Final Fantasy[a] is a 1987 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Originally released for the NES, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The first Final Fantasy story follows four youths called the Warriors of Light, who each carry one of their world's four elemental crystals which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the crystals, and save their world.
Final Fantasy was originally conceived under the working title Fighting Fantasy, but trademark issues and dire circumstances surrounding Square as well as Sakaguchi himself prompted the name to be changed. The game was a great commercial success, received generally positive reviews, and spawned many successful sequels and supplementary titles in the form of the Final Fantasy series. The original is now 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. Critical praise focused on the game's graphics, while criticism targeted the time spent wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise the player's experience level. By March 2003, all versions of Final Fantasy had sold a combined two million copies worldwide.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy has four basic game modes: an overworld map, town and dungeon maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The overworld map is a scaled-down version of the game's fictional world, which the player uses to direct characters to various locations. The primary means of travel across the overworld is by foot; a ship, a canoe, and an airship become available as the player progresses. With the exception of some battles in preset locations or with bosses, enemies are randomly encountered on field maps and on the overworld map when traveling by foot, canoe, or ship, and must either be fought or fled from.[16]
The game's plot develops as the player progresses through towns and dungeons. Some town citizens offer helpful information, while others own shops that sell items or equipment. Dungeons appear in areas that include forests, caves, mountains, swamps, underwater caverns, and buildings. Dungeons often have treasure chests containing rare items that are not available in most stores. The game's menu screen allows the player to keep track of their experience points and levels, to choose which equipment their characters wield, and to use items and magic. A character's most basic attribute is their level, which can range from one to fifty, and is determined by the character's amount of experience. Gaining a level increases the character's attributes, such as their maximum hit points (HP), which represents a character's remaining health; a character dies when they reach zero HP. Characters gain experience points by winning battles.[16]
Combat in Final Fantasy is menu-based: the player selects an action from a list of options such as Attack, Magic, and Item. Battles are turn-based and continue until either side flees or is defeated. If the player's party wins, each character will gain not only experience but also money, which is known as Gil in the Final Fantasy universe; if it flees, it will be returned to the map screen; and if every character in the party dies, the game will be over and all unsaved progress will be lost.[16]Final Fantasy was the first game to show the player's characters on the right side of the screen and the enemies on the left side of the screen, as opposed to a first-person view.[17]
The player begins the game by choosing four characters to form a party and is locked into that choice for the duration of the game.[18] Each character has an "occupation", or character class, with different attributes and abilities that are either innate or can be acquired.[18] There are six classes: Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage.[18] Later in the game, the player has the option to have each character undergo a "class upgrade"; whereby their sprite portraits mature, and some classes gain the ability to use weapons and magic that they previously could not use.[16] The game contains a variety of weapons, armor, and items that can be bought or found to make the characters more powerful in combat. Each character has eight inventory slots, with four to hold weapons and four to hold armor. Each character class has restrictions on what weapons and armor it may use. Some weapons and armor are magical; if used during combat, they will cast spells. Other magical artifacts provide protection, such as from certain spells. At shops, the characters can buy items to help themselves recover while they are traveling. Items available include potions, which heal the characters or remove ailments like poison or petrification; Tents and Cabins, which can be used on the world map to heal the player and optionally save the game; and Houses, which also recover the party's magic after saving. Special items may be gained by doing quests.[16]
Magic is a common ability in the game, and several character classes use it. Spells are divided into two groups: White, which is defensive and healing, and Black, which is debilitating and destructive. Magic can be bought from White and Black magic shops and assigned to characters whose occupation allows them to use it. Spells are classified by a level between one and eight, with four White and four Black spells per level. Each character may learn only three spells per level. White and Black Mages can potentially learn any of their respective spells, while Red Mages, the Ninja, and the Knight cannot use most high-level magic.[16]
Plot
Setting
Final Fantasy takes place in a fantasy world with three large continents. The elemental powers of this world are determined by the state of four crystals, each governing one of the four classical elements: earth, fire, water, and wind. The world of Final Fantasy is inhabited by numerous races, including humans, elves, dwarves, mermaids, dragons, and robots. Most non-human races have only one "town" in the game, although individuals are sometimes found in human towns or other areas as well. Four hundred years prior to the start of the game, the Lefeinish people, who used the Power of Wind to craft airships and a giant space station (called the Floating Castle in the game), watched their country decline as the Wind crystal went dark. Two hundred years later, violent storms sank a massive shrine that served as the center of an ocean-based civilization, and the Water crystal went dark. The Earth crystal and the Fire crystal followed, plaguing the earth with raging wildfires, and devastating the agricultural town of Melmond as the plains and vegetation decayed. Some time later, the sage Lukahn tells of a prophecy that four Light Warriors will come to save the world in a time of darkness.
