Why would you want to play *that*??

[Psion]

If you map Pokemon to cyberpunk themes and assume the bright and shiny veneer of the show and games is simply what the megacorps want you to see, it's a perfect fit. Genetically engineered monsters, some of them of human-level sentience, engage in brutal pit fights at the behest of malnourished vagabond adolescants while shadowy corporations operate in the background and superficially cheerful female nurse clones (or androids) tend to the every need of monster and trainer alike...

Make him stop. He's scaring me...

 

[Aeolius]

and I was half-expecting a link to THIS

 

[The Shaman]

and I was half-expecting a link to THIS

That was the other movie that came to mind, but I couldn't remember the title.

You know with Doug McClure first-billed, that's some quality entertainment right there.

 

[Psion]

Actually, D&D handles Final Fantasy pretty badly, albeit not for the reasons Der_Kluge said. Final Fantasy is very much about unique and outlandish human-centric worlds, dramatic emotional sequences, complex storylines, near-narrative combat, and spectacular visual effects attached to the characters' powers.

D&D is more about the powers themselves, about using them effectively in tactical combat, player-created (and generally simpler) storylines, and recreating variations on Greyhawk, which is in turn a sort of Middle Earth Turned Up To 11.

I'd use HERO, Mutants & Masterminds or Exalted for Final Fantasy. Probably Mutants & Masterminds, because its system of allowing the PCs to do almost anything but introducing roleplaying complications to give them the ability to do almost anything (hero points and complications) fits the games to a 't.'

Eh. I draw a lot of inspiration from Final Fantasy. I consider emulation a secondary goal, so "fitting the game to a t" is not a goal for me. Final Fantasy IS about deep storylines and intense imagery, which I think D&D does just fine and is a worthy goal for emulating in a D&D game. And I can feel a certain kinship between getting limit breaks and using your best esper/summon and using your highest level metamagic enhanced spell or feat combo.

And probably inadvertently, but WotC seems like they use humans and elves interchangeably in some situations. This development does not enthuse me, but it does sort of make elves a bit like Final-Fantasy-esque bishonen.

 

[Psion]

Video evidence!

and I was half-expecting a link to THIS

I'm afraid to click on either of those links at work , but I'll bring up that there was a Slayers episode about a human that has a romance with a fish-person.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I'm afraid to click on either of those links at work , but I'll bring up that there was a Slayers episode about a human that has a romance with a fish-person.

Was his name Troy McClure?

 

[The Shaman]

I'm afraid to click on either of those links at work ...

They are links to the IMDB entries for Blood Beach and Humanoids from the Deep, respectively.

I'll leave it to you to decide if IMDB is likely to set off your employer's net-nanny software...

 

[The_Gneech]

I will say, in defense of the OP's position, that I get kinda sick of dealing with oddball parties all the time.

"Okay, so in the desert caravan we've got a skittish, foppish fox hengeyokai rogue, a smart-aleck dwarf wizard named 'Loose Hinge,' and an insane halfling fighter who thinks he's a dwarf berserker. At least there's a relatively sedate human cleric of Kord for the NPCs to talk to without taking points of San."

Granted, I've made my share of weirdies over the years, but I would think that there would be more general appeal to playing a classic character archetype. Instead, it seems like oddballs are the norm, and that gets tiresome.

-The Gneech

 

[Kanegrundar]

I will say, in defense of the OP's position, that I get kinda sick of dealing with oddball parties all the time.

"Okay, so in the desert caravan we've got a skittish, foppish fox hengeyokai rogue, a smart-aleck dwarf wizard named 'Loose Hinge,' and an insane halfling fighter who thinks he's a dwarf berserker. At least there's a relatively sedate human cleric of Kord for the NPCs to talk to without taking points of San."

Granted, I've made my share of weirdies over the years, but I would think that there would be more general appeal to playing a classic character archetype. Instead, it seems like oddballs are the norm, and that gets tiresome.

-The Gneech

Anything that you see time and time again in the game gets tiresome. It doesn't matter if it's the standard Human fighter, halfling rogue, Elf wizard, and dwarf cleric or some wild group of crazy races and odd classes. Too much of any one thing gets old after a while.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Someone on EnWorld once suggested that unusual character types should cost a feat. I allow a number of unusual character types IMC; anything more unusual costs a feat.