Final Fantasy Series Overview Part 3

I'll admit I'd wanted to give readers a slight break from this franchise overview, but guess what, this is the only article I have anywhere close to being finished so we're just gonna call it a theme month should I fail to incorporate food or superheroes sometime before May. Speaking of our last couple of looks at Final Fantasy, I have let a couple of small projects slip past. Some of these are simply very small, I forgot On the Way to a Smile in the midst of all the FF VII stuff for example. Others may not technically count such as the Legend of the Crystals anime. The first film will likewise be skipped over due to it having no direct ties to any of the games. I wanted to note these items however as some may be returned to in their own posts later on but aren't essential to our current discussion.

When we last left off the Playstation era had brought the series to new heights and brought in a whole slew of new fans. That being said number IX wrapped up the era with a reletivly safe return to classic FF atmosphere and features after VII and VIII had been quite different from earlier entries. The next wave of consoles were about to hit and with that enhaced hardware came the opportunity to make the franchise even more eperimental.

Final Fantasy X (2001) Dir. Yoshinori Kitase

Never one to shy away from change the series saw yet another opportunity to majorly shake things up for the first title on the PS2. First off the active-time battles that had been a staple for years were replaced by a new take on turn-based systems where the next few moves were visible and alterable. Character upgrades where now handled via the interconnected sphere grid witch each one having their own branch alongside critical junctures with the others allowing for unique customization. The biggest change of all was the big shift away from limited battle parties. For the first time ever each character could be swapped with another mid-fight as many times as needed meaning the entire cast could, and often did, participate in the same conflict. Add in some totally new uses for old concepts such as how stealing effects mechanical enemies and facing off against enemies was always interesting.

On the storytelling and presentation front we have another winner with music and graphics that still hold up nicely with one of the finest cast of characters to ever grace the series. The tale concerns a young athlete from a futuristic city being transported to an unknown land ravaged by a giant being known as Sin where he must help a crew of fellow travelers in guarding the pilgrimage of a summoner. Beyond that there is some of the expected insanity of a Final Fantasy plot warped up with a somewhat abrupt, yet emotionally satisfying, conclusion.

Issues are fairly minimal with a couple characters not having the best voice actors, not bad, simply inferior to everyone else. The final boss is a total pushover. Then there's upgrading Kimahri on the sphere grid which is tricky as he's something of a blank slate. Still; when everything is taken into account on a purely objective level this might, I say might be, the best entry in the series. It's that good. Though on a personal level it isn't quite my favorite. Still the ps2 era was off to an amazing start and the game itself would be treated to a fine HD upgrade that is availible on damn near every consoles, making it essential playing.

Final fantasy X-2 (2003) Dir. Motomu Toriyama

We've already discussed a few equals and spin-offs so far but in terms of chronological release this is the first ever direct sequel in franchise history. Who could blame em really? X was such a success on all fronts, especially when it came to total sales, that making more of it was the only sensible thing to do. Stepping into the directors position was Motomu Toriyama who had already worked on a few installments doing tasks like event scripting, but you'll be seeing his name a lot more as we move on.

Of course we are talking about Square which means this next entry wasn't a simple cash-in, no sir. An entirely different set of gameplays systems were crafted for this outing along with a very different kind of story. This was much more of an open, fun, and carefree adventure focused on three lovely ladies, two returning one new, who hunt for treasure and solve problems along the way. To make up for the loss of a huge party that could swap places in battle, these girls were given a new take on the job system with costumes applied to different card grids so they could change functions within a fight. Believe me this makes for some of the most deep and flexible combat to ever grace the RPG genre. It's pure heaven for those who love to take deep dives into gaming systems.

To this day X-2 remains somewhat controversial for it's silly girl-power attitude. Truth is this is one you play more for the gaming aspects than the story itself, though that shouldn't deteouryou when the gameplay is so damn close to perfection. About the only issue I take with it is the return to active-time battles though that may have been needed given the complexities of the dress spheres. Along with X this installment is also available across countless systems in an upgraded HD port.

Final Fantasy XI (2002) Dir. Koichi Ishii and many others

Part XI is a game that makes me a little sad. I have nothing against it really, only that once I finally got my hands on a copy there was no time in my life for an MMORPG. As you might guess that means this is nearly the least amount of time I've ever spent playing a Final Fantasy. Honestly I can't tell you much about the gameplay, music, or anything for that matter. Honestly I always felt like the MMO entries should have just been their own side-series like Tactics or Crystal Chronicles. I don't hold anything against them however as they have brought in more fans to the series and provided them with excellent gaming memories. Plus each title before one of these MMOs has received at least one direct sequel for us anti-social types to use in its place. Don't misread my apathy for disdain, lack of time with the title has simply left it as something of a blind spot in my FF experience.

