ATTACK AND DETHRONE GOD: How JRPGs Radicalized Me
Origin Story
I first played Final Fantasy IV when I was thirteen years old, gifted to me by a kind older classmate. He pressed the floppy disc into my hands (archaic cyberpunk technology) along with a folded piece of college-ruled paper with instructions scrawled in blue pen. I went home, popped the disc into my computer, and followed the instructions to bring to life my first ever experience with an emulator (ZSNES) and a Final Fantasy.
The opening scenes of Final Fantasy IV are cruel and oppressive, though you may not immediately realize it due to its poppy color scheme and 16-bit graphics. We watch as the Red Wings — the elite air force of the nation of Baron — flies across the world in perfect synchronization as they purse an imperialist goal: abscond with the life-giving crystals of other nations.
In a moment of immediate doubt, the captain of the Red Wings, Cecil, asks his king why they are taking the crystals from the other nations. The imperialist leader is dismissed by the king and given another mission, which unknown to Cecil is to carry a weapon of mass destruction to a small village of summoners and destroy them.
