Final Fantasy XV


 * This article is about the first installment of the series. For general series information, see Final Fantasy (Series). For other uses, see Final Fantasy (Disambiguation).

Final Fantasy, also known as Final Fantasy I or the Original Final Fantasy in collections and common languages, is a role-playing game developed and published by Square Co., Ltd. for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in 1987, and it is the inaugural game in Square's flagship Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy was Nobuo Uematsu's sixteenth work of video game music composition.

Since the original creation of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy has subsequently been remade for several different video game consoles and handheld systems, including the MSX2 computers (converted and released by Microcabin) and the Bandai WonderSwan Color. It has also seen versions produced for two Japanese mobile phone service providers: the NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i series (as Final Fantasy I) and the CDMA 1X WIN-compatible W21x series of mobile phones from au/KDDI (as Final Fantasy EZ) and has also been made available with the American mobile company, Sprint and the Canadian mobile company, Rogers.

The game has frequently been packaged with the next game in the series, Final Fantasy II. Compilations of the two games have been released for the Famicom, the PlayStation, and Game Boy Advance. Most recently, the game was released on as an Xbox Live title. The two have also been released separately for iOS.

Gameplay

 * Please note, the following refers to the original Famicom/NES version. For changes in subsequent remakes, see the sections on Development.

Final Fantasy begins by asking the player to select the character classes and names of each Light Warrior (The player characters). Just like most computer role-playing games of that era, the player characters are passive participants in the story. Because of this, the player's choice of character class will only affect the Light Warriors' abilities in battle.

The character types are: Gameplay is similar to that of many other console role-playing games. The player wanders around a World Map, randomly encountering monsters which must be either dispatched in battle or fled from. Emerging victorious in battle earns the player Gil, which can be used to buy weapons, armor, curative items, and magic spells.
 * Warrior (Fighter) — A specialist in heavy weapons and armor who can withstand tremendous amounts of punishment. Can become the Knight later in the game, who is able to use the most powerful weapons and some White Magic spells.
 * Monk (Black Belt) — A martial arts expert who is best left fighting empty-handed, but may also wield nunchaku, and the most basic of staves. Does tremendous amounts of damage in combat, but cannot wear heavy armor. Can become the Master later in the game. In the original Famicom/NES version a high level, barehanded Master who is unencumbered by armor, can do more damage in a single attack than any other character type; a party of four Masters can defeat the final boss in less than two full rounds. A rather weak class in the beginning, but the player never has to buy much equipment for him.
 * Thief — A high evasion/accuracy finesse fighter with very limited weapon and armor selection, but greater agility and luck (ability to escape from combat). However, the ability to flee is bugged in versions before the Origins release. Later in the game, the Thief can be upgraded to the Ninja class. Ninja can use almost every weapon and most armor, and can use many Black Magic spells.
 * White Mage — A specialist in White Magic. Not a good fighter, but can use hammers for physical attacks. Can be upgraded into a White Wizard, which allows the character to use the most powerful White Magic spells in the game.
 * Black Mage — A specialist in Black Magic and a very weak fighter. Becomes the Black Wizard later on. Black Wizard is the only character who can cast Flare (NUKE in the original North American localization), one of the two damaging spells that retain full effectiveness against Chaos (the White Wizard can cast Holy, the other spell, but it is less powerful than Flare).
 * Red Mage — A jack-of-all-trades character, able to use most but not all of both White and Black Magic, and possessing fighting abilities similar to but not quite as good as the Fighter. Becomes the Red Wizard later in the game.

Victory also grants Experience, which accumulate until players achieve certain milestones ("experience levels") at which characters gain greater capacity for strength, damage resistance (known as Hit Points, or HP), and spell casting. The player can enter towns on the world map to be safe from random attacks, restore HP and spell charges, acquire information by talking to villagers, and shop. Battle is turn-based, i.e. players select the desired actions for their PCs (Fight, Cast Spell, Run, etc.), and when finished the PCs execute their actions while monsters retaliate depending on their Agility.

Every version of Final Fantasy also has a secret minigame, 15 Puzzle, that can be played out on the sea.

Story
Final Fantasy takes place in an unnamed fantasy world with three large continents. The world's elemental powers are determined by the state of four glowing crystals ("orbs" in the original North American localization), each governing one of the four classical elements: earth, fire, water, and wind.

About four centuries before the game starts, a group of people known as the Lufenian used the wind crystal's power to craft a giant aerial station ("Flying Fortress") and airships, and watched their country decline as the wind crystal went dark. Tiamat, the fiend of wind, waged a battle against them, taking over their flying fortress and the Mirage Tower. A Lufenian called Cid hid an airship on the south continent.

About two centuries before the start of the game, Kraken, the fiend of water, used violent storms to sink the water shrine that served as the center of an ocean-based civilization to use it as his personal hideout and to darken the water crystal.

Shortly before the start of the game, Lich, the fiend of earth, darkens the earth crystal and plagues Melmond as the plains and vegetation decay. On an unspecified point, a sage called Lukahn tells of a prophecy that four Warriors of Light will save the world in a time of darkness.

Marilith, the fiend of fire, awakens two centuries early as a response to the Warriors of Light's appearance and darkens the crystal of fire.

The four Warriors of Light appear, each carrying a darkened crystal, one of each element. They arrive at Cornelia, a powerful kingdom that has witnessed the kidnapping of its princess, Sarah, by a rogue knight named Garland who wants to conquer the kingdom. The Warriors of Light travel to the ruined Chaos Shrine in the corner of Cornelia, defeat Garland, and return Princess Sarah home. The grateful King of Cornelia rebuilds the drawbridge enabling the Warriors of Light passage east of the country.

Traveling east, the Warriors of Light learn a dark elf wizard named Astos has been terrorizing the area surrounding the southern continent's inland sea, Elfheim, stealing a crystal the witch Matoya needs for sight, putting the prince of the elves into a coma, and stealing the crown of a minor western king. As they travel, they liberate the town of Pravoka from a band of pirates and acquire the pirates' ship for their use. The Warriors of Light travel across the water, but remain trapped within the Aldean Sea, in the center of a large continent. A large rock blocks the only exit from the sea. There is a group of dwarves in Mount Duergar trying to remove the rock, but they find themselves unable to proceed without Nitro Powder.

The Nitro Powder is contained in a locked room in Castle Cornelia, the only key to which is held by the sleeping elven prince. They retrieve the stolen crown, only to find the minor king was actually Astos. After defeating Astos, the Warriors of Light recover Matoya's crystal and return it to the witch, who makes them an herb (Jolt Tonic in later releases) to awaken the elven prince. The prince gives the warriors the Mystic Key, with which they travel to Castle Cornelia and retrieve the Nitro Powder, which they take to the dwarves to help them finish the canal. With the rock cleared, the Warriors of Light proceed into the greater world.

Sailing to Melmond, the Warriors of Light seek out and destroy the Fiend of Earth, the Lich, who is responsible for the earth's rotting. The Warriors of Light enter the volcano Mount Gulg and defeat the Fiend of Fire, Marilith, who was awakened two hundred years prematurely by the defeat of Lich. The Warriors acquire an airship and visit the Cardia Islands to meet with the dragon king Bahamut who gives them the task of surviving the Citadel of Trials and getting a Rat's Tail as proof of their deeds. When they return he upgrades their job classes.

The Warriors defeat the Fiend of Water, the Kraken, in an underwater palace near Onrac, and Tiamat, the Fiend of Wind, in the Flying Fortress. The four Fiends defeated, and the crystals restored, the Warriors find their quest is not yet over: The power of the four restored crystals is still being absorbed by an unknown entity through a time portal located in the Chaos Shrine.

Once they travel 2,000 years into the past, the Warriors of Light meet the four arch-fiends newly created by Chaos and defeat them, before Chaos can send the arch-fiends into the future to bring Garland back to the past shortly before he would die during the fight with the Warriors of Light, and darken the crystals to steal their energy. Chaos turns out to be Garland who was not killed, but brought back into the past by the four fiends and empowered by the energy stolen from the four crystals to become Chaos. Garland originally created the time loop to live forever.

The Warriors of Light, upon defeating Chaos, return to their own time. Having broken the time loop, peace returned to the world. While all of the people are unaware the entire ordeal having taken place, and though the Warriors themselves do not recall their adventure either, order has been restored and the darkness has been vanquished.

Development
Final Fantasy was developed after Square Co.'s initial games were not entirely successful. Planning to retire from the game industry, Square Co.'s president and producer/director Hironobu Sakaguchi declared that his final game would be a fantasy RPG, hence the title. Far from being his final game, however, Final Fantasy was a success in Japan, presenting them with the second most popular RPG franchise in the country (after Enix's Dragon Quest). When Dragon Quest came out, it proved that RPGs could sell in Japan. Sakaguchi had wanted to make an RPG long before that, but couldn't get permission from the company, because they were not sure it would sell. With Dragon Quest proving that a game like that could be successful, Square were able to start the project for Final Fantasy.

The battle system was designed by Hiroyuki Itō, who had never played an RPG of any kind before developing for Final Fantasy. Itō used professional sports as inspiration, specifically American football, with parties lining up on each side of the screen, each side with a strategy.

Akitoshi Kawazu also worked with the battle system and has said he wanted to make it as close to  role playing game as he could. There were certain precepts to a Dungeons & Dragons type of environment, such as zombies always being weak against fire, or monsters made of fire being weak against ice, in short, certain things being weak against certain other things, and strong against yet other things. Up until that point, Japanese RPGs were ignoring these kinds of relationships. Kawazu found this irritating and wanted to incorporate those precepts of western RPGs into Final Fantasy. The majority of the game's bestiary is taken from the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, including the Mindflayer and the Ochu. The original magic system is inspired by Dungeons & Dragons as well, with a "Vancian" spells-per-day system, and with many spells and their effects, and even "spell levels" mapping directly to counterparts in the Dungeons & Dragons spell list.

Kawazu feels that the fun in an RPG begins by creating a character, and he didn't feel the need to have a suggested party at the beginning. Kawazu wanted players to have an option to be all Black Mages or all Warriors if they wanted. In those days it was customary not to think too deeply on these things, and the imbalance a free party creation could have was never really thought of; the idea was to let people figure things out for themselves.

The game was programmed by Nasir Gebelli, and it was the first time he had programmed anything like an RPG.

The company initially forecast the game to sell around 200,000 copies, but Sakaguchi was upset with that number, and demanded at least half a million. The company still put the limit at 200,000, so when the the first pack came from the production facility, Sakaguchi took every single ROM to every publication out there at that time, and did his own PR with the game.

Following the successful North American localization of Dragon Quest (as Dragon Warrior), Nintendo of America translated Final Fantasy into English and published it in North America in 1990. The North American version of Final Fantasy was met with modest success, due partly to Nintendo's aggressive marketing tactics. No version of the game was marketed in Europe or Australia until 2003's Final Fantasy Origins.

Final Fantasy, along with the original Dragon Quest, proved to be one of the most influential early console role-playing games, and played a major role in legitimizing and popularizing the genre. Graphically and musically, it was a more polished effort than many of its contemporaries. Many modern critics point out that the game is poorly paced by contemporary standards, and involves much more wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise experience and money, than it does exploring and solving puzzles. However, this was a common trait for role-playing games of this era, and one that, in some respects, would remain in place until the mid-1990s. Another critique of the original release is that, in some senses, it barely works; certain stats don't influence combat, certain status effects are nonfunctional, and some elemental weaknesses don't apply. None of these render the game unplayable, however, and many were not confirmed or even noticed until years after the fact.

Final Fantasy has been remade several times for several different platforms. While the remakes retain the basic story and battle mechanics, various tweaks have been made in different areas, including graphics, sound, and specific gameplay elements. What follows is a brief description of certain characteristics unique to each remake.

Family Computer version to MSX2 version
The MSX2 computer standard was roughly analogous, in terms of technical capabilities, to the Famicom, and so, as a result, the MSX2 version of Final Fantasy is probably the closest to the original Famicom version. However, while the Famicom was designed to operate exclusively as a gaming console, the MSX2 was intended to be used more generally as a personal computer. In practice, this meant that the game was subtly altered to take advantage of certain features offered by the MSX2 and not by the Famicom, and vice versa.


 * Format - Released on floppy diskette, the MSX2 version of the game had access to almost three times as much storage space as the Famicom version (720 KB vs. 256 KB), but suffered from a variety of problems not present in Nintendo's cartridge media, including noticeable loading time.
 * Altered graphics - Relatively minor upgrades. In general, the MSX2 version sports an ostensibly improved color palette which adds a degree of vibrancy to character and background graphics. However, some have commented that the choice of colors sometimes seems "off", and argue the Famicom version's graphics were of higher quality, despite the technical superiority of the MSX2 in this field.
 * Subtly altered random battles - The world map seems to have been moved slightly, meaning that the placement of monster "areas" on the world map is slightly different and that monsters appear in different places than in the Famicom version.
 * Different saved game system - Game data could not be saved onto the original program diskette, so it was necessary to provide a blank floppy diskette to save one's progress. It was possible to store only one saved game on any given disk at one time, although it was possible to have multiple diskettes for multiple saved games.
 * Upgraded sound and music - The MSX2 featured more sound channels than the Famicom, and as such many music tracks and sound effects were altered or improved for the port. Also, some dungeon music was swapped.
 * Miscellaneous engine tweaks - In the Famicom version, the Black Belt's strength would increase with his experience levels, meaning that very soon the player would reach a point where a Black Belt could do more damage without weapons than he could with one equipped. In the MSX2 version, this is not the case: Black Belt's strength does not increase nearly as quickly, and thus he cannot operate effectively as a barehanded fighter. Also, many items available in stores have had their costs changed.

Family Computer version to Nintendo Entertainment System version
The 1990 North American localization of Final Fantasy was essentially identical to the original Japanese game. But technical limitations, and the censorship policies of Nintendo of America, resulted in a few minor changes to certain elements.


 * Truncated magic names. The original game program provided only four character spaces for magic spell names, meaning that a lot of original Japanese spell names had to be abbreviated to fit into the space requirements for the English version. These changes include "Flare" being reduced to "NUKE" and "Thunder" being reduced to "LIT."
 * Censorship issues. Nintendo of America policy prohibited games from featuring any overt Judeo-Christian imagery or reference to death. As such, some graphics were modified, so that, for instance, churches no longer featured crosses.
 * This is probably why the Kill spell was renamed as "Rub."

Family Computer version to WonderSwan Color version
Many more changes were introduced for the game's WonderSwan Color remake:
 * Upgraded graphics - The 8-bit graphics of the original Famicom game were completely redrawn for the WSC version, bringing the game roughly on-par with 16-bit era graphics. The color palette was much larger and battle scenes featured full background images.
 * Parity with later games - Character sprites, especially the upgraded classes, were redesigned to look more like characters from the Super Famicom Final Fantasy games. In the Famicom version, shops and inns had no interior map: once a character entered the building, they were greeted with a menu-based purchase screen. In the WSC version this was changed to more closely resemble other games in the series, where each building had an interior, along with a shop counter where the transaction screen could be accessed. Similarly, the battle screen was redesigned, with all textual information moved down to a blue window stretched across the bottom of the screen in an arrangement similar to that utilized in Final Fantasy II through Final Fantasy VII.
 * Added cutscenes - Short cutscenes, using the internal game engine, were added to expand the game's story somewhat. One such cutscene involved the construction of the bridge by the Corneria army.
 * Expanded text - The original Famicom version did not have the ability to display more than one window of text during a conversation, which meant that all conversations with Non-Player Characters were strictly limited in length. The WSC version removes this restriction.
 * Optional engine tweaks - In the original version, any attempt to attack a monster that had been killed by a previous character's attack would result in an "ineffective" attack. The WSC version introduced an option wherein the attack would be redirected to another monster rather than fail. Similarly, a "dash" option had been introduced: holding down a specific button while walking around in a town or dungeon map would cause the character to move around at twice their normal pace. Both of these options can be turned on and off via the game's configuration screen.
 * Deletable spells- In the original version, every magic-using character has successive "spell levels". Each character has only three available slots per spell level, but is given the option of choosing from four spells. Once that choice had been made in the original version, there was no way to "unlearn" spells to free up a space for the unchosen fourth spell. In the WSC version, this has been changed so that it is possible to delete spells once purchased.
 * More save game slots - The original Famicom cartridge could only store one set of game data at a time, and every time a new save was made, the previous one was overwritten. The WSC version provides up to eight distinct slots for saved game data. The "quick save" feature was also added, which allows the player to save his or her progress at any time, except during battles. This will exit the game, however, and as soon as the game is resumed, any quick save data is lost.
 * Changed item system - In the original version, only items specifically assigned to a character could be used during battle. In the WSC, this has been changed so that there is a party-wide "pool" of items which can be accessed at any time by all characters. Certain status healing items and spells (such as Life and Soft) could now be used during battle. The status ailment Silence no longer prevents items from being used.
 * Added music - In addition to remixing the soundtrack, composer Nobuo Uematsu has composed several new tracks, including a new "boss battle" theme.
 * Bosses have more HP - Because many of the above changes make the game simpler, the hit points of certain monsters, and almost all boss monsters, have been substantially increased (and doubled in some cases) in order to better balance the gameplay.

WonderSwan Color version to Final Fantasy Origins
The PlayStation remake of Final Fantasy was released alongside its sequel, Final Fantasy II, in a collection titled Final Fantasy Origins (or Final Fantasy I+II Premium Collection in Japan). Both of these games were based on the WonderSwan Color remake, and most of the changes instituted in that version remain.

However, there are a few differences:
 * Higher resolution graphics - Although the graphics are basically the same as in the WSC version, the PlayStation's higher screen resolution means that most of them have been improved to some degree, with quite a bit more detail.
 * Remixed soundtrack - Nobuo Uematsu remixed the soundtrack to Final Fantasy IX quality to utilize the Sony PlayStation audio capabilities and also composed a few new tracks like the ones used in the opening movies.
 * Rewritten script - In the Japanese language version, the script has been changed to include kanji. The English language translation, too, has been completely rewritten, and is, in most cases, much closer to the Japanese than the original English NES version was. Also, character and magic name lengths have been increased from four to six characters.
 * Even more saved game slots - Saved game data takes up one block on the PlayStation memory card, which means that up to fifteen games can be saved onto each memory card. The "quick save" feature of the WSC version has been excised, but in its place a "memo save" feature has been introduced where game data can be temporarily saved to the PlayStation's RAM. This data remains until the system is turned off, or its power supply is otherwise interrupted.
 * Added full-motion video cutscenes and omake - The game is now book-ended with two full-motion, prerendered video cutscenes. An "omake" (or bonus) section has also been made available. It includes a bestiary, an art gallery, and an item collection that are unlocked as the player progresses through the game.
 * New "Easy Mode" - A new "easy mode" has been introduced wherein shop prices are cheaper, experience levels are gained more quickly, and stats are increased more rapidly. This mode is optional and is chosen at the start of the game.

Final Fantasy Origins to Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
Another fairly extensive list of changes accompanies the Game Boy Advance release of Final Fantasy as part of Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls.

Among them are:
 * Reduced difficulty level - The GBA version's difficulty level most closely resembles the "easy mode" of the PlayStation/Final Fantasy Origins version. Unlike that version, however, there is no option to switch back to the original difficulty. Similarly, the redirection of "ineffective" hits, which had been optional since it was introduced in the WSC version, is now mandatory.
 * Lower resolution graphics - compared to the PlayStation version. Graphics are of similar quality to the WSC version, although the GBA has a slightly higher screen resolution than the WSC, and certain sequences (such as flying around on the airship) look better on the GBA than on the WSC.
 * New magic system - The "spell level"-based magic system was dropped in favor of the magic point-based system used in more recent Final Fantasy games. Although spells are still classified at certain levels for some purposes (characters can still only be equipped with three of the four available spells of any given level, for instance), every spell is now assigned a point value. When cast, that value is subtracted from a total number of magic points (or MP) that applies to all spells known by a character.
 * New item system - Many new items have been introduced, including the reviver item Phoenix Down. Healing items are now much easier to procure and less expensive, as well. The party starts the game with 500 gil instead of 400 as in previous versions. The player can also now obtain Item Drops from enemies.
 * Omake bestiary - The omake artwork gallery and item collection present in the PlayStation version have been omitted, but the bestiary gallery remains and operates in much the same way as it did previously.
 * Miscellaneous game engine tweaks - Certain classes have been modified: the Thief and Monk have become more powerful, whereas the Red Mage has become less so. Stat Growth has been altered, and Intelligence now affects the strength of weapon-based magic spells.
 * Altered save system - The game can now be saved at any time, anywhere (again, except during battles). There are three available save game slots.
 * Monsters have even more HP - Because the introduced changes make the game even less challenging, many monsters and boss monsters have had their hit points increased once again.
 * "Auto-naming" - During character creation, the player can choose to have the game randomly assign a name to each character. These names are all taken from other Final Fantasy games and include Desh (Final Fantasy III), Giott (Final Fantasy IV), Kelga (Final Fantasy V), and Daryl (Final Fantasy VI), among others.
 * Soul of Chaos - Four new optional dungeons have been introduced, one corresponding to each Fiend, and become available after that Fiend is defeated. These dungeons are especially challenging and feature items and monsters not found anywhere else in the game. At the end of each dungeon there are a variety of boss monsters from subsequent games in the Final Fantasy series, including the bosses from the World of Darkness from Final Fantasy III, the Archfiends from Final Fantasy IV, the bosses from the Cleft of Dimension from Final Fantasy V and the bosses from Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Edition
In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the first Final Fantasy game's release, Square announced another remake, this time for the PlayStation Portable. The soundtrack is borrowed from Final Fantasy Origins. The script is nearly identical to the GBA version aside from the Labyrinth of Time.

The known changes and features are:
 * Higher resolution - The graphics have been updated once again and more detailed. Aerial effects have been added to the towns and dungeons.
 * Soul of Chaos Dungeons - The new dungeons from the Dawn of Souls version remain in this version. The music tracks from boss battles were also changed to the tracks of the games the new bosses originated from, which consists of five new tracks.
 * The Labyrinth of Time - The new dungeon with much greater difficulty than any other in the game and its new superboss surpasses even Omega, Shinryu, and Chaos in difficulty.
 * Amano art gallery - The art gallery featured on Final Fantasy Origins has returned on this version.
 * CGI Scenes. The CGI scenes from the PlayStation version have returned.

Final Fantasy for smartphones
The port of the original and second Final Fantasies to the iOS is available in Apple's App Store for $8.99/£5.50. Both games have graphics similar to the Anniversary Edition and their special dungeons. With a single purchase, both the English and Japanese language versions of the games are made available (through the phone's system language). The original  Final Fantasy' s gameplay remains the same as in the PlayStation Portable port, while Final Fantasy II iOS version adds new gameplay elements, mainly the implementation of touch controls. However, the Window Color option has been removed, and the Art Gallery can no longer be featured on any smartphone versions. The music quality of both Final Fantasies is also slightly worse in comparison to the Official Soundtrack version (which is fully preserved on the PSP Anniversary editions, quality-wise).

The Apple iOS version of Final Fantasy includes a "quick save" that allows the player to save the party's current location either on the overworld map or in dungeon mode when the application gracefully exits. This means that when gameplay is interrupted by returning to the home screen, receiving a phone call, or putting the device in sleep mode and subsequently syncing the device (which resets the device's current status), the game will resume in the same location when "Resume" is selected at the opening screen. However, if the player chooses to open a save file or new game, the data is deleted.

This version has several bugs. The worst is quite damning; instead of a random value within a range, HP and MP go up by either the minimum or maximum possible value when leveling up. The minimum value appears to be picked > 15x as often as the max value.

A port of the iOS version of the game to Microsoft's platform was made available on the Windows Phone Marketplace in Japan on 4 June 2012, and America and Europe on 13 June 2012. Features unique to this version include a phone status indicator (time, signal, WiFi status and battery level) on the left or right side of the screen (depending on device orientation) and Xbox Live Achievements.

As with apps for the platform, a demo of the Windows Phone version is available. The main difference from the full version of the game is that upon reaching the drawbridge and watching the introduction to the game proper, gameplay is halted and a message appears, stating "This concludes the Demo. Buy the Full Game to play on!". Touching the screen here returns the player to the title screen. Another feature of the demo version is an option in the title screen menu which offers a direct link to the app listing in the WP Marketplace, where they can purchase the full version. Should the player elect to do so, they can then immediately continue the game from where the demo ends.

Final Fantasy was made available on the Google Play store 27 July 2012. It is similar to the iOS and the Windows Phone 7 version, both of which are based on the PlayStation Portable remake, but does not include any of the bonus dungeons which were not in the original game. Final Fantasy on Android is available for $6.99 / £4.44 in the Google Play store and runs on Android 2.1-compatible devices and up.


 * iOS version (v1.0.4) available here (UK, £5.99), here (US, $8.99); 81.5 MB.
 * Windows Phone version (v1.0.0), available here (UK, £5.49), here (US, $6.99); 90 MB.
 * Android version (v.2.2), available here; 46.4 MB.

Final Fantasy Mobile
Namco released a mobile port of Final Fantasy worldwide as a Java game.

Gameplay is based on the NES release, but with a few noticeable differences:
 * Bugs present in the NES version were largely fixed, with exception to commonly retrofitted "bugs" such as the Peninsula of Power and miscalculated critical hits.
 * A re-translated script.
 * An expanded inventory system, allowing the player to carry every item present in the game.
 * A quicksave function that may be toggled off and on. The game saves to a separate quicksave slot whenever the player enters a new room or floor, and the file is erased upon being loaded. In difficult dungeons, this feature can be exploited by stepping out of the room or entering the last set of stairs, then re-entering to ensure the quicksave file is not erased. If the party is slain or the player needs to reset, the quicksave file may be used to retain the player's position in the dungeon.
 * Dashing and re-targeting, both of which may be toggled off and on (similar to the WSC and Origins versions).
 * Some enemy groups have been rearranged. Stronger enemies are sometimes encountered much earlier in the game.
 * The Knight and Ninja classes no longer have their MP (or spell charges) capped at 4. Both may advance as high as 9 charges per spell level.
 * Chaos's HP is doubled, compared to his NES counterpart.

Sound effects are absent from the game, but the player may choose to turn background music off and on. BGMs consist simple MIDI arrangements with no looping points, and there are no boss themes, save for the battle with Chaos. The graphics are a compromise between the GBA and NES versions, having detailed sprites, but retaining more generic map and dungeon tiles similar to those used in the NES release.

Hi-Potions, Phoenix Downs, and other items introduced in the GBA version are not present. The player must make do with standard Potions, Antidotes, Gold Needles, Sleeping Bags, Tents and Cottages. No hidden extras are featured in this port. Clearing the game only displays the ending sequence, with no option to save and begin a New Game Plus file.

Namco's version is typically priced around $4.99, or 4€ and it is 600 KB large.

Novelization
As part of its Final Fantasy 25th anniversary celebration, Square Enix released a novelization of the first three Final Fantasy games. The novelization titled Novel Final Fantasy I, II, III Memory of Heroes was released Fall 2012.

Original Famicom Version

 * Original Concept & Lead Designer - Hironobu Sakaguchi
 * Co-Designers - Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii
 * Character Design - Yoshitaka Amano
 * Programmer - Nasir Gebelli
 * Co-Writer - Kenji Terada
 * Music - Nobuo Uematsu

While not credited in-game, the following individuals are also known to have worked on the game:


 * Producer - Masafumi Miyamoto
 * Battle Planner - Hiroyuki Ito
 * Sprite Artists - Kazuko Shibuya, Takashi Tokita
 * Assistant Programmers - Ken Narita, Kiyoshi Yoshii
 * Sound Programming & Sound Effects - Toshiaki Imai
 * English Localization - Kaoru Moriyama

Final Fantasy Origins

 * Executive Producer - Yoichi Wada
 * Original Staff
 * Program - Nasir Gebelli
 * Scenario - Kenji Terada
 * Character Design - Yoshitaka Amano
 * Original Development - Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Kouichi Ishii, Kazuko Shibuya, Nobuo Uematsu, Kiyoshi Yoshii (Final Fantasy), Ken Narita (Final Fantasy), Katsuhisa Higuchi (Final Fantasy II)


 * Remake Staff
 * Producer - Yusuke Hirata
 * Directors - Hideshi Kyonen (Final Fantasy), Katsuyoshi Kawahara, Kazuhiko Yoshioka
 * Designers - Sentaro Hotta, Tomohiko Tanabe, Hideto Oomori, Mieko Hoshino, Kumiko Fujiwara, Eiji Yamashita, Hisanori Tani, Yoshihisa Maeda, Tohru Honda, Yoshisuke Nkahara, Keisuke Motozono, Hiroko Watanabe
 * Movie Director - Koji Wakasono
 * Movie Designers - Mitsuhiro Yamada, Satoshi Sumida, Masato Motoki, Yutaka Maekawa, Wataru Ikeda, Shin Azuma, Rumiko Sawada
 * Movie Programmer - Naoto Uenaka
 * Movie Coordinator - Shiho Sasaki
 * Sound Programmer - Minoru Akao
 * Music - Tsuyoshi Sekito
 * Sound Editors - Masataka Saito, Tomohiro Kamiya
 * Movie Sound Editor - Eiji Nakamura
 * Movie Dialogue Editor - Teruaki Sugawara
 * Music Supervisor - Nobuo Uematsu
 * Voice Section - Half Hip Studio
 * Firion - Yukimasa Obi
 * Leon - Takayuki Yamaguchi
 * Gus - Kenta Miyake
 * Maria - Noriko Shitaya
 * Mixer - Nobutaka Hirooka
 * Recordist - Nobuhira Hirano
 * Studio Booking - Toru Nakano
 * Coordinators - Kiyomi Tanikawa, Rie Nishi, Miwa Maki
 * Quality Management Division - Akihito Shoji, Hironori Akiyama, Kenichi Miyake, Hiromitsu Sato, and all QA Staff.
 * Ratings Section - Reiko Kondo
 * Porting - KAN NAVI Corp.


 * Localization Staff
 * General Manager - Akira Kashiwagi
 * Localization Directors - Tomoko Sekii, Kazuyoshi Tahiro
 * Localization Programmer - Yoshinori Uenishi
 * Localization Assistant - Satoko Kondo
 * Special Thanks - Masashi Kouda, Masashi Nakamichi, Yasuhiro Maeda, Hideki Matsuoka, Katsunori Kataoka, Satoshi Murakami, Toshimi Kahara, Toshiaki Naito, Tetsuya Okamoto, Yasuhiko Kyo, Mitsuhiro Yamada, Miki Akakura, Yoshie Nishimura, Mika Okada, Sakiko Kuniyoshi, Yoshiya Hirohama, All Square Staff.


 * Square Enix, Inc.
 * Localization - Jennifer L. Mukai, Yutaka Sano
 * Quality Assurance - David Carrillo, Mohammed A.C. Wright, Aaron J. Adams (Lead Product Analyst/ Final Fantasy), Mathew Clift (Lead Product Analyst/ Final Fantasy II), Jonathan Cooperson, Dana J. Kwon
 * Customer Support - Ryan Riley, Anthony Montana
 * Marketing Communications - Kyoko Yamashita, Sonia Im
 * Marketing - Kenji Mimura, Keiko Kato, Fernando Bustamante, Patrick H. Cervantes
 * Sales - Sean Montgomery, Alaine C. Deleon
 * Business Development - Ken Berry
 * Senior Vice President & CFO - Kenzo Nogimura
 * President & CEO - Jun Iwasaki
 * Special Thanks - The Kenwood Group, Ruder Finn, Virtual Interactive, Inc., Joel G. Clift, Jaime J. Bencia, Yuji Shibata

Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Edition

 * Executive Producer - Yoichi Wada
 * Producer - Yusuke Hirata
 * Production Manager - Kiyomi Tanikawa
 * Directors - Hideshi Kyonen, Katsuyoshi Kawahara, and Kazuhiko Yoshioka
 * Movie Director - Koji Wakasono
 * Movie Designers - Mitsuhira Yamado, Satoshi Sumida, Masata Motoki, Yutaka Maekawa, Wataru Ikeda, Shin Azuma, and Rumiko Sawada
 * Movie Programmer - Naoto Uenaka
 * Original Music - Nobuo Uematsu
 * Graphics - Yoshisuke Nakahara, Mieko Hoshino, Tomohiko Tanabe, Hideki Omori, and Eiji Yamashita
 * Testing - Reiko Kondo
 * Localization Manager - Akira Kashiwagi
 * Localization Directors - Tomoko Sekii and Kazuyoshi Tashiro
 * Localization Programmer - Yoshinori Uenishi
 * Localization Specialist - Amanda J. Katsurada
 * Localization Assistant - Satoko Kondo

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the Four Fiends are guardians for the True Moon crystals.
 * Supposedly, the world of Final Fantasy did at one point have summons, as shown in Dissidia Final Fantasy, but Chaos banished them into the Interdimensional Rift.
 * The original Famicom release and MSX versions had some different graphics. Two of the most obvious changes are done to two types of monsters — the Medusa enemies were originally topless, while the Eye enemies were originally Beholders from Dungeons & Dragons. Later versions changed this, even the Japanese Final Fantasy I & II Famicom art. The Beholder graphic was restored in Dissidia Final Fantasy as player icons, but the revised graphics for Master, Red Wizard and White Wizard remain.
 * Some of the recurring aspects of the Final Fantasy series did not appear until later on. The original Final Fantasy did not feature a character named Cid until Cid of the Lufaine was first mentioned in the Dawn of Souls remake. Since chocobos were only introduced in Final Fantasy II, this is also the only game not to feature chocobos, and is one of only three main series games not to feature moogles, as these were only introduced in Final Fantasy III (with them being absent in Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy IV as well).
 * The NES edition had a sly reference to the other major RPG of the time, Dragon Warrior. In the city of Elfheim, one headstone reads "Here lies Erdrick", Erdrick was referenced often in the original Dragon Warrior, and is the protagonist of Dragon Warrior III. This reference was originally to Link, the protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. It was changed back in later editions including Final Fantasy Origins, the Dawn of Souls version, and Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Edition for PSP and iOS. Additionally, many of the elves seen in the PSP version have an uncanny resemblance to Link.

Gameplay
Final Fantasy II is unique in the Final Fantasy series for not utilizing experience-based levels. Instead of earning experience points at the end of every battle, each character participating in battle develops depending on what actions the character takes during the battle. For example, characters who frequently use a particular type of weapon (sword, Bow, axe, etc.) will become more adept at wielding a weapon of that type, as well as increasing their physical strength. Similarly, characters who frequently cast a particular magic spell will learn to cast more powerful versions of that spell, as well as increasing their magical power. HP and MP, will similarly increase depending on need: a character who ends a battle with only a small amount of health remaining may earn an increase in their maximum amount of hit points, and a character who expends the majority of their magic points during a single battle may increase their maximum amount of magic points. A handful of bugs related to this advancement system were still present in the game's released version, the most notable of which was the ability to cancel a previously issued command and still gain the stat-increasing benefits of having performed the action. This was possible because the game's turn-based battle system gave the player the opportunity to input commands for all four members of the battle party at once. At any point in time before the command for the final character in the lineup was issued, the player could hit a button and return to the previous character to reissue a command.

Since many statistics, such as weapon and magic spell proficiency, were based on how many times a particular command was used in battle, a little patience meant it was possible to quickly advance in proficiencies in the space of a single battle round. A similar problem manifested in the way hit point increases were granted, which allowed characters to attack members of their own party to increase their maximum hit points. These problems were faithfully replicated in both the WonderSwan Color and the PlayStation ports. The Game Boy Advance remake eliminated the command cancel bug, though the hit point increase trick remained. Various other changes were made to the Game Boy Advance Version, including regular maximum hit point increases outside of those gained as outlined above, to decrease game difficulty.

Battle parties can consist of up to four characters at a time. Three of these characters are present throughout the entire game, but the fourth position rotates amongst a variety of characters. Final Fantasy II was the first game in the series to allow a friendly character to be placed in the "back row" during battles. Characters placed in the back row are immune to most physical attacks, but can be harmed with bows and magical attacks. In a similar way, enemies can be arranged in up to four rows of two creatures each (for a maximum of eight hostile opponents on screen at any one time). Only the two rows closest to the player's party could be damaged with physical attacks. By eliminating the two closest rows the player can then physically damage the other rows of enemies.

Throughout the course of the game, when in conversation with Non-Player Characters (NPCs), the player has the ability to "learn" special words or phrases, which can later be repeated to other NPCs to gain more information or unlock new actions. Similarly, there exist a handful of special items that can be shown to NPCs during conversation, which have the same effect.

Characters
Final Fantasy II was the first game in the series to have an actual main cast of characters with names and histories. The first three characters can never be changed, whilst the fourth character is always changing.


 * Firion is the main character. The adopted friend of Maria and Leon, and childhood friend of Guy, he seeks to destroy the empire in hopes of avenging his fallen family.
 * Maria is Firion and Guy's childhood friend, and the female lead. She quests in the hopes of finding her brother Leon, who disappeared after being attacked by the Empire.
 * Guy is a friend of Firion and Maria. He speaks in a stunted manner, and has the ability to speak to animals. However, this is a unique ability and it is only used once in the entire game.
 * Leon is Maria's older brother, and the new Dark Knight of Palamecia. He went missing during the attack on Fynn, and has since grown to be the emperor's most faithful follower. Late in the game, he joins the trio and helps them defeat the final boss.
 * Minwu is a White Mage and Hilda's personal adviser. He joins the party during their first adventures, and is learned in the arts of magic.
 * Josef is a miner, and helps the resistance gain mythril. He joins the party for only a short time, but his small contribution matters greatly in the end.
 * Gordon is the prince of Kashuan, and fled from battle after his brother, Scott, died in the battle for Fynn. He believes himself to be a coward, and to prove himself fit for the throne, he journeys with Firion and his allies to aid in the defeat of the empire.
 * Leila is a pirate who attempts to rob the party, but her crew is weak and Firion, Maria, and Guy easily defeat them. She repents, and decides only to attack the Empire instead.
 * Ricard Highwind is the last Dragoon of Deist. Having been stuck in Leviathan for some time, he is quite eager to return to action and stop the Empire in order to avenge his fallen allies.
 * Scott is a prince of Kashuan and the older brother of Gordon.

Story
The story begins when Emperor Mateus of Palamecia summons forth monsters from Hell in his quest to dominate the world. Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon are orphaned when the Empire attacks Fynn and they are cut down by imperial soldiers as they flee. Firion, Maria, and Guy are rescued by forces belonging to the Wild Rose Rebellion led by Princess Hilda and taken to Altair to be revived, but Leon has gone missing. Though they ask to join the rebellion, Hilda refuses due to their youth and inexperience.

Despite this, Firion, Guy, and Maria return to Fynn and find Prince Scott on his deathbed. He tells the party of Count Borghen's betrayal and asks them to encourage his brother Gordon, who is afraid to join the rebels. Scott asks them not to tell Hilda his feelings for her and gives them a ring to take back just before he dies. Returning Scott's ring convinces Hilda that Firion's group is strong enough to join the fight.

She sends the group to Salamand in search of Mythril. Josef, a member of the rebellion was sent to search for it, but Hilda hasn't heard anything from him since. Hilda's right-hand man, Minwu, also joins the party for this mission. The party finds Josef, but he is unwilling to give any information, as the Palamecian empire have kidnapped his daughter Nelly, and Borghen has threatened to kill her if Josef helps the resistance. He tells them to go to the Semitt Falls and free her, along with the townspeople who have been enslaved in the mines. They do so and also rescue Paul, a thief in the rebellion's employ. After defeating one of the imperial Sergeants, the party take the Mythril and make their way back to Altair.

After the weaponsmith Tobul crafts Mythril Equipment for the resistance, the party is dispatched to Bafsk. The Palamecian Empire have enslaved the residents and made them build a powerful airship known as the Dreadnought. It was built under the watchful eye of an imperial known as the Dark Knight, but he was replaced by Borghen after the loss of the Mythril. This gives the resistance the perfect opportunity to destroy the Dreadnought before it is finished. However, just before the party reaches the massive airship from the Bafsk Sewers, the Dark Knight, who actually has not left Bafsk after all, takes control of the airship and lifts off. The Dreadnought attacks the cities of Poft, Paloom, Gatrea and Altair, but miraculously the secret base at Altair is unharmed. Minwu leaves the party to care for the ailing King. After talking to Cid, owner of the world's other airship, Hilda and the party decide to obtain Sunfire from Kashuan Keep. To enter, they need either the Goddess's Bell or the voice of a Kashuan. Josef helps the party reach the Snow Cave with a snowcraft, and the party retrieves the bell located within. On the way out, Borghen attacks the party, and although he is defeated, he sends a boulder after them. Josef holds back the boulder to allow the party to escape and is crushed.

With heavy hearts but renewed determination to avenge Josef, the party heads for the abandoned kingdom of Kashuan to retrieve the Sunfire. They enter the keep and find Gordon, who came on his own but was unable to make it past the monsters inside. He joins the party and helps them to locate Egil's Torch, the only vessel they can use to carry the Sunfire. The party defeats a Red Soul for the torch and retrieve the Sunfire. As they leave, they witness Cid's airship being captured by the Dreadnought, which then parks to replenish fuel supplies in the far south. The party heads there, frees Cid (and Hilda, who was on board Cid's airship), and throws the Sunfire into the Dreadnought's engine as directed by Cid. They meet the Dark Knight in the engine room and Maria recognizes his voice, but they have no time and escape just before the airship is destroyed.

The party returns triumphantly to Altair, only to learn the King is about to die. With his last breaths, he plans a three-pronged attack on the empire in an attempt to take back Fynn. In his plan, Minwu heads to Mysidia to retrieve Ultima, the ultimate magic tome, Gordon takes command of the rebel army to attack Fynn directly, and Firion's party heads to the island nation of Deist to enlist the aid of the Dragoons. Hilda has started behaving strangely and retires to her chambers. The party accepts passage from Leila, who reveals that she is a pirate captain and tries to mug the party. When they defeat her and her crew, she is impressed and joins them. They reach Deist, but find that the Dragoons have fallen in battle and only a single Wyvern remains alive. The beast is dying, poisoned by the Empire. It gives the party the last Wyvern Egg, which the party drops in the healing spring at the bottom of Deist Cavern in order to incubate it and hasten its growth process.

The party returns to Altair empty-handed and Firion learns that the Hilda they rescued is a Lamia Queen in disguise. They soon learn the real Hilda is being held as a prize in the tournament at the Palamecian Coliseum. The party, with Gordon in tow, make haste to reach Hilda, defeating a Behemoth at the Coliseum to earn Hilda as a prize. However, The Emperor, who is overseeing the match personally, dispatches the party and has them thrown in the dungeons. They are saved by Paul, who unlocks their cell. Hilda and Gordon escape on their own while the rest of the party draws the guards' attention.

The rebel army plans an attack on Fynn and encamps outside the town. Firion, Maria, Guy and Leila lead the attack and defeat the imperial castellan, Gottos, earning the rebels an important victory. However, Minwu and the Ultima Tome are nowhere to be found so Hilda instructs the party to look for Minwu and retrieve the Tome from the Mysidian Tower. After obtaining the Crystal Rod from the trials on the Tropical Island, the party heads for the Tower, only to be swallowed by the Leviathan. Shipwrecked and separated from Leila, the party works its way from Leviathan's innards to the mouth, where, with the help of Ricard Highwind the Dragoon, they are able to retake the ship by defeating a Roundworm. They head for the Tower with Ricard, best the Fire Gigas, Ice Gigas and the Thunder Gigas and find Minwu at the Chamber of the Seal. He has been waiting for Firion's group to arrive; once they are there, he uses his life force to break the seal.

The party takes Ultima and returns to Fynn, but they discover that the towns of Altair, Gatrea, Paloom and Poft have been utterly destroyed by a mysterious force known as the Cyclone. It threatens to tear the world asunder if the party cannot figure out how to stop it. Hilda tells them that a pendant can be used to call wyverns in the chamber at the top of the castle, and Paul gives them the item. The pendant calls the young wyvern that was hatched at Deist, and they fly it into the Cyclone.

They infiltrate the fortress inside the storm and manage to defeat the Emperor. A victory celebration is held at Fynn, but it is soon interrupted by the news that the Dark Knight is Maria's long-lost brother Leon, and he has crowned himself Emperor. Cid, dying after the attack on Paloom, gives the party his Airship, and they fly to Palamecia. Leon refuses Maria's pleas and prepares to battle, but the Emperor returns from Hell, now more powerful than ever, and reclaims his throne. Ricard sacrifices himself in battle against the Emperor so that the others can escape on the Wyvern.

After Ricard's death, the Dark Emperor raises Castle Pandaemonium, the fortress of the Lord of Hell, to start a new empire. Leon agrees to join the party at Firion's behest and they set out to prepare for the final battle. After returning to Deist to earn the Excalibur, the treasured sword of the Dragoons, the party fights its way through the Jade Passage, entering Pandaemonium from underneath as all other forms of approach are impossible. Inside the castle, the party fights its way through several of The Emperor's most powerful minions, including an undead Borghen, en route to The Emperor's throne at the top of the castle.

A fierce battle ensues as the Emperor attempts to destroy the last hope of the resistance. Despite his powerful spells and his ability to call down meteors, Firion and the others defeat him for good. They return to Castle Fynn where Hilda, Gordon, Nelly, Leila and Paul all wait to congratulate the party on the victory. In the battle's aftermath life begins anew for everyone. However, Leon takes his leave of them, feeling that too much has happened between them for him to stay. Maria protests, but Firion says that they will be waiting when Leon is ready to return.

With the war's end, the monsters called from Hell vanish without a trace and the world returns to peace, eventually to forget the bitter memories save for the efforts of the young heroes who saved them all.

Soul of Rebirth
In the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable Versions, a new story, titled Soul of Rebirth, tells the tales of the four party members who died defending Firion and his party in an attempt to see The Emperor defeated.

