The Psychology of Final Fantasy: Surpassing the Limit Break

De: Anthony M Bean PhD - editor

Narrado por: Gabriella Pitchford

"No matter how dark the night, morning always comes, and our journey begins anew." (Lulu, Final Fantasy X)

From its initial release in 1987, Final Fantasy has gone on to become one of the most beloved series of role-playing games in history. With narratives revolving around grandiose stories of good versus evil, Final Fantasy has allowed us, as players, to witness heroic battles, experience hard-won victories, and create treasured friendships for almost 40 years.

The Psychology of Final Fantasy guides gamers on a real-world quest of self-discovery so that they can surpass their own limit break. And, as part of this examination, psychologists, clinicians, video game researchers, professors, and enthusiasts who love this franchise ask:

• How does the storyline in Final Fantasy grab and keep our attention for so many hours of gameplay?
• Why do the symbols in the game, such as crystals, magic, and weapons, hold meaning about our own psychological inner workings?
• What are the feminine warrior and archetypes found in the game and how are they living in all of our everyday lives?
• How does playing Final Fantasy connect us with a larger sense of spiritual guidance as to who we are?
• Why is it that, by creating a group, we become whole more than we do when playing as individuals?
• How do the musical interludes affect our psyche and push us to become better versions of ourselves?

Think you know Final Fantasy? The Psychology of Final Fantasy explores how the game resonates with a player's psychological drive toward an emotional sense of wholeness, bonding, and completion as they take part in this epic quest.

©2020 Leyline Publishing (P)2020 Leyline Publishing

Dive into deep stories in the FF series

Wonderful compendium of the final fantasy series’ stories and a great way to make people understand the depth of video game content

Lots to think about

I really love these games, and enjoyed some in-depth analysis. It was fun to revisit these stories with a different perspective.

Bad Reading

My expectations were dashed during the fireworks when I heard the of repeated - and long debunked - myth that Final Fantasy saved a young Square from going out of business. However, it only got worse from there.

The narrator frequently stumbles over words and phrases. There are awkward pauses. She gets tongue tied and just keeps going. No edits, no retakes.
The narrator is clearly unfamiliar with pronunciation of Japanese names, which is a prerequisite for talking about these games in particular. She frequently talks about Nobuo "Yoo-matsu" for example.

In addition to this, the narrator is clearly unfamiliar with the source material clearly struggling to correctly pronounce the names of characters and places from the games and even game titles, ie pronouncing Theatrhythm as "Threat Rhythm."

The narrator sometimes struggles with even regular English words, putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable or throwing out such gems as "intrisnic." This gives the impression that the narrator is not a skilled reader. The recording sounds amateur and low effort and while she has a pleasant voice the constant mistakes, fumbles and awkward silencees make it difficult to listen to.

it's embarrassing. I don't think anyone listened to this before publishing it to audible.

Some of the essays are great. For example I learned about Kishotenketsu storytelling, which is cool. These are largely insightful essays about something I love. Some are very informative while others seem to run on endlessly without building on their premise, so it is a mixed bag there. Quite frankly the experience is ruined by the terrible narrator.

Amazing book for RPGamers and Psychology Lovers!

As a fan of The Final Fantasy series and a psychology student, reading this book from cover to cover was an incredible experience! I could relate to a lot of the characters from the series that was used as case studies throughout the book, while simultaneously having a sense of nostalgia and gaining perspective of different characters mindset that I didn’t quite understand while playing through the games when I was younger! I want to thank the author for this wonderful masterpiece and the narrator for presenting it. Definitely adding this to my favorites list!

should have been a lot longer

it's not a bad book, but not worth using the credit. for how much lore there is, there should be a lot more content