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The Final Fantasy Series: A Retrospective (Part 1)

Federico Lo Giudice — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:16:39 +0000

The Final Fantasy Series: A Retrospective (Part 1)

This is a post from Ps3 Maven who bring you the best play station 3, Games, Mods and News.

The PlayStation consoles have always had their fair share of RPG’s, and ever since Final Fantasy VII came out on the PSOne, the series have been a mainstay on Sony consoles. Fans have looked at the past with nostalgia, the present with enjoyment, and the future with expectations, as the series have become a synonym for quality stories, immersive worlds, and engaging gameplay. Final Fantasy stories are unlike any other game, and are clearly distinct. The games are all independent from each other, storyline wise, but share common themes, skills, spells, enemies and other elements in order to keep the same feel throughout the games.

[UPDATE 1] : Click here for Part II, covering Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI
[UPDATE 2] : Click here for Part III, covering Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX
[UPDATE 3] : Click here for Part IV, covering Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII

Early Final Fantasy games were the vision of Hironobu Sakaguchi and his studio, Squaresoft. As they were ready to shut down because of the economic hardships, they decided to produce their swan song, their final work which would act as their legacy to the videogame world. Disregarding commercialisms, and tendencies, they produced the first Final Fantasy (very aptly titled, considering they thought that’d be their last game ever), an RPG unlike any other. No one saw it coming, but the game was enough of a success to save the company, and started one of the most successful franchises ever.

On this first part of the PS3 Maven Final Fantasy Retrospective, we’re gonna go over the classic NES era games, and their remakes. Stay tuned to eventually read more about the games that came afterwards.

Final Fantasy I

Final Fantasy, the first game of the series (now known as Final Fantasy I) told the story of four nameless heroes who had to travel a chaotic world in ruins looking for the four Crystals, magical objects that controlled the elements of nature, earth, fire, water and air. Because of four elemental fiends abusing the Crystals’ powers, the world is eroded and in a state of chaos of which the heroes will have to fix it. Upon traveling the land, and getting rid of the Fiends’, they’ll eventually have to face Chaos, their master and responsible for their actions, only to find out that the heroes themselves are responsible for everything that happened because of a time loop. Those were the ingredients of Final Fantasy, right there from the start: magic, steampunk machinery (airships, submarines), science fiction, modern-old setting, and plot twists.

The original Final Fantasy might seem linear by today’s standards, but was an absolute revolution around the time it came out. Players could basically travel the entire world and go anywhere they wanted, as long as they were strong enough to survive the hard-hitting enemies found everywhere in the map. Players could customize their party, choosing whichever 4 characters from 6 available classes or ‘jobs’ which were Fighter, White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, Monk and Thief. Those jobs could eventually be upgraded to Knight, White Wizard, Black Wizard, Red Wizard, Master and Ninja respectively, upgrading their skills and giving them new abilities in the process.

Since its release in 1987 for the NES, the game has been remastered and revamped for several systems, including the iPhone, Gameboy Advance, PlayStation 1, and who knows what else. Still, the definitive version so far is the PSP one for it includes every extra of every other version, updated 2d graphics in HD, gallery and music player, and exclusive challenge dungeons which aren’t included in any other version. If you don’t have a PSP, the GBA version is also very good, for it comes together with Final Fantasy II and some of the extras of the PSP version, although some dungeons are not included and the game simply doesn’t look as good.

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy I told a story in such a way that a sequel was absolutely impossible and out of the question. No one expected that the game would be such a success that I’d start a series that’s still going today, and making the fantasy truly “final” was the whole point. Understanding this, Squaresoft took the obvious approach when fans started asking for a sequel: scrap the previous story, and tell a new one from the beginning, with different characters, lands, and story but keeping just some themes, enemies, and style in order to make it feel like a Final Fantasy game. FFII was never released outside of Japan up until the mid-end of the 90′s for the PSOne, and what most western fans remember as Final Fantasy II is actually Final Fantasy IV with its name changed in order to keep the continuity.

Similar to FFI, FFII tells the story of four heroes, but this time they’re given some background. The player is in control of 4 orphans whose town is burned down by an evil empire. In true Star Wars fashion, they get rescued by a group of rebels, and swear to fight back. Some new features of the game include the fact that characters don’t have ‘jobs’, but can just level up whichever skill or stats the player chooses with repeated use or specific action. Also, the fourth orphan gets lost as soon as the first battle ends, and is not seen again until the final dungeon, which leaves the fourth spot of the party open for several other party members to come and go, and affect the story in different ways. On the graphical department, the split battle screen was ditched in order to display a more integrated view, and rows were incorporated. Stronger characters would be in the front while the weaker, the mages, would be in the back receiving only half the damage from physical hits.