Minwu wakes up to find himself in a mysterious cave and tries to figure out where he is. He soon finds Scott, the prince of Kashuan, who had died earlier on in the game. After defeating a few soldiers, the two find Josef, who is confronted by a hideous zombie-version of Borghen. The three of them defeat Borghen, and start searching for answers about where they are. They find Ricard, who is fighting the Roundworm, and aid him in battle. He then joins Minwu's party. The party finds their way out of the passage, where they learn that they are, in fact, in the afterlife. The town of Machanon was built as a safe house for all the souls trapped in this unknown dimension. Here, they find Cid, Tobul and other rebels, who helped build the place, and who encourage the party to explore the other two mysterious portals that appeared in Machanon not long ago.

After adjusting themselves to the difficult battles of the afterlife, Minwu and the party enter one of the portals, and find themselves in the Chamber of the Seal, Minwu's resting place. Again, Minwu must break the seal; however, this time, he is powerful enough to break the seal without sustaining any fatal injuries. The party enters the chamber and attempts to claim Ultima, but are met with the guardian of the spell in the afterlife: the Ultima Weapon. After a fierce duel, the party is able to defeat the monster, and claim Ultima as their own.

This leaves one final portal, which leads to the Unknown Palace. Like Pandaemonium before it, the Palace is guarded by fierce creatures, and contains some of the most powerful equipment in the game. Specifically, Minwu's party finds four exclusive pieces of equipment: the Stardust Rod (for Minwu), the Wild Rose (for Scott), the Bracers (for Josef), and the Wyvern Lance (for Ricard).

After all the battles, the party meets the Light Emperor, who asks for forgiveness for his dark side's actions. The Light Emperor tells them he split into two entities when he was originally defeated, and that Firion and the party defeated the dark half in Pandaemonium. He also explains they are actually in Arubboth, the passage to Heaven, and that they can finally rest in peace. The four are led to believe his words; however, the subconscious souls of their still-living friends and family appear and tell them they must not be fooled by the Light Emperor, because in reality, he is just as evil as the Dark Emperor. The party recover their lost will to fight and defeat the Light Emperor. After his defeat, the four heroes return (at least in spirit) to Castle Fynn, where they witness the events that played out at the end of the regular game. These events are told from their perspective this time, and the player is given an explanation as to why Firion saw the ghosts of the four dead heroes at the regular game's conclusion. The story ends with Minwu, Scott, Josef and Ricard finally fading away, presumably going to Heaven for real this time... .

Music
Final Fantasy II was originally scored by Nobuo Uematsu, and was his seventeenth work of video game music. The game's music was arranged by Tsuyoshi Sekito for the WonderSwan Color, PlayStation and Game Boy Advance remakes, who also composed the two new boss battle themes for these releases. There were also a batch of music themes made for the Famicom Version that were unreleased for reasons unknown. Some of the music is not original to the game, but is taken from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet.

Final Fantasy II had three unused themes composed by Nobuo Uematsu: an Airship Theme, removed due to being too "happy" for this rather dark game; a dungeon theme, removed from the game and later used for Final Fantasy VI; and a "shop theme", ultimately removed for being too similar to the shop theme from the original Final Fantasy.

Development
Unlike in the first Final Fantasy, the player can't create their own characters in Final Fantasy II and there is no job system. There were two reasons for this: the first being that Final Fantasy II was intended to be a more story-driven game than the first Final Fantasy and would need specific characters to fulfill roles within the story. The second reason was the idea that the system would be more about nurture than nature: the player doesn't choose a character in the beginning, but they can make them grow in a certain way eventually becoming anything the player set them up to be. This way the character-building process would continue throughout the entire game. When making the system the developers didn't anticipate it would lead to a system where players could easily exploit it. The ability to hit party members was included so players could hit sleeping characters to wake them up, but instead people used it to grind levels.

Final Fantasy II was originally released for the Nintendo Family Computer in Japan in 1988. There was some initial talk that either Nintendo of America or Square Soft (Square's North American subsidiary) might localize the title for American audiences as had been done with its predecessor in 1990. Such a project was announced and an early prototype cartridge was produced in 1991 as Final Fantasy: Dark Shadow Over Palakia, but the game was ultimately canceled in favor of the more recent Final Fantasy IV. The game was never released outside of Asia in its original form. Enhanced remakes of the game were later issued for the Bandai WonderSwan Color (WSC), the PlayStation (as part of the Final Fantasy Origins collection), the Game Boy Advance (as part of the Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls collection), and the PlayStation Portable. Final Fantasy II was, for the first time, released in Europe and other regions when it became part of the Origins compilation.

Unreleased English Version
Following the successful release of the original Final Fantasy by Nintendo in 1990, Square Soft, Square's North American subsidiary, began work on an English language localization of Final Fantasy II. Assigned to the project was Kaoru Moriyama, whose later work included script translations for Final Fantasy IV and Secret of Mana. Although a beta version was produced, and the game was advertised in several Square Soft trade publications, the age of the original Japanese game and the arrival of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the NES's successor console, led Square Soft to cancel work on the Final Fantasy II localization in favor of the recently released Final Fantasy IV (which, to avoid confusing North American gamers, was retitled Final Fantasy II to reflect the jump in releases). Although a prototype cartridge of the NES Final Fantasy II was produced (with the subtitle Dark Shadow Over Palakia), Moriyama admitted the project was still far from being complete. He is quoted as saying:

"We had so very limited memory capacity we could use for each game, and it was never really "translating" but chopping up the information and cramming them back in... [Additionally] our boss had no understanding in putting in extra work for the English version at that time."

The English script for the prototype version is clunky and erroneous, but it was only the preliminary version and it was cut down in length to fit the text area. The project was cancelled before the script was refined.

Even at the prototype stage changes had been made from the original version due to the religious imagery policies Nintendo had at the time: The used in a dungeon design was replaced with a triangle and the cross that replaces a character's face on the pause screen at death was replaced with a gravestone.

In 2003, when the game was finally released to English-speaking audiences as part of Final Fantasy Origins, it was released with a brand new translation produced under the supervision of Akira Kashiwagi. NeoDemiforce's fan translation, similarly, made use of an original translation, as the existence of the prototype cartridge was not common knowledge at the time.

Wonderswan Color
The first remake of Final Fantasy II was released on May 3, 2001. The most notable change to the game was the graphical updating, which included more detailed sprites, a total revamping of battlefield and dungeon backgrounds, better sounds and higher resolution overall.



PlayStation
North America's (and the rest of the world's) first access to Final Fantasy II was through the Final Fantasy Origins collection, which also included the original Final Fantasy. The graphics and gameplay remained nearly identical to that of the Wonderswan, though resolution increased by a marginal amount. Due to the PlayStation's higher processing power, several new features were added, such as a full motion video scene, much better sounds, a Bestiary, art gallery by Yoshitaka Amano, and an item collection gallery. The game also features Easy and Normal modes of play.

Game Boy Advance
Final Fantasy II was once again paired with Final Fantasy for the Game Boy Advance, under the compilation Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls. In this edition, several tweaks to the stat leveling system were made, including the removal of the "action-cancel" cheat, which allowed players to gain statistics for moves that were canceled at will, and the removal of stat decreases. As in Final Fantasy, the player was afforded three save files, and the game was able to be saved in any location barring battles. Also, Yoshitaka Amano's character portraits are used whenever a major character is speaking in a dialogue box.

The Dawn of Souls version of Final Fantasy II introduced the new Soul of Rebirth dungeon, which is available after the Final Boss's defeat. The dungeon consists of multiple areas and a town, and the playable characters include those that died during the main storyline's events. An extra save file is needed for this bonus dungeon.

PlayStation Portable
Final Fantasy II was also ported to the PlayStation Portable as part of the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary compilation. Its music is the same as in Final Fantasy Origins. The graphics have been updated to higher resolution. Its script is the same as the Game Boy Advance port aside from the dungeons exclusive to this version, but the FMV and Art Galleries from Final Fantasy Origins have returned, and the Arcane Labyrinth dungeons have been introduced, a new series of three dungeons, that after being completed, lead to the Arcane Sanctuary, where the party may challenge new bosses. Also, this version introduced a Defend command to the battle menu, whereas before party members would occasionally block with a shield if one was equipped.

iOS/Android
Square Enix has released both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II for iOS. Both games have graphics similar to the Anniversary Edition and their special dungeons. With a single purchase, both the English and Japanese language versions of the games are made available (through the phone's system language). The gameplay of the original Final Fantasy remains the same of the PSP port while Final Fantasy II adds new elements to the gameplay. However, the Window Color option has been removed, and the Art Gallery can no longer be featured on any smartphone versions. These versions were confirmed on iOS soon before they were released on February 25, 2010.

Final Fantasy II for iOS, v1.0.8, is available from the Apple App Store, is $3.99 USD or 2,49€ and 154 MB.

In their current form, as of the March 10th, 2011 update, the games have original feel graphics updated for the iPhone screens, touch enabled menus, and overlay screen controls for the d-pad. Saving can be performed at any time, and the game automatically does a quick-save if the app is interrupted (by a phone call, for instance). They are currently not multitasking aware for iOS4, nor do they have custom controls or graphics for the iPad to make them easier to play on the bigger screen.

Novelizations
Final Fantasy II, along with Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy: Unlimited and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, is one of the several Final Fantasy installments to be novelized. The game's novel is titled Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū (ファイナルファンタジーII 夢魔の迷宮, lit. Final Fantasy II Nightmare's Labyrinth)". It was only published in Japan. It was written by Kenji Terada and was published exclusively by Kadokawa Shoten rather than Squaresoft.

As part of its Final Fantasy 25th anniversary celebration, Square Enix released a novelization of the first three Final Fantasy games. The novelization titled Novel Final Fantasy I, II, III Memory of Heroes was released Fall 2012.

Original Famicom Version

 * Director - Hironobu Sakaguchi
 * Producer - Masafumi Miyamoto
 * Co-designers - Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii
 * Programmers - Nasir Gebelli, Naoki Okabe, Katsuhisa Higuchi
 * Assistant Programmers - Hiroshi Nakamura, Takeyoshi Itoh
 * Character Designer, Title Logo Designer, and Graphic Designer - Yoshitaka Amano
 * Graphic Designers - Kazuko Shibuya, Ryoko Tanaka
 * Co-writer - Kenji Terada
 * Composer - Nobuo Uematsu
 * Sound Designer - Masanori Hoshino
 * Special Thanks to - Shinichiro Kajitani

Trivia

 * Final Fantasy II does not include many allusions to its predecessor, but it has been referenced heavily in Final Fantasy IX. The eidolon Ramuh tells the story of a battle between many nations, and a man who sacrificed his life so that a young band of rebels could live to fight the Empire. This narrative heavily hints at Josef and his purpose in Final Fantasy II.
 * In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Beelzebub, Astaroth, King Behemoth, and Iron Giant are guardians for the crystals of the True Moon.
 * This is the first Final Fantasy game where the player must lose a battle to progress in the story. In this case, it is the first battle.
 * In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Scott mentions he can play the bass line of the Final Fantasy II battle theme. However, the bass line is from Final Fantasy IV, referring to the game's original SNES name in North America.

Gameplay
The gameplay contains elements of the first two Final Fantasy games, along with some new features. The Experience point system featured in the original Final Fantasy makes a return following its absence from Final Fantasy II. Final Fantasy III has a new class system; unlike the original Final Fantasy, where the player chooses each character's class at the start of the game, and Final Fantasy II, that has no specific classes, Final Fantasy III introduces the Job System the series would later become famous for.

Out of all four party members and all 23 Jobs in the game, there are 14,950 different party configurations. The Jobs are interchangeable classes: all four characters, the Warriors of the Light, start out as either "Onion Knights" (in the Famicom Version) or "Freelancers" (in the DS, PSP & smartphone remakes), and are given the option to switch to a variety of other classes as more crystals are found and sidequests are completed. The classes featured in Final Fantasy III are:

Final Fantasy III is the first game in the series to feature special battle commands other than Magic, such as Steal or Jump, and each is associated with a particular Job. It is also the first game in the series to feature summoned creatures.

Characters
In the game's original Famicom Version the player controls four generic Light Warriors, four children without distinct identities, who, upon finding the Wind Crystal, are granted its power to save the world. Though their genders are never made note of, it is assumed all the children are male. Over the course of their journey, the Light Warriors are joined by several support characters who join the party, but do not actually fight; instead, they offer help on the World Map.

The remake gives the four protagonists different personalities and names than the ones featured in the official manga. They are given different back-stories, which are used in several places to accelerate the plot. The main character is Luneth, who, after being tasked with saving the world's crystals, heads forth with his best friend Arc in pursuit of his quest. Shortly after setting out, they meet a blacksmith's daughter, Refia, and a Knight of Sasune, Ingus. Supporting characters, such as Cid and Sara, still join the party, but now randomly help the party in battle, either by attacking monsters according to their specialization, or by healing the party.

Although the Onion Knights are not named in the Famicom Version, the manga serialization, Yuukyuu no Kaze Densetsu: Final Fantasy III Yori, names them Muuchi (ムウチ), Doug (ダグ), J. Bowie (J・ボウイ), and Melfi (メルフィ), the only female in the group. In the screenshots of the original game seen in the Dissidia Ultimania, the Onion Knights are given the names of the main characters from the Remake Version.

Both versions of the game's logo, and several of Yoshitaka Amano's artwork, show a white-haired, muscular warrior. This character is never named and never appears in the game. His design is strikingly similar to later Amano drawings of the protagonist of Final Fantasy V, Bartz Klauser. His ponytail and longsword are also similar to that of Desch's character in the Remake Version of Final Fantasy III. His general appearance resembles Luneth. Many assume the unnamed warrior is the basis for Luneth's design.

Story


Centuries ago the Ancients used the Crystals of light to build an advanced civilization, accidentally flooding the world with light. Four Warriors of Darkness were selected to restore the balance, but the Ancients' civilization fell into ruin. The Gulgans predicted that history would repeat and that four Warriors of the Light would be appointed to stop a flood of darkness.

One day, an earthquake opens up an entrance to Altar Cave near the village of Ur. Four orphaned youths under the care of Topapa, the village elder, explore and find the Crystal of Wind. The crystal grants them a portion of its power and their first set of Jobs, instructing them to go forth and restore world balance.

In the Remake, only Luneth falls into the cave and is told to find the other Warriors before being granted the Crystal's power. He and his friend Arc visit Kazus, the village cursed by the Djinn. They find Refia in Cid's Airship, and all three journey to Castle Sasune to see the King and retrieve the Mythril Ring needed to break the curse. They are granted access by the royal guard Ingus, who becomes their fourth companion. The King tells them to rescue his daughter, Princess Sara Altney, assuming the Djinn has abducted her, and gives them a folding canoe.

They enter the Sealed Cave and meet Princess Sara, who left with the ring to stop the Djinn. With her help they defeat him. She returns to the castle while Luneth, Arc, Refia, and Ingus are transported to the Altar Cave, where the Wind Crystal appoints them Warriors of the Light and gives them their first set of Jobs.

Back at Castle Sasune Princess Sara uses the Mythril Ring to break the curse. The warriors say farewell, Ingus promising to return to visit Sara, and then return to Cid in Kazus. He uses his airship to clear the boulder blocking the mountain pass to the rest of the continent, but it comes at the cost of the airship, forcing them to travel on foot. They journey to the town of Canaan and heal Mrs. Cid of an illness, then meet a girl named Salina. She mourns the disappearance of her love, Desch. Since the party needs to find Desch for the Mini spell they go to find him on Dragon's Peak. Bahamut abducts the Warriors to feed his offspring, but they meet Desch in the dragon's nest and escape. He has lost his memory and joins the Warriors in hopes of regaining it.

Using Desch's Mini spell, the group enters Tozus, the village of the gnomes. They pass through Tozus Tunnel to reach Vikings' Cove so they can acquire a ship. They find the Vikings in an uproar as their guardian, the Nepto Dragon, is on a rampage and sinking ships. The party agrees to help.

They journey to the Nepto Temple and find the statue of the Nepto Dragon is missing an eye. They shrink down to traverse the tunnels inside the Temple walls and find the missing eye in the horde of a rat. They return the eye to the statue, which calms the dragon. In gratitude, the Vikings give them the ship Enterprise.

The Warriors of the Light use the Enterprise to explore. They travel to the Village of the Ancients and learn the continent they are on is actually floating above the "surface world." They visit Gulgan Gulch, where the Gulgans tell them to go to the Tower of Owen. They battle through the tower while a mysterious voice taunts them. The top they find Medusa, servant of Xande, threatening to bring down the floating continent by destroying the tower. After defeating her, Desch's memory returns. He recalls he is one of the ancients who was the Guardian of the Tower and leaps into the furnace to save the floating continent.

The maelstrom blocking the channel north clears, so the party heads for Dwarven Hollows in search of the Fire Crystal. The dwarves are preoccupied because one of their precious ice horns was stolen by Gutsco the Rogue. The party enters the subterranean lake to recover it, making use of the Toad spell. After "defeating" him, they return to Dwarven Hallows, followed by a mysterious shadow. When they reach the main altar Gutsco reveals himself and grabs both horns.

The four pursue him, this time into the Molten Cave. Gutsco leads them to the Crystal of Fire and absorbs its power to become a dragon. After defeating Gutsco a second time, the party receives the light of the Fire Crystal and several additional Jobs, and returns the Horns of Ice. They obtain the Fang of Water here.

The four Warriors next sail to Tokkul, a village in ruins. They learn the evil Hein, adviser to King Argus, has captured the King, enslaved the people, and uprooted the Elder Tree from the Living Woods. They are attacked and kidnapped by Hein's men and taken to Castle Hein, which is actually the floating Elder Tree.

The Warriors of the Light defeat Hein and restore the Elder Tree, obtaining the Fang of Wind. Upon reaching Castle Argus the king welcomes them and thanks by giving them the Wheel of Time. They return to Cid who uses the Wheel to make the Enterprise into an airship and tells the four orphans the truth about their origins. They and Cid came from the surface world on Cid's airship, which crashed on the Floating Continent after running into a mysterious cloud. Most of the passengers were killed, and the four orphaned infants were adopted by Ur, Kazus, and Sasune. With this knowledge, the Warriors of the Light fly the airship off the edge of the floating continent.

The surface world is a swirling mess of darkness with two islands. They fly the Enterprise to a wrecked ship and find an old man tending to a water priestess named Aria Benett. They aid her with a Potion and she recovers. She recognizes them as the Warriors of the Light and joins them to restore the Water Crystal. Using a crystal shard she opens the way to the Cave of Tides. They make their way to the crystal, and Aria returns the shard and instructs the Warriors to return the light to the crystal. As they approach, Aria pushes Luneth out of the way of an arrow. She falls, and Kraken attacks the party. The four defeat him, but Aria is mortally wounded and an earthquake strikes as the darkness dissipates, forcing them to flee.

The party awakes in the Town of Amur and find that Goldor has chained up their ship. In town, they meet Four Old Men who believe themselves to be the Warriors of the Light. The party must rescue them from monsters in the sewers, and the old men repay them by helping them get Levigrass Shoes from the cantankerous Delilah. The party goes to Goldor Manor to get the chain's key and meet the Earth Crystal, but Goldor spitefully shatters the crystal after his defeat. Dismayed, the party unlocks their ship and sets out, visiting several towns elsewhere.

The Enterprise is shot down when they fly over the kingdom of Saronia, which is in the midst of a civil war caused by King Gorn. The army has been ordered to fight itself and shops everywhere are closed. They find the King's son, Prince Alus, in a pub, having been banished from the castle. Arc convinces the rest to aid him. They are permitted to enter the castle upon their return, but later that night, King Gorn enters the room to kill his son. Gorn plunges the knife into his stomach and frees himself from the spell placed upon him by his adviser, Gigameth. Gigameth turns into Garuda and the party defeats him. Alus is subsequently crowned as king.

Scholars tell the party the airship Nautilus has been unearthed. Using it, the party flies over the Dalg Continent to Doga's Manor where they meet the sage Doga and his moogle bodyguards. Doga explains that he, Unei, and Xande were once students of the great Magus Noah. Noah granted each of a gift: Doga was given vast magic power, Unei control over the world of dreams, and Xande was granted mortality. Xande was enraged and terrified at the prospect of death and drained the Water and Earth crystals to stop the flow of time creating the Floating Continent. Now he wishes to kill the Warriors of the Light to do so again. The party confesses their inability to save the Earth Crystal, but Doga informs them that the one Goldor had was a fake and the real Earth Crystal is unharmed. He joins their party and uses Mini on them to enter the Cave of the Circle. When they reach the end of the cave, Doga uses a spell to transform the Nautilus into a submarine and tells the Warriors of the Light to go to the Temple of Time and recover Noah's Lute, which will awaken Unei from her eternal slumber. He leaves the warriors to find the Eureka Key himself.

The Warriors of the Light retrieve the lute and go to Unei's Shrine to awaken her. She gives them the Fang of Fire and tells them that the earthquake near Ur was not caused by Xande, so there must be a greater power at work. Unei joins the party and helps them excavate the Invincible, which can fly over mountains, from the Ancient Ruins. After briefing them on its capabilities, she bids them farewell and directs them to the Cave of Shadows for the final Fang.

The party defeats Hecatonchier and obtains the Fang of Earth; with all four fangs they can pass the statues Xande put up to protect his headquarters and reach the Ancient's Labyrinth. They fight Titan and meet the Crystal of Earth, which gives them their final set of Jobs. Doga and Unei call the Warriors back to Doga's Manor and teleport them into Doga's Grotto upon their arrival. The two sages explain that their souls are needed to activate the Eureka Key and the key to the Crystal Tower and order the party to kill them in battle. Although reluctant, the Warriors are given no choice. In the Remake, Doga and Unei grant them titles: Luneth is the Light of Courage, Arc the Light of Kindness, Refia the Light of Affection, and Ingus the Light of Determination.

The party returns to the Ancient Maze and passes through it to enter the Crystal Tower. There, they unlock the doorway to the Forbidden Land of Eureka and obtain the powerful weapons they need to fight Xande. When they return to the tower and reach the top, they are paralyzed by the curse of Five Wyrms. Doga's spirit brings the allies who fought alongside the Warriors of the Light to the tower to break the curse: Cid, Princess Sara, Desch (who survived the furnace), King Alus, and one of the Four Old Men. They wish the Warriors the best of luck after breaking the curse, and the Warriors go through the portal to the World of Darkness.

The party confronts Xande, who declares to have eternal life and attacks. On his defeat, the Cloud of Darkness appears and absorbs his body, revealing it had been manipulating Xande's actions to reduce the world to nothingness. The Cloud of Darkness kills the Warriors of the Light, but Doga and Unei sacrifice their souls to revive them. The party enters the World of Darkness and defeats the evil Guardians of the Dark Crystals, which frees the ancient Warriors of Darkness.

When they face the Cloud of Darkness again, the four Warriors of the Dark sacrifice themselves to weaken the entity. The Cloud of Darkness is defeated, and the heroes and their allies return to their homes; the old man returns to Amur, Alus returns to his kingdom, and Cid and Desch return home to their lovers. Sara does not want to leave Ingus, and stays with him. Each of the heroes go their own ways, with Ingus and Sara returning to Castle Sasune, Refia taking up blacksmithing in Kazus, and Luneth and Arc returning to Ur. In the Famicom Version the Warriors of Light return to Ur together.

Development
Final Fantasy III is visually similar and uses a similar graphic system as Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II. Final Fantasy III expands the gameplay with its introduction of the changeable Job system. Final Fantasy III is the first game in the series to feature auto-targeting; in the previous titles a character attacking an enemy that was killed by a previous attack, would simply attack nothing, and a message would read "ineffective".

The Famicom Version eliminates the previous games' text-heavy battle presentation. In the previous titles, attacks, spell names, damage registered, number of hits, and other info is displayed in cascading windows at the bottom of the screen. Final Fantasy III replaces this with damage being displayed on the enemy sprite after the attack. One notable stylistic change is that the background of all windows and menus is changed from black to blue, something that would become a staple. Another major gameplay enhancement is that Final Fantasy III is the first title in the series to feature characters who have unique action commands in battle, such as Summon, Throw, and Jump.

At the time of the release of Final Fantasy III Square were working to catch up on the new technology, as Super Nintendo had been released, that they didn't have enough manpower to work on an English version of Final Fantasy III. Final Fantasy III is one of the largest RPGs developed for the NES/Famicom platform. The volume of content was so large the cartridge was completely full, and when new platforms emerged there wasn't enough storage space available for an update requiring new graphics, music and other content. This prevented Final Fantasy III from being remade for other systems in the intervening years, until it was remade entirely for Nintendo DS.

The Cancelled WonderSwan Color Version
December 1999 Bandai, the maker of the handheld WonderSwan Color console, struck a deal with Squaresoft to bring their games to the console. Among the first projects announced were the remakes of the first three Final Fantasy games. However, the Wonderswan version of Final Fantasy III never saw the light of day despite being shown on the official Squaresoft site. The Wonderswan version of Final Fantasy III was set to be released on December 2001, but never came out. While a port of Final Fantasy IV was released later, Square remained silent regarding Final Fantasy III. Although the game was never formally cancelled, the official website was taken offline once production of the WonderSwan Color consoles ceased in 2002.

Nintendo DS Version
In 2004 it was decided to re-make Final Fantasy III and at first Square was considering developing it for PlayStation 2. However, Nintendo asked Square to make Final Fantasy III on their newest handheld console, Nintendo DS, instead.

The Final Fantasy III Nintendo DS remake was first revealed to be in development on October 7, 2004, but detailed information did not emerge until a year later. Hiromichi Tanaka, one of the original game's main designers, was the head of the project as both the executive producer and director. His guidance and supervision was needed because the game was not meant to be a mere graphics update like the updates for Final Fantasy I &amp; II: Dawn of Souls, but a total overhaul using the Nintendo DS's 3D capabilities, even though the layout of most dungeons and towns would remain identical to the original. Ryosuke Aiba, the art director of Final Fantasy XI, was hired as the new art director.

Akihiko Yoshida was hired to revamp the original character designs. The main characters were given backstories, personalities and default names: Luneth (Runesu), Arc (Arukuu), Refia (Refia), and Ingus (Inguzu). Even though the characters were given background and development, it does not change the main storyline.

Overhauls were made to the Job system, including the re-balancing of the classes, the addition of new abilities, the removal of Capacity Points, and a new "Bare" ("Freelancer" in the US Version) class as the new default Job class with the Onion Knight becoming a separate class. Unlike the original Famicom Version, most of the Jobs remain useful for the entire game; the ultimate Jobs, the Ninja and the Sage, are rebalanced to stay on the same level as the others.

Nintendo and Square worked closely on bringing Final Fantasy III to DS, but since it was the first time Square had made a game for the console they had to start from scratch. Square worked together with a company called Matrix Software, and used an original game engine created for Final Fantasy III.

The game makes use of the DS's WiFi capabilities through an e-mail system known as "MogNet", in a nod to Final Fantasy IX's similar system, for players to exchange messages to each other through WiFi communications. Besides being a way to share thoughts, using Mognet can also be used to unlock and complete sidequests, as well as just send mail to the NPCs met on the way. The original libraries Nintendo gave Square didn't include a system for communicating with people who are offline - so Square made a new library for the DS allowing players to send a text letter, like an email, which is stored on a server and when the other person gets online, they receive the message.

With the DS remake of Final Fantasy III Square wanted to keep both parties happy - the old fans in the Japanese market who played the original game, as well as the new players for whom the DS version would be the first touch with Final Fantasy III. For the old fans Square didn't want to offer huge changes, but for western players they didn't want it to feel like an old-fashioned game.

The DS remake of Final Fantasy III was released in the United States on November 14, 2006. The game was released in Europe on May 4th, 2007. One of the biggest criticisms of the game was that the battles are remarkably different - the size of a DS game at the time imposed restrictions, and there are less enemies on the screen at any given fight. In addition to the overhauls in the job system, the enemies are made stronger to compensate for their decreased numbers. As such, quite a bit more level grinding is necessary even for boss monsters, which attack more frequently. By the release of the subsequent remake, Final Fantasy IV, the increased ROM size allowed the developers to retain the original number of enemies in a group.



Special Edition DS
On the same day Final Fantasy III was released, Square Enix began selling the bundle package with the game and a special Crystal White DS Lite. The DS has Akihiko Yoshida's artwork on the top of the system. The DS Lite was released in Japan only, and is shown with the Final Fantasy III logo and a few of the main characters emblazoned on the front.

iOS
Final Fantasy III was released for iOS 3.0+ devices on March 24, 2011, and is available for purchase exclusively via the Apple App Store. It is an enhanced port of the DS release, with the same characters and general design, but higher quality graphics and sound. The original DS Version runs at 256x192 on each display. The resolution for iOS release runs at either 480x320 or "Retina" display 960x640 native resolutions. The latter resolution is supported only on devices with the 960x640 "Retina" displays (iPhone 4, 4s, and iPod Touch 4th Generation). On the iPad, it is natively run at 1024x768. Graphical enhancements for the iPad had came out one month after with the release of an update on April 21st, 2011.

The release on iOS includes minor dialogue changes, such as the NPC explaining features and controls unique to iOS devices. The player controls the character actions via touch input since there are no physical buttons to use. For example, the ability to zoom in the camera with the L button in the Nintendo DS Version is done by using a two finger pinch gesture. The character movement is done by using an on-screen analog stick. The subtitle/dialogues font was changed with the dedicated iOS's system font (usually Helvetica, depending on what font you use if you have jailbroken device via BytaFont), more big and separated, easing the lecture.

Since the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch do not have two physical screens, iOS release forgoes what is displayed on the screen seen in the DS Version, but allows access to various functions through menus the player can access by touching buttons overlaid on the screen.

There is no internet-enabled functionality like its Nintendo DS counterpart, which uses the Nintendo WiFi Connection for Mognet to unlock a secret Job class. It is unknown if the iOS Version will gain internet functionality through Apple's Game Center (equivalent to Nintendo WiFi Connection) in a future update. Instead, the quest to acquire the Onion Knight can be completed after the events of the Fire Crystal.

In the iOS Version, it is possible to skip monsters due to an encounter glitch

On Febuary 6, 2014, the 1.6.0 update of the game was released. This adds the optimization of the 4-inch 1136x640 "Retina" displays (iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, and iPod touch 5th generation), added support for the Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery, and minor bug fixes. This update now requires iOS devices running iOS 4.3 or later.

Android
According to its official page the Android Version features:

In the Android Version, it is possible to skip monsters due to an encounter glitch.
 * New and improved 3D visuals and story sequences only for Android
 * Smooth, intuitive touch-panel controls specifically tailored to Square Enix's smartphone RPGs
 * Quicker browsing through the monster bestiary and other game records
 * New visual designs for the Job Mastery Cards

support was added on Nov. 3, 2014.

PlayStation Portable
A trailer for a PlayStation Portable port of the DS Version appeared on Square Enix's YouTube page with the trailer concluding in a September 9, 2012 release date for Japan. The port features enhanced graphics, additional galleries and an option to use either the original or the arrangement music for the game. An auto battle mode is also included. The player may acquire the strongest equipment in the game through wireless connectivity. The game also includes the English script, making it import-friendly.

The PlayStation Portable Version of Final Fantasy III made to be available September 25th via the PlayStation Network and makes every numbered Final Fantasy title available in some form for a Sony platform.

Kindle Fire
On November 1st, 2012, Final Fantasy III was made available for Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD on the Amazon Appstore for $15.99. This version is optimized for play on the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD, and the touch-panel controls have been adjusted, making the game smoother and easier to play.

Ouya
The game was a launch title for the Android-based console Ouya. This release includes both remastered music and improved graphics.

Windows Phone
On 27 December 2013, Final Fantasy III was released on the Windows Phone Marketplace (with no marketing whatsoever). Like the WP version of the original Final Fantasy, it has 18 Xbox achievements, though they are all hidden until they are unlocked.

As with all Windows Phone apps, there is also a demo version of the game, which stretches from the beginning of the game up to the first visit to Castle Sasune when Ingus joins the party. After exiting the castle, a notification appears with a link to let players buy the full game or return to the title screen. If the player purchases the full game from this notification, their progress will resume from the world map.

Steam
Final Fantasy III launched on Steam with upgraded visuals, 18 achievements, Steam Trading Cards and new visual designs for the Job Mastery Cards. The game has been optimized for PC gaming and has quicker browsing through the bestiary. It is compatible with PCs running Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, and 8.

Steam Trading Cards
The Steam version of Final Fantasy III comes with 9 Steam trading cards.

Novelization
As part of its Final Fantasy 25th anniversary celebration, Square Enix released a novelization of the first three Final Fantasy games. The novelization, titled Novel Final Fantasy I, II, III Memory of Heroes, was released in the fall of 2012.

Easter Eggs

 * In the Famicom release, a little girl, hidden in an east room in the town of Gysahl, encourages the player to write inquiries to Square, listing out the mailing address.
 * In Ur and Amur, there are pianos Luneth and friends can play, which will randomly cause either booing or applause.

Trivia

 * In the remake, there is a contradiction towards the story of how the four children came to be. According to Cid, the children were not originally from this world, stating that ten years prior to the game, he was ferrying people to and from the continents when an unknown evil struck, causing his ship to be destroyed. This contradicts what Unei says: that the Surface World had been closed off for a thousand years. However, this could be due to a time anomaly caused when the Surface World was engulfed in darkness; for all Cid knows, he could have been drifting aimlessly, frozen in time, for a thousand years, and the power of the crystals may have allowed his airship to drift into the Floating Continent, freeing him from being frozen in time.
 * In 1999, Final Fantasy III was unofficially translated into English by Neill Corlett and Alex W. Jackson. In addition to this popular fan-translation, there exists an alternate complete one.
 * This is the first game in the series where the playable characters are children.
 * In the remake, upwards of 9999 damage can be dealt by every character, and although the game will only show 9999, it calculates according to the actual amount.
 * Final Fantasy III was the first appearance of moogles and the fat chocobo in the series.
 * The "circumnavigate the world on a Chocobo for reward" quest originates in Final Fantasy III, to be repeated in Final Fantasy V.
 * Final Fantasy III was the first game in the series to graphically show hit points when a target is attacked or healed, rather than use caption as in the original versions of the previous two games. It is also the first to contain auto-targeting, as well as the first to contain special battle music for boss battles. All of these aspects were adapted in the remakes of the previous two games.
 * The names of Doga and Unei, two key characters in Final Fantasy III, appear in multiple Final Fantasy games, including Final Fantasy IX, which contains a sub-quest involving two items named "Doga's Artifact" and "Une's Mirror". These items unlock a hidden theme titled "Doga and Une" in the Black Mage Village.
 * Several of the game's songs were used in Chocobo Racing, including the opening theme ("Crystal Cave") and the final battle theme.
 * Though most of the sprites for 8-Bit Theater are from the original Final Fantasy, many other sprites, including the new class changed Light Warriors, are game sprites from the Famicom Final Fantasy III.
 * The original background music for the town of Amur was used in creating the song "Cloud Smiles" in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
 * The DS version was originally conceived with Luneth, Arc, Refia, and Ingus as the adopted children of Topapa, much like the NES version; this was changed to make the four characters have their own, separate, stories.
 * In Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary and the Final Fantasy portion of Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, the Two Headed Dragon, Echidna, Cerberus, and Ahriman appear as bosses in the optional Earthgift Shrine, with the "Battle 2" as BGM. In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, they return as guardians for the crystals of the True Moon.

Gameplay
Characters traverse an overworld to fulfill requirements of various quests, using towns to replenish strength, buy new equipment, and discover clues, all the while fighting monsters at random intervals. The game introduces the Active Time Battle (ATB) system to the series, which differs from previous Final Fantasy games in that players must give orders to their characters in real-time. The ATB system would reappear in the next five games in the series, as well as making appearances in other games produced by Square Co., Ltd., including Chrono Trigger.

In battle, the player controls a party with up to five characters, making Final Fantasy IV the first and the only Final Fantasy in the main series where four party members is not the maximum capacity. Each character has certain strengths and weaknesses, including either spellcasting powers or other special abilities, based on their job. Like other Final Fantasy games, characters gain in abilities as they gain experience from battles. Magic is divided into four categories, which include White Magic, Black Magic, Rydia's Summon Magic ("Call" in the SNES version), and a special type of offensive and support magic used exclusively by Edge known as Ninjutsu.

Of note is the extensive use of "retort" attacks the enemies use; many enemies will immediately counterattack when attacked under certain conditions. Examples include the Behemoth, the Antlion, and the final boss. Dealing with these enemies requires a variety of strategies, including avoiding using attacks that trigger a counter, using disabling status effects to prevent counters, or using attacks that can kill the enemy in a single hit. This feature was not used as extensively in later Final Fantasy games.

Character shuffling was a major problem in Final Fantasy IV; the player could cycle through the entire party twice before having the ability to select the specific character one wanted to use. This shuffling was not necessarily caused by the ATB gauge; even with the character's gauge full, one might still need to cycle through the party twice before being able to use the character.

Spell casters, which account for eight of the twelve playable characters (Kain, Edward, Yang and Cid cannot use magic), gain magic spells at pre-programmed experience levels or fixed events in the story; for this reason Final Fantasy IV's ability development system is considered the simplest in the series. This makes it similar to the way spell casters gain spells in Dungeons &amp; Dragons, as opposed to the purchasing of spells in the original Final Fantasy.

Unlike the original Final Fantasy, almost no time is needed to gain enough levels or experience to advance to the game's next area; the game is more evenly paced out so that the player can simply go to the next area as long as the party does not escape from the majority of random encounters. Another new addition to the series is save points, which has become a staple feature since.

Playable Characters
Final Fantasy IV features twelve playable characters, with Cecil as the main protagonist and the only permanent party member. The characters join and leave the party as dictated by the story.
 * Cecil Harvey - The story's main protagonist. Initially a Dark Knight and captain of the Red Wings of Baron, Cecil begins to question his King's motives, which gradually sets off a chain of events that leads him on the path to righteousness.
 * Kain Highwind - The commander of the Baron Dragoons, and Cecil and Rosa's childhood friend. With a rivalry with Cecil and unrequited feelings for Rosa, Kain succumbs to the forces of Golbez's side, making his comrades' trust in him waver.
 * Rydia - A young Summoner whose village, Mist, is unintentionally destroyed by Cecil and Kain under their King's orders. Cecil's need to protect her and gain her forgiveness earns him a formidable ally on his quest.
 * Tellah - An elderly Sage driven to exact revenge against Golbez following the death of his daughter, Anna.
 * Edward Chris von Muir - The Prince of Damcyan, who lost his family and his beloved Anna to Golbez's attack on his kingdom. A cowardly Bard, he wants to help Cecil in whatever ways he can and is gradually inspired to become more courageous.
 * Rosa Joanna Farrell - A White Mage and Archer from Baron, her feelings towards Cecil have grown beyond friendship.
 * Yang Fang Leiden - The Grandmaster of the Monks of Fabul. He aids Cecil on behalf of his kingdom.
 * Palom - A young Black Mage in training from Mysidia. He and his twin sister Porom join Cecil on his journey after being sent to accompany him up Mount Ordeals.
 * Porom - A young White Mage in training from Mysidia. She and her twin brother Palom join Cecil on his journey after being sent to accompany him up Mount Ordeals.
 * Cid Pollendina - A master engineer who designed various airships for the Red Wings, and is a father figure to Cecil, Kain and Rosa. His airship, the Enterprise, is one airship used by the party to travel around the world.
 * Edge Geraldine - The Prince of Eblan and a skilled Ninja. He is quick to act on his emotions, but his strong sense of justice still prevails.
 * Fusoya - A Lunarian from the Red Moon, he sheds some light on Cecil and Golbez's true origins and the conflict that has threatened the Blue Planet's peace.

Story
The Kingdom of Baron has begun an unprovoked military campaign against other countries. Lord Captain Cecil Harvey and the Red Wings air force attack the wizards' town, Mysidia, and seize the Water Crystal. Deeply disturbed by his actions, Cecil asks the King why he is being given such orders. The king strips Cecil of his rank and when Cecil's friend Kain Highwind speaks up for him, the king orders them both to Mist to kill its Eidolon and deliver a Carnelian Signet. Cecil's love Rosa Joanna Farrell and old friend Cid Pollendina try to assuage his self-loathing before he departs, although they too are disturbed by Baron's actions.

Cecil and Kain fight their way through the Mist Cave and defeat the dragon eidolon that guards the exit. When they arrive in the village, the Carnelian Signet releases Bombs which raze the buildings and kill most of the inhabitants. They find a young girl named Rydia mourning her mother, the dragon's summoner, who was killed by the death of the Eidolon. The two men are horrified that they were sent to slaughter a town and resolve to oppose Baron. When Cecil apologizes to the girl and tries to take her to safety, Rydia is enraged and summons Titan. When the earthquake stops, Kain is gone and Rydia is unconscious.

Cecil brings Rydia to Kaipo, the nearest town. Baronian soldiers arrive during the night to kill Rydia, but Cecil fights them off and earns her trust. The next day they find that Rosa followed Cecil to the town and came down with Desert Fever. As the only cure is a Sand Pearl from Damcyan, Cecil and Rydia set off in that direction. They team up with the sage Tellah in the Underground Waterway, as he is also going to Damcyan in pursuit of his daughter Anna and the bard she eloped with. The three of them witness the Red Wings bomb the castle and seize the Fire Crystal.

Inside, they meet the bard, actually Prince Edward Chris von Muir, and Anna, who is mortally wounded. Anna stops her father from attacking Edward and dies in his arms. Edward explains that she shielded him from the attack, which also killed his parents and most of the castle, and that the Red Wings are now led by a man named Golbez. Enraged, Tellah leaves to seek revenge. Although Edward is paralyzed by grief, Rydia and Cecil berate him and Edward agrees to help them find the Sand Pearl. They go to the Antlion's Den and defeat the owner, obtaining the needed item.

The pearl cures Rosa and she informs them that Baron is planning to attack Fabul for the Crystal of Wind. She joins the party despite Cecil's protests and they set off. When they cross Mount Hobs, they meet a Fabul monk named Yang Fang Leiden. Together, they warn the King of Fabul of the impending attack and prepare a defense. However, the Red Wings' assault is too strong and they are driven back to the crystal room, where Kain appears and attacks Cecil. When Rosa makes him hesitate, Golbez arrives and incapacitates all of the defenders. Seeing Cecil's concern for Rosa, Golbez abducts her and departs with his forces.

Cecil, Rydia, Edward, and Yang immediately go after them. Their ship is attacked by the sea monster Leviathan, which swallows Rydia and shipwrecks Cecil alone on the shores of Mysidia. The townspeople are hostile and inflict various Status Effects on him in revenge for the Red Wings' attack. Cecil meets with the Elder, who tells him to go to Mount Ordeals and become a Paladin to atone for his crimes. He assigns twin mages Palom and Porom to accompany him.

The party reunites with Tellah on the mountain, as he is there seeking the power of Meteor. Golbez sends the Archfiend of Earth, Scarmiglione, to stop Cecil, but the party defeats him. A mysterious voice at the summit calls Cecil his son and tells him to vanquish the dark knight. Cecil transforms into a Paladin and is attacked by a doppelganger of his dark knight self, but he correctly defends rather than attacking and it disappears. The voice of his father grants Cecil his light. The encounter also restores Tellah's memory and he learns Meteor. The Elder gives Cecil the Mythgraven Blade and tells him the Mysidian Legend, believing it speaks of Cecil.

Cecil and the others now infiltrate Baron via the Devil's Road. Golbez has manipulated the soldiers of Baron and the "king" is revealed to be Cagnazzo, the Elemental Archfiend of Water. Yang has also been brainwashed, but a fight brings him back to his senses and he rejoins the party. They destroy the traitorous Baigan and the false king, but Cagnazzo locks them in a deathtrap. Palom and Porom petrify themselves to stop the walls from crushing the others and cannot be restored. Cid, who escaped imprisonment and joined the party in battle, gives them his newest airship: the Enterprise.

They encounter the brainwashed Kain in the Red Wing fleet, who forces Cecil to retrieve the Crystal of Earth in exchange for Rosa's life. The party goes to Troia, but find that the crystal was stolen by the Dark Elf. They also find Edward in the Troians' care, having been severely injured in the shipwreck. He gives them a Whisperweed and uses it to help them defeat the Dark Elf from the hospital, despite his condition. In gratitude, the Epopts allow Cecil to borrow the crystal.

Cecil immediately takes it to the Tower of Zot and they fight their way past the Magus Sisters to the top. Cecil gives Golbez the Crystal unquestioningly, but Golbez refuses to return Rosa. Tellah steps forward and casts the Meteor spell to avenge Anna, and while it does not kill Golbez, it does break his hold on Kain. Golbez cannot bring himself to kill Cecil and retreats. Tellah dies from the power of the spell, lamenting that he died for revenge before asking Cecil to avenge his death. They free Rosa, and she and Cecil share a kiss before welcoming the remorseful Kain back into the party. They defeat Barbariccia, Archfiend of Wind, and Rosa teleports them back to Baron as the tower collapses.

Kain tells them that Golbez is seeking the four Dark Crystals to open the "way to the moon". Using the Magma Stone that Golbez gave Kain, the party opens the way underground in Agart. The Enterprise ends up in the middle of a battle between the dwarves and the Red Wings and crash near the Dwarven Castle. Although King Giott says his crystal is safe, the party finds the Calcabrina dolls belonging to Princess Luca are possessed. After they defeat the dolls, Golbez arrives and incapacitates them. Before he can finish them off, Rydia returns and saves them, having aged to adulthood and gained new summons in the Feymarch. Golbez uses the last of his strength to steal the crystal and escape.

King Giott tells the party to go to the Tower of Babil and recover the seven stolen crystals with the help of the dwarven tanks. Cecil and company best the evil Dr. Lugae but are unable to stop the Tower's cannons from shelling the dwarves. Yang forces them all out of the control room and sacrifices himself to destroy the artillery. Golbez attempts to kill the rest of them on the way out of the tower by removing a bridge, but Cid saves them with the Enterprise. They come under attack by the Red Wings, so Cid flies back to the Agart entrance and jumps off to collapse it by hand-detonating a bomb.

