Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
Final Fantasy: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Final Fantasy
In 1987, Hironobu Sakaguchi stood on the precipice of professional ruin, convinced that his next project would be his final entry into the video game industry. The game he was creating was not destined to be a sequel to a beloved franchise, but rather a desperate attempt to save his employer, Square, from financial collapse. Sakaguchi had been tasked with developing a fantasy role-playing game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, drawing inspiration from popular titles like Dragon Quest and The Legend of Zelda. He named the project Final Fantasy, a title chosen partly because the abbreviation FF sounded good in Japanese and partly because he intended to quit the business if the game failed. The stakes were incredibly high; had the game not sold well, Sakaguchi planned to return to college and leave the industry behind. The game indeed reversed Square's lagging fortunes, becoming the company's flagship franchise and launching a legacy that would span decades. This initial gamble set the stage for a series that would redefine the role-playing genre, introducing concepts that would become standard in the industry.
The Evolution of Worlds
The Final Fantasy series is an anthology, meaning each numbered installment features a completely new setting, plot, and cast of characters, yet they are linked by recurring elements and themes. The first five games were directed by Sakaguchi, who provided the original concepts and drew inspiration from anime films by Hayao Miyazaki. Series staples like airships and Chocobos were inspired by elements in Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, respectively. Sakaguchi served as a producer for subsequent games until he left Square in 2001. Yoshinori Kitase took over directing the games until Final Fantasy VIII, and has been followed by a new director for each new game. Hiroyuki Ito designed several gameplay systems, including Final Fantasy Vs Job System, Final Fantasy VIIIs Junction System, and the Active Time Battle concept, which was used from Final Fantasy IV until IX. In designing the Active Time Battle system, Ito drew inspiration from Formula One racing; he thought it would be interesting if character types had different speeds after watching race cars pass each other. Ito also co-directed Final Fantasy VI with Kitase. Kenji Terada was the scenario writer for the first three games; Kitase took over as scenario writer for Final Fantasy V through VII. Kazushige Nojima became the series' primary scenario writer from Final Fantasy VII until his resignation in October 2003; he has since formed his own company, Stellavista. Nojima partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X, and its sequel X-2. He also worked as the scenario writer for the spin-off series, Kingdom Hearts. Daisuke Watanabe co-wrote the scenarios for Final Fantasy X and XII, and was the main writer for the XIII games.
Who created the Final Fantasy series and when was it released?
Hironobu Sakaguchi created the Final Fantasy series, which was released in 1987. Sakaguchi developed the game for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a desperate attempt to save his employer Square from financial collapse.
What is the difference between Final Fantasy VII and previous games in the series?
Final Fantasy VII was the first title in the series to use three-dimensional computer graphics instead of two-dimensional graphics. Released for the Sony PlayStation in 1997, the game featured polygonal characters on pre-rendered backgrounds and marked a pivotal shift in video game history.
Who composed the music for the Final Fantasy series and when did he leave?
Nobuo Uematsu was the primary composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. Uematsu created much of the music with little direction from production staff and developed themes based on the game's story, characters, and artwork.
How many units has the Final Fantasy series sold by March 2025?
By March 2025, the Final Fantasy series surpassed cumulative global physical and digital sales of 200 million units. The series has seen a steady increase in total sales, reaching 100 million units by 1999 and 200 million units in 2011.
What recurring character appears in every game since Final Fantasy II?
A character named Cid appears in every game since Final Fantasy II, including subsequent remakes of the original Final Fantasy. Cid is typically a scientist or engineer tied to an airship the party eventually acquires.
The transition from 2D to 3D graphics marked a pivotal moment in the history of video games, and Final Fantasy VII was at the forefront of this revolution. In 1997, the game was released for the Sony PlayStation, moving away from the two-dimensional graphics used in the first six games to three-dimensional computer graphics. The game featured polygonal characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, a style that was carried over to the next game. The switch to 3D was due to a dispute with Nintendo over its use of faster but more expensive cartridges, as opposed to the slower and cheaper, but much higher capacity compact discs used on rival systems. This decision led to increased production costs and a greater subdivision of the creative staff for VII and subsequent 3D games in the series. Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. Like VII, full motion video sequences would have video playing in the background, with the polygonal characters composited on top. Final Fantasy IX returned to the more stylized design of earlier games, although it still maintained, and in many cases slightly upgraded, most of the graphical techniques used in the previous two games. Final Fantasy X was released on the PlayStation 2, and used the more powerful hardware to render graphics in real-time instead of using pre-rendered material to obtain a more dynamic look; the game features full 3D environments, rather than having 3D character models move about pre-rendered backgrounds. It is also the first Final Fantasy game to feature voice acting, occurring throughout the majority of the game, even with many minor characters. This aspect added a whole new dimension of depth to the character's reactions, emotions, and development.
The Sound of Success
Nobuo Uematsu was the primary composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. Other notable composers who have worked on main entries in the series include Masashi Hamauzu, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Yoko Shimomura. Uematsu was allowed to create much of the music with little direction from the production staff. Sakaguchi, however, would request pieces to fit specific game scenes including battles and exploring different areas of the game world. Once a game's major scenarios were completed, Uematsu would begin writing the music based on the story, characters, and accompanying artwork. He started with a game's main theme, and developed other pieces to match its style. In creating character themes, Uematsu read the game's scenario to determine the characters' personality. He would also ask the scenario writer for more details to scenes he was unsure about. Technical limitations were prevalent in earlier games; Sakaguchi would sometimes instruct Uematsu to only use specific notes. It was not until Final Fantasy IV on the SNES that Uematsu was able to add more subtlety to the music. Final Fantasy games feature a variety of music, and frequently reuse themes. Most of the games open with a piece called Prelude, which has evolved from a simple, 2-voice arpeggio in the early games to a complex, melodic arrangement in recent installments. Victories in combat are often accompanied by a victory fanfare, a theme that has become one of the most recognized pieces of music in the series. The basic theme that accompanies Chocobo appearances has been rearranged in a different musical style for most installments. Recurring secret bosses such as Gilgamesh are also used as opportunities to revive their musical themes. A theme known as the Final Fantasy Main Theme or March, originally featured in the first game, often accompanies the ending credits. Although leitmotifs are common in the more character-driven installments, theme music is typically reserved for main characters and recurring plot elements.
