Final Fantasy The Spirits Within - What Happened?

[@shinigamainako8663]

I remember hearing that Square themselves were confused why Spirits Within was referenced in Life is Strange. Supposibly they didn't say "We hate it," they supposibly went like "Why that one?"

[@jarmainc]

"Supposibly " is not a real word, but because you used it so well, and twice for that matter, you win the internet today! Yay!

[@MrComic23]

@@jarmainc Well what do you know. Supposedly supposibly ain't a real word.

[@alexisdominguez3133]

Terrible games follow other terrible games 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@RobotTanuki]

I don't follow Life is Strange, but maybe it is referenced to show the characters as being contrarian hipsters (as far as I understand the characters to be)? I could be wrong though.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

@@RobotTanuki Seems accurate, they tried way to hard to be hipster in those games.

[@holynarwhale8729]

Something that always makes me sad about this show is when you can tell how much of a passion project these are at first, but then things happen that cause the product to turn into a development disaster.

[@BrainComm487]

That's kinda a running theme with Wha Happun

[@Wardog01Actual]

And those things always seem to be related to bad business decisions. If these businesspeople are so "Good At Bizzness", why do things keep turning out like this? If this is the way it is, I should have been a billionaire by now!

[@misterbadguy7325]

@@Wardog01Actual Producers and executives have kind of a weird place in this kinda stuff, because they really do have an essential role, but you only hear about them when they fuck up horribly.

[@BuyMeThingsnow]

Passion projects are very dangerous in general if you don't have a good head on your shoulders. It's very easy to let your emotions and perfectionism get the better of you and cause really bad decisions.

[@Wardog01Actual]

@@misterbadguy7325 I get it, when it works, it works. And I realize there are many unsung battles won thanks to the gathering of many great business-minded people. But when it fails, it often just reeks of over-confident, self-serving, over-indulgent, unearned, business-ONLY-minded greed and entitlement. Almost like the top people make the lower tier do things ONLY because they can make them do things. Then when it fails your looking at lower tier when they were just doing what they were told to do. Often at the expense of what they WANTED to do.

[@Kramdaddy]

This is one of my father's favorite films. When I finally asked him why, he told me that "no other movie puts him to sleep faster." Lo and behold, last I visited him, he was napping soundly and this was playing on his TV. He loves it.

[@benandrew21]

@Javelin Melody is it the only film you've ever seen?

[@thelegendaryhusquin9906]

@Son Bruce I'm glad this touched you so much and changed your life for the better, but I feel nothing from this film. I didn't even know existed for almost 20 years.

[@thelegendaryhusquin9906]

@Son Bruce Keep on goin Son, make the Science Team proud! 👍

[@lordanzu8763]

They had us in the first half.

[@c.cooper2877]

I made it all the way through (when I've fallen asleep during a lot of other movies, even in theaters) but I admit that after, like, 30 minutes i just kicked my brain's mode over from "watch movie" to "study tech demo."

[@TheMazrem]

I was working my first job at the local movie theater when this movie came out. Say what you will about the movie itself, but cleaning up a theater while listening to the theme during the end credits is one of my more memorable moments in life.

[@ShinjiTomi]

That sounds so awesome

[@HiDefHDMusic]

Somehow the movie is quite memorable despite the characters, dialogue, plot and setting all being as forgettable as was humanly possible in 2002.

[@skeletonyouth616]

You gotta be like 40

[@CP-pd9gh]

That’s so dope, hopefully you became a fan of the games, research the “good ones” and take your pick

[@triburst]

"Hollywood Digiverse" This is dripping with 2000's energy

[@PhantasmXYZ]

I misheard it as "Polywood." Now I'm hoping popular VR Chat users and the sort will be referred to as "Polywood celebrities"

[@cassiopiea8438]

@@PhantasmXYZ Same here.

[@Arkonu]

Executiveproducermon Mega Digivolve to.... oh.... Wait... Uh.... Hmmmm..... Awkward...

[@robertlehto4667]

I like how even the VA for Life is Strange sounds like she's trying not to laugh at such a statement.

[@MagmAlex]

@@jayblodia unfortunately yes

[@wrigglenight93]

@@DOSkywalkR "Great game" I dunno about that one chief

[@nealmcbealthenavysealicall794]

Great game because it was a PS PLUS free game of the month. I know damn well I would NEVER pay full price for that experience. And it was just Meh... For me

[@moonlightact1792]

This movie is the example of "Good writing can save bad animation, but great animation can't save bad writing"

[@bisexualichigo4227]

Best Comment.

[@beancheesedip8337]

@@guyshafor1320 I haven't seen the new Berserk show beyond some of the clips and pics dunking on it. Are you saying it's good or bad? I've heard it's bad, but I also haven't heard anything about it since it first came out.

[@sambradley9091]

@@guyshafor1320 There's bad animation, then there's "we don't know what the fuck we're doing" animation

[@princemwamba5230]

@@beancheesedip8337 it wasn't that bad to me it's not great at all

[@mariokarter13]

When it takes DAYS to render a single second of animation, you need your story nailed down VERY early in production, preferably before you've even started filming. A sizable mistake in live action is like fixing a broken window, relatively quick and painless. A sizable mistake in animation is like tearing your entire house down and starting from scratch, because you have to re-render EVERYTHING.

[@No-01E]

That "i just dropped my dad off this cliff" face 🤣

[@timdupill9839]

He started it.

[@Ramsey276one]

Ages like milk.... LEFT OUTDOORS Beats Tekken 2 with King along ACTUAL CHILDREN FOOTAGE

[@extra4542]

I fucking died

[@loganm.theninja1077]

And now he’s dropping people off cliffs in Smash.

