Location Analysis- Viridian Forest

Since the sixth generation of Pokemon games is being released very soon, I thought it'd be a good idea to look back at the game that started it all, Pokemon Red and Blue (Red and Green in Japan). The Pokemon games are world famous for popularizing (though not inventing) the monster collection genre, combining it with the strategy of an RPG with the exploration aspects of the Adventure genre, mixing in a little puzzle solving. Every generation of games has quite a few variations of dungeons, though they can be classified in these classic variations: forests, caves, or metropolitan dungeons. Though nothing new, the Pokemon games incorporate these themes to expand their world, to give the player a sense that they are exploring more than just 'the forest level'. Today, I want to take a look at the very first dungeon in the entire history of the franchise: the Viridian Forest.

This is what the Viridian Forest looked like in Pokemon Red and Blue. The little squares you see are tall grasses, where Pokemon reside.

The Viridian Forest is located right between Viridian City, its namesake, and Pewter City, home to the game's very first Gym battle. Here, a gamer can find a small variety of Pokemon, none of which would actually help against the first Gym, and only one which would help against the second. The Pokemon you can catch in this forest include:

Caterpie

Weedle

and Pikachu.

Caterpie and Weedle are weak, worm-like Pokemon. Specifically, Caterpie represents a caterpillar while Weedle represents a bee larva. Pikachu is a little field mouse that shoots electricity. Of these three, Caterpie is the weakest, as his attacks are weak and have no bonuses. Weedle can poison the enemy, so that makes it stronger than Caterpie, and Pikachu has a paralyzing attack that gains Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), which makes it the strongest Pokemon to find in the forest. That's why Pikachu's encounter rate is...5%. In other words, when you walk around the grass in Viridian Forest, you have a 5% chance to find a Pikachu. When you combine all other Pokemon encounter rates in all the other games that Viridian Forest appears in, Pikachu is the second rarest Pokemon found here, with only Pidgeotto being rarer.

This little bird is the strongest, rarest Pokemon in the Viridian Forest. Encounter rate: 1%, and only appears in Pokemon Yellow, HeartGold and SoulSilver. Pikachu appears in Pokemon Red, Blue, FireRed, LeafGreen, Heart Gold, and SoulSilver.

The Viridian Forest, in game, is a popular spot for the locals of Viridian and Pewter cities. 99% of all trainers found inside the forest are bug enthusiasts, representatives of bug collectors from real life. (The other 1% is a school girl found only in Pokemon Yellow). These trainers present the player with their first chance to battle a trainer other than the rival. These battles are, thankfully, very easy, and require very little strategy, especially if the player started with Charmander.

"Charmander char char! Mander char, Charmander!" (Translation: Viridian Forest is where I go from level 6 to level 11 in one trip!)

Viridian Forest is unique among all first dungeons from the other games, on the account that it offers not one Pokemon that the first gym is weak against. In fact, quite the opposite: Every Pokemon in this forest is weak against the first Gym.

"Oh, you stacked up on Pokemon from the Viridian Forest to challenge me? That's cute."

Pokemon are divided by Types, and each type is strong against, and weak against other types. In this case, the Pewter Gym specializes in Rock types, which are strong against Bug and Normal types, which also happens to be what the grand majority of your Pokemon team would be composed of. Rock types are weak against Water (unless you picked Squirtle, you won't have any Water type pokemon) Grass (again, only this time it's Bulbasaur), Fighting (in Red and Blue, you would not have had any Fighting type moves at all.) and Steel (this type didn't even exist in Red and Blue). Brock, the Gym Leader, was a tough boss in Red and Blue that required a very concise, very effective strategy that made good use of every resource available to you. The Pokemon available in Viridian are Bug type (weak against Rock), Electric (just Pikachu), Poison (Weedle and Kakuna, and ineffective against Rock) and Normal/Flying (Ineffective against Rock). Unlike future first dungeons in the series, Viridian offers no resources to fight against the first gym. 