Story
The game begins with the appearance of the four youthful Warriors of Light, the heroes of the story, who each carry one of the darkened Orbs. Initially, the Warriors of Light have access to the Kingdom of Coneria and the ruined Temple of Fiends. After the Warriors rescue Princess Sarah from the evil knight Garland, the King of Coneria builds a bridge that enables the Warriors of Light passage east to the town of Pravoka. There the Warriors of Light liberate the town from Bikke and his band of pirates and acquire the pirates' ship for their own use. The Warriors now embark on a chain of delivery quests on the shores of the Aldi Sea. First, they retrieve a stolen crown from the Marsh Cave for a king in a ruined castle, who turns out to be the dark elf Astos. Defeating him gains them the Crystal Eye, which they return to the blind witch Matoya in exchange for a herb needed to awaken the elf prince cursed by Astos. The elf prince gives the Warriors of Light the Mystic Key, which is capable of unlocking any door. The key unlocks a storage room in Coneria Castle which holds TNT. Nerrick, one of the dwarves of the Cave of Dwarf/Dwarf Village, destroys a small isthmus using the TNT, connecting the Aldi Sea to the outside world.[17]
After visiting the near-ruined town of Melmond, the Warriors of Light go to the Earth Cave to defeat a vampire and retrieve the Star Ruby, which gains passage to Sage Sarda's cave. With Sarda's Rod, the Warriors venture deeper into the Earth Cave and destroy the Earth Fiend, Lich. The Warriors of Light then obtain a canoe and enter Gurgu Volcano and defeat the Fire Fiend, Kary. The Levistone from the nearby Ice Cave allows them to raise an airship to reach the northern continents. After they prove their courage by retrieving the Rat's Tail from the Castle of Ordeal, the King of the Dragons, Bahamut, promotes each Warrior of Light. A kind gesture is repaid by a fairy, receiving special liquid that produces oxygen, and the Warriors use it to help defeat the Water Fiend, Kraken, in the Sunken Shrine. They also recover a Slab, which allows a linguist named Dr. Unne to teach them the Lefeinish language. The Lefeinish give the Warriors of Light access to the Floating Castle that Tiamat, the Wind Fiend, has taken over.[17] With the Four Fiends defeated and the Orbs restored, the Warriors open a portal in the Temple of Fiends, which takes them 2000 years into the past, to confront the creator of the Fiends. There the Warriors discover that the Four Fiends sent Garland—now the archdemon Chaos—back in time and he sent the Fiends to the future to do so, creating a time loop by which he could live forever.[19] The Warriors of Light defeat Chaos, thus ending the loop, and return to present, but their heroic deeds remain unknown outside of legend.[17]
Development
Hironobu Sakaguchi at Japan Expo Paris in 2007
Creation
Hironobu Sakaguchi had intended to make a role-playing game (RPG) for a long time, but his employer Square refused to give him permission as it expected low sales of such a product.[20] However, when the RPG Dragon Quest was released and proved to be a hit in Japan, the company reconsidered its stance on the genre and approved Sakaguchi's vision of an RPG inspired by Ultima and Wizardry.[20] Only three of his colleagues volunteered to join this project headed by him because he was thought of as a "rough boss" in spite of his unsuccessful creations.[21] Eventually, Final Fantasy was developed by a team of seven core staff members within Square referred to as the "A-Team".[22][23] Sakaguchi convinced fellow game designers Koichi Ishii and Akitoshi Kawazu to join the project. Kawazu was mainly responsible for the battle system and sequences, which he based heavily on the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons and the RPG Wizardry. For example, enemies' weaknesses to elements such as fire and ice had not been included in Japanese RPGs up until that point. Kawazu had grown fond of such aspects of Western RPGs and decided to incorporate them into Final Fantasy. He also advocated the player's option to freely choose their own party member classes at the beginning of the game as he feels that the fun in an RPG begins when the players create a character.[20]
