A World of Wars

Hm this website does not seem to have the option to use tab. Oh well! So the latest story I have been privileged to read has been one of the interactive sort. Yes, I am talking about a video game. Before you get all high and mighty in protest, I want to say the games I play are story driven and are heavy on text. Role playing games are full of huge world, the stories are expansive, and the characters get fleshed out the in the same fashion as characters do in books. My personal preference to any type of reading material has always been fantasy based, and luckily these RPGs focus mainly on that genre.

With that said the game I have been playing is called Final Fantasy Tactics. It takes you on a journey of discovery, betrayal, love, bloodshed, and religion's dubious history. The preset tells you of the war that ravaged the lands, "The War of the Lions" as it was called. They describe how the war looked everlasting, with both sides failing to gain any ground on the other, the people suffered, the death count was skyrocketing. There was no end in sight. All of a sudden a saviour appeared. His name was Delita Hyral, and he ended the conflict and was crowned king of Ivalice, the land in turmoil. This is what is recorded in the history books. This to the people of the land are the cold hard facts. Delita's name goes down as a legendary hero and loved by everyone across the land.

But things are not always how they appear in the tomes. Written history can be easily manipulated and altered as shown in this game as it progresses. A scholar discovers a secret tome which explains that Delita was not the so-called hero that united the land and was widely known as the saviour of Ivalice. There was another name that appears in these scriptures. A youth named Ramza Beoulve whose name is all, but missing in any known documents seems to have been erased from history. These passages detail his journey and explain that his role, not Delita's is the real reason for peace throughout the land.

The game then centers around Ramza as a youth. It tells you how history details the War of the Lion, but the game shows you what actually transpires and how Ramza becomes a central figure in the reshaping of the land, but in the end gets no credit and is erased from being a central figure during these times.

The characters talk in a old medieval style akin to the days of chivalry and knighthood. Thy, thou and thine along with a whole bunch of outdated jargon fills up the text boxes, so it becomes an interesting read since the words are all so unfamiliar with me.

The story is very engaging and I can't wait to see how this is all shapes up in the end.