Final Fantasy – Heroes always change, but legends are forever!
この世界は 暗黒に包まれている
風は止み
海は荒れ
大地は腐って行く
しかし 人々は一つの予言を信じ それを待っていた
この世 暗黒に染まりし時、四人の光の戦士 現れん
長冒険の末 四人の若者がこの地に辿り着いた
そしてその手には 夫れ夫れクリスタルが握られていたThe world lies in shrouded darkness.
The winds die…
The seas rage…
The earth decays…
But the people believe in a prophecy, patiently waiting for its fulfillment.
‘When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.’
After a long journey four young warriors did at last appear…
…and in the hand each was holding a crystal
If you remember the words above, congratulations, you’re a real JRPG fan!
But if not, don’t worry; Playasia is here to bring you the knowledge. They’re nothing but the prelude of the original Final Fantasy game, released in 1987 for Nintendo Famicom. Released as the “swan song” of Squaresoft; the story was quite classical (a party of four youths known as the Light Warriors must defeat the evil forces of a dark lord – the archdemon Chaos – to restore light, and save the world), but its innovative gameplay mechanics and the huge world made it a true legend among the gamers, selling several million of copies, through the years the series generated a lot of sequels, spinoffs, anime series, movies, and music albums putting the once niche JRPG one of the most played one in the 80s and 90s.
During its 35 years of glorious history; the Final Fantasy series gave us some of the greatest characters in the whole industry… we’re pretty sure that you have heard names like Cloud, Sephiroth, Kefka, Cecil, Luneth, or Noctis at least once in a lifetime.
Fate has brought us here!
Inspired by the great CRPGs like Ultima and Wizardry; for his – apparently – last project, Hironobu Sakaguchi took the best features of these titles (for example the open map from Ultima and the party combat system from Wizardry) adding very personal touch to create something very unique. In fact, since the first episode, Sakaguchi-san implemented lots of classes, to make the adventures even more exciting; not only warriors, mages, or paladins, but also very unconventional ones like mimes, geomancers, cannoneers, scholars, feral children, and gamblers. Each class can be upgraded to reach extreme power thanks to the innovative Job System.
Moving away from the common fantasy clichés; thanks to this series, Hironobu Sakaguchi has brought a much-needed breath of fresh air, turning the Final Fantasy series into the touchstone of the whole RPG genre. But that’s not all, in fact, another reason why this series stays ahead of the curve for more than 30 years is the story. Maybe not everyone knows that every chapter is focused on a specific theme – for Final Fantasy VII is the loss while Final Fantasy VIII is the love – and this fact could help the writers to create epic stories that left their marks on the hearts of millions of gamers across the world.
Without the risk of being contradicted, we can say that Final Fantasy can be compared to the biggest movie franchises of all time; in many interviews, Mr. Sakaguchi declared that films have influenced the storytelling of his “child” creating an ever new dramatic process savvy filled with emotions and twists. Starting with a tiny 2-megabit cartridge; this series made us smile, cry, surprise… and above all, carried us into a vast number of different worlds and ages to expand our horizons helping us to improve our lives. With so many remarkable aspects; since 1987 Final Fantasy revolutionized the whole gaming industry, inspiring writers, artists, musicians, and developers to shine high up in the sky (even if without an airship); so happy 35th anniversary, and please continue to amaze us as you did until today!
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