Final Fantasy II has also been re-released many times, and for many platforms, but the best one currently is the PSP one. The PSP version includes the same extras as the FFI PSP version, updated 2d HD graphics, extra dungeons not included in any other version, and the “Soul of Chaos” story from the Gameboy Advance release. Also, the difficulty has been fixed on the PSP in order to make the game smoother: now it’s not necessary to exploit the bugs and power-level in order to be able to beat the game, and it’s actually a smooth, interesting experience. If you want to try any other releases (except maybe the iPhone one), be our guest, but you’ll probably end up quiting in a fit of rage because of how unfair this game is at times.

Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy III was the last game that came out on the NES, and combined everything that went well on the previous two games. It saw the return of the ‘job’ system, with added variety (now each class had exclusive, unique commands and equipment), but now the characters could switch around their jobs in order to be better prepared to deal with certain enemies or dungeons, instead of being just stuck with one class. Also, the player could use many of the classes that became a mainstay in the series for the first time, like the Archer/ranger, Berserker, Bard, or the most remembered ones, Summoner and Dragoon.

In Final Fantasy III, much like FFI, the player controls three nameless orphans who set out to find the 4 crystals, and stop the people abusing them. Turns out, in this game there are 2 sets of 4 crystals, the light and dark ones, and when one side gets overpowered, the other summons four champions who are meant to restore balance to them. This time around, the person using the crystals for his own benefit is Xande, who is ultimately being controlled by an entity known as the Cloud of Darkness (one of the serious contenders for the most naked person on a Final Fantasy game, together with Barbariccia from FFIV and Melusine from FFV).

Again, Final Fantasy III wasn’t released outside of Japan until the Nintendo DS version came along, so players who wanted to try out the game could only hope to get their hands on a japanese version or fan-translated rom. What Nintendo released as Final Fantasy III for the SNES was actually Final Fantasy VI, renamed to follow the western continuity. Unfairly, the Japanese versions of Final Fantasy II, III and V were never released in the west until the monumental success of Final Fantasy VII, when fans got curious about the games that started it all. Aware of this, when Final Fantasy III, the long lost jewel was released, it got more than a complete rework, and was completely redesigned in 3-D.

Players curious about this game should go for the iPhone port, as this version removes the imperfections from the NDS game. The Nintendo DS game required at one point finding 6 different friends with the game to send them messages in order to obtain the ultimate ‘job’ (the Onion Knight, the original class from FF3), which is quite hard to do nowadays in an outdated console. The iPhone port removes this entirely and just provides a small but rewarding quest.

After these releases, the franchise moved onto more powerful consoles, more specifically, the SNES and eventually the PlayStation one. If you’re curious about the following games, just click here for part 2. In the meanwhile, you might be interested in reading the 5 Most Quintessential Squaresoft Games or the Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection Hands On Review.

Final Fantasy V to be Released over the PSN

AlexanderNachaj — Mon, 30 May 2011 14:53:09 +0000

Final Fantasy V to be Released over the PSN

This is a post from Ps3 Maven who bring you the best play station 3, Games, Mods and News.

Final Fantasy V is slated to be released over the PSN, which is some of the first good news for the network after a month of grumbling and heart breaks.

While no official announcement has been made regarding the actual release date of the game, we can expect it to be soon. The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) gave the release the green green light, which means it is only a matter of time now, especially seeing that the game was released on the PSN for Japanese gamers last month, and was recently announced for Europe as well.

The release of Final Fantasy V on the PSN will likely be a much deserved welcome treat for PS3 gamers, especially due to the recent surge of popularity in the game for its almost cult status of being an overlooked classic. The game was originally released on the Super Nintendo back in the 1990s but never made its way to North America. It was only when the game was released on the classic PSOne and remastered for the Gameboy Advance that North American gamers truly got a feel for it.

However, this version will likely not be the GBA remaster, meaning that it will remain more faithful to the original game and graphics, thought without all the bonus features that the remaster included.

In associated news, two other Square-Enix RPGs are slated to be released as well. The award winning and fan favourite Chrono Trigger is currently awaiting release, as is Final Fantasy 6. Both titles were released world wide on the Super Nintendo, as well as a re-released on the first PlayStation as part of the Final Fantasy anthology series. Though, owning the titles in a digital format will be a more secure and convenient way of holding on to them.

If all goes well, gamers should be able to have their hands on all three of these classic titles at some point this summer.

For more Final Fantasy news, read our Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection Hands on Review.

Article Via: GotGame

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection Hands-on Review

Federico Lo Giudice — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:21:17 +0000

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection Hands-on Review

This is a post from Ps3 Maven who bring you the best play station 3, Games, Mods and News.

