Game Over (term)

Game Over is the scene given when certain conditions are met, the most common ones being the entire party Knocked Out, Petrified, or the player runs out of time during certain events. Some enemy attacks actually triggers Game Over, no matter what. One notable example would be Sin's Giga-Graviton Overdrive.

Each Final Fantasy has a different Game Over scene. From the original Final Fantasy to Final Fantasy VI, there is no Game Over screen, only the battle message saying the party is defeated. A melancholic music track usually accompanies the Game Over screen. Whenever this happens, the player either returns to the title screen or respawn at the most recent save point. Anything done at this point, such as meeting new characters, getting an item, or beating a boss, will have to be done again, making a Game Over a great annoyance to some players.

Final Fantasy
"Dead Music" is the name of the track that plays after all the Warriors of Light perish on the battlefield in Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy II
Again, "Dead Music" is the name of the track that plays after Firion and his friends are defeated in Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy III
"Requiem" is the 23rd track of the soundtrack and plays at the Game Over screen for this title.

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV is the only game in the series to have neither a Game Over screen nor a Game Over theme. When Cecil and his allies have all been knocked out, the player simply receives a message reading, "Perished..." at the top of the battle screen, and the screen fades to black.

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
The Game Over in this game is no different then the one from Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy V
"Requiem" is the 9th track on Disc 1 of the complete soundtrack. Again, it serves as the Game Over Background music of the game.

Final Fantasy VI
"Rest in Peace" is the official track used as the Game Over theme.

Technically, there is no Game Over screen. Rather, it shows the party leader fall and then get up with a black background. However, unlike future Game Over screens, it goes straight to the last save point instead of the main menu. Though gil and items are returned to the value of the last save, experience earned will not be penalized. Any event scenes occurring since the last save, however, will need to be repeated.

Final Fantasy VII
When the game is over, the camera pans up showing the dead characters, then cuts to a destroyed film reel (representing the story).

"Continue" is the track that plays on the Game Over screen in Final Fantasy VII. Afterward, the "Prelude" plays.

Players may receive Game Over if their entire party is flagged as dead during a battle; which can occur if all party members fall into the Death, Petrify, or Imprisoned statuses. Party members are also flagged as dead if they are ejected by the Hungry enemy's Eat, the Ghost Ship enemy's Goannai, or the Ruby Weapon enemy's Whirlsand. The only other situation where a player may receive a Game Over is during the Opening Bombing Mission on the Sector 1 Reactor; if the time limit expires before the player escapes then they will receive a Game Over.

Game Over is the name of Cait Sith's ultimate Slots Limit Break which inflicts Instant Death on all enemies. The opposite, the Slots Limit Break, Death Joker kills all party members and causes "Game Over" for the player.

Unused text found in the game data assigned to the Beginner's Hall in Junon suggests that there were initial plans for the player to be able to continue playing from the last save point upon being defeated in battle with all their accumulated experience points intact, similar to Final Fantasy VI. In the final game, however, the player gets Game Over immediately after all party members fall in battle.

If the player defeats Emerald Weapon when there are 8 seconds left on the timer, the Battle Results screen will overlap with the Game Over screen, resulting in the Emerald Weapon Countdown Glitch.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
The screen fades to black with the Crisis Core logo appearing on the bottom-right side of the screen. Notably, the words "Game Over" do not appear.

Final Fantasy VIII
The Game Over screen used in Final Fantasy VIII is a monochromatic screen showing a Revolver with the gun section broken off near a white feather, like those associated with Rinoa. The Game Over screen appears when the the player is defeated in most battles. There are also a number of opportunities in the story where the player will be given the option to give up where the result will be a Game Over.

After a Phoenix Pinion item has been used in battle once, the Phoenix summon has a chance of reviving players in the battle to prevent a Game Over when all characters are flagged as dead, either through the KO or Petrify statuses.

"The Loser", the 11th track of the Final Fantasy VIII: Original Soundtrack, is the game over tune of Final Fantasy VIII. It features the Prelude's melody.

Final Fantasy IX
The screen shows Zidane's dagger in the middle of a forest with Garnet's pendant hanging from it.

"Game Over" is the 22nd track of the Final Fantasy IX: Original Soundtrack and plays on the Game Over screen in Final Fantasy IX.

