{"id":130648,"date":"2022-12-18T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-18T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-142532"},"modified":"2022-12-18T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T16:00:00","slug":"feature-final-fantasys-35-year-legacy-of-innovation-how-square-evolved-a-genre-on-the-nes-snes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/12\/18\/feature-final-fantasys-35-year-legacy-of-innovation-how-square-evolved-a-genre-on-the-nes-snes\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: Final Fantasy’s 35-Year Legacy Of Innovation – How Square Evolved A Genre On The NES & SNES"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
\"Final<\/a>
Image: Nintendo Life \/ Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Final Fantasy<\/a> is now 35 years old, and that feels a little bit weird to say. While not the first RPG series to ever grace a home console or even the first Japanese-developed RPG, Final Fantasy is, arguably, the<\/em> JRPG. Everyone knows it, and everyone has played at least one.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of debate about what Final Fantasy as a franchise really is, and over the last 20 years, a lot of people have felt disappointed by huge overhauls to combat or setting. But there is no one<\/em> kind of Final Fantasy. I can\u2019t really think of any other series that has changed as much and as often as Final Fantasy has. Right back to its origins, Final Fantasy has always managed to innovate, iterate, and reinvent.<\/p>\n

\n

Final Fantasy has always managed to innovate, reiterate, and reinvent<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And where did all of this creativity start? The original Final Fantasy on the Famicom in 1987. Now-legendary series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi had long wanted to make an RPG for Square, but following Dragon Quest<\/a>\u2019s runaway success in 1986, he seized the opportunity and pushed through the odds to make Final Fantasy happen.<\/p>\n

To celebrate this momentous 35th anniversary, I want to look back at the original six Final Fantasy titles and see how each one innovated and reinvented the wheel, paving the way for other RPGs, as well as forging a path ahead to continue to create unique masterpieces.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy I – A Class Act<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe fun in an RPG begins when you create a character, in my mind,\u201d designer and battle director Akitoshi Kawazu told Jeremy Parish<\/a> in 2012<\/a>. Inspired by Ultima<\/strong>, Wizardry<\/strong>, and Dungeons & Dragons<\/strong>, the original Final Fantasy was the result of a team of seven people at Squaresoft, headed up by Sakaguchi. The series creator \u201cmade a concerted effort to be different\u201d from Dragon Quest, and the game\u2019s job system is perhaps the defining part of that difference.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Ready to be knocked down? \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stylistically Final Fantasy was pretty different from other RPGs of the time. It wasn\u2019t totally medieval and it was more \u201cfantasy\u201d, hence the name. But with the crystals, the four elements, and the in-game class and job designs, it felt<\/em> very different. Wizardry had done classes and jobs before, but Final Fantasy simplified things, and your four chosen classes all got an upgrade as part of the narrative in the game\u2019s most memorable moment \u2013 meeting Bahamut, the King of the Dragons.<\/p>\n

Warrior, Thief, Monk, White Mage, Black Mage, and Red Mage. Those are the six original jobs. You\u2019re not playing as a warrior hero in Dragon Quest or the shipwreck-prone Adol in Ys, nope \u2013 you\u2019re whoever you want to be.<\/p>\n

\n

the game\u2019s job system is perhaps the defining part of that difference.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The job system is one of the most iconic parts of any RPG, and you can make a pretty strong case for Final Fantasy popularising it. Final Fantasy III<\/a> (no, not the SNES one) improved upon it tenfold by adding more jobs to the game like Summoner, Ranger, Dark Knight, and Dragoon, with Final Fantasy V<\/a> introducing even more<\/em> iconic roles like Blue Mage and Samurai. Both games make other improvements to the system, but this is where it started.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, ending a time loop? That\u2019s got to be a pretty significant moment in video games back in 1987. Hey, at least in 2022 we all (read: those with a PS4 or PS5) got to kill Chaos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy II \u2013 This is our story<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Really, Final Fantasy IV<\/a> (yes, the SNES number II) is the game that popularised the story-heavy side of Final Fantasy. But Final Fantasy II (the NES one \u2013 keep up!) is the one that really started the trend.<\/p>\n

In a lot of earlier RPGs, the story was either barebones or the hero was a nameless character that was left for you to superimpose yourself upon. Here, you start off with four distinct characters (you can give them names, but their defaults are Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon) and, before you even find your feet, you\u2019re thrust into an unwinnable battle and forced to watch your party die in front of you.<\/p>\n

