Fantasy, magical powers, flying ships, mystical creatures, and adventure beyond the common imagination. This is the apotheosis of the RPG if there ever was one. The videogame series, Final Fantasy, has evolved into a gaming experience that has changed the face of the gaming industry all around the world. From where it first began as the last hope of Square Co. to one of the top gaming series, Final Fantasy has made a total of 12 main games as well as several branching ones. Even though it has been a favorite for many years there are also a few kinks concerning the religious content of a game as well as the lack of loyalty to the true style of the series as new games are released.

In 1987 the Japanese publishing company, Square Co. LTD came up with the idea for Final Fantasy. Square sold a few games, but it was imperative that the company create a new and innovative game in order to save the company. The president, named Hironobu Sakaraguchi, decided that the optimum idea was to make a role-playing game similar to that of the game, Dragon Quest, by Enix Corporation. Square took the basic idea of the game and turned it around as a sort of interactive epic story played out onto the screen. Since this game would be the company’s last hope for success, it was given the name Final Fantasy. It was, of course, a huge hit that instigated many more amazing Final Fantasy games to come.

Final Fantasy is one of the most popular series in the history of video games. It has drawn in many fans who have been amazed by the aesthetic graphics, deep plots, and complex characters. Two brother players of Final Fantasy, Eric and Alex Scribner, have both agreed that they have actually had attachments to the characters and their stories and that it’s near emotional when a favorite game comes to a close. “You have such a strong attachment to these characters by the end of the game. It could literally bring you to tears when it ends,” says Alex on his favorite, Final Fantasy X. Unlike some would think, the series does not follow one large storyline. There are a total of twelve main games with several others that branch off from the series. Each game has its own story to tell, its own cast of characters, and even its own appearance. Final Fantasy has possibly come the longest way in terms of game play, graphics, and plots. The series has defined itself as a completely different kind of gaming experience. “Like a book, Final Fantasy is interesting to read; like a movie, it is interesting to watch; and like a game, it is interesting to play”.

What is it that makes Final Fantasy such a popular game series? There are several different elements that comprise each game that makes it so unique. The first element is the RPG game play format. A single player can battle with four characters at once in a party of up to five. In order to control each of the character’s actions, the player will go to a menu with the options “attack” for moves to help defeat the enemy, “item” to retrieve an object to heal a dead or hurting character, and “magic” which allows special elemental attacks such as ice and fire. Also, each character in the games belongs in a certain class that has a set of traits that are distinct to them. The classes that appear throughout Final Fantasy include knights, monks, thieves, dragoons, ninjas, samurai, berserkers, archers, magic knights, black and white wizards, blue wizards, red wizards, summoners, trainers, chemists, geomancers, dancers, and mimics. Final Fantasy is always set in a fantastical or futuristic world where there are skyships with wings and magical cities that have strange populations of mixed species that include humans and other mythical creatures. The usual plot for a Final Fantasy game is the story of a set of heroes who go on a journey to save the earth from evil. Although this may seem like a bland outline, there is a lot of emotion and motivation between and within the characters that is endemic throughout the series that changes the basic into the complex. Friendship, romance, death, hatred, and betrayal are common themes of the more recent games. Romance always plays a part in the stories and appeals to many players. Eric Scribner says, “But what really sucked me in was the action/romance genre.” The characters usually include stereotypes such as the adventurous hero, a girl with supernatural powers, a non-human character, a happy go lucky girl, and an evil villain that usually seeks to destroy the heroes or the world. Two creatures that are notable in Final Fantasy are Chocobos and Moogles. Chocobos are large two legged birds that are usually yellow and are used as a means of transportation around the game. Moogles are very cute and are similar to white teddy bears that have bat-like wings and an antenna.

Throughout the Final Fantasy series there has been many changes that have made the series where it is today. It has gone from 2-D to 3-D graphics and also with more intricacies involved in the game play and storylines. Final Fantasy games can be sorted into four groups depending on the different game systems they were formatted for: Final Fantasy I-III (Nintendo Entertainment System), Final Fantasy IV-VI (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Final Fantasy VII-IX (Playstation), and X-XII (Playstation 2). The first three were the stage setters for the rest of the series. Final Fantasy I was about four warriors of light who set out on a mission to save the world from the darkened crystals that keep the world alive. In the game play players can name the characters and choose their classes. A new graphic idea for videogames in the battle mode was that the look of the attacks corresponded to the type of weapon that was used. In Final Fantasy II, four characters join a resistance in the fight against an evil empire and set out to restore peace to the world. Characters in the game could become stronger with the type of weapon it used most. Communication between characters in order to advance further in the game was a revolution for the time. It was in Final Fantasy II where Chocobos were introduced for the first time. Four friends find a wind crystal and go on a journey to rid the world of darkness in Final Fantasy III. The job system came into play and players could change the occupations of the characters for the obstacles in battle. Summoning monsters to help win a battle was also a first.