A short stop in Baron has Cid's engineers upgrade the airship so it can carry the hovercraft. The party uses this to reach the Eblan Cave after finding Eblan itself deserted. There, they meet Prince Edge Geraldine as he fails to defeat Rubicante, the Archfiend of Fire. Although he is testy at first, he joins them. They enter Babil via its cave entrance and find Edge's parents, the King and Queen, but Lugae has turned them into monsters. They regain their senses halfway through the fight and kill themselves, to Edge's sorrow. Although Rubicante claims to have no hand in it, Edge swears revenge and the party attacks. Rubicante retreats and the party finds the Crystals in another room, but a trapdoor opens and they fall into another airship. They immediately seize it and name it the Falcon. Cid, who was rescued by the dwarves, adds mythril plating so it can fly over lava. King Giott gives them the key to the Sealed Cave so they can save the last crystal.

As soon as the party takes the Crystal, Golbez reasserts control over Kain and forces him to steal it. Giott says that the only way to stop Golbez now would be with the legendary Lunar Whale. Cid attaches a drill to the Falcon so the party can return to the surface. Along the way they visit the Feymarch, land of Eidolons, and gain the powers of Leviathan and Asura. They also find Yang recovering in the Sylph Cave and revive him with a frying pan given to them by his wife Sheila. On the surfaces, they find King Baron's spirit as the eidolon Odin in Baron Castle.

The party goes to Mysidia, where the Elder gathers everyone at the Tower of Prayers to summon the Lunar Whale, an airship capable of reaching the moon, from the ocean. Cecil and the others take it and leave Earth.

They meet Fusoya in the Crystal Palace; he is a Lunarian charged with watching over the rest of his race as they sleep. He explains that they once tried to colonize the Blue Planet, but decided to live on the moon until they could live in peace with humans. One Lunarian named Zemus disagreed and wanted to take the planet; though he was restrained, he was still able to manipulate people on the Blue Planet such as Golbez. Zemus's goal is to activate the Giant of Babil to wipe out the world's population. Fusoya also reveals that his younger brother, Kluya, went to the Blue Planet to teach the natives and fathered two sons, one of whom is Cecil.

Accompanied by Fusoya, who can neutralize the Giant of Babil's force field, Cecil returns to the Blue Planet to find the giant revived. The entire world—including former party members Edward, Cid, Yang, Palom and Porom—participates in the counterattack. After using Cid's airship to break into the giant, the party defeats the Archfiends one after the other, and destroys the CPU. When the giant stops, Golbez confronts the party intent on destroying them. Fusoya breaks Zemus's mind control, and Golbez remembers that he is Cecil's older brother. After humans killed Kluya and Cecilia died in childbirth, Zemus manipulated the vulnerable child Theodor and turned him into Golbez. He and Fusoya leave the others for the Moon, intending to defeat Zemus themselves.

Kain, now completely freed, returns and helps the others escape from the collapsing Giant. Although he feels unworthy for his part in Zemus's schemes, Cecil and Rosa assure him that he is forgiven. As they prepare to depart for the Moon on the Lunar Whale, Cecil insists that Rosa and Rydia stay behind. Though they apparently leave, they reveal themselves once the ship reaches the Moon and remind Cecil that they have as much a stake in the battle as he does, and that their skills are essential to the party.

The Crystals of the Moon transport the party to the Lunar Subterrane, which they traverse to the Lunar Core. There they find Fusoya and Golbez. Cecil and the others watch Golbez and Fusoya defeat Zemus, but his death unleashes a more powerful being named Zeromus, the embodiment of Zemus's reborn spirit and hatred. Zeromus defeats Golbez and Fusoya, then attacks the rest of Cecil's party. Their former allies gather at the Tower of Prayers to restore them to life, and Cecil uses a Crystal given to him by Golbez to make Zeromus vulnerable.

After Zeromus's defeat, Fusoya returns to sleep with the rest of his people. Golbez, feeling that he cannot return to the Earth after what he has done, and being half Lunarian himself, goes with him. Cecil finally forgives him and calls him brother. Later, the moon heads off into space, and many of the characters return to their homes, several in order to rebuild them. Edward becomes King of Damcyan, Edge becomes King of Eblan, and Yang and Sheila become the new King and Queen of Fabul. Kain goes to Mount Ordeals to train himself, vowing not to return to Baron until he has proven himself worthy. Everyone but Kain attends Cecil and Rosa's wedding and coronation as King and Queen of Baron.

Music
The music for Final Fantasy IV was composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Final Fantasy IV was a big development in terms of music because up until then the games had one piece music per map, but for Final Fantasy IV, they focused on how to make the game more emotional and to have the music play at the right timing.

Development
The idea behind creating Final Fantasy IV was to create an "ultimate Final Fantasy game", one that would compile the good aspects of the previous three installments. The story-driven aspect is taken from Final Fantasy II, and the job change elements are taken from the original Final Fantasy and from Final Fantasy III. The team wanted to balance the two aspects, ending up with what became Final Fantasy IV.

Up until then RPGs tended to have a map, a dungeon, a castle, and boss battles, and the player progressed back and forth between gameplay and boss battles. The idea for Final Fantasy IV was to approach it from a movie editing perspective to create a more dramatic, story-driven game. By minimizing player confusion as to where to go next in the game, the developers elevated the story-driven impact.

Making Final Fantasy IV a story-driven game lead to decreased level of party customization compared to the previous entries to the series. By adding the Active Time Battle system, the goal was to mitigate this. The Active Time Battle system, new for Final Fantasy IV, was created by Hiroyuki Itō who felt that battles in JRPGs would eventually be done in real time. To create a battle system as close to real time as was possible at the time, Active Time Battle system was born. Itō felt that too many action elements would alienate users and the theme he came up with was an action-like game without reflex action elements.

One thing Itō had in mind was automatic transmissions in cars, as opposed to a stick, but even if processes are automatic, the player has to have something to do, lest they get bored. At the time, there was a shift going on in Formula One racing where semi-automatic transmissions were introduced. From this, the concept where character speed would differ depending on the type of character was coined. With this system the team could implement an action game type of gimmick where enemies will change shape, or fight as a wall closing in—this was a new kind of enemy structure that hadn't appeared in a Final Fantasy game before.

Itō felt that by implementing that kind of system would give people the illusion that they're doing more to drive the action than what might actually be happening, because of a lot of the processes are automatic. Since Final Fantasy IV Active Time Battles became the series' staple battle system and evolved to become more complex and player-friendly. Itō felt the system in Final Fantasy IV wasn't yet complete. In Final Fantasy IV the charge time for actions depends on the strength of the spell being cast, but this feature was scrapped for subsequent installments to the Final Fantasy series, because the developers didn't want long waiting times, and so in the future the goal was to create a balance between physical and magical abilities.

Final Fantasy IV has been released in a variety of different versions for a variety of different platforms. All versions tell the same story, and feature the same characters. Most use the same graphics, sound, music and basic game engine (the DS version being a notable exception). Nonetheless, there are certain key distinctions between each version.

J2e
Because of the differences between the North American SNES version and the original Japanese release, in the late 1990s, J2e Translations released an English language fan translation of the original game.

This version is identical to the original in terms of game content and mechanics, however, many bizarre and humorous script changes were made in addition to the translation from Japanese. Being an unofficial fan translation and therefore not subject to copyright and censorship laws, this version includes various references to pop culture, such as William Shatner and Penthouse Magazine, and several off-color lines—most of them uttered by Edge.

Easy Type
The original Final Fantasy IV was altered in several regards to reduce the difficulty level for Final Fantasy IV Easy Type, a version exclusive to Japan. Various spells, abilities and items were removed or altered, shop prices were lowered, and other tweaks to make the game easy were put in place. Many enemies, attacks and items were renamed.

It is often thought the original North American translation was a translation of Easy Type, but the translated version was developed before Easy Type, and the difficulty is reduced further in Easy Type than in the North American version. This leads to speculation that Easy Type was based on the North American Final Fantasy II rather than vice versa.

Another aspect Easy Type changed is some of the text was simplified to make it easier for younger Japanese players to read and to help bring the point of certain comments across more clearly. For example, when Palom clears the fire on Mt. Ordeals with his blizzard spell and brags about it, Porom reminds him that the Elder of Mysidia taught them they shouldn't be haughty. The word for "haughty" was replaced with the word for "arrogant", as "haughty" is not a common word in an average child's vocabulary.

Final Fantasy II (North America)
Final Fantasy IV Easy Type is roughly similar to the game released in North America, but the game lost some content to censorship and poor translation when localized. References to religious imagery and names were removed, violence and death were toned down or removed entirely, and various names were changed in all aspects of the game.

Square did not have much of a localization team set up for the project, which made the localization a rocky one, such as the team working till late rewriting the text the best they could without ever having played the game. This led to Square wanting to set up a proper localization team to oversee future localization projects, and to translate the game text and manual.

This version was developed in North America and Takashi Tokita has later recalled the troubles they had developing a game overseas during a time with no Internet. The team copied everything onto disc, but when Tokita arrived at the States he had left it behind in Japan and it had to be sent over on a later day. After the work was finished it took around a two or three-month manufacturing process to have all the ROMs created.

The reason for making the US version easier was because Japan already had three Final Fantasy games whereas the first Final Fantasy was the only one released in the States. Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III had experimental elements and so it was thought a challenge for US players to dive straight into Final Fantasy IV. It was decided to balance it out by presenting Final Fantasy IV as a follow-up to the first Final Fantasy, and thus it was simplified and named "Final Fantasy II". This change was also made with the younger players in mind.

Ports and Remakes
Final Fantasy IV was the third Final Fantasy game to be remade.

PlayStation
The PlayStation re-release, as a collection of games called Final Fantasy Chronicles alongside Chrono Trigger, is very similar to the original version of Final Fantasy IV. Some minor tweaks introduced in Final Fantasy IV Easy Type have been left in, but these are so rare the average gamer could easily play through the entire game and never notice them. The most notable change in the PlayStation release, as it was in the games within Final Fantasy Anthology, is the inclusion of a full motion video opening sequence, the ability to "run" in dungeons and towns by holding the Cancel button, and the ability to perform a "memo" save anywhere on the World Map. This save would remain active in the PlayStation's RAM until it is overwritten by another such save, or the power is turned off or interrupted. Unlike the Anthology remakes, though, the PSOne re-release retains the "zoom-in" and "pixel" battle scene transitions when a random encounter triggers.

The North American and European localization of Final Fantasy IV PlayStation features an entirely rewritten translation, which addresses most of the discrepancies between the original game and the SNES Final Fantasy II. However, certain sections, such as the line "You Spoony Bard!", were kept intact, as many of them had achieved cult status.

Currently, this is the only PS1 remake of a console Final Fantasy game that has yet to be released on the US PlayStation 3's PlayStation Store as a PS1 Classic (it is available on the Japanese store).

WonderSwan Color
The WonderSwan Color version of Final Fantasy IV lacks the FMVs of the PlayStation version, has decreased screen resolution, and down-sampled music and sound effects to meet the specifications of the device.

However, a number of graphical enhancements were made to character sprites and backgrounds by providing additional details and color shading. The original character portraits were replaced with new, smaller portraits. Also, certain boss sprites were changed to those featured in the Japanese Easy Type version of the Super Famicom game.

The game featured revamped difficulty different from both the original and the Easy Type versions.

Game Boy Advance
The Game Boy Advance port was released in North America on December 12, 2005, while the Japanese version was released on December 15, 2005. The Japanese version came with a bonus addition of a themed face plate for the Game Boy Micro which features Yoshitaka Amano artwork of Cecil and Kain. The game is largely based on the WonderSwan Color version. Some changes include the addition of character portraits in text boxes, the ability to switch party members, increased difficulty, and new dungeons with new items and weapons along with new bosses. The script received a re-translation more faithful to the original material. The Quicksave, which allows the player to save the current position (regardless of where) in a file that is deleted upon loading, is featured.

Some minor bugs were introduced, notably in the battle system, possibly as a result of merely porting the game from an existing platform instead of fully optimizing the game for the Game Boy Advance hardware. Examples include party members' turns being skipped and randomly being given two (or, less frequently, more) turns in a row for a single character. There is also some jerkiness while flying airships (more so when going left and right than up and down) and during menu navigation (in and out of battle). The latter makes it less effective to select spells or weapons during fast-paced Active Mode battles. Furthermore, some minor "artistic license" was taken with the soundtrack (the Tower of Babil and Sylph Cave/Summoned Monster Cave themes each have one altered note). Minor lag during boss battles is present. The North American and Australian version of the game has a debug room.

In Japan, a second version of the game was released which corrected most, if not all, of the bugs and problems. The European version of the game derives from the second Japanese version, which makes it the only English release of the improved version.

Nintendo DS
Final Fantasy IV was released for the Nintendo DS as part of the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary campaign. The game is developed by Matrix Software, the team responsible for the Final Fantasy III remake, and was supervised by members of the original development team: Takashi Tokita serves as executive producer, Tomoya Asano as producer, Hiroyuki Itō as battle designer. Animator Yoshinori Kanada storyboarded the new cutscenes. The game was released in North America on July 22, 2008.

According to executive producer Takashi Tokita (scenario writer of the original release), 3/4 of the original script had been cut from the Super Famicom release, but some of this lost material was reworked into the remake, while some new events were added. The player has the ability to use the Nintendo DS stylus to move around similarly to the Final Fantasy III remake, while the new minigames require use of the stylus.

The game features an ability system, which adds a degree of replay to the game, as well as a New Game Plus feature and the Quicksave, which allows the player to save the current position (regardless of where) in a file that is deleted upon loading. An "Auto-Battle" system allows the player to leave the parties' battle actions up to commands set in the Abilities menu outside of battle.

In June 2007, Square Enix held a casting for a vocalist to sing a version of Final Fantasy IV's "Theme of Love" rearranged by Nobuo Uematsu. It also used a voice cast for the game's cinematic sequences. Some changes and additions to the Nintendo DS release include the introduction of a new ability system called Augments, increased difficulty level with new enemy attack scripts and increased enemy stats, changes to the equipment system, the summon Whyt, which makes use of the DS touch screen, and the aforementioned New Game Plus. With the DS version the team wanted to appeal to the old users; if the game was too easy there wouldn't be much play value to older fans, so the difficulty level was ramped up to appeal to both new and old players.

Square's original plan for the English version of the DS game was to use the Game Boy Advance version's script, and only touch it up a little. Tom Slattery, the translator, put forward the idea of doing a whole new script from scratch, offering to do it in the span of the original schedule. Square approved and ended up expanding the schedule so Slattery could finish the new script. Slattery was the one who wanted to rename the summons as Eidolons.

The creation of the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy IV led to the making of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years as a sequel to Final Fantasy IV as a companion piece to the DS remake.

Mobile versions
Final Fantasy IV was ported to Japanese mobile phones on October 5th, 2009. The game uses all-new character graphics during and outside of battle, with some taken from Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. This version is based on Final Fantasy IV Advance with many differences. It still incorporates the party-switching feature, and has another post-game bonus "EX Dungeon", which is a remake of the Lunar Ruins.

The DS version was ported for iOS and Android systems with an option to change the game's difficulty level as the DS version is known for being harder than the original. It was released worldwide for many different languages, including Chinese. The graphics were also enhanced. The release was 20th December 2012 for iOS and June 3rd 2013 for Android.

The user interface was redone completely as the original was made with the intention of using a controller pad with directional arrows and various buttons, so a lot of trial and error was put into work to optimize the controls on mobile devices.

In April 2014, the iOS app was updated to support Logitech's PowerShell Controller + Battery, a controller for iPhone and iPod touch devices (for iOS 7 only).

PlayStation Portable


Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection was released on PlayStation Portable in April 2011, and includes remakes of both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. It also includes a new scenario, Final Fantasy IV Interlude, which connects the original game's story with The After Years.

Microsoft Windows and Steam
The iOS/Android version of Final Fantasy IV was ported and released to Steam on September 17, 2014. It has 58 achievements available. It is compatible with Windows 7, 8, and Vista.

The western release comes with English audio and subtitles in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.

Steam Trading Cards
The Steam version of Final Fantasy IV comes with 7 Steam trading cards.

Allusions
Final Fantasy IV make some allusions to the previous installments in the series, as well as allusions to mythology and literature.

Trivia

 * In the DS version, there is a possible glitch involving the event viewer: After viewing a certain movie, the game will sometimes freeze up at the final FMV, and players cannot access New Game Plus.
 * Final Fantasy IV: The After Years references optional sidequests (obtaining Rydia's strongest Eidolons, obtaining the Knife from Sheila, and fighting the Lunar Subterrane bosses), thereby cementing them as canon.
 * Final Fantasy IV is one of the Final Fantasy games that has been novelized in Japan, and it was split into two volumes. It was written by Ichiro Tezuka, who is also known for writing the scenario to . He also wrote the novelization for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
 * The boss theme of Final Fantasy IV was slightly remixed and used as the boss theme for the bonus boss Culex from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, a game that Square worked on. In fact, Culex himself was purposely based on a boss that would be typical in the Final Fantasy series.
 * Cecil, the main protagonist in Final Fantasy IV, makes a cameo appearance in Square's Secret of Evermore as a merchant in Ebon Keep.
 * Final Fantasy IV was the first game in the series to go into outer space. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII are the other games that followed.
 * The names of the Four Elemental Archfiends as well as Calcabrina have their origin in Dante's Inferno. Each of the archfiends' names corresponds with one of the Malebranche, demons assigned to guard those condemned to the fifth region (Barratry) of the Eighth Circle of Hell (Fraud).

Gameplay
The main gameplay feature is the revamped job system allowing all characters to potentially master up to twenty-two jobs. The player starts out as "Freelancer", and as they travel to new Crystal locations, the party acquire new jobs.

A separate form of Experience, ABP, is introduced for the advancement of the characters' job levels, while they continue to earn regular Experience Points. The system introduces a streamlined method of "multi-classing", allowing each character to learn job-specific abilities and carry one or two over when they change their class. After Final Fantasy V the job system was absent in the series until the Final Fantasy Tactics series, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy X-2.

Battle innovations include reworking the Active Time Battle system, so that the player could, for the first time in the Final Fantasy series, see whose turn would come next. Other Final Fantasy conventions, such as the Blue Mage, are introduced, adding new elements to battle.

Final Fantasy V features the series' first recurring mini-boss, Gilgamesh. Bartz and his friends fight him several times during the game, a concept the series continues to use.

Characters


The game stars a crew of five unique characters. The initial four remain together for much of the game, until one is permanently replaced by the fifth character.
 * Bartz Klauser is an adventurer and the "main character" (he is the first person the player controls, and is often representative of the party). He becomes embroiled in the adventure at the very beginning, when he comes upon the crash site of a meteor with Boko, his chocobo, and meets Lenna. Bartz's name is Butz in both the original Japanese and the fan-translated versions.
 * Lenna Charlotte Tycoon meets Bartz at the meteor. She is the daughter of King Tycoon. Her name was transliterated as Reina in the Western PlayStation versions.
 * Galuf Halm Baldesion is a mysterious old man with amnesia discovered unconscious at the meteorite. His past is initially unknown, but is revealed as the story progresses.
 * Faris Scherwiz is a pirate whom the party meets when they try to sneak aboard her ship. During the game's first portion Faris disguises herself as a man. She has a connection with Lenna that is later revealed.
 * Krile Mayer Baldesion is Galuf's granddaughter and aids the party several times. Later in the game, she takes Galuf's place in the party. Her name is Cara in the fan-translated version.

Story
The story opens in Tycoon Castle, where King Tycoon prepares to depart for the Wind Shrine. The wind is behaving strangely, and he orders his daughter, Lenna, to watch over the kingdom while he investigates. As soon as he arrives, the Wind Crystal shatters, halting the wind across the world. Lenna rushes off to search for her father, while a pirate at sea notices the change, and an old man in a meteor hurries to the scene.

The meteor crashes near Tycoon Castle, where it is seen by Bartz Klauser, a lone wanderer who travels the world with his chocobo Boko. He finds Lenna under attack by goblins and rescues her. They search the Tycoon Meteorite crash site and find the old man, who gives his name as Galuf but has no other memory. When Lenna mentions the Wind Shrine he says he has to go with her, though he has no idea why the Wind Shrine seems important. Bartz declines to travel with them, but Boko changes his mind and they return in time to rescue the pair from more goblins. Feeling that "the wind is calling," Bartz decides to join them on their quest.

In need of a way to sail without wind, they watch a pirate ship enter a secluded harbor seemingly on its own power. Although Lenna suggests asking the pirates for a ride, Galuf and Bartz rationalize that since these are pirates, simply stealing the ship is the safer option. The pirates and their captain, Faris, catch them in the act and briefly imprison them, but Faris decides to join them to find out why he and Lenna share a pendant. He reveals the ship moves thanks to a tame sea dragon named Syldra and they sail on to the Wind Shrine.

The party discovers the shattered remnants of the crystal atop the shrine. The shards give off light and mark each of them with an essence of the four elements: courage and fire for Faris, devotion and water for Lenna, hope and earth for Galuf, wind and passion for Bartz. The king appears and names them the Warriors of Light, warning them of an evil that is trying to destroy the other crystals. The crystal shards entrust themselves to the party, providing them with the first set of job classes.

The nearest crystal is the Water Crystal in Walse, so the party visits Zok, the architect of Torna Canal. Though reluctant due to the recent monster infestation, he loans them the key to the gates. During the voyage, Lenna explains the dire consequences should the crystals be destroyed: the natural forces of the world would cease, rendering the planet uninhabitable. They resolve to save the crystals, but Zok's fears prove to be well-founded and the ship is attacked by a monster called Karlabos. Although the party defeats it, it sucks Syldra into a whirlpool, leaving them adrift. They end up in the Ship Graveyard. After crossing a flooded room, the party dries their clothes with a fire, but Faris protests. During a brief struggle, they learn he is actually a woman. Although shocked, they understand her reasons and shrug it off. Upon reaching the shore they encounter illusions of their loved ones cast by the Siren and fall unconscious. Bartz sees his mother, Stella, Lenna and Faris are ensnared by King Tycoon, and a young girl appears before Galuf. Galuf has no memory of her and knocks his friends back to their senses, allowing them to defeat the monster. They visit the town of Carwen and soon hear rumors that a wind drake was seen flying to North Mountain, a clue as to the king's whereabouts.

The party is ambushed by a wife-husband hunter team, Magissa and Forza, on their way up the mountain; Magissa shoots Lenna with a poisoned arrow and tries to kidnap her. Faris leaps across and, though she nearly falls, she climbs back up and throws a rope for Bartz and Galuf; together the party defeats them. At the top, they find Hiryu injured. Lenna crosses the mountain's poison flowers to get the Dragon Grass to cure him. The grass works and Hiryu heals Lenna of poison.

The Light Warriors pay a visit to Castle Tycoon. During the night, Lenna confronts Faris with the knowledge they are sisters, but Faris denies any such connection.

They fly to Walse and entreat its king to shut down the amplification machine they use to enhance the Water Crystal's powers. King Walse refuses, saying that the machine has protected the country and brought them great prosperity. Before they can argue further a second meteor crashes at Walse Tower, the site of the crystal. The party races to the scene after the king and find that the king and his soldiers have been defeated by Garula, a normally gentle elephant-like creature. They find a strangely-dressed soldier at the top who addresses Galuf as "my lord," but he is mortally wounded by Garula before Galuf can learn anything. The Light Warriors defeat the creature, but it is too late to stop the crystal from shattering. They gain the second set of job classes right before the tower plunges into the sea. Syldra reappears and rescues them before drifting away in the current.

Exploring the Walse Meteorite, Bartz steps on a warp point and is whisked away. The rest of the Light Warriors follow and find themselves at Karnak Meteorite. They are arrested on suspicion of being in league with a werewolf that had emerged from the meteor before them. They meet Cid Previa, the inventor of the amplification machines, in jail. He had realized his mistake, but was imprisoned by Queen Karnak when he tried to shut down the device. Karnak's Chancellor releases the party at Cid's insistence when his expertise is needed to shut down the device after damage to the crystal becomes apparent. The five go to the Fire-Powered Ship and find Queen Karnak in the engine room, clearly possessed. She either becomes or summons a fiery monster, which the party defeats. The werewolf from before joins them in the Crystal Chamber and reveals himself as an ally, also addressing Galuf. A Karnakian soldier—also possessed—turns up the machine to its full power and the crystal shatters. The werewolf aids the party's escape at the cost of his own life, and Karnak Castle explodes shortly afterward. They picks up three more crystal shards from the wreckage.

Cid blames himself for the crystals' destruction and holes himself up in Karnak's pub, so the Light Warriors go to the Library of the Ancients to figure out their next move. They meet Cid's grandson, Mid. When they tell him about his grandfather, Mid rushes to Karnak and snaps him out of his funk. The sight of grandfather and grandson triggers something in Galuf's memory; he flashes back to a similar scene between him and his granddaughter Krile, the girl Siren showed him. He tells the party he is from another world and that thirty years ago he and three other warriors sealed an evil warlock called Exdeath using the power of the crystals. Now, Exdeath is trying to escape by shattering them.

Cid and Mid repair the Fire-Powered Ship and give it to the Light Warriors to find the Earth Crystal, the last one remaining. They visit Crescent Island and lose the ship in an earthquake. The island's forest is home to a flying Black Chocobo and they retrieve the two missing shards of the Fire Crystal. With the chocobo, the party flies over mountains and make a stop at Lix, Bartz's hometown, where he reminisces about his past. Returning to the Library, they learn from Cid and Mid that King Tycoon has been spotted flying through the air towards the abandoned town of Gohn.

Although they find him there, the king leads the party to a trapdoor and they plunge into underground ruins. Faris calls out to him as "Papa," finally admitting that she and Lenna are sisters. They escape by a warp point but it overloads as soon as they use it, and they are nearly killed by the explosion. The warp point whisks them to another set of underground ruins where they find the Fire-Powered Ship shortly before Cid and Mid fall through the ceiling. The two inventors realize that the ruins, Catapult, were left by the Ancients. Finding an airship alongside the Fire-Powered Ship, Cid fixes it and gives it to the party, who resolve to save the last crystal.

The Light Warriors return to Gohn and see the Ronka Ruins rising into the air thanks to the ancient amplification machine, putting the crystal at grave risk. Cid and Mid reinforce the airship's hull with Adamantite from Galuf's meteor so the party can reach the flying city. They find King Tycoon in the crystal room and try to talk, but he orders them to defeat the Archeoaevis. They oblige, not realizing the creature is actually the crystal's guardian. Once it is slain, "Tycoon" prepares to attack them. Though he is possessed, Faris and Lenna refuse to let Bartz and Galuf confront him; before anything else can happen, another meteor arrives. Krile bursts into the room and hits Tycoon with a mild spell to break him from his possession. Seeing her again cures Galuf's amnesia and King Tycoon reunites with both of his daughters. Their joy is cut short when the Earth Crystal shatters and Exdeath is freed from his prison. He appears before them and taunts Galuf, sets the crystal shards to attack the party, and departs. King Tycoon saves them at the cost of his own life by drawing the crystals' attack. Now inert, the crystal shards bestow another set of job classes onto the party.

With the Earth Crystal gone, the party flees to the airship as the Ronka Ruins crash to earth. Faris and Lenna are given no time to mourn their father's death now that Exdeath is back. Galuf tells them the full story of how he and his companions, the Dawn Warriors, fought Exdeath from the second world to the first and sealed him away with the crystals. Although he and the others on his world learned that Exdeath was attempting to free himself and used the meteors to try and stop him, they were too late to do anything. He declares he and Krile will return to his world to fight Exdeath and forbid the others to follow, saying they would have no way to return. Bartz, Lenna, and Faris say goodbye, but decide they need to go and help. Again consulting Cid and Mid, they collect more adamantite from the meteors to activate a warp point to the other planet. Bidding goodbyes to their distant homes and loved ones, they jump in one by one and find themselves on a lone island. Exdeath's servants capture them and bring them to Castle Exdeath.

Galuf, Krile, and an army prepare to cross Big Bridge and assault the castle. Exdeath uses Bartz, Lenna, and Faris as hostages, forcing Galuf to call a retreat. He borrows Krile's wind drake and mounts a rescue, fighting Gilgamesh during the break-in. They escape across the bridge, fighting their way through monsters and confronting Gilgamesh in a second clash. Before they can reach the other side, Exdeath activates his Barrier Towers. The barrier hurls the Light Warriors to the far-distant continent of Gloceana. Bartz apologizes for their capture, but Galuf waves it and their thanks away, saying they helped, because the army would have been wiped out if they were on the bridge when the barrier activated. Searching for a way back, they help a moogle escape from a hungry monster. In gratitude, it leads them to Moogle Village. The moogles contact Krile's moogle at the Castle of Bal, and her injured wind drake volunteers for the flight to go pick them up.

Upon arriving at the castle, the party learns Galuf is King Galuf Halm Baldesion, although he is embarrassed by the revelation and insists they not treat him any differently. Krile tells them the wind drake is dying from the long flight and Lenna suggests Dragon Grass, which only grows in the dangerous Drakenvale. The party goes anyway and pass through the werewolf town of Quelb. Quelb's leader, Kelger Vlondett, is one of Galuf's old Dawn Warrior comrades, although he is suspicious of the party and demands Bartz prove himself in a fight. Bartz defeats him using a move taught by his father Dorgann and is stunned when Galuf and Kelger tell him Dorgann had been a Dawn Warrior, the only one who protested leaving Exdeath on the first world and remained to watch over the seal.

They find the dragon grass at Drakenvale has turned into a monster, likely causing the extinction of the wind drakes there. It becomes safe after the monster is defeated, but the wind drake refuses to eat it when they bring it back to him. Lenna encourages it by taking a bite herself despite its toxicity to humans. Krile, who has been bedridden from a migraine, gives her a medicine to cure it before collapsing again. Her distress is caused by a psychic call from the sage Ghido, so the Light Warriors go visit him. As soon as they set foot outside Ghido's cave, Exdeath sinks it into the sea. Back on the wind drake, they find a fleet of ships preparing to attack one of the Barrier Towers, led by another Dawn Warrior: King Xezat of Surgate, also known as Xezat the Swordsman. They join his plan to infiltrate the tower in a submarine and climb to the top to destroy the antenna. Below, Xezat becomes trapped in the generator room and dies in the explosion. The party escapes and the barrier falls.

Using the submarine, they speak to Sage Ghido, an ancient turtle. He tells them to go to the Forest of Moore to stop Exdeath from destroying the crystals kept there, but Exdeath deceives them into destroying the crystals' guardians. Exdeath arrives and turns the crystals' magic on the party. Krile flies to the forest and tries to stop him, but she is struck down. At the sight of his granddaughter in danger, Galuf rises up in spite of the crystals' magic and fights Exdeath. He battles to the last limit of his strength, forcing the warlock to flee. The party tries to heal Galuf but he cannot be saved. Using the power of the Guardian Tree, he passes his powers onto Krile so she can take his place as the fourth Light Warrior.

The party infiltrates Castle Exdeath and Kelger gives his life to reveal the castle's true form, allowing them to fight their way to the top. They encounter Gilgamesh but his poor choice of weapon is no threat and Exdeath banishes him to the Interdimensional Rift for his failure. Exdeath battles the party at the top of the castle and though he appears defeated, he shatters the remaining crystals.

The Light Warriors black out and awake near Castle Tycoon, which throws a celebration for the return of Princess Sarisa. Bartz and Krile slip out, feeling a need to find out why they returned to the first world, and are soon joined by Faris, who grew tired of being royal. They learn from Ghido the two worlds have been merged into one, releasing the power of the Void as they were originally, and that they must obtain the Sealed Weapons to survive the Interdimensional Rift and destroy Exdeath. Exdeath emerges from a splinter in Krile's hand and knocks them out, although Ghido fights him to a standstill. Exdeath uses the Void to destroy several locations, including Castle Tycoon and Lenna with it.

After obtaining the first seal from the Pyramid of Moore, the party reunites with Lenna, who was saved from the Void by Hiryu. Hiryu sacrfices himself to help drive the demon Melusine from her body so the other three can defeat her. Exdeath strikes again with the Void, seemingly to taunt the party as well as removing Sage Ghido. Among the towns he attacks is Lix, enraging Bartz to the degree that he almost destroys the airship by pushing it to unreasonable speeds before the others calm him down. They reunite with Cid and Mid after traversing Fork Tower to obtain the Flare and Holy spells, and the pair gives the airship an undersea function. The Light Warriors travel all over the Merged World to unlock the legendary weapons using the seals from the Island Shrine, Great Sea Trench, and Istory Falls, defeating the demons Exdeath sent to stop them. They find Syldra as a summon spirit in the Pirates' Hideout and Hiryu as the summon Phoenix at the top of Phoenix Tower.

Now fully prepared, the Light Warriors fly the airship into the Interdimensional Rift open over Tycoon. They fight through the hodgepodge of environments seemingly put together from the places the Void consumed until they reach the final floors, a world of crystalline darkness. Exdeath reveals his true form: the Moore tree that had once been used to seal evil spirits until the day they became an independent, malicious being. He tries to destroy the Light Warriors with the Void, but the spirits of Galuf, Xezat, Dorgann, Kelger, and King Tycoon save them, allowing the party to confront Exdeath in battle. Halfway through the fight he is consumed by the Void and becomes Neo Exdeath, an entity—the manifestation of the evil spirits trapped within the Moore tree that was Exdeath—that seeks to turn all of creation to nothingness. At great length, they defeat it.

For a short time, the Void lingers. The essences of the elements carried by the party—Hope, Courage, Devotion, and Passion—imbue the crystal shards they carry, and the crystals are reborn in the places that held the weapon seals. King Tycoon and the Dawn Warriors thank the party for saving the world and Krile's wind drake appears to take them back.

A year later, Krile writes to Mid and tells of what the Light Warriors have been up to. Bartz has resumed wandering and Lenna and Faris returned to Tycoon, although Faris left to rejoin her pirate crew, and Krile returned to Bal. She visits the Guardian Tree on the anniversary of Galuf's death, feeling sad and lonely, but the others join her and remind her she isn't alone.

Should any of the party have fallen in the final battle, they will be revived at the Guardian Tree. Together, they vow to continue protecting the crystals.

Development
Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yoshinori Kitase first worked together on Final Fantasy V'. Kitase has later summarized the experience thusly: "Mr. Sakaguchi and I worked on [the game's] events in a relay, so when we would go to work, the first thing we'd do is check the data the other had put up to check the continuity. We'd see each other's work and think 'I'll make something even better!' in a sort of competition."

The original Super Famicom version of Final Fantasy V was never released in North America. As translator Ted Woolsey explained in a 1994 interview, "it's just not accessible enough to the average gamer". Plans were made to release the game in 1995 as Final Fantasy Extreme, targeting it at "the more experienced gamers who loved the complex character building", but this never materialized. Woolsey had almost all of the game translated, but Square opted not to ship it because they didn't feel the US market was ready for a second flagship RPG after Final Fantasy II (released as Final Fantasy IV in Japan) and they felt they needed something else to get people trained up on that style of gaming; this vision actualized as Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.

In 1997, video game studio Top Dog was hired by Square to port the original Super Famicom game to Microsoft Windows-based personal computers for North American release. Although a good deal of the game was completed, ultimately the communication problems between Top Dog and Square's Japanese and American branches led to the project's demise. During the same year, an English fan translation patch for the Final Fantasy V ROM image was released on the Internet by RPGe. The release was well received, and until 1999 was the game's only widely available English language version.

PlayStation
In 1999, a PlayStation compilation Final Fantasy Anthology was released, which includes Final Fantasy V. Some names were interpreted differently, yielding "Butz" in the fan translation, and "Bartz" in the official. In 2002, this version of Final Fantasy V was released in Europe and Australia (alongside Final Fantasy IV). Some fans were unhappy with the dialogue translations, particularly Faris's "pirate accent", which was not part of the original script. When played on the PlayStation 2, the emulation graphics glitch on the save screen, although the graphics restore on the overworld map. This error causes the game to crash on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. This bug is not present in the PAL or Greatest Hits versions of Final Fantasy Anthology.

Game Boy Advance
A port of Final Fantasy V for handhelds had been considered by Square (now Square Enix) in early 2001, but the project failed due to the absence of an appropriate platform - the WonderSwan Color was not powerful enough to run the game, and Nintendo did not allow Square to develop on the Game Boy Advance, despite Sakaguchi's wish.

Years later, after relations between Square and Nintendo improved, the game was successfully ported to the Game Boy Advance under the title Final Fantasy V Advance, and was released in North America on November 6th, 2006. Changes made from previous versions are graphical tweaks and a new translation, four additional jobs, a bestiary, a quick save function, music player, and a new 30-floor dungeon. Unlike the Advance port of Final Fantasy IV, some of the bugs of Final Fantasy V were fixed. There is also not as much choppiness and lag in the graphics.

Virtual Console
On January 18th, 2011, a port of the original Super Famicom version of Final Fantasy V was released for the Wii's Virtual Console service, but only in Japan.

PlayStation Network
A port of the PlayStation version of Final Fantasy V was released for PlayStation Network in Japan on April 6th, 2011, in Europe on April 13th, and in North America on November 22nd, 2011.

Mobile
On March 28th, 2013, an iOS remaster was released worldwide and the Android version on September 26, 2013. The game is based on the Game Boy Advance version and thus includes all the bonus content from that version. It has upgraded graphics along with new menu portraits. The graphics are similar to those of Final Fantasy Dimensions. The music is of the original Super Famicom version quality, aside the sound effects which have been remastered. The game now includes achievements. Achievement hunters should be wary, as a few of the achievements are missable when progressing to the next world (i.e. "Bestiary (323 Pages)", "Gone Too Far", etc.).

Because of advances in technology with everything for PlayStation era games and beyond Square has been able to store the data, but for the original Nintendo and Super Nintendo games they did not have the proper means to store the production and so to remake them, Square had to reconstruct everything. This is one reason everything in the iOS version is brand new.

The version 1.0.2 update of the game adds an option for the diagonal movement from the Config menu, where players can turn off the 8-way movement into the traditional 4-way movement.

On October 22nd, 2014, the iOS and Android versions received an update that includes new features such as gamepad support, translations for more languages, and cloud saving.

Allusions
Final Fantasy V makes some allusions to previous Final Fantasy games, among others. The new translation for the GBA port makes many pop culture references.

Trivia

 * In Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, the bosses Atomos, Gilgamesh, Shinryu and Omega appear in the original Final Fantasy's Lifespring Grotto bonus dungeon.
 * In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the same four bosses appear as guardians for the Crystals of the True Moon. Gilgamesh makes a direct reference to his origin by asking for Bartz before he dies.
 * Final Fantasy V is the first Final Fantasy game to have two sisters as playable characters. It is also the first game where females outnumber the males in the party.

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to that of Final Fantasy V, utilizing the Active Time Battle system. Players can equip espers that teach spells and give stat boosts, similar to the jobs from Final Fantasy V. What abilities cannot be taught by espers can usually be learned by equipping relics, which give abilities like Jump and Two Hands. The characters can each equip a weapon, a shield, a helmet and a piece of clothing, each equipment piece often with its unique properties, such as stat boosts or elemental immunities.

Party Swapping
Unlike previous entries, such as Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy IV, (though later made possible on the remakes), where party members come and go as the story dictates, Final Fantasy VI introduces the ability to change the party at almost any given time. Fairly early into the game — in a feature that would be repeated in later installments — players are allowed to form their own party from whatever allies the resistance has gathered. Each ally has a specific talent; for example, Locke is a thief, Cyan is a samurai, and so on.

At times, such as the infiltration of the Southern Continent, the storyline demands that specific party members be taken along, but for the most part, the player can use whichever party they like. A total of fourteen playable characters were created for the game, each representing a different aspect of the job system and possessing a unique fighting style. Because of the vast number of characters, several dungeons require the player to form multiple parties, using two or three groups to cooperate to progress.

Espers
Though some characters have special abilities similar to magic, the only characters to learn regular spells naturally are Celes and Terra, although they have a limited spell pool. Most characters can learn magic by equipping magicite, or a few select pieces of equipment. Magicite is the crystallized remains of an esper, mystical creatures with intense magical power. Each character can equip a single piece of magicite at a time, and each magicite shard can be used only by a single character at any given time. Once equipped, magicite teaches magic by way of Ability Points.

Each esper teaches a spell according to a certain percentage rate, and winning Ability Points increases the equipped character's aptitude with that spell by the specified amount — once enough Ability Points have been won the spell is learned and can be cast. Some espers, such as Lakshmi, teach several basic spells quickly, while others, like Valigarmanda, teach a handful of powerful spells slowly. The system means that with patience any character, bar Umaro and Gogo, can learn any spell.

In addition to teaching normal magic, the espers give access to summon magic. A character can summon their equipped esper once per battle. At times, the summons are merely more powerful versions of the spells they teach, like Ramuh; at other times they are entirely different, such as Quetzalli. Some espers give permanent stat boosts when the equipped character levels up with the magicite equipped to let characters modify their stats to suit whatever task the player wishes them to fulfill — even physical fighters like Edgar can be powerful mages with enough leveling to increase their Magic Power. The system gives summoned monsters a larger role in the party's strength than previous installments, something on which later installments, like Final Fantasy VIII, would expand on.

Characters
Final Fantasy VI features fourteen permanent player characters as well as a number of guest characters. Most of the main characters belong to the Returners, an underground resistance movement dedicated to overthrowing the Empire. Almost every character is united in holding a grudge against said Empire.


 * Terra Branford, a half-human, half-esper girl who spent most of her young life being bred as a weapon for the Empire.
 * Locke Cole, a "treasure hunter" and rebel sympathizer.
 * Edgar Roni Figaro is the king of Figaro and Locke's friend. He claims allegiance to the Empire while secretly supplying the Returners.
 * Sabin Rene Figaro, Edgar's brother who fled the royal court to hone his martial arts skills.
 * Cyan Garamonde, a loyal knight of the kingdom of Doma.
 * Gau, a feral child surviving since infancy in the harsh wilderness known as the Veldt, coaxed into the party with offerings of food.
 * Celes Chere, a former general of the Empire and a Magitek Knight, who joins the Returners following her imprisonment for questioning imperial policies.
 * Setzer Gabbiani, the inveterate gambler and womanizer who joins forces with the Returners after being tricked by Celes, offering the use of his airship to transport the heroes around the world.
 * Shadow, a high-priced ninja mercenary who offers his services to both the Empire and the Returners.
 * Relm Arrowny, a young girl living in the town of Thamasa with a passion for painting and a mysterious connection to Shadow.
 * Strago Magus, an elderly Blue Mage, Relm's adoptive grandfather and one of the few remaining Magi.
 * Mog, a talking moogle from the Narshe Mines.
 * Umaro, a savage but loyal yeti living in the Narshe Mines who answers only to Mog.
 * Gogo, a mysterious, fully shrouded master of the art of mimicry who agrees to lend support only when the party finds their way to the lair in the stomach of a giant monster.

A handful of Final Fantasy VI characters have reappeared in later games, such as Secret of Evermore and Kingdom Hearts II. A short technical demo, Final Fantasy VI: The Interactive CG Game, produced for the Silicon Graphics Onyx workstation, featured 3D rendered versions of Terra, Locke and Shadow.

Setting
A thousand years ago three gods, known as the Warring Triad, descended upon the world and warred for dominance. The conflict became known as the War of the Magi, during which the gods transformed humans and animals into creatures called espers, giving them magical powers. The gods realized the war was destroying the world and petrified themselves, their final wish being that the espers prevent their power from being abused. The espers took the gods' statues and fashioned a new dimension where they could live peacefully away from humans, and to hide away the gods.

In the present, the world has experienced a technological revolution while magic has faded into legend. To the south, the Gestahlian Empire led by Emperor Gestahl discovered the entrance to the Esper World and kidnapped several of the creatures. The Empire discovered a way to drain the espers of magical energy and imbue humans and machines with this power; this technology is known as Magitek. Overpowering the armies of other nations, the Gestahlian Empire conquered the southern continent and began to push into the north with the aim of world conquest.

The Mysterious Woman
Two imperial soldiers named Biggs and Wedge accompany a woman to raid the neutral city of Narshe using Magitek Armor due to reports that a frozen esper has been dug up in a mine shaft. In the rear of the newest mine they find the frozen esper, Valigarmanda, that sends out pulses of magical energy, killing Biggs and Wedge and destroying the woman's Magitek Armor. She awakens in the home of a man named Arvis, who explains she was being controlled by the Empire with a Slave Crown. Amnesiac, the woman has no other knowledge her identity than her name: Terra.

The Narshe guards arrive to arrest her, and Arvis sneaks Terra through a back door into the mines. Terra is cornered by guards and falls down a shaft into another area of the mines. She falls unconscious, remembering a man named Kefka Palazzo who placed the Slave Crown on her and ordered her to burn fifty Imperial soldiers as a test.

A man named Locke arrives at Arvis's house. Arvis and Locke are members of the Returners, a rebel faction opposing the Empire, although Narshe remains neutral. Arvis asks Locke to get Terra safely out of the city, and with the help of Mog and the moogles who live in the mines Locke fights off the Narshe guards and escapes with Terra. The two travel south to Figaro Castle, a desert nation allied with the Empire, where Terra meets the flirtatious king Edgar who attempts to hide Terra from the imperial ambassador, Kefka, who arrives looking for her. Locke tells Terra Edgar's alliance with the Empire is superficial — in truth, he is collaborating with the Returners using Locke as a go-between.

Kefka sets the castle aflame and Terra, Edgar and Locke flee on chocobos while the castle burrows into the sand. Kefka sends two imperial soldiers in Magitek Armor to attack the trio, and during the battle Terra casts magic, stunning Edgar and Locke. The three dispatch the imperial soldiers and escape. Intrigued by Terra, Edgar and Locke ask her to meet with the leader of the Returners, Banon, to remain safe from the Empire and to gain understanding of her abilities. Terra agrees, and they travel to South Figaro and then north through Mt. Kolts where they encounter Vargas, son of the martial arts master Duncan Harcourt. Edgar's twin brother and Duncan's pupil, Sabin, intervenes and defeats Vargas, and joins his brother to help them stop the Empire.

