Devil’s Advocate - Easter Eggs

"You weren't supposed to be able to get here you know," greeted Grand Theft Auto III enthusiasts that managed to position a wrecked car just right, jump onto a building, and maneuver through a tree-filled alleyway. This, my friends, is an easter egg: a small reward hidden away in a game that has no bearing on the game's outcome. One of the most famous - and the most difficult to access - is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past's Chris Houlihan Room. When players find Chris's secret room, they are treated to 225 rupees and a message from Chris asking that the player keep the location of the room a secret. 225 rupees is a nice reward for finding the room, but it certainly doesn't keep anybody else from enjoying the game.

Sometimes, however, developers take it upon themselves to suck some enjoyment out of a game with their easter eggs. The most recent offender is Final Fantasy XII. Don't get me wrong, Final Fantasy XII is a wonderful game. I'm enjoying the story, the characters, and the battle system. What I'm not enjoying, however, is the virtual guarantee that nobody in my party will ever wield a Zodiac Spear.

See, as long as there have been role-playing games, there have been chests full of treasure to be opened by the protagonist and his merry band of cohorts. Sometimes these chests contain money. Other times they contain a weapon, armor, or accessory. Rarer yet, these chests could actually be monsters, called mimics, which punish the player for opening them. This is all standard fare for an RPG: adventurers explore dungeon and take all the spoils they find. It doesn't matter how hard that dragon worked for that gold; I'm trying to save the world here, and taking the contents of that chest make the job easier.

Then FFXII comes along. Chests are no longer just containers full of money. They aren't rewards for reaching the bottom of a dungeon or defeating a particularly challenging boss. Now they're all traps. See, there are four specific chests that look exactly like all the other chests and any one of them, if opened, keeps the player from obtaining the game's best weapon. This, in and of itself, isn't such a horrible thing. Maybe game developers are trying to teach us not to open chests in people's homes. That would make sense, especially if an NPC said something like "Don't steal from people; it's wrong" at the beginning of the game. Sure, it's a little obtuse, but then when I can't instill fear into the hearts of generic enemies all over Ivalice at least it's my fault. Sadly, the four chests that need to be avoided are placed randomly about the world.

A true easter egg's existence is hidden from the player. There are no signs in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past saying, "make sure to look for the Chris Houlihan Room!" That's part of what's so great about finding it. FFXII's, on the other hand tells all players about the Zodiac Spear through the license board. Look at it, it's got to be good. It's name is Zodiac Spear instead of Spears 6, it only contains the Zodiac Spear, and it costs 235 license points - almost six times the price of the Spears 5 license. To compare, the Zodiac Escutcheon, which goes for 200 license points, can be found in either the Barheim Passage or the upper layer of Giruvegan's Great Crystal. These chests regenerate. If you really want a Zodiac Escutcheon you can obtain one, no matter what other chests you've opened in the game.

I'm all for games being difficult, and I'm all for side quests being optional and of a higher difficulty than the main quest of the game, but what bothers me - what makes me sit back and wonder "Why would Square Enix do this?" - is the fact that, aside from its existence, no information about the Zodiac Spear and the method for obtaining it is ever available to the player without consulting an external source.

There are going to be one-time-only items in games. That's okay. It's incentive to go back and play again, do things differently, talk to all the NPCs. But until I buy a strategy guide or look at GameFAQs, all I know is that the Zodiac Spear exists. It's okay if it's hard to find. Hell, it's already in an optional, difficult dungeon. Just make sure that if I'm disqualified from finding it, it's actually my fault. How was I supposed to know not to open those four chests without reading a guide? I wasn't. There's no out-of-the-way dialog that I've missed. There's no sign that I didn't read. There's just a confused street urchin, a Viera with a great voice, and a sky pirate who is so much like Han Solo that we all know he'd shoot first. And none of them has the best weapon available.

Making the player rely on out-of-character information to complete a quest is at best poor design and at worst outright cruelty. Those players that love to 100% complete RPGs are the ones that buy the games on release day. They're the ones that ensure GameStop needs 150 copies. They're the ones that ensure Square Enix can pump enough money into Final Fantasy XIII to make it great.

Developers, treat your customers with a little respect; they're paying good money to play your games, and they deserve better than "Now that you've bought the $60 special edition of the game, make sure you pick up the $10 strategy guide so you can get all the best gear!"

Mar 16, 2007 - 4:10 pm | 1 comments
Justin Last