Final Fantasy Retrospective and A Look at its Future

It really is ironic that a series that labels itself as "final" ended up lasting for twenty-two years, with twelve iterations of the main series and too many spin-offs and genre offshoots to bear mentioning. To say that Final Fantasy is a huge phenomenal success is merely stating the obvious. But what about its influence onto the genre that shoehorned itself as THE Japanese Role-Playing Game, or at the very least help popularize the term. With the Japanese version of the game already hitting stores in the land of the rising sun, the future of this highly regarded series has never looked brighter.

 

With that out of the way, prepare yourself for a cranium overloaded read as you dive deep into Final Fantasy lore and see for yourself just why this series is just so darn popular.

 

Final Fantasy

 

 

Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy was developed and published in Japan by Square (now Square Enix) in 1987, and published in North America by Nintendo of America in 1990. While the game debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System, it was also remade for various video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The story revolves around four youths called the Light Warriors, who each possesses one of their world's four elemental orbs which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they aim to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the orbs and as usual, to save the world.

 

The game garnered rather positive reviews, and it is widely regarded as one of the most influential and successful role-playing games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, playing a major role in popularizing the genre. Many critics praised the game's graphics to be revolutionary at the time, but the constant random battle encounters during the game left a sour taste to the overall experience. All versions of Final Fantasy sold a combined total of two million copies worldwide by March 2003.

 

Final Fantasy II

 

 

Released in 1988 for the Nintendo Family Computer, Final Fantasy II was the second instalment of the Final Fantasy series. The game would later appear on numerous consoles such as the WonderSwan Color, Sony PlayStation, Japanese mobile phones, GameBoy Advance and the PlayStation Portable. Its most recent release, in its original formatwas for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on June 16, 2009. The game's story centres on four youths whose parents were killed during an army invasion by the empire of Palamecia.

 

The Game Boy Advance remake adds a bonus story after the game is completed, following several side characters who died during the game as they attempt to defeat an alternate version of the Emperor, the "Light Emperor". The game introduces many elements that would later become staples of the Final Fantasy franchise, including flightless yellow birds called chocobos and the recurring character known as Cid. Despite being a sequel to Final Fantasy 1, the game includes no characters or locations from the first game, the first video game sequel to do so.

 

Final Fantasy III

 

 

Being the first game in the series to feature a job-change system, Final Fantasy III was developed and published by Square in 1990 for the Nintendo Family Computer as the third instalment in the Final Fantasy franchise. The story revolves around four orphaned youths drawn to a crystal of light, which grants them some of its power, and instructs them to go forth and restore balance to the world.

 

Not knowing what to make of the crystal's pronouncements, but nonetheless recognizing the importance of its words, the four inform their adoptive families of their quest and set out to explore and restore balance to the world. The Nintendo DS version of the game was positively received internationally, selling over one million copies in Japan. The Famicom version of the game was released on the Wii Virtual Console service in Japan on July 21, 2009.

 

Final Fantasy IV

 

 

Originally released for the Super Famicom in Japan, Final Fantasy IV was ported by TOSE to the Sony Playstation, Bandai's WonderSwan Color, and Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, with increasing changes. The game was re-titled "Final Fantasy II" during its initial release outside of Japan as the original Final Fantasy II and III had not been released outside of Japan at the time, but later localizations used the original title. The game's story follows Cecil, a dark knight, as he tries to prevent Golbez from seizing powerful crystals and destroying the world. He is joined on this quest by a frequently changing group of allies, several of whom die throughout the game.

 

They eventually discover that Golbez is being mind-controlled by a powerful being from one of the planet's two moons, and journey there to defeat his master, Zemus. The game introduced many innovations that would later become staples of the Final Fantasy series and role-playing games in general. Its "Active Time Battle" system was used in subsequent Final Fantasy games, and unlike prior games in the series gave each character their own unchangeable character c!ass. A sequel to the game, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, was released for the Japanese mobile phones in 2008, and worldwide via the Wii Shop Channel on June 1, 2009.

 

Final Fantasy V

 

 

The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). It has been ported with minor differences to Sony's Playstation and Nintendo's Gameboy Advance. An original video animation produced in 1994 called Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals serves as a sequel to the events depicted in the game. The game begins as a wanderer named Bartz investigates a fallen meteor. There, he encounters several characters, one of whom reveals the danger facing the four Crystals that control the world's elements.

 

These Crystals act as a seal on Exdeath, an evil sorcerer. Bartz and his party must keep the Crystals from being exploited by Exdeath's influence and prevent his resurgence. Final Fantasy V has been praised for the freedom of customization that the player has over the characters, achieved though the greatly expanded Job System. Despite the lack of an early release in territories other than Japan, theSuper Famicom version sold more than two million copies. The PlayStation version which earned the "Greatest Hits" status, sold more than 350,000 copies.

 

Final Fantasy VI

 

 

Released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as part of the Final Fantasy series. It was ported by TOSE with minor differences to Sony's Playstation in 1999 and Nintendo's Game Boy Advance in 2006. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses ona group of rebels as they seek to overthrow an imperial dictatorship. The game features fourteen permanent playable characters, the most of any game in the series. Final Fantasy VI was the first game in the series to be directed by someone other than producer and series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi; the role was filled instead by Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito.

 

Released to critical acclaim, the game is regarded as a landmark of the series and of the role-playing genre. Its Super Nintendo and PlayStation versions have sold over 3.48 million copies worldwide to date as a stand-alone game, as well as over 750,000 copies as part of the Japanese Final Fantasy Collection and the North American Final Fantasy Anthology.