At the Returner Hideout, Banon, the Returners and Terra discuss their plan to strike back at the Empire. Deducing the Empire's power is derived from the rediscovery of magic, Banon asks Terra to return with him to Narshe and speak to the frozen esper. The group receives word the Empire has attacked South Figaro and has found their hideout. Locke volunteers to sneak into South Figaro to slow down the Empire, while Banon, Terra, Edgar and Sabin travel to Narshe along the Lethe River. The voyage is interrupted by a loud octopus named Ultros, and in the battle Sabin is washed off the raft and down a different fork in the river.

Return to Narshe
Locke attempts to sneak out of Figaro and rescues an imperial general turned traitor named Celes, and the two head north to Narshe. Sabin washes ashore north of the kingdom of Doma, and with the help of a ninja mercenary named Shadow, infiltrates an imperial camp as the Empire attacks Doma Castle under General Leo Cristophe's command. The Doma retainer Cyan dispatches the imperial commander to stall the attack, and Kefka poisons the river, killing Cyan's family and nearly all the castle inhabitants.

Cyan joins Shadow and Sabin as they escape aboard the ghostly Phantom Train, which ferries the dead to the other side and Cyan witnesses the Doma dead and his wife and child among those boarding the train. Shadow leaves as Sabin and Cyan leap down Baren Falls to Mobliz, and on the nearby Veldt they befriend a wild child named Gau who shows them a diving helmet they use to swim to Nikeah, where they board a ferry to South Figaro.

Terra, Banon and Edgar arrive at Narshe and rendezvous with Arvis. The four approach the Elder of Narshe and urge him to join them as the esper will draw their attention. The others arrive, and Celes knows the Empire is already marching on Narshe. The Returners station themselves in the mountains to the esper's resting place as Kefka leads the imperial attack to claim the creature. Dispatching the imperial forces and chasing off Kefka, the Returners save the town. They approach the esper on the cliffs over the town and it reacts to Terra's presence. A surge of energy transforms Terra into a glowing pink monster, and she flies away with a scream.

Magicite
Several of the Returners remain to protect Narshe while a search party heads to the west to find Terra. Using Figaro Castle to burrow under the mountains to Kohlingen, they continue south to Jidoor and then to Zozo, a town of thieves. Atop the highest building the group finds a transformed Terra under the care of an esper named Ramuh who tells the party about the War of the Magi and the imperial invasion of their realm, and that he called Terra to him to put her to rest when her powers awoke. Ramuh escaped the Empire with three comrades, but they fell during the escape and turned to magicite.

Ramuh says the Empire's methods of forcibly extracting magic from espers results in a weaker form of magic, but when an esper dies and crystallizes into magicite their abilities can be transferred in full. Terra needs to accept her powers on her own, but Ramuh urges the party to rescue the other espers in the imperial capital, and turns himself into magicite, entrusting them with his power and the power of his friends to fight the Empire. Celes leads the expedition with Locke accompanying her. As no boats go to the southern continent, the group returns to Jidoor where they meet the Impresario, who worries Setzer Gabbiani, the "wandering gambler", will abduct Maria, the star of the opera Maria and Draco. Setzer owns the only airship in the world, the Blackjack, and since Celes bears an uncanny resemblance to Maria, Locke hatches a plan for Celes to take Maria's place in the opera as a ploy to gain access to Setzer's airship. Ultros overhears the plan and during the performance attempts to drop a weight on Celes. Locke and the others stop him, but the show is ruined, and in the commotion Setzer abducts Celes. Celes helps Locke and the others sneak on board the Blackjack, and Celes tricks Setzer into helping them using a two-headed coin.

Setzer flies the group to Albrook and they set off north of the imperial capital of Vector. With the help of a Returner sympathizer they sneak into the Magitek Research Facility where Magitek weapons are manufactured. Witnessing Kefka torturing two espers, Shiva and Ifrit, they overhear him declare he will revive the Warring Triad. Shiva and Ifrit entrust their magicite to the group, and they continue through the facility and release several espers being drained of their power.

Their efforts are in vain as the espers are too weak and turn to magicite. Cid arrives and tells Celes the rumors that she is acting as a spy for the Empire, and Kefka appears and claims the rumors are true. Locke begins to doubt her, and Celes teleports herself and Kefka away as the facility begins to overload. Cid helps the party escape on a mine cart, and they meet with Setzer and return to Zozo, destroying two cranes Kefka uses to try to destroy the Blackjack.

Allying with the Empire
In Zozo, one of the magicite remains from Vector is revealed to be Terra's father, Maduin, who restores her memories. Terra explains she is half-human and half-esper, born from a human named Madeline when she entered the esper realm and befriended Maduin. When the Empire attacked two years later, Terra was taken along with Maduin and raised as a Magitek experiment due to her natural magic powers. Now accepting who she is, Terra and the party return to Narshe and tell the others of their plan to attack the Empire using the machinery of Figaro and the resources of Narshe, but they lack manpower. They decide to open the gate to the Esper World and ask their help: as a hybrid, Terra is living proof the two races can co-exist peacefully.

At the gate to the esper world Kefka appears as Terra begins to call out to the espers. Her cries open the gate and the espers rush out, destroying Vector and crashing the Blackjack. In Vector Emperor Gestahl tells the party the espers' power has made him realize the error of his ways. He declares a truce and asks the Returners and Terra to help him locate the espers that fled the gate and make them understand the war is over. Terra and Locke accompany General Leo to Crescent Island to track the espers and to assist their efforts, Leo has hired Shadow. Celes accompanies them as well acting as an imperial general and when approached, she refuses to speak to Locke or Terra due to the earlier suspicion of her true motives.

At Crescent Island, Terra, Locke and Shadow split from the Empire and find the backwater town of Thamasa where Strago and his granddaughter Relm feign having no knowledge of espers or magic. Relm gets trapped in a burning building, and the townspeople reveal they can use magic when trying to save her. Terra, Locke, and Strago enter the building and are rescued by Shadow, who has come to rescue his dog, Interceptor, that had followed them inside. Strago explains Thamasa was founded by magic-imbued humans after the War of the Magi who sought to live normal lives, and as their descendants, the townsfolk have some magical power. Strago agrees to help Terra and Locke locate the espers, and though Relm wishes to help too, Strago refuses. Shadow leaves to find the espers on his own with Interceptor.

At the Esper Caves a third run-in with Ultros prompts Relm to intervene and save the party with her ability to sketch living portraits of monsters, and Strago agrees to let her join them. The group finds the espers led by Yura, now apologetic about the destruction of Vector as they lost control of their powers when passing through the gate between realms. In Thamasa, General Leo and Yura reach a truce, but Kefka arrives and kills the espers, takes their magicite and knocks out the party, claiming he is acting under the Emperor's orders. When Leo tries to stop him Kefka kills him.

The gate to the esper world flies open and several espers race to attack Kefka, but he destroys them and takes their magicite before departing. Alerted to the Empire's treachery, Setzer and the other Returners, sans Banon, arrive at Thamasa in the Blackjack. Kefka and Gestahl enter the esper realm and find the remains of the Warring Triad and use their power to raise the Floating Continent.

The Rise of Kefka
The Returners board the Floating Continent, fighting back the Imperial Air Force, as well as Ultros and his friend Mr. Typhon. They find Shadow, who had kept working for the Empire until they tried to kill him. After a battle with the legendary Ultima Weapon, Shadow departs as the Returners confront Kefka and Gestahl before the Warring Triad. Celes arrives as Gestahl paralyses the party, and he and Kefka urge Celes to return to their side and kill her friends so the three of them can rule the world. Celes refuses and stabs Kefka.

Kefka attempts to awaken the Triad and Gestahl, knowing this would lead to a disaster, tries to stop him but is struck down. Kefka kicks Gestahl off the Floating Continent to his doom and moves the statues out of alignment. Celes warns him the Triad's powers will go haywire, but Kefka laughs it off. With Shadow's assistance the party flees to the Blackjack, but the Warring Triad's magical field has been destabilized and radically shifted the face of the planet. The Blackjack is destroyed and the party are scattered around the world.

A year passes, during which Kefka raises a tower of ruins over the former Vector and drains the Warring Triad of their power becoming the God of Magic. The new world born from the destruction of the old is a dying world where many plants and animals are mutated from the magical fallout and cities have been destroyed and decimated by Kefka's Light of Judgment, a beam of energy he uses to strike down anyone who opposes his rule.

Celes awakens on a small island with Cid, who tells her of the state of the world. Cid either lives or dies as Celes cares for him and either in person or via a letter, Cid shows Celes a raft he has built and tells her to relocate her friends. Celes returns to the mainland, and in Tzen finds Sabin. Confident the others have survived as well, the two continue to Nikeah and find a man who resembles Edgar, named "Gerad", leading a band of thieves.

They follow him on a ship to South Figaro and into a cave leading to the buried Figaro Castle. Edgar reveals he used the alias "Gerad" to trick the thieves into helping him enter Figaro since it was lost under the sand. In Kohlingen the three find Setzer who shows them the tomb of his friend Darill, who owned an airship, the Falcon. With the recovered Falcon the group travels the world, discovering many long-lost secrets of the War of the Magi unearthed by the world destruction.

The Gathering
In Mobliz, the group finds Terra taking care of the village children after their parents perished in the apocalypse. Though she does not wish to fight, she is forced to battle a monster Humbaba to protect the children, discovering her love for them in the process. The group finds Cyan living in Mt. Zozo carrying on a long-distance romance with a young woman called Lola, who believes him to be her dead boyfriend. Strago, believing Relm is dead, joined the Cult of Kefka, while Relm is a painter working in Jidoor for Owzer. Shadow, knowing nothing but fighting in his life, battles in the Dragon's Neck Coliseum.

Locke, seeking a way to revive his dead lover Rachel, enters the Phoenix Cave to find the magicite of the esper Phoenix: it revives Rachel briefly, but long enough for Locke to come to terms with his guilt for failing to save her. Mog and Gau have returned to their homes in the Narshe Mines and on the Veldt. In the Narshe Mines, the yeti Umaro can be recruited, and the mime Gogo will join the party inside the Zone Eater on Triangle Island.

With their ranks reassembled the Returners attack Kefka's Tower knowing that if they destroy the Warring Triad magic will vanish from the world, leading them to wonder what will happen to Terra. They find Kefka has taken on the Triad's powers and become the God of Magic. At the summit Kefka tells the party mortal lives are without meaning or significance, as ultimately everything people build is destroyed and nothing they do impacts on the world.

The party tells Kefka the bonding over day-to-day struggles give people the will to live on in spite of all the hardships. Kefka turns the Light of Judgment on the world before attacking the party. Upon confronting Kefka in his God of Magic form in a golden skylight, he exclaims he'll destroy all dreams and hope before breaking down into hysterical laughter.

Kefka is killed, but with him the essence of magic vanishes. The espers' magicite remains dissolve, but Maduin tells Terra she can endure as a human if she has a strong emotional attachment to something in the world. With the last of her power, Terra leads the group out of the tower aboard the Falcon. She falls onto the main deck, and after regaining consciousness finds herself fully human due to her love for the children of Mobliz. The party flies across the world and witness how the cities continue to rebuild in the aftermath of Kefka's defeat. Terra steps to the bow of the Falcon and releases her ponytail to the wind, finally free to live and enjoy her life as she wishes.

Music
The soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI is the work of long-time series contributor Nobuo Uematsu. The score consists of themes for each major character and location, plus music for standard battles and fights with boss enemies, as well as for special cutscenes. The "Aria di Mezzo Carattere" plays during a cutscene involving an opera performance and features an unintelligible "voice" that harmonizes with the melody — the limitations of the cartridge size prevented the use of an actual vocal track.

The orchestral album Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale features an arranged version of the aria, featuring Italian lyrics, performed by Svetla Krasteva with orchestral backing. The aria is also found in the second full-motion video in the PlayStation re-release with the same lyrics, but a different musical arrangement. In addition, the album  includes an extended version of the opera. Arguably the most famous sequence in the game, Electronic Gaming Monthly declared the opera scene one of the "20 Greatest Moments in Console Gaming" in 2002.

Final Fantasy VI: Grand Finale features eleven tracks from the game, arranged by Shiro Sagisu and Tsuneyoshi Saito and performed by the Ensemble Archi Della Scala and Orchestra Synfonica di Milano. Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VI, a second arranged album, features thirteen tracks from the game, arranged and performed for piano by Reiko Nomura. Additionally, the original score was released on three compact discs in Japan as Final Fantasy VI: Original Sound Version. A version of this album was later released in North America under the title Final Fantasy III: Kefka's Domain, available exclusively through mail-order from Squaresoft.

Development
Work began on Final Fantasy VI almost immediately after the international release of Final Fantasy V in 1992, and the production lasted just one year. The game launched on schedule and within budget, but not without the strain of a significant crunch towards the end of production to iron out remaining issues in the code; director Yoshinori Kitase has described the final debug phase as "an exhausting affair". Despite the team's efforts, the game has a myriad of programming oversights and glitches.

Though not the first game to utilize the Mode 7 graphics of the Super Nintendo, Final Fantasy VI made more extensive use of them than either of its two predecessors. Unlike both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V, for example, the world map is rendered in Mode 7, which lends a somewhat three-dimensional perspective to an otherwise two-dimensional game.

Early screenshots of the original Japanese version reveal some divergent plans made during development. At the start of the game, instead of Valigarmanda being the frozen esper, Maduin appeared encased within the ice. Though Final Fantasy VI is the first appearance of Biggs and Wedge (ビックス and ウェッジ), they were originally going to be called Les and Bafra (レス and バフラ). Yoshitaka Amano, a long-time contributor to the Final Fantasy series, returned as the image designer providing concept sketches to the programmers, who converted them into the in-game sprites. Some liberties were taken during the conversion, such as the changing of Terra's hair from blonde to green. The PlayStation release includes full-motion video produced specifically for the re-release: the character designs in these video sequences are based on Amano's designs, rather than the in-game sprites.

The base idea for Final Fantasy VI was that every character would be the story's protagonist. Everyone on the development team contributed ideas for characters and the game was to feature individual character episodes. Director Yoshinori Kitase has later commented that Final Fantasy VI's influence may have been responsible for the greater emphasis on character creation in subsequent Final Fantasy titles.

Final Fantasy VI was Yoshinori Kitase's first directorial job in the Final Fantasy series, as Hironobu Sakaguchi placed him in charge of event production. Kitase was tasked with unifying the scenarios and dramatic sections in the game into a coherent narrative. Hiroyuki Itou supervised the development of battle aspects, and it was up to Sakaguchi to bring the project together as a whole piece. The production was a hybrid process: Sakaguchi came up with the story premise, based on a conflict with imperial forces, but as the framework was designed to provide leading roles to all characters, everyone on the team could provide ideas for character episodes, it being Kitase's job to join the episodes together. Locke and Terra are colored by Sakaguchi's influence, whereas the episodes for Shadow and Setzer were devised by Tetsuya Nomura, and Kaori Tanaka provided suggestions for Edgar and Sabin, among others. Kitase himself devoted his efforts to create Celes and Gau. The idea was to grow the Final Fantasy characters of the time from mere ciphers for fighting into characters with substance to evoke complex feelings in the player.

Localization
The English language localization for the Super Nintendo includes a number of changes to the original Japanese game. The most obvious is the alteration of the game title, which was changed to reflect it being the third Final Fantasy title to be released in North America. Unlike Final Fantasy IV (originally released in North America under the title Final Fantasy II), there are no major changes in gameplay, though certain editorial alterations exist in the English script.

English translation
The game's English translator, Ted Woolsey, was granted just thirty days to complete his work. The localization process started when the game was basically finished for the Japanese release. Woolsey was given a short amount of time to do the job, and was handed the game cartridge and the files to work with. The aim was to hit a late summer deliverable and there was still a two to three-month manufacturing window for the SNES cartridges, which had to be taken into account.

Unlike with Final Fantasy II (originally called Final Fantasy IV in Japan), Final Fantasy III had a remake staff with a part of the development team and people brought in specifically to help with the localization for the English and European versions. Woolsey was given free reign to do anything with the text until he'd get it down to a size it would fit. He translated the game, which consisted of around 1,300 pages of text broken into pieces, as the scenario writers had just taken a chunk of scenario and dumped it in not caring where it was put in the data.

The first version Woolsey finished and sent to Tokyo was three or four times too large, despite having aimed for brevity. A lot of the scatological humor would have to be expunged for Nintendo's purposes and some pop culture references Woolsey had thought clever had to be ditched for branding, licensing and registration issues. Woolsey did another pass at the text but it was still much too large, leading Woolsey to abandon the original translation and look at each section separately to re-imagine it. What inconvenienced the work was that the game events were pre-scripted and so could not be tweaked for a timing better fit for a new translation.

Initially Woolsey got plenty of positive fan mail and the game was reviewed well, but after seeing things on the Internet he became aware of certain issues, such as side quests he had never actually played himself before having translated them, not knowing the gender of the person performing the actions. Woolsey was surprised by some of the more negative reactions to his translation, but nobody at the time of the original development knew of the degree to which players would come to revere the game.

The North American and European PlayStation port retains the bulk of Woolsey's original translation with minor changes, including the return to the original Japanese title of Final Fantasy VI, and a number of character and item names alterations.

Censorship
In a January 1995 interview with Super POWER magazine, translator Ted Woolsey explained that "there's a certain level of playfulness and... sexuality in Japanese games that just doesn't exist here [in the USA], basically because of the rules of Nintendo of America and guidelines". Some of the graphics are subtly changed to cover up instances of nudity and more risqué sprites. Another example of censorship includes removing the smoke from the sprites of enemies such as Misty (originally "Dahling"). Even some signs were changed from 'Bar' to 'Café'.

The English localization features several name changes. Some such alterations were necessitated by length restrictions (e.g. "Stragus" was shortened to "Strago"). Other changes were made for the game to meet the aforementioned content guidelines from Nintendo, which, for instance, placed restrictions on the use of religious imagery, leading to the rechristening of the magic spell "Holy" to "Pearl." A number of changes were made because of cultural differences between Asian and North American audiences. For example, Terra's Japanese name, Tina, sounds exotic to Japanese speakers, but is a common Anglophone name.

While the translation remained in the PlayStation port, the censorship present in the SNES version was lifted, and all versions of the PlayStation release used the original sprites. This remains true for the Finest Fantasy for Advance release, although instead of using the uncensored Japanese version of Siren, a third Siren sprite was used which was more covered than the original Japanese sprite, but less so than the original North American release. The smartphone version's Siren is based on the GBA version.

The scene where Celes is being tortured by the Empire was removed for the Game Boy Advance release of Final Fantasy VI. This is because the original Final Fantasy VI was created before the Japanese ratings board, CERO, existed. Violence is rated strictly in Japan, and Square wanted a CERO A rating for the Game Boy Advance version, which would have been impossible if a game depicts violence against a restrained human.

Themes
Final Fantasy VI takes a step toward a more corporeal world from the medieval fantasy settings of past Final Fantasy games, depicting a world amid industrial revolution, progress being championed by the Gestahlian Empire while the more traditional societies still live by the ways of old, such as Doma. The game's overall color scheme is more rustic and earth tones than with Final Fantasy V, shown in both character sprites and backgrounds.

The story of Final Fantasy VI draws from more eclectic sources of influence than just mythology and popular culture as with previous titles, including many Italian influences including opera and literary works such as Dante's Divine Comedy. Final Fantasy VI introduced character themes to the series where the cast have instantly recognisable "theme tunes" playing during key events relating to said character, in the vein of Italian opera. The role of the playable cast was broadened in that personal storylines were made a staple, rather than the playable cast's stories mainly relating to the overall quest of saving the world, as was with previous Final Fantasy titles. To this end, Final Fantasy VI was created with an ensemble cast with the player able to set the main character and choose the active party.

The story has themes of dualism and separation. The world is torn between the old and the new ways of life, industrial cities and medieval castles being contemporaneous. Unbeknown to most people the world itself is split with another realm inhabited by magical beings lying hidden in its depths. The world is literally split when the Warring Triad are moved our of alignment and the game can be divided by its two halves: the World of Balance and the World of Ruin. Similar themes are present in the cast, with Terra Branford being half-human, half esper; Kefka Palazzo being simultaneously a clowning jester as well as power-hungry and evil, achieving an angelic god form in juxtaposition to his declaration of love and hope being meaningless; the separation and the opposing ways of life Edgar and Sabin, the twin brothers, have chosen for themselves; and Shadow's two sides with his discarded past and the new persona he has made for himself to conceal it, among others.

The main theme could be said to be the search of meaning for life and how each person's quest is different. Kefka, unable to find meaning outside of destruction, declares love and hope pointless but at the story's climax the party confronts him as each have discovered something during their quest that fuels their will to persist even in a ruined world. In the end, their conviction proves stronger than Kefka's.

PlayStation
Final Fantasy VI was the third and last of the Super Nintendo Final Fantasy titles to be ported to the Sony PlayStation, and was released a year after a similar port of Final Fantasy V, and two years after a port of Final Fantasy IV. It was followed by a remake of the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II in the compilation Final Fantasy Origins. In Japan, the PlayStation port was released individually and alongside both Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V as a part of a limited edition boxed set titled Final Fantasy Collection. In North America, the port was released alongside Final Fantasy V as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology. In Europe, the game was released individually (along with a demo of Final Fantasy X), making it the first time the game had been officially released in territories using the PAL system.

Technically, the PlayStation port is similar to the original Super Nintendo version. Aside from the addition of a few new full-motion video cutscenes before the original opening and after the original ending, the graphics and sound are unchanged. Unlike the re-release of Final Fantasy IV in the Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation, the script for the North American PlayStation release was essentially left unchanged; gil remained "GP", Ultima Weapon "Atma Weapon".

The only notable changes to gameplay were the revision of Vicks to Biggs, the correction of a handful of bugs, and the addition of a new "memo save" feature, which allows players to quickly save their progress to the PlayStation RAM. Due to the volatile nature of the system's memory memo saves are lost if power to the console is interrupted. The port includes a number of bonuses, including a bestiary and artwork gallery that can be accessed from the main menu, and which are revealed as the player progresses through the game.

Game Boy Advance
A port of Final Fantasy VI for handhelds had been considered by Square in early 2001. The project failed due to the absence of an appropriate platform — the WonderSwan Color was not powerful enough to run the game, and Nintendo did not allow Square to develop on the Game Boy Advance despite Sakaguchi's wishes.

Years later, after relations between Square (now Square Enix) and Nintendo improved, it was announced Final Fantasy VI would be re-released on the Game Boy Advance under the title Final Fantasy VI Advance. This is consistent with the re-releases of Final Fantasy IV (released in North America on December 12, 2005) and Final Fantasy V (released in North America on November 6, 2006). Final Fantasy VI Advance was released on February 5, 2007. Like the other Game Boy Advance re-releases, several extra features were added, including the new dungeons Dragons' Den and Soul Shrine, and a new superboss, Kaiser Dragon. The Game Boy Advance port fixed many bugs from in the previous versions, including the Vanish-Doom Bug. The Game Boy Advance conversion, however, suffers lower sound quality than the original Super Nintendo version.

PlayStation Network
A port of the PlayStation version was released for PSN in Japan on April 20th, 2011 and in PAL territories on June 3rd, 2011. The North American PSN port of the PlayStation version was released on December 6th, 2011.

Virtual Console
Square Enix released Final Fantasy VI as Virtual Console download in Japan in June 2013 for ¥900.

Mobile
At the end of a press conference for the Android and iOS versions of Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years it was revealed Final Fantasy VI would be receiving a remake for Android and iOS devices. Its graphical presentation is enhanced compared to previous versions in highly-detailed 2D, like the systems' versions of Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy Dimensions, rather than the 3D graphics of Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, and The After Years.

There are some alterations to the battle system to make grinding less of an issue. This port doesn't have a run button, and characters can move diagonally, although in the config one can turn off the eight-way-controls and set it to the traditional four-way. The menu system in battles has been revamped. The character options slowly rise up as the ATB gauge fills allowing the player to use the right character at the right time without having to hit a button to rotate through the roster. Sabin's Blitz commands and Cyan's Bushido commands are input differently than in older versions. Like the other mobile remakes, there is an indicator to signal one can interact with objects and people. In the menu the player can play the entire soundtrack. The Album is a new menu feature that chronicles the game's moments allowing one to catch up on the story. Achievements have been added. The game uses the post-battle quicksaves like the other mobile ports do. That also means that if one accidentally levels up with the wrong esper equipped the player can get a do-over.

The game uses the GBA version translation, and all previously Advance exclusive content are also included. The music is of the original SNES version quality. The in-game sprites and menu portraits have been remade by Kazuko Shibuya who also made the original sprites for Final Fantasy VI. The menu portraits are based on the original portraits, which in turn were based on Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations. The in-game sprites appear to be made after the Final Fantasy V Android/iOS sprites and Kazuko Shibuya's character artworks.

The iOS version of the game supports saved data that can be synced to other iOS devices via iCloud. Unlike the previous titles of Final Fantasy for iOS, which supports iOS 4.3 or later, Final Fantasy VI requires iOS devices running iOS 7 or later—although iPhone 4 users are urged to save the game frequently due to suffering performance issues during gameplay. The game is currently unplayable on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), the latest version of the operating system, due to the app's lack of support for.

A menu screen window consisting of artwork of Terra was provided by the social game Pictlogica Final Fantasy and may be obtained by entering a code received within the game.

A new menu screen window for the game can be obtained by entering a code received from a cross-collaboration with the social game Final Fantasy Tactics S. In turn, a code may be received for Final Fantasy Tactics S wherein players can acquire the Rare cameo character, Runic General Celes. This offer is exclusive only to the Japanese mobile versions of Final Fantasy VI.

On 9 October 2014, the Android/iOS app received an update that included new features such as game pad support, more translations, as well as cloud saving for the Android version.

Reception
Upon release, Final Fantasy VI was met with widespread critical acclaim and was a commercial success. The game currently holds a 92% approval rating on IGN, and the gaming magazine Nintendo Power listed it as the eighth greatest Nintendo game. ScrewAttack called it the third best SNES game, only behind Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Metroid. As of March 31, 2003, the game had shipped 3.48 million copies worldwide, with 2.62 million of those copies being shipped in Japan and 860,000 abroad.

The 200th issue of Game Informer Magazine features multiple covers based on their top ten games ever. Final Fantasy VI was the only Final Fantasy game featured in the top 10, placing eighth, but Final Fantasy IV (80th), Final Fantasy VII (15th), Final Fantasy X (43rd), Final Fantasy XII (112th), Final Fantasy Tactics (45th), and Vagrant Story (184th) could be found throughout the list.

In another 200th issue of a magazine, this time Electronic Gaming Monthly, the game ranked as 36th on their "Greatest 200 Videogame of their time" list.

In 2012, IGN ranked Final Fantasy VI as the #1 RPG of all time.

The reception to the various ports has been more mixed. The PlayStation port was criticized for slow load times, and the newest smartphone port has gotten a mixed reception, with some criticizing the sprite art. The smartphone version also launched with an unfinished feel, with a an obvious typo in one of the very first story sequences, and a fatal glitch that would always crash the game during a cutscene, making the initial version unfinishable. Square Enix quickly responded by releasing a patch.

Allusions
Final Fantasy VI makes allusions to previous Final Fantasy games and Star Wars, among others.

Trivia

 * It is the favorite Final Fantasy game of director Hiroyuki Itou and composer Nobuo Uematsu.
 * In Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the bosses Phantom Train, Ultros, Ultima Weapon and Deathgaze are guardians for the crystals of the True Moon.
 * In the introduction to the PlayStation version, "Narshe" is misspelled as "Narche".
 * Several of the game's main characters appear as spectators in the stands of the gladiator battle in Secret of Evermore.
 * Because the FMVs of the PlayStation release use character appearances based on Yoshitaka Amano's art, Celes in particular has an appearance quite different from her sprites during the ending.

Gameplay
Final Fantasy VII is a menu-driven role-playing game. Initially, the player is restricted to the city of Midgar, but as the game progresses more of the world becomes accessible and the scripted adventure sequences give way to greater freedom and opportunities to explore. At several points the game is interrupted by scripted dramatic sequences, some of which are lengthy.

During its turn-based battle sequences, the game uses the same Active Time Battle (ATB) system utilized in the three Final Fantasy games preceding it. Unlike previous games in the series, which traditionally allowed for a maximum of four to five party members to participate in battle, Final Fantasy VII allows for only three characters at any one time.

Final Fantasy VII's skill system utilizes Materia, magic orbs which can be placed in slots on weapons and armor. Materia allows characters to access magic spells, command abilities, and a variety of passive abilities. Materia can be combined in a fixed number of ways, and strategic use of the Materia combinations allows the player to use various tactics suiting their personal style of play.

A feature introduced in Final Fantasy VI, the "desperation attack" returns in Final Fantasy VII in a new, modified form now known as the Limit Break. Every playable character has a "limit bar" which fills up proportionally to the damage received by the character in battle. When the limit bar is filled, they can unleash his or her Limit Break, a special ability which generally inflicts much more damage on an enemy than normal physical attacks; some Limit Breaks target all the enemies and other Limit Breaks support the party, such as healing HP or providing status buffs.

Final Fantasy VII popularized the inclusion of difficult optional bosses to offer reward and challenge. A series of strong monsters called Weapons appear and the player must confront several of them through the plot, but two of them — Ruby Weapon and Emerald Weapon — can only be encountered if the player goes out of their way. These two bosses were not included in the original Japanese version, but were added to the European and American versions.

Characters


The main playable characters in Final Fantasy VII are:
 * Cloud Strife is the main protagonist, posing as a former member of SOLDIER now operating as a mercenary caught up in the actions of eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE. Uncaring and cold at first, he begins to change when he begins to discover his shrouded past.
 * Barret Wallace, the leader of AVALANCHE, wields a gun on his right arm in place of his injured hand. Despite his brash and loud-mouthed personality, he is a caring person and loves his daughter Marlene.
 * Tifa Lockhart, Cloud's childhood friend and member of AVALANCHE, runs the bar 7th Heaven in the Sector 7 slums, which serves as the group's hideout. Her sympathetic exterior hides fearsome fighting skills.
 * Aeris Gainsborough, a flower girl from the Sector 5 slums and the last of the Cetra, was captured by Shinra at a young age but escaped with her mother Ifalna, who died, leaving Aeris orphaned. Aeris was found and raised by Elmyra Gainsborough.
 * Red XIII is a quadrupedal, flame red beast capable of speech. The party rescues him from capture and attempted breeding at Shinra Headquarters. He speaks little, but when he does, his words are often important.
 * Cait Sith, a robotic cat atop a stuffed Mog, operates as a fortune teller when the party meets him at the Gold Saucer. He shouts commands to his Mog in battle using a big megaphone. His friendly attitude belies a darker side, but he is eventually used for good.
 * Cid Highwind, the foul-mouthed, chain-smoking pilot of Rocket Town dreams of being the first man in space. He was forced to abort the mission after his assistant, Shera, was running a safety check on the rocket and would have burned to death had it taken off. Despite his bitter attitude, Cid has a good heart and cares about his friends.


 * Yuffie Kisaragi, first encountered as the Mystery Ninja, can be encountered in any forest after the events at the Mythril Mine. A self-professed Materia hunter, she is sneaky and playful, and 'hunts' Materia to restore her home of Wutai to its former glory.
 * Vincent Valentine, discovered sleeping in a coffin by the party at Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim, is a former Turk with a traumatic past. After being subjected to numerous experiments, Vincent became able to transform into monstrous forms, but sealed himself in the coffin because of guilt in his past. Like Red XIII, he speaks little but offers helpful advice when he does.
 * Sephiroth, is an non-controllable temporary party member during a single sequence. After resurfacing years after being deemed dead, pursuing Sephiroth becomes the party's main motivation.

Important characters in Shinra Electric Power Company are Reeve Tuesti (Head of Urban Development), Professor Hojo (Head of the Science Department), Palmer (Head of Space Exploration), Heidegger (Head of the Peace Preservation Department), Scarlet (Head of Weapons Research and Development), President Shinra, his son Rufus Shinra, and the members of a secret police organization called the Turks; Elena, Rude, Reno, and Tseng.

Aeris's name in the original English language release of Final Fantasy VII was transliterated from "Aerith". Later products that include her, such as Kingdom Hearts, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, and the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, retcon the name to Aerith, although her name remains as Aeris in the latest releases of Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation Network and PC.

Final Fantasy VII proved popular enough for Square to include several characters from the title in other games, and characters from Final Fantasy VII were the first to make subsequent appearances as playable characters or cameos in other games and popular culture. They appear elsewhere within the Final Fantasy series (for instance; Cloud appears in Final Fantasy Tactics; Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012; etc), in non-Final Fantasy games by Square Enix (such as the Kingdom Hearts series; Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring) and elsewhere (several characters are DLC costumes in ).

Setting
Gaia, referred to as the Planet by the people of the world, is a technologically advanced planet dominated by humans, who are the only major sentient race other than a few nearly extinct species. The world is economically, militarily, and politically dominated by the powerful conglomerate of Shinra Electric Power Company, which profits from the use of Mako Reactors.

The reactors siphon a special type of energy—called "Mako"—out of the Planet and convert it into electricity. One of the byproducts of the extraction and refinement of Mako energy is Materia, a concentrated form of Mako which allows the wielder to harness its magical properties. President Shinra leads his eponymous organization, and is the world's de facto ruler. Unbeknown to most of the world Shinra is involved with many horrible genetic experiments, which have created many of the monsters that roam the Planet.

Mako energy is drawn from the Lifestream, a flow of life-force beneath the Planet's surface. All life originates from the Lifestream, and returns to it upon death and the Lifestream is the sum of all the life that has ever and will ever live upon the Planet. The process of extracting Mako energy drains the life of the Planet to generate electricity. This can be seen in the Shinra's capital city of Midgar surrounded by a wasteland where plants barely grow.

AVALANCHE
Within the Midgar Slums resides the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE led by Barret Wallace, a former denizen of Corel, a town destroyed by Shinra. AVALANCHE hires a mercenary named Cloud Strife, who claims to be a former member of Shinra's elite special forces team, SOLDIER.

Cloud is plagued by psychic disturbances, and at first shows little interest in AVALANCHE's cause; by his own admission, he is only interested in money. Other members include Cloud's childhood friend, Tifa Lockhart, whom Cloud made a promise to protect back before he left their hometown of Nibelheim to join SOLDIER, and Jessie, Biggs and Wedge.

AVALANCHE's mission is to blow up the eight Mako Reactors that ring the city. During a mission Cloud is separated from the rest of the group and meets Aeris Gainsborough in the Midgar slums. To counter AVALANCHE's attacks, Shinra drops a portion of Midgar's upper plate upon the Sector 7 slums to destroy their base, killing Jessie, Biggs and Wedge, and most of the people of Sector 7. Shinra captures Aeris and takes her to their headquarters.

Shinra's management is concerned with the limited repositories of Mako energy available for harvesting, and fascinated with the legend of the Promised Land; a place of legend where Mako flows abundantly. Only a race called the Cetra, also known as the Ancients, are, according to legend, able to find it. The Cetra were all but driven to extinction by the "Calamity From the Skies" 2000 years ago, and Aeris Gainsborough is their only survivor, whom Shinra has been trying to capture for years.

Cloud and the remains of AVALANCHE storm the building to rescue Aeris from Professor Hojo's lab, where Cloud spots a headless creature called Jenova kept in a tank, and reacts to it, though he cannot explain his experience to the others. They find Hojo has caged Aeris with Red XIII, one of his other test subjects, and free them both, but end up captured themselves. As the tank where Red XIII and Aeris were kept was broken, everyone is sent into prison cells within the building. The group is freed from their cells by the surprise reappearance of the supposed dead legendary SOLDIER, Sephiroth, following the escape of a headless Jenova from her tank. President Shinra is killed during Sephiroth's return, and the young and ruthless Rufus Shinra takes the company's reins. Cloud and his party make a hair-thin escape from Midgar by fighting their way through the ranks of Shinra forces.

Chasing Sephiroth
Cloud decides to hunt down Sephiroth to avenge the destruction of his hometown, and the others follow suit. Tifa shares Cloud's hatred for Sephiroth and wants to keep an eye on Cloud as his unstable behavior troubles her. President Shinra had told Aeris that Sephiroth is an Ancient, and she wants to seek him out to discover more of her heritage. Red XIII decides to accompany the others until he can return home in Cosmo Canyon.

In the town of Kalm Cloud tells the others his tale of the Nibelheim Incident, or what happened in the town five years ago, but his story is filled with gaps. Cloud tells that five years ago he and Sephiroth had been sent to his hometown of Nibelheim to investigate the local Mako Reactor where Sephiroth found Jenova, a creature Shinra took to be an Ancient, and whom had been called Sephiroth's mother. Troubled by the discovery, Sephiroth had delved into his past and the Jenova Project—from which he was born—led by Professor Gast and the deranged Professor Hojo. His findings had driven him insane and, believing himself to be the last Ancient, Sephiroth had taken revenge on humanity by burning Nibelheim to the ground. Cloud's mother and Tifa's father had perished during the incident, and a furious Cloud had set out to confront Sephiroth, but his recollection fails before he can reach the end of the story.

After hearing of a man in a black cape the group follows the rumors to Junon where they are surprised to find Rufus Shinra holding his crowning ceremony. The party disguises as crew members and stows away on the cargo ship bound for the western continent. Sephiroth appears on the ship and kills almost every crew member. Cloud and his party locate him as he materializes out of the floor, but Sephiroth doesn't recognize Cloud. Cloud attempts to get answers on Sephiroth's goal, but he departs and has Jenova∙BIRTH battle them.

The party pursues Sephiroth across the Planet, but they do not search alone, as Rufus Shinra also wants to take Sephiroth in and has dispatched the Turks, a group of Shinra special operatives, to carry out the task. The party runs into the Turks several times, and in Gold Saucer they meet Cait Sith, a fortune teller robot, who joins them. Barret must confront his past as they return to the site of his former home town, and in Cosmo Canyon Red XIII intends to leave the party, but changes his mind upon discovering the truth of his father whom he had thought cowardly, resolving to protect the Planet by continuing to travel with Cloud and his friends. Cosmo Canyon is a center of study on the Planet and its Lifestream, and Aeris speaks with the elders and deduces Sephiroth is not an Ancient, and that she is the only Cetra left.

The group keeps pursuing the rumors of a man in a black cape and arrives at Nibelheim, finding it fully rebuilt by Shinra and populated by Shinra employees posing as the villagers to cover up the incident five years ago. The town is infested with people robed in black who rant on about Sephiroth, the numbered Sephiroth Clones, and the party finds Sephiroth himself at the library of the Shinra Manor who asks for Cloud to join him in the Reunion, but Cloud doesn't know what he is talking about.

Sephiroth flees and the group chases him across the Mt. Nibel to Rocket Town where they meet Cid Highwind, an aeronautical engineer whose dreams of going into space had been dashed by Shinra's lack of funding. Rufus arrives to take Cid's airplane, the Tiny Bronco. Cid refuses, and the party helps stop Palmer, a Shinra executive, from stealing the plane but end up boarding it themselves along with Cid, who joins the party. The plane crashes into the ocean and becomes the party's boat.

Vincent is a former Turk who was betrayed by his love, Lucrecia Crescent, Sephiroth's biological mother, and turned into a monster. He sleeps beneath the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim, in penance for his sins of failing to stop the Jenova Project, but joins the party upon learning they might run into Professor Hojo whom he deems culpable for everything. Yuffie is a girl from Wutai Village, a town that fought against Shinra dominance during the Wutai War, but has since capitulated. She dreams of restoring her homeland's pride, and joins the party to achieve that.

The party's pursuit of Sephiroth leads them to discover several things. Sephiroth's plan is to use the Black Materia, a Materia so powerful the Cetra hid it away that contains the spell Meteor, the ultimate Black Magic that summons a meteorite to crash into the Planet. Sephiroth's plan is to create a wound in the Planet so large the Lifestream will be sent en mass to heal it where Sephiroth would intercept it and take control of the world. Sephiroth is followed by a group of black-robed fanatics, the Sephiroth Clones, all bearing a tattoo somewhere on their bodies placed by Professor Hojo.

Cloud's party grabs the Keystone required to open the Temple of the Ancients from Dio, Gold Saucer's owner. During their stay at the amusement park Cloud goes on a date with a fellow party member and afterward Cait Sith steals the Keystone and hands it over to Tseng, the leader of the Turks, revealing himself a Shinra spy sent to infiltrate Cloud's group. Cait Sith refuses to reveal his true identity and blackmails the others to take him along.

Tseng and his fellow Turk Elena use the Keystone to access the Temple of the Ancients, but cannot decipher its murals. As Elena departs to report to Shinra, Sephiroth attacks Tseng. Cloud and his party find a wounded Tseng as they arrive at the temple, and regain the Keystone and use it to get deeper into the maze. It turns out the temple itself is the Black Materia, and to make into a usable form, somebody must be left inside while the temple shrinks. Cait Sith volunteers, his body being a robot, and he is destroyed once the temple turns into a Materia sphere. Cloud takes the Black Materia but Sephiroth arrives on the scene and bends Cloud under his control. Cloud hands the Materia over to Sephiroth and attacks Aeris, and is knocked out by the other party members. Another Cait Sith appears to replace the first, and Aeris leaves the party to find a way to save the world from Meteor now that Sephiroth has acquired the Black Materia.

Aeris travels to the Forgotten Capital, the lost city of the Cetra. Cloud is troubled Sephiroth was able to control him but resolves to continue his journey as Tifa and Barret encourage him to go on. The party chases after Aeris and Sephiroth and when they find her praying on an altar at the Forgotten Capital Cloud is almost bought to kill her by Sephiroth's control, only being snapped out of his thrall by the intervention of his comrades.

Sephiroth murders Aeris by impaling her with the Masamune. Cloud is enraged but Sephiroth taunts Cloud, telling him he should not act as though he has feelings. Floating up into the sky, the "Sephiroth" turns out to be Jenova; the person the party hunted was Jenova under Sephiroth's control and taking his form. After a battle with a piece of Jenova, the party pays their respects to the departed Aeris as Cloud lays her deceased body to rest in the waters of the Forgotten Capital. Cloud continues on the journey to complete his revenge against Sephiroth, even knowing he may lose control of himself again.

In Icicle Inn the party finds recordings that detail Aeris's birth and Jenova's true nature. It turns out Icicle Inn was where Aeris was born to Gast Faremis and Ifalna. Gast was the scientist who had led Shinra's Jenova Project who had departed the company upon finding a true Cetra, Ifalna, the last survivor. Gast had helped Ifalna escape Shinra and the two had settled in the remote Icicle Inn where Gast had interviewed Ifalna on her knowledge on Jenova and the guardians of the Planet, Weapons.

Ifalna had told Gast Jenova, which Gast had mistaken as a Cetra, was in fact the "Calamity from the Skies" responsible for the Cetra's dwindled numbers, as Jenova is a shapeshifting extraterrestrial organism that had arrived on a meteorite 2000 years ago, creating the large crater to the north of the Planet. The creature had been sealed away by the last surviving Cetra, and it was from this geological stratum that Gast and his researchers had excavated its body 2000 years later. As Sephiroth had been infused with Jenova's cells in fetal stage as part of Shinra's attempt to create a person with Cetra's power to talk to the Planet to find the Promised Land, he has control over those infected with Jenova cells, and with his superior will power has taken over the remains of the alien creature itself, morphing it into his image to use as his avatar on his quest to obtain the Black Materia. When Hojo had discovered Gast and Ifalna's hideout he had killed Gast and taken Ifalna and baby Aeris captive. The two had later escaped into the Midgar slums, but Ifalna had perished during the escape and Aeris had been adopted by a slum dweller.

The party follows Sephiroth/Jenova to the North Crater that had been created by Jenova's fall two thousand years ago. They are joined by Rufus and his gang, arriving on the airship Highwind. After defeating Jenova∙DEATH that had been posing as Sephiroth, the party reclaims the Black Materia. Cloud and Tifa go alone, and Cloud hands the Black Materia to a party member remaining behind to prevent himself from being tricked into giving it to Sephiroth again.

Cloud and Tifa find an illusion of the events that took place in Nibelheim five years ago and Sephiroth arrives on the scene. Sephiroth shows Cloud never was in Nibelheim five years ago, his role taken by a man called Zack. Tifa cannot refute Sephiroth's claims, and Cloud begins to believe they are true. Sephiroth says Cloud is but a facsimile created by Hojo, a puppet with false memories. Sephiroth creates another illusion to trick the party member holding the Black Materia to come to Cloud, who takes the Materia and explains to his friends he is a mere pawn for Sephiroth, yet another Sephiroth Clone. Hojo, who has accompanied Rufus to the crater, is at first interested in Cloud but upon discovering Cloud doesn't have a numbered tattoo discards him as a failure, annoyed a "failed experiment" is the only one to have made it to the "Reunion" with the true Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's true body emerges from a Materia cocoon, and Cloud hands him the Black Materia. Sephiroth summons the Meteor, which awakens the Planet's guardians, the Weapons, giant monsters of immense destructive power. As the crater floor crumbles Cloud and Sephiroth's cocoon fall into the Lifestream and the party escapes with Shinra on the Highwind. Tifa is knocked unconscious and Barret is caught as he tries to escape with the unconscious Tifa, both of them taken to Junon while the rest of AVALANCHE escapes on their own.

Meteor Falls
While unconscious Tifa hallucinates chasing Cloud who disappears into darkness, and recalls how she met him on the Sector 7 slums train station some time before he was hired into AVALANCHE. Cloud had been acting strange and claimed it had been five years since they'd last seen, and although Tifa knew it to be longer than that, she had never confronted him, instead asking him to join AVALANCHE so she would have more time to decide what to do and to keep an eye on him and his strange behavior.

