Conan O’Brien geared up for an early look at Final Fantasy XV, one of the most anticipated games of the year, and—wait, who brought the hobbit?
What’s Elijah Wood doing there? Did Conan hear the word “fantasy” and think this was some kind of a Lord of the Rings thing? I mean, Conan was already a grown man writing for Saturday Night Live when the first Final Fantasy hit America in 1990; he’s almost definitely never played one of these things. He seems more like a Dungeons & Dragons guy, and like a pre-Advanced Dungeons & Dragons guy at that. We could totally see him trucking down to the local hobby shop in Brookline in 1977, trying to track down the new Basic Set. Clearly he invited Elijah Wood out of complete ignorance of the 30 year history of Final Fantasy. There can be no other explanation. It’s not like he contributes much (although he does seem to be the only one doing any actual playing).
Making fun of cultural differences between Japanese and American media is as tired and played-out as late-night talk shows, but Conan makes it work because none of his jokes are based on typical assumptions or Japanese stereotypes. Over the course of this video he compares the seemingly aimless direction of Final Fantasy XV to a Beckett play, mentions James Joyce in reference to the game’s weirdness, and repeats the boy band joke everybody’s been making for years about the game’s core group of friends. It’s hilarious and smart, and anybody who digs games or comedy should check it out.