!Discussion: Would the 'Spirits Within' 'verse work as a Game?

[weber_dubois22]

Strange Enough this is an idea I've never been too keen on because the mere concept of it seemed to always translate into = "More Like The Games" and "Less Like It Is". I always loved Spirits Within being the exact opposite of the Final Fantasy Game(s), which makes for an enjoyable interactive experience, but less of a watchable one (particularly if you watch it on YouTube. I suffer itchy fingers and develop burning rage toward my empty wallet).

That aside, last night I started watching a ton of video reviews for what appears to be a seemingly disliked FF Game, Final Fantasy XIII which was released last year if memory serves. I've heard an awful alot about how terrible this particular entry in the franchise was and how "burnt out" or "non-event" Final Fantasy had become in and of itself with its side sequels and sequels to sequels, which "constantly delayed" entries such as Kingdom Hearts III (contending with Duke Nukem [Forever] for some type of award) and Final Fantasy 15 (I'm wondering when 14 came out, however... or did I read that numeral wrong?).

From the audio reviews alone, I'm surprised to hear the exact opposite of dislike from all the major gaming outlets and anyone with a camera/pod-cast. In fact, despite one or two flaws, they love[d] this game and recommend it to anyone with an "open mind" about the "changes" SE applied to the battle system mechanics and lack of open world exploration. The game certainly looks gorgeous (its environments are reminiscent of the scenery AVATAR loved to display throughout said film) and the aesthetics's remind me of Spirits Within quite a lot.



Combine with this new found enthusiasm for XIII and watching Spirits Within almost all week (last week), it got me wondering: Would this particular universe work as an interactive or playable one or its better left off in the realm of viewable entertainment only? The answer might be yes and the answer may very well be a definite no.

Last year, a visit to IMDB.com lead to the discovery of a rather enthusiastic thread, dubbed: "I think its about time for a Game Adaption of this..." and my immediate thought was "hell no." The first thing that comes to mind when someone says "Adapt TSW into a game" is Halo or the plethora of Western-RPG based space games that employ the type of militaristic strength and environment seen in the film. If one were talking about adapting the movie as it was into a Final Fantasy game, I'm not sure how it would work:

"At the time of it's release, Sakaguchi said he didn't want to bother with translating the film into a game because the graphics of that day and age would be too much of a step down from the movie.

But in 2010 I think it's perfectly feasible to recreate the vivid detail and cutting-edge feel of this film on a PS3 or 360. Anyone agree? I think it's perfectly suited for one hell of an intense FPS/RPG game."

With characters like Gray, Ryan, Neil and Jane as your primary cast of warriors, I'm neither sure or confident the DEEP EYES could effectively translate well into a JRPG-styled game like the typical Final Fantasy games, depending on which battle system is ultimately used. They all use the same method of attacking their enemies: the Serpent [Nocturne] Rifle, something that seems better suited for a TPS/FPS like Resistance: Fall of Man or Dead Space. In a FF-Game they would all be the "Gunner" archetype.



Aki, main character of the storyline, would be left without a major role outside of maybe "mage/sage" or "healer", as she seems against using violence against Phantoms (herself, not so much altogether) to the solve the problem. Worse, she would most likely be a tool used for the dreaded "escort" (Protect Aki as she searches for the Seventh or Eight Spirit") or "rescue mission" ("Save Aki from the Opposing Deep Eyes/Phantom"). However, if you think a little more within the context of the games, Yuna's "Summoner" role seems fitting for the character. Dr. Sid would ultimately be a character you'd only interact with in whatever safe haven or environment that involves speaking with a number of civvies or soldiers, giving you advice or information vital for progression:

"...I imagine a mostly FPS or TPS (perhaps free roaming?) with SOME RPG elements in it (as in leveling up weapon skills or driving etc).

I could imagine the main plot being to start just a normal exercise as a soldier like the ones we see in the film, however we could then add Yuki (that her name?) out of nowhere on a mission and we are her escorts in order to find one of the 'earth spirits'. At the end she goes off to New York or the Zeus cannon before the film takes place.

Multiplayer could be implemented as well. Especially if there were vehicles in the mix. We could even have a cross team mix where one team gets to control the phantoms."

