Bioware Writer: ‘Final Fantasy XIII is not an RPG’

Posted May 14, 2010 by Nick Proud in Gamer Culture, News.

Final Fantasy has for a long time been considered by many to be the pinnacle example of the classic Role-Playing-Game. In each game, narrative would be blended with character development in order to strengthen the position of the franchise in the eyes of RPG fans.

Most would agree that Square’s latest installment in the series, Final Fantasy XIII would be no different, but Bioware’s writing director Daniel Erickson does not agree.

Speaking recently with Strategy Informer, Erickson disagreed with the general assumption that Final Fantasy XIII was designed to be another dose of JRPG game-play for fans.

You can put a ‘J’ in front of it, but it’s not an RPG. You don’t make any choices, you don’t create a character, you don’t live your character.

I don’t know what those are — adventure games maybe? But they’re not RPG’s

A bold statement which could be interpreted as the voice of a rival RPG writer indulging in a little bit of competition. Perhaps Square’s choice of a more linear game mechanic was based around their intention to bring in newcomers to the series. Either way, it certainly seems that Final Fantasy XIII has distorted the way we define role-playing games.

Source: MTV Multiplayer

Tagged as Bioware, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII, Square