The Most Mature... and the most childish.

[Wolf Kanno]

Of the FFs you've played, which entries do you consider to be the most mature and which ones did you find childish?

[Psychotic]

I feel like that's a loaded question because childish implies inferiority to mature, and sometimes I prefer more whimsical and fun themes to darker ones. But then sometimes I also prefer something heavier too, so :monster:

I'd say the more lighter FFs were V and IX, and I guess in terms of pure childishness X and X-2 would be up there although as stated this isn't a bad thing.

FFVII was probably the most mature, what with the pimps, prostitution, slums and so on, but I also think you can make a case for XII in how it presented itself and its story. VI and XV might also enter the conversation.

[Wolf Kanno]

I feel like that's a loaded question because childish implies inferiority to mature, and sometimes I prefer more whimsical and fun themes to darker ones. But then sometimes I also prefer something heavier too, so :monster:


That is entirely how you wish to interpret the word. I don't necessarily feel either mature or childish represent "better" as it really comes down to the type of story/game you're trying to make here. Mario games tend to be childish, but they're also super fun cause that's the nature of the character and setting. It wouldn't work as a grim dark series as the benign 90s film showed.

An example of where I would find it bad within the series would be something like X-2 and Revenant Wings, but this is largely due to both games being radical tonal shifts from their more somber predecessors which made this transition feel really awkward and embarrassing by contrast. Yet their is a reason here as the settings established to the player set a precedent that the sequels tried to ignore for reasons. The fact this tonal shift is only one part of various other faults also shows that just having an awkward tonal shift isn't enough to kill a title's respectability.

[Loony BoB]

FFXIV is probably the most mature of the ones I've played, with FFVII and/or FFXII depending on what kind of mature you're talking about (echoing Psy's thoughts) after XIV. The most childish is probably FFV, it's very whimsical and colourful and I just feel like I'm going for happy fun rides when I play. WoFF second.

FFXI might beat them all for maturity but I honestly can't remember enough of it. I remember there was race-based stuff in there which I felt really interesting.

[Vermachtnis]

Mystic Quest is the most childish.

Tactics is probably the most mature. Any of the Ivalice Games are more mature than the rest, even Tactics Advance. It tackles it's subject matter in a way that people still argue over it. I'm playing XII right now and it's very, very grey. With the exception of the Occuria, there are no "bad" guys. And even then, there's Venat.

[maybee]

Mature would go to FFXII and Tactics. Childish? Maybe FFVIII, because it's all based on how teenagers would act.

[Fynn]

Agreed on the Ivalice games being the most mature. Except for Tactics A2 - that one is actually one of the most childish, though still very fun.

[Loony BoB]

Hmm, yeah, actually FFTactics - from what I remember - would probably give FFXIV a good run for it's money. While XIV has a lot of mature themes that compete with FFT easily, it also has a lot of silly stuff. FFT, if I recall, lacked any real silly side.

[Shiva95]

The most childish is probably FFV because it's really colorful and revolves around hope. It's a really light game.
And the most mature is quite hard to answer, but I think it's FFVI. The themes are pretty much dark and/or mature (the death of a child, the death of a lover, suicide attempt, every type of love, etc.).

[MJN SEIFER]

I'd be tempted to say that Final Fantasy III was most childish from what little I know of it - I haven't played it (though I did watch a Let's Play of it, but it was ages ago.) The first things I remember of it was that a lot of what went on was the kind of stuff that fitted right at home with children's adventure games of it's time (though I'm not all that sure what I'm comparing it too - though Wonder Boy in Monster Land gives me the same impression, despite not being the same.) It had things like shrinking by eating bread to enter a small town, people becoming two-dimensional figures due to a curse, stuff like that. It just seems like a children's adventure to me from that (not that that's a bad thing - childish can be fun, and it usually is to me.)

The thing is though, out of the Final Fantasies I'm more familiar with, they all seem to mix childish and mature really well, or at least childish and serious really well. I mean, look at Final Fantasy VI, on the one hand the majority of the characters have some tragic backstory or another, but on the other, there are comical and silly moments to provide a nice break from this, and balance it out - one of your reoccurring enemies is a comical octopus for example, which gives the game a more cartoon like feel when compared with everything else.

Final Fantasy VII includes messages about harming the planet, evil corporations, and includes emotional moments, including those related to death (not that something aimed at children shouldn't cover the latter, or possibly any of those), but at the same time includes silly moments of having to dress like a woman (which can still be comical when you look at it from the angle of it being a man who wouldn't normally choose to do so), a play going awry (if you allow it to do so), or someone messing up a punch so badly she literally rolls away.

Pretty much all of the ones I'm mostly familiar with (Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy X, with bits of Final Fantasy IV Final Fantasy V, seem to blend silly childish moments with more serious stuff, which in my opinion, is an excellent way to do it.

[maybee]

Forgot about X-2 lol. Yeah, change vote to that one. No RL eighteen year old would go around saying "oh poopie!" :simon:

[Christmas]

V is the most mature since we have no idea what unspeakable acts Bartz does to the 3 girls every cold lonely night. :bigsmile: