Realism.

[Zantetsuken]

On realism.

Games and other forms of fantasy entertainment have to walk a tightrope between believability and accessibility. We all have certain things we are willing to overlook in order to have a spectacular world like magic, monsters, and high technology. But still, magic and monsters need to have a degree of rational design to them in order for players to call it 'realistic'. It doesn't take a huge suspension of disbelief to see a hulking troll lumbering across a rocky landscape dragging a giant club behind it - it's not difficult to imagine that scene in our world as it follows the rules of things we are familiar with. However, if that same troll could walk on air, eat the moon, and shoot diamond-studded chainsaws from it's eyes, we would all say that's pretty unrealistic.

Likewise, most of the fundamental forces in our daily lives (ie. weather, gravity, light life, death, the behavior of common plants and animals, sound waves, the Sun, Moon, wind, physics, the flow of energy, etc..), can be tweaked a bit in a gaming world without infringing on the realism too much. If carried too far - however - the players will require a logical explanation in order to retain realism and consistency.

While we expect that our games be realistic and lifelike in many things, there is another realistic part of life that we would rather not deal with in our games. The burdensome or uncomfortable parts of life such as Hunger, Poverty, Fatigue, Disease, Injury, Filth, Grime, Aging, Work, Pests, Disabilities, Decay, Ugliness, Bodily functions, real Death, etc.. are often omitted from even the most realistic games. When they do appear, they are used in a very deliberate way to enhance the player's experience in accordance with the game/world design or are confined to the realms of villains.

The Final Fantasy series has an extra layer of 'realism' in it. Namely, it has it's own mythos and history which has developed over many years and has become accepted as consistent with a FF universe. Certain things that might be considered unrealistic in other formats are forgiven in because of the history of the franchise. Similarity, many things that are commonly thought of as lifelike in other games can actually diminish the 'realism' of a Final Fantasy game.