7 Times Classic FMV Blew Our Tiny Little Minds

Mind asploded!!
Chrono Trigger Frog

Let’s talk about FMV for a minute. In case you weren’t aware (we know you are, but humor us in the interest of a robust intro), it’s short for full motion video, and once upon a time, it blew our freaking minds.

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For you see, in the early days of polygons, we had to settle for whatever simplistic visuals we could get in-game, like suspicious chibi versions of RPG protagonists or a Stone Cold Steve Austin facsimile who looked as though he was made of Lego. But sometimes, FMV scenes would grace our screens, with their pre-recorded cinematics, and the graphical quality would skyrocket. It was epic, and really set the tone for the events that would follow.

Nowadays, technology has come so far that we’re literally commenting on the quality of a character’s eyebrows, rendering the magic of FMV fairly redundant. Let us take a moment to look back on the days when it made a difference in our lives, however major or minute that may have been, with a list of thrilling examples of FMV. For today, that will stand for Fun Musings, Visceral.

…Screw you, it’s hard to think of an appropriate V word.

Squall is a Beautiful Man

Final Fantasy VIII

For two straight generations, Nintendo sat undaunted atop the throne of the gaming world, swilling goblets of the finest wine, until a failed business venture with Sony unwittingly created the greatest threat to their empire in the form of the PlayStation. With its bold transition into disc-based media, a whole new world of potential opened up, and one of the greatest weapons in their arsenal had been pilfered right from under Nintendo’s noses; Squaresoft.

Final Fantasy VII had already made its mark as perhaps the greatest RPG of all time, and the next entry in the series followed that example with guns blazing. Accompanied by a beautiful symphonic score, we see Rinoa chilling out in a flowery field, looking most exquisite. As things build to a crescendo, it shifts to an epic duel between Squall and Seifer, interspersed with foreshadowing of the wickedness on the horizon, and no shortage of feathers. Lots and lots of feathers.

If you weren’t hyped before, you most certainly were now. Make sure you name the protagonist something cool, like Talon or Edge or ASSBOY. ASSBOY sounds nice.


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Author
Tony Cocking
A miserable little pile of secrets. Unabashed Nintendo stan, Resident Evil fancier and obscure anime enthusiast who insists everything is funnier when the rule of three is applied. Oh, and once I saw a blimp!