Tifa awakes in Junon seven days later and finds a world in chaos; a meteorite looms in the sky, a sign of the impending end of the world. Sephiroth has surrounded the North Crater with a barrier preventing either Shinra or the Weapons from attacking him, and the creatures have taken to attacking Shinra's sites of power instead. Rufus, trying to show Shinra is still in control, decides to use Tifa and Barret as scapegoats and publicly execute the pair. Before the execution can go through Sapphire Weapon attacks Junon, and Shinra kills it with a direct shot to the face with the Mako Cannon. The other party members, led by Cait Sith, sneak in during the attack to rescue Tifa and Barret, and steal the Highwind.

The party finds Cloud suffering severe Mako poisoning in the town of Mideel, where he had washed in by the currents of the Lifestream. Tifa stays behind to watch over him, as she is adamant Sephiroth's story of Cloud being Hojo's creation with false memories is untrue, and wants to help him regain his true self. Cid leads the party to claim Shinra's Huge Materia, which Shinra schemes to load onto Cid's rocket and launch it directly at Meteor. Cid doesn't want Shinra to get their hands on the Huge Materia, and wants them for their own use to fight against Sephiroth.

The Ultimate Weapon crashes in Mideel. The town is destroyed by an earthquake as the Lifestream swallows it and Cloud and Tifa fall in. Being submerged in the Lifestream allows Tifa travel inside Cloud's Subconscious and sort through his true memories and secret desires, such as joining SOLDIER in part to gain Tifa's attention. She confirms Cloud is the genuine article, although not the person he had made himself believe he was.

Cloud had never made it into SOLDIER and had become a lowly Shinra infantryman instead. Embarrassed by his failure, he had not told anyone from his hometown, and when he had been assigned a mission in Nibelheim to accompany the SOLDIER members Zack and Sephiroth, Cloud had concealed his identity by always wearing his helmet, and this is why Tifa had not realized Cloud was there at the time. After Sephiroth had gone insane and torched the town, he had departed for the Mako Reactor to save his "mother", as Jenova was being contained there. Zack had confronted Sephiroth at the reactor, but lost. Cloud had arrived soon after seeking revenge and a weakened Zack had given Cloud his Buster Sword to kill Sephiroth with. Cloud had triumphed against Sephiroth and hurled him into the Lifestream below the reactor, but had suffered great wounds in the affair and fallen unconscious. Sephiroth, as an offspring of an extraterrestrial lifeform, had resisted dissolution to the Lifestream and remained a conscious spirit within it, hatching a plan to ascend to godhood. He had taken control of Jenova's body and thus those infected with her cells to carry out his plan, and begin to construct a new body for himself, the one the party had run into at the North Crater.

After Hojo had arrived at the reactor to assess the situation, he had taken Zack and Cloud, as well as the other survivors from the village, to be his test subjects to turn them into Sephiroth Clones. While the villagers had been turned into clones, Zack and Cloud had not reacted as desired and were deemed failures to be contained in the Shinra Manor.

Cloud's mind had been shattered by the trauma of the events and as a result of Hojo's experimentation and he had merged his ideal self with Zack and Tifa's memories, and replaced Zack with himself in his recollections. As Cloud and Tifa are rescued from the Lifestream the restored Cloud returns to lead the party, revealing to the others he is not an Ex-SOLDIER, as he had not been mentally strong enough to qualify.

If he returns to the Nibelheim Mansion, Cloud recalls how he and Zack had escaped. After being held captive for many years Zack had broken free, and taken Cloud along as they had escaped the restored Nibelheim, giving Cloud an old SOLDIER First Class uniform to wear. Shinra had caught up with the pair on a precipice overlooking the Midgar Wasteland and Zack had been gunned down, but the soldiers had ignored the vegetative Cloud and left him for dead. Cloud had crawled over to Zack's body and taken his Buster Sword, then made his way to Midgar alone where he had wandered aimlessly before being discovered by Tifa at the Sector 7 slums train station. At the sight of her Cloud had snapped out of his stupor and made up a new persona as a former SOLDIER First Class to gain a sense of identity and to cover up the gaps in his memory.

Upon hearing the party has been hunting the Huge Materia Cloud joins the fray. They storm the launch of Cid's rocket but end up trapped inside as it takes off. Cid discovers he had been wrong in admonishing his assistant Shera for ruining his dreams of space flight, and the party returns to the Planet on an escape pod. The rocket fails to destroy the Meteor, and as the party gazes at their world from outer space they reaffirm their conviction to protect it, and decide uncover what Aeris's plan had been.

With help of the Cosmo Canyon elder Bugenhagen, the party discovers the reason Aeris had gone off alone to the Forgotten Capital. Aeris had planned to summon Holy, the ultimate White Magic and a counter to Meteor, using the White Materia that had been passed down in the Cetra lineage and she, as the last Cetra, had possessed it. Just before her death her prayer had reached the Planet, but Sephiroth is holding back the power of Holy within the Planet Core.

The Diamond Weapon rises out of the sea and charges towards Midgar. Rufus and the Shinra Executives have moved the Mako Cannon to Midgar and renamed it Sister Ray to prepare for an offensive against Sephiroth. The cannon destroys the Weapon, and the blast reaches North Crater, breaking Sephiroth's shield. Before dying the Weapon fires out energy blasts into the Shinra Building, seemingly killing Rufus and creating a power vacuum at the top of his organization. Midgar falls into chaos. Cait Sith pleads for Cloud and his friends' help, and ends up revealing his true identity as that of Reeve Tuesti, a Shinra executive in charge of Midgar.

Cloud's party infiltrates the city to fight Hojo who has taken command of the Sister Ray and is trying to re-launch it despite it would obliterate Midgar. They fight their way through the remaining forces of Shinra to reach Hojo who reveals he wishes to give his son a boost from the Sister Ray's power; the party learns Hojo is Sephiroth's father, a fact even Sephiroth does not know, and thus Hojo is directly responsible for the crisis facing the Planet. Despite the power he has gained by injecting himself with Jenova cells, Hojo is defeated.

With only a week until Meteorfall, Cloud and his party rest before the final battle. Without a place to call home Cloud and Tifa share the night together below the stars. The next morning the party ventures to the depths of the Northern Cave and in the Planet Core they find Sephiroth who transforms into Bizarro∙Sephiroth, and then Safer∙Sephiroth‎, a half-human, half-divine form befitting his vision of becoming a god. Despite Sephiroth's immense power, he is defeated.

The party begins to depart the Northern Cave, but Cloud collapses, his spirit being torn from him to defeat the spirit of Sephiroth within the Lifestream, which frees Cloud of the mental chains to his enemy. The victory comes too late, and when Holy is released Meteor has fallen too far for Holy to unleash its full power. Midgar is destroyed by the struggle between Meteor and Holy, but Aeris's spirit commands the Lifestream to congregate and push Meteor far enough away from the Planet for Holy to destroy it.

500 years later Red XIII and two pups arrive on a precipice over the overgrown ruins of Midgar with children's laughter ringing in the background.

Music
The soundtrack was Nobuo Uematsu's 22nd work for Square. Music from the game has been commercially released on an original four-disc soundtrack, a single disc album of selected arranged tracks titled Final Fantasy VII: Reunion Tracks, and piano-only arrangement of selected tracks, the Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VII.

Popular pieces from the production include "Aerith's Theme", a subdued and melodic character anthem, and "One-Winged Angel", the first composition for the series to utilize recorded voices. The "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII", heard on the world map in disc 1, is over six minutes long. Several tracks from the game have resurfaced in subsequent Square (and Square Enix) productions, including Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

At the time, the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VII was considered Uematsu's most ambitious. As a result of time constraints and the limited storage space afforded to him, Uematsu opted to utilize a high-quality midi format. This was at a time when digital and Redbook audio were coming into their own, and some worried the game's soundtrack would suffer as a consequence. These fears proved unrealized, as the score of Final Fantasy VII is often ranked among the most popular and memorable in the series.

Development
Planning sessions for Final Fantasy VII began in 1994 after the release of Final Fantasy VI. At the time, Final Fantasy VII was planned to be another 2D project for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi intended the story to take place in modern New York City in the year 1999. Several of the staff members were working in parallel on Chrono Trigger, and development for Final Fantasy VII was interrupted when the other project became significant enough to require the help of Yoshinori Kitase and other designers. Some of the ideas originally considered for Final Fantasy VII ended up in Chrono Trigger and other ideas, such as the New York setting and the sorceress character Edea, were kept unused until the later projects Parasite Eve and Final Fantasy VIII respectively.

Development of Final Fantasy VII resumed in late 1995, and required the efforts of approximately 120 artists and programmers, using PowerAnimator and Softimage|3D software and a budget of more than US$30 million. Final Fantasy VI's co-director and scenario writer, Yoshinori Kitase, returned to direct and co-write Final Fantasy VII and was concerned the franchise might be left behind if it did not catch up to the 3D computer graphics used in other games at the time. Production began after the making of a short, experimental tech demo called "Final Fantasy SGI" for Silicon Graphics, Inc. Onyx workstations. The demo featured polygon-based 3D renderings of characters from Final Fantasy VI in a real time battle. This experiment led the development team to integrate these design mechanics into Final Fantasy VII.

As a result of the high quantity of memory storage required to implement the motion data for characters, only the CD-ROM format would be able to suit the project's needs. Nintendo, for which Square had developed all previous titles in the Final Fantasy series, had decided to continue using cartridges for its upcoming Nintendo 64 console, which led to a dispute that resulted in Square ending its long relationship with Nintendo. Square announced on January 12, 1996 it would be developing Final Fantasy VII for Sony's PlayStation platform.

Characters
Tetsuya Nomura was chosen to draw the character designs by Hironobu Sakaguchi. The company used a system where everyone would put out plans regardless of their section, and while everyone handed in text documents they had made on a PC, Nomura's were hand-written and illustrated. Sakaguchi thought the illustrated proposals were amusing and chose Nomura to draw the characters. The first characters Tetsuya Nomura created for Final Fantasy VII were Cloud and Aeris, followed by Barret.

Zack did not exist in the story until late and was the last character Tetsuya Nomura drew for the game; it was thought Cloud would remind Aeris of her first love, but who this person would be wasn't decided on before Zack was made, and it was decided Cloud's self-made persona would be based on Zack's. Nomura wanted a four-legged character in the game and thus Red XIII was born. Nomura was the one to come up with the name; he wanted a name that would be "interesting" and combined a number with a color. Yuffie and Vincent were almost cut from the game due to lack of time, and they became optional characters.

Art Direction
The game follows in the footsteps of Final Fantasy VI in presenting a world with more advanced technology than previous installments. The gamut of the game's technology covers space flight, robotics, highly advanced genetic engineering, automatic firearms, directed energy weapons, automobiles, helicopters, limited anti-gravity technology, and major global corporations; the level of technology in the world of Final Fantasy VII could be said to approximate that of near-future science fiction.

Kitase has described the process of making the in-game environments as detailed as possible to be "a daunting task". The series' long-time character designer, Yoshitaka Amano, was busy opening art workshops and exhibitions in France and New York, which limited his involvement. This was addressed by bringing Nomura on board as the project's main artist, while Amano aided in the design of the game's world map.

There were two directions the development of Final Fantasy VII could have taken; either use pixel characters on 3D maps (like ) or render the characters using polygons. The pixel characters used in previous Final Fantasy games were popular, so at first the development team were considering the former, but decided it wouldn't be possible to make a realistic drama that way, whereas with polygon characters the movement of their entire bodies could be used for expression. Kitase has mentioned the game Alone in the Dark was his inspiration for this style.

Sakaguchi wanted to follow the tradition of the pixel graphics, and to show the characters' expressions on the field screens, so attention was paid to the size of the characters' heads. In battles it is possible to zoom in, but since the field screens are a single background image, it is not possible to do that there. As a result, the characters' proportions are different in battle and on the field. Afterward the team thought players will feel something is off with the difference in proportion, and so in Final Fantasy VIII the character proportions on the field and battle were kept the same.

The transition from 2D computer graphics to 3D environments overlaid on pre-rendered backgrounds was accompanied by a focus on a more realistic presentation. While the extra storage capacity and computer graphics gave the team the means to implement more than 40 minutes of full motion video, this innovation brought the added difficulty of ensuring the inferiority of the in-game graphics in comparison to the full motion video sequences would not be too obvious. The aim was to seamlessly join the movies and the game parts, and this approach is seen in the game's opening where the camera zooms in from a shot of the entire Midgar to Cloud jumping off the train. This was Square's first time implementing FMV movies to a game and they used an outside CG company for making the scenes. When the trial version was completed, Square would want to change some of the movie scenes to match the changes made to the story, without knowing big changes are unusual and costly, as it is not possible to get retakes as easily as one can do with games. In the end the team made do with a few revisions.

Story
The original script of Final Fantasy VII, written by Sakaguchi, was rather different from the finished product. Tetsuya Nomura has recalled how Sakaguchi "wanted to do something like a detective story". The first part of the story involved a "hot blooded" character named "Detective Joe" in pursuit of the main characters who blew up the city of Midgar, which had already been developed for the story. Despite having written the original plot, Sakaguchi focused with developing the battle system rather than the final version of the story.

Yoshinori Kitase and Kazushige Nojima came up with the sections on AVALANCHE and Shinra, Cloud's backstory, and the relationship between Cloud and Sephiroth. Sakaguchi came up with the specifics on the Lifestream in his original plot, but this saw some work by Kitase and crew before being placed in the game.

During the development of Final Fantasy VII, Hironobu Sakaguchi's mother died. At the time, Sakaguchi wanted to craft a story that told of how someone having passed away does not mean they are gone, and to show a realistic death rather than a "Hollywood" sacrificial death that previous games in the series had done. These desires developed into the Lifestream, and Aeris's iconic death scene and subsequent continuing role in the lives of the cast.

It was Tetsuya Nomura's idea to have a story where the player would chase Sephiroth. Following a moving enemy hadn't been done before in the Final Fantasy series, and Nomura thought chasing something would help pull the story along.

Translation
Ted Woolsey, who had done the translation of Final Fantasy VI, was invited to do Final Fantasy VII and he traveled to LA where Square had invited him to the new headquarters, but ultimately Woolsey turned down the opportunity due to personal reasons.

Sakaguchi insisted the game's English translation be conducted in-house by the original Japanese development team, as had been done with Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy IV.

Although the resulting translation was perhaps more true to the Japanese version than the previous game had been, it was criticized by some as awkward and containing numerous grammatical errors. The Windows port is based on the same localization script, but many lines were rewritten and many of the grammatical errors were corrected. In future games, Square would hire American translators to collaborate with the Japanese development team, instead of having the translation done entirely by one or the other.

PC version development
Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy title to be ported to a Windows system. Shareholders felt Square was limiting their market by not delivering games for multiple platforms; the company thus started to update the old games to modern programming languages and platforms, and to port Final Fantasy VII to the PC. Eidos was chosen as the publisher, as at the time Eidos successfully converted and released Core's Tomb Raider from PlayStation to PC, and thus seemed like a company experienced in marketing and distributing PlayStation to PC conversions. Eidos bought the rights to publish Final Fantasy VII for the PC for a million dollars, and Square contracted out the port team in Honolulu.

The PC port of Final Fantasy VII suffers from many problems. After the PlayStation version was finalized, Square shut down the Final Fantasy VII project and broke apart its development team; the coders, artists, managers, and equipment were either transferred to the Final Fantasy IX project, moved to other parts of the company, released from their contract, or simply deprecated. What more, the programmers working on the port had never made a PC game before, and so it is ridden with architectural mistakes.

The only thing the port team could work with was the pre-compiled PlayStation data on backgrounds and FMV movies, because the computers used to render the originals were gone and the 3D models for the cinematics were no longer available. Many of the original artists and animators were contract workers and no longer with Square, so they couldn't help with the port. The original MIDI music was tweaked by audio engineers after being compiled into the PSX SEQ format; the original MIDIs the PC received were not even the final versions. Square refused to have anything changed for the port, apart from the text input, because the game's original director was not part of the project and could not be consulted.

The PC version was released June of 1998, but it was buggy and initially incompatible with Cyrix and AMD CPUs. The PC version was ridden with problems from movies playing upside down or crashing the system, users' sound cards not being designed for MIDI playback, and the initial keyboard configuration using only the numeric keypad, meaning the game could not be played on many laptops. One of the most notorious flaws was a glitch that crashed the game during the Chocobo racing sequences; like most issues of the PC version, it was addressed with a fan-made patch.

The game featured separate and  MIDI files; a Yamaha S-YXG70  was provided on the install disc, which was, according to the readme, specially made for the game by Yamaha in order to make the XG MIDI files playable on computers without appropriate hardware. Additionally, the game is one of the very few Windows titles with support for Creative Labs' Sound Blaster / ISA sound cards, as it provides a custom soundfont for their EMU8000 synthesizer.

Having learned from the Final Fantasy VII PC version mistakes, Square started a long-term project to "up-port" their core games and standardize all data, so the faults made with the Final Fantasy VII PC port would not happen again. The recent re-releases of old Final Fantasy games use a new 2D engine.

PC version re-release
Rumors of Square re-releasing Final Fantasy VII for PC surfaced in 2012 when Square Enix purchased the domain for finalfantasyviipc.com. Product description for the new release was posted on the page, but was quickly removed; however, a number of news sites had got whiff of the scoop and the product description remained in Google cache.

On the 4th July 2012 the site was officially opened with information about the release, albeit without a release date. Later, the version was released on Steam. The re-released PC version includes new online features, such as cloud saving, achievements and the player can to boost characters' stats and gain more gil via a system known as "Character Booster".

Themes
The game incorporates allusions to a variety of religious and philosophical systems, reflected in character names like Sephiroth (drawn from the Kabbalah) and Heidegger (likely a reference to German philosopher Martin Heidegger), and place names such as Midgar and Nibelheim (both from Norse mythology), as well as numerous references in monster names, such as the Midgar Zolom, a reference to the Midgardsorm (also from Norse mythology). Additionally, several references are made to previous Final Fantasy titles, including several character names such as Cid and Biggs and Wedge, and the repetition of soundtrack motifs, such as the "Chocobo Theme".

Environmentalism and crony capitalism are major themes in Final Fantasy VII, with Shinra Electric Power Company having taken over the world after discovering Mako energy and becoming the world's only major electricity provider. Whether humanity is truly an important part of the ecosystem is contemplated when Bugenhagen reveals to the party the Planet's Ultimate White Magic spell can wipe out anything the Planet deems a danger, putting mankind's future in peril seeing as they have been exploiting the world's nature reserves wantonly.

The party decides to fight for the Planet regardless, and in the end humanity's true fate was left ambiguous, with only the non-human member of the party, Red XIII, appearing in the epilogue, although future installments to the Compilation have revealed mankind did survive. The interconnectedness of all life is part of the Lifestream study explored in Cosmo Canyon, and the party realize this when they gaze down on the Planet from space, cognizant for the first time how small their world is in the vastness of space, reaffirming their conviction to protect it. The Planet itself gains anthropomorphic properties with the Cetra being able to enter in communion with it in a ritual known as "talking to the Planet", and in Cosmo Canyon the party can listen to the "cry of the Planet" in suffering under exploitation from Mako harvest.

In the end the forces of nature prove greater, as despite all their power Shinra crumbles when faced with the Planet's true might when the Meteor is summoned and the Weapons awaken. The collective power of all life is required to save the Planet from Meteor, with Aeris, perhaps representing humanity itself, as the conduit when she summons the Lifestream to push the Meteor back.

Overseas Release
The North American and PAL versions of Final Fantasy VII made substantial changes to the original Japanese version. Several areas of gameplay have been made more difficult by adding in new bosses. Random battle rates were cut down, and Materia swapping between characters was made easier. New flashbacks of Tifa meeting the semi-conscious Cloud on a train station, and a flashback of Cloud and Zack escaping Nibelheim, were also added in.

Final Fantasy VII International
The North American version of Final Fantasy VII was re-released in Japan, called "Final Fantasy VII International", the very first International Version, a semi-recurring feature of the series. It includes Final Fantasy VII: Perfect Guide, a special fourth disc with maps, character information, design sketches, and other trivia. A later limited version, Final Fantasy VII International Advent Pieces: Limited was released in a collectible metal case that could be assembled into a display stand.

PC version re-release
The game was released on PC to both Europe and North America on August 14th, 2012. The game is available on the Square Enix website. The re-release version of Final Fantasy VII showed up for sale on the website on the night of 5th of August 2012, but was quickly pulled by Square. Those who were fast enough to download the game found their copies not working, as the automatic license activation (through the SecuROM DRM) and manual serial number entry failed. The price attached to these early sales was $12.70. It later turned out the early release was related to testing the product website for the upcoming relaunch, and while the website was being tested a small number of people were able to purchase a pre-release build of the game. For those customers, Square Enix offered a refund and a free version of Final Fantasy VII on PC upon its launch.

A PC version of Final Fantasy VII International was released in Japan May 16th, 2013, made available on the Japanese Square website.

The game was released on Steam on July 4, 2013. This version is the same as the 2012 release, and any achievements earned in the other version carry over to the Steam version as soon as the game is started.

On 27th September 2013 Square Enix announced to have upgraded the audio in the game, due to various player complaints on the background music quality.

PlayStation 4
On December 6, 2014 at PlayStation Experience event in Las Vegas, Shinji Hashimoto announced that Final Fantasy VII will be re-release on PlayStation 4. This version will be based on the 2012 PC re-release version. It will not be a remake.

Reception
Final Fantasy VII was a critical and commercial success. It received glowing reviews from most video game magazines and by 1999 the game had sold more than eight million copies worldwide, with about three million in the first 48 hours of its release. It was one of the first console role-playing games to achieve widespread popularity outside of Asia, and the ongoing popularity of the title led Square Enix to produce a series of sequels and prequels under the collective title Compilation of Final Fantasy VII in the mid-2000s.

Not counting spin-off or related titles (such as Final Fantasy Mystic Quest), Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy title to be released in Europe and Australia, and it was the first Final Fantasy game to be released under the same name in both Japan and North America since the original NES Final Fantasy. This fact caused some initial confusion among North American consumers.

Japan's Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, and Final Fantasy V were not released in North America; instead, Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI were released as America's Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III respectively. The American series thus effectively jumped from III to VII when Final Fantasy VII was released although the game was the next sequential release. It caused even more confusion among European consumers with misled thoughts of there being six other games dealing with Cloud and his friends' adventures.

The PlayStation Network release of the game was downloaded 100,000 times during its first two weeks of release, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation game on the PlayStation Network.

In a Famitsu character popularity poll, Final Fantasy VII had six characters (Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth, Aerith, Zack, and Yuffie) place. This is the most amount of characters from any one game listed. Final Fantasy VII was the winner of the 2004 GameFAQs user poll contest "Best. Game. Ever.", beating the fellow Square RPG, Chrono Trigger. However, in GameFAQs second "Best. Game. Ever." poll, the game finished runner-up to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It came 2nd in Empire magazine's 2010 feature "100 Greatest Videogames Ever", beaten only by Super Mario World. In 2012, Final Fantasy VII got #33 in G4's "Top 100 Games of All Time" beating Gears of War 3, Fallout 3 and Halo: Combat Evolved.

On December 3, 2014 Final Fantasy VII was voted by the Japanese fans as one of the best five PlayStation games of the brand's 20 years lifespan, along with Final Fantasy X,, , and.

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
After the new millennium Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura were approached and asked for a game that could be expanded across multiple platforms and mediums. Final Fantasy VII was chosen, which led to the creation of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. To date, the compilation includes two mobile phone games, one sequel game, one prequel game, one full-length CGI film, an OVA, and several short novellas.

The games within the collection have expanded on the story of Final Fantasy VII both before and after the original game, but have been met with mixed reactions for a number of reasons, including various retcons and liberties taken with the original storyline and characters.

Rumored Remake
In 2005 at the Sony E3 annual press conference, Square Enix showed a technical demo for the PlayStation 3 depicting the opening sequence to the original Final Fantasy VII remade with the PlayStation 3's enhanced graphics. Square Enix later made an official statement of there being no plans of a remake of Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation 3.

The rumors were sparked a second time with Square Enix's exhibition of new FMV artworks during the Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary event in Japan. The artworks depicted the characters in their Final Fantasy VII costumes, reigniting rumors a remake of the game may be in development. These CG artworks were printed on the new canned Potion beverages. Kazuo Hirai, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, also fueled the rumors by sticking a small note in the exhibition saying "Congratulations for the ten fantastic years! The best is yet to come".

The release of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- brought new speculation to the possibility of a remake; the ending shows the beginning of Final Fantasy VII in a modern CG style, followed by a title card reading "to be continued in FINAL FANTASY VII", in reference to the original game.

Rumors surfaced again due to photos of a Best Buy ad stating the game was to be released on August 16, 2008.

Despite excitement surrounding the chance of a remake, Square Enix has consistently denied any and all rumors on several occasions. With photos of an ad for CLOUD Vol.2 appearing on the Internet, the excitement rose yet again. The ad was revealed to be for a book.

Final Fantasy VII was released on the PlayStation network for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable in 2009 with Japan's release in April and the US and Europe following in June. It costs $9.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK and has remained rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

In December of 2009, Tetsuya Nomura hinted an announcement is to come sometime in 2010 promising a game highly requested by fans - some of which have personally requested it from him, and the reaction he expects from the announcement is downright huge. Again this led to immense speculation of a Final Fantasy VII remake.

In January of 2010, Tetsuya Nomura followed up on his previous statement stating "Fans are looking forward to an often rumored remake of Final Fantasy VII, but I don't believe this will happen for the time being". For some this seemed like the end, but others argue that "for the time being" means a remake could surface in the future.

In February 2010, Yoshinori Kitase stated he would like to take part in a remake of Final Fantasy VII in the future, but it was not in his immediate plan.

At the beginning of March 2010, Square Enix asked the public, on its official Twitter blog, what they would think of a remake.

On March 22, 2010, Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada stated the company would "explore the possibility - whether or not we're going to do it, if we're going to do it, and the platform".

On May 31, 2010, Square Enix's CEO Yoichi Wada stated it would take longer than he is prepared to invest in a single project to be able to remake Final Fantasy VII. Since Square Enix receives so many requests for a remake, the prospect for a remake has not been completely ruled out.

In May 2012 Tetsuya Nomura addressed the fans' demand for a Final Fantasy VII remake in a Famitsu interview by saying that newer games (such as Final Fantasy XV) take precedent over such projects, because the developers want to create new Final Fantasy games that can surpass peoples' expectations instead of remaking classics.

In February 2014 Yoshinori Kitase stated in an interview with Eurogamer that he would love to do an HD remake of Final Fantasy VII, but that it would take a lot to make such a project a reality. Kitase mentioned staff availability and budget as two major barriers to the project being greenlit, as well as his personal motivation to create it, as he admits that though he casually says he would like to do a remake, it would be a huge project.

A Final Fantasy VII PC modding community have spent the best part of about 10 years working on a number of different mods, predominantly for the PC version of Final Fantasy VII, but some of the modding community have been working on PS versions. The patches have been known to improve both the Audio/Visual experience as well as the gameplay.

Gametrailers.com listed Final Fantasy VII on their "Top 10 Necessary Remakes" at #2.

Packaging Artwork
Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy game whose Japanese game cover was just the logo on white background, a tradition that has continued ever since. At first, Square were talking about removing the lettering of the logo and just having the image of Meteor Yoshitaka Amano had drawn, but it didn't materialize. The background was chosen to be white because Hironobu Sakaguchi said that the image of Final Fantasy was white.

Trivia

 * Square had considered a Final Fantasy VII remake for PlayStation 2 in early 2001. The project was either scrapped or never started development.
 * Final Fantasy VII is the first Final Fantasy game to show blood in a scene.
 * During the scene where the Sister Ray is about to fire at Diamond Weapon, a voice can be heard over an intercom. (This is hardly audible due to the music that continues to play in the background. It can be heard while viewing the cutscene video clip that is on the PC version).
 * There are four other examples of audible vocalization in the game: in the FMV sequence when Midgar's Sector 7 plate is collapsing onto the slum underneath, the slum's residents give a frightened scream. At the end of this sequence, President Shinra observes the chaos below from his top floor office in Shinra Tower listening to opera music. During the Safer Sephiroth battle "One-Winged Angel" includes vocalized lyrics. And lastly, children's laughter is heard as the epilogue sequence draws to a close. These make Final Fantasy VII the first game in the series with audible voice acting. The voice actors involved are unknown and not named in the credits.
 * Kazushige Nojima, along with Yoshinori Kitase, has stated in the Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania interview that Final Fantasy X's Spira is the 'ancestor' civilization which colonized the Planet of Final Fantasy VII. This is reinforced by Shinra's mention of potentially harnessing the Farplane as an energy source, which his descendants would go on to do with the Lifestream many centuries later, as the Shinra Electric Power Company.
 * Final Fantasy VII appeared, along with Final Fantasy Tactics, in Smithsonian Art of Video Games exhibit held between March 18 and September 30 2012. The video games in the exhibition were decided by public vote.
 * Final Fantasy VII's original 1998 trailer features a piece of music called "Final Encounter" by Steve Baker that isn't featured in the game or soundtrack.
 * Xenogears started out as an early concept conceived by Tetsuya Takahashi and Kaori Tanaka for Square's Final Fantasy VII. The company deemed it "too dark and complicated for a fantasy", but Takahashi was allowed to develop it as a separate project.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Final Fantasy VIII is vastly different from previous titles. The Draw and Junction Systems are the most notable changes. Instead of leveling up in order to learn new spells and abilities via weapons or a job class, the player must Draw the spells from enemies and Draw Points, hotspots scattered throughout the game containing random numbers of a specific spell.

This eliminates the convention of magic/mana points, but encourages players to hoard and conserve spells both for direct use and for junctioning them to different stats associated with Guardian Forces, who also hold the learning of new abilities.

Guardian Forces


Summoned monsters in Final Fantasy VIII are known as Guardian Forces, often abbreviated to GFs. They require junctioning to characters in order to be used, as well as to utilize their inherent abilities. Unlike previous games, GFs take time to be summoned, and the time taken depends on the character/GF combination. When selected, the ATB gauge begins to run backwards and the character's name and HP are replaced by the GF's name and HP.

Similar to the Aeons used later in Final Fantasy X, the GF have HP and can take damage, shielding party members while being summoned. During the summon charge time, if the GF's HP reaches 0, they get KOed and the summon is canceled. They also can't be summoned until revived. When the GF's ATB gauge reaches zero, the GF is summoned and attacks in a similar fashion to Final Fantasy VII. If the summoned GF has learned the Boost ability, the player can attempt to boost the GF's attack power by up to 250%, but if the player fails to adequately boost the GF its attack power may actually be reduced rather than enhanced.

Guardian Forces gain Ability Points from battles to learn abilities. Each GF has unique abilities, though rare items allow the player to customize each GF's skillsets. Most abilities at least require junctioning the GF to a character, but some abilities also require junctioning to the character to take effect. Each GF has an ability that, once learned, can be junctioned as a battle command. The first two Guardian Forces are acquired at the beginning of the game. Other Guardian Forces can be acquired through sidequests, or by drawing them from a boss. Only three Guardian Forces are given automatically, the others are optional.

Junctioning
The Junction System is the system used for boosting character stats and to give elemental/Status Effect effects to weapons and armor. The player must junction a Guardian Force to enable the use of battle commands other than Attack. Boosting stats requires characters to obtain magic, by drawing spells from enemies and draw points and by refining from items with GF abilities.

The player can junction the spells to stats such as Strength, Vitality, Evasion and Hit-Rate. Which attributes can be customized depends on the junctioned Guardian Force(s). The Guardian Force can learn to unlock more statistics to junction magic to by earning AP in battle, and by the use of GF items.

Experience and Leveling
As with most games of the RPG genre, Experience Points are awarded following defeat of randomly encountered enemies. The system of leveling in Final Fantasy VIII is unique for two reasons: each playable character only requires 1,000 Experience Points to advance to the next level, whereas other games require progressively more points as levels are gained. The statistic increases granted by a level-up are minuscule, as major stat growth is relegated to the Junction System.

The other feature is that enemies and bosses have no set level (although bosses have level caps); they increase in hit points, statistics, and abilities alongside the player party. Higher-level enemies are capable of inflicting and withstanding significantly more damage, and may have additional special attacks. They also possess better magic to draw and items to steal as their level rises. The benefit of this system is no matter where the player is in the storyline, there is a level of difficulty.

Furthermore, due to most locations being visited several times during the storyline and for sidequests, enemies encountered early will grow with the party and can still pose a threat later in the game. There are certain locations that are the exempt to this style of creature leveling, notably the Island Closest to Heaven and the Island Closest to Hell, where all creatures are at level 100 regardless of character level, and the Lunatic Pandora, where all creatures are at level 1 regardless of character level with Squall as party leader (more info here).

Limit Breaks
The Limit Break system in Final Fantasy VIII is a more advanced version of the Desperation Attack system from Final Fantasy VI. Each character has a unique Limit Break based on their preferred fighting style. As a rule of thumb, while a character's HP remains below a certain point, Limit Breaks will become available.

One notable difference between this system and the Desperation Attack feature in Final Fantasy VI is that the player can opt to Attack normally even if a Limit Break is currently available. Another is that the chance of a Limit Break becoming available will increase the lower his/her HP becomes, among other factors. Also, while Desperation Attacks could only be used once per battle, there are no limits to how often Limit Breaks can be performed, so long as the character remains in critical condition.

Several characters' Limit Break sequences are also interactive, requiring the player's skill to reach its full damage potential; if performed correctly, these interactive Limit Breaks can be far more powerful than the non-interactive ones.

Triple Triad
Final Fantasy VIII introduced a minigame that can be played whenever there are NPCs around; a trading card game, known as Triple Triad. Triple Triad varies from a simple easy-to-play game to a complicated one. More rules and variations of other rules come into play depending on what area the player is playing in. And to complicate things further, rules played with in one area are carried to other areas, so the player will want to be careful what rules to pick up while playing.

Cards won from monsters or by playing NPCs can be turned into various items using Quezacotl's Card Mod ability, ranging from screws to items capable of being refined into the most powerful magics in the game. Cards can also be obtained by using Quezacotl's Card command to turn targeted monsters into cards.

Characters


Overall, Final Fantasy VIII has eleven playable characters, six of them used for the majority of the game, three used at certain interludes, and two temporary characters.

Main characters:
 * Squall Leonhart - The taciturn and reluctant hero. A lone wolf, he is known as a fearsome warrior in training, specializing in the rare gunblade. Though aloof and seemingly detached, he grows to appreciate his friends and love Rinoa, evolving into a model leader for his peers. His tagline is "...Whatever".
 * Rinoa Heartilly - A beautiful and spirited young woman who abandoned a privileged lifestyle to join a resistance movement. Owns a faithful pet dog, Angelo.
 * Quistis Trepe - A top-notch member of SeeD who serves as Squall's instructor. Though beautiful and popular, she is insecure about herself and her capabilities. She overcomes this through her deep caring for Squall and her friends.
 * Zell Dincht - A Garden student with unsurpassed martial arts skill who has a passion for hot dogs. In spite of his loud-mouthed attitude, Zell strives to be a model cadet.
 * Selphie Tilmitt - A spunky young woman with a carefree spirit. Transferred from Trabia Garden. She tends to overcompensate her sad past with a happy disposition.
 * Irvine Kinneas - An expert gunman and consummate ladies' man. Despite his shallow façade, Irvine is determined, caring and sensitive man, and is the only one who knows the hidden connection between all the members of the group.
 * Ultimecia - A powerful sorceress from the future who desires to become omnipotent. A manipulative woman filled with hatred and resentment, her past is shrouded in mystery.

Other major characters:
 * Seifer Almasy - Squall's rival who wreaks havoc within Balamb Garden. An accomplished warrior and gunblade specialist, he considers Squall his equal and dreams of becoming a hero, but his mind becomes warped by the sorceress's influence.
 * Laguna Loire - A passionate man whose "pen is truly mightier than the sword". Despite disliking violence, he bravely takes up arms in the face of injustice or when his loved ones are in peril.
 * Kiros Seagill - A Galbadian soldier who wields katals in battle. An intellectual and cool person, he is Laguna's best friend and the voice of reason within the group of friends.
 * Ward Zabac - A Galbadian soldier who wields a harpoon. Though intimidating at first glance, he is a caring individual and a most loyal friend to Laguna.
 * Edea Kramer - A mysterious sorceress and estranged wife of Cid Kramer, whose connection to the main cast is more than just antagonism.
 * Cid Kramer - Headmaster of Balamb Garden. A nurturing man and a true dreamer, he guides the main cast through several points in the game.
 * Ellone - A mysterious young woman with the ability to send people's consciousness back in time.
 * Adel - Sorceress and (former) ruler of Esthar. Brutal and cruel, she is said to be pure evil.

Subsequent appearances
Several characters from the game have appeared in other Square games. Squall and Ultimecia appear in Dissidia Final Fantasy as the main protagonist and antagonist representing Final Fantasy VIII and Laguna also appears in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis appear as in-game tutors for the original Dissidia Final Fantasy where Seifer and Laguna also appear as ghost cards.

Squall has made cameos in Chocobo Racing, ', ',  and Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special. Rinoa appears in Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special and Quistis appears in the game's portable version. Selphie also appears in Kingdom Hearts, and is joined later by Seifer, Fujin and Raijin in Kingdom Hearts II.

Squall and Rinoa were featured in an official technical demo for the PlayStation 2 in 1999, recreating their waltz scene from Final Fantasy VIII using real time animation. Rinoa also makes an appearance in Monty Oum's fanmade movie, Dead Fantasy.

Welcome to SeeD
Childhood rivals, Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy, duel on a stormy night. Both are cadets at Balamb Garden, a military academy training SeeD, an elite mercenary force contracted to help people all around the world. The duel ends in a tie with both leaving with scars across their faces.

The next morning Squall wakes up at the infirmary on the day of his SeeD field exam. He glimpses a mysterious girl who seems to know him, and leaves with his instructor, Quistis Trepe. Quistis aids Squall in retrieving a new Guardian Force, a creature that enables the use of magic and enhances one's physical capabilities, and then deems him ready for his final exam.

The final test to become a SeeD is at the Siege of Dollet, where Squall — together with his squad members, Zell Dincht and Seifer — must secure the central square of the occupied city of Dollet. They uncover the reason the Galbadian Army has invaded: to reactivate an abandoned radio tower, although they cannot fathom why, seeing as the worldwide radio interference affects all transmissions. Seifer abandons his team and disobeys Garden's orders by leaving their post, and a spunky girl, Selphie Tilmitt, joins the party when delivering a withdrawal order. After Galbadia activates the tower the cadets are chased back to the beach by a spider-like war machine.

Back at the Garden the exam results are announced. Squall, Zell and Selphie are graduated to SeeD by Headmaster Cid Kramer, but Seifer does not make the cut due to having disobeyed direct orders. At the SeeD graduation party a girl asks Squall for a dance. He is initially disinterested, but she drags him to the dance floor. The two dance to the "Waltz for the Moon" but she soon excuses herself.

Quistis takes Squall to the Garden's Training Center for a talk, where she reveals she has been relieved of her position as an instructor. On their way out they run into the mysterious girl Squall saw at the infirmary who calls out to Squall and Quistis who don't recognize her. They defeat the Granaldo that had cornered the girl, and she is led away by men in unfamiliar white uniforms before she has a chance to explain herself.

The next morning Squall, Selphie and Zell are sent out to their first SeeD mission: to aid the resistance faction Forest Owls to reclaim the independence of the nation of Timber. During the train ride the SeeD pass out and dream of a Galbadian soldier called Laguna Loire and his two friends, Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, during the time of Galbadia's invasion of Timber.

Laguna and his friends battle monsters in the blazing Timber forests, then head for Deling City where Laguna meets a pianist he admires, Julia Heartilly. Laguna confesses his feelings to her but as he is being called away from Julia's hotel room for another mission, the SeeD awaken to find they are arriving in Timber. Disturbed by having shared the same dream, they nevertheless put the matter aside as they meet up with the Forest Owls.

The girl who danced with Squall, Rinoa Heartilly, is a member, and had been at the dance to enlist the SeeD's help. The Forest Owls plan to abduct Vinzer Deling, Galbadia's president, to force him to withdraw his soldiers from Timber, but once they hijack the president's train they confront only his body double.

Opposing the Sorceress
After defeating the imposter they learn the real President Deling is going to the Timber TV Station to make a broadcast, for which Galbadia needed the Dollet radio tower. Despite the radio interference the broadcast is successful and the president announces Sorceress Edea as the nation's new ambassador. Seifer takes the president hostage and Quistis, who had been sent to retrieve the rogue Seifer, requests Squall's party's aid. Squall and his friends rush to the studio but the sorceress herself appears and spirits Seifer away, saving the president.

With Garden's reputation at risk following the incident, and return to Balamb Garden made impossible due to the train services having halted, Squall and his friends flee to Galbadia Garden. Rinoa accompanies them as the Forest Owls' base has been destroyed and the members have dispersed to lie low. On the way they again dream of Laguna and his friends, who this time ran into Esthar forces excavating a gargantuan crystal structure at a Centra excavation site.

In Galbadia Garden the SeeD are enlisted to assassinate the sorceress with the help of Galbadia's General Caraway (Rinoa's father) and the master sniper, Irvine Kinneas. Squall suspects they are being used, as G-Garden's Master Martine wants the sorceress out due to her interest in his Garden, but cannot fathom the general's motive. The assassination is planned to take place at Edea's inauguration parade in Deling City. Rinoa, determined to prove herself, comes up with a plan to suppress the sorceress's power with an Odine brand item, but is dismissed by Quistis when she brings it up.

Rinoa sets out to carry out her plan alone but is struck down by the sorceress. Edea kills President Deling and sets Rinoa up as a sacrifice to be devoured by Iguions, but Squall and Irvine save her. Zell, Selphie and Quistis trap the sorceress inside a gated archway, as Squall, Irvine and Rinoa arrive at their post where a high caliber sniper rifle has been left for them to assassinate Edea. Irvine nearly breaks down, but with a little help from Squall he fires at the sorceress. She blocks the shot with a magical barrier, forcing Squall to attack her head on. Squall is surprised to find Seifer at the sorceress's side, having become her "knight". Edea is disgusted upon discovering Squall is a SeeD, and pierces his shoulder with an ice javelin rendering him unconscious.

Revelations
Squall dreams of Laguna's stay in the town of Winhill where he stayed with a woman called Raine and her adoptive daughter Ellone after having been rescued by the former when he got injured at the Centra excavation site. Ellone was orphaned when Esthar raided the town to kidnap girls to be assessed as Sorceress Adel's successor, Esthar's ruler. Laguna vowed to protect her, Raine and the village. Laguna learned Julia has married General Caraway after her true love never returned from the war.

Squall awakes in Galbadia's D-District Prison where his friends are being held nearby. Seifer tortures Squall on Edea's orders, demanding to know why SeeD persecute sorceresses, confusing Squall who only knows SeeD as a mercenary force for hire. Squall is knocked unconscious but a worker Moomba frees him, calling him "Laguna", which puzzles Squall further. He joins his friends in a jailbreak but learns the Galbadians have launched missiles against Trabia Garden as part of Edea's plan to annihilate both Trabia and Balamb Gardens. Inferring that Balamb Garden will be next, the group splits: Selphie's team tries to stop the missile launch, while Squall's team goes to warn Balamb Garden. Selphie's party fails to stop the launch and barely survives by hiding inside a wrecked tank when the launch base self-destructs.

Squall arrives to find Balamb Garden in an uproar with students fighting each other, some siding with Headmaster Cid and some with Garden Master NORG. NORG was the one who funded the Garden's foundation and sees it as a mere profit venture. He declared himself the Garden's true ruler and dismissed its true purpose. The conflict of interest sparked the internecine battle among Cid's SeeD and NORG's Garden Faculty. During the commotion Squall learns the Garden can be made mobile and moves the building away from the spot the Galbadian missiles were programmed to target, but as the Garden's steering devices have broken down due to lack of maintenance, Balamb Garden is left adrift in the ocean.

Squall is summoned to the Garden's basement level where he meets Garden Master NORG himself. NORG tries to kill Squall and his companions to appease the sorceress by proving Garden was not behind the assassination attempt, but fails as Squall defeats him. During their conversation NORG let out that Cid and Edea are married, and a confused Squall confronts Cid who admits this is the truth. Cid explains the Garden's true purpose is to enter a fated battle against a sorceress. He is conflicted as the sorceress SeeD is destined to face seems to be his wife, but nevertheless wishes to stay true to the organization's origins.

The adrift Garden is intercepted by the White SeeD Ship and the crew, calling themselves "Edea's SeeD", want to take Ellone away for her safety. Squall is asked to look for her and he recognizes the name "Ellone" from a Laguna dream. When he locates her he discovers she is the mysterious girl who seems to know him. Squall demands to know what is going on, but Ellone is saddened Squall has forgotten about her. She reveals she is the one sending Squall back in time into a dream world, but won't reveal why. Ellone leaves with the White SeeD leaving a bemused Squall behind.

Balamb Garden crashes into Fishermans Horizon, a pacifist town built around a defunct train station on the Horizon Bridge. Squall is reunited with the missile base team when Galbadia sends its military to occupy Fishermans Horizon and the tank where Selphie and her comrades were hiding in is sent over as well. The Galbadians confront FH's mayor demanding for Ellone's whereabouts as Edea is now searching for her, but the SeeD drive the G-Forces out and the local technicians restore the Garden into full functionality.

Cid places the Garden under Squall's command, a duty he accepts reluctantly. Cid claims this is Squall's destiny but a confused Squall rejects the notion. When the Garden returns to Balamb, Squall finds the town under Galbadian occupation. Under the supervision of Seifer's friends — Fujin and Raijin — Galbadia is searching for Ellone. After liberating the town the SeeD head for Trabia Garden, Selphie's home Garden, which was destroyed by Galbadian missiles.

At the Garden ruins Selphie mourns the wreckage of her home. As Squall, Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Irvine and Rinoa gather to converse over their next action, Irvine reveals that everyone but Rinoa used to live in an orphanage together, cared for by a woman named Edea, but he is the only one who remembers it. As everyone uncovers their buried memories, they realize they had forgotten about their past because of the memory loss brought on by using Guardian Forces, and Irvine was the only one unaffected as he never trained as a SeeD. They decide to investigate the orphanage to find out why Edea has become evil, only to discover Galbadia Garden has arrived there first.