 

Final Fantasy VII

 

 

Set in a dystopian world, Final Fantasy VII's story centres on mercenary Cloud Strife who joins with several others to stop the mega-corporation Shinra, which is draining the life of the planet to use as an energy source. As the story progresses, the situation escalates and Cloud and his allies face Sephiroth, the game's main antagonists. Development of Final Fantasy began in 1994 and was originally intended for release on the SNES, but it was later moved to the Nintendo 64. As the system's cartridges lacked the required storage capacity, Square decided to release the game for the PlayStation instead.

 

Noted for its graphics, gameplay, music and story, Final Fantasy VII is acknowledged as one of the greatest and most influential games of all time. As of October 2009, the game has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide (including 100,000 downloads on the PlayStation Network), making it the best-selling Final Fantasy title. The ongoing popularity of the title led Square Enix to produce a series of prequels under the collective title Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. An enhanced remake has been rumoured since 2005; however Square Enix has stated that a remake is not in development.

 

Final Fantasy VIII

 

 

The game's story focuses on a group of young mercenaries who are drawn into an international conflict, and seek to protect the world from a sorceress manipulating the war for her own purposes. The main protagonist Squall Leonhart, a 17-year-old loner and student at the military academy Balamb Garden, who is training to become a "SeeD", a mercenary paid by the academy. Development of Final Fantasy began in 1997, during the English localization process of Final Fantasy VII. The music was scored by Nobuo Uematsu, series regular, and in a series first, the theme music is a vocal piece, "Eyes on Me", performed by Faye Wong. The game was positively received by critics and was a commercial success.

 

It was voted the twenty-second best game of all time by readers of the Japanese magazine Famitsu. Thirteen weeks after its release, Final Fantasy VIII had earned more that US$50 million in sales, making it the fastest-selling Final Fantasy title of all time. The game has shipped 8.15 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2003. The game was later made available on PlayStation Network in Japan as a PSone C!assics title.

 

Final Fantasy IX

 

Set in the fantasy world of Gaia, Final Fantasy IX's plot centres on a war between nations, sparked by an ambitious queen named Brahne. Players follow a young thief named Zidane Tribal, who joins with several others to defeat the Queen. The plot shifts, however, when the characters realize that Brahne is a puppet for an arms dealer called Kuja. Final Fantasy IX was developed alongside Final Fantasy VIII, but took a different path to return to the series' roots with a more traditional fantasy setting.

 

Consequently, Final Fantasy IX was influenced heavily by the original Final Fantasy game, and features allusion to other titles in the series. The music was scored by the then regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The game has been subject to generally positive reviews, but received mixed opinions for its return to the sty-le of older Final Fantasy games. The game was commercially successful, selling 5.30 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2003.

 

Final Fantasy X

 

 

Set in the fantasy world of Spira, the game's story centres around a group of adventurers and their quest to defeat a rampaging monster known as "Sin". Tidus, a blitzball star who finds himself in Spira after his home city of Zanarkand is destroyed by Sin. During the game, Tidus, along with several others, aids the summoner Yuna on her pilgrimage to destroy Sin. Development of Final Fantasy X began in 1999, with the budget of more than US$32.3 million and a team of more than 100 people.

 

The game was the first in the main series not entirely scored by Nobuo Uematsu; Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano was signed as Uematsu's fellow composers. Final Fantasy X was both a critical and commercial success. As of January 2004, the game has sold 6.6 million units worldwide. In 2003, it was followed by Final Fantasy X-2, making it the first game in the series to have a direct sequel.

 

Final Fantasy XI Online

 

 

Set in the fantasy world of Vana'diel, players could perform tasks to improve their chosen character's powers or to complete quests. Players are also able to customize a character that they will guide through the story. There are also thousands of quests that allow players to gain various rewards, as well as a growing number of player versus player competitions. In April 2009, Square Enix announced that the total number of active characters exceeded 2 million for the first time in game history.

 

Previously Square Enix had announced that more than 500,000 users, using more than one million characters, were playing the game as of January 2004. As of 2006, between 200,000 and 300,000 active players logged in per day, and the game remains the dominant MMORPG in Japan. As of 2008, in an announcement for the three additional expansions in development, SE noted Final Fantasy XI still has a strong user base of around 500,000 subscribers.

 

Final Fantasy XII

 

 

The game introduced several innovations to the series: battles occur without a transition to a separate screen; a customizable "gambit" system automatically controls the actions of characters; and a "license" system determines which abilities and equipment are used by characters. Final Fantasy XII also includes elements from previous games in the series, such as summoned monsters, Chocobos and airships. The game takes place in the fictional location of Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging and endless war. Dalmasca, a small kingdom is caught between the warring nations. When Dalmasca becomes annexed by Archadia, its princess, Ashe, creates a resistance movement. During the struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of commanding an airship. They are quickly joined by a band of allies; together, they rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire.

 

Final Fantasy XII received universally high scores, and earned numerous awards in various categories from noted video game publications. Selling more than two million copies in Japan, it became the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006 worldwide. As of March 2007, the game has shipped over 5.2 million copies worldwide. A sequel, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007.

 

A Story for the Ages

 

Speaking of growing up, Final Fantasy has come a long way. From a simple tale of time-traveling warriors reviving crystals and restoring balance, to topics such as hypercapitalism, nature vesus technology, modernizations and industrialization for the greater good; the series has matured tenfold. Even with the actual combat modernized from a simple turn-based structure to the Active Time Battle system to even trappings of an MMO, story always took centre stage. The staples will always be there: stoic but solemn warrior who wields the iteration's trademark weapon, the dutiful knight, the Machiavellian villain who thinks that what he/she is doing is right, an overarching plot that pits our heroes against an ancient evil with the power of friendship and love.

 

It's Final Fantasy through and through, you wouldn't have it any other way would you?