The scenario was written by freelance writer Kenji Terada, based on a story by Sakaguchi.[1][23] Ishii heavily influenced the game's setting with his idea of the crystals.[21] He also suggested illustrator Yoshitaka Amano as character designer, but Sakaguchi declined at first as he had never heard the artist's name before. When Sakaguchi showed Ishii some drawings on magazine clippings and told him that this was the art style he was looking for, Ishii revealed to him that these were actually created by Amano, hence leading to his involvement in the game.[21] The music for Final Fantasy was composed by Nobuo Uematsu and marked his 16th video game music composition.[17] Iranian-American programmer Nasir Gebelli was hired to code the game. He initially tried to understand all aspects of the gameplay but was soon advised by Sakaguchi to just program the design concepts so he did not have to explain everything to Gebelli in detail.[21] Gebelli was also responsible for creating what is considered to be the first RPG minigame, a sliding puzzle, which he added into the game despite it not being part of the original game design.[24] Among the other developers were graphic designer Kazuko Shibuya, programmers Kiyoshi Yoshii and Ken Narita, as well as debugger Hiroyuki Ito.[25][26][27][28][29] When the project started to show promise, designer Hiromichi Tanaka and his "B-Team" joined to aid development.[21][22] The lack of faith in Sakaguchi's team, as well as its unpopularity within the company, motivated the staff members to give their best.[22]
Release
Sakaguchi took an in-development ROM of the game to Japanese magazine Famicom Tsushin, but it would not review it. However, Famitsu gave the game extensive coverage. Initially, only 200,000 copies were to be shipped, but Sakaguchi pleaded with the company to make 400,000 to help spawn a sequel, and the management agreed,[22] then the original Famicom (NES) version successfully shipped 520,000 copies in Japan.[30] Following the successful North American localization of Dragon Quest (titled as Dragon Warrior when localized there), Nintendo of America translated Final Fantasy into English and published it in North America in 1990. No version of the game was marketed in the PAL region until Final Fantasy Origins in 2003.[31]
Title
Over the years, several theories emerged as to why the game was called Final Fantasy.[32] In 2015, Sakaguchi revealed that, from the beginning, the team had wished for a name that could be shortened to FF (エフエフ, efu efu); that way, the game's title could be abbreviated in the Latin script and pronounced in four syllables in the Japanese language.[33][34] The original working title for Sakaguchi's RPG concept was Fighting Fantasy, but was changed to avoid issues with a gamebook series of the same name that had already been released.[21][33] The reason for choosing the word "final" to form the eventual title of Final Fantasy was explained as twofold by Uematsu: for one thing, it stemmed from Sakaguchi's personal situation, as he would have quit the game industry and gone back to university had the game not sold well,[22][32] and for another, Square was under the threat of bankruptcy at the time, which meant the game could have been the company's last.[22][32] Although Sakaguchi confirmed some of the theories, he later downplayed the rationale for choosing the word "final", saying that "it was definitely a back-to-the-wall type situation back then, but any word that starts with an 'F' would have been fine".[33][34]
Versions and re-releases
Final Fantasy has been remade several times for different platforms and has frequently been packaged with Final Fantasy II in various collections.[17] While all of these remakes retain the same basic story and battle mechanics, various changes have been made in different areas, including graphics, sound, and specific game elements.
