Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy was Hironobu Sakaguchi’s personal last-ditch effort. In 1987, Square’s designer chose to make one more role-playing game for the cartridge-based Nintendo Entertainment System, drawing on Enix’s Dragon Quest, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda, and Origin Systems’s Ultima series for inspiration. If the game failed, Sakaguchi planned to quit the business and go back to college. It did not fail. It reversed Square’s lagging fortunes and became the company’s flagship franchise, the first entry in a series that would eventually sell more than 200 million copies worldwide.
The name itself was a compromise. The team wanted a title abbreviating to "FF", which would sound good in Japanese. Their first choice was Fighting Fantasy, but that conflicted with an existing roleplaying gamebook series. Because the English word "Final" was already well known in Japan, Sakaguchi settled on it. In 2015, he explained that any title producing the "FF" abbreviation would have done.
What followed was a franchise unlike almost any other in gaming: sixteen numbered main entries, each with its own setting, characters, and plot. Spin-offs in tactical combat, racing, fighting, and online multiplayer. Films, anime, manga, novels, a trading card game, and a synchronized swimming routine at the 2004 Summer Olympics. The question the rest of this documentary will answer is how an anthology with no shared story managed to hold together across four decades.
Successive Final Fantasy games are numbered as volumes rather than sequels, each carrying a new setting, a new cast, and an upgraded battle system. The decision not to continue the first game’s story was driven by necessity: Sakaguchi had assumed Final Fantasy would be a stand-alone title, so its story was never designed to support a sequel. The developers instead carried forward only thematic similarities and overhauled gameplay elements like the character advancement system.
Video game writer John Harris traced this habit of reworking each installment’s systems to Nihon Falcom’s Dragon Slayer series, which Square had previously been involved with as a publisher. The approach gave the franchise flexibility that few other major RPG series matched. Final Fantasy IV introduced the "Active Time Battle" system, designed by Hiroyuki Ito, who drew inspiration from Formula One racing. After watching race cars pass each other at different speeds, he thought it would be interesting if character types moved at different speeds in combat. The system injected urgency by requiring players to act before an enemy attacked, and it was used through Final Fantasy IX.
Final Fantasy VII marked the franchise’s biggest structural leap. A dispute with Nintendo over the cost of cartridge media pushed Square to the Sony PlayStation. VII introduced three-dimensional graphics with fully pre-rendered backgrounds and a more modern setting. Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. Final Fantasy X, released on the PlayStation 2, moved to full 3D environments and introduced voice acting throughout, including among minor characters, giving developers new tools to show depth in character reactions and emotions.
Hiroyuki Ito designed several of the series’ defining gameplay systems: the Job System in Final Fantasy V, the Junction System in Final Fantasy VIII, and the Active Time Battle concept used from Final Fantasy IV through IX. He also co-directed Final Fantasy VI alongside Yoshinori Kitase, who directed the games after Sakaguchi transitioned to a producer role and left Square in 2001.
The scenario writing passed through several hands. Kenji Terada wrote the first three games. Kitase took over for Final Fantasy V through VII. Kazushige Nojima became the primary scenario writer from Final Fantasy VII until his resignation in October 2003, partially or completely writing the stories for Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X, and X-2, and also working on the Kingdom Hearts spin-off series. After his departure, he formed his own company, Stellavista.
Artistic design from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy VI was handled by Yoshitaka Amano, who also designed all main series title logos and continued producing image illustrations from Final Fantasy VII onward. Tetsuya Nomura replaced Amano for character design beginning with Final Fantasy VII, chosen because his designs adapted better to 3D graphics. Nomura worked on the series through Final Fantasy X, returned for XIII, and contributed basic design for XV.
Nobuo Uematsu composed for the series from its beginning until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. Sakaguchi gave Uematsu significant creative latitude, requesting pieces for specific in-game situations but leaving the broader writing to him. Uematsu began writing only after a game’s major scenarios were completed, using story, characters, and artwork as his guide. In the NES era, Sakaguchi sometimes instructed him to use only specific notes. It was not until Final Fantasy IV on the Super Nintendo that Uematsu had enough technical headroom to add real subtlety to the music.
Despite each numbered entry being its own world, Final Fantasy games share a web of recurring elements. Weapon names like Excalibur and Masamune appear across the series, drawn from Arthurian legend and the historical Japanese swordsmith Masamune, respectively. Spell names Holy, Meteor, and Ultima are series constants. Crystals and magical orbs recur as items tied to a planet’s life force, and control over them drives many of the series’ central conflicts.
Every game since Final Fantasy II, including remakes of the first game, features a character named Cid. His appearance and role vary widely: non-playable ally, party member, villain. Many versions are scientists or engineers with a connection to an airship that the player’s party eventually acquires. Biggs and Wedge, named after two Star Wars characters, appear across numerous games as minor characters and sometimes comic relief.
Creature design follows its own continuity. Chocobos are large, often flightless birds used for long-distance travel. Hironobu Sakaguchi drew the airships from Castle in the Sky and the chocobos from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, both films by Hayao Miyazaki. Moogles are white, stout creatures resembling teddy bears with wings and a single antenna, serving roles ranging from mail delivery to weaponsmithing to party membership. Cactuars are anthropomorphic cacti with haniwa-like faces in a running pose, usually appearing as enemy units.
