Final Fantasy Series Overview Part 4

The entire process of writing this multi-part franchise overview has been surrounded by my experience with Final Fantasy VII Remake. I started writing before a copy arrived, continued alongside the playthrough, and am now finishing just a few days after viewing the unexpected ending. No intentions of spoiling the experience for those still making their way through the game, that topic can come in another post, but the revelations from that ending further revived my fascination with this series and how it rarely stays within a safety zone. That's especially true with many of the tiles we'll be discussing today. Settle in as we take cover one last round of Final Fantasy goodness.

Final Fantasy XIII (2009) Dir. Motomu Toriyama

By the time XIII hit shelves there were multiple groups of fans who'd been ingratiated into the series at different points, each with their own view on what Final Fantasy was supposed to be. This phenomenon existed despite how wildly the games had continued to change from one entry to the next. So when Motomu Toriyama, finally given control of a main title rather than sequels or spin-offs, delivered a liner and combat driven game lacking much of the fat from past entries people threw a fit. Well some of them anyway, there's always the likelihood of the loudest group not being as a large as they seem since, from what I can gather, Japanese gamers more than happy with it.

Once again the series had given us something totally different from before with a story that featured a group of characters branded by the gods to carry out acts of potential terror with their reward being decades suspended in crystal. Should they fail their fate would instead be transforming into twisted ghouls. Their mysterious shared mission tied into the greater conflict between the floating civilization of cocoon and the wild lands of Gran Pulse below them. The presentation is still one of the finest in the entire franchise with amazing graphics and one of the finest soundtracks in all of gaming. Narrative was very much a focus here and it shows in how every scene is drenched in production quality.

Upgrading within the game was largely streamlined witch only a few choices like deciding which items to spend on weapon upgrades or how to best maximize the usage of ability points before the next big boss. Combat being the other focus of the game was an absolute beauty. Initially characters can do very little as the game eases players into the new flow of things. As they develop each can shift between different battle roles at any point in battle witch the different mixes of roles being referred to as paradigms. Consider for instance how different roles might influence the stagger bars for enemies with magic building the bar quickly but disappearing just as fast whereas physical attacks sustained the current amount of stagger. There were six roles, two each of physical, magical, and status-based with each pair divided by positive and negative forms with each character excelling in three and only having moderate skills in the others. Then you mix in factors like enemy behaviors with some foes battling each-other or combining forces. Knowing who to strike, when, where, and how eventually burns itself into players minds like reflexes in a fighting game. A valuable tool since this is one of the hardest games in the series. Thankfully they offer the ability to continue from right before any lost fight, a feature you are going to use at least a few times.

As you might be able to guess from how much I've written on it so far I sorta love XIII. So many of the complaints people toss at it miss out of some of the beautiful work that's been done here. Most people see a linear adventure for instance but what's remarkable is how the environments match the current tone of the story. At first characters are often running towards or from something along narrow paths. Once they begin to loose their way the environments slowly start to open up until Gran Pulse ties in with them being utterly lost, allowing for free roam. Once they gather their senses and discover a new goal the game begins to shrink back down. The game offers a different take on a classic series, something that's always driving forward and I loved that change of pace along with the fantastic presentation and such a wild story that essentially culminates with you fighting an evil god pope. Imagine my smug pleasure then when the haters lost out and a sequel was announced.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011) Dir. Motomu Toriyama

For the sequel, Square kept much of made XIII so excellent, namely the battle system and outstanding presentation, and then they went about altering aspects like character upgrades & exploration. The goal was finding a way to provide some of the freedom many players sorely missed while keeping everything focused enough to still tell a strong story.

Shifting away from the core cast of the previous game this adventure focuses on Serah, who was sidelined through much of XIII as she teams up with a time-traveler named Noel as they search through time to try and stop a great disaster while searching for Lightning, the heroine of XIII whose been transformed into a Valkyrie in service of a god. Yeah it's nutty but it's also a good bit more fun and lighthearted than the previous game despite some really heavy themes.

Gameplay had likewise been made a bit more fun by first lowering the challenge level. In place of a third permanent party member there was a sort of pokemon style monster raising element with swapable critters taking the third spot in formation. Upgrading had more choices to be made but was still streamlined enough to not break completely from what had come before. Exploration involved warping to different spots in time on a criss-crossing chronological map with some locations having multiple versions in the past or future. The game used this method to provide some alternate endings, most of which were fun gags, though the game still had a concrete ending, and that's something we'll have to talk about.

By and large I had a great experience with XIII-2. Serah and Noel were a fun duo to saunter through time with, finding how the other characters had struggled or succeed after the events of the first adventure was always interesting, and the new villain was one of the most memorable to grace the series in some time. I enjoyed this outing both a little more and little less than its predecessor but it was still a total blast. It was also one of the biggest shocks in my time as a gamer.