The original version. Technical limitations and the censorship policies of Nintendo of America resulted in a few minor changes to certain elements of the American version.[35][36]
Final Fantasy was first re-released for the MSX2 system and was published by Microcabin in Japan in December 1989.[39] It had access to almost three times as much storage space as the Famicom version but suffered from problems not present in Nintendo's cartridge media, including noticeable loading times. There were also minor graphical upgrades, improved music tracks, and sound effects.
In 1994, Final Fantasy I・II, a compilation of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II, was launched for the Famicom.[40] This version was only released in Japan and had very few graphical updates.
The WonderSwan Color remake was released in Japan on December 9, 2000,[41] and featured many new graphical changes. The 8-bit graphics of the original Famicom game were updated, battle scenes incorporated full background images, and character and enemy sprites were redrawn to look more like the ones from the Super FamicomFinal Fantasy games.[42]
In Japan, Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were re-released both separately and as a combined game for the PlayStation. The collection was released in Japan in 2002 as Final Fantasy I & II Premium Package and in Europe and North America in 2003 as Final Fantasy Origins. This version was similar to the WonderSwan Color remake[43] and featured several changes such as more detailed graphics, a remixed soundtrack, added full motion video sequences, art galleries of Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations, and a memo save function.[44] The port was re-released as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box package in December 2012.[45]
Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is, like Final Fantasy Origins, a port of the first two games in the series and was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. The Dawn of Souls version incorporates various new elements, including four additional dungeons, an updated bestiary, and a few minor changes.[46]
Square Enix released a version of Final Fantasy for two Japanese mobile phone networks in 2004; a version for NTT DoCoMoFOMA 900i series was launched in March under the title Final Fantasy i[47] and a subsequent release for CDMA 1X WIN-compatible phones was launched in August.[48] Another version was released for SoftBankYahoo! Keitai phones on July 3, 2006.[49] The games have more refined graphics compared to the original 8-bit game, but not as advanced as many of the later console and handheld ports.
Square Enix planned to release this version for North American mobile phones in 2006,[50] but it was delayed to 2010 and released in collaboration with Namco. It retains the game difficulty and "spell level"-based magic system from the original Famicom version. Other elements such as updated graphics, spell names, and monster names are borrowed from the Game Boy Advance / WonderSwan Color versions, not including the additional dungeons, monsters and items present in the GBA version. Game data is saved as in the original Famicom version (by using Tent, Sleeping Bag, and Cottage or by going into an inn), but there are now three save game slots and a "Temporary Save" option available in the game.[51]
For the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy, Square Enix remade Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II for the PlayStation Portable.[52] The games were released in Japan and North America in 2007,[53] and in European territories in 2008.[54] The PSP version features higher-resolution 2D graphics, full motion video sequences, a remixed soundtrack, and a new dungeon as well as the bonus dungeons from Dawn of Souls. The script is the same as in the Dawn of Souls version, aside from the new dungeon.[55] This version was later released for the Nintendo 3DS (on the Japanese eShop only) with the addition of stereoscopic 3D.