The series’ musical vocabulary is similarly persistent. Most games open with a piece called "Prelude", which evolved from a simple two-voice arpeggio in the early games to a complex melodic arrangement in later ones. The victory fanfare played after combat has become one of the most recognized pieces in the series. Summoned creatures, called Espers or Eidolons, draw on Arabic, Hindu, Norse, and Greek mythologies, a feature that has persisted since Final Fantasy III.
The Final Fantasy series sold 25 million units by 2000, reached 100 million units in 2011, and by March 2025 had surpassed 200 million cumulative global physical and digital units. In 1996, Next Generation staff ranked the series collectively as the 17th best game of all time. Two years later, they placed it 16th on their "Top 50 Games of All Time" list, writing that by pairing state-of-the-art technology with memorable, sometimes shamelessly melodramatic storylines, the series had successfully outlasted its competitors.
Final Fantasy VII is the best-selling individual game in the franchise, with over 14.4 million copies sold worldwide. Final Fantasy X sold over 1.4 million units in Japanese pre-orders alone, setting a record for the fastest-selling console RPG at the time. Final Fantasy XIII became the fastest-selling game in the franchise overall, selling one million units on its first day in Japan. Final Fantasy XII sold more than 1.7 million copies in its first week in Japan and had shipped approximately 1.5 million copies in North America within one week of its release there.
The series has also attracted sustained criticism. Gaming publications have pointed to the menu-driven interface as a barrier for many players, and random enemy encounters drew repeated negative comment. Critics questioned the franchise’s expansion, particularly the volume of spin-off titles carrying the Final Fantasy name. The reception of the original Final Fantasy XIV was so poor that then-president Yoichi Wada issued an official apology at a Tokyo press conference, stating that the brand had been "greatly damaged" by the game. The relaunched version, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, released in 2013, gained over one million subscribers within two months.
The series holds seven Guinness World Records from the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008, including "Most Games in an RPG Series" and "Fastest-Selling Console RPG in a Single Day" for Final Fantasy X. As of 2025, the franchise has won 10 awards at The Game Awards, more than any other video game franchise.
Final Fantasy IV’s "Theme of Love" was integrated into the curriculum of Japanese schoolchildren and has since been performed live by orchestras and metal bands. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, bronze medalists Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova performed their synchronized swimming routine to music from Final Fantasy VIII. In 2003, Nobuo Uematsu co-founded The Black Mages, an instrumental rock group independent of Square that released albums of arranged Final Fantasy music.
The franchise shaped the work of developers across the industry. Fable creator Peter Molyneux described Final Fantasy VII as the RPG that "defined the genre" for him. BioWare founder Greg Zeschuk called it "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 "the first RPG" he played through. BioWare senior product manager David Silverman credited Final Fantasy XII’s gambit system as an influence on Dragon Age: Origins.
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Common questions
Who created Final Fantasy and why is it called that?
Final Fantasy was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, a designer at Square, with the first game released in Japan on the 18th of December 1987. The team wanted a title abbreviating to "FF" that would sound good in Japanese; the first choice, Fighting Fantasy, was dropped over trademark concerns, so Sakaguchi settled on "Final" because the English word was already well known in Japan.
How many copies has the Final Fantasy series sold worldwide?
By March 2025, the Final Fantasy series had surpassed 200 million cumulative global physical and digital sales. The series reached 25 million units by 2000 and 100 million units by 2011. Final Fantasy VII is the best-selling individual entry with over 14.4 million copies sold.
What are the recurring characters and creatures in Final Fantasy games?
Every Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy II features a character named Cid, often a scientist or engineer connected to an airship. Chocobos are large, often flightless birds used for travel, while Moogles are white, stout teddy-bear-like creatures with wings and a single antenna. Biggs and Wedge, named after two Star Wars characters, also appear across numerous games as minor characters.
Who composed the music for Final Fantasy?
Nobuo Uematsu was the primary composer of the Final Fantasy series until he resigned from Square Enix in November 2004. Other notable composers on main entries include Masashi Hamauzu, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Yoko Shimomura. In 2003, Uematsu co-founded The Black Mages, an instrumental rock group releasing arranged Final Fantasy music.
What is the Active Time Battle system in Final Fantasy?
The Active Time Battle system was introduced in Final Fantasy IV and designed by Hiroyuki Ito, who drew inspiration from watching Formula One race cars pass each other at different speeds. It layered a perpetual time-keeping clock over turn-based combat, requiring players to act before enemies attacked. The system was used from Final Fantasy IV through Final Fantasy IX.
Why did Final Fantasy VII move from Nintendo to the Sony PlayStation?
Final Fantasy VII was released on the Sony PlayStation in 1997 after a dispute with Nintendo over its use of expensive cartridge media. Compact discs were slower but cheaper and held more data, which is why the CD-ROM format was chosen to support the game’s 3D graphics and pre-rendered backgrounds. The switch also led to increased production costs and greater specialization among the creative staff.