Final Fantasy IV is set around the story of two friends who begin a journey to defeat the mysterious monstrous attacks that are happening around the world. The game play introduces the active time battle system (ATB system) that gives players a limited time to attack. Similar to Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy V deals with the four crystals of the world that are in danger by an evil unknown force. A band of warriors come together in order to save the earth. Jobs in this game were obtained with a certain amount of ability points and characters were allowed to have other abilities with their jobs. Moogles made their premiere as lovable characters. Bringing another previous plot from Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy VI was also about a main character that joins a resistance against an evil empire that controls the world. There are a larger number of party members with their own traits and unique personalities. The player can equip accessories to the characters for new abilities and magic spells. The character Cid makes his first appearance in this game and reappears throughout every other one in a different form or person. He usually deals with skyships.

The last and most recent group of the four is where Final Fantasy took a turn in new technology and ideas. Final Fantasy VII was the first of the series to be in 3-D form. The story follows a boy, Cloud, who joins a resistance against the Shinra Company that takes the power of maco energy in order to control the world. Cloud is pursued by a villain with ambiguous motives. The game play introduces the Materia system that lets the player put the Materia together with a weapon allowing the use of magic and other special abilities. A mini game arcade, called the Golden Saucer, was a place where players could take part in smaller games. A boy, Squall, learns of the evil that threatens the world and goes on an expedition to save it. The graphics of the people in this game were perfectly proportioned to their surroundings for the first time. A few new features were added including the draw system that had characters draw magic out of the monsters they defeated. In Final Fantasy IX, there are four divided nations that must be saved to restore peace to the world. A band of thieves, a boy, and a princess all cross paths on their journey to help the world. In this game the characters already have a job or class assigned to them, but players can still customize their abilities. The next game in the series seems to be a very popular one. Final Fantasy X was the first to have any voice acting incorporated into it as well as more detailed animation. A force called Sin has been wreaking havoc on the world and a group of travelers come together to save the world from Sin. The game play doesn’t have ATB, but has something called a turn based battle system instead. This allowed party members to be switched in and out of battle. The only sequel in the Final Fantasy series is Final Fantasy X-2 that follows the story of the main girl character in Final Fantasy X and her two friends. Final Fantasy XI is definitely different than every other game in the series because it’s an online game. Players get to the game by installing it onto a hard drive. They can create a physically customizable character of their own and are able react with other players around the world. The game has a main storyline, but bands formed by the real players are important as well. The latest installment is Final Fantasy XII which is about warring empires and how a group comes together to help restore the peace. The game play is similar to X, but has battles in real time meaning that characters can move around whilst in a battle and can use gambits to help the organization of certain behaviors of characters during combat.

It has been said that one of the branching games, Final Fantasy Tactics, had in fact shown the Catholic Church in a negative light. Apparently, some of the enemies are part of the Glabados Church and “…the Church is portrayed as meddling and power-hungry”. On the other hand, Eric Scribner thinks that there’s no need for any real gravitas in this matter. “… Square has been putting real-life references into the Final Fantasy series for a very long time… To think that the things going on in these worlds [of Final Fantasy] could be based off of real life topics is more exciting…”
[link]
The sequel to Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, has fomented a number of disapprovals from fans. The reason for this is the fact that most believe that the game didn’t follow in the footsteps of previous Final Fantasy games. Apparently the storyline is shallow and there are differences in the game play. There is a complaint that there are just three main character girls who are the only playable characters in the game. Another is the pop concert scenes where Yuna, the main character, sings. Overall, some would say that the actual game isn’t too bad along with the new Dress Sphere System that allows characters to change forms and the quick battle time.

The Final Fantasy series has not only evolved in itself, but also within the minds of gamers around the world. Its graphics have been revolutionary like none seen before and the stories told have made everyone who has played amazed by the magic of it all. Even the characters in the game have come to be extreme favorites of fans everywhere. The seemingly realistic graphics, fantasy settings, magical powers, outlandish creatures, deep stories and colorful characters have made Final Fantasy the ultimate gaming experience.