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 can trigger a Game Over no matter what. A notable example would be Sin's Overdrive, Giga Graviton.

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 scene. Whenever this happens, the player either returns to the title screen or respawns at the most recent save point. Anything done after the last save, such as meeting new characters, obtaining an item or confronting a boss, will have to be reattempted, making a Game Over undesirable under most circumstances.

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
"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.

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 been knocked out, the player receives a message reading, "Perished..." at the top of the battle screen, and the screen fades to black. In the 3D remakes, the message is "The party has fallen".

Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-
The Game Over is no different than the one from Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
The Game Over is no different than the one from Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy V
"Requiem" is the 9th track on Disc 1 of the complete soundtrack. It serves as the Game Over music.

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. Unlike future Game Over screens, it goes straight to the last save point instead of the title screen. 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. Because the game returns to the last save point, it allows for the Airship Glitch to trigger. If Banon is KO'd when traveling with the party, it counts as a game over.

If the player doesn't save and the party dies, the game will be over and one will have to restart from the beginning.

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 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, unless they have a Final Attack Materia linked with a Materia that revives an ally (such as the Phoenix summon).

Unused text found in the game data assigned to the Beginner's Hall in Junon suggests 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 after all party members fall in battle unless one of the characters has a Final Attack Materia linked to a Materia related to reviving one or all of the party members and sufficient MP.

If the player defeats Emerald Weapon when there are eight 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 game's logo appearing on the bottom-right side of the screen. The words "Game Over" do not appear. The player will be redirected back to the save point in English versions of the game if they died while taking missions. In Japanese version, it functions normally regardless of what event.

Final Fantasy VIII
The Game Over screen is a monochromatic screen showing Squall's 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. Despite being dream sequences, if the player's party dies as Laguna Loire, they will get a Game Over.

During the train mission in Timber, if the player fails at inputting the code in time, they can give up and get a Game Over. When the D-District Prison is submerging into the sand, the player must move Squall to safety while the FMV is playing; failing to do so leads to a Game Over. During the Missile Base quest, if the missiles are launched without the party setting their error ratio to maximum, Balamb Garden will be destroyed in an FMV leading to 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.

Eiko's Phoenix summon has a chance to spontaneously revive the party to prevent a Game Over when a party is annihilated.

"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 KO'd 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 last 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
The Game Over screen is nearly identical to the one in Final Fantasy X, only with added 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 and a certain percentage of experience points is lost. When this happens, the player can choose to return to his or her Home Point or wait to be revived by another player. If they are not revived by another player within one hour they will automatically be returned to their Home Point.

Final Fantasy XII
The screen turns crimson with the words "Game Over" (with the exception of the entire party crushed by the Demon Wall, in which case the screen will turn black and then the word Game Over will appear on the screen). Uniquely, if all members of the active party are killed in battle, the player gets an option to bring in reserve party members, and Game Over happens only after members in both parties die (the Demon Wall battle being the exception).

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, he or she will say a defeat quote and the camera zooms out to show the other party members falling. Words written in the Cocoon alphabet appear before their transition into English: Game Over. The game will 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 from the last battle, or to choose a new challenge. The song "Hollow Seclusion" is played in the Game Over screen.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Unlike other games in the series, falling in battle is not invariably a Game Over, though being forced to escape a battle will reduce the amount of time left in the world by one hour in Normal and Hard difficulty. If the player runs out of time, a cinematic will play of the Apocalypse, followed by the text "And so the world ends" before displaying "Game Over". The player is then given the option to start a New Game+ with all previously-acquired equipment, abilities and stats retained.

Final Fantasy Type-0
To get a Game Over all of Class Zero must fall in battle. In some boss fights, it is expected that everyone will die and in these cases, the game continues regardless.

At Pandaemonium, the Vermilion Bird Crystal will offer up the opportunity to become l'Cie to Class Zero. In this scenario, Class Zero will enter into the Chapter of Darkness and be faced with an endless horde of Rursan Reavers. Sooner or later, everyone will fall in battle and will yield a cutscene and a Game Over.

Final Fantasy XIV
In the defunct legacy version, similar to Final Fantasy XI, there is no actual Game Over sequence due to the game being an MMORPG. When a player is downed, their character collapses to the ground and the player is asked if they wish to return to their home point. The player can also wait for another player to revive them.

In Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, if the player fails to complete a mission, "Duty Failed" will appears on screen and the game will take the player back to the spot before the quest.

Final Fantasy XV
The game is over when Noctis dies. If the player's HP drops to 0 they enter a "critical condition" where a red gauge is displayed, and if that gauge runs out it is a game over. Before the gauge depletes the player can use items or be healed by party members.

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 KO'd 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 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 but the player is given a choice to restart the battle against the enemy/enemies that defeated them 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 and 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.

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.

Bravely Default
Much like in the earlier Final Fantasy games, there is no Game Over screen. Instead, the camera pans over the fallen party, as the Game Over theme plays and a message appears stating the party was defeated, after which the player is returned to the title screen.

Final Fantasy Dimensions
When all members of the party are Knocked Out, a message will appear, saying "Party Vanquished". If the battle is not a superboss battle, the start screen will appear. In a superboss battle, namely Ω Weapon, Gigantuar and Adamantoise, the party will be taken back to the Gladiators' Hall.

Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
After the player's character is defeated the character will stagger and fall to the ground as the camera rotates around him or her, and he or she will mutter a defeat quote.

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. The screen will darken, and a menu will pop up offering the player 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 player will be returned to the main menu.

The 4th track of the original soundtrack, called "A Brief Respite", is a rendition of the original "Dead Music" from the original Final Fantasy.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
A Game Over will occur when the character runs out of HP.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest
When all characters are wiped out off screen, the screen fades slightly. The player will have to wait for three minutes per character for them to regenerate or use a hourglass to fully restore the wiped out party.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Much like the earlier installments in the series, a message will appear stating that the party was defeated. However, Dr. Mog offers the player the option of expending Mythril or Gems to revive all of their party members.

Should the player take Dr. Mog up on this offer, they can draw one of four randomized cards after reviving the party. Each card gives the party a bonus to their HP, attack, defense, or ability uses, before returning to battle, beginning from the round they were defeated on. This can happen multiple times, with the effects from the cards stacking, until the player finally wins or retreats from the dungeon.

If the player declines the offer, they are returned to the realm that housed the dungeon the party was defeated in. If they fell in battle fighting against a boss, Dr. Mog will offer a tip about how to better fight that boss in the future.