Final Fantasy is now 35 years outdated, and that feels slightly bit bizarre to say. While not the primary RPG collection to ever grace a house console and even the primary Japanese-developed RPG, Final Fantasy is, arguably, the JRPG. Everyone is aware of it, and everybody has performed no less than one.
There’s quite a lot of debate about what Final Fantasy as a franchise actually is, and over the past 20 years, lots of people have felt disenchanted by enormous overhauls to fight or setting. But there is no such thing as a one type of Final Fantasy. I can’t actually consider every other collection that has modified as a lot and as usually as Final Fantasy has. Right again to its origins, Final Fantasy has all the time managed to innovate, iterate, and reinvent.
Final Fantasy has all the time managed to innovate, reiterate, and reinvent
And the place did all of this creativity begin? The authentic Final Fantasy on the Famicom in 1987. Now-legendary collection creator Hironobu Sakaguchi had lengthy needed to make an RPG for Square, however following Dragon Quest’s runaway success in 1986, he seized the chance and pushed via the chances to make Final Fantasy occur.
To rejoice this momentous thirty fifth anniversary, I wish to look again on the authentic six Final Fantasy titles and see how every one innovated and reinvented the wheel, paving the way in which for different RPGs, in addition to forging a path forward to proceed to create distinctive masterpieces.
Final Fantasy I – A Class Act
“The fun in an RPG begins when you create a character, in my mind,” designer and battle director Akitoshi Kawazu instructed Jeremy Parish in 2012. Inspired by Ultima, Wizardry, and Dungeons & Dragons, the unique Final Fantasy was the results of a staff of seven individuals at Squaresoft, headed up by Sakaguchi. The collection creator “made a concerted effort to be different” from Dragon Quest, and the sport’s job system is maybe the defining a part of that distinction.
Stylistically Final Fantasy was fairly totally different from different RPGs of the time. It wasn’t completely medieval and it was extra “fantasy”, therefore the identify. But with the crystals, the 4 components, and the in-recreation class and job designs, it felt very totally different. Wizardry had achieved lessons and jobs earlier than, however Final Fantasy simplified issues, and your 4 chosen lessons all obtained an improve as a part of the narrative within the recreation’s most memorable second – assembly Bahamut, the King of the Dragons.
Warrior, Thief, Monk, White Mage, Black Mage, and Red Mage. Those are the six authentic jobs. You’re not enjoying as a warrior hero in Dragon Quest or the shipwreck-susceptible Adol in Ys, nope – you’re whoever you wish to be.
the sport’s job system is maybe the defining a part of that distinction.
The job system is likely one of the most iconic components of any RPG, and you can also make a fairly robust case for Final Fantasy popularising it. Final Fantasy III (no, not the SNES one) improved upon it tenfold by including extra jobs to the sport like Summoner, Ranger, Dark Knight, and Dragoon, with Final Fantasy V introducing much more iconic roles like Blue Mage and Samurai. Both video games make different enhancements to the system, however that is the place it began.
Also, ending a time loop? That’s obtained to be a fairly vital second in video video games again in 1987. Hey, no less than in 2022 all of us (learn: these with a PS4 or PS5) obtained to kill Chaos.
Final Fantasy II – This is our story
Really, Final Fantasy IV (sure, the SNES quantity II) is the sport that popularised the story-heavy facet of Final Fantasy. But Final Fantasy II (the NES one – sustain!) is the one that basically began the pattern.
In quite a lot of earlier RPGs, the story was both barebones or the hero was a anonymous character that was left so that you can superimpose your self upon. Here, you begin off with 4 distinct characters (you can provide them names, however their defaults are Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon) and, earlier than you even discover your ft, you’re thrust into an unwinnable battle and compelled to observe your social gathering die in entrance of you.
Death permeates Final Fantasy II’s story, which focuses on a rebel military who’re preventing towards the Emperor and an evil empire. Character’s jobs are set in stone, and the forged all have personalities and motives – primary, certain, however they’re there. But the success of the unique Final Fantasy opened up the sequel to much more experimentation and a a lot darker story the place many named characters die (together with social gathering members).
