Shinkada you are an idiot. Every FF story is always different. The concepts may be bit, just a bit, similar, but the story lines, and the way the stories are told, are completely unique (and original, might I add). And most importantly, different. Stop bashing FF because it's superior to the games that you like.

Is it just me or does this texas guy seem to be biased against Square-Enix. My friend, you may think that it's overrated, but critics and the rest of the world beg to differ. FF VII definitely broke ground and proved that games can tell a story (even though it's predecessors already did that first, that I agree with, I also agree that VI is better). Typical of people today to call something popular overrated without any basis.

Ojaion, you are wrong. Take Shadow of the Colossus for example. The game had almost no dialogue and yet it managed to deliver a story powerful enough to stand up to any drama you may think about. More dialogue =/= Better story. Video games are not as limited as books or films because they can go for as long as they want (to a certain extent of course). This gives them time to develop the characters and world in a way films or books can only dream of. This is one of the reasons that, to me at least, video games are the best method of storytelling.

@raz: Not really. In FF, everything you do has a plotline behind it. When you fight a boss (such as Seymour for example) you fight him because of what he did in the story, not because he is just there. So yes, FF marries both gameplay and plot (and other stuff) perfectly.

Mazz basically said what I wanted to say. Their will always be another "master of the craft". I can name some games (a few, but still some) that can stand toe to toe with the greatest of the literary world.

@Divinemelidol: And you say this because? This is the typical response I expected from many people. In my opinion, people should stop being close-minded and embrace games as a new way to tell stories. Books aren't superior because they were around first.

This "professor" should stop being a snob and play FF or MGS before making an opinion. Final Fantasy is the prime example of storytelling in this medium. No book, and no film, and no game for that matter can come close to the story of Cecil Harvey, or Kefka's ascension to godhood, or Cloud's self discovery (few examples). Also, gameplay and story perfectly go hand in hand in this series. As for Metal Gear, what film or book can make a war story so emotional? What film made you care about the characters like we care about Snake? (SPOILERS: I was about to cry when Snake "shot himself" in the ending of MGS4 before finding out he didn't). Of course there are more franchises worth of mention (Mass Effect, Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, and Zelda to name a few) and I strongly suggest that idiot to try them all out.

I want to meet this man someday. A living legend indeed, a modern day Beethoven. Nobuo Uematsu transcended the video game industry. He is right up there with other legends such as Mozart and Beethoven.