They prepare for an assault on the flying Garden, now under Edea and Seifer's control, and the Battle of the Gardens ensues. Squall and his friends infiltrate Galbadia Garden where they face Seifer and Edea, Edea pointing out Squall as the legendary SeeD destined to face her. The SeeD defeat Seifer and Edea, who collapse on the floor. Rinoa begins acting strange and revives Seifer, who departs, before falling unconscious. After Seifer is gone Edea calls out to Squall and his friends in kindness, marvelling how they have all grown up. She explains she had been possessed by a sorceress from the distant future named Ultimecia, and that up until now they had been fighting Ultimecia inside Edea's "shell." Ultimecia plans to compress time to gain the sorceress power from every sorceress who has ever lived to become a god-like being, and to enact her plan she sends her mind back in time to possesses other sorceresses. Ultimecia is looking for Ellone, whose mystical powers she needs to cast the time compression spell.

A Sorceress from the Future
Rinoa remains in a comatose state and Squall realizes he is in love with her. He wants to seek Ellone out and have her send him back in time to prevent Rinoa's coma. They find the White SeeD Ship and learn Ellone has gone to the hidden nation of Esthar. Squall takes the Garden to FH and visits Rinoa in the infirmary. He falls asleep and dreams of Laguna taking part in filming a movie on the Vienne Mountains during his quest seeking a way to Esthar to save the young Ellone, who had been kidnapped there on Sorceress Adel's orders. Laguna glimpsed a mysterious floating pillar on the horizon, and as Squall begins to awake he hears Ellone's voice apologizing for having accidentally sent him back in time again. Squall calls out to her but the connection is lost.

Squall resolves to take Rinoa to Esthar himself by crossing the Horizon Bridge. His friends and Edea follow him, Edea explaining she wants to go to Esthar to see a famed scientist Dr. Odine due to her fear that Ultimecia may possess her again. Squall carries an unconscious Rinoa on his back through the Salt Flats where the party discovers Esthar City is camouflaged behind a cloaking device.

As the party arrives in Esthar Squall begins to feel faint and he and his fiends fall asleep to enter another dream world. Laguna had entered Esthar but had been taken captive and was held in forced labor in Lunatic Pandora Laboratory. He broke free and located Ellone within Dr. Odine's lab where Odine had been researching her powers of telepathy and mental time travel.

Upon awakening the party is taken to meet Dr. Odine who inspects Rinoa and Edea is told she is no longer a sorceress. Squall insists on taking Rinoa to see Ellone, and thus at the Lunar Gate the party launches into outer space to Esthar's Lunar Base. The Lunar Base is Esthar's space station for Moon study, but unbeknown to most of the world its true purpose is to oversee Sorceress Adel, Esthar's ruler during the Sorceress War, who is sealed in a spacebound tomb to prevent her from ever passing on her sorceress power.

Back on the ground Zell is left in charge of the remaining party. They are shocked to see a massive black pillar rise from the ocean and fly across Esthar City. The pillar, known as the Lunatic Pandora, was created by Esthar to artificially trigger the Lunar Cry where monsters fall to the planet from the Moon. The weapon was built under Sorceress Adel's rule, but after she was usurped the Lunatic Pandora was deemed too dangerous and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Seifer engineered its unearthing as part of Ultimecia's plan. Zell's party infiltrates the Lunatic Pandora and discovers it houses the crystal pillar they saw Esthar excavating in a Laguna dream. The pillar originates from the Moon, and thus has an affinity with it. Unable to proceed deeper into the pillar, Zell's party are ejected by a Galbadian robot.

On the Lunar Base Squall reunites with Ellone who has come to the Lunar Base to meet someone, but won't reveal who. Squall explains he has recovered his childhood memories and now remembers Ellone is his sister from the orphanage, and begs her to send him to Rinoa's past. Ellone explains she has discovered it is impossible to change the past using her ability, but learning from the past can allow one to understand the present.

Ultimecia takes possession of Rinoa's body and forces her way through to the control room. She puts on a space suit and exits out to space where she opens the seal on Adel's Tomb. Ultimecia abandons Rinoa's body in space as the Lunatic Pandora back on the ground triggers the Lunar Cry and monsters pour down to the planet. Adel's Tomb is swept into the current of monsters and falls into the Lunatic Pandora, while Esthar City is decimated.

Lunar Base is being evacuated and as everyone puts on their space suits and enters the escape pods, Ellone sends Squall back in time. He discovers Rinoa was possessed by Ultimecia back at Galbadia Garden when she revived Seifer and ordered him to restore the Lunatic Pandora, but is unable to affect the events. When Squall awakes he begs Ellone to try again, and Ellone sends Squall to Rinoa's consciousness as she floats alone in space. Via Ellone's power, Squall communicates to Rinoa to activate the emergency oxygen supply in her space suit. She does so and Squall exits the escape pod to go after her. He catches up with Rinoa in outer space and they come across the derelict spaceship Ragnarok, which had been floating in orbit near the Lunar Base.

They find the abandoned spaceship still has oxygen and contact the ground base, Squall being surprised to find radio communication is working. Unbeknown to him, it was Adel's Tomb's sealing device that disrupted radio waves back on the planet, and now that the tomb has fallen radio is working. Rinoa has become a sorceress, having unwittingly received Edea's sorceress power when the SeeD defeated her at the Galbadia Garden, and Esthar demands she be handed over to custody as she poses a threat to the world.

After Squall and Rinoa land the Ragnarok Rinoa agrees to be sealed away as Adel had been before her and is led away. Squall's friends find him alone in the Ragnarok the Estharians had left behind, and push him into action. He rescues Rinoa and they escape on the Ragnarok back to Edea's orphanage. Rinoa is skeptical of the future, seeing as Squall is the leader of SeeD, an anti-sorceress army, but he assures Rinoa is not his enemy. The two promise to meet at the flower field behind the orphanage should they ever be separated.

Esthar contacts the Ragnarok with a message of wanting to hire Squall's party for one last SeeD mission. The party heads for the presidential palace in Esthar City where they meet the president of Esthar, Laguna. Laguna was the one who usurped Adel all those years ago and succeeded her as Esthar's ruler. His plan had been to return Ellone to Winhill and follow when everything would be over, but Ellone ended up in Edea's orphanage after Raine died and Laguna stayed in Esthar. Ever since he has been ensuring Adel is being kept sealed away in space, and it was him Ellone went to meet on the Lunar Base. Laguna tells the story of how they tricked Adel into being frozen and used Ragnarok model spaceships to transport her tomb to the orbit. Ellone survived the Lunar Base's destruction and landed in the escape pod somewhere south of Esthar, but was seized by Galbadian forces and is now being held captive within the Lunatic Pandora.

The party discusses Ultimecia's plan of time compression with Dr. Odine. Ellone's ability to send one's consciousness into different eras had been studied by Dr. Odine during the time she was held in Esthar as a child, and he had used the knowledge he had gained to create the prototype Junction Machine Ellone. In the future, Ultimecia is using a future version of the Junction Machine to reach back in time to take over the bodies of sorceresses, however, the machine has limitations in regard to how far it can send a consciousness back in time. Thus, it had become Ultimecia's goal to find the real Ellone to send her consciousness even further back in time to simultaneously exist in the past, present and future. With her mind present in all eras of time, Ultimecia would be able to cast the time compression spell and become an omnipotent deity able to control all time, space and existence.

Dr. Odine and Laguna have formulated a plan to stop Ultimecia. SeeD would need to defeat Adel so she would pass her powers to Rinoa, making her the only sorceress left in the present era Ultimecia could exist within. When Ultimecia would possess Rinoa, Ellone would send both of their minds into the past, allowing Ultimecia to cast time compression. Ellone would then severe the link sending everyone back to their respective eras, temporarily halting the spell.

Laguna explains the only way to survive in a universe of compressed time: Squall and his friends would have to keep their bonds strong by remembering each other and thinking of a place they are connected to. Able to survive through time compression with their love and faith in each other, they should be able to make it to Ultimecia's future and defeat her.

Fate's Closing
The party invades the Lunatic Pandora where they find the Galbadian forces questioning their commitment to Seifer. Fujin and Raijin try to convince Seifer to stop serving Ultimecia and go back to being their friend, and set Ellone free. Seifer says it is too late to turn back now and captures Rinoa and offers her to Ultimecia (now in the body of Adel). Ultimecia junctions Rinoa to Adel's body, but Squall's party fights Ultimecia (as Adel). As Adel's body succumbs she passes on her sorceress power to Rinoa. With no other vessel to exist within, Ultimecia possesses Rinoa, allowing Ellone to send Ultimecia's and Rinoa's minds into the past. With her mind in all eras, Ultimecia casts time compression, though it is temporarily halted when Ellone severs the link sending her mind back to the future.

The partially compressed time allows Squall and his friends to travel to the future and reach Ultimecia Castle. The party finds a dark world ruled by Ultimecia and the corpses of White SeeD around the shoreline of the old orphanage that no longer exists in the future. Squall comments the SeeD has been fighting Ultimecia across generations. The SeeD confront Ultimecia at the summit of her castle and she divulges her plan to create a realm where the SeeD are her slaves.

Ultimecia reaches into Squall's mind and creates Griever, a Guardian Force created from Squall's idea of the most powerful force in existence. After Squall and his friends triumph over Griever, Ultimecia junctions herself to it and after again being bested, transforms into her ultimate form to complete time compression in a battle that shifts through the fabric of time and space. Ultimecia begins absorbing all time, space and existence into herself, merging with it to become an omnipotent deity. The links that bound Squall, Rinoa, Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Irvine prove too much for Ultimecia to overcome and she collapses in an explosion that emanates across space.

Time starts to revert to its original form and Squall and his friends must find their way back to their own time. Ultimecia and Squall travel back in time to Edea's orphanage, to a time when Squall was only a child and the Garden hadn't yet been built. Squall witnesses Ultimecia passing her powers on to the Edea of the past before fading away. Squall speaks with Edea and mentions Garden and the SeeD. Edea is puzzled as she's never heard of them, and Squall realizes he has traveled too far back and reenters the compressed time.

Squall finds himself in a place gradually slipping into nothingness. He tries to concentrate on Rinoa to make his way back home, but is unable to picture her face. In the present era, Rinoa waits for Squall at the flower field at Edea's orphanage. She transforms a flower petal into a white feather that locates Squall trapped in lost time. He grasps the feather but is too weak to make his way back and falls unconscious, but Rinoa finds him and brings him back to the real world.

Epilogue
Seifer spends his days in the company of Fujin and Raijin in Balamb Town. As Balamb Garden passes overhead he looks up and smiles, implying he has moved on. Laguna visits Raine's grave on the hills outside Winhill where he recalls proposing to her, while Ellone, Kiros and Ward watch on at a distance.

The SeeD reunite at Balamb Garden for a celebration party. Edea has abandoned the mannerisms and dress sense of a sorceress and attends the party with Cid. Irvine and Selphie use a video camera to document the festivities, while Squall and Rinoa stargaze on the Balamb Garden balcony and share a kiss.

Music
The game's soundtrack was Nobuo Uematsu's 23rd work for Square. Released on four Compact Discs by DigiCube in Japan, and by Square EA in North America, a special orchestral arrangement of selected tracks from the game (arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi) was released under the title FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC: Final Fantasy VIII, and a collection of piano arrangements (performed by Shinko Ogata) was released under the title Piano Collections: Final Fantasy VIII.

The Final Fantasy VIII theme song, "Eyes on Me", which Uematsu wrote and produced for Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong, sold a record-breaking 400,000 copies, placing it as the best-selling video game music disc ever released in Japan until the release of "Hikari" by Hikaru Utada for Kingdom Hearts. It won "Song of the Year (Western Music)" at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999, the first time a song from a video game ever won the honor.

Another popular song from the score of Final Fantasy VIII is "Liberi Fatali," a Latin choral piece played during the game's intro. The sorceress theme "FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC" was mixed with "Liberi Fatali" and played during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens during the women's synchronized swimming event.

The Black Mages, a band that arranged music from Final Fantasy video games into a rock music, arranged five pieces from Final Fantasy VIII. These are "Force Your Way" from The Black Mages published in 2003, "The Man with the Machine Gun" and "Maybe I'm a Lion", from The Skies Above, published in 2004, and "The Extreme" and "Premonition" from Darkness and Starlight.

Development
Final Fantasy VIII follows Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII in displaying a world with high technology, diverging from the more traditional medieval feel of the original titles. Final Fantasy VIII diverges further still by focusing the story on the characters instead of the world events. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura wanted the game to have a "school days" feel. Because Yoshinori Kitase already had a story in mind in which the main characters were the same age, the idea worked. Thus, they created the concept of military school-like academies in which the students would train to become mercenaries.

Further on, Nojima planned for the two playable parties featured in the game - Squall's present day group and Laguna's group of twenty years in the past - to contrast with one another. Leading to Laguna's group consisting of characters in their late twenties and have a lot of combat and teamwork experience while Squall's party was young and inexperienced, and Squall himself not initially able to understand the value of friendship.

With Final Fantasy VII, the main protagonist, Cloud Strife, had a reserved nature that led Nojima to include scenarios in which the player can select Cloud's responses to certain situations and dialogue. With Final Fantasy VIII, Nojima wanted to give players actual insight into what the protagonist was thinking and feeling, even while the other characters remained uninformed. This led to Squall's "internal monologues" that appear in transparent text boxes throughout the game.

Kitase also expressed desire to give the game a deliberately foreign, largely European atmosphere. As part of this theme various designs were created using the style of ancient Egyptian and Greek architecture as well as styles from the cities of France and idealized European societies seen in various artworks. Additionally, Kitase explained that the game's logo - Squall and Rinoa embracing - was inspired by the team's efforts to express emotion through body language.

This aim was also referred throughout the game; utilizing the game models to physically display their emotions and actions alongside the text boxes as well as using updated CG full motion videos, which were far more advanced in detail than any Final Fantasy game that had come previously, to convey a kind of 'silent movie' operatic atmosphere that didn't rely on words to convey their meaning.

In terms of character artwork, Final Fantasy VIII reflected Nomura's preferred technique at the time, as opposed to Final Fantasy VII, which featured characters that "weren't really his style." The team had decided to use realistically proportioned characters; the higher level of full motion video technology would have otherwise created an inconsistency between the in-game graphics and the higher definition full motion video graphics. After Final Fantasy VII was finished the development team thought players would feel something is off with the difference in proportion between the character models in battle and on the field, and so in Final Fantasy VIII the character proportions on the field and battle were kept the same.

Nomura ended up altering each of the characters before they reached the final design stage, which required sacrificing his original intentions. For instance, he had originally wanted Seifer to be involved in a love triangle with Rinoa and Squall. As another example Quistis was originally going to be designed with a short skirt, but in the end was given a long skirt worn over pants. Rinoa was originally planned to wear a mini-skirt over shorts, but this led to a conflict as he wished to have at least one female lead wearing a skirt; a compromise was made in this regard with Selphie's design: she was originally intended to be wearing overalls, but Nomura eventually decided that her outfit should be something of a combination of the two, resulting in her overalls-skirt look.

A demo version of Final Fantasy VIII was released both for the PlayStation and the PC. One of the games that came with a demo was .

Themes
Final Fantasy VIII strives for thematic combination of fantasy and realism. To this end, Final Fantasy VIII was the first Final Fantasy game to have realistically proportioned characters — a departure from the super deformed designs used in the previous titles. The game locations were designed to resemble real world locations, rental cars and trains are used for in-game travel instead of fantasy-like vehicles, and to enhance the feeling of realism, motion capture technology was used to give the characters lifelike movements. Different nations and factions in Final Fantasy VIII have their own flags, their designs based on the country/group's history and culture.

Final Fantasy VIII marks the turn of the series toward a "young adult" genre, similar to the. It was designed to be bright and fresh in feel, an inversion of atmosphere from the previous two games, Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII. This decision manifests in the location designs in the use colors, such as the aquamarine and pink design of Balamb Garden or the overall design of Esthar, and even war-ravaged and poor locations, such as Trabia Garden, are displayed as sunny, vibrant and lively, as opposed to the shadowy oppressed slum atmosphere present in Final Fantasy VII.

The strive for light and bright feel, however, can conflict with the plot and the characters can appear indifferent and unable to react to tragic events with the seriousness one would expect them to exhibit; for example, after Rinoa has become comatose only Squall appears worried about her, whereas the others remain their cheerful selves, even when Rinoa and her condition is the topic of discussion. Still, one can identify a running theme within the game: dealing with the aftermath of war and tragedy and how people continue on despite of it.

The story focuses on Squall Leonhart, his love interest Rinoa Heartilly, and a small group of Squall's friends and rival. Whereas in Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII most characters have some playable scenario or side quests of their own, the characters in Squall's party are in more of a supportive role. To strengthen the main character's role the player has less control over his actions in the form of dialogue choices, and as a unique feature in the series, the player can see the main character's thoughts communicated via transparent text boxes.

The story is a coming of age one with a group of orphans originally trained to become mercenaries fight for the sake of the world. School themes are heavy throughout, representing the carefree days of youth, as well as the struggles of growing up. Maturity, tradition and duty are emphasised; as Squall graduates his actions make him a role model and the succeeding leader of the next generation of SeeDs. Though each character starts as something different from what they end up becoming, they share a common background (except for Rinoa, whose background ties to Squall's), and its discovery becomes the turning point for the party's motivations. The bonds formed between the party get a central role to juxtapose with Squall's initial position as someone who relies on no one, and as he remains lost in the void of time compression's collapse Rinoa's love brings him back, transcending and breaking its hold on him.

A major theme is fate and predestination, as well as common Japanese themes of impermanence and inevitable loss (called ), however the latter themes have been somewhat toned down in the English version; during the final battle Ultimecia asks the party to reflect on their childhoods, but in the Japanese version she explains that childhood feelings fade away as time waits no one, making clinging onto them pointless. The story focuses on moving on from the past by showing the cast's childhoods' ends, and Ellone and Laguna's quests.

The game's villain, Ultimecia, is aware of the prophecy of how she would meet her end at the hands of the "legendary SeeD." To escape her fate pursues time compression to make her the all-ruling God of the universe, but unknown to her time compression allows the "legendary SeeD" to reach her and destroy her. Garden and SeeD exist to train these "legendary SeeDs" to one day fight Ultimecia as per Edea's encounter with Squall in the game's ending, but Squall himself has no knowledge of his role until the end. In keeping with the theme of fate, the characters are often displaced through time in the roles of Laguna, Kiros and Ward, thus being able to "live" through past history, although never having the power to change what has been. Ellone (whose power allows the party to travel in time) touches this subject when she explains to Squall that although one can't change the course of events they can learn and grow through these experiences, bringing again the theme of the importance of growth, and learning from the past to achieve a brighter future.

PC version
Final Fantasy VIII was the second Final Fantasy game to be ported to a Windows platform. It has been released on December 31, 1999 and re-released on December 5, 2013 for Steam.

Similar to Final Fantasy VII, the re-release version comes with the Magic Booster feature that allows the player to boost their characters' magics to 100. Achievements and cloud save data storage are also available. Windowed mode and high resolution displays (up to 1920x1080 @ 60Hz) are now supported. However, the game still uses the original midi songs from the 1999 version, rather than the PlayStation version music, unlike the 2012 re-released Final Fantasy VII that has received a musical update. Chocobo World is playable directly from the launcher after booting up Final Fantasy VIII.

System Requirements
These system requirements are for the re-released version.

Sales and Reception
At the time of its release Final Fantasy VIII received positive reviews and was commercially successful. After its North American release, Square Electronic Arts announced Final Fantasy VIII had sold near unprecedented amount of units. The game was the number one selling video game in the United States across all videogame software categories and remained on the top spot for three weeks. Final Fantasy VIII grossed a total of more than $50 million in the 13 weeks to follow, making it the fastest-selling Final Fantasy title at the time. In Japan it sold more than 3.3 million units within the first month of release and more than 6 million units were sold by the end of 1999. As of March 31, 2003, the game had shipped 8.15 million copies worldwide: 3.7 million in Japan and 4.45 million overseas.

At the time, Final Fantasy VIII was generally viewed as a leap forward from Final Fantasy VII in terms of graphics, but many criticized the junction system as being overly complicated. Many critics praised the game's storyline, but some found it inconsistent in quality and that some plot twists were too sudden with not enough setting up beforehand, leaving players feeling indifferent, although many also praised the game's character development and called Final Fantasy VIII the pinnacle of the RPG genre. In 2002, IGN named Final Fantasy VIII the seventh best title for the PlayStation of all time, placing higher on the list than Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VIII was voted by Famitsu readers as the 22nd best game of all time in 2006, and was named one of the 20 essential Japanese role-playing games by Gamasutra, stating "There's a lot that Final Fantasy VIII does wrong, but there's even more that it does right".

Trivia

 * To date, Final Fantasy VIII has the highest number of Star Wars-inspired names, including Biggs and Wedge, Nida, Piet and Martine, who is named Dodonna in the Japanese version.
 * Final Fantasy VIII is the first game in the series that allows the player to name summons.
 * Final Fantasy VIII is the first game in the series where Ramuh is not present as the Lightning-elemental summon. He is replaced by Quezacotl.
 * Final Fantasy VIII is the first game in which all enemies have a death animation before they fade away.
 * During Ultimecia's (as Edea) parade in Deling City, the masked dancers are performing the dance moves from 's "" music video.
 * Final Fantasy VIII is parodied in the Dreamcast game, where it is called Final Pharmacy VIII.
 * In the first Charlie's Angels movie, in the scene when Dylan approaches a house for clothes, there are two kids inside vigorously button mashing and moving while playing Final Fantasy VIII. Infamously for fans, both kids hold controllers despite the fact the game has no two-player mode, and there are no sequences in which such button mashing would be required (except maybe for when using the boost mode for summons).
 * The game's demo uses a track called "Raid on Dollet" for the Dollet invasion. The game's final version does not use that track and it was never released on any official soundtrack album. It is unknown why the track was scrapped, although a widespread theory is that it was removed for legal reasons due to heavy similarities with the song "Hummel Gets the Rockets", composed by from the movie .

External Link

 * Official European site

Levels and Abilities
Final Fantasy IX retains experience points and levels, but new abilities are learned by equipping an item that can teach an ability and gaining enough ability points to learn it permanently, reminiscent of the esper system in Final Fantasy VI. However, in Final Fantasy IX abilities can still be used even when they have not been learned permanently.

Abilities can be learned faster by equipping multiple pieces of equipment that teach the same ability; e.g. Zidane will learn Long Reach twice as fast if he equips both Thief Hat and Protect Ring simultaneously. The effect is boosted further by using the Ability Up ability.

There are two types of abilities in Final Fantasy IX: "Action" and "Support". Action abilities include techniques like Magic, weapon skills and calling eidolons. Support abilities have beneficial passive effects such as resistance against status effects and increased damage to certain enemy types.

A limited amount of support abilities can be equipped at one time, governed by Magic Stones. Each support ability requires a certain number of Magic Stones, and more stones can be gained by leveling up. Many abilities can be learned by most of the cast, but some are exclusive to certain characters.

Field
In the field, the player typically controls the main character, Zidane. However, unlike the previous 3D games, the environment is more interactive. When Zidane passes a point of interest, a ! or ? bubble appears above his head, and the player can press to interact with the object. As the game progresses, different methods of traveling across the world become available. As with previous incarnations, characters can travel by chocobo, boat and airship.

Battles
Following the tradition started by Final Fantasy IV, the game utilizes the Active Time Battle system in battle. When a character's ATB gauge is filled up, that character can choose a command to execute. Normally, enemies attack whenever their turn is up, but the battle can be set to "Wait" mode, making the enemy unable to attack a character while they are choosing a spell or an item from the menu.

In Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, the player was restricted to three-person parties. In Final Fantasy IX, this is changed to the classic four-person party. Also, the game allows for two players to control members chosen by the player in the battle.

Trance
Continuing the tradition started in Final Fantasy VII, the game incorporates Limit Breaks, although differently from earlier Limit Break systems. When a character sustains hits in battle, the Trance gauge is filled up and when full, the character automatically goes into Trance mode. Trance changes the character's appearance, and either gives them a new skill or set of skills only usable while they are in Trance.

For example, if Zidane has learned the ability Flee for his Skills ability set, he gains the ability Free Energy for his Trance ability set, Dyne. Zidane is the only character who is able to use new abilities in his Trance; most characters' abilities are enhanced, for example, Vivi gains Double Black, which allows him to cast two Blk Mag spells in quick succession, and while in Trance, Steiner's strength is boosted.

Character Classes
Final Fantasy IX has character classes, something absent from the last few preceding games in the series. While not explicitly stated, each character in the game has an obvious job based on previous Final Fantasy games and an overview of their abilities in battle. For example, Zidane is a Thief, Amarant is a cross between a Ninja and a Monk, Quina is a Blue Mage, and so on.

This is yet another return to tradition from the recent predecessors of Final Fantasy IX, in which characters were largely blank slates to be heavily customized by the player. In Final Fantasy IX the emphasis is on building an effective team of characters whose strengths and weaknesses balance one another to form an effective fighting force.

Active Time Events
Another new aspect of Final Fantasy IX are Active Time Events (ATE). When an ATE window appears the player can press Select to see what the other characters are doing, allowing for more character development. Although watching an ATE might not always affect the main storyline, sometimes, when the notification text appears grey, the player will have to watch an ATE automatically. The player might, however, gain items or gil by watching the ATEs. Sometimes, multiple choices for ATEs to watch are given, and if one is picked, the other might not be able to be activated, meaning the player has to wait for a second playthrough to see it.

Mognet
Within the game, Mognet is a postal system used by Moogles. As the player progresses through the game, they will find Moogles inhabiting most of the known world. When the player talks to a moogle, they allow the player to save their game, restore life energy via Tents, or purchase items with Mogshop.

The moogle may also request that the player character act as a courier by delivering a letter to another moogle via Mognet. It is also possible (albeit less frequently) that the player may receive a letter from another character in the game.

Later on in the game, it is revealed the moogles are only requesting that the player deliver letters because Mognet Central, where the letters are usually sorted, is having mechanical problems, and as a result, deliveries have become sporadic. It is later revealed the malfunctions are caused by the letter carrier Artemicion, who decorated his coat with the oil used to lubricate Mognet's machines, causing them to break down. There are several letters about Artemicion being sent between moogles worrying about his constant use of the item, called Super Slick. Nevertheless, many do admire Artemicion's shiny coat. The player may optionally help the moogles restore Mognet Central's functionality in a sidequest.

Setting


The world of Final Fantasy IX, named Gaia, is divided into four continents:
 * Mist Continent, the first playable area and the most heavily settled.
 * Forgotten Continent, a large land in the west where the sun sets.
 * Lost Continent, to the northwest, almost entirely covered in ice.
 * Outer Continent, an arid desert wasteland to the north.

Characters



 * Zidane Tribal: The main protagonist. A Thief, member of the Tantalus group, and an inveterate womanizer.
 * Vivi Ornitier: A young black mage, but is pure of heart.
 * Garnet Til Alexandros XVII: The female protagonist, and princess of Alexandria. A Summoner with more emphasis on summons than White Magic.
 * Adelbert Steiner: A noble Knight of Alexandria, and the Captain of the Knights of Pluto.
 * Freya Crescent: A Burmecian Dragon Knight who searches for her lost love, Sir Fratley.
 * Quina Quen: A Qu Blue Mage who joins the adventure to experience cuisine from around the world.
 * Eiko Carol: A young Summoner with more proficiency in White Magic than summoning, one of the last of her tribe.
 * Amarant Coral: A Monk and wanted bandit, accompanying Zidane to discover what makes him powerful.

Kidnapping the Princess
Queen Brahne Raza Alexandros XVI of the kingdom of Alexandria lusts for power, and wants to increase her domain by conquering the surrounding lands. Regent Cid of Lindblum worries how this will impact Princess Garnet, and dispatches the Tantalus Theater Troupe to kidnap her.

The princess yearns to escape from her wicked mother and willingly boards the Theater Ship. During the operation Vivi, a lone black mage, and Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Royal Knights of Pluto and Garnet's guardian, become involved, and during their escape the Theater Ship is shot down and crashes into the Evil Forest. Brahne is outraged Garnet escaped with a valuable crystal, a royal heirloom, and dispatches the Black Waltzes to retrieve her.

Zidane wants to find the missing princess, but Baku, the leader of Tantalus, dissents and dismisses Zidane from Tantalus. Vivi and Steiner join Zidane in rescuing Garnet from the forest's carnivorous flora and escape the woods, leaving Tantalus behind. The escapade rouses the forest made sentient by the Mist that petrifies itself. A Tantalus member, Blank, wishes to aid Zidane but when delivering him a map of the rarely-traversed surface of the Mist Continent, gets caught by the forest vines and petrified along with the woods.

Zidane, Garnet, Vivi and Steiner pass through the Ice Cavern, where Zidane defeats Black Waltz 1, Brahne's lackey sent to retrieve Garnet's royal pendant. Arriving in the village of Dali Garnet adopts the alias of "Dagger" to blend in with the peasantry. The villagers kidnap Vivi and the party is shocked when they rescue him and discover the villagers are manufacturing black mages from the Mist for export to Alexandria.

Garnet ponders returning to Alexandria to confront her mother about the black mage business, a notion Steiner approves of. After besting Black Waltz 2 they board a cargo ship piloted by automaton black mages. They come under fire from Black Waltz 3 and Vivi, Zidane, and Steiner confront the golem leaving the journey's destination in Garnet's hands. The princess hesitates, but ultimately decides to head for Lindblum, resulting in an erratic flight through the South Gate crashing the Black Waltz's airship.

Kuja
The four meet with Regent Cid, and are surprised to find he has been turned into an oglop by a magic spell from his absconded wife, Hildagarde Fabool. Cid refuses to mobilize against Alexandria for fear of leaving his borders unprotected. While Lindblum hosts the Festival of the Hunt Brahne advances into Burmecia, home of Zidane's friend Freya Crescent who aided him during the festival. Zidane wants to accompany Freya to Burmecia and Vivi wishes to come along to learn more about the black mages; he has no memory of his past beyond being cared for by his late "grandpa" Quan, and fears he may not be human.

Cid orders Garnet to remain in Lindblum. In retaliation, she tampers the festival feast with sleeping weed and absconds with Steiner back to South Gate. The others venture to Burmecia, recruiting the gluttonous Quina Quen along the way. They find Burmecia abandoned and decimated by Brahne's black mage army. At the city apex they meet the queen along with General Beatrix and a mysterious man named Kuja. Beatrix defeats Zidane's group, and Brahne sets her sights on Cleyra.

Meanwhile, Garnet and Steiner run into Marcus from Tantalus, who wants to save his friend Blank from the Evil Forest but needs an item known as Supersoft to heal his petrification. Garnet feels culpable for Blank's fate and agrees to help in Marcus's quest much to Steiner's dismay. The three are attacked by the malfunctioning Black Waltz 3 and destroy him for good, before making their way to Treno where they sneak into the basement of a noble's mansion. The noble turns out to be Garnet's old tutor, Doctor Tot, who relinquishes the Supersoft willingly and advices the three to take the Gargan Roo pathway to Alexandria where Garnet meets with her mother and Marcus and Steiner are imprisoned.

Zidane, Freya, Vivi and Quina head for Cleyra where the Burmecians are said to have evacuated. They make their way into the city and warn of the impending attack, and the Cleyrans perform a ritual to strengthen the sandstorm that protects the village. Something goes wrong and the sandstorm dissipates. Brahne has turned on the princess and ordered Garnet's eidolons extracted; magical creatures of legend. The queen's court jesters Zorn and Thorn extracted Garnet's eidolons into summoning gems and Brahne uses the eidolon Odin to obliterate Cleyra after Beatrix steals the nation's jewel, and Zidane's crew hitches a ride on the Alexandrian airship Red Rose back to Alexandria Castle, leaving Quina behind.

Steiner and Marcus have broken free from imprisonment, with Marcus departing for the Evil Forest to save Blank. Zidane's party joins forces with Steiner and they free Garnet from Brahne's clutches with the assistance of the enlightened Beatrix. While Steiner, Beatrix and Freya stay behind to secure their escape, Zidane, Vivi, and Garnet attempt to use the Gargant system to flee back to Treno. Their ride is spooked by a monster and they crash in Pinnacle Rocks where they meet the eidolon Ramuh. Having lost Garnet, who still holds the royal pendant, once again, Brahne hires two bounty hunters, Lani and Amarant, to capture Garnet's pendant and kill Vivi, whom Brahne considers a rogue black mage.

Garnet is ambivalent on the power of eidolons that had remained latent within her without her knowledge, and that have now been stolen to be used by Brahne. After passing Ramuh's trial, giving Garnet the power to summon him, the three witness the invasion of Lindblum by a black mage army and another eidolon, Atomos. Sneaking into the city, Zidane and Garnet meet with the now powerless Regent Cid who reveals Kuja is the one supplying Brahne with the black mages. It is rumored the origin of Mist lies in the Outer Continent and the party sets off to locate Kuja there.

Revelations
They run into Quina at Qu's Marsh who had escaped Cleyra and returned to his/her home. Quina helps the party locate the entrance to Fossil Roo, an ancient route said to lead to the Outer Continent, where the party is accosted by Lani on her quest to retrieve the princess for Queen Brahne, but they defeat her. On the Outer Continent the party finds the Black Mage Village where many sentient black mages like Vivi live, having defected the Alexandrian army and founded a settlement far away from conflict. Vivi discovers black mages have a lifespan of about one year, and many of the earliest builds of black mages have already started to "stop".

After passing through the dwarves village of Conde Petie they meet Eiko Carol, a young girl and last of the summoner tribe, who leads the party to her home of Madain Sari. They find Madain Sari is a ruined village where Eiko lives alone with a group of moogles, and Garnet learns the truth of her past: she is a summoner born in Madain Sari, but in the aftermath of the village's destruction ten years ago washed up in Alexandria where she replaced the recently deceased Princess Garnet. Having lost her memories in the calamity, Garnet was raised believing Queen Brahne was her mother, never having learned she possessed eidolons.

Zidane convinces Eiko to open the path to the Iifa Tree, which they discover to be the source of the Mist in Mist Continent. The group descends down the trunk all the way to the core of Gaia where they encounter Soulcage, who reveals the Mist's true purpose; Mist is the by-product of the Iifa Tree's true function, stopping Gaian souls from returning to their crystal in the planet core. The discarded souls are released as Mist on the Mist Continent via the Iifa Tree's roots that cover the whole planet within its crust, and the malevolent substance is responsible for the monsters that roam the depths of the continent and was the culprit for inciting war among the nations until Mist-powered airships were invented.

Upon Soulcage's defeat the Mist dissipates, and the heroes return to Madain Sari where they find the bounty hunter Lani and her brooding companion Amarant. Upon finding an identical crystal in Madain Sari to that of Garnet's royal pendant, Lani takes Eiko hostage but Amarant no longer tolerates her methods and turns against her, driving her away, and joins Zidane's party.

They leave Quina in Madain Sari and return to the Iifa Tree and find Kuja. Queen Brahne and her navy appear off Iifa's coast to challenge him as Brahne no longer considers him useful, having deemed the black mages disloyal for defecting, and already having attained the power of eidolons. Kuja summons his Silver Dragon and monsters of Mist to repel her, and Brahne retaliates by summoning Bahamut. Kuja calls the airship Invincible to enslave Bahamut who wipes out Brahne and her soldiers with a devastating Mega Flare.

A dying Brahne washes up on the shore and with her final words apologizes to Garnet who must now become the Queen of Alexandria. Alexandrian forces retreat from Lindblum and Garnet inherits the jewels her mother had stolen from the kingdoms she had conquered. Garnet shares the jewels with Eiko—each keeping two—to reinforce their bond as the last of the summoner tribe. Zidane is distraught he must part with Garnet with whom he had begun to have feelings for, and departs to Treno with the others to participate in the local Tetra Master tournament.

The ceremonies of Garnet's coronation are short-lived as Kuja summons Bahamut to destroy Alexandria. The others fly in from Treno with Regent Cid's experimental airship, the Hilda Garde II, that can operate without Mist. Eiko and Garnet bring together the fragments of the ancient divided summoning gem, the true reason Brahne kept pursuing Garnet's royal pendant, and summon Alexander, the holy eidolon guardian of Alexandria. Alexander vanquishes Bahamut but a mysterious elderly man appears with the Invincible and destroys Alexander and a majority of the city. Garnet is rendered mute by the trauma of seeing her kingdom decimated, and she, Zidane and their friends, now including Steiner and Freya, take refuge in Lindblum.

Cid's mind is not what it used to be as an oglop, and thus his newest airship, the Hilda Garde II, is poorly designed. The party sets to find a way to cure Cid but turn him into a frog instead. The party is reunited with Quina who has washed ashore in Lindblum and Cid gives the party the ship Blue Narciss to track down Kuja, accompanying them on their quest.

They stop by the Black Mage Village and discover Kuja has tricked the black mages into following him by claiming he knows how to extend their lifespan. Now knowing where Kuja resides, the group infiltrates his Desert Palace but falls into a trap and becomes imprisoned. Kuja forces Zidane and three of his friends to fly to the Forgotten Continent and retrieve the Gulug Stone from Oeilvert in exchange for the life of their other friends. It turns out Kuja possesses Hilda Garde I, Cid's new airship model that can fly without Mist that Hilda took with him when she left him after having turned him into an oglop.

Oeilvert turns out to be an ancient archive from a lost Terran civilization with many artifacts, including an ancient eidolon, Ark, which must be defeated to obtain the Gulug Stone. To Zidane's surprise, only he can decipher the language of Terra though he has never heard of this other world.

Meanwhile, Regent Cid and the remaining party members break free and shut down the palace security system, Valia Pira. Kuja snatches the Gulug Stone from Zidane and absconds with an abducted Eiko to Mount Gulug where Kuja wishes to obtain an eidolon stronger than Alexander to fight Garland with. The heroes pass through Esto Gaza to track him down, and witness Zorn and Thorn, who now obey Kuja, attempt to extract Eiko's eidolons but she is too young to withstand the ritual. Mog, Eiko's pet moogle, reveals her true eidolon form through Trance, and with her help the court jesters are destroyed.

Having witnessed the power of Trance Kuja deduces he doesn't need a new eidolon after all. Unable to naturally enter Trance, Kuja formulates a plan to assimilate enough souls to enter a form of permanent Trance; as Kuja is a Genome originally constructed as a vessel for Terran souls, he can absorb them and wishes for all the gathered souls to simultaneously enter Trance to become all-powerful. While Kuja flees Zidane's party finds Queen Hilda, Cid's estranged wife who fled Lindblum after an argument with her husband, and escorts her back to Lindblum. She makes amends with Cid and turns him back into human. Cid puts the finishing touches on his new airship, the Hilda Garde III. The black mages have realized Kuja was using them and return to the Black Mage Village. Garnet returns to Alexandria to visit her mother's resting place. When Zidane follows her she recovers from her silence, takes his dagger and cuts off her ponytail in a promise to continue to fight for her people and her adoptive mother.

Queen Hilda had been abducted by Kuja after she went missing as he had needed her airship, the first Hilda Garde. While captive she learned of his plans and tells the party of Kuja's ambitions and that he hails from the planet of Terra, directing them towards Ipsen's Castle on the Forgotten Continent. Within the inverted structure the party finds four elemental mirrors: seals to the portal to Terra. After defeating the worm-like Taharka and rescuing Amarant from his own arrogance, Zidane forms four parties to secure each elemental shrine simultaneously. The defeat of the four Guardians and placing the mirrors to the shrines opens the path to Terra through the Shimmering Island.

Terra is a mysterious dead planet that exists on the inside of Gaia. Millennia ago Terra had an advanced magical civilization and its inhabitants wished to become immortal and preserve their culture for all time. The life source of all planets in the cosmos is a crystal at the planet core that collects the memories of all living beings when the souls of the dead return to it at their life's end. Terrans' wish for immortality disrupted the natural order of things and when the Terran crystal weakened the Terrans assimilated other planets' crystals to preserve themselves.

Thousands of years ago Terra attempted to fuse with Gaia but it ended with disaster and Terra shifted to the inside of the planet of Gaia while many Terran landmarks appeared on Gaia, such as Terra's magical tree of Iifa, Oeilvert, and Mount Gulug. Terrans tasked the android Garland, the old man who annihilated Alexandria and whom Kuja wishes to vanquish to become the overlord of Terra and Gaia both, with restoring Terra to its former glory before entering a deep rest. Garland crafted the Genomes to be used as vessels for the Terran souls when the time would be right for Terra to assimilate Gaia whose crystal has been deprived of its natural soul cycle by the Iifa Tree for thousands of years. Kuja was one of Garland's creations whom he sent to Gaia to incite war to amplify the rate the souls would attempt to return to the crystal, but Kuja's will was strong and he rebelled against his creator, knowing that if Garland's plans were to succeed he would no longer need Kuja and make him into a regular Genome.

In Terra the party meets a mysterious girl named Mikoto who resembles Zidane and leads the party to the Genome village of Bran Bal. Garnet glimpses the Invincible outside the village and reclaims the memories of the time the airship destroyed Madain Sari and passes out. While the others care for her, Mikoto tells Zidane he is a Genome from Terra made by Garland to one day succeed Kuja, as after Kuja was created Garland had seen the errors in his design of having created him as an adult rather than as a child capable of emotional growth. She leads Zidane to Garland who confirms everything and, horrified by what he has learned, Zidane attempts to fight him. Garland reluctantly decides to discard Zidane and make him a regular Genome and seals him within the Pandemonium, a palace where the ancient Terran souls rest. Garland fails to remove Zidane's soul and Zidane's friends free him and they confront Garland together.

Kuja has followed the party into Terra on his Silver Dragon and enters on the Invincible and showcases his new mastery of Trance, achieved by draining the souls held within the airship and using the soul of a hateful person—Queen Brahne—as catalyst. Kuja dispatches the party with an Ultima spell and announces he will rule both Terra and Gaia. Garland warns Kuja that his power is meaningless but he kicks his old master off Pandemonium's precipice to his death.

Garland remains as an omniscient voice and from beyond the grave tells Kuja his new-found goal is for naught; a limit on his lifespan was set when he was created, and his demise is fast approaching. Kuja's euphoria turns into rage and in his vanity he deduces that if he is going to die, he will take the world with him. Kuja obliterates Terra with wave after wave of Ultima spells, and the party and resident Genomes escape aboard the Invincible back through the Shimmering Island to Gaia. Mist has returned to the world, emanating once more from the Iifa Tree.

While the Genomes move in with the black mages in their village, the party finds the foreboding entrance to Memoria hovering above the Iifa Tree, where Gaia's memories and Kuja await. The armies of Alexandria and Lindblum stave off the horde of Silver Dragons blocking Memoria's entryway and Invincible breaks through, carrying the party into Memoria that leads them back in time. Memoria is a place made manifest from the memories stored within Gaia's crystal and the party witnesses the deepest moments of their lives intertwined with the earliest stirrings of Gaia. Garland's lingering voice guides them through the dimension before leaving them at the entrance to the Crystal World, a realm where time does not exist, only memories of every life originating from the first Crystal where all planets are born from.

Saving Reality / Epilogue
After traveling through Memoria to the beginning of all time to the Crystal that is the lifesource of the universe, they find Kuja, intent on destroying it. Zidane and his friends face Kuja in battle and in a last effort Kuja unleashes Ultima on the group, devastating them. The party awakes on the Hill of Despair, finding themselves in the presence of Necron, a deity-like being roused by Kuja's nihilism that arises to deny all existence by returning the world to the Zero World, a world without a Crystal, as he sees the suffering of living beings arising from their fear of death. The party defeats Necron in a final battle, who marvels at the party's will to persist even knowing they cannot escape death, and heeding their desire, departs.

Kuja uses the last of his strength to teleport the heroes out of Memoria onto the banks of the Iifa Tree. The others return to Alexandria on the Hilda Garde III while Zidane searches for Kuja. He locates Kuja deep within Iifa Tree and as Kuja accounts for his sins the collapsing tree's roots converge on them both.

Some time later the Tantalus Troupe returns to Alexandria to perform I Want to Be Your Canary for Queen Garnet. Vivi has died, having come to the end of his lifespan, but as a legacy copies of him have been made, now known as "Vivi's sons". Though Vivi was unable to say goodbye to Zidane, he reminiscences on his time with the party in a soliloquy, thanking Zidane for helping him come to terms with his existence. Everyone gathers up in Alexandria to see the play, Freya having found her lost love, Sir Fratley, and the two are repairing their relationship despite Fratley's amnesia. Amarant arrives with Lani, Quina works as a chef in the Alexandria Castle, and Eiko has been adopted by Cid and Hilda. Beatrix and Steiner, now a couple, act as Garnet's bodyguards and accompany her on the balcony where she watches the play. During the play a shrouded form masquerading as Marcus casts off his cloak to reveal a returning Zidane. Alexandria celebrates, old friends cheer from the stands, and the queen runs through the crowd and leaps into Zidane's arms.

Music
Final Fantasy IX is the last Final Fantasy game with music composed exclusively by Nobuo Uematsu. It was also his most prolific score, as the original soundtrack for the game had 110 tracks, and an additional soundtrack was released with 42 more new tracks. Many people speculate that the reason why Uematsu no longer composed game soundtracks on his own after Final Fantasy IX, was that he was simply overworked. Regardless, years after its release, Uematsu has stated on multiple occasions with little to no hesitation that both the score and the game itself are his favorite of all his projects to have worked on thus far.

Much of the music in Final Fantasy IX revolves around the themes of the J-pop ballad, "Melodies of Life", composed by Uematsu and performed by Emiko Shiratori. The song itself was sung in Japanese for the game's Japanese release, and in English for the game's North American and European releases.