The night I finally took on the last boss was terrific. A tacky balled played as so many plot points converged and the very fabric of time was seemingly saved. Then came not one but multiple major twists. And as my jaw began to drop a black screen appeared with the words “to be continued.” “What!” I shouted in disbelief. Note at the time there had been no announcement of further entries to this line of games. Was the conclusion going to be based on the success of this title? Would it be a series of DLC outings? There was more DLC, which has sadly never been collected on physical media, but even that didn't wrap this tale up. Months passed as I waited anxiously for word. Looking back there's the nice comfort of knowing where the story goes. At the time however an FF trilogy was unheard of, especially when the first game had received so many complaints. Turns out miracles do happen.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (2013) Dir. Motomu Toriyama

For part three of this sub-series the developers choose to shift more towards an open gameplay-focused approach with the heavy presentation and storytelling taking a bit of a backseat. This proved invaluable as many of the concepts introduced here can be traced to newer entries like XV and the VII Remake.

Taking place five centuries after XIII-2 players are once again in control of Lightning who has just thirteen days to travel across the remains of civilization to free souls so that god may bring them into a newly remade universe. This setting is nutty even by FF standards featuring characters who haven't aged for hundreds of years due to the events of the last game. As it is more free-roaming approach some of the story threads can be oddly paced but what really matters is the ending. After the madness of the previous outing Lightning Returns wraps everything up with what is without a doubt one of the best endings in video game history.

Gameplay is wildly different. While the general flow of combat matches with the other XIII titles alterations had to be made to account for only having one playable character. To that end the paradigm system was intermingled with concepts of X-2's dress sphere system so that Lightning could change outfits and battle abilities on the fly. Combined with different equipment and skill systems plus the fact that the passage of time actually mattered, a character actually dies because I didn't return to their town that night. It's a unique experience even by the standards of this series.

Seeing as I was such a fan of this sub-line of games the change to a timed experience with weaker production values made this my least liked of the XIII trilogy. That being said it was still a majorly memorable experience topped off by an unforgettable finish. On the whole this trilogy may get a lot of flack but for those willing to dig in and undertake the full adventure the rewards are great.

Final Fantasy XIV (2010) Dir. Nobuaki Komoto and Anoki Yoshida

Bet you're tired after all that XIII talk and just begging for a brief respite. My personal shame has just become your lucky break. For how much I adore this franchise there is in fact one primary numbered entry I've never laid hands on. From it's rocky launch to beloved status as a heavyweight of MMO gaming life has never offered the much needed time and space for me to even think of starting XIV. Perhaps one day this issue will be remedied...maybe.

Final Fantasy XV (2016) Dir. Hajime Tabata (plus the Royal Edition)

XV is a weird game to talk about. I've seen many argue that it is an outright bad game, which it isn't, though it is a profoundly messy one. The game began its life as a side-project to XIII before disappearing and reemerging as the fifteenth proper entry. The game itself attempts to blend aspects of open-world action gaming with traditional FF elements while relying on a continued life of DLC to supplement the core experience and fill in gaps so that the development team could finally get something out on shelves. The result is that different players may have had vastly different experiences due to the vast number of changes made to since release.

Being a hardcore devote of the franchise I naturally picked this up on day one and played through it in fairly short order. Back then players only ever got to control Noctis, the car drove mostly on auto and had zero off-road capabilities save for once you unlock flight, and extra modes like online play weren't even on the radar. If you were to pick up the game now it's possible to try out the different battle abilities of the four leads, or to choose alternate paths during controversial sections like chapter 13, which some people though was difficult despite it being a total cakewalk. Even the endgame has been extended with a larger final dungeon more bosses to contend with. Then there are character specific episodic adventures, a whole online mulitplayer campaign, and virtual reality fishing.

Accounting for all of those differences let's just focus on the original core experience. The story concerned a young prince off on a road trip with his three childhood friends in preparation for his royal wedding. Just a day or so into the trip their nation is overtaken by an invading army and the group must seek out ancient powers in order to restore some version of peace. The story is at its best when it focuses on the friendship between these four friends as other aspects can come across as underdeveloped or just downright odd.

There's a lot of good in XV along with some very sloppy elements. The majority of the game takes place in one country that is absolutely wonderful to explore but it makes for a stark contrast when the ending portions of the game take away all that freedom and lock the player into scripted action events. The battle system is one of the most straightforward within the whole series and decent fun though the magic components are kinda awful with spells functioning more like grenades. One of the most interesting choices was how the party could only gain levels when sleeping which meant players had to decided between the pros and cons of camping and eating good food or earning an experience multiplier from hotels. You better believe I manipulated that system to cheese through a few bosses.