Death permeates Final Fantasy II\u2019s story, which focuses on a rebellion army who are fighting against the Emperor and an evil empire. Character\u2019s jobs are set in stone, and the cast all have personalities and motives \u2013 basic, sure, but they\u2019re there. But the success of the original Final Fantasy opened up the sequel to a lot more experimentation and a much darker tale where many named characters die (including party members).<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even though most of the original team returned to make Final Fantasy II, the sequel made some pretty major departures from the first \u2013 and not just in having defined characters. I\u2019m dancing around it, but Final Fantasy II is the most divisive entry in the series. The main reason for this is that it\u2019s the only game in the main series that does away with experience points (EXP). Kawazu, again in charge of the battle system, replaced EXP with a reactive kind of levelling. If a character uses a sword a lot, they\u2019ll gradually get better with it. And if a character takes a lot of hits, their HP goes up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u2026 finicky, to say the least, but it\u2019s the one big part of the early Final Fantasy that Kawazu took with him when he went to develop the SaGa<\/a><\/strong> series.<\/p>\n

\n

But Final Fantasy II might have established the most Final Fantasy things \u2013 chocobos, Cid, the Ultima spell, the Genji armour, the Blood Sword weapon, Leviathan, and the theme of evil empires…<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Not every innovation has to stick, which is probably part of the reason why Final Fantasy has never revisited this style of levelling (that and the above with Kawazu) or the keyword system hasn\u2019t really returned. But Final Fantasy II also established a number Final Fantasy staples \u2013 chocobos, Cid, the Ultima spell, the Genji armour, the Blood Sword weapon, Leviathan, and the theme of evil empires all<\/em> came from II.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Wark or kweh? \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite its rocky place in the series\u2019 history, Final Fantasy II was a showcase of the team\u2019s creativity and innovative ideas, and while many series hallmarks have come from this game alone, others were abandoned.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy III – I summon thee<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Final Fantasy III<\/a> \u2013 which was actually the last \u2018missing\u2019 Final Fantasy game to get an official English version, thanks to a 3D DS remake in 2006<\/a> \u2013 is a weird one to talk about here. Its defining feature is that it expanded massively<\/em> on FFI\u2019s job system; there are now 20 jobs instead of just six, and you could swap between them outside of battle. In many ways, Final Fantasy III was a return to what made FFI work so well while improving on those aspects. As FFI was a response to the original Dragon Quest, III was a response to Dragon Quest III<\/a>, which had a solid class system itself. Final Fantasy wanted to do it better.<\/p>\n

\n

Final Fantasy wanted to do it better.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If there are two jobs that feel distinctive and unique to Final Fantasy, I think they were formed here \u2013 the Dragoon and the Summoner. So the Dragoon technically<\/em> was introduced in FFII as an ally named Ricard Highwind, but FFIII is where it really comes into its own, all because of one word: \u2018Jump\u2019. Spears and classes that use spears have appeared before in other video games, but the Dragoon is a particular kind of class, one that attacks from the skies and can stay safe from enemy attacks, all with an advantage against aerial enemies.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Totally what it looked like on the Famicom. Promise. \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Summoners, however, are even more important. Summons, Aeons, Espers, Eidolons, Astrals, Eikons \u2013 Final Fantasy is the<\/em> series for summoning huge, ethereal creatures. And while other RPGs like Namco\u2019s Tales<\/strong> series or plenty of Western RPGs have had summoners or summon spirits, Final Fantasy\u2019s brand of summons feels special<\/em>. These creatures are often plot-critical, rely on an enormous amount of power, and make you feel awesome when calling a huge image of an old, wizened man onto the battlefield just to rain thunder upon the field.<\/p>\n

\n

why would you fight a giant bird with a knife and not as an armoured, jumping, spear-wielding expert?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

The game certainly encouraged you to swap between jobs, but Final Fantasy III also hints to use certain jobs at certain times. There\u2019s a boss that pretty much requires you to play as four Dragoons (it\u2019s possible to win as other jobs, but it\u2019s not fun, let me tell you!). And while things like that are annoying, I think it\u2019s a pretty fascinating way of establishing what<\/em> a job is without the characters having defined personalities.<\/p>\n

After all, why would you fight a giant bird with a knife and not as an armoured, jumping, spear-wielding expert?<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy IV – Actively Timed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is it \u2013 arguably, Final Fantasy IV (the first 16-bit SNES entry) is the game that really put Final Fantasy on the map. At least before that pesky eco-warrior Cloud Strife came onto the scene and actually got the Final Fantasy series into Europe\u2026<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy IV has, for its time, a pretty beautiful character arc for its main hero, Cecil. A dark knight employed by an evil empire, Cecil spends much of the first part of the game going through a moral dilemma, realising he\u2019s slaughtering innocents all for the sake of his king, culminating in a scene where Cecil, atop the aptly-named Mount Ordeals, atones for his sins and fights his own reflection to become a Paladin.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Dark armour means bad guy, right? \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But we\u2019re not really here to talk about the story, as impactful or iconic as it actually is. We\u2019re here to talk about perhaps the most important thing Final Fantasy has ever done for the turn-based RPG \u2013 the Active Time Battle system (ATB).<\/p>\n

