Final Fantasy (series)

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Japanese series logo, which also appears in the post-16-bit era North American localizations

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー, Fainaru Fantajī^?) is a series of RPGs and films developed and published by Square Enix Co., Ltd. (formerly Square Co., Ltd.).

Final Fantasy is the fourth-best selling video game franchise of all time, having sold over 70 million units worldwide as of January 2007, trailing Mario, Pokémon, and The Sims.^[1] The franchise later branched out into other genres and platforms, such as tactical RPGs, portable games, MMORPGs and games for mobile phones. The series also spurred the release of three animated productions and two full length CGI films.

The first installment of the series premiered in Japan on December 18, 1987, and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localized for markets in North America, Europe and Australia on numerous video game consoles,^[2] IBM PC compatible computers, and several different models of mobile phones. Future installments have been announced to appear on seventh generation video game consoles. Two upcoming titles for the PS3 include Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

As of March 2007, there are about 28 games^[3] in the franchise. This number includes installments from Final Fantasy to Final Fantasy XII, along with a few direct sequels (Final Fantasy X-2) and numerous spin-offs.

[edit] Overview

See also: List of Final Fantasy titles

Square Co., Ltd. first entered the Japanese video game industry in the mid 1980s, developing a variety of simple RPGs for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System (FDS), a disk-based peripheral for the Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System). By 1987, declining interest in the FDS had placed Square on the verge of bankruptcy. At approximately the same time, Square designer Hironobu Sakaguchi began work on an ambitious new fantasy role playing game for the cartridge-based Famicom, inspired in part by Enix's popular Dragon Quest (known as Dragon Warrior in the United States until 2005).^[4] According to unconfirmed sources, Sakaguchi had plans to retire after the completion of the project, so it was named Final Fantasy. Andrew Vestal, who used to run the UnOfficial SquareSoft HomePage (UOSSHP), also attributed the name to the company's hopes that the project would help with their financial woes.^[5]Final Fantasy reversed Square's lagging fortunes, and became their flagship franchise.

Following the success of the first game, Square quickly began work on a second installment. Unlike a typical sequel, Final Fantasy II featured entirely different characters, with a setting and story bearing only some thematic similarities to its predecessor. Some of the gameplay elements, such as the character advancement system, were also completely changed. This approach to future installments has continued throughout the series, with each major Final Fantasy game introducing a new world, a new cast of characters, and a new system of gameplay.^{[6][citation needed][7][8]}

[edit] Common themes and motifs

Airships have appeared in every Final Fantasy game, and a character named Cid is almost always directly related to them. (Final Fantasy IV shown).

Though each Final Fantasy story is independent, many themes and elements of gameplay recur throughout the series. Some spin-off titles have cameo appearances of characters from preceding stories, but in most cases merely the names are reused, so that each game has its own unique collection of characters in totally unrelated worlds.

An overview of some key objects and concepts that have appeared in most of the Final Fantasy games appear below, with links to articles containing more details:

• Airships — Powerful airborne vessels which usually serve as a primary mode of transportation for the player, enabling fast movement to nearly anywhere in the overworld, often without the risk of random encounters. In many games^[9] the presence of airships is a key component to the story itself. In the games in which the player has full control over the airship and can fly throughout the world, the game map wraps on both its X and Y axes.
• Character classes and the Job system — The most common playable character classes have been the Fighter or Warrior; White and Black Mages; Monk; and Thief. Less common are the Red and Blue Mages. In some titles, the player can choose what job class each character can assume, but even in games where the player is not given a choice, these classes often play an important background role in the story.
• Character names — A character named "Cid" has been present in every Final Fantasy game.^[10] Although he is rarely the same individual, he is usually presented as an owner, creator, and/or pilot of airships and sometimes plays a political role in the story. In a similar vein, characters named Biggs and Wedge (homages to the Star Wars characters Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles) have appeared in most games since Final Fantasy VI. Other names appear in several games. The protagonists of the Nomura-designed Final Fantasy games usually have a name alluding to or directly related to meteorological phenomena or celestial bodies.^[11]
• Complex character development and significant back-story — Throughout most of the Final Fantasy titles, the major characters grow and develop throughout the game. Frequently the relationship between various characters will change over time as well. Considerable time is often spent explaining the history behind many of the characters, who take on a personality of their own, rather than being totally at the control of the player. The result is that many fans become attached to particular characters, being happy when things go well, and being sad when bad things happen to them. Often, this growth of characters is the basis for some of the humor and drama that is built into the game.
• Creatures/monsters — Fictional creatures such as Chocobos and Moogles have appeared in most games in the series. The Chocobo even gains a starring role in its own series of spin-offs. Certain monsters also reappear frequently, including Goblins, Oni/Ogres/Gigas/Giants, Bombs, Behemoths, Tonberries, Malboros and Cactuars. Lastly, summoned monsters - such as Bahamut - as well as the elemental monsters - Shiva (ice), Ifrit/Efreeti (fire), and Leviathan (water) - have appeared in almost every title in the series. The lightning elemental has been represented by a variety of creatures, such as Ramuh, Quezacotl, and Ixion.
• Magic — Magic in the Final Fantasy series is generally divided into different classes, which are usually named after a specific color. The actual magic classes vary from game to game, but all games include White magic, which includes healing and support spells, and Black magic, which includes offensive spells. One who is proficient in White or Black magic is often known as a White Mage or Black Mage. Additional classes and mages appear throughout the series, such as a Red Mage, who can cast both white and black magic, and/or a Blue Mage, who can learn spells from foes.
• Music — Several musical tracks have been in just about every Final Fantasy game to date. In most games in the series, the same simple melody is used at the opening screen, and a very noticeable musical cue is the victory music which is played after the player wins a battle. This cue is so well known it has become a ring-tone for cellular phones; in fact it makes a 'cameo' of sorts in the full-length movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children as Loz's ring-tone. These songs were written in majority by composer Nobuo Uematsu.
• Plot elements — Many entries in the Final Fantasy series involve broadly similar plot points, such as rebellion against a major economic, political, or religious power; a struggle against an evil which threatens to overtake or destroy the world; and nature versus technology. The love between major characters,^[12] and in some cases rivalry between characters,^[13] as well as the desertion or death of major (and sometimes playable) characters, often drives the plot as well.
• Crystals — Elemental crystals have appeared in over half of the titles of the series. Almost all Final Fantasy installments have a theme of an increase in monster activity, often caused by an imbalance of nature forces, caused by Mist or Crystals. Also, most of the games' plots seem to involve large-scale destruction at some point in the game, often near the end.
• Status ailments and cures — Characters in Final Fantasy games are usually subject to a number of standard "status ailments" which cause deleterious (but sometimes favorable) effects, including silence, stop, berserk, poison, petrification and confusion. While these are present in many console RPGs, Final Fantasy has a standard list of items which may be used to cure specific ailments,^[14] as well as magical spells.^[15] In most cases, a status ailment can be cured by either an item or a spell.
• Villains — Every one of the Final Fantasy titles has a diabolical nemesis for the heroes to face. While the villains have almost no character development in the early Final Fantasy games, the villains became more developed as the storylines became more complex in the later games.^{[citation needed]} The plots of Final Fantasy games also usually involve a larger group of wrongdoers who may directly or indirectly aid the primary villain. Though the exact mission of the villain varies from game to game, it generally involves bringing about a global calamity or dominating the world.^{[citation needed]} Some games also have additional villains who play a significant role in the story but are not revealed until the very end of the game.^[16]

[edit] Design

See also: Final Fantasy designers category

Yoshitaka Amano designed the characters for the first six Final Fantasy games, as well as providing some conceptual artwork for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX. The above is a depiction of Terra riding a suit of Magitek Armor from Final Fantasy VI.

Artistic design, including character and monster design work, was handled by Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy VI, as well as title logo designs for all of the main series and all of the image illustrations from Final Fantasy VII onward. Following Amano's departure, he was replaced by Tetsuya Nomura, who continued to work with the series through Final Fantasy X, with the exception of Final Fantasy IX, in which character design was handled by Shukou Murase with Toshiyuki Itahana and Shin Nagasawa assisting Murase. Nomura is also the character designer of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and all three installments of the upcoming Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII. In Final Fantasy XI, the characters were designed by Nobuyoshi Mihara.^[17]

Akihiko Yoshida, who served as character designer for the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as the Square-produced Vagrant Story, recently became more involved with the series as the character designer of Final Fantasy XII and the Final Fantasy III remake.

In October 2003, Kazushige Nojima, the series' principle scenario writer since Final Fantasy VII, resigned from Square Enix to form his own company, Stellavista. He partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. Square Enix continues to contract story and scenario work to Nojima and Stellavista.

[edit] Music

Main article: Final Fantasy music

Nobuo Uematsu (third from left) and The Black Mages, a hard rock band that has released two albums of arranged Final Fantasy music.