[@nebufabu]

4:36 When you call your company " *Square* Pictures" and its logo is a *rectangle* ...

[@Brother_Nazarite]

Rectangles fit all geometric criteria of a square.

[@nebufabu]

@@Brother_Nazarite It's the other way around. All squares are rectangles, but only some rectangles are also squares.

[@VoxParanoia]

Planning on having a digital actress really wasn't that crazy of an idea because we literally have almost that exact thing right now with digital idols like Hatsune Miku. So I don't think they had a bad idea there. I'm pretty positive it will end up happening in the near-ish future.

[@VoxParanoia]

Also, we now have anime cam-girls.

[@phoenixlich]

True story: Conan O'Brien made a joke about this film in one of his opening monologues when it was in theaters flopping. I saw this live on tv, mind you. The audience booed. It was at this time he learned that his primary demographic wasn't just teens and young twenty-somethings, they were nerds. Thus his show began to slowly introduce more stupid nerd humor and now many years later you can see him playing video games on his show and truly celebrating his core audience's interests.

[@mr.sinjin-smyth]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKGsiHutirWmrck

[@phoenixlich]

@@mr.sinjin-smyth That's not the opening monologue though. it went something like this: “The movie, Final Fantasy, before release: There are no people in the movie :: The movie, Final Fantasy, after release: There are no people in the theater.” (followed by booing) - Conan O’Brien, July 2001

[@phoenixlich]

@@cjfox7674 It happened. I was there. Audience booed/jeered and Conan was incredulous. I don't expect it to be easy to find. He hasn't been with that network in 20 years, and it's from a time before KZbin existed. You can see from the 196 upvotes that i'm not the only one who saw it live.

[@username-I5J7ts5GCF]

I'm confused. They booed O'Brien for roasting a movie everyone thought was bad?

[@foreverzero15x6]

I remember that joke too: He said something along the lines like "Final Fantasy is movie that had no real actors on screen and in the theatres no real audience"

[@TaoScribble]

Sakaguchi's rockin' that Mario 'stache. I'd give him a high-five for that alone.

[@Blackshroom]

Final Fantasy: Spirits Within Ah-HA-HA-HA-HA!/10

[@MrAuthor3DS]

That was an intentional forced laugh - ...No, wait, that's the best that this movie deserves. Carry on.

[@hippiechick73]

Tidus laugh? This had all the best FF memes.

[@GenerationWest]

Ah, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, the least looking and feeling Final Fantasy thing... ever. At the time, I thought this was just what Final Fantasy was, but then I actually saw the other games, and... now i'm still baffled.

[@cheezburgrproduction]

I remember hoping for a chance to watch this on a VHS player and being confused as to how in the world Tactics worked with this. Confusion is a theme within FF.

[@Geospasmic]

Sonic '06 was more like Final Fantasy than this.

[@Stribog1337]

Same for me. Even more so; when I started being interested in Final Fantasy (interest only. never liked playing the games) I got even more confused as how each game had nothing to do with the other, kinda like when I discovered there was a "GTA IV"... "was San Andreas GTA 3?" "where is CJ?" "why there is no mention of the previous game's characters?" "is this a spin-off?" It's a vicious cycle...enter GTA V: "where's Niko?"

[@Mysticgamer]

@@ressljs They should have called it the spirits within...without the ff label there would have been fewer people wondering why the movie had fewer colors than the original gameboy.

[@ironmaster6496]

SAME THING although it damaged me because i tought the ENTIRE FRANCHISE was like this (bland space war thingy) so like an idiot i avoided it completly. Until i was like 17 years old when i discovered it was actually something way more interesting, creative and well....FUN, stupid movie and stupid kid me

[@tacoman422]

Sadly, it feels like Square Enix never really fully recovered from this production, or really learned most of the lessons they should regarding handling the Final Fantasy IP. They're still pushing graphics at the expense of everything else, letting their budgets and schedules balloon out of control, trying to plan out 50 projects ahead of time without figuring out if they can make the first one a well-received, standalone project, and constantly find themselves disappointed in the performance of their flagship titles without addressing why this keeps happening.

[@SomnusLucisCaelum]

Perhaps the biggest (saddest?) example of this bad business from SE is FFXV. The years in development hell, the fragmented nonsensical story scattered in a ton of visual media that isn't often easily obtainable, the game feels like it was chopped up and out back together with magic tape on some places. Too much time focusing on CGI, in making a broken engine work, six-seven year's work only amounts to 20% completion thrown to the garbage bin... Rushed it in 3 years. The project hastily and abruptly cancelled despite three DLCs still missing, Tabata leaving just as abruptly... Man why isn't this a What Happun episode?!

[@SomnusLucisCaelum]

@@TheSkaOreo True. XIII might deserve one but VsXIII/XV is like, an epic story of failure on its own. XIII was a mess and the declining sales leading up to the very pathetic and lackluster game that was Lightning Returns is truly depressing... But at least it delivered as a full, finished (if half-assedly) story. I guess it was a good idea to steer away from the XIII name when things went brown the drain 🤔 Between XIII and XV we'd have a two part episode of Wha Happun, like that of 76 lmao

[@GrandCorsair]

Honestly I feel like Fantasy is a series that at least to me feels like it's ashamed of it's roots. I don't know I just get the vibe it's constantly trying to one up it's self.

[@tacoman422]

@@GrandCorsair I just wish they could focus on fleshing out the ideas that may have worked from their newer games instead of reinventing the wheel every time. Like, Final Fantasy X was a game that had a lot going for it and a few things holding it back, so I think if they had made another game or two in that style it could have led to something really cool, but pretty much every game after that was something wildly different.

