide this by "acting cool". He is a prince, the last heir to a dynasty of the kingdom of Lucis, being the last kingdom to have control over crystals.
2. Fun loving best friendPrompto maintains a playful attitude towards Noctis despite being a wanted felon. He is described as a skirt-chasing mood maker with a chip on his shoulder from a different social status compared to his other friends, and thus feels inferior to them but wishes to be useful.

3. Mysterious quiet guyIgnis has a composed, serious, and cool personality, something to contrast Gladiolus and Prompto. Ignis has been friends with Noctis since early childhood. He received a special education for gifted children to work as a staff officer for Noctis and acts as the understanding consultant for him.
4. Serious older mentor guyCor is a middle-aged man with short brown hair, light blue eyes, and a grim face. He is a stubborn and stern, no-nonsense military man sworn to King Regis and his country. He is strict with Noctis and his friends, and though he does not always see things eye to eye with them, he is duty-bound to watch over them

Ruh-roh.

[chionos]

Can't tell if Del is trolling or if that was just a happy accident. Both = fun.

[Del Murder]

A little of column A, a little of column B.

[Vyk]

Final Fantasy: Hangover

Can't wait to see what Las Vegas looks like in a Square-inspired world :P

I am a little disappointed, but I too would wait to pass judgement

Though honestly I don't know what bro-trip they're basing this on. Other than The Hangover, I can't think of any road trip movie that didn't involve female cast members. But then again it's not particularly my favorite genre of movie, and I see it more frequently in horror movies, who thrive on sexuality; heterosexuality. Which requires females. So this really isn't something I should compare to experience I suppose. We'll see. But if they need to have all dudes to keep the authenticity of their story and characters, they better actually be writing characters and not tropes and archetypes Japan loves to rely on. Because I won't hesitate to call them out on that bad story-telling regardless of female cast members or a lack there of

[Ayen]

I'm glad I never hopped aboard the hype train to begin with. My only interest was playing as Stella and that hope has just been crushed as I expected it to be. I've no further interest in this game and I already commented that I don't like the "road trip" vibe they're going for. That said, Tabata, thank you for actually sharing with us details on the game and I wish you all the best. He seems to have a good track record of putting out high quality games in a timely manner so those who are hyped may see it in a year or two. I'd go with two just to be safe.

[Depression Moon]

Getting mad hype. I guess it's true when people say that gamers don't like change. The first time we've had a male cast in XV games and people are put off. X-2 had all females, but I think people's issue there was with the J-Pop and Yuna and Rikku's personalities in that game.

My only disappointment here is that we may already know the entire cast before the game comes out. I like to be surprised about permanent party members.

[Edge7]

The only problem I have with the cast being all male is that I feel like Prompto and Ignis could have very easily been girl characters. At least, from the description of their personality traits, I could see them being female and not doing anything to somehow change the core dynamic of the group. It's kinda sad that writers still believe that there's a specific way to write male and female characters.

[Mirage]

sounds boring, tbh.

[Spuuky]

Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be all-white, too, to compensate.

Individual games can be like this, whatever. It's just too bad that it's such a flagship game that's doing it. It would be better served in a spinoff-style game. I wouldn't want FF6 to have no female characters, but a post-Kefka FF6 bro road trip with Setzer, Locke, Edgar, and Cyan? Sure, that could be cute.

[Quindiana Jones]

While those description fit the archetypes pretty well, I like that there's a little twist on them. Particularly with Fisto.

[Fynn]

Getting mad hype. I guess it's true when people say that gamers don't like change. The first time we've had a male cast in XV games and people are put off. X-2 had all females, but I think people's issue there was with the J-Pop and Yuna and Rikku's personalities in that game.

My only disappointment here is that we may already know the entire cast before the game comes out. I like to be surprised about permanent party members.

This is the same issue I have. Worst thing is, it's not a new problem. I think X was the last FF where they didn't show us the entire playable cast before release. I just hope they might be actually lying and we will get more playable characters. I won't complaining that's not the case, though. I already like these characters and a steady party throughout the game can go a long way to properly flesh them out.

[Sephiroth]

Getting mad hype. I guess it's true when people say that gamers don't like change. The first time we've had a male cast in XV games and people are put off. X-2 had all females, but I think people's issue there was with the J-Pop and Yuna and Rikku's personalities in that game.

My only disappointment here is that we may already know the entire cast before the game comes out. I like to be surprised about permanent party members.

We've never had the first installment of a main entry with only one gender. The chosen by yourself characters do not count.

[Loony BoB]

People worried about gender dynamics should remember that "all male" allows for different gender dynamics for narrative purposes and general script/attitude.

