By Squaregrrl (with a little help from Chocofenny) on 6/12/00

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Squaresoft. The name is synonymous with brilliant, epic role playing games that push the envelope when it comes to story, character, sound, etc., but there is one crucial thing they have been missing throughout the entire Final Fantasy series - a female star.

"What about Aeris and Tifa?! What about Rinoa?" you cry indignantly. Well, simply put, they are not the lead character in the game. By "star", I mean a Cloud, or a Squall, or a Cecil - the person you play principally throughout the game. Not that some of the lead characters haven't LOOKED like girls. I remember seeing previews for Final Fantasy 8, seeing Squall and thinking that my prayers for a tough female star had been answered. But I digress...

I am tired of the usual RPG plot: a (male) Hero with humble roots is chosen by fate to defend human freedom with his manly strength and courage. The first scenario is usually one of two things: one, the Hero's girlfriend gets kidnapped, and he must save her; or two, the Hero's long time female friend (and obvious potential love interest!) begs to be taken along on his journey, insisting that she can keep him safe with her peculiar talents for healing magic. Begrudgingly, he lets her tag along, not realizing as we already have that she is destined to be his loyal doormat for the rest of RPG eternity. We have all run across these plots, or similar ones, in our misadventures into the realm of console role-playing. But the pioneering men and women at Squaresoft have worked hard at breaking the RPG mold, going where no game has gone before with the Final Fantasy series. NOT!

Unfortunately, it looks as though we are going to have to wait a long time before we see that. Imagine my complete and utter disappointment when I found out that the next three Final Fantasies would have three more males as main characters! This more than likely means that there will be three more female love interests and-magic using princesses with nothing better to do then root on the Hero. I'm not saying that the male heroes are bad; I'm just saying that it's been done - many, many times.

So why not something new? Some say that gaming is a predominantly male past time; therefore, marketing games that have a male point of view is elementary. But look at the huge success of games like Tomb Raider, Dino Crisis and Fear Effect! All boast heroic (albeit physically enhanced) lead females, and they are popular with both male and female gamers alike. Male gamers are not as stupid as game companies take them to be. Male gamers don't turn away from nor detest a game just because the main character is female. Otherwise, sites like this one would not exist. In fact, the male gamers that I talked to said that they were more likely to play a game with a female lead than a similar game with a male lead because they are generally a little bit more thought out and the plot ideas are fresher.

Freshness is something that Squaresoft should be striving for in the Final Fantasy series. The mixed reaction that Final Fantasy VIII received by series fans was cause for alarm. That is why in Final Fantasy IX, Squaresoft decided to go back to some of its old standbys - it's a sure sell. Maybe a female star is just what Squaresoft needs to breathe new life into Final Fantasy!

I have stuck with Final Fantasy through a lot - the constant second stringing of females; the embarrassing twittering of Rinoa (who I think took female characters back about 10 years) and the Final Fantasy Movie being based on (yet another) young man. But I have faith in the series. I just don't want to have to wait for Final Fantasy MXI for Squaresoft to get with it! If one brilliant game were to center and build around a female hero, it could open the eyes of game companies everywhere and finally give women the place in RPG gaming that they deserve!