[@chaosdirge4906]

@@GrandCorsair their moto did use to be "we will never remake final Fantasy 7 because that would be admitting we couldn't do better than final fantasy 7. I think its a mixture of things anyone remember the add campagin that PSO2 had "people say that JRPG is dead, We don't think so" I think it's just the fact that alot of companies are trying to distance themselves from practices that they think are killing their companies when in reality, the people that want to distance themselves from them are killing projects.

[@Wardog01Actual]

I went to see this at the theater with my mom and she actually thought these were REAL ACTORS.

[@TaoScribble]

*. . .* Genuine question: Does she wear/need glasses?

[@Wardog01Actual]

@@TaoScribble Ha! I wish you could see how hard I'm laughing, because at the time, SHE DIDN'T! But she was certain she had seen the black male character in another movie and while trying to figure out who he was she actually said "He's married to that one actress on that TV show isn't he?" Still gets me everytime I think about it.

[@Xusphy]

@@Wardog01Actual "that one actress on that TV show" Thanks mom for clearing that up.

[@Wardog01Actual]

@@Xusphy Oh I get that ALL THE TIME! "You know the one with the guy in it with the gun?" "You remember the movie with the old lady?" "That one with people trying to find the thing?" I have a million of these! And we usually NEVER figure out what she's talking about.

[@orihalchon]

@@Wardog01Actual omg what she said is pure "I owe you from the thing with a guy in a place" Ocean's 11 level of line gag. Gave me a good chuckle.

[@NvJinx]

My dad went to see this because he knew I was crazy into Final Fantasy games and wanted to see what it was about. Let's just say I lost my credibility in his eyes for a long time.

[@Nibol]

NvJinx I feel you, man. I took my dad to see Ghostrider.

[@hacksbeenjamin]

So you would have rather him seen you cross dressing in ff7? Shut up nerd.

[@NvJinx]

@@hacksbeenjamin No u

[@b0gster]

#things_that_never_happened

[@nancyhuerta5267]

@@b0gster I don't see how a situation like that would be impossible.

[@fromvault801]

Spiderman Turn off the Dark would be perfect non game related ep

[@ironmaster6496]

YES, that musical has such a bizarre story which basically boilds down to: it was a bad idea from the start

[@TheRacePig]

100k polygons for character models is still pretty damn impressive, even today on current gen systems very high end character models that look great are usually topping out at about 40k polygons, though it's worth noting there are a lot more techniques to squeeze detail out of characters with less raw geometric detail, but still.

[@Kernog]

The movie is decent, when you know what to expect. Its lethal flaw was to pretend it was a Final Fantasy, a series of action-packed games in magitek settings, while the movie is a slow-paced hard sci-fi picture.

[@zucum]

This, also the ending was kind of depressing and abrupt.

[@grauster423]

Agreed. I enjoyed this movie, but a Final Fantasy move it is not.

[@d3punkt5]

Yeah. I remember I was really hyped when I first saw it decades ago, then got really confused (and a bit bored since I was pretty young) about the story. It said Final Fantasy on the box, right? It didn't look like any Final Fantasy I knew of at the time.

[@1980Shadowwolf]

I thought it was pretty good for what it was heck i have it on dvd. Of course i also liked the Assassins Creed movie so yeah lol.

[@virgogaming6488]

I thought it was an interesting FF standalone story with very little connection to the games and main story.

[@atreidhd]

I love that reference in Life is Strange , it's just so _bitter_ . I would love to see an episode on Silent Hill: Revelation. That movie is hilariously bad.

[@Tamaki742]

@@Majinhero the 3d is important yes

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

The entire tale of the Resi movies I'm sure could be a saga unto it's self. Capcom why would you give this pair of dolts the Monster Hunter rights after this >,

[@ReluctantWarrior]

Or an episode on the first Silent Hill film, given how much wasted potential it was.

[@russellbrown6888]

​@@KeyBladeMaster-Dan A lot of the time it's the original makers that go seeking a Hollywood version, because Hollywood films usually get the widest release, therefore giving the IP more exposure. There are many reasons such adaptations turn out bad, from just bad film-making and writing (Ghost in the Shell) to poor understanding of the source material (Dragonball Evolution), but a lot of it stems from naivete or hubris on the part of the creator(s).

[@whydontyouremember]

@@PsypherWolf Im with ya bud. im not edgy enough

[@hypernova_119]

5:14 Ah, yes. One of the most iconic kings of Europe: *_King Daddy Caddy_*

[@scottgaultney]

Watch him majestically... I guess you can call it walking... across the grounds of his castle shirtless, pants pulled up to his nipples, and making strange noises before diving headfirst into a garbage bin.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

And Jim Fucking Sterling Son, Lord of the Boglins, hater of Randy "Two Bit Mysterio" Pitchford and #1 Wrestle boy!

[@Sonichero151]

@@OnDavidsBrain and may or may not be the Jimsaw killer we can't say for certain.

[@8-bitbarbarian710]

I feel as though this movie would have been more forgivable for most if “Final Fantasy” hadn’t been attached to the title. With such a name comes great expectations. For me, having looked beyond the “Final Fantasy” even back when it hit the theaters, I liked it for what it was. I still watch it now and again and it still sits on a shelf with the rest of my collection.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

Nope, people still would have had an issue with the fact that a Square Soft movie studio wasn't doing Final Fantasy movies. And without the Final Fantasy name attached it would have done even worse in the box office.