These are happy times for Final Fantasy fans who own a PSP. Besides the already vast catalog with gems like Crisis Core, Final Fantasy Anniversary editions, Dissidia titles, and the upcoming Final Fantasy Type-0, now one of the big classics arrived to Sony’s handheld.

The ‘big classic’ we’re speaking of is Final Fantasy IV, one of the most acclaimed games of the saga together with Final Fantasy VI and VII. You might be wondering if it was really necessary to re-release this game, after having been out for SNES, PSOne, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Wii, and who know what else we might be forgetting. Well, it depends on you, really, and what you are looking for, but some features make this the best Final Fantasy IV version released up to this date.

The game, after flirting with 3d (but not really) in the Nintendo DS, went back to 2D but received a complete remaster in HD which works beautifully. Forget about the tall building and disproportionate scenarios of the early versions, this looks way more like Final Fantasy I&II for the PSP. In the process, the voice acting from the DS version was lost, but it’s a fair trade-off, considering how awkward it’d be to have 2D sprites talking. What remains, though, is the beautiful cut scenes that opened and closed the game, now expanded to widescreen and HD. And just like Final Fantasy I&II (based on their GBA counterpart but with better graphics), this version also includes the extras from the Advance releases. That’s right, you can visit the Cave of Trials and Lunar Ruins if you’re up for a challenge, as well as check the full bestiary and enjoy the music of the game on its own. Also, guess what? As opposed to the Gameboy Advance release, the control is not broken, and doesn’t lag. Yes, the game now works like it’s intended. Finally!

It's not only the sprites that have been updated. The spells have been totally reanimated and look better than ever, affecting the lights and background too.

But this is called “Complete Collection” for a reason. Final Fantasy IV is not the only thing the player gets: this package includes the continuation “Final Fantasy IV: The After Years”, which had been released in Japan for cellphones and worldwide for Wii, marking this its first release for a Sony console. This version includes all of the same extras as FFIV (bestiary, music, gallery), a new superboss not included in any previous versions and some fixes in the difficulty, particularly in the very last dungeon. Now its a fair challenge, and if you get slaughtered in battle, it will be because of poor playing, and not broken and unfair mechanics nor ridiculous difficulty.

This sequel is not only a cheap cash-in. It’s an entirely new game on its own, with its own storyline, new characters and mechanics. The After Years combines the play style of Final Fantasy IV with the ‘techs’ from Chrono Trigger. That means, you can combine the characters’ abilities in order to do more powerful attacks. For example, if Kain and Rosa combine White Magic and Jump, Kain will do a special jump that also casts holy. Techs can mix up to 5 characters at the same time, meaning, your whole party can collaborate in a single attack. Nice.

Cecil and Rosa combine attacks like two good lovers. Aaaaw.

Also, exclusive to this version, is an entirely new episode entitled “interlude”, which takes place between FF4 and TAY. Square Enix had mentioned that this episode would take around 15 hours to finish, but that’s hardly true, as the interlude is pretty short, and probably won’t take most players more than 5-6 hours. In this new, exclusive episode, the player will gain control of Cecil and most of the original party, with the same mechanics as FF4 (that means there are no ‘bands’ in this scenario).

All in all, this is a very complete package, including pretty much every extra of every version, except voice acting and the exclusive content of the NDS. If you didn’t already like FF4, this edition will probably not change your mind, but if you have been a fan all along, or are yet to discover the huge, engrossing tale of Cecil and friends, this is the definitive version of the adventure, the complete package that this classic really deserves.

The 5 Most Quintessential Squaresoft Titles

Federico Lo Giudice — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:11:08 +0000

The 5 Most Quintessential Squaresoft Titles

This is a post from Ps3 Maven who bring you the best play station 3, Games, Mods and News.

Whenever people fantasize about having a time machine, their destinations are usually ancient Greece, the Jurassic period or the future. We, for example, would love to go back to the time Square Enix was called Squaresoft.Luckily for nostalgic gamers like us, as no time-traveling devices are available yet, we can go back and replay these classics, which is almost as good… or read this article, remember or discover these gems, and get ready to hit the “buy” button as soon as PSN is back online. Get ready your nostalgia goggles, ’cause here we go!

Squaresoft, mostly remembered for its RPGs, was one of the pioneers in the field of making characters relatable, giving them personalities, dialog, and making the player care about them. Sometimes with better results than others, their stories would involve the player sinking several hours into the game, going deep into the characters motivations, fears, or reasons for going on this adventure, usually all the while expressing the true worth of friendship, freedom, love, or whatever the story required: we’re basically talking about the company who single-handedly created the JRPG idea as we understand it today.

