5 Things Fable Could Learn From Final Fantasy

Eleven years.

That's how long it's been since the last mainstream Fable game was released.

After that, the series went into full-on experimental mode, churning out casual-aimed games, a questionable remaster of the original, and leaving the overarching storyline to a Kinect-exclusive game that most fans couldn't play. It was during the development of the asymmetric multiplayer experience Fable Legends that Microsoft shut down Lionhead and mothballed the series.

Now, with Playground Games rebooting the series as a high-end role-playing game for current generation consoles, Fable is heading back into the limelight.

RPGs have changed since the last Fable and fans will expect the new game to follow some of these evolutions, but with so many different games advancing what we expect of RPGs in different ways, there's a real danger that Playground could create a game that loses what was special about Fable in the first place.

Continuing our series on the lessons we think they should learn from the games that have come to the front since the last mainstream release, today we'll look at five things that Fable could learn from Final Fantasy.

Fable is notable for the first couple of games having a childhood section where the player can start to define their legacy. It's something that the fandom has regularly called for to be deeper and more meaningful, with effects that pass into adulthood.

Enter Final Fantasy IX and Vivi, possibly the single most adorable (and awesome) protagonist in the history of RPGs. Designed after the original black mage aesthetic from the first games, Vivi is a child trying to find his place in the world. And while he gets caught up in the dramatic events of that game, Vivi still finds time to make friends and play.

One of the first people Vivi meets is Hippaul, who introduces him to the Tetra Master card game. Later on, worried about her anthropomorphic hippo son's weight, Hippaul's mother convinces his friend Vivi to race him in a button-mashing minigame.

These moments, from him hunting rare cards to playing jump rope with other kids to sneaking into a concert, all feel like the childhood that Fable misses out on; one of making questionable and lifelong friendships, having adventures, and playing whenever you can.