[@8-bitbarbarian710]

Palladiamors That’s fair. Though, I’m not talking about box office numbers. I just meant it might have been more forgivable among those who saw it. But there’s really no way of knowing for sure at this point. All we can do is speculate. For me, the experience was much akin to Godzilla (1998). With that name there came certain expectations-non of which were ever met. Going back and watching it again, I attempted to put out of my mind anything Godzilla related and just tried to watch it for what it was-a cheesy, giant monster movie. I still don’t see it as good by any stretch of the imagination, but it was more digestible. Though, I do know some people who really love that movie. But that’s the cool thing about entertainment mediums like cinema, television, and gaming-so many different flavors that appeal to so many different people.

[@randomsub1976]

Yup i feel the same way...some fans were just haters...this movie will always remain in the shadow of FF7...similar thing happened to FF8. Im a huge Fan of all FF games including this movie...it was truly state of the art back then. Square took a huge risk that damaged the company sadly.

[@davetheimpaler204]

I don't think anyone would even be talking about this movie today, if it weren't Final Fantasy. There were several better animated sci-fi movies around this time, like Titan A.E. and The Iron Giant.

[@BrainComm487]

Gotta be honest, now I want to watch this again.

[@falldownpit]

Virtual Actress? Anyone remember Laura? The digital actress of several Warp games? D, D2, and Enemy Zero? Not making this up....

[@Tekh09]

As a fan of Supergreatfriend, I sure do.

[@homerhat420]

I love D2, highly underrated.

[@adriannaranjo4397]

It went about as well as you'd expect turning a JRPG franchise into a blockbuster, experimental CGI movie for the mainstream masses

[@VoxParanoia]

I can see that working really well actually. Have some creativity.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

@@VoxParanoia ...uh...except it didn't, dude. It flopped horribly. Creativity is great and all but you have to build up some credit before you can start taking chances, in this case both literal cash and in audience favor. They started off with an experiment that NO ONE WANTED and it killed the company. Square Enix is a completely different, and much worse, beast than either of its individual companies ever were.

[@Stribog1337]

"experiemental" "CGI" "mainstream" oh crap those just don't go well together

[@SobiTheRobot]

And like...it didn't really even evoke the vibes Final Fantasy usually has. There's no moogles, no magic, no giant swords.

[@davetheimpaler204]

Nah, the problem is that it didn't resemble the franchise at all. "FF VII: Advent Children" may have had some plot issues but it's a pretty fun movie that feels and looks like FF. "Dragon Quest: Your Story" is a very good film imo, and it's not a straight adaptation of DQ V, it has a big twist that really ties everything together that you noticed throughout the movie.

[@Bassplanes]

I have vague childhood memories of watching this on a Chinese bootleg dvd set.

[@TehPwnographer]

Tang Michael you support the illegal DVD trade in China and now we’re in the midst of a pandemic that started there. COINCIDENCE!?!?

[@nathanpopp8227]

Oh my gosh! Same here!

[@DinnerForkTongue]

@@TehPwnographer Started there because it came from Guam. Your point?

[@Pipkiablo]

I watched it on a bootleg VHS taped off DirectTV.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

@@channel5980no u

[@ratchetxtreme6591]

The Fact that James Woods somehow got involved in two Squarenix franchises (this and Kingdom hearts) is something that i will always find pretty humorous.

[@rikowolfin4984]

You know, I actually wouldn't have minded if Digital Actors did become a thing where they just take a model of a character people really liked and kept updating them over the years to star in different animated films. Basically take the appeal of Hatsune Miku for music and instead replace it for movies, sure it sounds a bit ridiculous but I think it could have sort of worked if it didn't become a thing from a film that bombed horribly.

[@alexakaa.charlesross8919]

I mean Mickey Mouse and Kermit the frog has appeared in other movies as different characters.

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

Looking at the rise of virtual KZbinrs, I could see this becoming a thing now for like, small independent projects.

[@atre5763]

We have Virtual KZbinrs now, so there.

[@Eichro]

I think it kind of defeats one of the advantages of CGI characters.

[@tanakaba]

I remember being so hyped for this movie, checking the official website every week for updates, then being disappointed that it was just a "fine" movie. Today, I can at least appreciate the weirdness of the setting that most sci-fi movies never even attempt to reach.

[@cinnamonpanda6040]

How to sum most of these: -Successful franchise -Next entry with lots of expectations -Pasion project -Midway development process there is an issue be money, change of console, someone leaves the company or the higher ups being arseholes -Lots of pressure, the date of relase isnt moved to accomodate the issues -Game fails and everyone hates it except a small minority that will swear by their name that there is a genius in the game and that is “Different and should be loved as it is”

[@banjofangirl3458]

Throw shade on the Super Paper Mario name like this again, I fucking dare you

[@LagrimaArdiente]

I am amazed at how stunning it looks, but even more amazed at just how _bland_ the movie still manages to be. I think I'd rather watch it without any audio because, even though the voice acting is perfectly adequate, the aimless, boring plot grates on me way more than I could have ever anticipated.

[@glennb6020]

177 million just to make it. Christ and marketing ON that bloody hell how did they think it could make a profit. Need 400 million IN 2001!!!

[@shadiafifi54]

and they got only US$85M. Seriously, OUCH!

[@jamstonjulian6947]

It's weird that this rarely gets mentioned when talking about mega flops.

[@sambradley9091]

@@jamstonjulian6947 Same. I didn't even hear about it until this video.

[@MegaSmouke]

I believe that technical prise is much-mucn lower. And like 75% of money goes for management guys. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't see where they can spent so much money. Programming and 3D design is far not so expensive, same about ~200 Pentium 3 workstations. Remeber 3Dfx? When one business lunch can cost 50.000$ (half-year salary for engineer), I believe that was this type of projects.

