Everyone nowadays talks about the best Final Fantasy as if it’s common knowledge. Final Fantasy VI, VII, IX, and X often come up in a discussion for this title. Everyone claims to have always liked them. That’s fine. But some of us didn’t like them until much later. That’s fine too. But those who
Final Fantasy hipsters usually run against what they as popular culture. I guess nowadays you’re a hipster if you like Final Fantasy VIII or XIII. Those titles aren’t exactly the most popular titles in series. Still, they have enough emo to propel them into the spotlight in years to come.
Final Fantasy II, III, and V have even less recognition. This might be because, at one time, these games never made it to the West. These games were Japanese exclusives. Had you downloaded them on ROM (please don’t) you might have been one of the few who got to experience. You felt special and unique. Isn’t this the goal of every non-conformist hipster? They want to feel a part of a club within a club; a club no one else experienced.
I’m not keen on Final Fantasy hipsters. They claim to have liked certain Final Fantasy games before it was cool. They overly and insincerely praise certain Final Fantasy games, regardless if it adds to the discourse. These hipsters also like Final Fantasy game in the hopes that it’s old school enough. Maybe they’ll never have to play any of the older games to understand the real roots of the series. They like the idea of Final Fantasy; not for what it brings to the table, but for status in the community. These fans are cheating.
Who knows why they like it down. Maybe back then they only cared about appearance. They might not have been around at the time to fully appreciate the game. But then again, aren’t we all like this?
When Final Fantasy first came out, it was a fun RPG not many people knew about. Final Fantasy was very much a niche title until Final Fantasy VII released to the public. Older fans still claim Final Fantasy VI was better than Final Fantasy VII. But some fans maintain Final Fantasy VI is better than Final Fantasy VII, even after playing Final Fantasy VII first. Of course, if they truly like Final Fantasy VI, it’s a matter of taste. I can’t blame them. That is, of course, assuming that they’re being honest.
Everyone nowadays agrees that Final Fantasy VII aged poorly. Yet, these people may claim they always liked the original game once the Remake arrives. Maybe they’ll even claim that the original was better, saying Remake fans are fanboys. But these hipsters are fanboys of the less popular titles.
And this raises a question: who isn’t a Final Fantasy hipster? We all have the nostalgic glasses on. Maybe the best Final Fantasy was our first? Was it truly the best back then? Maybe we didn’t play it? Once it started being outside of the cultural mainstream, we started to like it. That’s what happened to all Final Fantasy games.
It’s inevitable to have “fanboys”, but also hipsters. Those who think that the title they believe is not mainstream suddenly become cool again. They make a statement that these titles aren’t cool nowadays, which is why they like it. They claim they liked certain Final Fantasy games before it was cool, and then everyone made it cool. By that logic, every Final Fantasy fan is a Final Fantasy hipster. Hipsters keep the games alive. By resurrecting title they think aren’t popular, they bring it back to the spotlight. And once they do, they make the titles popular again.
That’s what happened to Final Fantasy VI when Final Fantasy VII came around. That’s what happened to Final Fantasy IX when Final Fantasy X came around. When Final Fantasy XIII came and it seemed like Nomura’s characters were definite philosophy, we wanted Amano. The same will happen to Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy XIII, much later in time. Nomura’s influence will wane, or we may go back to pure medieval.
And Final Fantasy fans are all different, with unique tastes and nostalgia. Just keep in mind that just because they’re all great, doesn’t mean any of them suck.