Besimudo, I thought that this had been covered countless times: If someone disagrees with you, that doesn't mean that they're wrong or obtuse or ignorant. Deal.
The characters are human; analysing aspects of their humanity is perfectly valid. Stimuli exist in the real world; responses have an effect on the real world. So the stimulus - response approach considers only that which has a tangible, noticeable, relevant effect in the game.It seems that pheonix, wishes to analyse the game in a stimulus, response approach.
Your opinion, not undisputable fact.it (FFVII) is not the "optimum" in its genre.
It also makes FFVII more relevant to our own world.FF7 also has less myth reference (which makes it more palatable for the self proclaimed science freaks i.e. BSc in "new scientist" magazine) than FF8.Spoilers!- FF7’s villains were unsuccessful
Jenova: Virtually decimated the Cetra, caused widespread destruction which was never properly repaired.
Sephiroth: Summoned the Meteor, began transcending his humanity and attaining a 'Godlike' form. Killed countless innocents, including the last Cetra. Responsible for destruction of Upper Midgar.
'Unsuccessful' indeed.
Look at FFVIII's villain: Caused political unrest in a few countries, compressed time for a while.
So... freeing the innocent and stopping brutal dictatorships is a 'villanous' act? The Great Hyne was a deceptive, murderous, slave-driving trickster demon. Ultimecia was prepared to destroy everyone and everything in order to further her own ends. Squall never set out to destroy all Sorceresses; it's simply that his primary target turned out to be a Sorceress.Squall and Laguna are the villains of the game who challenge the great Hyne and succeed.... By beating the sorceresses Squall and Laguna create a reality where humans set the scene.
As for the role of the women (this thread's real purpose, if I remember rightly)... Phoenix 17's criticism of FFVIII's weak portrayal of women is justified. I may not agree completely, but I understand what he's saying. FFVIII's men rose above their weaknesses for the most part; the women were usually dragged down by their shortcomings.
Both the men and the women had their individual strengths and weaknesses. Rinoa was a strong woman, but gave in too easily to her desire to rely on Squall. Squall, however, had the detachment and professionalism he needed, but wasn't able to reconcile that with his new-found responsibilities and commitments. I could go on, but others hae said what I think.
Besimudo, there is such a thing as 'reading too much into a text'. FFVIII's 'meaning' is what the writers intended to give it. I seriously doubt that the following is an accurate transcript of an FFVIII script brainstorming session:
"Hey, let's make the men the real villains in the infernal struggle against the divine."
"Cool. We'll give them subtle infernal powers that only intellectuals can perceive. Hyne will be a Judeo-Christian metaphor, only s/he's the real source of power in the game, controlling the Sorceresses from the moon."
"Funk-ay, dude. And like, Laguna - he kills women with his underworld powers, 'cause he's a symbolic representation of Loki. Squall's gonna be called a 'lone wolf' in the English translation of the instruction manual, which'll be proof that he's the embodiment of Fenrir."
"Fenrir? That cool-ass Wolf? Good idea."
...And so on.
Heck, I could find mythological references in the Mr Men books if I really wanted. That wouldn't make them superior works of literature (though we all know that they are, anyway), nor would imply any intentional allusion on the part of the writers. It would, however, demonstrate the strength of my imagination and my power to turn the superficial into the overriding.