Suspending Realism
What things in the series did you not buy into? What parts did you have to force yourself to suspend realism and accept as fiction?
For me it's definitely the Gunblade. Not just that it'd work, but that anyone would ever want to use it.
Also Cloud's giant sword.
And Barret's gunarm.
And that anyone would hire high school students to carry out assassinations.
Originally Posted by Fynn
Not to nitpick, but they're not in high school in spite of the way they all act. They're college graduates. I really didn't understand the Gunblade until I found the Ultimania explanation while browsing the internet. And even then it's a bit far-fetched. Surely there are many weapons that are a lot simpler to produce while also being more efficient?
Also for both FF7 and FF8, the ability of the characters to survive hundreds of bullets to the face during battle sequences. Well, if they survive Blizzaga then why not bullets I suppose.
I guess it depends on where you're from as what constitutes as high school and college. But they're only 17/18, which is pretty dang ridiculous. Here in the States, that's high school.
Agreed about bullets hitting them. HOW DID CLOUD SURVIVE THAT FALL. I'm not buying into Aeris' explanation that the flowers broke his fall. xD
smurf the Gunblade. I'm fine with Lightnings, as it just transforms, but Squalls is smurfing stupid and nonsensical, and there isn't even a reason for it to be so nonsensical.
And I watch a lot of anime, I have no trouble buying high schoolers assassinating people.
Terrorist Cid surviving his bomb attack.
Yeah, that fall was crazy, but Cloud did also survive getting run through, after all. Those JENOVA cells must be something.
That.
Also, the way Vincent transforms is weird. No broken clothes, just BOOM! and he is a Frankenstein.
People have fallen from heights and survived. Not intact, of course, but not dead or dying either. If you're unconscious, your body ragdolls better and absorbs the impact or something?
The gunblade makes perfect sense. A small explosion causes the blade to vibrate at a frequency that helps rend flesh. I don't understand the confusion :confusion: The fact that Barret has an arm that can fire a gun is arguably more confusing.
The fact that it's a smurfing blade ductaped onto a pistol grip. The design of the blade actually makes it less efficient to swing then a normal sword and would only put excessive strain on your wrist, making it horrible for prolonged fighting, and less efficient overall.People have fallen from heights and survived. Not intact, of course, but not dead or dying either. If you're unconscious, your body ragdolls better and absorbs the impact or something?
The gunblade makes perfect sense. A small explosion causes the blade to vibrate at a frequency that helps rend flesh. I don't understand the confusion :confusion: The fact that Barret has an arm that can fire a gun is arguably more confusing.
The explosions shaking the blade is just an excessively complex way to say it's a vibrating sword, in addition shooting a smurfer would be a better use of a bullet then causing the a blade to vibrate. This makes the weapon unnecessarily costly considering it has less practical combat use then just shooting the smurfer. Also, the bullet thing could be done without the atrocious design.
So, to review, it's less efficient then a sword, needlessly costly, bad to use for extended periods, and it looks smurfing stupid. Yet it's the signature weapon of a mercenary group.
How is it the signature weapon of a mercenary group when Cid whispers to Squall "You're the first SeeD with a gunblade"?
Ages: Just add 10 to every character in Japanese games and you get closer to reality.
Honestly there were a ton of things, unless the weapons are made with magic.
BOTH Gunblades, Squall's and Lightning's. A sword cannot be combined with a real gun. That's an impossible weapon. And how did it not break whenever she blocked Odin's gigantic Zanteksuken?
But all of this could be said of the majority of the weapons in the later games.
The ages of SOME of the characters is really unrealistic. How is Eiko so competent and independent even though she's 6? Maybe she's a child prodigy? But even that wouldn't explain her emotional maturity? Even if a kid is working for NASA at age 12 (which HAS happened), they just can't deal with death like that at age 6. It's not possible.
As for how Cloud survived that fall? They're superhuman, you know. Same goes for why Squall survived Edea's Ice Strike, that and healing powers. Most of this can be explained when you take into account that they're superhuman.
I actually buy lightnings Gunblade, because it transforms between the two. It's never both at once.
And I can buy a young child being able to handle death, especially considering how early it happened, and how much. It's a bit of a stretch, but within the realms of my suspension of disbelief.
And eh, I recall the Gunblade being a SeeD signature, though it's not really relevent one way or the other.
IIRC, he needs his other hand to fire with it.
"WHY DIDN'T THEY USE A PHOENIX DOWN WHEN [insert character death here]" is really the only thing that bugs me about FF "realism". I'll easily buy into the fantasy of the rest.
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