The minds behindRick and Mortyhave never been shy about poking fun at the gaming world, withFinal Fantasy 7and its Buster Sword-wielding hero being the latest to get some comedic shine from the series. Given how stylish and over-the-top the game itself is,Justin Roilandand Dan Harmon weren’t short on possible material to pull from for the latest episode, “Bethic Twinstinct.” The show isn’t overt with its reference, either, and lets it sit in the background momentarily as part of the episode’s running joke on video game design.
Rick and Morty’s visual gag sees Morty playing games at home with his older sister, Summer, as a way to distract themselves while Beth and Space Beth grow closer. Rick joins them and, at Morty’s suggestion, turns the console’s realism setting up to max, resulting in games that provide a more “realistic” experience. This leads to Summer and Morty playing a “realistic” version ofFinal Fantasy 7where Cloud is facing off with a random monster, but the realism setting makes his giant Buster Sword unusable.
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Final Fantasy 7isn’t the only game which appears to comically suffer as a result of the show’s idea of what realism in video games should be. The cartoon gives its take on what a"realistic" version ofStreet Fighter,Galaga, and text-based games would be, the former of which forces the players to find each other on the street to fight before their “forget” meter fills up, and they forget why they were going to fight to begin with.
The overall gag is a funny jab at the idea of realism in video games, developers promising more “realistic” experiences within their games, and what the end results can sometimes be. Part of the issue with this, though, is the idea of realism in a game can vary depending on the kind of experience developers are trying to provide, whether it is an open-world epic likeRed Dead Redemption 2or thecinematic adventures of Nathan Drakein theUnchartedseries. It can lead to very loose interpretations of what qualifies as realism which can have unintentionally funny or frustrating results, an example of the latter being the tediousness of some ofRed Dead Redemption 2’s crafting and looting systems.
As forRick and Morty’s jab at gaming, it is far from the first and likely won’t be the last time Harmon and Roiland poke fun at the games industry. The series has poked fun at some of the biggest names in gaming, ranging fromPokemontoHaloand many others in-between, with hilarious results. It wouldn’t be surprising to seeRick Sanchezand Morty Smith’s future misadventures poke fun at some other gaming giants, whether it be Nintendo’s prized plumber or the loot grind of games likeDestiny 2orBorderlands.
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