[@sambradley9091]

@@MegaSmouke Dude, this was back when CGI was a really new technology. It's cheaper now perhaps as technology advances, but back then it was incredibly expensive. And even as it gets less expensive today, 3D animated films easily reach such a high budget.

[@Zeta1011]

I remember not even wanting to see this because the previews had absolutely nothing I'd seen from any of the games.

[@planetschlock]

You dodged a bullet there.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

All that I remember about this movie was the part where that one idiot blew up the station ignoring all warnings and that scene with Cid and those lights. Saw it before I even knew of FF. Back then to me, it was alright. Nowadays on the other hand....still bad FF-wise but at least it's not Dragon Ball Evolution, MK Annihilation, Super Mario Bros movie, Ao Oni or Avatar TLA bad imo. Now those are some trashfire fodder.

[@TaoScribble]

... There's an Ao Oni movie?

[@d3v1lsummoner]

Ao-oni movie. Thanks for reminding me of that nonsense CG animation where not even the goofy gore saves it. It's only redeeming quality is the song that plays during the end credits. Unless you mean the live action one which I have not seen but have little doubt you are valid in your assessment.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@TaoScribble Yeah, there is. A live action one. And its trash tier. Dumb 0 braincells story, REALLY dumb characters, Ao Oni looks just as laughably bad as that Pinhead from the last Hellraiser movie, an imbecillic plot twist that makes 0 sense and makes the FF10 "it was all a dream" twist look genius. Spoilers btw. And a waste of time. -0/10 And speaking of Live Action adaptations...WTF kind of drugs was the Attack on Titan movie on about? What was that utter amount of bullshit I just saw? Honestly I'd rather watch Mai Chan's Daily Life live action than these shitload of fucks.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@d3v1lsummoner You mean the OVA one? That one was goofy, occasionally funny and harmless compared to the live action mess I saw first.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@couchpotato3197 I can't remember. It's been ages since I last saw it and I mostly forgot about it.

[@1111Tactical]

Whoever had the idea for this must've been drunk and had...too much spirits within. I'll be here all week.

[@saintallison]

lol x'D

[@feartheoldblood7222]

Two worlds... this game needs its story told... "Oblivion on steriods" actual quote. Back of the box. Lol

[@revalution1965]

ChampionBidoofTrainer Yant two worlds three is coming out soon lol I played an unreasonable amount of two worlds just because it was that or oblivion rpg wise when the 360 first came out lol

[@0woled]

more like "Oblivion on chipotle"

[@skimaskedabi]

That game was so terrible my friends and I would pop it out every once and awhile to remember why it was so bad and maaaan. We never had a session over 20 minutes lol

[@feartheoldblood7222]

I played it as well, luckily with a buddy who bought it not me, but it was terrible. The only redeeming factor about it now is that's its literally 5$ and worth a good laugh.

[@skimaskedabi]

@@feartheoldblood7222 yeah i got my copy for like 2 bucks out the bargain bin at gamestop in 2010ish definitely got my moneys worth for the laughs

[@DudeMcAwesome]

My friends and I were working at the local movie theater when this came out...so as big FF fans, we were psyched to see it, and as movie theater employees, we would get to see it for free! It was the most confusing disappointing nonsensical dumpster fire and we felt ripped off despite not paying one cent to see it.

[@elnacho657]

I guess Hideo Kojima watched that movie and was like "Well, that´s pretty good BUT, there´s not enough timefall-resistant wood being delivered." And thus, Death Stranding was born. Cool game actually.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

I think its an awful game but I did find the joke funny so have a thumbs up.

[@sugs0377]

I saw this when I was 7, it was the first film I cried to. Don’t judge me.

[@nolilado5452]

I believe a few people here actually watched this in theaters. Me being one of them. Still can't forget how I felt during and after the movie. Never felt as a FF movie. Should've named it something else. It might've worked. But still, Advent Children proved what they needed to do to make an actual game movie to work.

[@PointOfLightProds]

Noli Lado I actually went back and watched it again, I’m one of the few that like it

[@palladiamorsdeus]

I saw it in theater. I didn't hate it but...it wasn't something I really enjoyed, either. I wanted to love it but I just couldn't. It was such a wasted opportunity.

[@grauster423]

Definitely not an FF movie, but enjoyable on its own. Advent Children was decent, but had it's flaws (Sephiroths appearance, and immediate defeat felt kinda tacked on). Kingsglaive was super enjoyable as well! Hearing Aaron Paul tell a bunch of ancient kings to go F@ck themselves, one of my favourite scenes in that movie!

[@ProjectShinkai]

I seen in theaters ,but was expecting final fantasy 7.

[@Harper_1984]

Digital actors? Yeah it's insane how this was a thing back in the early 2000s, and now it could be a scary reality.

[@Ara_Arasaka]

I still remember launching up FF7 for the first time on my brand new PSOne on Christmas in like…98. Even my mom and dad were impressed with it. My whole family just sat around and watched me play. It was such a good experience. I have terrible memory but that is one of the few I can remember as clear as Crystal.

[@LateSleeper]

At least we got a kick-ass L'Arc en Ciel song out off this movie.

[@xAuragothx]

I've never actually seen footage of The Spirits Within and WOW it still is really impressive looking! Great video!!

[@SammEater]

I love how Mass Effect based their look on the worst thing to ever happen to Final Fantasy.

