Bookwarm Games

Inspired by Prof Kozlowski's recent post on FFVIII and IX, I'm sharing the audio from my talk on a not-too-dissimilar essay, Rat Tail and Knights of the Round: Summoning King Arthur in Final Fantasy IV and VII. Abstract: Video games play a significant role in transmitting images of heroism in contemporary culture. This talk concerns allusions to King Arthur in the Final Fantasy video game series, read in the light of mythic narratives present in the role-playing game genre. I focus on representative Arthuriana in Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VII, which I take to be illustrative of the tension between crystalizing and splintering tendencies at work in the series. I draw comparisons between two major examples, the Excalibur weapon and Knights of the Round summon magic. For a tentative framework of theory, I make reference to Tolkien’s imagery of light as refracted by Verlyn Flieger’s analysis in Splintered Light. Referenced slides. For more about my presentations at Signum U's TexMoot: videogameacademia.