The Global Phenomenon
The Final Fantasy series has been both critically and commercially successful, with several entries regarded as some of the greatest video games of all time. The series has seen a steady increase in total sales; it sold 100 million units by 1999, and reached 200 million units in 2011. By March 2025, the series surpassed cumulative global physical and digital sales of 200 million units. Several games within the series have become best-selling games. At the end of 2007, the seventh, eighth, and ninth best-selling RPGs were Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X respectively. The original Final Fantasy VII has sold over 14.4 million copies worldwide, earning it the position of the best-selling Final Fantasy game. Within two days of Final Fantasy VIIIs North American release on the 9th of September 1999, it became the top-selling video game in the United States, a position it held for more than three weeks. Final Fantasy X sold over 1.4 million Japanese units in pre-orders alone, which set a record for the fastest-selling console RPG. The MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI, reached over 200,000 active daily players in March 2006 and had reached over half a million subscribers by July 2007. Final Fantasy XII sold more than 1.7 million copies in its first week in Japan. By the 6th of November 2006, one week after its release, XII had shipped approximately 1.5 million copies in North America. Final Fantasy XIII became the fastest-selling game in the franchise, and sold one million units on its first day of sale in Japan. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, in comparison to its predecessor, was a runaway success, originally suffering from servers being overcrowded, and eventually gaining over one million unique subscribers within two months of its launch.
The Cultural Impact
Final Fantasy has been influential in the history of video games and game mechanics. Final Fantasy IV is considered a milestone for the genre, introducing a dramatic storyline with a strong emphasis on character development and personal relationships. In 1992, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto noted the impact of Final Fantasy on Japanese role-playing games, stating Final Fantasys interactive cinematic approach with an emphasis on presentation and graphics was gradually becoming the most common style of Japanese RPG at the time. Final Fantasy VII, having been the first title of the series to be officially released in the PAL territories of Europe and Oceania, is credited as having the largest industry impact of the series, and with allowing console role-playing games to gain global mass-market appeal. VII is considered to be one of the most important and influential video games in the series. The series affected Square's business on several levels. The commercial failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within resulted in hesitation and delays from Enix during merger discussions with Square. Square's decision to produce games exclusively for the Sony PlayStation, a move followed by Enix's decision with the Dragon Quest series, severed their relationship with Nintendo. Final Fantasy games were absent from Nintendo consoles, specifically the Nintendo 64, for seven years. Critics attribute the switch of strong third-party games like the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games to Sony's PlayStation, and away from the Nintendo 64, as one of the reasons behind PlayStation being the more successful of the two consoles. The release of the Nintendo GameCube, which used optical disc media, in 2001 caught the attention of Square. To produce games for the system, Square created the shell company The Game Designers Studio and released Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which spawned its own metaseries within the main franchise. Final Fantasy XIs lack of an online method of subscription cancellation prompted the creation of legislation in Illinois that requires internet gaming services to provide such a method to the state's residents.
The Legacy of Characters
The series features a number of recurring character archetypes. Most famously, every game since Final Fantasy II, including subsequent remakes of the original Final Fantasy, features a character named Cid. Cid's appearance, personality, goals, and role in the game vary dramatically, but two characteristics many versions of Cid have in common are being a scientist or engineer, and being tied in some way to an airship the party eventually acquires. Every Cid has at least one of these two traits. Biggs and Wedge, inspired by two Star Wars characters of the same name, appear in numerous games as minor characters, sometimes as comic relief. The later games in the series feature several males with effeminate characteristics. Recurring creatures include Chocobos, Moogles, and Cactuars. Chocobos are large, often flightless birds that appear in several installments as a means of long-distance travel for characters. Moogles are white, stout creatures resembling teddy bears with wings and a single antenna. They serve different roles in games including mail delivery, weaponsmiths, party members, and saving the game. Cactuars are anthropomorphic cacti with haniwa-like faces presented in a running or dashing pose. They usually appear as recurring enemy units, and also as summoned allies or friendly non-player characters in certain titles. Chocobo and Moogle appearances are often accompanied by specific musical themes that have been arranged differently for separate games. The series has inspired numerous game developers. Fable creator Peter Molyneux considers Final Fantasy VII to be the RPG that defined the genre for him. BioWare founder Greg Zeschuk described Final Fantasy VII as the first really emotionally engaging game he played and said it had a big impact on BioWare's work. The Witcher 3 senior environmental artist Jonas Mattsson cited Final Fantasy as a huge influence and said it was the first RPG he played through. Mass Effect art director Derek Watts cited Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within as a major influence on the visual design and art direction of the series. BioWare senior product manager David Silverman cited Final Fantasy XII's gambit system as an influence on the gameplay of Dragon Age: Origins. Ubisoft Toronto creative director Maxime Beland cited the original Final Fantasy as a major influence on him. Media Molecule's Constantin Jupp credited Final Fantasy VII with getting him into game design. Tim Schafer also cited Final Fantasy VII as one of his favourite games.