Final Fantasy and Philosophy is a new non-fiction book that tries to examine the philosophical, religious and moral standpoints that exists within the various Final Fantasy (FF) games and indeed in the collective universe of said games. This is done by way of examining the themes, storylines, and motivations behind the characters and their actions, using the arguments for different standpoints laid down by philosophers, such as Michel Foucault (1926-1984), Karl Marx (1818-1883), Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980), Aristotle (384-322 BCE), Franz Kafka (1883-1924) and several others.

What must be said at this point is that to fully appreciate this book, you must be familiar with the Final Fantasy games to a large degree. The book primarily focuses on Final Fantasy VII and its world and characters and on the continuations of that game, namely, the movie FFVII: Advent Children and the game FFVII Dirge of Cerberus. But to fully take part in the entire book you must have played most Final Fantasies from FFI all the way up to FFXII. To be remembered is that this book expects you to know the story in these games as it is filled with spoilers on story, events and characters.

My view is that you should have at least played Final Fantasy VI, VII, IX and X. The chapters that bring up the older games and the others, such as VIII, XI and XII, do a good job, though, of getting you up to date on what transpires in those games, to make it easier for the reader to follow the walkthrough of those games. A surprise this book gives is that it also examines the FF movie The Spirits Within. Many people disliked that movie, but with the help of this book you’ll find that there’s more to it than initially meets the eye.

The book in itself is divided into fourteen chapters by different authors, all taking a look at a particular area of interest in the games. Some chapters only take a look at a given game, in most cases FFVII, but IX and I are also examined this way. The chapter for instance focusing on FFIX deals with the character Vivi Orunitia and how he handles his confusion regarding death and how it may stand in the way of living beings happiness, and the fear and pain he feels over this. The philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE) argues against this fear in that in death there is no pain and therefore Vivi shouldn’t be afraid, but the character Necron that arrives at the end of the game and tries to destroy the world is of the opinion that fear can never be completely abolished as long as living beings exist.

Most of the chapters, though, focus on a certain theme, such as ecology, environmental ethics, and art in the FF games, and therefore takes a look at several games where this particular theme is most prevalent. In this case it’s the game FFVII where ecology plays a big part, the FF movie The Spirits Within is discussed concerning environmental ethics, and the philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) is brought in when discussing Final Fantasy as art, by examining FFI, IV, VII, IX, and X.

I'm going to give an example of what a discussion looks like in this book, and an example on how discussions are structured within chapters.

In chapter two, called Kefka, Nietzsche, Foucault: Madness and nihilism in Final Fantasy VI, by Kylie Prymus, we are asked the question whether Kefka, the main antagonist of FFVI, is just a homicidal maniac and nothing else? Kefka sees no reason or purpose for the continuation of the world and therefore sets out to destroy it. Kefka doesn’t seem to be reasonable at all, but the book argues that Kefka’s logic forms the basis in existentialism. If there is no reason to be found in the world, then that reason must be found elsewhere. “God is dead” is one of Nietzsches most famous statements, but what he meant with that is it signifies the end of an era where the meaning of life is accepted unquestioningly from a religious (or other) authority.

Nietzsche, Sartre and Dostoyevsky all argued that we are all born in to the world with the ability to decide for ourselves what is meaningful. The heroes of FFVI try to explain to Kefka at the end of the game that there is meaning to existence and they make their standpoints. Kefka might not be truly mad in wanting to destroy the world, but he believes that without meaning there is no other end but the nihilistic desire for annihilation.

Chapter seven, Final Fantasy and the purpose of life, by Greg Littman is structured this way: The writer is asking the question what sort of lives we should be living in the real world and takes a look at some Final Fantasy heroes like Cloud, Squall, Bartz, Zidane and Tidus and how they try to live their lives when faced with hardships within the games. The writer asks, how would the fifteenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) judge the way these game characters try to live their lives in the story of Final Fantasy V, VII, VIII and X? After going through Hobbes the writer turns to nineteenth century philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and gives us Mills point of view. And after that we get Aristotle (384-322 BCE).

These two chapters above are examples of how discussion is handled and how chapters are structured. Most chapters are written in the same vein.

The book is not without its share of dry humour also. Chapter one for instance makes a fun reference to FFVII in its title The Spikey-Haired Mercenary vs. the French Narrative Theorist. Another is a reference to a certain little animal: Kupo for Karl and the Materialist Conception of History.

Final Fantasy and Philosophy is clearly thought of as an entryway into further reading in the field of philosophy. Not only is it intended as a book thought to inspire Final Fantasy players to learn more about, and delve deeper, into the game they are playing. It’s also an excellent way to further interest the players into reading more of the works of the philosophers introduced in this book. Throughout the book we get lots of encouraging recommendations to read more of the various philosophers presented in the book. Those I have mentioned are just a few.

The book is not without its faults. It’s made up of fourteen chapters written by as many writers and quality between chapters varies. Some may not be as interesting but that’s more of what taste you have. Some chapters are excellent, like Final Fantasy and the Purpose of life, by Greg Littman, while like Objectification of conscious life forms in Final Fantasy, by Robert Arp and Sarah Fisk, could have benefited from some extra editing by someone who has more knowledge of Final Fantasy facts. There is also a small lack of footnotes in some of the chapters; more could have made the argumentation easier to track to the original philosophical works that are discussed.

But I would say that those are minor faults and are not to the detriment of the book. The writing is by no means hard to grasp, the philosophers thoughts are explained in detail. There are no pictures in this book though. Overall it’s a good, easy read.

If you have certain favorites when it comes to Final Fantasy games then don’t be discouraged if FFVIII, X or XII isn’t given as much space as the giant of this book, FFVII. All FF games and movies within the main series are mentioned and discussed at least a few times over the course of the book. And the very fact that we now have this kind of book delving into the FF games is great.

The book is edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Michael S. Beaulieu. Series editor is William Irwin.