All in all the bulk of XV proves to be a memorable adventure with the greatest failing being the method of delivering the game as some living experience meant to be played for years. It seems Square has already learned from this mistake as it painted XV in an unfair light and damaged the reputation of the franchise. Not to mention the weird vacuum it created where late adapters to the game where able to easily get the full experience through the Royal Edition whereas dedicated fans who showed up on day one had content slowly trotted out. This resulted in players like me setting up plans for a full-revisit one day to compare memories with the new reality. I imagine history will be nicer to this based on its own merits once a more improved version pops on on Switch or PS5.

Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV (2016) Dir. Soichi Masui

Due to the long and messy development cycle for XV many plot elements were moved around to different media projects so that the game could actually be finished. Part of the lead-up to the games release was this small, four episode anime series offering looks at how these characters grew up and came to befriend each-other. Admittedly I can't recall a ton about these as it has been quite some time since last viewing them. I do remember there being some very nice plot elements in the Prompto episode that helps to establish his relationships with the others, including Lunafreya which explains his weird excitment over her wedding dress.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016) Dir. Takeshi Nozue

Much like the game it's based off of this third FF film is earmarked for a revisit. During the first viewing it slotted into my least liked of the three movies with its odd style almost like a fantasy version of the Bourne filmes. The story is a little bit prequel but mostly showcases the events that occur in the city of Insomnia right after the main foursome leaves. This of course means that, save for a couple of key figures, the primary cast of made-up of total strangers right down to a villain who just barely appears within the game itself, think he's in the background of one scene.

On a purely technical level the film is a beauty to behold. The CG is flat-out gorgeous and I recall it having a solid soundtrack and solid voice casts for both the original Japanese and English dub. Still; it's an odd film that doesn't perfectly mesh with the source material yet can't stand fully on its own. Perhaps another viewing might offer better insight.

A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV (2016)

Before starting this article series I had totally forgotten about A King's Tale. It's only natural given the titles origins as a bit of promotional DLC for pre-orders of the main game from different retailers. I hadn't ordered XV from such places but I'm thankful to report this little spin-off is freely available these days. As expected the actual product is very short with a playtime of an hour or so.

The idea is that King Regis is telling bedtime stories to a young Noctis where he embellishes, or outright invents, an adventure where he and his friends must stop Ultros from taking the power of Leviathan. Don't expect meaningful revelations here as the story is simply a framework.

Gameplay takes the form of a single-player belt-scrolling brawler with surprising depth for something made as a promotion. Regis has three different attacks that can link and combo in different ways alongside a rolling dodge, magic, and the ability to enlist help from his friends or a storm of flying swords called the Armiger. This is vital as each enemy reacts differently to attacks with some countering attacks, others being mostly reliant to physical attacks, etc. Taking into account the added depth of how magic effects battles such as how ice slows enemy movement or fire can create burning hazards alongside the challenge of maintaining combos to unleash friendly and armiger attacks makes for a hefty brawler.

Sadly the level-design, if you can call it that, is a total joke. The story mode has maybe ten levels or so but in truth it's the same three with different color palates. Those three layouts are dull as dishwater with virtually zero obstacles or traps to contend with. Still; I doubt there was much time or money for a project like this.

Taken on its own merits as a nifty little extra, A King's Tale manages to provide an interesting diversion even if it's not something you'll frequently return too. Frankly I was amazed at how deep combat was for a game of this type and would love to see the development staff produce something with a deeper well of resources.

Final Fantsy VII Remake (2020) Dirs. Tetsuya Nomura, Naoki Hamaguchi, Motomu Toriyama

As I said earlier there will be no major details or spoilers about Remake found here. More than anything I want to stress how the modern state of game journalism and blogging is really failing to express how unique this project turned out. Essentially what the game is revealed to be at the end washes away all the worries about a long-term remake project and encourages new players to seek out the extended world of FFVII content. So even if you never played VII or Crisis Core there's still just as much reason, if not more, to go back and enjoy. We're gonna talk about this one a little further down the line but as it stands my assessment is that I grew from enjoying the game to swimming in a haze of love for that nutso ending and feeling proud that I'm better at it than paid gaming journalists.

And that's it! We made it all the way though. Dunno if this article series did much for anyone out there but it was nice to finally talk about a topic I've neglected for so long. For all the ups, downs, and weird experimentation I can't wait to see what comes next for the series though I have two big hopes. One is that we get at least two numbed entries in the next console generation, I'd prefer three like the old days but two will suffice. Also I hope Square can make at least one of them more traditional. I've been happy with the quicker action style of recent games but every once in a while it'd be nice to have a slow thoughtful title to remind folks this series isn't stuck to a single mold and can embrace different styles.

I was thinking of ranking the series but once I saw how long this was, well I'd say that can wait for another day. I hope you've enjoyed these posts. I'm gonna take that runners high from finishing Remake and try to take on couple unfinished games. If anyone's feeling frisky share some of your thoughts on the series even if they don't match with my own. I'll tell you why you're wrong but it's still fun to share.