Even although many of the authentic staff returned to make Final Fantasy II, the sequel made some fairly main departures from the primary – and never simply in having outlined characters. I’m dancing round it, however Final Fantasy II is essentially the most divisive entry within the collection. The major purpose for that is that it’s the one recreation in the primary collection that does away with expertise factors (EXP). Kawazu, once more answerable for the battle system, changed EXP with a reactive type of levelling. If a personality makes use of a sword loads, they’ll steadily get higher with it. And if a personality takes quite a lot of hits, their HP goes up.
It’s… finicky, to say the least, however it’s the one huge a part of the early Final Fantasy that Kawazu took with him when he went to develop the SaGa collection.
But Final Fantasy II might need established essentially the most Final Fantasy issues – chocobos, Cid, the Ultima spell, the Genji armour, the Blood Sword weapon, Leviathan, and the theme of evil empires…
Not each innovation has to stay, which might be a part of the explanation why Final Fantasy has by no means revisited this fashion of levelling (that and the above with Kawazu) or the key phrase system hasn’t actually returned. But Final Fantasy II additionally established a quantity Final Fantasy staples – chocobos, Cid, the Ultima spell, the Genji armour, the Blood Sword weapon, Leviathan, and the theme of evil empires all got here from II.
Despite its rocky place within the collection’ historical past, Final Fantasy II was a showcase of the staff’s creativity and revolutionary concepts, and whereas many collection hallmarks have come from this recreation alone, others had been deserted.
Final Fantasy III – I summon thee
Final Fantasy III – which was truly the final ‘missing’ Final Fantasy recreation to get an official English model, due to a 3D DS remake in 2006 – is a bizarre one to speak about right here. Its defining characteristic is that it expanded massively on FFI’s job system; there at the moment are 20 jobs as an alternative of simply six, and you could possibly swap between them outdoors of battle. In some ways, Final Fantasy III was a return to what made FFI work so properly whereas bettering on these facets. As FFI was a response to the unique Dragon Quest, III was a response to Dragon Quest III, which had a strong class system itself. Final Fantasy needed to do it higher.
Final Fantasy needed to do it higher.
If there are two jobs that really feel distinctive and distinctive to Final Fantasy, I feel they had been shaped right here – the Dragoon and the Summoner. So the Dragoon technically was launched in FFII as an ally named Ricard Highwind, however FFIII is the place it actually comes into its personal, all due to one phrase: ‘Jump’. Spears and lessons that use spears have appeared earlier than in different video video games, however the Dragoon is a specific type of class, one which assaults from the skies and might keep secure from enemy assaults, all with a bonus towards aerial enemies.
Summoners, nevertheless, are much more essential. Summons, Aeons, Espers, Eidolons, Astrals, Eikons – Final Fantasy is the collection for summoning enormous, ethereal creatures. And whereas different RPGs like Namco’s Tales collection or loads of Western RPGs have had summoners or summon spirits, Final Fantasy’s model of summons feels particular. These creatures are sometimes plot-vital, depend on an infinite quantity of energy, and make you’re feeling superior when calling an enormous picture of an outdated, wizened man onto the battlefield simply to rain thunder upon the sector.
why would you battle an enormous chook with a knife and never as an armoured, leaping, spear-wielding professional?
The recreation definitely inspired you to swap between jobs, however Final Fantasy III additionally hints to make use of sure jobs at sure occasions. There’s a boss that just about requires you to play as 4 Dragoons (it’s attainable to win as different jobs, however it’s not enjoyable, let me let you know!). And whereas issues like which are annoying, I feel it’s a fairly fascinating means of creating what a job is with out the characters having outlined personalities.
After all, why would you battle an enormous chook with a knife and never as an armoured, leaping, spear-wielding professional?
Final Fantasy IV – Actively Timed
This is it – arguably, Final Fantasy IV (the primary 16-bit SNES entry) is the sport that basically put Final Fantasy on the map. At least earlier than that pesky eco-warrior Cloud Strife got here onto the scene and really obtained the Final Fantasy collection into Europe…
Final Fantasy IV has, for its time, a fairly stunning character arc for its major hero, Cecil. A darkish knight employed by an evil empire, Cecil spends a lot of the primary a part of the sport going via an ethical dilemma, realising he’s slaughtering innocents all for the sake of his king, culminating in a scene the place Cecil, atop the aptly-named Mount Ordeals, atones for his sins and fights his personal reflection to grow to be a Paladin.
