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Therefore, from this day forward, I declare that Thou Shalt Not Say [ANY game] is the Best [whatever] Game without giving at least one reason.

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Another problem I have with this is that it defeats the entire purpose of the internet.

Places like this can be called discussion boards. Their very purpose is for ... discussion!




Personally, I think most people should stay away from "best ever" comments altogether. The first issue is whether something is good or bad, not whether it's the best ever or not. That first step is too often skipped. Example: When Lament of Innocence came out, at places like EGM or IGN, the question was "Is this the best Castlevania ever?" Of course it wasn't the best Castlevania ever, it wasn't even a good game, period!

For me, at this point, if someone I didn't know well said a game was good, I might become curious, but if they said it was the best [something] ever, I'd just roll my eyes and dismiss it.

I read today an article at the jaded gamer in which probably the most currently active member of the site claimed that Final Fantasy 4 was overrated. He said fans of the game have difficulty explaining why they like it.

I call bullshit on that. I don't believe for one second a person could make any effort to talk to FF4 fans about the game and not hear some concrete reasons why it could be liked. (The soundtrack alone is a pretty concrete reason)


But in a much more general sense, I think the argument "no one can explain why they like this" is bullshit. It's very, very similar to The Method of the False Consensus.


Do people think I've used that argument? I dunno; maybe some people do. I don't believe I've have.

Now, granted, I might find a person's reasons for liking a game to be ridiculous or unconvincing, and maybe I even think that their stated reasons are not their real ones. But I usually don't think that there are no reasons at all. (FO suggested that no one came name why they like Zombies Ate My Neighboors.)



And I even suppose some people might find offensive my own explanations for their opinions. I know we all have been offended when someone claims we don't have our opinions for our stated reasons but for some other one; this has been mentioned in this very thread. "No, you don't like Super Mario Bros. 3 because of its level design; you like it because you're blinded by nostalgia!" I find that jaded gamer's article's explanation for why people like Final Fantasy 4 -- because it's more obscure than Final Fantasy 6 or 7 -- to be fantastically retarded.

On the other hand, I do think that the reason many people consider FF7 to be one of the greatest games of all time (or at least their favorite FF) is because they never played a game like that before. So, the novelty of the experience made it have a big impact. For people who the experience would not be novel for, the impact would be less.

One reason I don't think this is putting words into people's mouths is because this is a point over which both sides of the debate can almost agree, though some interpretation would be different. People that think FF7 is the best FF would consider people like myself to be some old elitist that considers myself superior to others because I made it to the party earlier. On the other hand, they see no reason to go back to some old, outdated game, regardless of whether they like its sequel.

Either way, we're both at least sort of admitting to the fact that when these games are played can affect opinions.

I think what makes my interpretation the correct one is that to appreciate ANYTHING -- not just videogames, and certainly not just the Final Fantasy series in particular -- as an art form, you MUST have appreciate for the thing's history. Period. It's not that I think someone even born today couldn't eventually have a valid opinion on these games, but only if they were able to appreciate their history. A person who has never seen a movie made before 1980 would be likewise unable to judge them as an artform.