Parasite Eve

Parasite Eve might be one of Squaresoft’s most unfairly forgotten classics: the first game wasn’t even released in Europe, and just barely made it to North America, while the third (“The Third Birthday”) arrived to the west and PSN just recently, only after three generations of consoles (from PSX until the current PSP). The game mixed a typical overworld system of JRPGs with combat that was a mixture of Third-Person Shooter and RPG, where the player moved freely to dodge enemies, yet chose attacks from a menu.

The Story was about Aya, a NYPD cop who sees a theater burst into flames while attending the Opera; it turns out the singer transforms into a monster at the play’s climax and sets everyone in the room except Aya on fire. As Aya chases after this mysterious woman throughout New York, the player learns a bit about her family, her (deceased) twin sister, and past. Also, Aya is quite cute for a pixelated, polygonal construction.

"Won't anyone PLEASE comfort me?"

Xenogears

Xenogears was a game that had it all: incredible dialog and argument, fantastically written characters, a battle-system that involved either combos in a Chrono Cross fashion (albeit a bit more intuitive), or huge mechs for the player to control. What the game lacked was a proper budget: the second disc is now famous because of how the saga feels rushed to some, absolutely on rails, and that it removes the player of all the freedom it had on the first disc.

Despite this, the game absolutely shines thanks to its 3d environments where the characters have the ability to jump on the map, its anime aesthetics, the fantastic mech design, and the fact that this is one of the few games of its time where it’s implied that characters had sex (gasp!).

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

If you ever needed a reason to hack your PS3/PSP and get an emulator and some roms, this should be it: starred by Nintendo’s own mascot, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a game unlike any other in the series, a true RPG experience. Sure, Mario doesn’t ever open his mouth and it’s pretty much his sidekicks who do the talking for him, but that’s not so uncommon for JRPGs after all, right? Also, in this game you get to control Bowser, Toadstool and the newcomers Geno and Mallow.

The vastness of the world combined with the superb soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu make this game an absolute gem. Also, the combat system makes good use of timing to dodge attacks, a system that was sort of mimicked later in the Mario & Luigi games.

Chrono Trigger

If you haven’t played Chrono Trigger by now, go and do it. Chrono Trigger is not only one of Squaresoft’s gems, but also one of the most beloved games of all time. No wonder, though, with Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy) as director, Akira Toriyama (the mastermind behind Dragon Ball), Yuji Horii (creator of Dragon Quest), and a superb soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu, the all-star team that worked on it all gave their best, which ended up as an absolute masterpiece.

Chrono Trigger tells the story of Crono, a boy from a small town, celebrating the advent of the year 1000. He and the princess of the kingdom end up travelling 400 years to the past because of an incident at the fair, and with time travelling as a recurrent mechanic, end up discovering there’s a huge parasitic life-form called Lavos awaiting to eventually devour the planet. While the story might seem anecdotal at best, Chrono Trigger did a bunch of things well: all of the characters could combine forces in double and triple techs, and this interaction was even shown outside battle, where every character was relevant in every scene. This, summed with the multiple endings (about 13, all in all) gave the player enough incentive for multiple playthroughs. Also, every character was brilliant and relatable, and thanks to Toriyama’s design, the characters looked great yet shined because of their great dialog and not their looks or the amount of skin shown, which is particularly true for the three protagonist girls.

Final Fantasy VII

You knew it was coming, there’s no way to mention classics without mentioning Final Fantasy VII, AKA “everyone and their mother’s first RPG”. The 7th entry of the series, hailed by some as the greatest videogame of all time, had the tough job of following the acclaimed Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, as well as being Squaresoft’s first game for the debutant PlayStation 1; it was the first game in the series to use the now trademark FMVs, as well as moving away from the catridge system to CDs, while trying a more introspective story of overcoming oneself, and what Cloud, the main character, used to think of himself. All the while, he’s surrounded by some of the most remembered sidekicks and antagonist of the series. We also get to see the death of one of the main characters, which sets the angsty-dark tone for the rest of the series, halfway through this game.

"Excuse me while I burn your town down, all the while looking awesome in the process"

Thanks to its incredible success, a bunch of fans blame it for changing the “feel” of the Final Fantasy series and making it pretentious, while others claim that it’s only after FFVII that JRPGs started telling stories about real human emotion instead of just having the characters run from town 1 to town 2 doing nothing but getting into random fights. On top of that, the thought of a remake has divided the waters amongst fans, and while some would love to see the outdated polygons in full HD in a proper remake, some are afraid a redesign might screw up all the things done well the first time around. I have to confess that an eventual remake would worry me, particularly because of the humor present throughout the game; with all the angst seen in the prequels, spin-offs and sequels, it’s hard to say if they’d be able to retain the original feel. No matter what anyone else thinks, though, Final Fantasy VII remains forever a cult classic and Squaresoft’s most remembered game.