But we’re probably not right here to speak concerning the story, as impactful or iconic because it truly is. We’re right here to speak about maybe crucial factor Final Fantasy has ever achieved for the flip-primarily based RPG – the Active Time Battle system (ATB).
Hiroyuki Ito, who would later direct Final Fantasy VI, IX, and XIII, got here up with the ATB system when watching Formula One (as lead designer Takashi Tokita instructed 1Up in an interview in 2013). Previous flip-primarily based RPGs meant inputting your entire character’s actions one after the opposite earlier than the motion performed out. In FFIV, although, every character and enemy has an (invisible) bar that fills up over time. When it maxes out, the participant can inform that character what to do. The velocity of the ATB bar is decided by the character’s velocity stat, and you could possibly affect it with time-primarily based spells like Haste.
Hiroyuki Ito, who would later direct Final Fantasy VI, IX, and XIII, got here up with the ATB system when watching Formula One
The inclusion of this formed the collection going ahead – not each single Final Fantasy recreation has used it (see Final Fantasy X, XV, and the upcoming XVI), however this was a momentous growth in RPGs as a result of it sped up the motion whereas nonetheless remaining fastened to the style’s roots. You may plan battles extra precisely and manipulate character velocity to your benefit.
This remains to be some of the Final Fantasy issues on the market in the present day, and never many different RPGs have used the ATB system – Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve, Grandia, and Child of Light are examples (and two of these are Squaresoft titles). But many 3D Final Fantasy video games have used an iteration of it – XII’s Gambit system depends on order and forged time, and X-2 has totally different-size ATB bars relying on the job you’re enjoying as. If something, the ATB system allowed different RPG builders to experiment with the flip-primarily based system that had been lengthy established at that time.
Final Fantasy V – Adventure and experiment
The center youngster of the SNES trilogy could be the least revolutionary of the unique six, however Final Fantasy V remains to be a fairly particular – and fairly essential – addition to the style.
Before Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy V is essentially the most iterative entry within the collection – once more returning to I and III’s job system, however as an alternative letting you play as a bunch of established, named characters. It’s additionally possibly essentially the most humble entry within the collection, provided that the primary character Bartz isn’t some grand hero (although there are some heritage issues occurring) however is simply an adventurer having enjoyable together with his greatest pal, Boco the Chocobo.
Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, Fantasy Life, and plenty of extra video games owe Final Fantasy V for his or her glorious job methods.
Let’s return to the job system once more, although, as a result of if I established it and III improved on it, then V is the definitive job system within the collection. Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, Fantasy Life, and plenty of extra video games owe Final Fantasy V for his or her glorious job methods. Even 30 years after its launch, Final Fantasy V’s stage of customisation and freedom with its job system is great, permitting you to not solely swap between lessons every time but additionally enabling you to cross-equip abilities between lessons as you stage them up. So this time, in case you actually needed to, you could possibly play the sport with 4 Geomancers, and it might be completely viable. Earth bells for days, proper?
Really, although, for the primary half of the sport, Final Fantasy V is fairly cosy. Dragon Quest all the time felt (and nonetheless does) just like the cosier collection, although that franchise just about discovered its footing right here. Final Fantasy V turns away from the darker narratives of II and IV and swaps them for a heartfelt recreation about exploration and journey. At least till it’s important to battle the large tree on the finish.
Final Fantasy VI – But what if we misplaced?
Okay, my goodness, the place do I begin with Final Fantasy VI?
There’s nonetheless nothing actually like Final Fantasy VI on the market. An RPG with no actual definable major character (although it’s completely Terra Branford). A enormous playable forged, every of whom (*coughcoughUmarocough*) has a powerful backstory. A JRPG the place there are decisions that may completely alter your social gathering make-up? Oh, and also you lose about midway via the sport.
It’s all about conquer adversity, and hope prevailing over despair.
Final Fantasy VI is usually hailed as top-of-the-line within the collection, and for a lot of, many causes. It’s all about conquer adversity, and hope prevailing over despair. The world is actually ripped aside in entrance of your eyes on the midway level, and also you (Celes Chere) are left to fend for your self and discover your folks. Friends who you’ve spent 15 or so hours with, who you suppose you perceive and know the whole lot about. But you don’t. The second half of the sport is about exhibiting you that, and then you definitely’ll perceive the whole lot that they did within the first half of the sport much more than earlier than.