Final Fantasy is the first Japanese-origin video game franchise to mass market its soundtracks in the United States. The international popularity of video game music began to surge with the success of the Final Fantasy series, particularly Final Fantasy VI and later games in the series. Nobuo Uematsu was the chief music composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. His music has played a large part in the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise abroad. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the American synchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to music from Final Fantasy VIII.^[18] Uematsu is also involved with the rock group The Black Mages, which has released two albums of arranged Final Fantasy tunes. Other composers who have contributed to the series include Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano and Hitoshi Sakimoto. Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayao Matsuo, Yuji Toriyama, and Nobuo Uematsu have composed the soundtrack of Final Fantasy XII.

There have already been two successful runs of Final Fantasy concerts in Japan as of 2004. Final Fantasy soundtracks and sheet music are also increasingly popular amongst non-Japanese Final Fantasy fans and have even been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. On November 17, 2003, Square Enix U.S.A. launched an AOL Radio station dedicated to music from the Final Fantasy series, initially carrying complete tracks from Final Fantasy XI in addition to samplings from Final Fantasy VII through Final Fantasy X. Many video game and MIDI world wide web sites offer renditions of Final Fantasy musical pieces, and many remixes can be found.

The Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy concert tour was established, starting February 2005, due to the success of the first Final Fantasy concert performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 10, 2004. Music from Final Fantasy was first performed outside of Japan as a part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Germany. The Final Fantasy soundtracks have also joined the catalogue of the iTunes Music Store.

While the music in the games offers wide variety, there are some frequently reused themes. The games often open with a piece called Prelude, which is actually based on one of Bach's preludes. It is a simple arpeggio theme in the early games, with further melodies added in later games. The battle sequences that end in victory for the player in the first ten installments of the series would be accompanied by a victory fanfare that used the same nine-note sequence to begin the fanfare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of music relating to the Final Fantasy series. The fanfare was also used in the movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children as Loz's ringtone, heard while he was in Aerith's Church fighting Tifa. Other memorable tunes include the Chocobo's theme, the Moogle's theme, and a piece originally called "Ahead On Our Way" in Final Fantasy I, which was in fact the opening theme and which is now usually played during the ending credits of the game and called "Prologue" (in many cases, this theme is also known simply as "Final Fantasy").

Notably in the character-driven Final Fantasy incarnations, a significant element in each game's musical score is the use of leitmotifs. A leitmotif, popularized by Romantic Era composer Richard Wagner, can be described as a 'theme melody' for a specific character, situation, or other entity. In nearly all Final Fantasy games, the most important characters and plot elements have their own theme music. For example, in Final Fantasy VII, the song "Anxious Heart" is generally played whenever the main character's troubled past is brought up in the storyline.

Video game music, in particular the popular tracks from the Final Fantasy series, has also found its niche in the Australian market. Hiroaki Yura founded Eminence Symphony Orchestra, which claims to be the first group outside of Japan to perform anime and video game music. Nobuo Uematsu attended one of their concerts in 2004. Similar endeavors have also been founded by the American-based organisations Play! and Video Games Live.

[edit] Graphics and technology

[edit] The cartridge generations

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Final Fantasy began on the Nintendo Family Computer^[19] as Final Fantasy in 1987, and was joined by two sequels, Final Fantasy II^[20] and Final Fantasy III.^[21] On the main world screen, small sprite representations of the leading party members were displayed because of graphical limitations, while in battle screens, more detailed, full versions of all characters would appear in a side view perspective.

The same basic system was used in the next three games, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI, for the Super Famicom.^[22] These games used updated graphics and effects, as well as higher quality music and sound than in previous games, but were otherwise similar to their predecessors in basic design.

The text of the Japanese versions of early Final Fantasy games was composed purely of kana. Much of the dialogue was simply clumps of text, making it especially hard for older gamers and foreigners learning Japanese. Finally, in Final Fantasy V, the games began to use kanji. This would continue to get more advanced in Final Fantasy VI, and the trend would continue to make the games much more erudite.

Final Fantasy VII was the first game in the series to incorporate pre-rendered cut scenes.

[edit] The disc generations

Late in the 16-bit generation, Square showed an interactive SGI technical demonstration of Final Fantasy for the next generation. However, 1997 saw the release of Final Fantasy VII for the Sony PlayStation and not the Nintendo 64 as many had originally anticipated. This was due to a dispute with Nintendo over its use of faster and more expensive cartridges, as opposed to the slower and cheaper - though much higher capacity - compact discs used on rival systems. Final Fantasy VII would have required a very expensive large capacity cartridge to work on the Nintendo 64. A cartridge holding the game's three CD-ROM's worth of data and full-motion video would have been nearly impossible to market at a price that most people could afford. Instead, Final Fantasy VII was created for the PlayStation console. The characters and entire game world were now 3-dimensional, with fully pre-rendered backgrounds. However, Final Fantasy VII's FMVs often lacked consistency, with character models resembling their real-time counterparts in one scene, and then extremely detailed in the next.