Final Fantasy X
The camera pans out from the last KOed party member and the colored words "Game Over" appear (an exception being when the party is defeated by Sin's Overdrive, in which case the screen turns white). Sometimes, depending on the stage of the game, the party member's dying words would be heard before "Game Over" appears.

In Final Fantasy X, "Game Over" is again the track that plays as the background music of the Game Over screen, and this time, it borrows its melody from Suteki da ne.

Final Fantasy X-2
Almost exactly like the Final Fantasy X one, only with ripples around the screen.

Final Fantasy XI
While there is no actual Game Over to Final Fantasy XI, due to its MMORPG nature, the music "Blackout" is played when a character's health reaches 0.

Final Fantasy XII
Screen turns crimson with the words "Game Over" (with the exception of the entire party crushed by the Demon Wall, the screen will turn black and then the word Game Over will appear on the screen).

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
The battle scene turns grey and moves to the party leader. The words "Game Over" appear in blood red, and the party gains a little Experience. Like Final Fantasy VI, the player returns to the last save point, rather than the main menu.

Final Fantasy XIII
Once the party leader has been defeated, the camera zooms out to show the other party members falling. Words written in the Cocoon alphabet appears before its translation in English: Game Over. The game will then ask if the player would like to repeat the battle or return to the last save.

An ambient track named "Game Over", written by Mitsuto Suzuki, plays during this sequence.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
An identical menu appears upon defeat of the characters in battle, prompting the player to either retry or quit. During Coliseum battles, the game asks the player if they want to quit, retry form the last battle, or to choose a new challenge. The song "Hollow Seclusion" is played in the Game Over screen.

Final Fantasy Tactics
Screen turns black and the words "Game Over" appear in ice blue.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Screen slowly fades to black and the words "Game Over" appear. This usually happens if Marche dies at a Jagd, sent to prison, snuffed, or the entire party has been KOed at a story battle. The Game Over theme is "Defeated by Sleep".

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
"Defeated by Sleep" is listed the 12th track on Disc Two of the soundtrack. It is again the Game Over music.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
There is no Game Over screen in the game, but the player is given a choice to restart the battle against the enemy/enemies that defeated them. The player can accept to re-battle the enemy/enemies, or simply give up. Choosing to give up takes the player back to the opening screen where the player will have to start from his last save. If the player chooses to give up, they will loses all obtained EXP, items, and GP. A melancholic music track plays during the choosing sequence.

Final Fantasy Legend II
When the party has been defeated, they will be send back to the Title Screen, allowing them to continue from their last save. This only occurs after the party has defeated Odin in Valhalla Palace. Before Odin's defeat, the party will have a chance at retaking the battle they were defeated.

Final Fantasy Legend III
Just like Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, there is no Game Over screen in this game either, but the player is given a choice to restart the battle against the enemy/enemies that defeated them. The player can accept to re-battle the enemy/enemies, or simply give up. Choosing to give up takes the player back to the opening screen where the player will have to start from the last save. If the player chooses to give up, they will loses all obtained EXP, items, and GP. A melancholic music track plays during the choosing sequence. The only exception to this rule occurs during the game's final battle, in which the player is not given the option to start the battle over. Instead, the game cuts directly to the opening screen.

Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
After the player's chosen character is defeated in a match, the screen will then depict the player's character staggering and falling to the ground as the camera rotates around him or her, and he or she will mutter a defeat quote.

At the same time, the word "Defeated..." (or "Lose" in the Japanese version), written in red, will appear on-screen, along with subtitles of the character's defeat quote, and a melancholic music track named "Defeat Fanfare" will play. After a short time, the screen will darken, and a menu will pop up onto the screen, offering the player a choice on whether to retry the battle or retreat.

The only time the words "Game Over" appear in-game is in the Labyrinth (Duel Colosseum in Dissidia). When an entire party is wiped out, the words Game Over will appear on screen. The player will then be returned to the main menu.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
The game has no Game Over screen, but if all of the party is knocked out the "Defeat" song will play and the party appears back in the last town they saved their game at. Losing this way has the player lose gems unless they equip the Freelancer Job.

Trivia

 * Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, and Final Fantasy Legend III are the only games wherein one can repeat a battle without having to start over from the last save point.