Video games are a remarkable medium. Visually, the evolution from pixilated sprites and square landscapes has brought some stunning art. Auditorially, with the orchestral compositions written for games today, video game music is on the way to becoming modern classics, like film scores of the past. The best part of playing games, though, is the story. Storytelling through video games is unique, especially when it comes to role-playing games. They allow the audience to experience the story on a completely different level than books or television because of the added aspect of game-play. Through hands on interaction, the player actually becomes the main character for a few hours and takes part in an epic adventure/rescue mission/wild rampage/legendary battle. The direct participation automatically immerses the audience in the world. It’s something like falling into a movie’s main character role at the click of a button.
It is because of this instant connection made between the main character and the player that video games are so valuable as teaching devices. Truly engrossing storylines can carry meaningful messages, life lessons that are hard to swallow. 
I don’t think I am alone in believing this because over the years many gaming developers have laced real world wisdom into their plots; wisdom that their fans have either consciously or subliminally accepted into their lives. One series that I feel has had unsurpassed success with this concept is the Final Fantasy Series.
Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed by the gaming powerhouse Square Enix, the Final Fantasy franchise is a VG staple. 
Excluding any games that have not finished development as of yet, there are over 40 installments since the first (Final Fantasy) was released for the NES in 1987, with well over 100 million copies sold all over the world. Since then, the series has continuously predominated the RPG world as one of the most popular, well-liked series in the community, and for good reason. Time and again, Final Fantasy has revamped what it means to really experience a VG. Even the less favored installments (I’m looking at you, Final Fantasy XII) have some serious fan backing.
The reason why is simple consistency. Every edition of Final Fantasy from I to XIII (not including the two direct sequels, X-2 and XIII-2) stands alone with its individual storyline, characters, music and gameplay. Sometimes combat systems are recycled, but even then they have distinctive features that show it belongs to that particular game. Really, the thing that connects every single Final Fantasy game to every other—besides the repeating elements like Cid and Ultima Weapon—is the visual style. While every game features a main hero (or, mostly recently, heroine) that brings together a group of misfits and vagabonds to battle an evil force intent on destroying the world, each plotline is separate. They’re a notable testament to good game and story design. But of all the installments that are really remarkable—and there are a lot—my favorite to date is Final Fantasy IX.
To Be Continued…