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

Overall will just wait it out. More interesting to me is that it's a road trip. Does that mean we're back in the land of linear gameplay, moving from one location to the next and never returning? Hmm. I hope at some point we can return to the starting areas etc.

[Fynn]

People worried about gender dynamics should remember that "all male" allows for different gender dynamics for narrative purposes and general script/attitude.

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.

Overall will just wait it out. More interesting to me is that it's a road trip. Does that mean we're back in the land of linear gameplay, moving from one location to the next and never returning? Hmm. I hope at some point we can return to the starting areas etc.

It's already been stated that it's open-world and you can go wherever you please.

[Del Murder]

I'm disappointed at the lack of female playable characters because I tend to prefer having at least one of each gender in my 'main party' for FF games... however I do feel that this could allow for interesting scenes that we wouldn't otherwise be able to see.
That's true. Now they can all walk around with their pants off at the campsite.

[Mirage]

If the females they had with them were a lesbian couple, they still could have done that!

[Jinx]

If there isn't a male bonding moment a la Vivi and Zidane in Conde Petie in this game, I will be sadly disappointed.

[Fynn]

Prompto: "No, Gladio! You need to hold it like this!

[Big Ogre Umaro]

This is pretty bad.

[FFFFsephychibi]

It's really not that bad if it was always supposed to be that way.

Kairi wasn't playable in KH, but she was a huge part of the story, just like stella/luna is supposed to be.

[Jinx]

I don't think this is the worst thing. As others have stated, if it fits well with the story, it might be pretty good. Women/women characters do add different energies to situations than all-male.

HOWEVER, SE shouldn't be surprised if they do happen to alienate a lot of their female fanbase.

[Karifean]

Can't say I'm particularly surprised or disappointed by this. I have enough faith in SE to trust them to have made this choice for a good reason. I mean this doesn't just happen. They must've known this would stir some disappointment, but they still stuck to it. Let's see what they make of it.

[Shiny]

1. Rebellious and reckless rich kidNoctis is said to be a shy person, but he initially tries to hide this by "acting cool". He is a prince, the last heir to a dynasty of the kingdom of Lucis, being the last kingdom to have control over crystals.
2. Fun loving best friendPrompto maintains a playful attitude towards Noctis despite being a wanted felon. He is described as a skirt-chasing mood maker with a chip on his shoulder from a different social status compared to his other friends, and thus feels inferior to them but wishes to be useful.

3. Mysterious quiet guyIgnis has a composed, serious, and cool personality, something to contrast Gladiolus and Prompto. Ignis has been friends with Noctis since early childhood. He received a special education for gifted children to work as a staff officer for Noctis and acts as the understanding consultant for him.
4. Serious older mentor guyCor is a middle-aged man with short brown hair, light blue eyes, and a grim face. He is a stubborn and stern, no-nonsense military man sworn to King Regis and his country. He is strict with Noctis and his friends, and though he does not always see things eye to eye with them, he is duty-bound to watch over them

Ruh-roh.

Ha, oh my god...

This is going to be just as terrible as FFX-2 isn't it?

Ignis is also the worse name ever.

[Spuuky]

Ignis is also the worse name ever.I would have agreed, if I hadn't just read "Prompto."

[Vyk]

Also uh... A royal consultant? And I bet he's 17 or some garbage. But whatever. Japan can't live without their tropes and archetypes. I can't really say I'm surprised. But yeah, those are some terrible names lol

[Fynn]

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/016/499/ffxvdriveinmenu.jpg

[CAST VOX]

I don't think this is the worst thing. As others have stated, if it fits well with the story, it might be pretty good. Women/women characters do add different energies to situations than all-male.

HOWEVER, SE shouldn't be surprised if they do happen to alienate a lot of their female fanbase.

The female fanbase on fanfiction.net sure won't be alienated. :lol:
Just watch how much yoai gets pumped out of there because of this. It might even rival Kingdom Hearts.

[Dignified Pauper]

This game is becoming more and more my style....... ..... brah.

[Mirage]

You just want a huge orgy with all of them

[CAST VOX]

You just want a huge orgy with all of them
Who wouldn't?

I'm pretty sure I saw some art of that on a Booru site not too long ago. Classy stuff.

[Lawr]

I am very disappointed by the lack of female playable characters. When I look at a game, that's one of the main things I look for and I have shot down a good number of games because they had no playable ladies.

This has dropped my hype about 80%

wat

Adding characters just for the sake of having them/appealing to a fanbase is how we got Vaan in XII, who is possibly one of the worst Final Fantasy characters in history!

If having an all male party is what they think they need to do to make a good game then I'm all for it.

[Pumpkin]

I'm not saying they should cater to me personally, but those are my feelings on the matter and they aren't magically going to change because there is an all male FF game. Heck some people might be more hyped! Good for them! I am not