Why? Because Viridian Forest is more for working with what you already have. The game has given you plenty to beat Brock with. Your starter is plenty strong, but if it's Charmander in Red and Blue, it won't win single handed. The game is giving you, instead of the resources to beat Brock easily, the resources to beat Brock, period. Bulbasaur and Squirtle may give you the edge, but you don't need them to beat Brock. You just need patience, skill, and strategy.

The few trainers in Viridian Forest are weak and easy to beat. You beat them to increase your Pokemon's level, and to gain a little pocket money. From that money you buy some Potions to help you survive Brock. The few Pokemon found in the forest itself? Let's take a good look. You get Caterpie, Weedle, and Pikachu. Caterpie and Weedle evolve to Metapod and Kakuna, respectively, at level 7, the earliest for any Pokemon. Metapod and Kakuna themselves are, well, weak. They are also found in the wild in the Viridian Forest, where beating them nets you a fair bit of experience, nearly as much as a trainer battle. The best part? Metapod and Kakuna don't fight back. They can't fight back.

It is quite easy to enter the Viridian Forest with a team of Pokemon whose average level is 4, and to leave it with an average team level of 9 or even 10. At level 10, Metapod and Kakuna evolve into Butterfree and Beedrill, which are among the strongest Pokemon you'll have by the time you reach the second Gym...in which case you will no longer need them.

Bzzzz, Beedrill. For the first three hours of the game, one of your best Pokemon. After that... No.

Same with this little butterfly, Butterfree.

Viridian Forest is not easy to traverse without a fully healed, well prepared Pokemon team. Weedles can poison you. Pikachu can stun you. You can be beaten here if you're not prepared. Just because they are tiny bugs and a mouse, does not mean the Pokemon in Viridian Forest are not dangerous on their own. Like all locations in the Pokemon world, the Viridian Forest is one that requires prior preparation in order to traverse safely. 

World Analysis-Final Fantasy 8

On my last post, I looked at the world of Final Fantasy 7- a nightmare of unchecked, unstoppable capitalism. But today, I'd like to take a look at a world that is somewhat similar, and at the same time, entirely different. Today I look at the world of Final Fantasy 8.

The world of Final Fantasy 8 is never named, so I shall refer to it as 'the world'. The world is technologically advanced, slightly ahead of our own. Television is high definition, computers are flat screen and use touch pads for keyboards. The nation of Galbadia possesses long range, intercontinental missile technology, jet packs, and militarized robotics. In Trabia, the Shumi race has managed to construct an entire village underground. And that's not even getting into the nation of Esthar, which is pretty much like something out of Star Trek or Star Ocean.

And yet, technology is slightly schizophrenic. Automobiles utilize gasoline, which makes them unreliable compared to electric transportation. And the best way to traverse between continents and nations is not by way of airships, but by train. (Though the trains are fast, to the world's credit.)

The world's trade currency is called the gil. Like every previous Final Fantasy, it is global, and can be used in every nation, even among the Shumi. This can be forgiven as a gameplay thing, but I think that this is something that requires at least a little questioning. Let's get back to that in a while, shall we?

Unlike the Planet of Final Fantasy 7, the world is divided into several nations. First off, there's Balamb, an island nation situated between the East and West continents. 

In the West Continent, there are three nations. The first is the Dukedom of Dollet, a city state that possesses the world's last fully functioning satellite. Dollet is a seaside city, possessing a marina. The city itself is full of cobbled, narrow streets. All buildings are made of stone, possessing neon lights. A ways north west of Dollet is Galbadia, the most powerful nation in the Western continent, and one of the world's strongest military powers. As I mentioned, Galbadia possesses long range missiles, but it also possesses a prison system that can dig itself into the desert sands, a missile base that can self destruct, and the world's finest public transportation system. (Those buses are free, punctual and reliable!) South of Galbadia is Timber, currently under Galbadian occupation. Timber is a nation in a crossroads, a central hub of not just the printed and broadcast media, but also the Central Station for the Western Continent's trains. Every train that passes through the Western Continent comes out of Timber, which may explain Galbadia's interest in occupying this nation.

