Final Fantasyis undoubtedly one of the largest franchises in gaming history. Providing fans with an anthology of high fantasy adventures that containedconvincing and fun party members, with emotionally deep stories and mesmerizing soundtracks,Final Fantasyhas become a behemoth in the gaming industry and has popularized the JRPG genre along the way.
RELATED:Final Fantasy: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Sahagin
Despite the franchise’s massive popularity, there are a lot of interesting facts about the production of the games that seem to slip under the radar for most fans. These tidbits range from the peculiar to the absolutely absurd.
10The Creator
It would be assumed that the man that createdFinal Fantasywould be nearly as famous as the series itself, yet this is not the case. While Hironobu Sakaguchi is far from a nobody, his name recognition pales in comparison to others with similar success,such as legendaryMetal Gearcreator Hideo Kojima. Sakaguchi left the Square Enix in 2004 to begin his own gaming studio, Mistwalker.
9Media Diversity
While most fans are aware thatFinal Fantasydabbles in a wide range of genres, most fans are not aware of how truly diversified the franchise media portfolio is.Final Fantasygames can be found in virtually any genre, ranging from the bread and butter RPG, to racing, shooting, MMORPG and even rhythm and dance, there is aFinal Fantasygame to fit the needs of virtually any demographic.
8Major Profits
It comes as no surprise thatFinal Fantasyis a profitable series, after all, it wouldn’t still be having releases nearly thirty-five years later if they weren’t good for investor dividends. What is shocking however, is just exactly how profitable this franchise is.Final Fantasyis, according toVisual Capitalist, the ninth most commercially successful gaming properties of all time, making it dually a labor of love, and cash for Square Enix.
7Settings Hit Close To Home
The respective worlds of eachFinal Fantasyare not just built randomly, they are meticulously planned out, and based on a wide variety of real world cultures and heritages. Everything from the architecture, weapons, outfits, languages,and even monsterstake influence from the real world. A brief example would be the the region of Spira fromFinal Fantasy Xwhich was heavily based on pacific Asian countries, and made this cultural influence very clear through it’s environments, characters, and different ethnic groups.
6Influences
It’s no secret that the originalFinal Fantasyis a game that was inspired by the growing trend of Japanese RPGs. It’s primary influences includeDragon Quest,The Legend of Zelda, and theUltimaseries. These influences can be heavily felt in the franchises earlier titles.
RELATED:Which Dragon Quest Character Are you Based On Your Zodiac Sign?
WhileFinal Fantasycertainly was not the first title in the JRPG genre, it was the first one that managed to revolutionize it, and more importantly, successfully market outside of Japan.
5A Last Ditch Effort
One of the most interesting, and inspiring facts regarding the development of the firstFinal Fantasywas that it was a last resort for it’s creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi had dropped out of college to work in the video game industry, which was at the time, still in it’s infancy. BeforeFinal FantasySakaguchi was not experiencing too much success, and was desperate for a breakthrough. He consideredFinal Fantasyhis last attempt in the industry. Had it failed, he would have gone back to college;this is where the Final in the nameFinal Fantasycomes from.
4Was Planned As A Standalone Title
The most prominent feature of theFinal Fantasyseries is its anthological nature; no two major titles in the series take place in the exact same time frame or universe. Try as fans might to create theories tointerweave each title together, the only true commonality are the themes of friendship, personal growth, and overcoming a great evil.
RELATED:Final Fantasy: The 10 Best Battle Themes In The Franchise, Ranked
This was not intentional; the reason the franchise chose to go in this direction was thatFinal Fantasywas planned as a standalone title. The team at Square was not expecting such a major success to come from the title and brushed it off. Ironically,Final Fantasywould become the publishers flagship .
3Release Strategy
In recent years the wait period betweenFinal Fantasytitles has only gotten shorter and shorter. The longest wait in the mainline series was betweenFinal Fantasy XIandXII, which came out in 2002 and 2006 respectively. Square Enix however chose to change it’s business model in recent years in order to competewith other Western titles such asAssassins' Creedwhich has major releases on an annual basis.
2Design Philosophy
TheFinal Fantasyfranchise has become infamous for its final releases beingdramatically different then their initial concepts. To the point where even initial trailers and final products seem like two completely different games. The reason for this inconsistency is the design process, which has been followed in every single series title after the second release. The story is written first, then the game world, and mechanics are built around it.
1Soundtrack
The soundtracks toFinal Fantasyare ambient, inspiring, resonating, and immersive, in short, everything a video game sound track should be. The general model followed is an intro prologue song that builds the player up and prepares them for adventure, an exploration theme that encourages curiosity, and most importantly, a victory theme played after winning each encounter. While each subsequent title has had slight variations of this formula, the general gist has stayed the same.This model was created by legendary Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu. An integral piece in the very large puzzle that helped bring us theFinal Fantasyfranchise.