[@MrGonzo500]

holy shit

[@misterbadguy7325]

@@mttylerdurden9 At least 13 made money. I assume, anyway, considering they tried milking it.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

@@misterbadguy7325 It did, but Squenix had a LOT of built up good will at that point. Each of its sequels did worse than the previous one though, as people got more and more tired of it. XIII was the first truly 'divisive' entry in the list since VII. VIII and IX both caught some flak but on the overall were well received, while X is considered one of the greats. XII caught some flak as well but on the overall people enjoyed it and the Tactics crowd loved the return to Ivalice. Then XIII came along...and that was one splintered fanbase. XV at least had heart and didn't have that OVERLY DRAMATIC story ((Though it had its own myriad list of issues)) but XIII was where Squenix really started burning that built up fan trust.

[@Blutwind]

@@palladiamorsdeus X the best? you hear all those souls of VI fans screaming? X mostly opend FF to a new audience while it pissed of old fans i mean people bitch about FF XIII level desing of to much straigth corridors.. X did it first

[@Ramsey276one]

@@Blutwind XIII is a bendy straw X was a crazy straw The little things matter!

[@pakapata]

i really like the aesthetic of this movie and the design of the weird ass ghost things ._. so there is that

[@Pipkiablo]

The visual effects for the phantoms are easily my favorite part of the movie.

[@grauster423]

Also, strong VA talent and good music. Personally, I found the story pretty straight forward, easy to follow, and enjoyable. I mean, still had nothing to do with Final Fantasy, but as a stand alone movie? Good stuff.

[@SobrietyandSolace]

It's like The Matrix meets Starship Troopers meet Nausicaa so I was into it.

[@JamesRoyceDawson]

Might just be nostalgia from me watching it as a kid, but I enjoy Spirits Within. It's a unique world with memorable designs.

[@Ash0512]

5:14 I KNEW IT! Caddy was a king this entire time!

[@juliagoodwin3461]

Moonbox Films and Jim Sterling!

[@InsomniacRadio]

And Supereyepatchwolf

[@Izzy_Dead]

This movie will always be a guilty pleasure for me.

[@ayuchanayuko]

Same here

[@sethlong9118]

I can't help it, but I feel the same way.

[@SammEater]

Me too, just like Advent Children and Kingsglaive, as faulty as they are, I do get a lot of entertaining from them all.

[@Izzy_Dead]

I love all of those and I'm tired of pretending I don't.

[@KarmaHauntsYou]

A true masterpiece.

[@SuperLlama42]

Even back when I kinda liked Spirits Within I would've laughed at someone saying it's one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.

[@planetschlock]

I would rewatch Battlefield Earth before I'd ever give this piece of shit a second look.

[@Just_Matty]

Haha good one Matt, April Fool's was yesterday... Oh. Oh no.

[@CreepsMcPasta]

Wait advent children bombed too?? I remember liking that one???? was it just my edgy teenage brain lying to me????????

[@jdredalert]

It was.

[@brandonmorrison6371]

Advent Children was an alright popcorn flick, but it was a lot of style with little substance. It’s like some weird side story of FF7 where Sephiroth was still there, but not present? It gets weird at some points.

[@CloudOmegaVII]

It flopped because they dressed black and tried to clone Matrix style.

[@BizzyIzzy87]

Ughh it sucked so bad, I was thinking it was crap the whole time while watching it.

[@emperorfaiz]

@@Jackapher Yeah, some well-beloved, cult classic movies were financial flops.

[@Haysey_Draws]

Wait, Aki was the original Miku?! I'd completely forgot about the whole pushing her for more movies/sexy undies. Crazy.

[@rhiannonbamford8741]

Friendly reminder that this movie was one of the factors that killed Xenogears Episodes I-IV and VI. But hey, if this hadn't happened, MonolithSoft would never have formed and we would never have gotten Xenosaga and Xenoblade.

[@madagoknee]

The Tidus laugh was well played on this one lmao

[@docterfantazmo]

My brother, sister and I saw this together, at the end when the eagle flew off we all said out loud "that can't be it", it was, that was it. Young us were piiiiiissed.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

My sister and I were the same, we are huge Final Fantasy fans and when the ending credits rolled we just sat there dumbfounded, unable to believe they'd ACTUALLY end it like that.

[@Moofyspacejump]

Way to crib the digital actress from Kenji Eno and his D series Square

[@GreyWolf3283]

It has it's faults and it's certainly not the "best movie ever made", regardless I still like to watch it from time to time!

[@BarrickMacready]

You have challenged me to rewatch this as an adult whom saw it only as a child.

[@yokorose]

i remember how they keep saying this movie would make 3d actress the new thing and replace real life actors

[@YorkJonhson]

Not everyone can be Gorillaz.

[@misterbadguy7325]

Oddly prophetic, in a way, considering the idea is pretty similar to how SFM animations work: the same character models being reused in a variety of projects.

[@mitchellorchard2163]

As a youngling when this came out this i fell inlove with it and still to this day it has a hold on me.

[@Ziomaletto]

"(...) before Hein uses BFG 10,000 to nuke all the aliens and, I guess, the world" Samuel Hayden: You can't just shoot a hole into the surface of Earth!

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

haha bfg go zrrrt WA-WHOOSH

[@fyxation]

If the story had been good, I can only imagine the impact this would have had on Hollywood. If anything, I think it served as inspiration to some directors/animators... maybe the ones who could look at it and say, "I could do better."

[@irwinator2019]

Indeed. James Cameron clearly did the performance capture thing better in Avatar, but unlike Sakaguchi, he never forgot about the story or characters.