Square Enix released the original NES version of the game on the Wii's Virtual Console service in Japan on May 26, 2009,[56] in North America on October 5[57] and in the PAL region as an import on May 7, 2010.[58]
Square Enix released the iOS version of Final Fantasy on February 25, 2010, based on the PSP port with touch controls, worldwide.[59] A Windows Phone version was released on June 13, 2012, which is based on the iOS version.[60][61] Square Enix released Android port on July 27, 2012, largely based on the iOS version though lacking the new dungeons of the 20th-anniversary edition.[62]
The game (alongside 29 other games) was included in the NES Classic Edition / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System released by Nintendo in November 2016.[63]
The first game in the Pixel Remaster series, Final Fantasy, alongside Final Fantasy II and III, was released on iOS, Android, and Windows PC through Steam on July 28, 2021.[64] This enhanced version was released as part of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster compilation series for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2023, and for Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
Final Fantasy has been well received by critics and commercially successful; the original Famicom (NES) version shipped 520,000 copies in Japan,[30] grossing more than ¥3 billion or $21,000,000(equivalent to $56,000,000 in 2023) at retail.[78] According to Square's publicity department in 1994, the game had sold 600,000 copies in Japan. The NES release was more successful in North America, where it sold 700,000 copies, adding up to 1.3 million copies sold worldwide by 1994.[79] As of March 2003, the game, including all re-releases and remakes at the time, had shipped 1.99 million copies worldwide, with 1.21 million of those copies being shipped in Japan and 780,000 abroad.[80] As of November 2007, another PlayStation Portable version has shipped 140,000 copies.[81]
Editors at IGN ranked Final Fantasy the 11th best game on the NES, calling the game's class system diverse, and praising its convenient use of vehicles as a means of traveling across the world map.[82]GamesRadar ranked it the eighth best NES game ever made. The staff felt that while Dragon Warrior introduced gamers to the genre, Final Fantasy popularized it.[83] In 2004, readers of Retro Gamer voted Final Fantasy 93rd top retro game, with the staff noting that "despite poor visuals and a relatively simple quest, many still consider the original to be the best (with the exception of FFVII)".[84] In 2006, Final Fantasy appeared in the Japanese magazine Famitsu's Top 100 games list, where readers voted it the 63rd best game of all time.[85]GameFAQs users made a similar list in 2005, which ranked Final Fantasy at 76th.[86] It was rated the 49th best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.[87] In 2008, Nintendo Power ranked it the 19th best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for setting up the basics of console role-playing games, along with Dragon Warrior, and citing examples such as epic stories, leveling up, random battles, and character classes.[88] In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list, also noting it as one of the best and influential NES games.[89]
Final Fantasy was one of the most influential early console role-playing games and played a major role in legitimizing and popularizing the genre.[90] According to IGN's Matt Casamassina, Final Fantasy's storyline had a deeper and more engaging story than the original Dragon Quest (known as Dragon Warrior in North America).[91] Modern critics have criticized the game for being poorly paced by contemporary standards, as it involves much more time wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise their experience levels and money than it does exploring and solving puzzles. Other reviewers find the level-building and exploration portions of the game as the most entertaining.[44] In 1987, Famitsu initially described the original Final Fantasy as "one of many" that imitated the Dragon Quest formula.[92] Roe R. Adams, III reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that gamers should "put Final Fantasy high on your list of games to recommend to people who have no idea what a CRPG is or how to play one".[93] The game is considered by some to be the weakest and most difficult installment of the series.[42]
The subsequent versions of Final Fantasy have garnered mostly favorable reviews from the media. Peer Schneider of IGN enjoyed the WonderSwan Color version, praising its graphical improvements, especially the environments, characters, and monsters.[42]Famitsu scored this version a 30 out of 40.[71]Final Fantasy Origins was generally well-received; GamePro said the music was "fantastic", and that the graphics had a suitably retro cuteness to them.[94] Reviews for Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls were generally positive, with Jeremy Dunham of IGN giving particular praise to the improved English translation, saying it was better than any previous version of the game.[95] The PlayStation Portable version was not as critically successful as the previous releases; GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd cited the visuals as its strongest enhancement but stated that the additional random enemy encounters and updated graphics did not add much value.[96] The Dawn of Souls package was rated 76th in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.[87]
Legacy