Final Fantasy XII (2006) Dir. Hiroyuki Ito and Hiroshi Minagawa

Even for a series that is known for massive shifts in tone and play styles, part XII is still a weird one to wrap your head around. Returning to a more traditional fantasy setting, albeit one with flying cars, the game saw elements of MMO title being integrated into a new form of single-player battle system with the option of crafting AI commands for your fellow party members. Something similar to the sphere grid was brought about via the license board where you had to unlock a characters ability to do things like equip a bow. For the first time ever it really pays to understand the math behind how each weapon type calculates damage, a lesson I wasn't ready for at the time of release that made for some poorly though-out upgrades.

Even the story and presentation are vastly different from the previous ps2 titles with a more mature and regal look to things. Characters speak in a more refined manner with heavy accents. Stranger still is how little the main character even matters to the overall story being told. The tale itself is more concerned with the likes of political intrigue and power struggles than the usual magical fluff. It's much closer in tone to Final Fantasy Tactics than the core series which makes sense given a number of shared development staff.

Despite all these initially baffling cgameplay elements and a vastly different tone of storytelling the game manages to totally work. Final Fantasy is often at its most memorable when it's bold, and boy is XII ever bold. Much like Parasite Eve I can't really say I've encountered anything that feels quite like it in all the years since its release. It's a massive, unique, and very different kind of RPG.

In recent years the enhanced and rebalanced Zodiac Age version has come to be regarded as likely the best iteration of this entry. Outside of obvious perks like enhanced graphics and music, the game majorly alters the license board so as to keep character development a bit more focused. I've been waiting until life blesses me with a switch before entertaining a run-through of this version but it sounds like the way to go for new players.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (2007) Dir. Motomu Toriyama

I won't blame you for not knowing FFXII had it's own continuation as many people seem to have forgotten Revenant Wings in the years since its release. On the one hand that may have something to due with the lukewarm reception it received from the media while players may be doing their best to shake memories of the flip of a coin level of difficulty. Sure enough this handhold title is a messy little experiment but not one lacking in merit.

Instead of attempting to replicate the experience of its bigger brother on the go, RW is actually a real-time strategy game. Players bring in their crew of heroes, the returning cast of the previous game along with some new friends, and have them guide units of summoned monsters around the battlefield. Obviously there's more to it than that and the game can be fun to play so long as the two big issues don't rear their ugly heads too much. One is an issue of A.I. With characters sometimes struggling with even basic pathfinding. The other big issue is the difficulty spikes with a couple of missions coming down to sheer luck.

The story is honestly my favorite part here with it giving Vaan the hero spotlight he was largely denied in XII. The kids is in charge this time around in a more fable like offering featuring a lost race of winged people and slumbering dark beings who threaten all of existence. A few of the unfinished sub-plots from the main game are touched on again so there is a lot of closure for those willing to see it through. Oddly enough I actually beat this one before XII itself which made a few of those callbacks a bit confusing.

Defiantly a weaker entry within the franchise due to the A.I. And sometimes ridiculous difficulty but the adventure was still very memorable. I would love to see this one get a small remake down the line that addresses some of the issues and makes it more readily available for people to experience. The story is a wonderful complement to its predecessor and that core gameplay is really fun, when it works. However it is not something I would recommend to everyone.

Ivalice Alliance

Seeing as the next game in the series is a rather massive topic we'll save it for the next post and take a tiny detour to look at a sub-branch of the series. In a strange twist part XII takes place within a world we'd already visited a few times before, though not in the same time frame. The world of Ivalice was originally invented for Final Fantasy Tactics, itself being not only a wonderful spin-off of the franchise but possibly one of the greatest games ever. It's also notorious for kicking players in the balls which is why I'm proud to have beaten it several times over. Ivalice would pop-up just a couple years later in Vagrant Story, an action RPG that I wanted to love but simply sucked at back in the day. It's very much a cult-classic with some very loving followers as totally makes sense given that it was one of the most unique gaming experiences on the first playstation. Ivalice would continue to appear in Tactics Advance and Tactics A2 though those are more of a storybook variation. All in all the full history of Ivalice isn't the easiest thing to patch together but the games within it range from outstanding to just very good meaning there;s plenty of entertainment to be found in this one setting.

Let's call it at that for today. My allergies are kicking up something fierce making it very challenging to stay awake. Hell, there might be droll on the keyboard by this point. I'll try and give you guys something different on our next post but rest assured there's still a lot of Final Fantasy to talk about.