[@mrmacross]

I always figured Square tried to play it safe by going traditional sci-fi instead of medieval swords and sorcery, based on Hollywood trends of the late 90s. The great irony, of course, was that their movie bombed, and several months later The Lord of the Rings came out and made like a billion dollars. A series that early on embraced Tolkien's work abandoned it for Hollywood to make a generic sci-fi movie, only for us to watch Tolkien's work become a massive Hollywood serial.

[@amurter19]

I just want to see the Square timeline where this did ok to good. Though square was probably bound to burn themselves with projects like this.

[@misterbadguy7325]

If you look over Square's history, they've kinda always been a bit incompetent in the management department. There are entire games that couldn't be ported because their original code just... vanished into the aether.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

Oh man, a timeline with the Enix merger would be AMAZING.

[@franciscobrisolladeoliveir9596]

I remember being blown away by this film when I was a kid but my god, it's a confusing story. Still, the thing about this movie is that it's a sci fi film but not a FF film and it's not even that good sci fi. We going to have an Advent Children or FFXV episode soon?

[@SampoPaalanen]

I'm pretty sure FF XV didn't fail, now FF XIV that's another totally (though even there it's FF XIV 1.0, as it was a success from Real Reborn on wards)

[@Psiicrow]

@@SampoPaalanen yeah, but it had an absolute hell of a development this show isn't necessarily about "failures", and more so about the fuckfest of the development

[@AndreaJensDemetrio]

@@Jose-se9pu ... I dunno, I still like it and watch it at times. It had some pretty cool ideas and setpieces, the only thing I was not really convinced about was emo-Cloud (especially, after playing the original FF7). It was a decent fan-servicey movie, the soundtrack was amazing and Sephiroth was... well, probably the BEST Sephiroth I saw until that moment.

[@PointOfLightProds]

Jose 84 the complete edition fixed a lot of issues with that movie, I rather like it.

[@Soldierboy441]

I remember this was a talking point in my freshman year of college in my Art Appreciation class

[@Chernobog2]

This was my first real exposure to the brand, and since I didn't actually know what the games were about I imagined the games were all about platforming through a destroyed Earth as Aki and collecting the spirits

[@matman17]

I remember watching this with my Mom. Mom: I really liked it Me: PROFOUND SADNESS!!

[@PointOfLightProds]

Actually a lot of the staff from Square Pictures went to form Visual Works after the studio closed. Visual Works is SE’s in house CG animation studio and produced tons of great work for games, trailers and movies. So maybe that experience wasn’t all wasted.

[@grim566]

Caddicarus, now that's a face I haven't seen in years. Oh I how remember him.

[@dilemma08]

I remember seeing this in theaters with my siblings (my older brother loved FF) when I was a young kid, and being absolutely bored out of my mind. To this day I can’t even remember ANYTHING about the plot.

[@nathanpopp8227]

Finally I can remember what the name of that one movie I saw as a child is! Thanks!

[@crashschwarzen4642]

All I knew of this before the video was from Projareds rewiew

[@Lynch2507]

Remember when it was okay to watch projared

[@DutchDread]

Although Advent Children doesn't really work as a stand alone movie it is actually quite a good addition to the FFVII compilation IMO, or atleast, the complete version is. The simple small tale revolving around human emotions really gave a sense of closure. Also, the story of Spirits within wasn't that bad looking back on it from what I remember, it was basically a weak copy of FFVII's plot. If it had been a more worked out basis for and actuall FF game it could definitely have worked. Now that I am older and see similarities in FF more in terms of themes than magic systems, I see how it qualifies as a final fantasy.

[@MerlaTealeaf]

I watched this movie during a snowstorm in Oklahoma in 2007, when they hit a button to activate something the power went out for 2 weeks. That's Wha Happun to me anyway. I don't watch it anymore.

[@96miffy]

Spirit Within walked so Love Death and Robots can run.

[@richardconnor2871]

I gotta say, I watched this movie again a few months back, and while it was still not great... it is kind of interesting philosophically. All that separates the antagonist form the protagonist... is who is ultimately proven correct. General Heinz sacrifices and works hard, trying to do what he believes is right. Putting his men's lives on the line, and ultimately sacrificing his own life to try to save the world through the means he thinks are best. The only thing that makes him the antagonist is ignoring beatnik hippies talking about love and peace in the middle of an alien invasion that has cost most of humanity their lives... But, he's wrong... so he's the villain.

[@daffyphack]

I remember that Maxim promotion. I was 18 at the time, so not exactly a deep thinker, but even then I thought that promoting a nonexistent human being in a bikini was pretty sad

[@VoxParanoia]

"I'm so much better than other perverts, hah!"

[@planetschlock]

It wasn't as bad as those times Lara Croft and Marge Simpson appeared in Playboy (seriously, what the fuck) but it was still really bad.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

@@avalonjustin And when you consider your chances of getting it on with any of the porn actresses you watch, it makes those animated hentais just about as 'real' as the 'girl next door', boyo.

[@phantasmastriker6157]

Even though this movie hardly felt like an FF movie, I did like it for a sci-fi title. Did find it kinda funny that some of the Deep Eyes armor and that gel landing drop transferred into FF13.

[@gamerkingdom1442]

This is to show ya, even with the best equipment and the best team and such, it means nothing at all if there’s no plan. Also, Sci Fi Final Fantasy can work if there’s MAGIC FANTASY in the system! this was only Final Fantasy In title only. Flash with no substance.......

[@danielramsey6141]

Um...Final Fantasy 8 and FF13! Flash and no substance right there.

[@GrandCorsair]

I think Advent Children takes the Cake for "flash over substance". I'm sure I'm going to be down voted to hell but I don't hate it. It's just like it doesn't take time to flesh out shit and just rushes from set piece to set piece.