A soundtrack album was released together with the score of Final Fantasy II in 1989.[97] Some of the game's tracks became mainstays to the Final Fantasy series: the "Prelude", the arpeggio played on the title screen; the "Opening Theme", which is played when the party crosses the bridge early in the game and later referred to as the Final Fantasy theme; and the "Victory Fanfare", which is played after every victorious battle. The opening motif of the battle theme has also been reused a number of times in the series.[17]Final Fantasy was also the basis for the series finale of a video game-themed cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master entitled "The Fractured Fantasy of Captain N".[98]8-Bit Theater, a sprite-based webcomic created by Brian Clevinger, parodies the game, and has become very popular in the gaming community since it started in March 2001.[99]
Elements from the video game have also appeared in a series of fighting games: Dissidia Final Fantasy, Dissidia 012 and Dissidia NT. Warrior of Light, based on Yoshitaka Amano's design of the lead character, and Garland are the respective hero and villain representing Final Fantasy. Warrior of Light is voiced by Toshihiko Seki in the Japanese version and Grant George in the English version, while Garland is voiced by Kenji Utsumi (Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012) and Kōji Ishii (Dissidia NT) in the Japanese versions and Christopher Sabat in the English versions.[100] All the games add background information to the world of Final Fantasy. For instance, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy names the world of Final Fantasy "World A" in order to distinguish it from World B, the world of Dissidia.[101] Characters and music from Final Fantasy have also appeared in the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy series. Chaos and the Amano Warrior of Light make appearances as bosses in the Stormblood and Shadowbringers expansions of Final Fantasy XIV, respectively.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, an alternate universe prequel to the original Final Fantasy, contains numerous references and allusions to the original game, in addition acting as an "origin story" of the antagonist Chaos and the four Warriors of Light.[102]
Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first entry in the Chrono series. The game's development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, creator of Enix's Dragon Quest series; and Akira Toriyama, character designer of Dragon Quest and author of the Dragon Ball manga series. In addition, Takashi Tokita co-directed the game and co-wrote the scenario, Kazuhiko Aoki produced the game, while Masato Kato wrote most of the story. The game's plot follows a group of adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe.
Final Fantasy is a fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix. The franchise centers on a series of fantasy role-playing video games. The first game in the series was released in 1987, with 16 numbered main entries having been released to date.
Square Co., Ltd., also known under its international brand name SquareSoft, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto, who spun off part of his father's electronics company Den-Yu-Sha. Among its early employees were designers Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Initially focusing on action games, the team saw popular success with the role-playing video game Final Fantasy in 1987, which would lead to the franchise of the same name being one of its tentpole franchises. Later notable staff included directors Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita, designer and writer Yasumi Matsuno, artists Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora, and composers Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu.
Final Fantasy II is a 1988 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer as the second installment of the Final Fantasy series. The game has received numerous enhanced remakes for the WonderSwan Color, the PlayStation, the Game Boy Advance, the PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android and Windows. As neither this game nor Final Fantasy III were initially released outside Japan, Final Fantasy IV was originally released in North America as Final Fantasy II, so as not to confuse players. Following enhanced versions for iOS and Android in 2010 and 2012 respectively, the game was re-released again as part of the 2021 Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series.
Final Fantasy IV, titled Final Fantasy II in its initial North American release, is a 1991 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The fourth main installment of the Final Fantasy series, the game's story follows Cecil, a dark knight, as he tries to prevent the sorcerer Golbez from seizing powerful crystals and destroying the world. He is joined on this quest by a frequently changing group of allies. Final Fantasy IV introduced innovations that became staples of the Final Fantasy series and role-playing games in general. Its "Active Time Battle" system was used in five subsequent Final Fantasy games, and unlike prior games in the series, IV gave each character their own unchangeable character class — although at a few points in the story, a dark knight will choose the path of a paladin, or a summoner will evolve to a new tier of spellcasting.
Final Fantasy VI, also known as Final Fantasy III from its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth main entry in the Final Fantasy series, the final to feature 2D sprite based graphics, and the first to be directed by someone other than series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi; the role was instead filled by Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito. Long-time collaborator Yoshitaka Amano returned as character designer and concept artist, while composer Nobuo Uematsu returned to compose the game's score, which has been released on several soundtrack albums.