General Hein, I'm not sure how he would fit in the mechanics of a game as a villain unless it involved an epic space battle against the stationary Zeus Canon or a covert mission level that concerned itself with sabotaging the station from the inside (how one could defeat it without summoning/controlling the power of one angry Gaia itself, is a mystery) to allow Aki to complete her job with the Eight Spirits.

The Phantoms could very well end up being the "One-Hit-Kills-All" enemy, which would make for a frustrating game experience in and of itself. If you take away from the fact that Phantoms literally kill by coming in contact with the living (and ripping their souls from their bodies), however, then I suppose it would make for a better battle, have them drain a character's "soul" gradually through battle whilst depleting a number of other things vital for survival. Opposing DEEP EYES enemies, akin to the ones Gray and co. were faced with on the Copperhead during the Tucson mission could be an optional enemy to break up monotony, but there would have to be some major reason outside of "General Hein's Orders" for an entire squadron of soldiers to attack fellow comrades without pause:

"Definitely game-worthy. Heck, the visuals are already similar to the themes of Lost Planet 2, Final Fantasy XIII and Mass Effect 2. In fact, they could just recycle the ME2 engine and set it on Earth with more "relatable" atmospheric elements and call it a game."

The author ntrophi (one of the few frequent fanfiction writers the TSW fandom had/has), has actually written a pretty interesting tale which integrates themes/elements from the game to make Spirits Within more akin to its interactive counterpart(s), changes the defensive/offensive jobs of the characters as such:

• Ryan = Monk
• Gray = Knight
• Neil = Thief (though truth be told, Neil seems more like a "Machinist" or "Saboteur")
• Jane = Sniper/Gunner/[Black] Mage
• Aki = [White] Mage

While everyone else's roles have remained relatively the same (I think. I'm still reading through it as I write this), the change in these five characters would definitely make for a more interesting battle dynamic as the weapons or method of fighting are also changed:

"square is too lazy nowadays and can't even be bothered with a sure-fire profitable game like an FF7 remake, so they definitely can't be relied on to develop a game [for a movie] that bombed for them. They don't even reference it in any of their games like Dissidia at all."

Arg, this point of the rant, my stream of consciousness has gotten distracted by one too many open windows and browsing. Thus my original point is generally lost as I near the end of the page. At the end of the day, as nice as this fantasy is to think about the above quote does illustrate a known truth. Square Enix, like a lot of companies (with the exception of maybe Disney and Tron, but then they changed so much about that particular world to sell it better to a wide-viewing audience that it's hardly the same world compared to the original), aren't willing to take a risk on something that was a financial failure and generally unliked by the majority that keeps them afloat. Even if it were possible to translate it into a medium that would have it better received by the public, depending on how they did it, The Spirits Within is not something that is likely to be revisited except by those who enjoyed it.

The general gist of the thread/rant is: "Do you think TSW 'verse" would translate well enough into a JRPG game or better as a TPS/FPS? I think it could become a decent game whatever genre it falls into, but then, I'm generally an optimistic person toward change or reviving something old unless stated otherwise.

Comments

[ovo-lexa.livejournal.com]

I think it could be worked over into a game, yes. It could probably be worked into a Final Fantasy type game even.

I suspect that it would make a better TPS than JRPG... and the phantoms would probably have to be tweaked somehow in either way, unless it was a lot of fighting against other humans and the phantoms only showed up in Big Danger Time. Then again, having enemies that you absolutely had to avoid getting hit by would be an interesting dynamic all its own, pretty rare for games in general.

Also, you'd get a lot of extra game time out of going from Aki's infection to the end of the story, rather than jumping in at the sixth spirit.

(On the topic of game translation fanfic, LadyKayoss wrote a sequel-fic, Out of the Ashes, where the Phantom's influence transformed the world to be much more FF-like, with magic, summons, etc.)

I was, once upon a time, trying to build a module that would allow people to build their own TSW scenarios in RPGMaker 2k3, with most of the graphics hacked from FF6. It was more for fun than for serious, though. And I got stuck around the time I was making the spritesheet for Robert, alas...