[@SobrietyandSolace]

@@GrandCorsair personally I prefer the original cut to Complete when they tried to 'flesh it out' for the confused people who said it rushed from scene to scene

[@damien991]

I think this is the movie that scarred me, when I was younger, I watch it on the PSP remember that thing

[@mutinyontheark]

I saw this when it came out in a sparsely populated theater. A man came in with a backpack of brought in snacks and mentioned he didn't know what the film was, he was just here for the AC and to get out of the heat. He walked out a little under halfway through.

[@Loenne555]

I truly love this movie. The technology, story, characters, just about everything tickles my imagination, my feelings and my very sci-fi heart.

[@1980Shadowwolf]

True it was really pretty descent in story

[@Camarada_Cao]

Me 2

[@mthiyanendaba48]

Still waiting for Dragon Ball Evolution What Happened?

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

How about no?

[@dvt1393]

You finally got your wish. 🙂

[@VideoMajima]

I have to be reminded of this movie every time I read through the Final Fantasy X instruction manual.

[@finalfantasu7615]

?

[@VideoMajima]

Apparently people are confused about this? At least in my version of the game (The original PS2 Canadian version) there's an advert for the DVD release near the end.

[@justinroe6168]

Why am I just finding all these videos. Damn KZbin, step it up. This is quality content.

[@TKM20XX]

When I was a wee lad my dad had the DVD of the movie, this was way before I even played any of the games. Admittedly I was too dumb to understand any of the plot but thought "Ohh pretty!", then shortly after I got to play Final Fantasy 9 at a friend's place and thought - "This is nothing like the movie :0 !" It was then after playing more of the numbered series that I realised the true nature of the film.

[@perfectlap9379]

Damn

[@chatnoir3025]

I remember renting this movie because it was called Final Fantasy and returning it wondering why it was called Final Fantasy.

[@carlcarlington7317]

I actually think it's really interesting that max from life is strange likes this movie. Usually writers go one of two directions with writing nerdy characters and the media they consume. either the writers make stuff up completely or they're some weird smoothie of all the most popular opinions people could have on media like that on key and peele sketch. It's a really interesting touch to have a character have a really unpopular opinion like this imo.

[@Kitykitycoco]

God this took me back. I vaguely remember watching this on a dvd at a cousin's house.

[@menorasendaiba6404]

If only the title just "The Spirits Within" without Final Fantasy on it, would it be different?

[@jamstonjulian6947]

Nah

[@keithmcmiller8470]

Nope. This movie literally has the worst story I've ever seen come out of Square.... by far. Amazing visuals yes, but everything was soulless, emotionally bereft, and just plain boring.

[@planetschlock]

Yes, instead of being boring and massively disappointing to fans of the franchise...it would have just been boring.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

Yeah, it would have done even worse. It wouldn't have had that fan recognition so not as many people would have gone to see it.

[@JRTheKnightwalker]

I remember reading the book of this for summer school and ended up finishing it in one day

[@HoboJoe83]

Fun Fact: This movie influenced Mass Effect.

[@evertonporter7887]

And Halo. I wish it would influence Star Wars today.

[@BLKBRDSR71]

13:48 "I don't understand" Cid: "You don't have to understand" Sums up this movie in it's entirety.

[@Tazrael]

"Why couldn't there be a Final Fantasy anime instead?" and you went with the BETTER one of the two.

[@elinfini]

If you think _atrocious_ voice acting is better, then sure.

[@hrnbrigade4991]

@@elinfini Choca choca chocolate for you!

[@MassiveSwordAndCards]

This is the episode I've been waiting for all this time. Thank you so much!

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

The movie that killed Square and gave us Squeenix.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@stephen2624 Yeah (but only thx to the madlad himself Yoko Taro)...and the FF13 trilogy, The Quiet Man, Left Alive (that was made by them, yes?) the Xbox port of Last Remnant, FF All the Bravest, Ff Crystal Chronicles (in all its buggy glory), the PC ports of FF3-6 (4 & TAY being the least shit & lazy), Chrono trigger & Secret of Mana PC ports *at launch* (until they got patched). Not to mention they had a hand along with Tri-ace in making the worst Star Ocean game ever aka SO5. (I'm sorry for all the jabs I took at you, Star Ocean 4 - The Last Hope - Edge Maverick Edition! All is forgiven). Mystic Quest was alright. And I liked the Bouncer. Not to mention the rest of the games I didnt mention on that list that weren't shit and I fully loved. Still...There are certainly quite a few number of stinkers in their catalogue. Heheheh.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@stephen2624 Pretty much this.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@goranisacson2502 And yet...it couldn't prevent the inevitable, could it? Even if it gave us Square for a while it still bombed....hard. If it actually succeeded we would still have Square and Enix today. Two companies and possibly many more different Jrpgs. The movie, in a way, was a last ditch attempt to save the company from bankruptcy...even though games like FF10 were still selling like hotcakes during that period, from my minimalistic knowledge of that early 2000 period. And it's funny since the company almost died twice. Both times...with Final Fantasy. Or was I misreading that by what you said in thinking Enix was reluctant with the merge because of the movie bomb? It just seemed worded like that to me, tbh.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@goranisacson2502 Ah ok. That's what got me a little confused. Also "The movie that killed Square" as inaccurate as it was...apparently became a very popular tag in some articles I onced seen. I was, more or less, quoting their blunder. Heheheh.

[@exmaarmaca]

Wait a minute, Aki Rose was supposed to appear in later movies and become a "virtual actress"; that sounds now in a wierd thing like Vtubers before they were a thing. And also there is one called Aki Rose from Hololive...