Reflections in Crystal: My life through a lens of Final Fantasy

The Emperor of Palamecia is bent on world domination. Having already conquered and subjugated much of the world, his eye is fixed on the kingdom of Fynn, who stand in fierce opposition against him. After leading an all-out assault with an army of monsters from Hell itself, Fynn is finally conquered. Four youths, Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon, are cut down by imperial soldiers as they flee their fallen kingdom. Revived in the town of Altair, the youths join the Wild Rose rebellion, the last vestige of hope against the Emperor’s plans. Together they journey across the world to defeat the Emperor and the Palamecian Empire…   Think of your favourite story. It can be from any media. A movie, a book, a TV show, video game, whatever it may be, just think on it for a moment. Who are the characters? Who’s the hero, the villain, the sidekick? Is there a supporting cast? Is there a love interest? What kind of story is it? Action, fantasy, romance, horror? How does it start? What happens i...

The land rots. The seas turn stagnant. The wind ceases to blow and the fires fade. The four crystals of the elements have turned dark and the world stands on the brink of collapse. The great sage Lukahn tells a prophecy of the Warriors of Light, four individuals who will come and save the world by bringing light back to the crystals. Years later, four youths appear in the Kingdom of Corneria, each carrying a shard of crystal in their hands. Believed to be the prophesised Warriors of Light, the four youths set out on their destined path to save the world…   Have you ever been completely, utterly, and hopelessly lost? Ever taken a wrong turn on a city street or down a country lane and ended up somewhere completely the opposite of your destination? What do you do in those situations? Do you stop and ask for directions, or immediately turn your phone on and hope St. Google can point you in the right direction? More importantly, how does being in that situation make you feel? Worrie...

In 1987, the very first Final Fantasy was released in Japan. By some startling coincidence, I was also born in the same year. This wasn’t the only thing to have happened in 1987, of course. For instance, President Reagan and President Gorbachev met in Washington to mark the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Bon Jovi unleashed Livin’ On A Prayer on an unsuspecting world audience. A great storm swept over the UK after an infamous gaffe on the weather report initially reported it as a ‘false alarm’. By all accounts from what I’ve read and seen, 1987 was a banger year. Not that I would know. I was only a babe. I had no idea what a Cold War was, nor did I have enough hair to whip back and forth to Bon Jovi. And I certainly don’t remember any storm blowing down our house. By that same notion, I had absolutely no idea about Final Fantasy or even what it was. Heck, the whole of Europe wouldn’t even know what it was until 10 years later! But it was there, existing in the world at t...