The turn-based strategy title Final Fantasy Tactics, released shortly after Final Fantasy VII, once again used sprites for the characters. As the only real user-interaction outside of battle was menu-driven, the developers saw no need for fully 3D-rendered overhead graphics, although the battle area was in 3D. This title was also the first tactics based RPG in the series. The second was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. Like Final Fantasy VII, some full motion video sequences would have video playing in the background, with the polygonal characters composited on top.

Final Fantasy IX returned briefly to the more stylized design of earlier games in the series. It still maintained, and in many cases slightly upgraded, most of the graphical techniques utilized in the previous two games in the series.

Final Fantasy X was released on the PlayStation 2, and made use of the much more powerful hardware to render many cutscenes in real-time, rather than in pre-rendered FMV sequences. Also, rather than having 3D models moving about in pre-rendered backgrounds, the game featured full 3D environments, giving it a much more dynamic look (though the camera was still fixed, rather than a 360 degree, freely rotating camera). It was also the first Final Fantasy game to introduce voice-acting 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. Final Fantasy X-2 utilized the same game engine as Final Fantasy X, and was aesthetically very similar.

Taking a temporary divergence, Final Fantasy XI uses the PlayStation 2's online capabilities as an MMORPG. Initially released for PS2 with a Windows port arriving 6 months later, Final Fantasy XI has been released on the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 version includes the third expansion Treasures of Aht Urhgan which debuted worldwide on April 18, 2006. The expansion disc is available on the PC and PlayStation 2 as well. This is the first Final Fantasy game to allow the use of a free rotating camera.

Final Fantasy XII was released on March 16, 2006 in Japan, on October 31, 2006 in the United States, on February 22, 2007 in Australia, all for the PlayStation 2. The game utilizes only half as many polygons as Final Fantasy X in exchange for more advanced textures and lighting. It also retains the freely rotating camera from Final Fantasy XI.

Final Fantasy XIII was shown at E3 2006 and is slated to be the first game in the main series for PlayStation 3. A trailer was showcased at E3 2006 and showed brief moments of what ostensibly looked like real-time battles.

Dirge of Cerberus continues the storyline from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It was released for Sony Playstation 2 in 2006, and offers a "Shoot-em-up" style game. Vincent is the only playable character in the game, aside from one minor level with Cait Sith. Due to the new genre of the game, the battle sequences from previous installments have been removed, and the opponents simply appear from around corners or out of doors at set points in the game.

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Game screens

The games typically have several types of screens, or modes of interaction, broadly categorized as:

• Battle screens — Battles occur on a separate type of screen (or arena), usually with a change of scale and a backdrop "arena" that usually generically represents where the battle is occurring in the game. (For example, a random battle in a desert gets a desert backdrop.) Plot-relevant battles (as opposed to battling random monsters) may have a specially built battle screen/arena, however. In Final Fantasy VII and later, these screens are fully 3D, using higher resolution versions of the characters, but very restricted in size. Final Fantasy XI and XII do away with "scene-battles": battle sequences occur on the main field screen.
• Field screens — These are where the main interaction between the characters occurs, and most of the exploration of the world occurs on these screens. Dialog mostly occurs on these screens. Final Fantasy VII marked the point that Final Fantasy would have realistic computer graphics, while Dragon Warrior stayed with anime style cel-shaded graphics. Prior to Final Fantasy VII, they were pseudo-orthographic, using a simple 2D engine. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy IX used pre-rendered and pre-painted backgrounds over which 3D models were overlaid. Final Fantasy X used a completely 3D field screen system, which allowed the camera angle to change as the characters moved about. The 3D field screen was kept for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII, but with a new camera system which can be adjusted by the player.
• World screen — A low-scale screen used to symbolize traveling great distances in times that would otherwise slow the game down unacceptably plot-wise. These are usually not scaled, as a character may appear the size of a small mountain. Relatively little plot occurs here, but there are exceptions. Final Fantasy X did away with this, and simply made the distances between areas smaller, often classed as areas in themselves.
• Cutscenes — These scenes are non-interactive playback that usually provide instructions for the player or advance the plot. They can either be pre-rendered video (FMV), or they can be executed in with the same engine (or a slightly modified engine to allow for more detailed expressions) as any of the three display modes above. Tutorials often manipulate the menu screen detailed below. In some cases, pre-rendered video is overlaid with real-time rendered field screen graphics (full motion video-3D).
• Menu Screen — This screen is used for navigating your party's status, equipment, magic, etc. This screen is usually a very simple blue-table layout, with a gloved hand to select one's options. In some games, the option to change the color or texture of the tables is given.
• Mini-games — The games often feature various minigames with their own graphical engines. Examples of these are the "Tetra Master" card game, featured in Final Fantasy IX, and then featured as a separate game shipped as part of the Final Fantasy XI PC game.