That is if you would like. What makes Final Fantasy VI so distinctive is that it’s about freedom and selection. The first half of the sport splits you between three totally different events (for essentially the most half) till all three sides come collectively to affix The Returners, a insurgent group trying to take down the Empire. But if you take management of Celes within the World of Ruin, you’re solely required to fulfill up with two different social gathering members. In truth, in case you actually need, you possibly can go and tackle the ultimate boss with simply Celes, Edgar, and Setzer. But then you definitely’d miss out on Terra’s existential disaster. Or the explanation why Locke desires to save lots of everybody. Or that the beast youngster Gau’s father remains to be alive. Squaresoft created a recreation the place everybody feels essential. Every single character has weight to them – and what number of different video games are you able to say have that?
What makes Final Fantasy VI so distinctive is that it’s about freedom and selection.
Not solely are you able to go wherever you need and recruit whoever in what order within the World of Ruin, the Magicite system means which you could customise characters greater than ever earlier than. Edgar could be a proto-Machinist armed with a crossbow, a chainsaw, and a drill, however he may also be a magician who specialises in debuffing enemies. Or what about Locke, a brilliant-quick thief who can mug the enemies and heal the social gathering?
Anyone could be something, even with their pre-established roles, and for the primary time within the collection, you possibly can decide your personal social gathering and never simply depend on the characters you’re given. You can mould the staff to suit your preferences. Quietly, that’s the largest factor Final Fantasy VI brings to the desk – not solely is it a recreation about hope, alternative, and alter, however it allows you to expertise and do all of these issues your self.
The Final (Fantasy)
Final Fantasy’s improvements might need been extra refined within the NES and SNES days, however they had been completely there. You can see how every of those six entries has not solely influenced this collection, but additionally different RPGs – though it was via dialogue with Enix’s Dragon Quest collection for a time.
no two entries are solely alike, even after they’re bettering on each other
Dragon Quest, now underneath Square Enix, definitely settled right into a rhythm across the time Final Fantasy actually began branching out. I personally play Dragon Quest to really feel one thing very specific – one thing very heat and charming, and one thing that’ll make me smile. But Final Fantasy has so many various variations underneath its umbrella that it actually will depend on my temper. No two entries are solely alike, even after they’re iterating and bettering on each other (I and III, for instance).
Nowadays, Final Fantasy isn’t seen as a ‘Nintendo’ franchise – which is unusual as a result of it was for thus lengthy. Squaresoft leaping ship to the disc-primarily based PlayStation labored out properly for the corporate, and Europe (and NA for some) ultimately obtained all of these NES and SNES video games that initially didn’t launch in English in consequence. So that’s obtained to be a win, proper?
Nintendo, at this level, has grow to be the house of spin-offs or the traditional flip-primarily based Square Enix video games like Bravely and Octopath. Heck, even Dragon Quest feels very at house on Switch. This makes the Switch a pleasant little console to get into the collection – both by choosing up one of many many Switch remasters, or by trying out a cute spin-off like World of Final Fantasy (which, hey, if you would like flip-primarily based Final Fantasy, there you go!). And the arrival of the Pixel Remaster assortment has lastly been confirmed, too.
Innovation is a part of Final Fantasy’s id. That’s very true now provided that the PS5’s Final Fantasy XVI is an motion RPG, however it has additionally all the time been true. What’s constant, although? Well, Cid, chocobos, moogles, sure weapons, armour, and a handful of different issues. Writing for Kotaku, Jason Schreier put it superbly: “Final Fantasy is defined by how it sounds… The chime of a menu cursor. The squeal of an NPC’s dialogue box. The thunderous jolt of a random encounter”. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line ought to assist drive that time house.
Final Fantasy is no matter it desires to be. It all the time has been, and it all the time will likely be. What quantity will we be at in one other 35 years? Who’s to say (in all probability XXX!), however nobody can predict what path Square Enix will go in subsequent.
Here’s to there by no means being a last Final Fantasy.
Discussion about this post