Hiroyuki Ito, who would later direct Final Fantasy VI<\/a>, IX<\/a>, and XIII<\/strong>, came up with the ATB system when watching Formula One (as lead designer Takashi Tokita told 1Up in an interview in 2013<\/a>). Previous turn-based RPGs meant inputting all of your character’s actions one after the other before the action played out. In FFIV, though, each character and enemy has an (invisible) bar that fills up over time. When it maxes out, the player can tell that character what to do. The speed of the ATB bar is determined by the character\u2019s speed stat, and you could influence it with time-based spells like Haste.<\/p>\n

\n

Hiroyuki Ito, who would later direct Final Fantasy VI, IX, and XIII, came up with the ATB system when watching Formula One<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

The inclusion of this shaped the series going forward \u2013 not every single Final Fantasy game has used it (see Final Fantasy X<\/a>, XV<\/a>, and the upcoming XVI<\/a>), but this was a momentous development in RPGs because it sped up the action while still remaining fixed to the genre\u2019s roots. You could plan battles more accurately and manipulate character speed to your advantage.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
There are like 25 different versions of this game. That’s how iconic it is. Edward is also good in at least one of them. \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is still one of the most Final Fantasy things out there today, and not many other RPGs have used the ATB system \u2013 Chrono Trigger<\/a>, Parasite Eve<\/a>, Grandia<\/a>, and Child of Light<\/a> are examples (and two of those are Squaresoft titles). But many 3D Final Fantasy games have used an iteration of it \u2013 XII\u2019s Gambit system relies on order and cast time, and X-2<\/a><\/strong> has different-length ATB bars depending on the job you\u2019re playing as. If anything, the ATB system allowed other RPG developers to experiment with the turn-based system that had been long established at that point.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy V – Adventure and experiment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The middle child of the SNES trilogy might be the least innovative of the original six, but Final Fantasy V<\/a> is still a pretty special \u2013 and pretty important \u2013 addition to the genre.<\/p>\n

Before Final Fantasy IX<\/a>, Final Fantasy V is the most iterative entry in the series \u2013 again returning to I and III\u2019s job system, but instead letting you play as a group of established, named characters. It\u2019s also maybe the most humble entry in the series, given that the main character Bartz isn\u2019t some grand hero (though there are some heritage things going on) but is just an adventurer having fun with his best pal, Boco the Chocobo.<\/p>\n

\n

Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, Fantasy Life, and many more games owe Final Fantasy V for their excellent job systems.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Let\u2019s go back to the job system again, though, because if I established it and III improved on it, then V is the definitive job system in the series. Bravely Default<\/a>, Octopath Traveler<\/a>, Fantasy Life<\/a>, and many more games owe Final Fantasy V for their excellent job systems. Even 30 years after its release, Final Fantasy V\u2019s level of customisation and freedom with its job system is excellent, allowing you to not only swap between classes whenever but also enabling you to cross-equip skills between classes as you level them up. So this time, if you really wanted to, you could play the game with four Geomancers, and it would be totally viable. Earth bells for days, right?<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Every job for every character has its own unique outfit. Adorable! \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Really, though, for the first half of the game, Final Fantasy V is pretty cosy. Dragon Quest always felt (and still does) like the cosier series, though that franchise pretty much found its footing here. Final Fantasy V turns away from the darker narratives of II and IV and swaps them for a heartfelt game about exploration and adventure. At least until you have to fight the big tree at the end.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy VI – But what if we lost?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Okay, my goodness, where do I start with Final Fantasy VI<\/a>?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still nothing really like Final Fantasy VI out there. An RPG with no real definable main character (though it\u2019s totally Terra Branford). A huge playable cast, each of whom (*coughcoughUmarocough*) has a strong backstory. A JRPG where there are choices that can permanently alter your party make-up? Oh, and you lose about halfway through the game.<\/p>\n