Final Fantasy V is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It is the fifth main installment of the Final Fantasy series. The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Famicom. It has been ported with minor differences to Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Game Boy 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. It was released for the PlayStation Network on April 6, 2011, in Japan. An enhanced port of the game, with new high-resolution graphics and a touch-based interface, was released for iPhone and iPad on March 28, 2013, for Android on September 25 the same year and for Windows on September 24, 2015. A more enhanced re-release of the game as part of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, was released on November 10, 2021 for Android, iOS, and Windows, for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on April 19, 2023, and for Xbox Series X/S on September 26, 2024.
Final Fantasy III is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer. The third installment in the Final Fantasy series, it is the first numbered Final Fantasy game to feature the job-change system. The story revolves around four orphaned youths drawn to a crystal of light. The crystal 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 mission and set out to explore and bring back balance to the world.
Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, titled Dragon Warrior II when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Dragon Quest series. Enix's U.S. subsidiary published the American release, Dragon Warrior II, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Dragon Quest II is set one hundred years after the events of the first game.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, titled Dragon Warrior IV when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game, the fourth installment of the Dragon Quest video game series developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix, and the first of the Zenithian Trilogy. It was originally released for the Famicom on 11 February 1990 in Japan. A North American NES version followed in October 1992, and would be the last Dragon Quest game localized and published by Enix's Enix America Corporation subsidiary prior to its closure in November 1995, as well as the last Dragon Quest game to be localized into English prior to the localization of Dragon Warrior Monsters in December 1999. The game was remade by Heartbeat for the PlayStation, which eventually was available as an Ultimate Hits game. The remake was ported by ArtePiazza to the Nintendo DS, released in Japan November 2007 and worldwide in September 2008. A mobile version based on the Nintendo DS remake was released in 2014 for Android and iOS.
Dragon Quest, titled Dragon Warrior when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was originally released in Japan in 1986 and by Nintendo in North America in 1989. It is the first game in the Dragon Quest video game series. Dragon Quest has been ported and remade for several video game platforms, including the MSX, MSX2, PC-9801, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, mobile phones, and Nintendo Switch as of 2019. The player controls the hero character who is charged with saving the Kingdom of Alefgard and rescuing its princess from the evil Dragonlord. Dragon Warrior's story became the second part in a trilogy, with several spinoff anime and manga series.
Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation, titled Dragon Warrior III when initially localized to North America, is a 1988 role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix. It is the third installment in the Dragon Quest series and was first released for the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan and later for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America. The game saw an enhanced remake for the Super Famicom in 1996 and the Game Boy Color in 2001, and a port to mobile phones and the Wii in 2009 and 2011. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan on September 25, 2014, and worldwide as Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation on December 4, 2014. It was the first time the game was given an official English subtitle. Later in 2021, another remake of the game titled Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, based on Octopath Traveler's style, was announced during the franchise's 35th anniversary livestream, and later confirmed in the June 2024 Nintendo Direct to be released in November that same year for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.
Kefka Palazzo is a video game character and the main antagonist in the 1994 Square role-playing video game Final Fantasy VI. Yoshitaka Amano created his visual design and director Yoshinori Kitase wrote his scenes. He is one of the most well-known and well-received villains in the Final Fantasy series. He was given a featured role in the fighting game Dissidia Final Fantasy and its sequels. He also appears as an enemy boss character in games including Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Artniks, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, and Final Fantasy All the Bravest.
King's Knight is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Square for the Nintendo Entertainment System and MSX. The game was released in Japan on September 18, 1986 and in North America in 1989. It was later re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on November 27, 2007 and in North America on March 24, 2008. This would be followed by a release on the Virtual Console in Japan on February 4, 2015, for 3DS and July 6, 2016, for Wii U.