[edit] Battle system

See also: Square Enix battle systems

Screenshot of Final Fantasy IX during a battle. The enlarged bars represent the Active Time Battle system used in several Final Fantasy installments.

The Final Fantasy series started with a simple menu-driven, turn-based battle system, but later included more real-time and semi-real-time elements as the series progressed.^[23] The series went into complete real-time in Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII. Most games in the series utilize an experience level system for character advancement,^[24] and a point-based system for casting magical spells.^[25] Since Final Fantasy III, most games in the series feature a variety of "special commands," over and beyond the traditional "Attack," "Defend," "Cast Magic," "Item," and "Run" battle commands, such as the ability to steal items from enemies, or performing a leap attack. Often these special attacks are integrated into the "job system," which has appeared in several games in the series and spin-offs.^[26]

The first three games all featured a traditional, turn-based battle system. At the beginning of each combat round, the player chooses all of the battle commands. These commands would then be carried out, but in an order from the fastest to slowest characters. Starting with Final Fantasy IV, and continuing until Final Fantasy IX (and revived in Final Fantasy X-2), the "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system^[27] was used. The ATB system was semi-real time, and assigned every participant in combat a time gauge. When a specific character's time gauge was filled, the character could act, which would then reset the timer. These games included both "active" and "wait" modes: when "wait" mode was chosen, then all activity during battle (including the time gauge) would pause as the player planned their next action in the submenus. In "active" mode, time would pass even if the player was using a submenu, allowing attacks to be performed from both enemies and playable characters while the player was issuing commands. This allowed the player to play in the mode that best suited their personal preferences and could be changed at any time through the menu screen.

Final Fantasy X abandoned the ATB system in favor of the "Conditional Turn-based Battle" (CTB) system.^[28] In the CTB system, every participant in battle would be ranked according to speed. As this ranking was displayed on screen during battle, it was possible to know when a character and/or enemy would move several combat turns in advance, and to plan battles accordingly. Because the CTB system was completely turn-based, the time gauge was absent. Using this system, a character's actions also dictated when they would be able to go again, and possibly affect when the target went next.^[29] This system was originally used in the spin-off Final Fantasy Tactics and its sequel Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, although the terminology was not.

Final Fantasy XI features the RTB (Real Time Battle) system of combat. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, this type of combat is confluent with time. Combat does not stop when scrolling through the menu or choosing certain options; your character is allowed to move freely around the screen, and the gameplay continues while selecting options.

Final Fantasy XII uses a combat system similar to Final Fantasy XI, called the "Active Dimension Battle" (ADB) system. Like the RTB system, the characters are free to move about during battle, and, after targeting a monster, the character will automatically perform basic attacks. However, there is also a visible ATB-like time gauge showing when a character can act. "Active" and "wait" modes have also been implemented. An important addition to this game's battle system is the Gambit system, in which the AI of party members can be set so that they will automatically perform certain actions as defined by the player. Each character can have a series of predetermined if/then commands, such as automatically healing party members who have less than 40 percent HP.^[30] During a battle, the player may override the default action of any character, revise the gambits specifications, change which characters are in the current party, or turn gambits off for one or more characters.

Unlike previous games, battles in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII take place on the field screen, with no separate battle screens resulting from "random encounters".

At E3 of 2006, Square Enix presented a short demo of Final Fantasy XIII, in which the battles had a battle menu for inputting commands at the bottom of the screen but was not well-noticed because the battles themselves appeared to be completely cinematic in nature. It also appeared that not all of the cutscenes were pre-rendered but were being real time rendered in full near-DVD quality.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Brudvig, Erik. E3 2006: Eyes-on Final Fantasy XIII Trailer. ign.com. Retrieved 01-01-2007.
• Coik, Kevin. The History of Final Fantasy : The Past. Gaming World X. Retrieved 01-07-2007.
• History of the Final Fantasy series. Super Nintendo Classics. Retrieved on 01-17-2007.
• Kingdom Hearts II achieves million-unit sales mark in North America in four weeks. Square Enix (2006-05-02). Retrieved on 2006-11-26.

[edit] External links

Final Fantasy Portal

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Final Fantasy (series)

• Square Enix's official Final Fantasy website (English)
• Square Enix's official Final Fantasy website (Japanese)
• Open Directory Project: Final Fantasy sites
• Final Fantasy Wiki