Final Fantasy is a Japanese role playing game series created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed originally by Square Soft (now Square Enix after its merger with Enix). The Final Fantasy series spans more than 30 years and comprises of sixteen (16) mainline games from Final Fantasy I all the way to Final Fantasy XVI. Hironobu Sakaguchi no longer helms Square Enix nor producers the games. His last contribution was to Final Fantasy IX, which is an absolute hit. Each mainline game afterwards has been good, but haven’t had the same level of love and appreciation as the first nine. Each of the titles uses the roman numerals for its numbers, hence why Final Fantasy 1 is officially known as Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy 16 is officially known as Final Fantasy XVI.
In short, each of the games are standalone games, albeit with some shared themes such as defying gods, love and the power of friendship plus a host of common creatures and monsters like chocobos, moogles, tonberry, cactuar, malboro, behemoth, etc. The mainline games follow the usual trope of introducing characters in a world of conflict, then having the characters journey towards saving the world by defeating the world-ending diety-like being whether it’s Kefka, Sephiroth or The Undying One (Vayne Solidor).
Origins
The very first Final Fantasy game was released only in Japan back on 13 December 1987 on Nintendo’s Family Computer (FamiCom) system. The game was released as a last hope by the struggling company to make something successful in the video game industry before shutting shop. The game managed to only turn around the ship, but turned the company’s fortune.
Many of the early Final Fantasy games were released on the Nintendo systems as 2D role playing games with very simple stories around protecting crystals that hold up the world and defeating the big bad trying to destroy the world.
The early years from 1987 to 1994 saw six games being released, all on the Nintendo system. Only three of the six games were ever released to the west, including Final Fantasy IV as Final Fantasy II and also Final Fantasy VI as Final Fantasy III. Notably both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI featured some very strong stories, characters and memorable soundtracks (and are remembered fondly).
Final Fantasy IV introduced the Dark Knight Cecil who through trials and tribulations turns to become a Paladin. The story has the characters travel to the moon and even its track “Theme of Love” still brings fans to tears.
Final Fantasy VI introduces 14 playable characters (and remains the largest roster in any mainline game), with incredible backstories for most of its characters such as Terra, Celes, Locke and the villain Kefka. Memorable moments include the opera scenes and the track “Dancing Mad” played during the final boss fight.
Seeing popular success
Final Fantasy became more a household name in the west during the 90s with the release of Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation. With the legal dispute between Nintendo and Square Soft and Square Soft’s desire to push to envelope and move to disc format, Final Fantasy made the move from one system to a new one. It brought both Sony and Square Enix closer. Final Fantasy VII through to Final Fantasy XII were all released originally, exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation.
Final Fantasy VII was the first in the mainline series to introduce 3D characters, albeit polygon-looking. It popularised the whole series thanks to its cast of characters including Cloud, Tifa and Aerith and the much loved villain Sephiroth. The story of Final Fantasy VII is also captivating with its focus on the environment through the Lifesteam, lost civilizations such as the Ancients, an evil megacorporation in Shinra, and a planet-ending meteor summoned at the behest of Sephiroth. Final Fantasy VII is the most popular in the franchise because it awe-inspiring when it was first introduced and offers the most nostalgia.
Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX are also critically acclaimed games too. Final Fantasy VIII is known as an odd one in the family for having a very unique character progression system and out-of-this world story. (I love Final Fantasy VIII, and can understand the criticism it receives.) Final Fantasy VIII was the first in the mainline to introduce real life proportionate characters, stunning full motion videos and even a pop song with “Eyes on Me” song by Faye Wong. Whereas, Final Fantasy X harkens back to the Final Fantasy I to VI generation with characters playing traditional roles such as thief, black mage, white mage, etc with a more traditional story. It is beloved by true Final Fantasy fans and even its creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Where to begin for any new player to Final Fantasy?
It can be hard to pick up a Final Fantasy game pre-Final Fantasy X because the graphics and the gameplay are quite dated. For any new player, I recommend playing Final Fantasy X because it has a strong cast opf characters with a story that allows you to learn things at the same time the main character Tidus is learning about things in Spira. Final Fantasy X is the first to have voice-acting and to arrive on the PlayStation 2. Thanks to its battle system, Final Fantasy allows players to patiently select their moves and plan ahead.
The hardest games to get into as a person new to role playing games would be most of Final Fantasy XII to Final Fantasy XV, because they all require fast response times and quick thinking to win.
A new player could also pick up Final Fantasy VII Remake. It’s a slick game, made with modern sensitivities as an action role playing game. The story only covers about the first 5 hours of gameplay in the original Final Fantasy VII but this iteration manages to flesh out this interesting period with lots of new content and background stories. Final Fantasy VII Remake is a great game to play and watch.
Some final thoughts on Final Fantasy?
What makes Final Fantasy such a phenomenon? Each mainline game is new, refreshing and exciting because the game developers are always pushing the boundaries after each game to create an even bigger success. That’s why games like Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII and Fantasy X are lauded as greats, but there still legions of fans of each of the games.
The series has also spawned so much multimedia in the way of sub-franchises such as Final Fantasy Tactics, Chocobo Mystery Dungeon, Crystal Chronicles, World of Final Fantasy, Stranger of Paradise and so much more, plus the countless orchestral concerts with Distant Worlds, figurines, books/manga and so much more.
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