Themes
The main theme of Final Fantasy IX is the meaning of life and death, mainly represented through the characters of Vivi and Kuja, although the other characters follow this arc as well. Vivi struggles to understand his purpose in life after learning he is an artificial being made in a factory for the purpose of war, and has to confront the reality of possessing a fixed lifespan. Kuja knows of his purpose since birth, but comes to rebel against his life as a tool for Garland. Despite being very similar to the black mages he helps Queen Brahne produce, he does not feel empathy toward them, instead viewing them as dolls that are beneath himself; Kuja denies his origins and to this effect hides his identity as a genome.

While Vivi comes to learn the purpose of life is to simply live it, as the experiences he accumulates throughout his journeys become memories that will return to the planet's crystal at his death thus contributing to the circle of life, Kuja is driven mad upon learning of his mortality and impending death. Rejecting the point of life entirely if one is doomed to die, Kuja tries to destroy the origin of all life, the crystal. His will to end all life summons Necron, a being who wants to take the world to the Zero World where nothing can exist, to release Kuja and all other beings of the world from the suffering of existence. The word "Necron" means "death", and thus gives the final battle a symbolic meaning. In the end, life triumphs over death when Zidane and his friends prove to Necron they want to live despite the knowledge they will die one day.

Life and death and the circle of life play a key role in many aspects of Final Fantasy IX, with the Iifa Tree being the symbolic tree of life, a prominent symbol across many cultures, and Terra being a dying world populated by dormant souls and soulless vessels, genomes, whose lives can never be complete if they are not assigned a soul like Kuja and Zidane did. Terra's struggle to continue existing despite its time being up by exploiting other planets goes against the circle of life, and in this way Kuja's fear of death and non-existence is the same as the Terrans'. In the end Kuja accepts his mortality, but as the continuation of memory is a strong theme in Final Fantasy IX, his memory lives on and in a final soliloquy Mikoto comments how Kuja's example gives hope to all remaining genomes, of how they can decide to be something more than tools and carve their own path in life. Vivi is also implied of having died in a final message that plays during the ending, and ends his farewell by saying his memories are now part of the sky, an allusion to the circle of life.

Another major theme in Final Fantasy IX is to pay homage to the earlier installments of the Final Fantasy series, especially from the Nintendo era; Final Fantasy IX was meant to capture the "essence" of Final Fantasy, and the theme of crystals that had been present since the beginning of the series is brought back, the crystal now representing the life force of the universe. The game world was designed with traditional Final Fantasy world in mind, and the game makes numerous allusions to previous games.

Release and Reception
According to Metacritic, Final Fantasy IX is the most critically acclaimed Final Fantasy game to date. It is also the favorite Final Fantasy game of series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. At the PlayStation Awards 2001 held on 11 June 2001, Final Fantasy IX was awarded the "Double Platinum Prize". It also swept the PlayStation User Awards at the same event, beating Dragon Quest VII to walk away with the awards "Best Graphics", "Best Scenario", "Best Characters", and "Best Sound". The results of these User Awards were obtained by polling PlayStation users nationwide.

Allusions
Final Fantasy IX was intended, in many ways, to be a salute to the series' history, and as such, is filled with allusions to previous games. One of the most apparent is the similarity of the character Vivi to the black mage from the original Final Fantasy.

Unfortunately, despite the high quality of the translation overall, care was not taken to ensure all of the various names and references matched up to those used in the previous English-language releases. Because of this, many of the references with which the game abounds are missed by the non-Japanese audience. Examples are listed in the main article.

Trivia

 * Due to the radical departure from Final Fantasy VII and VIII, early in development, Square had not yet decided if the game would be titled Final Fantasy IX or be a gaiden episode.
 * A Final Fantasy IX remake for PlayStation 2 had been considered by Square in early 2001, only one year after the original release. For some reason, the project was either scrapped or never started development at all. Similar projects for Final Fantasy VII and Vagrant Story were also considered at one point, but met the same fate.
 * In May 2009, the video game website IGN interviewed Yoshinori Kitase and Takeshi Arakawa. During their discussion, Arakawa mentioned he desired to make a sequel to Final Fantasy IX more than any other game.
 * According to 1UP.com, Final Fantasy IX is the only Final Fantasy in the series to not have its title logo designed by Yoshitaka Amano. This speculation is, however, unconfirmed.
 * Final Fantasy IX has the most diverse cast of characters in the series, as it has only three normal human beings (Steiner, Amarant and Beatrix) and all the other playable characters are part of different races.
 * Final Fantasy IX can have up to two players controlling the party during combat, even if the feature is not mentioned in the instruction manual.
 * Final Fantasy IX is Hironobu Sakaguchi's favorite Final Fantasy title, saying that "it's closest to his ideal view of what Final Fantasy should be".
 * Final Fantasy IX has the most number of allusions in Dissidia Final Fantasy. The biggest one is Mognet. It is also said in Dissidia that the peak of life of the moogles happened in Gaia.
 * The developers have stated they changed the ending seven times.
 * To promote the release of Final Fantasy IX, Square joined forces with Coca-Cola to produce a Final Fantasy IX themed Coca-Cola television commercial.

The Sphere Grid
Character growths is undertaken by use of the Sphere Grid. By gaining AP from battles and collecting different types of spheres, characters move through the grid, raising stats and learning abilities.

The sphere grid allows the player to evolve and take on "mixed" abilities, meaning they can learn a wide array of Black Magic, White Magic, Defense and Attack skills. An extra grid was included with the International Version (see below), which has 36 fewer nodes, and undefined paths for each character, meaning they can take any role they choose.

Battle System
Unlike the past few games where the battle system used ATB, Final Fantasy X uses the Conditional Turn-Based Battle (CTB) system, or the Count Time Battle system in Japan.

Basically, CTB is a turn-based system, which does not operate in rounds; the order of the turns does not guarantee each participant in a battle will have an equal number of turns. Characters with higher speed will be able to take more turns than slower characters, thus making speed more important than in other turn-based battle systems. Furthermore, spells and abilities (such as Haste) can modify the turn order (called the Act List), as some abilities require a longer cooldown time. In general, weaker abilities tend to require less cooldown time, thus introducing a trade-off between speed and power.

The system is distinguished from Active Time Battle system by the fact that when a character's turn begins, all action stops while the player decides upon an action. This shifts the focus from reflexes and quick decision-making to strategy and careful planning. Unlike in previous games in the series, the player is able to change characters on the go during battle.

Minigames

 * Blitzball - The feature minigame of Final Fantasy X is blitzball, a cross between football (soccer), and water polo, played entirely underwater in a giant sphere pool at Luca. Recruiting players is another big part of blitzball; getting new and better players, and knowing who to cut and when, can be the thing that makes or breaks the team. Blitzball is known throughout the races of Spira as a distraction from the death and destruction that Sin brings.
 * Chocobo Racing - Featured less predominantly than in previous games, chocobo training and racing game can be played in the Calm Lands. The player participates in several challenges to train a chocobo and then uses those skills to race another chocobo at Remiem Temple.
 * Monster Arena - When fiends from all over Spira are captured using special weapons, they appear in the Monster Arena, also located at the Calm Lands. These fiends can be fought at any time (for a fee), and certain combinations can be bred into tougher enemies.
 * Celestial Weapons - Each playable character in the game has their distinctive ultimate weapon, which require some hard work and traveling to acquire.
 * Most locations also have smaller minigames, such as the Butterfly Hunt in Macalania Woods, lightning dodging in Thunder Plains and the Valley of the Cactuars in the Bikanel Desert. See each location page for more details.

Setting
Spira is a continent resembling a large island. In terms of climate, Spira ranges from tropical islands (Besaid and Kilika) and a scorching desert (Bikanel Island) to temperate towns (Luca) and the icy Mt. Gagazet. Spira's population is made up of a variety of six races: humans divided into Spirians and the outcast Al Bhed faction, Hypello, Cactuars, Ronso, and Guado.

Characters
Final Fantasy X features seven main playable characters and one temporary guest character.

Main Characters

 * Tidus - The main male protagonist, a rising blitzball player who is sent to Spira following the destruction of his hometown, Zanarkand. With seemingly no way of knowing what has happened to him, he becomes guardian to Yuna on her pilgrimage in order to learn about the conflict he has been dragged into. At the start of the game Tidus can be renamed; as no character refers to him by name.
 * Yuna - The main female protagonist, a summoner who is on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin, accompanied by her guardians. She is armed with great power and determination as she learns how she can save the tortured world.
 * Auron - A mysterious man who watches out for Tidus and Yuna. He has been hailed as a legendary guardian, due to accompanying Braska on his pilgrimage ten years ago. However, his seemingly cynical nature might just hide the truth he witnessed then.
 * Kimahri - A Ronso, the only non-human member of the party, who befriended Yuna when she was a child and has guarded her ever since. Though disgraced by his tribe, Kimahri wishes for nothing more than to keep Yuna safe.
 * Wakka - One of Yuna's childhood friends from Besaid. As captain of the infamously-pathetic Besaid Aurochs, he has resolved to retire from blitzball and join Yuna on her pilgrimage, bringing along his good-willed cheer.
 * Lulu - One of Yuna's childhood friends from Besaid. A black mage who had accompanied summoners on their failed pilgrimages, she is knowledgeable of the world of Spira, and her frequency to scold others only shows how much she is concerned for her companions' safety.
 * Rikku - A spunky Al Bhed girl, and the first person Tidus encounters upon arriving in Spira. Though considered a heathen amongst the majority of Spira's population, she only desires to protect Yuna, although her means of doing so sometimes conflict with the goals of the rest of the party.

Antagonists

 * Sin - A mysterious entity of unspeakable power that appeared one thousand years ago at the end of the Machina War. The main party sets out on a journey to defeat Sin and remove this menace from Spira.
 * Seymour Guado - A male half-human and half-Guado, Maester of Yevon, and leader of the Guado. Seymour is well-liked by his people and skilled in the art of summoning, but his ideas on what is best for Spira are questionable. Seymour is a guest character during Operation Mi'ihen, but becomes a frequent boss character soon after.

Welcome to Spira


The party sits around a campfire in silence. Beyond the horizon is a ruined city, covered in pyreflies. Tidus begins to tell his story of how he reached this place.

Tidus's story begins in the metropolis of Zanarkand where he is signing autographs for fans, thinking it is a normal day as the star player for his blitzball team, the Zanarkand Abes. Amidst the opening match of the Jecht Memorial Cup (organized to honor Tidus's father, Jecht, who vanished ten years ago), a gigantic wave enters the city destroying everything in its path. The only person undisturbed by this is Auron, a man who has acted as Tidus's mentor since Jecht's disappearance. Tidus meets up with Auron outside the blitzball stadium, but time stops and a boy in purple robes appears before him, and says: "It begins. Don't cry".

After the boy vanishes, Tidus continues after Auron who reveals the force destroying the city is called "Sin" and gives Tidus "a gift from Jecht", a longsword. The two fight their way through the invading monsters and when they reach Sin, Auron allows both himself and Tidus to be sucked up into its "maw". Tidus loses consciousness — but not before seeing a brief vision of his father.

When Tidus awakes he finds himself in a temple ruin where he sets up a camp. When a monster attacks him a group of strange people blow through the door and the leader helps Tidus with the battle. Tidus tries to thank his helpers, but they speak a language foreign to him. The people capture him and bring him to their ship where the group leader, a girl named Rikku, says they are Al Bhed, a faction of people who use the forbidden machina technology.

For Tidus to stay he must accompany Rikku on an underwater salvage operation. Afterward Tidus tells Rikku about his life in Zanarkand, but Rikku is reluctant to believe him, asking if he breathed in Sin's toxin, which is known to induce amnesia. After Tidus claims he was telling the truth, Rikku decides to take his word, but not before telling him that Sin destroyed Zanarkand a thousand years ago, and since Zanarkand is a holy place it would be wise not to tell any Yevonites about his life there. Shortly after, Sin appears and knocks Tidus off the Salvage Ship.

Tidus wakes up on a sunny beach and is glad to see something familiar: a group of islanders playing blitzball. After showing off his skills, the islanders flock around him and the leader of the group, Wakka, explains Tidus has arrived at Besaid Island. He is unnerved when Tidus mentions his home city is Zanarkand and chalks up Tidus's behavior to his recent encounters with Sin. Wakka explains Sin is a monster that rose a thousand years ago, destroying the machina cities, including Zanarkand, as a result of human crimes and use of machina.

Wakka leads Tidus to Besaid Village hoping to have him join his blitzball team, the Besaid Aurochs. The team has not won a blitzball game in twenty-three years, and need Tidus's help, even more so since Wakka is planning to leave the team to become a full-time guardian. Tidus agrees to join and later follows Wakka into Besaid Temple, a branch of the Spiran religion of Yevon. The apprentice summoner who had begun her trial in the temple the day before hasn't returned and despite the priest's orders, Tidus goes through the temple's Cloister of Trials to rescue her. Encountering her guardians — the Ronso Kimahri, the black mage Lulu, and Wakka (who'd gone in after him) — Tidus makes it in time to see the summoner, Yuna, exit the Chamber of the Fayth.

Outside, Yuna summons her first aeon, Valefor. Later, Yuna wishes to hear more of Tidus's story and Tidus overhears Lulu berating Wakka over his interest in Tidus, since she believes Wakka is only protecting him out of memories for his deceased brother, Chappu, whose face resembles Tidus's.

The Pilgrimage Begins
The guardians head out with Yuna on her pilgrimage, a sacred journey across Spira to defeat Sin. Wakka takes Tidus along out of hopes somebody will recognize him at the blitz tournament at Luca. They set out on the S.S. Liki to reach Kilika, and Tidus and Yuna get a chance to talk. Yuna believes Tidus's story, partly because ten years ago a man named Jecht worked as her father's guardian. Yuna is the daughter of high summoner Braska, the last person to destroy Sin. During the journey Sin appears and the party fights it, but fail to stop it from leveling Kilika Village.

In Kilika, Yuna performs the sending guiding the souls of the dead to the Farplane. Those who die in Spira can leave behind pyreflies, that, unless sent by a summoner, will become fiends, the primary monsters of Spira. The next day, the group enters Kilika Temple to gain the aeon Ifrit. Though Tidus was to stay out of the Cloister of Trials as he is not yet a guardian, he is tossed in by the guardian of the summoner Dona, who sees Yuna as a rival. Nonetheless, Yuna obtains Ifrit.

The pilgrimage moves to the city of Luca, the second-largest city in Spira, where a blitzball tournament is taking place. Seymour Guado and the elder Grand Maester Yo Mika overlook the tournament, which is being held to honor Mika's 50th year as Grand Maester. During the first match Yuna learns of Auron's presence in Luca and has Tidus and Kimahri help her look for him. While Kimahri's rival Ronso, Biran and Yenke Ronso, appear to harass him, Yuna is kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches blitzball team to force the Aurochs into surrendering the match. While Wakka handles the game, Tidus goes with Lulu and Kimahri to rescue Yuna from the Al Bhed ship, and Tidus learns Yuna is half-Al Bhed. Lulu sends a signal to Wakka, who wins the game, ending a 23-year losing streak without Tidus's help.

The next blitzball match is against the Spiran champions, the Luca Goers. After the match a group of fiends attack the stadium. Tidus and Wakka fight the beasts, and are given the surprise aid of Auron. The rest of the fiends are dispatched by Seymour's aeon, Anima and Yuna is among the spectators left in awe of the aeon's power. Auron explains that Jecht, Braska and him defeated Sin ten years ago and claims that Sin is Jecht. Dumbfounded by this apparent impossibility, Tidus refuses to accept it.

The pilgrimage continues up the Mi'ihen Highroad, now with two new guardians: Auron and Tidus. The party spends the night at Rin's Travel Agency and Yuna tells Tidus about the goal of the pilgrimage: to go to Zanarkand to obtain the Final Aeon, which can destroy Sin. At the highway's north gate the group are not let through because of Operation Mi'ihen, but Seymour gets the Crusaders to let Yuna and the party pass.

The Mushroom Rock is under occupation by the Crusaders, the military arm of Yevon's clergy. Under the command of Seymour and his fellow Maester, Auron's former friend Wen Kinoc, the Crusaders join forces with the Al Bhed to defeat Sin. Operation Mi'ihen involves using Sinspawn as bait to draw Sin to Djose, then attack it with a machina said to be as powerful as the aeons. Wakka, being orthodox to Yevon's teachings and resentful of the Al Bhed, is furious over this plan. Auron stands back, knowing the plan will fail. The operation is a disaster: hundreds of Crusaders are killed and Yuna must again perform the sending. Yevon covers its involvement by blaming the defeat on the Crusaders' heresy. Auron explains to Tidus the only reason Sin (Jecht) came to the operation was to see his son.

The party enters the Djose Temple to gain the aeon Ixion where they meet fellow summoner Isaaru. There is a rumor that summoners on pilgrimages are disappearing. The party continues to the Moonflow and while crossing the river on a shoopuf, Wakka points to the sunken ruins of a city as an example of what happens to people who use machina. An Al Bhed abducts Yuna into the water, but she is rescued by Tidus and Wakka who destroy the machina holding her captive. Reaching the other side of the river, they run into Rikku, who was the pilot of the destroyed machina. Not wanting to upset Wakka, Tidus and Lulu keep him in the dark about Rikku and Yuna's lineage. Rikku joins the party as Yuna's sixth guardian, with Auron's blessing, who is also aware of her race.

The party moves to Guadosalam, the city of the Guado of which Seymour is the leader. He invites the party to his mansion where he tries to woo Yuna and shows them a sphere recording of what appears to be Tidus's Zanarkand. Within the vision is the first summoner to defeat Sin, Lady Yunalesca, and her husband Lord Zaon. Seymour proposes marriage to Yuna, but she avoids answering and instead takes her group to visit the Farplane, the land of the dead where pyreflies gather to form images of the dead from the visitors' memories.

Rikku believes it to be nothing but an illusion and chooses not to enter. Auron stays behind as well, though he does not give a reason. Inside, Tidus finds Jecht does not appear, meaning he may still be alive as Sin. Tidus accidentally summons the image of his mother, who, as Yuna explains, must have accepted death and entered the Farplane without needing a sending.

Seymour's father, Jyscal Guado, leaves the Farplane as an "unsent", a ghost created from a person who dies "an unclean death". Yuna sends Jyscal and during the ceremony, Auron falls upon his knees, greatly weakened. A sphere appears from the unsent, which Yuna snatches up. While Yuna enters the Guado manor intending to discuss Jyscal, Seymour has already left for Macalania, where the group heads next.

Rikku panics when the group reaches the Thunder Plains, and halfway across they stay at a Rin's Travel Agency to calm her. Rikku has severe astraphobia — a fear of thunderstorms — left over from a past mishap when her brother aimed a Thunder spell at an attacking fiend, except it missed and hit her instead. While staying at the agency Yuna privately views the contents of Jyscal's sphere. Before the group enters the Macalania Woods Yuna announces she will accept Seymour's offer of matrimony. Auron guesses Yuna is hoping to negotiate something with Seymour, and that she doesn't want the others involved.

The True Face of Yevon
While passing through the Macalania Woods, Auron hacks his way through an overgrown sidepath. Down the path is a spring, the water used to create spheres. After fighting the Spherimorph a movie sphere from Jecht is left behind. The sphere shows snippets of Braska's pilgrimage, and includes a sentimental message from Jecht to Tidus. Auron explains Jecht had accepted his fate to remain in Spira and assist Braska in defeating Sin and later tells Tidus that Jecht loved his son, but didn't know how to express it.

After leaving the woods the group is met by Tromell, Seymour's butler, who leads Yuna into the temple to prepare for the wedding. They are ambushed by Al Bhed with Rikku's brother among them who try to stop the pilgrimage by unleashing the powerful Crawler, which Yuna's guardians destroy. Wakka learns Rikku is an Al Bhed, and expresses his disgust at the "heathen". Angry that no one is taking his side, Wakka heads to Macalania Temple on foot, while the others ride on machina sleds. Depending on the affection levels during the game, Tidus will either ride with Rikku, Lulu, Auron, or Kimahri.

If Tidus rides with Rikku, he will learn Rikku and Yuna are cousins, and Rikku explains why the Al Bhed want to protect the summoners during the pilgrimage, disagreeing with the summoners sacrificing themselves to bring happiness to Spira. If he rides with Lulu, Tidus will come to understand Wakka's hatred towards the Al Bhed, which stems from Chappu's death. He asks Lulu if a human can become Sin and she finally believes Tidus comes from a world without Sin.

At the temple the party comes upon the sphere Yuna had retrieved from the unsent Jyscal, which shows Seymour murdered his father to succeed him as Maester. The party confronts Seymour outside the Chamber of the Fayth and, with the new aeon Shiva, kill him. An angered Tromell appears and takes away Seymour's body before Yuna can send him, and breaks the sphere that proves Seymour's crimes. Now dubbed traitors, the party flees the temple with Guado soldiers in pursuit. They escape when a yeti-like fiend sends them plummeting through the ice of the frozen Lake Macalania.

They land atop a underground mass of land near the bottom of the temple and Yuna reveals that in exchange for marriage, she was hoping to have Seymour turn himself in for his crimes. Auron reminds her the pilgrimage is more important, saying that the fayth are the ones that give power to the summoners, not the temples or the teachings. The ground begins to shake, and the party realizes they had landed atop a docile Sin, which knocks the party unconscious as it begins to stir. Before falling unconscious, Tidus accepts that Sin really is his father.

Awaking on Bikanel Island, Tidus finds himself alone by an oasis. He rounds up his fellow guardians, but cannot find Yuna. Rikku leads the group go to the Al Bhed city of Home, which is under siege by Guado forces. Fighting through the invasion, the party finds the summoners Dona and Isaaru taken by the Al Bhed to the Summoners' Sanctum. Tidus suffers an emotional breakdown after he discovers the truth behind the pilgrimage: summoning the Final Aeon will kill the summoner, and Yuna will meet the same fate if she completes her journey.

The group makes its way to the Al Bhed airship, the Fahrenheit (which was the airship Tidus and Rikku salvaged upon their first meeting), captained by Rikku's father and Yuna's uncle, Cid. The ship takes off with Tidus's group and most of the Al Bhed on board. Cid blows up Home with the airship's missile system to take out the invading forces. The party learns Yuna has been taken by the Guado to the now-unsent Seymour to be married.

The party finds Yuna at the capital city of Bevelle where she is in a wedding gown to be joined with Seymour. Tidus and his group crash the wedding and force their way through, and Yuna tries to send Seymour. Grand Maester Mika stops her, and Tidus and co. are held at gunpoint by warrior monks and Wen Kinoc. After the ceremony Yuna threatens to dive off the tower if Seymour won't release her guardians. She lets herself fall off the tower, but in midair summons Valefor and is safely taken to the Cloister of Trials.

Rikku throws a flash bomb to distract the guards, allowing Yuna's guardians to escape. Along the way to Bevelle's Chamber of the Fayth they discover several machina inside; Auron confirms that this is the "true face of Yevon: they betray their own teachings". Upon arriving at the Chamber Yuna gains the aeon Bahamut, but the group is arrested. Yuna and her guardians are put on trial by the Maesters of Yevon, where they press their case, claiming Seymour should be sent to the Farplane. Grand Maester Mika reveals he is also an unsent and it seems they are without allies except for the Ronso Maester, Kelk Ronso, who leaves Yevon troubled by Jyscal's murder.

While imprisoned Auron tells Tidus about the "spiral of death" that traps Spira: the summoners sacrifice themselves to defeat Sin, but Sin will always return. Yuna and her guardians are deemed traitors and sentenced to the Via Purifico, a dungeon said to be inescapable. At the exit, Yuna is confronted by Isaaru, who places his loyalty to Yevon above his friendship to Yuna. The two duel with their aeons and Isaaru is soundly beaten. Making their way to Bevelle's exit, the party finds Seymour with Kinoc's corpse. Seymour reveals his true plan is to "save" Spira from its cycle of death by becoming Sin and destroying all life. Seymour transforms into Seymour Natus, but is defeated.

Revelations
Leaving Bevelle for the Macalania Woods, Yuna, her faith in Yevon shaken, goes off into the woods to be alone, but Tidus follows. He finds Yuna in the spring, and reveals he knows the truth behind the Final Summoning and apologizes for talking about life "after" defeating Sin, believing he had only depressed Yuna. Yuna says his words had made her happy. Tidus tries to persuade Yuna to quit the pilgrimage and stay with him, and though tempted, Yuna cannot simply allow Sin to run rampant across Spira. She breaks down in tears and Tidus comforts her, and they embrace and share a kiss under the full moon. They return to the party to continue their journey into the Calm Lands and later to Mt. Gagazet.

Before crossing Gagazet, Kelk and his tribe of Ronso give Yuna their blessing after witnessing her resolve and courage. Tidus and Rikku are intent on finding a way to save her. A pursuing Seymour attacks the Ronso and many are slaughtered, including Kelk, Biran, and Yenke. The party struggles through the frigid mountain before they run into Seymour who transforms into Seymour Flux. Despite Seymour's growing powers, he is again defeated. After the battle, Yuna and the guardians learn of Sin's identity as Jecht.

Near the mountain peak the group comes across a fountain of fayth lost in dreams. Tidus is struck by a dream of his home in Zanarkand and while there, meets the boy in purple robes he saw in the beginning of his journey — the fayth of Bahamut. The fayth reveals Sin was created to leave Spira forever backward so Tidus's Zanarkand could exist eternally without being detected, and that the Zanarkand Tidus hails from is only a dream created by the fayth. Tidus, Jecht, and everybody else from the city are nothing but dreams who will cease to exist once Sin is truly defeated.

As Jecht and Tidus have both been "touched by Sin" they have been made real and have a chance of destroying it. The fayth asks Tidus to defeat Sin so the fayth can be freed of the burden of sustaining "Dream Zanarkand". Tidus accepts, even while knowing doing so will mean he will disappear. After he returns to consciousness, Tidus keeps what he learned to himself.

After passing through Mt. Gagazet the party comes to the original Zanarkand where the pilgrimage is to end and Tidus's retelling of the events that led him here ends. The party enters the Zanarkand Ruins where the pyreflies are so numerous the party witness visions of past summoners who came through to defeat Sin and see a vision of a young Seymour, whose mother gives up her life to become the fayth of Anima.

They meet Lady Yunalesca in Zanarkand Dome, now an unsent after her battle with Sin a thousand years ago, and learn that to create the Final Aeon a guardian must be sacrificed as its fayth. They glimpse into the past into Braska's pilgrimage where Jecht became the fayth for the Final Aeon. The Final Aeon can only defeat Sin for a short time, for after the old Sin is destroyed the Final Aeon is transformed into a new Sin, and thus whoever becomes the Final Aeon will later become Sin, continuing the spiral of death.

Yuna refuses to partake in what she calls a "false tradition" as she does not wish to sacrifice any of her guardians. Yunalesca believes that without faith in the Final Summoning, and the hope it's meant to bring, Yuna will succumb to despair, and decides to kill her and free her from such a fate. The party sees a vision of young Auron from the past; distraught about Braska's death and Jecht's transformation, Auron went to confront Yunalesca, but was killed, making him an unsent.

In the present time Auron rallies his team to attack Yunalesca. Though Yunalesca is powerful the party prevails and destroys her, forever ending the practice of Final Summoning. Before she fades, Yunalesca mentions that "even if there was another way... even if you did destroy Sin... Yu Yevon the immortal will only create Sin anew".

Defeating Sin
With Yunalesca gone, the party needs a new way to defeat Sin. Cid arrives in the Fahrenheit to pick them up and they brainstorm a strategy. Yevon is in disarray with the deaths of so many Maesters, and Tidus and his party land in Bevelle during the crisis to confront Yo Mika who learns they have not gained the Final Aeon, and have eliminated it for all eternity. Feeling Spira is doomed to be destroyed by Yu Yevon's spiral of destruction and the despair it engenders, Mika departs for the Farplane.

The party comes up with a plan to beat Sin: they will distract Sin by having all of Spira sing Jecht's favorite song, the "Hymn of the Fayth", and while Sin is subdued, the party will attack on the airship. The attack begins as planned, and eventually the monster opens up its mouth to suck in the airship. Inside Sin they find Seymour and battle him a final time. Despite yet another powerful form, Seymour Omnis, he is defeated. With nowhere for him to run, Yuna sends the rogue Maester. Before disappearing, Seymour says he is glad it was Yuna who would send him, but even if they defeated Sin, Spira's sorrow would continue. At Sin's Core in a place similar to the blitzball stadium from Dream Zanarkand, Tidus is reunited with his father who only has a short time left before his mind fully becomes Sin's. Jecht turns into Braska's Final Aeon, Sin's true form but the party kills Jecht and saves him from the nightmare of being Sin. Jecht says goodbye to Tidus and scolds him for crying, but the battle is not won yet.

Yu Yevon, requiring an aeon to inhabit, takes over Yuna's aeons one by one. The party destroy each one as Yu Yevon possesses them, and with nowhere left to hide, Yu Yevon himself appears, revealed to be little more than a floating bug-like creature. The party destroys Yu Yevon, and defeats Sin. Auron, his mission complete, requests that Yuna send him. With the fayth retiring from their thousand-year dream, Tidus bids farewell as he fades from existence. Though Yuna tries to stop him from leaving, she falls right through him. Yuna proclaims her love for him (in the original Japanese version, she thanks him instead) and Tidus embraces her. He jumps off the edge of the airship, falling through the clouds, where he sees Braska, Auron, and Jecht waiting for him on the Farplane and high-fives Jecht, symbolizing that he has reconciled with his father.

Epilogue
Now a high summoner, Yuna gives a speech at the Luca blitzball stadium about Spira's future: Sin is finally dead, and Spira is theirs again after 1,000 years of terror. The Eternal Calm has begun, and Yuna resolves to aid in the world's reconstruction, and concludes with, "The people and friends that we have lost, and the dreams that have faded... never forget them."

In the depths of the ocean, Tidus wakes up and swims toward the surface with a smile on his face.

Music
Final Fantasy X is the first numbered Final Fantasy game to feature a musical score not completely credited to Nobuo Uematsu, who has written the music for Final Fantasy since its inception. The game's soundtrack was co-scored by Junya Nakano and Masashi Hamauzu.

The game's main theme "Zanarkand" is heard in the beginning and in multiple other forms during the game's main events. Another prominently featured song is the vocal theme "Suteki da ne", played during the romantic scene between Yuna and Tidus at the lake in Macalania Woods. Many tracks also have the instrumental form of this song mixed into them, such as "Yuna's Theme" and "Spira Unplugged".

Other popular songs include "Otherworld", played in the beginning of the game and during the final battle, and the "Hymn of the Fayth", sang in a different way in each temple by each fayth, and by many characters, such as the Al Bhed and even hummed by Tidus.

Development
Development of Final Fantasy X began in 1999 and was first presented at the 2000 Square Millennium Event together with Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy XI, although this early version greatly differs from the final game. Although Hironobu Sakaguchi showed doubts about the transition from 2D to 3D backgrounds, voice acting, and real-time storytelling, he also stated the success of the series was due to constantly changing development and trying out new things. Development for Final Fantasy X cost approximately four billion Japanese yen (approximately 32.3 million dollars) with a crew of more than 100 people, most of whom worked on previous games in the series.

Gameplay
Final Fantasy X was initially going to incorporate online elements, which were later dropped, and added into the next title in the series, Final Fantasy XI. In a beta video shown at the Square Millennium Event in 2000, Tidus has black hair, and the game appears perfectly 3D with the player being able to rotate the camera. Tidus's character model in the demo is more detailed with his clothes and hair bouncing as he moves and also fluttering in the wind. In the menu it was obvious Tidus and Yuna had levels akin to previous Final Fantasy games rather than sphere levels like in the final game.

The Conditional Turn-Based Battle (CTB) was a new battle system replacing the Active-Time Battle (ATB) system from previous titles. The traditional world map concept was dropped, because the developers wanted a more realistic approach, as well as realism of the game's 3D backgrounds and the animation of characters. Originally, Final Fantasy X was going to feature enemies wandering visible on the field map with seamless transition into battles allowing players to move freely around the area during enemy encounters. Battle art director Shintaro Takai has explained the intention was for the battles to come across as a natural part of the story instead of an independent element.

However, due to hardware and system limitations, these ideas were not used until Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII. Final Fantasy X uses a compromise from the original ideas, with some transitions from the field screen to battle arenas relatively seamless only with the implementation of a motion blur effect. The desire for seamless transitions also led to the implementation of the new summoning system.

The game takes place on a journey from the village of Besaid to Zanarkand with little side-tracking, and to broaden the range of what the players can enjoy many minigames were incorporated. There were close to 10 people handling this aspect, and Yoshinori Kitase left it up to their imagination to come up with ideas.

Voice Acting
Yoshinori Kitase has cited the inclusion of voice acting as one of the big things he wanted to introduce to Final Fantasy when the series moved from PlayStation to PlayStation 2. “As the previous games had only had text, the depth of expression available was broadened by the introduction of voice, but on the other hand, by giving characters actual voices, their facial expressions became more important, and the developers needed to invest more energy into that.

The characters' facial expressions were achieved through motion capture and skeletal animation technology, which allowed animators to create realistic lip movements programmed to match the speech of the game's voice actors. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima has revealed the inclusion of voice acting enabled him to express emotion more powerfully than before, and he was therefore able to keep the storyline simple. The presence of voice actors led to various changes to the script to match the voice actors' personalities with the characters they were portraying. The inclusion of voice, however, led to difficulties; with the game's cutscenes already programmed around the Japanese voice work, the English localization team faced the difficulty of incorporating the translated script with the rhythm and timing of the characters' lip movements.

The majority of the English dialogue was not based to the actual game footage; the only guidance the voice actors had were samples of the original Japanese dialogue, and they rarely had the opportunity to sync their dialogue with actual footage. Once the voice recording was complete, sound editors would digitally speed up or slow down the audio clips in order to fill the character's allotted speaking time for each particular line.

Storyline
The original concept of Final Fantasy X story was that "a person would reach the end of life at 17 years of age". That theme of "inevitable death" was carried over to become Yuna's fate.

Kazushige Nojima was initially concerned with establishing a connection between the player and main character and the story was designed so the player's progress through the world and growing knowledge about it is reflected in Tidus's narration. In the early story drafts Tidus's role was vastly different from the final version; Tidus was envisioned as a plumber with the attitude of a delinquent.

The original plans for the game's opening scenario were wildly different from the final version. In the early drafts Tidus would have been swimming around the ocean near Registan (later renamed Zanarkand) to the theme of "Hymn of Fayth", then visiting a place called "Yevon Dome" where Tidus would have met up with his friends, a male and two females. They would have checked the time and thought it was getting late. The Yevon Dome would have been a place where the founder of Registan, Yevon, would have been worshiped, it was a large bowl-shaped arena where Registan's populace would come to meet with friends and offer up their prayers.

The people would have prayed daily to Yevon, but although Yevon would have been deified in Registan, it was not a religion. Tidus would have then descended to the underwater facility of Registan where he would have fought against an underwater boss. Upon leaving the facility Sin would have been seen rising from the ocean and Tidus would have let Sin pass with a smile. The scene would have ended with Tidus glancing at his wristwatch and worrying about it being so late.

Monsters would have begun attacking the city but Auron and the Crimson Blades would have fought them off. Before it was decided Auron would be an unsent, he was envisioned working as a Crimson Blade exterminating monsters in Registan. There were also plans to make Tidus the unsent, but due to the release of the film Sixth Sense with a similar plotline, the storyline was given to Auron instead. There were also plans of having Auron be Jecht in disguise. This way, Jecht could have been watching things all along, but because the developers didn't want Jecht to have a leading part in the game, they gave up on the idea.

Sin was created to be a presence Spirans could simply not avoid, however much they tried. Yoshinori Kitase created him to represent the kinds of calamitous disasters that exist in the real world, such as earthquakes and typhoons. Spira has the teachings of Yevon, which give meaning to people's lives in the face of death, so what Kitase really tried to show in Final Fantasy X, was how people behave in the face of unavoidable fate.

The process of acquiring each of the aeons was made an important element to the main story. This importance placed on them made the developers invest in their design. What differentiates Final Fantasy X is the interplay between the summoner and the summoned monster, such as how Yuna will pat Valefor's head during its summoning animation. By emphasizing the relationship between Yuna and the aeons gave the game's final scene where she must part with them even more impact.

Leaked Version
In May 2009 a preview-build of the North American version of Final Fantasy X was leaked online. This build is from about two months before the final release. It has a debug mode at the main menu, and the FMVs are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Pressing during gameplay brings up debug info, and there are plenty of humorous scenes and settings that were never supposed to make it into the final game. The leaked version has greyed out loading options in the config: either "HDD" or "DVD-ROM". There is also an HDD option in the main menu.

Themes
The Final Fantasy series had always had somewhat of a "foreign" feel from the Japanese point of view, the first games taking place in a medieval "European" setting. When the settings moved toward a more modern atmosphere, foreign influence was still strong with Final Fantasy VII originally imagined to take place in the real life New York City, and many locations in Final Fantasy VIII modeled after real world European locations.

Final Fantasy X is a break by being pointedly South East Asian in its feel, most notably with respect to vegetation, topography, architecture and names. Producer Yoshinori Kitase felt that if the setting returned to a medieval European fantasy, it would not help the series advance. While he was brainstorming different world environments, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima suggested a fantasy world that incorporated Asian elements. Many fans had responded negatively to the sci-fi elements of some previous Final Fantasy games, and with Final Fantasy X the developers wanted to expand the fans' definition of the word "fantasy" by taking a different route from the "medieval Europe" fantasy setting so commonly seen in RPGs. A number of the development staff spent time in South East Asia, such as Bali and Thailand, and brought back influences to incorporate into Spira.

For example, Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy game to have its theme song sung in Japanese, and instead of being a pop song, "Suteki da ne" is a traditional Japanese folk song. The intention to capture an Asian feel is also evident in the character designs, with the basis for Yuna's design being that of Okinawan kimonos; the specific type of kimono chosen for her is a furisode. Yuna's dress and necklace are adorned with images of the hibiscus flower also called "yuna", and Tidus's Japanese name (ティーダ) translates to "sun" (太陽) in Okinawan. Japanese influences are also seen in Lulu's hairstyle and Auron's samurai influences. The concepts of aeons, fayth, pyreflies, sending and unsent all harken to Asian legends and traditions.

Yoshinori Kitase has stated the game's main theme is "journey", but that in addition there are many hidden themes. He stated that as a father the theme of family is closest to his heart. Another central theme in Final Fantasy X is legacy, in how both Tidus and Yuna follow in their fathers' footsteps. Tidus had grown up in his father's shadow and becomes a renowned blitzball star like Jecht was. Yuna follows in her father's footsteps by becoming a summoner as he did. Years after Jecht and Braska sacrifice themselves, their children follow the same path but the revelations they uncover along the way force Tidus, Yuna, and their friends to find a new path and free Spira.

Another central theme is Gnosticism, a religious movement in the early church that was rejected as a heresy. Gnosticism believes human existence itself to be sinful and that the world has been created by an evil god. The word itself means "knowledge". The Gnostics believed it was this "hidden knowledge" about the world that freed them. Spirans believe Sin is their rightful punishment for their vanity and that because mankind is sinful, Sin is continually reborn. Death is glorified with the summoners sacrificing themselves to summon the Final Aeon, and the aeons themselves being the spirits of the dead. Those who don't find their way to the Farplane become twisted by the envy they feel toward the living and eventually turn into fiends.

The word aeon means "age", "forever" or "for eternity". In Gnostic lore, it denotes the immaterial emanations of God. Yu Yevon can be viewed as the "evil god" from Gnostic lore, known as Yaldabaoth in Gnostic religions, from whom the mankind must be saved. Although Yu Yevon isn't a true god in Final Fantasy X, not having created the world and the people, but merely having created Dream Zanarkand and Sin, it is still the god worshiped in the Yevon religion.

Tidus is introduced to the world as someone who can see Spira's ways of life as they really are—false. By getting to know Tidus and believing in his Zanarkand, Yuna comes around to his way of thinking, and on the crucial moment rejects the Final Summoning as a false rite. The Gnostic belief of the "hidden knowledge" about the world being the way to save them, is represented in the game by the discovery of truth behind Sin, Yevon, and the Final Summoning. Once the hidden truth behind Yevon are revealed, Yuna and her friends seek to find a permanent way to vanquish Sin and give the people of Spira a future of independence from Yevon.

Sequels
Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy game to get a direct sequel game, and Final Fantasy X-2 was released two years later, in 2003. Final Fantasy X wasn't originally planned to have a sequel, but after a strong fan reaction to the short story titled "Final Fantasy X: Eternal Calm" included with Final Fantasy X International, the development team decided to continue the story in a sequel.

In an interview in the Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Ultimania published the same time the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster set came out in Japan, 26th December 2013, Kazushige Nojima, the scenario writer for Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, hinted at possible future developments for the world of Spira: "If there's enough demand, then we may possibly see new developments. [...] I would personally like to see a sequel like X-3".

Dialogue translated from the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster post-credits audio drama, and Nojima's spin-off novella Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daishou~, leave open new plot threads, further hinting at a future sequel, but Square Enix has yet to make any formal announcements on the subject.

Final Fantasy X: International
The International Version was released on January 31, 2002, in Japan, and later in Europe (the European release was simply titled "Final Fantasy X"). This updated version of the game has different box art for Japan, and new features, such as an Expert Sphere Grid, which allows for accessing abilities more easily, but less overall stat-growth. New abilities were added to both Standard and Expert Grids.

The Dark Aeons and Penance, all powerful superbosses, were added, as well as many minor changes to dialogue, scenes, the Celestial Weapons' key items (Japan only), characters and armor, weapon customizations, such as Ribbon. The release also includes a bonus disc with behind the scenes making-of features of Final Fantasy X, and a special movie prologue to Final Fantasy X-2.

The European release has the the Dark Aeons and Penance, as well as the new equipment abilities, but didn't change the name of the Celestial Sigils and Crests. As with previous PAL conversions of Final Fantasy installments, the game has noticeable black borders and a slower running-speed as a result of. The black label version includes a bonus DVD with the title Beyond Final Fantasy, which includes various interviews with the game developers, as well as two of the English voice actors. Additionally, it also includes trailers of various Square games, an art gallery, short biographies on Nobuo Uematsu and RIKKI, as well as a music video of RIKKI performing the song "Suteki da ne".

Some versions of Final Fantasy X: International have a glitch, whereby if the player goes to the area where they fight Dark Ifrit it is possible to slip past the men blocking the way to Home, and thus, be able to return to the story at the events in Home with Yuna in the party. This glitch can be repeated after the first time it is used.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster


Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy game originally developed for a Sony platform to be remastered. A high-definition port was announced at the Sony Press Conference in Japan on September 14th, 2011 as part of a 10th anniversary special, and was set to be released on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. This version is based on the International version, making it the first time the features exclusive to that version will be officially available in North America. The HD remaster has trophies.

On 19 March, 2013, it was confirmed Final Fantasy X-2 was also receiving an HD remastering and that it, too, would be based on the International version of the game. The two games are available together on a single Blu-ray disc for the PlayStation 3 version, but on PlayStation Vita Final Fantasy X-2 is available only digitally, but its code is included in the Final Fantasy X retail version so that the buyer can still get both at once.

It was released in Japan on December 26, 2013 and March 18, 2014 overseas.

Sales and Reception
Final Fantasy X received critical acclaim in the media and enjoyed high sales figures. Within four days of its release in Japan, the game had sold over 1.4 million copies in preorders, which set a record for the fastest-selling console RPG. Since May 2011; the game had sold nearly 8 million copies worldwide.

Final Fantasy X received generally high review scores in both Japanese, western and Middle Eastern media. Critics generally praised the game's storyline, graphics and movies, although some criticized the game's dialogue and linearity, as well as the Sphere Grid leveling system and the fact that cutscenes cannot be skipped. Famitsu readers voted Final Fantasy X the best game of all time in early 2006 and Producer Shinji Hashimoto stated in 2002: "We've had a great reception from the media and already received some awards and so forth, so overall the reaction has been excellent".

On December 3, 2014 Final Fantasy X was voted by the Japanese fans as one of the best five PlayStation games of the brand's 20 years lifespan, along with Final Fantasy VII,, , and.

Allusions
Final Fantasy X contains allusions to previous games and Asian mythologies.

Trivia

 * In the game's title logo, the roman numeral 'X' is written in a different typeface to the traditional Runic Font MT used in other logos.
 * In the title logo for Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster, the roman numeral 'X' has been reverted to the Runic Font MT typeface.
 * In the background of the initial FMV when Tidus reaches Luca, when the camera pans down a street, the music from "I Want to be Your Canary" from Final Fantasy IX can be heard. Also, during a scene before the street scene (when the camera pans the sides of some buildings), a part of "Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony" from Final Fantasy VII is played.
 * There is a subtle reference to Final Fantasy X in Final Fantasy IX through the enemy Ragtime Mouse. On the card it's holding a following question appears: "Pop Quiz! FF10's theme is GUTS! True or false?".
 * In a Famitsu popularity poll, four characters from Final Fantasy X (Yuna, Tidus, Auron, Rikku) made the top 50. This is the second most characters from one game, with the most being from Final Fantasy VII.
 * Blood is seen in only a few scenes throughout the game: caused by Geosgaeno's attack on a sahagin at Baaj Temple near the beginning of the game, during the underwater scene when Tidus is attacked by Sinscales, running down the left side of the aeon Anima's face from her left eye in the Luca FMV in which she is summoned, on the sand in the aftermath of Operation Mi'ihen, and during the raid on Home.
 * During the entirety of Final Fantasy X, Tidus's name is not spoken by the other characters. This was because of a choice of the player to rename the main character.
 * Final Fantasy X-2 continues this option despite Tidus being a non-playable character and is referenced as "Star Player of the Zanarkand Abes" in the blitzball minigame.
 * Kingdom Hearts (which includes a cameo appearances of Final Fantasy characters including characters from Final Fantasy X) breaks this option. However, Tidus is not a playable character.
 * In the poll in which Famitsu asked its readers which games made Japanese gamers cry Final Fantasy X topped the chart as the number 1 game.
 * Final Fantasy X was referenced in the popular sitcom Two and a Half Men. Jake rented the game from a rental store, though later in the episode, when Jake is supposedly playing the game, the music heard is the battle theme from Final Fantasy II.