\n

It’s all about triumph over adversity, and hope prevailing over despair.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Final Fantasy VI is often hailed as one of the best in the series, and for many, many reasons. It’s all about triumph over adversity, and hope prevailing over despair. The world is literally<\/em> ripped apart in front of your eyes at the halfway point, and you (Celes Chere) are left to fend for yourself and find your friends. Friends who you\u2019ve spent 15 or so hours with, who you think you understand and know everything about. But you don\u2019t. The second half of the game is about showing you that, and then you\u2019ll understand everything that they did in the first half of the game even more than before.<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
I couldn’t make room for the Opera Scene, but it deserves a screenshot \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That is if you want. What makes Final Fantasy VI so unique is that it\u2019s about freedom and choice. The first half of the game splits you between three different parties (for the most part) until all three sides come together to join The Returners, a rebel group looking to take down the Empire. But when you take control of Celes in the World of Ruin, you\u2019re only required to meet up with two other party members. In fact, if you really<\/em> want, you can go and take on the final boss with just Celes, Edgar, and Setzer. But then you\u2019d miss out on Terra\u2019s existential crisis. Or the reason why Locke wants to save everyone<\/em>. Or that the beast child Gau\u2019s father is still alive. Squaresoft created a game where everyone feels important. Every single character has weight to them \u2013 and how many other games can you say have that?<\/p>\n

\n

What makes Final Fantasy VI so unique is that it\u2019s about freedom and choice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

Not only can you go wherever you want and recruit whoever in what order in the World of Ruin, the Magicite system means that you can customise characters more than ever before. Edgar might be a proto-Machinist armed with a crossbow, a chainsaw, and a drill, but he can also be a magician who specialises in debuffing enemies. Or what about Locke, a super-fast thief who can mug the enemies and<\/em> heal the party?<\/p>\n

\"Final<\/a>
Menus, menus, menus… \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyone can be anything, even with their pre-established roles, and for the first time in the series, you can pick your own party and not just rely on the characters you\u2019re given. You can mould the team to fit your preferences. Quietly, that\u2019s the biggest thing Final Fantasy VI brings to the table \u2013 not only is it a game about hope, choice, and change, but it lets you experience and do all of those things yourself.<\/p>\n

The Final (Fantasy)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Final Fantasy\u2019s innovations might have been more subtle in the NES and SNES days, but they were absolutely there. You can see how each of these six entries has not only influenced this series, but also other RPGs \u2013 even though it was through dialogue with Enix\u2019s Dragon Quest series for a time.<\/p>\n

\n

no two entries are entirely alike, even when they\u2019re improving on one another<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dragon Quest, now under Square Enix, certainly settled into a rhythm around the time Final Fantasy really started branching out. I personally play Dragon Quest to feel something very particular \u2013 something very warm and charming, and something that\u2019ll make me smile. But Final Fantasy has so many different variations under its umbrella that it really depends on my mood. No two entries are entirely alike, even when they\u2019re iterating and improving on one another (I and III, for example).<\/p>\n

Nowadays, Final Fantasy isn\u2019t seen as a ‘Nintendo’ franchise \u2013 which is strange because it was<\/em> for so long. Squaresoft jumping ship to the disc-based PlayStation worked out well for the company, and Europe (and NA for some) eventually got all of those NES and SNES games that originally didn\u2019t launch in English as a result. So that\u2019s got to be a win, right?<\/p>\n

\"World<\/a>
Turn-based Final Fantasy is still here! \u2014 Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nintendo, at this point, has become the home of spin-offs or the classic turn-based Square Enix games like Bravely and Octopath. Heck, even Dragon Quest feels very at home on Switch. This makes the Switch a nice little console to get into the series \u2013 either by picking up one of the many Switch remasters, or by checking out a cute spin-off like World of Final Fantasy<\/a> (which, hey, if you want turn-based Final Fantasy, there you go!). And the arrival of the Pixel Remaster<\/strong> collection has finally been confirmed<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

Innovation is part of Final Fantasy\u2019s identity. That\u2019s especially true now given that the PS5\u2019s Final Fantasy XVI is an action RPG, but it has also always<\/em> been true. What\u2019s consistent, though? Well, Cid, chocobos, moogles, certain weapons, armour, and a handful of other things. Writing for Kotaku<\/a>, Jason Schreier put it beautifully: \u201cFinal Fantasy is defined by how it sounds\u2026 The chime of a menu cursor. The squeal of an NPC\u2019s dialogue box. The thunderous jolt of a random encounter\u201d. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line<\/a> should help drive that point home.<\/p>\n

Final Fantasy is whatever it wants to be. It always has been, and it always will be. What number will we be at in another 35 years? Who’s to say (probably XXX!), but no one can predict what direction Square Enix will go in next.<\/p>\n

Here’s to there never being a final<\/em> Final Fantasy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image: Nintendo Life \/ Square Enix Final Fantasy is now 35 years old, and that feels a little bit weird to say. While not the first RPG series to ever grace a home console or even the first Japanese-developed RPG, Final Fantasy is, arguably, the JRPG. Everyone knows it, and everyone has played at least […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}