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Over the past decade, Square Enix's games have seemed to come from two worlds that don't intersect: in an internal studio in Japan, the universe of RPG such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Neil, The Horseman on the Back of a Dragon, and Kingdom Hearts has evolved; and elsewhere in the world, they've released games that tell the adventures of Laura Crawford, JC Denton, Rico Rodriguez, and Marvel superheroes.
And the publisher's next AAA blockbuster— the new original game Forsaken — is like a combination of square Enix. Forsaken's development team, Luminous Productions, consists mainly of the original Final Fantasy 15 developers, and the script is co-written by four European and American writers. The story follows the sudden journey of a young New York woman who explores a dilapidated fantasy world and fights an evil force called Break with the help of magical powers and a self-aware bracelet.
Forspoken is a classic "strange world adventure story", or, to use the most recently popular term, a "nother world" story. The heroine, Fred Holland, travels bizarrely from New York to the strange fantasy world of Exia, where she not only becomes capable, but also gains great power, but trouble ensues. Frey needs to use magic to fight monsters mutated by "Break", and use "magic parkour" to traverse a vast and dangerous, but somewhat monotonous open world.
At the recent Forspoken media preview, the game's creators said that players could explore Aixia "as dashing as they want, and as free as they want." Frey can use her magic parkour skills to climb the rocks and jump over tall buildings, even if she falls from a height where ordinary people are bound to die. The developers promise that manipulating Frey is "a lot of fun."
But Frey is not a superhero, and the game's lead writer Todd Stashwick says she is "a fragile human being beneath the surface of her might." Stashwick said Frey grew up in a foster home with a "strong shell" and would protect herself with a defense mechanism called "humor" when communicating with allies or enemies. Another screenwriter, Allison Rymer, explains: "In tough and ridiculous situations, this is what a lot of people do together. You have to face it with humor."
However, the reality is that these humors don't work very well. Frey teased incessantly during the battle, but her tone was more irritating than likable. In the medium of video games, which is often tens of hours long, the comedy rhythm is really difficult to grasp, but I hope she still hides a better paragraph and waits for the game to be released in May.
▲ Fred Hollander and the actor Ella Barinska
Unlike the typical Final Fantasy protagonist, Frey wears ripped jeans and a flannel top with a pair of "one-foot pedal" sneakers on her feet. As the plot progresses, she will also put on a magic cloak, wear a magic necklace, and replace it with a magic nail art. Frey will embark on a journey to purify Break and bring down the ruling Tantas, while learning, honing and becoming more powerful (magic is her only means of fighting in the game).
Like most works with superhumans, the inhabitants of Essia both admired and feared Frey. This is perhaps the most appealing point of Forspoken: to experience a fantasy world created by Square Enix from the perspective and identity of Frey, an outsider, as she saves Aihia while exploring its natural environment, political landscape, and conflicts.
The combat part looks good, but you still have to wait until you have tried it out to know what the actual quality is.
Forspoken will land on PS5 and PC on May 24, 2022, and it's clear if the former Final Fantasy 15 team will be able to succeed.
Translated by 丨 子岩
Edited by 丨 Tony
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