Running between both continents is a railroad. Yes, a rail system that travels the ocean. Imagine that. Anyway, in the middle of this rail system lays the independent, and artificial, nation of Fisherman's Horizon. This entire nation, which is actually just one big city, is built in the middle of the ocean, atop many platforms and iron towers. There are very few plants, but there is a giant field of solar panels that provide the town with free, clean energy. The town is made of the descendants of several engineers that deserted the nation of Esthar when it was under the rule of the sorceress. Fisherman's Horizon's culture is based on pacifism, engineering, and fishing.

The Eastern Continent possesses two nations: Esthar and Trabia. Trabia is a small, barely populated nation comprised mostly of the Shumi and the occupants of the Trabia Garden. More on the Garden later. Esthar...

Wait, when did I start playing Star Ocean?

West of this place, the best piece of technology is flat screen computers, highly accurate long range missiles, robot spiders with machine guns, and a satellite dish. Here, people have developed force fields, space travel, hovercrafts, cryogenic freezing, etc.

No more needs to be said about Esthar. There is, however, one last location in need of discussion: the southern continent of Centra. There is no one living there. No one. No villages, no towns, no nations. Nothing. Why? Because of a natural disaster that occured fifty years prior to the game: the Lunar Cry.

Every hundred years, monsters from the Moon fall down to the world, causing untold amounts of death and destruction. These monsters fall into one spot on the world, seldom the same place. The nation of Centra, once a technological superpower, was completely destroyed by the Lunar Cry.

The world is one where magic is scarce, but present. Special beings, known as Guardian Forces, possess extraordinary abilities far beyond human capability. When paired up with a human, via the process of junction, they allow the human a limited use of magic. However, there is one human, always female, that possesses unlimited magic: the sorceress. This person possesses unequaled magic, and can transfer her power to another person upon dying. A future blog entry will delve more into this.

The world is highly divided, with every nation possessing a unique look, feel, and tone. An observant gamer may be able to observe hints of each nation's culture. For example, people from Dollet have an appreciation for arts, while citizens of Galbadia have more appreciation for consumer culture. The capital of Galbadia, Deling City, is sleek, modern, with several modern amenities like a shopping arcade located within walking distance of a giant architectural wonder: an arch like the Arc de Triumphe. Timber is very centered on every day life technology, while at the same time maintaining a sort of reverence to the woodlands that surround the city.

Alright, let's ask the burning question. If the world is so divided, if every nation is so different, and if there's a severe tension between Galbadia and everyone else, then WHY DOES THE ENTIRE WORLD USE THE SAME CURRENCY? Why is gil used and accepted pretty much everywhere? What is this, the European Union? Esthar itself is pretty much disconnected from the rest of the world, yet it uses gil? Fisherman's Horizon is located in the middle of the ocean, with the only way of reaching it is via either a boat or by walking on the railroad track, yet they use gil? What? You can make the argument that this is just a video game thing, that it requires suspension of disbelief. No. It works for Final Fantasy 7, because there are no nations and the Planet is under the direct control of a single company anyway. It works for Final Fantasy 10 because the world does not have any nations either and everyone is pretty much united under the church of Yu Yevon anyway, except the Al Bhed. But in 8? It makes no sense! You can make the argument that gil is a special currency that's accepted everywhere because it's special money that is rewarded to the main characters, but that doesn't make a lick of sense! And you can just as easily claim that gil is a special international bond that can be used as a substitute for real money, but that raises more questions than it answers! What organization makes gil? Which organization decides how much it exchanges for? Why does everything cost the same everywhere? It makes NO SENSE! But, as many of you may be telling me: it's a video game mechanic, and I should get over it.

The world of Final Fantasy 8 is a fantasy based on reality. And yes, I am aware that such a thing is currently, as of this writing's, the caption for Final Fantasy 15. Yet we need to remember that Final Fantasy 8 did it first, and did it during a time when the technology did not allow for little more than polygons on pre rendered graphics. It is a world that blends our reality with fantasy, in more ways than one. Of all the Final Fantasies, this one, to me at least, feels both the most real and the most fantastical. A future blog will be dedicated to analyzing the way Final Fantasy 8 blends reality and fantasy to create an experience like no other, and why it deserves a remake. But for now, I will end this entry here.