World Revisitations

Something I've noticed recently is that a lot of people seem to cringe at the thought of world revisitations. Of course, by that term I mean sequels, prequels and the like of an established world. This happens sometimes in pop culture. A striking example is Star Wars, where I see plenty of people who are downright outraged that their series has been revisited, providing possibly more back story or explaining other elements, or simply another period in the history of that particular timeline. I notice this especially with regard to certain video game franchises, especially Final Fantasy. Frankly, I've never understood the reaction.

The first real example of this that comes to mind is clearly FFX-2, which became the first sequel to a Final Fantasy game, and the first time a Final Fantasy world has been revisited (that I can think of at the moment). Now, I've never played either FFX or FFX-2, so I can't comment directly, so maybe FFX-2 is just bad. However, given how rarely I don't like something, I doubt I'll have a bad opinion of it, but I'll find out eventually.

The second example of this comes from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, which revisits the world of Final Fantasy VII. Advent Children isn't a game itself, but instead a direct-to-DVD film. It's not out yet, so I can't comment on what it may do for the story, but it seems to be a sequel from what I've read. Still, already the naysayers are out; talking about milking a particular franchise for money. That may be true, but yet, it seems like an excellent way to expand the depth of a particular world or universe.

Looking at some of the other Final Fantasy games, I can say what some potential other revisitations could explore:

  • Final Fantasy IV: Thinking back on the story, the story does present itself as a neatly wrapped up package. There are no glaring loose ends, as I recall, but there are still certainly some things that may be interesting to see. Whether or not they'd be sufficient in content to comprise a game, or would be better suited for a movie or novel, I don't know. What happens to the characters after the events? Is the world truly peaceful forever on? Of course, given the ease with which one can create new villains, it's always possible to revisit a world in such a way. Perhaps more interesting would be an exploration of some past events. Perhaps a discussion of KluYa's past, and the events that led to everything he did.
  • Final Fantasy VI: This is often cited as a potential target for a sequel. The response seems to cut down the middle, with some thinking the story's just fine, and others drooling at the prospect. I'd only implore that not all revisitations must focus on the same characters. A potential target is Maduin for looking at past events. There's also plenty of character development to explore in the future.
  • Final Fantasy VIII: The rumors say that the back story created for this game was enormous compared to what was actually showcased in the game. Given the well-developed settings, I'd be inclined to agree. There are all kinds of back story elements that would be fitting for revisitation. Some of the biggest ones are more about the history of the Lunatic Pandora, more about Centra, or the origins of Ultimecia.

The main point I think I'm trying to make with those examples is that there are always plenty of avenues to explore in any universe. The universe isn't fully developed until the timeline is filled from the beginning of time to the end of time. There's always more room for more stories, both large in scope, and incredibly minor. Granted, the typical RPG requires a save-the-world plot, but novels and films need not be bound by such a restriction.

From what I can tell, a major problem for many is the challenging of long-held preconceptions about the universe and being forced to change one's view about it based on new information. Perhaps some people find it annoying for reasons I'll never fully understand, but I personally rejoice at the idea of being provided more information about a particular universe, especially when the same people are responsible for producing the new content. This results in the material feeling more canonical, which is certainly important. With large-scale media, however, the writing staffs are usually quite diverse and sometimes the line can be blurred. When that happens, I'd say just roll with it, and if something particularly atrocious surfaces (I can think of a particular example in the Star Trek franchise), we can just pretend it never happened. I'm sure this entry had a point at some time. Now it's just random blabber, but hey.