Square Enix's most famous franchise is still going strong after more than 20 years. Best known by most for Final Fantasy VI(III in america on the snes) which is said to be one of the best rpgs on the SNES and one of the best FF series games.
Overview
Final Fantasy is Square Enix's longest running and most popular role-playing franchise. First premiering on December 18, 1987 with the original Final Fantasy, it has only increased in popularity over the last 20 years. The first Final Fantasy was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and was planned as a last-ditch attempt at success in the game industry (hence the title). Inspired by Enix's Dragon Warrior, he took the last of Square's money and developed the game. It sold 400,000 units, kicking off what has become one of the best-selling video game franchises in history. This series has had several spin-offs, some of which are Final Fantasy Adventure (which went on to become the Mana series), Final Fantasy Tactics, a series of turn-based strategy RPGs, and even several games starring the Final Fantasy mascot, the cute, ostrich-like chocobo.
FFI 20th Anniversary Edition
More recently, Square Enix has begun to extend the most popular Final Fantasy games beyond their initial release. Characters from numerous Final Fantasy games have made appearances in games like Kingdom Hearts and Ehrgeiz. Several specific main series games have also received direct sequels or spin-offs which often occupy different genres. Final Fantasy X saw a sequel, the appropriately titled Final Fantasy X-2, which directly continued and concluded the original game's storyline. Meanwhile, the wildly popular Final Fantasy VII has seen numerous related releases, including the PSP action RPG Crisis Core, the PlayStation 2 third-person action game Dirge of Cerberus, and even a mobile game released only in Japan called Before Crisis.In a similar vein, the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII is already being planned not just as a sequel but an entire platform unto itself, with an action spin-off, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and a new mobile game also in development.
Final Fantasy I
The original NES/Famicom Final Fantasy introduced many of the common elements of console role-playing and helped popularize the genre in the late 1980s. Beyond the random battles and experience points typical to almost all RPGs, the first Final Fantasy laid down some aspects of the Final Fantasy franchise in particular that persisted throughout numerous subsequent installments. The story story takes place in a world where four elemental orbs control the forces of nature--earth, fire, wind, and water--but the orbs turn black and the forces go out of control. Four warriors come together to journey across the land in a quest to vanquish the monsters that have overrun the land and restore the orbs to their former splendor, saving the world form peril. Many Final Fantasy games have relied on these four elements as an essential device in their storylines.Notable Games
Auron from FFX- Final Fantasy II introduced chocobos and Cid.
- Final Fantasy III implemented the job system (which lets party members learn special abilities associated with specific jobs), summoned monster attacks, and introduced the moogle.
- Final Fantasy IV debuted the "active time battle" system, which causes battles to proceed in a quasi-real-time fashion. Many other RPGs have adopted a form of the ATB.
- Final Fantasy VII was the first game to use 3D character models, pre-rendered backgrounds, and lavishly produced CG movies.
- Final Fantasy X introduced fully 3D real-time backgrounds and character voice acting.
- Final Fantasy X-2 was the first direct sequel in the series.
- Final Fantasy XI was the first and so far only MMORPG in the series, and still enjoys a modest playerbase today.
- Final Fantasy XII is so far the only main series game to take place in a previously established world (that of Final Fantasy Tactics' Ivalice).