The Chrono series is a video game franchise developed and published by Square, and is currently owned by Square Enix. The series began in 1995 with the time travel role-playing video game Chrono Trigger, which spawned two continuations, Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki, and Chrono Cross. A promotional anime called Dimensional Adventure Numa Monjar and two ports of Chrono Trigger were also produced. As of March 31, 2003, Chrono Trigger was Square Enix's 12th best-selling game, with 2.65 million units shipped. Chrono Cross was the 24th, with 1.5 million units shipped. By 2019, the two games had sold over 5.5 million units combined. The games in the series have been called some of the greatest of all time, with most of the praise going towards Chrono Trigger. The series' original soundtracks, composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, have also been praised, with multiple soundtracks being released for them.
Nasir Gebelli is an Iranian-American programmer and video game designer usually credited in his games as simply Nasir. He became known in the early 1980s for programming action games for Apple II, such as Space Eggs. These were initially published by Sirius Software, then he started his own company, Gebelli Software. Several of the games he wrote for Gebelli Software were 3D space combat simulators for the Apple II.
Dissidia Final Fantasy is a fighting game with action role-playing elements developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the campaign for the Final Fantasy series' 20th anniversary. It was released in Japan on December 18, 2008, in North America on August 25, 2009, and in Australia and Europe in September. It was then re-released in Japan, based on the North American version, as Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning, on November 1, 2009.
Final Fantasy IV is a role-playing video game developed by Matrix Software and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. It is a remake of Final Fantasy IV, originally known as Final Fantasy II in North America for the SNES. It was released as part of the Final Fantasy series 20th anniversary celebrations on December 20, 2007 in Japan, on July 22, 2008 in North America, and on September 5 in Europe.
Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and director working for Square Enix. He was hired by Square initially as a monster designer for Final Fantasy V (1992), before being shifted towards secondary character designer alongside Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy VI (1994). Final Fantasy VII (1997) had him working in the original story alongside Hironobu Sakaguchi, and marked his debut as the lead character designer, a capacity he would retain for several future installments of the series, as well as other Square Enix titles such as The Bouncer and The World Ends with You. He also created well-known Cactuar, Gilgamesh and Tonberry characters.
Final Fantasy III is a Nintendo DS role-playing video game and a remake of the 1990 Family Computer game, Final Fantasy III.
1 2 3 Final Fantasy Explorer's Handbook (instruction manual). Square. 1989. p.80. NES-FF-USA.
↑ Square (July 12, 1990). Final Fantasy (Nintendo Entertainment System). Nintendo. Garland: Remember me, Garland? Your puny lot thought it had defeated me. But, the Four FIENDS sent me back 2000 years into the past. / From here I sent the Four FIENDS to the future. The FIENDS will send me back to here, and the Time-Loop will go on. / After 2000 years, I will be forgotten, and the Time-Loop will close. I will live forever, and you shall meet doom!!
↑ "ファイナルファンタジーV [スーパーファミコン]"[Final Fantasy (Famicom)] (in Japanese). Famitsu. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
↑ Bell, Lowell (February 25, 2023). "Best JRPGs Of All Time". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
↑ Square Enix (March 22, 2011). Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (PlayStation Portable). Square Enix. Report 7: World: A / Place: Town on the Hawk's Wing / Forgotten Memories -07- "So what you just told is all memory you have inherited?" / Yes. Memory succession is a dying art. In order to preserve this memory for a longer time, I thought it best to leave it in writing. / "Do you think there is any relation between your memory and the Four Fiends wreaking havoc on our world now?" / That, I cannot say with any certainty. But there are curious similarities as to where things happened. / Where the rip in time-space occurred, and where the Four Fiends now dwell... The scenery in both locations match with what remain in my memory. / "Thank you for sharing your story. It shall be passed on as recorded". / Lukahn, please let me ask you one question before we finish. The Warrior of Light, the one you predicted would save the world from this calamity with crystal in hand, is he really coming? / "I am called an oracle, but I am actually a historian". / "History must always converge. I feel faint signs of it coming from the distant worlds. / The Warrior of Light shall come indeed. / And he shall liberate this world... no, the people of this world from the cycle of negativity.
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