Basic Gameplay
Players start by creating a character which may be customized. Unlike previous games in the series, Final Fantasy XI allows a player to choose Race, Gender, facial features, hair color, and height. Players must select one of three starter cities, the Republic of Bastok, the Kingdom of San d'Oria, or the Federation of Windurst, to pledge allegiance to and begin their journey.

Final Fantasy XI's main plot lines are advanced through Missions, which are offered from city-states and several NPCs. Each expansion also comes with a new plot line to undertake. In addition to advancing the game's story, Missions also offer various rewards, such as items, Rank, and access to new areas. Players may also take on various Quests, which are activities that are typically separate from the main plot line and flesh out the game's world. Quests also offer various rewards, and enhance a player's Fame, an invisible status which affects NPC reactions to the player's character. All Missions and Quests are optional and can be undertaken at the players own pace.

Battles in Final Fantasy XI take place within the game world; no separate screen is loaded, as is common in previous Final Fantasy games. Instead, monsters can be found roaming the land, and can be freely attacked. Some monsters may also attack the player, retaining some "random battle" elements from previous games. Enemies that are rare or tied to missions or quests are known as Notorious Monsters or NMs for short. Many such enemies can be fought in the open world, but are often found exclusively in battlefields which are not as easily accessed.

Final Fantasy XI uses a "Claim" and "Enmity" system with regard to monsters. Once an aggressive action is taken against a foe, it becomes "claimed" as part of the record of the character performing the action; this prevents any passersby from interfering. Others may help with the battle if a Party is formed. Partying allows selected players to group together and take down foes. The battle mechanics can also vary according to different gameplay systems.

Job System
Final Fantasy XI uses the concept of changing Jobs in a similar fashion to Final Fantasy III, and currently has twenty-two Jobs. Unlike most other MMORPGs, players are not restricted to one class per character and can switch jobs whenever they like at designated areas, such as inside their Mog House. Players have to choose from six Basic Jobs available at the start of the game, but are able to unlock Advanced Jobs through quests once a standard Job has reached level thirty.

Each Job has Job Abilities and Job Traits, which are typically gained automatically as the player levels up a particular job. Magic is treated differently, in that players can only learn spells through magic scrolls once they have reached the required level.

Job Abilities must be activated by the player in order to come into effect. They last a limited time and have separate cool-down periods before they can be used again. Additionally, each Job has a special ability that performs some extraordinary function to help in a dire situation. Players must use these special powers wisely because they can only be used once every hour under normal circumstances.

Magic spells are like job abilities, except that they have casting time and typically require MP in exchange for shorter recast timers. Many magic spells are not exclusive to one particular job, but their effectiveness often vary according to the other abilities available to that class. Only about half of all the jobs available in Final Fantasy XI are able to cast some form of magic.

Job Traits are passive abilities that are always in effect. Many Job Traits come in tiers, with a higher tier providing a stronger effect being unlocked as the level increases. Many common Jobs Traits are shared by different Job classes. However, their degree of effectiveness may vary depending on which tier the trait caps at for that particular job.

The most unique part of Final Fantasy XI's Job system is the "Support Job". This system allows a player to augment their character with Abilities, Traits, and Spells from another chosen job at up to half the level of their current Job. For instance, a Level 20 Warrior could set Ninja as their support Job. This allows them to use all Ninja Abilities, Traits, and Spells up to that of a Level 10 Ninja, while still primarily being a Level 20 warrior. The support Job system allows for Job-merges never before seen in the Final Fantasy series.

However, there are some exceptions to the support job system. Special Job Ability and other abilities deemed signature to a particular job (such as Call Wyvern for Dragoons) are restricted to being used only when set on main Job. Also, some adjustments have been made to lower the effectiveness of certain abilities when used on support jobs.

Leveling and Partying
As in most previous Final Fantasy games, leveling up in Final Fantasy XI is based upon Experience Points. Experience points can be gained by several means, including defeating foes, completing Quests or Missions, Campaign Battles, and various other activities. Experience points gained from killing enemies is relative to the player's level; defeating monsters that are higher level than the player net more EXP, whereas monsters that are deemed "too weak" will not give EXP at all. Generally, the most efficient way to gain Experience points with the intention to level up is to join an EXP Party. An EXP Party is a group of up to six people working together in order to bring down foes for EXP.

The original level cap in Final Fantasy XI was 50. This was raised through version updates in increments of 5 to level 75 around the time of the English release of the game in 2003. In 2010, 7 years after the level was capped at 75, the level cap was slowly raised again, culminating in level 99 in December 2011. Players who have reached level 75 and above can begin converting experience into Limit Points. These, in turn, grant Merit Points which may be spent to gain additional stats, abilities, and traits.

Partying is common to almost all gameplay systems in Final Fantasy XI as it allows each Job to excel at their role, and subsequently kill harder monsters more efficiently than solo play. For instance, White Mages are not very powerful physically, but are capable of healing. Paired with a Warrior whose specialty lies in damage output, they can work together using each others' strengths - the White Mage can cure the Warrior while he brings down a foe, relieving the need to worry about his health - to defeat enemies faster. Killing hard monsters quickly in succession also grants a bonus to experience, known as a Chain.

When in a Party, monsters' aggressive actions are determined by an Enmity system. Almost every action taken during a battle generates Enmity (commonly referred to as "Hate") and whoever possesses the most Enmity will have the monster's attention, and subsequently be attacked. A key to succeeding in Party battle is managing Enmity in order to protect vulnerable party members such as mages who typically have low defense. Players must pick and choose actions while thinking about how it will affect their Enmity, and therefore the entire group. Because of this, certain Jobs are tasked with trying to create the most Enmity possible, in order to hold the monster's attention.

A full party is 6 members, and up to 3 parties may come together to form an alliance, which can consist of a maximum of 18 players. Although open world battle content is limited to a full alliance at any time, many gameplay systems involving battlefields are designed to challenge even larger groups of players at one go.

Depending on whether they are playing solo or in smaller groups, players may choose to summon Adventuring Fellows or Trust alter egos to aid in combat. Adventuring Fellows are AI-controlled NPCs that can be customized and even leveled up to suit the player's styles, whereas Trust alter egos are magical copies of various famous heroes in Vana'diel with specific moves and unique AI.

Weapon Skills and Magic Bursts
Weapon Skills are a prominent feature in Final Fantasy XI' battles. Players gain Tactical Points, also known as TP, by dealing physical damage. When the TP gauge reaches above 100%, players are able to unleash Weapon Skills to attack the enemy and in some instances receive beneficial effects. Although TP can be charged to a maximum of 300%, all TP is spent whenever a Weapon Skill is used, and are factored in to determine how effective that Weapon Skill is. When the appropriate weapon skills are used in succession, it results in a Skillchain.

Skillchains come in different power levels and result in additional damage on the enemy. Lower level skillchains can be chained upon further to result in stronger skillchain effects. Building on this, players can deal additional damage by timing Magic spells immediately after a Skillchain occurs - this is called a Magic Burst. Skillchains and Magic Bursts add an element of teamwork to battles and are often required to take down the most challenging of enemies.

World


Final Fantasy XI takes place in the world of Vana'diel, a diverse planet with regions ranging from blinding-hot deserts to ice-cold glaciers. Vana'diel's inhabitants range from the Enlightened Races and Beastmen to simple fiends.

Ancient lore states that Vana'diel was created as a playground for the Gods, who themselves were spawned form an enormous and sentient Crystal. For eons, the Gods joyfully played until eventually falling into a deep slumber. It was during this slumber that the children of the Gods rose and flourished in Vana'diel, extracting gold from stones, traveling through the sky, building mighty cities, and giving birth to grasslands across the world.

Eventually, the children longed to join their parents, and constructed a pathway to the Divine Entrance of Paradise. Enraged by such an insolent act, the Holy Gatekeeper smote the children, and cast their cities to the bottom of the sea.

Shortly thereafter, the Goddess Altana awoke, and saw the ruin that had once been Vana'diel. Filled with an emotion that the likes of a God had never felt before, sadness, Altana wept five divine tears. When the five tears fell upon the earth, they gave life to the five races of Vana'diel.

However, the God of Twilight, Promathia, observed this act from his place in the shadows. Promathia saw fit to condemn her weakness and the life that arose from it. Promathia cursed the five races with eternal conflict amongst themselves by bringing forth their darkest attributes: the apathy of the Humes, the arrogance of the Elvaan, the rage of the Galka, the cowardice of the Tarutaru, and the envy of the Mithra. He created terrible beasts and spread them across the world, commanding them to forever fight the people of Vana'diel and occupy their minds. Never again would anyone think to open the Gate of the Gods.

Playable Races
The five Enlightened Races of Vana'diel are available to play as:
 * Hume
 * The Humes built their city, the Republic of Bastok, in the wastes of Gustaberg. They posses near-equal abilities in all fields, and are physically-basic compared to other races. It is the Humes' adaptability that has spread them throughout the lands, making them the most numerous of the five races. Humes are said to suffer from the sin of Apathy.


 * Galka
 * The most imposing of all the races, the Galka possess towering, bulky physiques. Their home city was destroyed hundreds of years ago by the Anticans, making the Galkan people refugees. Many have since settled in Bastok with the Humes; however, they are regarded as an underclass. Galkas are unique from other races in that they are all male and reproduce through reincarnation. They posses high Vitality and HP, but have the lowest MP of the five races. They are said to suffer from the sin of Rage.


 * Elvaan
 * Native to The Kingdom of San d'Oria, the Elvaan are characterized by their tall, slender figures and large, pointed ears. Many Elvaan are deeply religious, possessing an unbreakable faith that is reflected in their everyday life. They are blessed with high Strength and Mind; however, also possessing low Intelligence. The Elvaan are said to suffer from the sin of Arrogance.


 * Mithra
 * The cat-like race of Mithras posses a gender imbalance, with a high ratio of females to males. As such, only women are allowed away from the safety of their homeland to adventure around Vana'diel. They possess excellent Agility and Dexterity. Mithras are said to suffer from the sin of Envy.


 * Tarutaru
 * The tiny Tarutarus' age is not reflected in their size. Residing in the Federation of Windurst, the Tarutaru are famed for their discovery and development of magic, which they excel at, thanks to their high Intelligence. However, the small physique of a Taru means they have the lowest Strength compared to other races. Tarutaru are said to suffer from the sin of Cowardice.

Characters
Apart from each player's own character, who drives the storyline forward, there are a number of other non-playable characters that take on significant roles in the original storyline for Final Fantasy XI.


 * Lion is a mysterious girl investigating the return of the Shadow Lord.
 * Zeid, the legendary Galkan Dark Knight who defeated the Shadow Lord alongside Volker during the Crystal War.
 * Aldo is leader of the Tenshodo, a secret organization based in Jeuno. He is also the brother of Verena.
 * Kam'lanaut, the Archduke of the Grand Duchy of Jeuno who sends the player on an important mission.
 * The Shadow Lord, the demon warlord who rallied the beastmen armies during the Crystal War.

Story
Final Fantasy XI is set in the Age of Adventurers. It is the 884th year of the Crystal Era, twenty years after the end of the Crystal War that ravaged Vana'diel. The three main nations of Vana'diel, San d'Oria, Bastok and Windurst continue their struggle against the Beastmen who, although less organized, have regrouped and still terrorize the land. Rather than dispatching their own forces to deal with this threat, the nations of Vana'diel begin to employ adventurers to handle them as well as other minor tasks. The player is one such adventurer.

Reports of the beastmen rising again lead the player to journey on behalf of his nation to the other 2 nations to investigate the matter. In a beastmen stronghold, the player encounters the Spotter, a servant of the Shadow Lord, and it attacks by summoning a Dread Dragon to aid it. After being defeated by the player, it announces that the Shadow Lord will soon rise again. The player also meets Lion, a female who had been sent to investigate the beastmen, for the first time.

On a later mission, the player is made to report at the nation's embassy in the Grand Duchy of Jeuno and ends up rescuing the ambassador who had been kidnapped and held hostage in Delkfutt's Tower. The ambassador, impressed by the player's bravery, later recommends him as a diplomatic attaché to the Archduke of Jeuno for a special mission.



Kam'lanaut, the Archduke of Jeuno, tasks the player with retrieving magicite from deep within the beastmen strongholds of Davoi, Beadeaux and Castle Oztroja to prevent the beastmen from harnessing its power to resurrect the Shadow Lord. At this point, the player meets Aldo of the Tenshodo, his sister Verena and the peace-loving Goblin Fickblix for the first time. Aldo helps out with the mission, whereas Fickblix dies while trying to reason with the Yagudo beastmen. When the player succeeds in retrieving all 3 pieces of magicite, the Archduke rewards him by issuing him an airship pass.

Upon returning to his home nation, the player discovers that the nation's talisman had been stolen. The talisman, used to seal Castle Zvahl after the war 20 years ago, had been broken into three parts for safekeeping by the three nations. The player is sent to the ruins of Fei'Yin, situated in the Beaucedine Glacier, to examine the seal placed there and to replace it with a new one if it is not intact.

Over at Fei'Yin, the player meets with Lion and Zeid, one of the two legendary warriors who defeated the Shadow Lord during the Crystal War. Zeid shares details of the Northlands Expedition that took place 30 years ago, suggesting that they might have awakened the ancient curse buried in that land. Lion agrees, saying that the image of the Shadow Lord claimed that their kind had brought him back. Zeid recites the "Warriors of the Crystal", a song foretelling the Warriors of the Crystal delivering Vana'diel from a time of darkness when an ancient seal is broken. The player encounters and defeats the Archlich Taber'quoan in the Qu'Bia Arena before returning to his home nation with the burnt remains of the old seal that had been placed there.

The player reports to his home nation with the findings, and the nation ultimately decides to send him to Castle Zvahl to deal with the threat of a returning Shadow Lord. (The reason for this varies depending on which nation one is aligned to).

In the Throne Room of Castle Zvahl, Zeid and the player encounter the Shadow Lord and find out that he is actually Raogrimm, a Galkan member of the Northlands Expedition. Raogrimm had been wounded, betrayed and left behind by a fellow Expedition member Ulrich, who had also accidentally killed Raogrimm's Hume girlfriend, Cornelia, in the scuffle.

It is revealed that in his final moments, Raogrimm's rage attracted the attention of the Dark Divinity, who granted him a new form and gave him control over nether beasts. Reincarnated as the Shadow Lord, he swore to purge the world with his newfound power, starting with hunting down and brutally killing Ulrich for his crimes, along with all the other members of the Expedition, Francmage M Mistalle, Iru-Kuiru, and Yow Rabntah, who had just left Raogrimm and Cornelia to die in the Northlands.

The Shadow Lord forces Zeid to stand and watch as he attacks the player, but is subdued thanks to the player's selfless courage and sacrifice. As he is defeated, Raogrimm manages to regain control of himself and explains that much of the rage that he was consumed in came from being the Talekeeper of the Galka. He also explains that he will forever be lost to the darkness.

Lion appears to help Zeid and the player escape from Castle Zvahl. She beckons the player to visit her in Norg when possible. The player returns to his nation and is celebrated as a hero.

For storyline added by expansion packs, please see the Expansions below.

Story Missions
As Final Fantasy XI is an MMORPG, players are not required to play through the main story, but are instead rewarded through having areas, items, equipment and even gameplay systems unlocked upon progressing through them.

In the original Final Fantasy XI, the main story is presented in the form of missions which are issued by gate guards in the three main nations. Progress in these missions are marked by a player's nation rank which runs upwards from 1 (being the starting rank).

Although each nation initially has a distinctly different story, the stories gradually converge up till the battle with the final boss of Final Fantasy XI and the attainment of Rank 6. The three nation's stories are subsequently expanded upon in separate directions in the Rise of the Zilart expansion.

Version Updates
Being an online game, Final Fantasy XI undergoes regular patching to add new content and fix existing bugs.

Known officially as Version updates, these online updates occur approximately once every 3 months and are accompanied by scheduled maintenance of all servers. All new content in the game, including those from expansion packs, are unlocked or downloaded during these updates.

In the early history of Final Fantasy XI, version updates occurred more frequently. The interval was approximately one month in between each update before the release of the first expansion, two months thereafter and it slowly lengthened to three months over the years.

Since February 2011, the development team has introduced minor patches to complement major version updates.

Besides scheduled version updates, the game also goes through emergency maintenance updates to fix major glitches in the game.

Expansion Packs
Final Fantasy XI currently has five expansion packs available. Each pack adds its own new story to the game for players to complete. New areas are also available to explore where the player may find new weapons, armor, equipment, creatures, and even gameplay systems.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart
 * Immediately following the original Final Fantasy XI storyline, the player finds out that the Archduke of Jeuno and his brother are princes of the ancient Zilart race who survived extinction. The player must fight to stop them from opening the Gate of the Gods, which will destroy Vana'diel as we know it.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia
 * A phenomenon known as "The Emptiness" is found to be eating away at the heart of Vana'diel and the Wyrmking Bahamut declares that the arrival of the Keeper of the Apocalypse is near. A mysterious pale child seems to be at the center of the strange mystery that revolves around the Twilight God Promathia.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan
 * The xenophobic Aht Urhgan Empire opens the borders to the Middle Lands after years of self-imposed isolation. Worried about this new power, the leaders of each city send representatives to assess the situation. The player is chosen for the task of unearthing the Empire's true intentions, and begins to uncover the secrets of the life-giving Astral Candescence, the Dark Rider, and the history of this mysterious land.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess
 * Cavernous Maws appearing all over the land have been found to teleport adventurers twenty years back in time, when the Crystal War raged. The player is met by Cait Sith, who asks for help in easing the suffering of the people in this time period. However, there are others who would alter the course of history to suit their own ends as well.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin
 * On the far western continent of Ulbuka, the Sacred City of Adoulin has recommenced the colonization of its hinterland and recruited adventurers from the Middle Lands to aid the pioneering effort. Ruled by the ferocious Naakuals, keepers of the wild, the uncharted region of Eastern Ulbuka is rife with treasure and mystery. What dark secrets will the player uncover while breaking new ground in this primeval land?

Add-Ons
In addition to the Expansion Packs, there are add-on chapters. Unlike full expansion packs, each add-on is delivered completely within a single version update. The first three are add-on scenarios that introduce side stories in existing areas while the last three are battle area add-ons that focus on high level battles in the alternate reality of Abyssea.


 * Final Fantasy XI: A Crystalline Prophecy - Ode of Life Bestowing
 * A giant crystal appears in the skies above Jeuno, triggering a series of unexplained happenings across the land. Adventurers must set forth to unravel the mysteries of this primordial crystal that holds the secrets of Vana'diel's past and who the young boy resembling Aldo is.


 * Final Fantasy XI: A Moogle Kupo d'Etat - Evil in Small Doses
 * It all started with an innocent drop of rainwater and a rickety, ramshackle Mog House desperately in need of repairs. Little did anyone suspect that this was only the beginning of a harrowing nightmare unheard of in the annals of mooglekind.


 * Final Fantasy XI: A Shantotto Ascension - The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born
 * The eccentric Doctor Shantotto returned to Windurst one day after a sudden and unexplained absence, shocking her colleagues with behavior so outrageous it put her old self to shame. When she goes so far as to proclaim herself ruler of her own empire, adventurers must embark on a quest to discover the truth behind her alarming shift in personality.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Vision of Abyssea
 * New Cavernous Maws appear and serve as gateways to an unforgiving world long forsaken by the gods called Abyssea, where savage creatures roam and the land crumbles to chasmic depths. Its sanguine sky is an ever-present portent of looming destruction, whilst the moon is a great jewel of hope shining against a bloody veil of death.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Scars of Abyssea
 * As adventurers continue deeper into Abyssea, they discover power and riches beyond their wildest dreams. It is also there that they come upon the bastions of survivors desperately defending themselves and the strategically important Pulse Martellos against the invasion of the fell hordes.


 * Final Fantasy XI: Heroes of Abyssea
 * In the borderlands of Abyssea, adventurers join the Resistance effort to subjugate the savage hordes and reclaim dominion over the land for mankind. In staking their claim as the champions of Abyssea, adventurers will come to discover the dark secrets of this world and face off against the greatest challenge yet.

Music


Final Fantasy XI holds the most extensive soundtrack out of the Final Fantasy series, with album releases consisting of nearly 200 tracks totaling over 11 hours in listening time. The game is updated with new music throughout the year. The largest spike appears with each expansion pack, adding approximately 25 tracks each time.

The release version of Final Fantasy XI featured music scored by Nobuo Uematsu, Kumi Tanioka, and Naoshi Mizuta. The game's central theme, Distant Worlds, appears in several forms throughout the game and occasionally with vocals, most notably at the end of the games second expansion pack Chains of Promathia. Memoro de la Ŝtono was Final Fantasy XI's secondary theme, it features a choral arrangement with lyrics sung in Esperanto. According to Uematsu, the Esperanto lyrics symbolize the developers' hope that the game could contribute to cross-cultural communication and cooperation.

Music after the initial release of Final Fantasy XI has been almost solely scored by Naoshi Mizuta. The exceptions to this include Chocobo Theme variants, for which Nobuo returns to the scene.

Final Fantasy XI's soundtrack repertoire also features albums containing music not present in-game. Several piano collections have been realized and The Star Onions, a band with composers including Naoshi Mizuta, Kumi Tanioka, and Hidenori Iwasaki, have released two albums of arranged Final Fantasy XI tracks.

Development
Final Fantasy XI was first announced at the Japanese Square Millennium Event in 2000, along with the announcement for Final Fantasy X. The first teaser trailer can be seen here:.

The idea for a massively multiplayer Final Fantasy was conceived by Hironobu Sakaguchi after being impressed by the western MMORPG EverQuest. Hiromichi Tanaka, producer of the original Final Fantasy XI game and its expansions, states XI is the "most Final Fantasy of all the installments" stating it includes many things the team were unable to place into earlier titles due to technical limitations. Tanaka also recalled Final Fantasy III as a major influence on the original game, which can be seen in XI's Job System.

In early development there was debate over whether the game should be called "Final Fantasy Online", as there was uncertainty surrounding if story telling in an MMORPG could be of a standard expected from previous titles. However once the core storyline was written and reviewed it was decided to be worthy of the main series, and the game became Final Fantasy XI.

A closed Japanese beta test of Final Fantasy XI took place in August 2001, with a public version in the following December. The game was officially released in Japan on May 16 2002 for the Play Station 2. Although initially announced to have a simultaneous world wide release date it took until 2004 before Final Fantasy XI launched in America and Europe.

Trivia

 * In the anime Welcome to the NHK! the centerpiece of two episodes is based around the main character becoming addicted to "Ultimate Fantasy". The game itself has multiple visual references to Final Fantasy XI. The logo itself is almost identical to the Final Fantasy logo, and the different races in the game are minor variations of the races in Final Fantasy XI. The main character's avatar is also dressed like a Red Mage.
 * In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI is the only game that has all of its representatives on Cosmos's side. This excludes Final Fantasy XIII, which only has one representative (Lightning).

Gameplay
As with each title in the Final Fantasy series, the specifics of each aspect of gameplay are different. Like most of the other games in the series, the player characters will level, gain skills, cast magick, use summons, Limit Breaks, and fight monsters. There are some great differences in the gameplay of Final Fantasy XII from the previous games in the series.

Character Development
To gain levels, the player must defeat enemies in the field to earn Experience Points (EXP). Only alive and active party members receive EXP from felled opponents. If there are multiple active characters in the party, the amount of experience points will be divided evenly. Boss battles give no EXP, but they do give License Points (LP). Defeating enemies also yields LP, which can be used to purchase licenses on the License Board to learn new abilities and become able to equip new types of equipment.

Unlike with EXP, even reserve party members receive LP from battles. An individual character's ability to use Technicks, Magicks, accessories, Augments, weapons and armor are governed by obtaining licenses. Like the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X, but less linear, the player has control over each character's individual development.

In the Zodiac Job System version what abilities a character can learn and what equipment they can use is dictated by their job. Once the player chooses a job for a character, it cannot be changed.

Magick
Magic is referred to as "magick". To use magick, the player must buy the individual spells from a Magick Shop or a merchant (or find them from treasures in the Zodiac Job System version), and once enough License Points are attained, they must purchase the corresponding skill on the License Board. The use of magick requires MP (Mist Points), which can be restored through movement, the use of an item such as an Ether, or by activating a Save Crystal.

Effect Capacity dictates how many magick spells and other special abilities can be executed simultaneously; all of the most powerful magicks use all of the effect capacity meaning when the player casts the game's most powerful magicks other actions are queued until the spell animation has finished.

Summons/Espers


Summons, called Espers, are obtained through battling and defeating them throughout gameplay. There are thirteen Espers; five are found through the storyline, and the other eight can be found in hidden areas after completing specific actions.

Each Esper can be purchased on the License Board after the player has defeated them during gameplay. Only one character can purchase any specific Esper, and that Esper is linked to that character, removing its license from the other characters' License Boards. When the character summons the Esper, it takes the place of the other two members of the party. The Esper will remain and fight independent of the character for a short amount of time, as long as the summoner is still conscious.

Once the time is up, the Esper will unleash a special attack, given that the requirements for the attack are met, and disappear. The summon uses up a full segment of the MP bar for each rank the Esper has. For example the Esper Belias is a Rank I Summon and will use up one segment of the MP bar, while Zodiark, a Rank III Esper, will use up all three segments.

In the Zodiac Job System version Espers have a small role in further governing what skills characters can learn by opening new paths in the License Board. The MP bar system has been dropped and using Quickenings and summoning Espers uses a different gauge. The Espers are controllable in the Zodiac Job System version, and the player can unleash their special attack at will.

Quickenings/Concurrences
The Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy XII are known as Mist Quickenings in the English version, and Mist Knacks in the Japanese version. Each Quickening is available on the License Board for purchase by any character. Once a character has purchased a Quickening, that space is removed from all other characters' boards. Each character can purchase up to three Quickenings.

There are eighteen Quickenings on the board. When a character uses a Quickening, one segment of their MP is used up. Upon purchasing the second Quickening the character's MP bar doubles and is segmented in two, and after a third segment is added it triples the available base MP. Each Quickening takes 50 LP to learn regardless of its rank.

Quickenings can be used during battle as long as the character has enough MP. Quickenings can be chained: when used, all other conscious party members who have learned Quickenings of their own, join in on the chain. During the chain the player can randomly get the Mist Charge command which restores the party member's MP. The chain-building is restricted by the time limit and luck, as the available Quickenings are drawn up by random. Normal Quickening attacks only damage the target enemy, but the player can create a specific combination of Quickenings to open a Concurrence, which deals heavy damage to the target and all targets nearby.

In the Zodiac Job System version Quickenings no longer use MP, but have a "Limit Break meter" closer to how Limit Breaks work in other games in the series.

Battle
Final Fantasy XII uses a battle system called Active Dimension Battle (ADB). The way the battle system operates is similar to the one in Final Fantasy XI as there are no random encounters. Monsters move freely across the landscape and battles are conducted on the field map without transition. Enemies rarely surprise the party, although flying creatures attack from a higher elevation, and other creatures will spring out of the water or ground to attack. Docile monsters can become hostile if the party provokes them, such as by casting magick in their vicinity, or if the player attacks other creatures of the same genus.

Combat can be controlled manually or programmed via the use of gambits. The gambit system is slightly similar to the Macro system in Final Fantasy XI; the player can create a list of commands and dependencies to be carried out automatically by the characters to simplify the combat system. All commands relate to the character itself, the character's allies, or the enemies on screen.

Player can choose between Wait mode (default) and Active. In the Wait mode time freezes when the player is choosing the commands, but only one action can be executed at a time. If the game config is set on Active, multiple actions can be executed simultaneously, as long as the Effect Capacity is not saturated. The player controls one character at the time, called the party leader, but the player can change party leader at any time. If the party leader is KO'd or otherwise incapacitated, the game prompts the player to choose another leader. The player can have up to three party members at any one time, and the rest are kept in the reserve party.

Similar to Final Fantasy X, reserve members can be swapped in any time, unless the character is currently being targeted by an attack or spell or if the character is performing an action. Final Fantasy XII allows the player to swap even fallen allies, meaning the player will only get a Game Over once all party members in both active and reserve parties are dead.

Because battles take place on the fields, the Escape command works differently than in most other games in the series; to escape from enemies the player must run away, which can be aided by holding the to stop all character actions (although using this feature makes the characters unable to evade enemy attacks). Some enemies stop pursuing the player characters once they have moved far enough away, but some are more persistent and can only be thrown off by zoning out. Boss battles take place in closed arenas and cannot be escaped from.

Battle Chain
A Battle Chain is initiated when a party defeats two or more of the same type of enemy in a row. The Battle Chain Level will increase as a party continues to consecutively defeat enemies of the same type.

As the Chain Level increases with each battle, enemies will begin to drop rarer and multiples of items, and with higher levels, activate healing and buffs on the player's party. If the player kills an enemy of a different type, enters a settlement (any area where only Vaan is controllable) or touches a Save Crystal, the chain will break and the Chain Level reset to 0.

Traps
Traps are littered across the landscape and when stepped on deal damage and/or inflict the party with status ailments. Traps are normally invisible, but appear as glowing red circles if a party member is under Libra. Traps can be avoided by using Float or the Steel Poleyns accessory that makes the party invulnerable against traps. Some traps benefit the party by granting positive status effects and/or healing the party's HP.

Treasures
Unlike in other single-player games in the series, the treasures in Final Fantasy XII are most often randomly spawning containing random treasures. The treasures can be re-spawned by zoning two zones out. Treasures can contain gil, gambits, equipment or items, and there is a small chance of receiving rare treasure with the Diamond Armlet equipped.

The game's regular version also has so called "forbidden chests" that, when claimed, prevent the player from obtaining the game's ultimate spear, the Zodiac Spear, in Necrohol of Nabudis. This feature was removed in the International version.

Weather and Terrain
The area's weather and terrain affect the accuracy of ranged weapons and the damage dealt by elemental attacks. In stormy weather crossbows' and bows' accuracy is reduced, and, for example, in rainy weather Lightning damage is boosted while Fire damage is reduced. While terrain is mostly fixed, apart from the Giza Plains that shifts between dry and wet season, weather is often random, depending on what possible weather effects are available for the area.

Setting
The world map of Ivalice does not cover the entire world. It shows the area once under the control of the Dynast King Raithwall, but now mostly under the control of the Archadian and Rozarrian Empires.

On the map are the kingdoms of Dalmasca, Archadia, Bhujerba and the area once controlled by the Kingdom of Nabradia including Nalbina Fortress. The player can visit ancient temples like the Stilshrine of Miriam, Mt. Bur-Omisace and the Tomb of Raithwall, as well as the village of indigenous people like the garif and the viera. Between all of these civilized locations are the zones patrolled and populated by various monsters. Each location is separated into zones, to allow players to elude monsters, and to allow for variations in terrain even in the same area.

The Archadian and Rozarrian Empires compete in terms of military and political influence. The Archadian Empire is governed by the ruling family House Solidor, with an Imperial Senate, but during the time of Final Fantasy XII the Senate has little power. This has caused the Archadian Judges to serve the Emperor directly. The Judges command the Archadian Army, Archadian Imperial Fleets, Archadian Security and Police as well as the Archadian Intelligence. The Archadian Judges are feared and respected for their passion for the Empire and the defense of House Solidor from the corrupt political scene.

Vayne Carudas Solidor attempts to initiate a war with the Rozarrian Empire. Vayne's quest for power splits the Archadian Judges, as Judge Bergan remains Vayne's key follower but Judge Drace wants Vayne arrested and put on trial for High Treason.

Characters
Final Fantasy XII has a cast of six main characters. Unlike other Final Fantasy games, this team, once formed, never changes. Three guest characters (not including Hunt-allies) join the party during the story, and the player plays a different character during the prologue. According to the developers, there is no main character, as the game is "about numerous people, not just one person".

Main cast

 * Vaan is a street urchin and an orphan who lives on the streets of Rabanastre with his friend Penelo. He dreams of becoming a sky pirate in command of an airship and to travel the world.
 * Penelo is Vaan's closest friend, an orphan who lost her family during a war between Dalmasca and Archadia. She dreams of being a dancer, and learned martial arts from her older brothers who were soldiers who served during the war. She joins the party along with Vaan to help prevent another war.
 * Balthier, real name Ffamran mied Bunansa, is a sky pirate on the run from his past. He refers to himself as the "leading man".
 * Fran is Balthier's friend and partner, and as a viera, the only non-hume main character. Like Balthier, she is trying to shake off the past. She rarely speaks, but she usually has words of wisdom to offer.
 * Basch fon Ronsenburg is a disgraced knight, who wants to protect his surrogate homeland of Dalmasca. He was branded a traitor when he was framed for a murder.
 * Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca is the princess of Dalmasca who does everything in her power to rebuild her fallen kingdom. She was married to Lord Rasler, Prince of Nabradia, and although their marriage was politically motivated, they nevertheless were in love. Rasler commanded the Dalmascan army to battle with Archadia but was killed by an archer. Ashe faked suicide to sow seeds of rebellion against Archadia.

Temporary playable character

 * Reks is Vaan's older brother, who fought in the Dalmascan Army.

Guests

 * Larsa Ferrinas Solidor/Lamont the youngest member of House Solidor, the ruling family of Archadian Empire. He seeks to bring peace to the world.
 * Vossler York Azelas used to fight alongside Basch in the Dalmascan army, but after the war's end joined the rebellion. He's been looking after Ashe ever since she faked her suicide.
 * Reddas is a sky pirate from the Port at Balfonheim. He seeks to stop the Empire from using nethicite to prevent the events of Battle of Nabudis from ever happening again.

Background
The Kingdom of Dalmasca is a small city-state in the world of Ivalice, a neutral party in the past wars between the neighboring Empires of Archadia and Rozarria. Dalmasca was conquered by Archadia and reduced to the status of an occupied state when its King Raminas signed the city into Imperial rule.

Formerly-loyal knight Basch fon Ronsenburg murders the king for his betrayal. Witnessing the betrayal is the young knight Reks, who reveals Basch's betrayal in his last breaths. Marquis Ondore, head of the sky city Bhujerba, announces the King's daughter, Ashe, has committed suicide after her newly-wed husband, Lord Rasler, was killed during the Battle of Nalbina Fortress. He announces Basch has been executed for high treason.

Misadventures of Vaan
Two years later, Reks's brother, Vaan, an orphaned street urchin living in the Dalmascan capital of the Royal City of Rabanastre, is stealing treasure from the Archadian Consul's residence in the old Royal Palace of Rabanastre. While looting the Goddess's Magicite from the vault, Vaan meets Balthier, a sky pirate bent on stealing the Consul's treasures, and his companion Fran, a viera warrior and Balthier's partner.

The underground Dalmascan Resistance movement assaults the royal castle on the same night in a military coup to remove the Archadian Consul, Vayne Solidor. Vaan, Fran, and Balthier are pursued by Archadian soldiers and they escape into the Garamsythe Waterway where they meet the surviving princess of Dalmasca, Ashe, under the alias Amalia, who is also the leader of the resistance faction.

The group is captured by the Imperial Guard, under the assumption they are thieves. Ashe is escorted away, and not so far from the scene a group of bounty hunters note the guard capturing their mark. Balthier, Vaan and Fran are sent to the Nalbina Dungeons from whence they escape, bringing Basch, revealed to be alive and imprisoned since the war, with them.

Basch reveals he has a twin brother, Gabranth, who stole his identity and murdered the king to blackmail Ondore and strip Dalmasca of sovereignty. The bangaa headhunter Ba'Gamnan and his group, who are looking for Balthier, kidnap Vaan's best friend Penelo under the assumption she has a connection with Balthier who would thus come to her aid.

Balthier, through coercion from Migelo, Vaan and Basch travels to Bhujerba to free Penelo. They meet Larsa Solidor traveling under the alias "Lamont," posing as a commoner, who is seeking what turns out to be manufacted nethicite. Larsa is the younger brother to Consul Vayne, and the second in line for the throne of Archadia. He helps the party rescue Penelo, and later keeps her and the party safe from Archadian troops.

Seeking Power
The party seeks an audience with Marquis Ondore, who is a secret supporter of the Resistance although on the surface allied with the Empire. He sends the party to the Arcadian warship, the Dreadnought Leviathan, to rescue "Amalia". The party retrieves Ashe and escape and Vaan is reunited with Penelo. Afterward, the group has another meeting with the Marquis, where Ashe requests Balthier's aid to retrieve a proof of her royal blood: the Dawn Shard, so that she can assume Dalmasca's throne.

The party heads to the Dynast King Raithwall's Tomb to retrieve the Dawn Shard, and are captured by Judge Ghis upon leaving the tomb. A mysterious explosion provides opportunity for the party to escape and during their escape, they witness the Leviathan and the entire Archadian Eighth Fleet destroyed by the power of the Dawn Shard, which is composed of a powerful substance called deifacted nethicite.

Bent on wielding that power to free Dalmasca and avenge her fallen comrades, Ashe heads to Jahara to learn more about the stone, but the garif tribe tell her they cannot help due to the stone eluding even their ancestors - however, the Dynast King once wielded it. They meet Larsa who persuades Ashe to join both him and another mysterious enemy/ally at Mt. Bur-Omisace to plan how to stop the imminent war.

Disgraced by the Eighth Fleet's destruction, Vayne is called back to Archadia, and begins to suspect his father, Gramis Gana Solidor, and the Imperial Senate will bypass him for Emperor, giving the throne to his brother Larsa instead. Unwilling to risk this Vayne murders his father, dissolves the Senate, and sends a ship to Mt. Bur-Omisace to take the Dawn Shard from Ashe. His envoys, Judges Bergan and Zargabaath, arrive too late: Ashe and Larsa have heard of the events and Ashe has obtained the Sword of Kings, a sword that can destroy nethicite. Judge Zargabaath takes Larsa to Archades, while an enraged Bergan kills the holy man Gran Kiltias Anastasis and bombs Mt. Bur-Omisace, but dies unable to retrieve either the shard or the sword.

Ashe and her party decide to destroy all the nethicite available in Ivalice, so they head to the Draklor Laboratory in the Archadian Empire to destroy the last remaining shard in the possession of Dr. Cid, Balthier's father. They are unsuccessful in destroying the nethicite in the Draklor Laboratory, and are left with information pointing them to the Ancient City of Giruvegan where Dr. Cid is supposedly heading to retrieve more deifacted nethicite. The party enters the city and fights to the center of the Great Crystal where the Occuria live.

The history of Raithwall and nethicite is revealed. Ashe is given the Treaty Blade to carve out additional pieces of deifacted nethicite from the Sun-Cryst, the source of all nethicite power, to achieve power enough to destroy Archadia and its benefactor, the rogue Occuria Venat. She is conflicted as to her course of action.

Ashe and the party leave Giruvegan with the knowledge that Dr. Cid has used them to retrieve the Treaty Blade, and had no intention of traveling to Giruvegan. They head for Balfonheim where Reddas joins the party to travel to the Ridorana Cataract, where the Sun-Cryst is housed in the Pharos lighthouse.

In the lighthouse Ashe realizes the appearances of Lord Rasler she has been seeing are images constructed by the Occuria to manipulate her actions. Judge Gabranth briefly fights the party but upon his defeat, Dr. Cid appears and banishes him back to the fleet, taunting Gabranth for his failure. Cid fights the group, using the Esper Famfrit to aid him. Upon defeating Dr. Cid, the Sun-Cryst begins to overload but Reddas sacrifices himself to destroy the Sun-Cryst with the Sword of Kings.

Battle in the Bahamut
Vaan's party return to Balfonheim, and learn the discharge of Mist from the Sun-Cryst activated the largest airship ever built, the Sky Fortress Bahamut, and the Resistance armies are staging a battle in the skies above Rabanastre. They travel to the Bahamut to stop Vayne before the conflict will destroy Rabanastre. Before they reach Vayne, Gabranth arrives to stop them.

Gabranth has given up everything except his need to destroy his brother. The party defeats Gabranth, and leave him beaten in the elevator. Vayne attacks, and Larsa helps the party fight him. As Vayne is beaten his manufacted nethicite sucks power away from Larsa, and the ship around him.

Gabranth joins the attack against Vayne, but is struck down, just as Vayne is mortally wounded. Vayne limps away from the battlefield onto an outer platform on the Bahamut and calls for Venat, telling the Occuria that he (Venat) must seek another to realize his ambitions of freeing Ivalice from the Occuria's tyranny. Venat says that by destroying the Sun-Cryst the Age of Stones is now over, and the Occuria have lost their influence on Ivalice's fate - thereby fulfilling Venat's desire. Venat dissolves, investing Vayne with its power as an Undying. He absorbs pieces of the fortress onto himself.

Vayne is defeated and explodes into a cloud of Mist. The party must stop the warring factions from killing each other and stop the Bahamut falling on Rabanastre. Boarding the Strahl, the party makes its escape, and with Larsa, Ashe, and Basch's help (the latter posing as Gabranth), manage to get both sides to stand down. The Bahamut begins to fall from the sky, and Judge Zargabaath wants to place the Alexander on a collision course, hoping to ram it out of the way.

Balthier and Fran are still on the Bahamut and restart the engines and Balthier tells Vaan to look after the Strahl while he is gone. Vaan assures Balthier that he will, before the Strahl flies away and the Bahamut crashes outside of Rabanastre.

Epilogue
A year later Penelo is writing a letter to Larsa. Dalmasca, Archadia, and Rozarria are currently at peace, and the party has split, each living their separate lives. A month from now, Ashe will be crowned Queen of Dalmasca, so they will not be able to see her anymore. A few months prior the Strahl was stolen, but Penelo notes it is not really stealing if the original owner took it back.

Balthier left behind Ashe's ring, which she gave to him as compensation for the treasure Balthier did not get in Raithwall's Tomb. Basch took over his late brother's place as Judge Magister and Larsa's protector, with the Council never learning of Gabranth's death. Vaan flies his new airship to find Balthier, with Penelo accompanying him, where the sequel Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings picks up.

Development
Developed from 2001 to 2006, Final Fantasy XII cost approximately 4 billion Japanese yen (35 million USD) to produce with a crew of more than one hundred people. Yasumi Matsuno, originally announced as both producer and director, bowed out of both roles midway. The official reason given for his departure was health concerns. On February 25, 2010, Matsuno spoke out on his departure from the Final Fantasy XII project on his Twitter page, stating that while he had been sick, he had nevertheless let down the Square Enix staff, shareholders, and fans who had been looking forward to the game.

In Matsuno's place, Hiroyuki Ito and Hiroshi Minagawa took over directorial duties, with Akitoshi Kawazu assuming the role of the executive producer. Matsuno remains credited for "Original Work/Scenario Plot/Supervision". Hitoshi Sakimoto composed the game's music while Nobuo Uematsu contributed a single composition — the vocal theme, "Kiss Me Good-Bye", performed by Angela Aki. Renowned violinist Taro Hakase provided performances for "Symphonic Poem "Hope", which served as a promotional theme along with "Kiss Me Good-Bye".

The executive producer, Akitoshi Kawazu, has said in an interview that back in 2000 when Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII were announced as being in the planning stages, Final Fantasy X was announced as an offline game while the games Final Fantasy XI onwards would be online games. During the development of Final Fantasy XII that changed, but, just from the early planning stages the team intended Final Fantasy XII to be a different experience from Final Fantasy X.

In early stages of development the main character was to be "big and tough", but as development continued and targeting demographics were considered, he became more youthful. With the casting of voice actor Kohei Takeda, who also did motion capture for the part, he became less so and more "active, upbeat, bright and positive".

Hiroyuki Ito was in charge of creating the battle system and his motivation for the gambit system was to create a "single-player online game" where the player would have independently acting party members who would still act the way the player wanted them to. The gambit system works on the same basic programming algorithms used for the monsters in the SNES Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy XII was initially planned to have a job system but the idea was scrapped when the developers thought it might be too confusing to players, so the idea was condensed into a License Board system. However, players did not respond to the License Board system as anticipated, and the team went back to their previous idea of using a job system in the Zodiac Job System version. One intended theme for the gameplay was to add a feeling of finality and destiny, where the player may or may not end up with the best results.

This is reflected with the random treasure chests, as well as perhaps the fact that the game's ultimate weapon is easily missed. The developers did not intend players to unlock every license for every character, but plan different paths for each. In retrospect these ideas did not end up working as planned, as many players kept trying at the same treasures until they got the item they wanted, and many players unlocked all licenses in order, essentially making the player characters clones of each other. Some of these ideas were rectified in the Zodiac Job System version.

Veteran translator Alexander O. Smith was involved with script's English localization. Smith had previously worked on the localization for Vagrant Story as well as several other Final Fantasy installments, including Final Fantasy X. The voice overs were directed by Jack Fletcher, who had previously directed the voice overs for other Final Fantasy games.

Almost an entire year before Final Fantasy XII's North American release, the game's playable demo was included along with the North American release of Dragon Quest VIII. Changes to the game's North American version include the addition of widescreen 16:9 support, and additional scenes and content that were left out of the Japanese version, due to rating issues.

Akitoshi Kawazu, the game's executive producer, has later admitted he thought the game is not perfect. The team received fan feedback after the game was released in Japan, and there were players who felt the story wasn't up to the series' standards. Kawazu said it is because of the way the games are made, the story itself is decided early on and the process of getting that realized makes it difficult to change along the way. Kawazu noted there are things he personally would have liked to change, but, practically speaking, they couldn't.

Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System
Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System was released on August 9, 2007 in Japan as part of both Final Fantasy 20th anniversary and Ivalice Alliance campaigns. It is the first game where Hiroyuki Ito has been credited as both producer and director.

Ito didn't want the game to get an "International" title, for how different the game was going to be from the other International versions of Final Fantasy games, published previously; Ito wanted to call the game "Final Fantasy XII Annex". However, they ended up going with "Zodiac Job System". Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System was made by a small group of programmers, with only five main people working on it toward the end of the project. The small team brought on some limitations on what could be achieved, as Ito would have wanted bigger changes to the game than what could be done with the resources he had available.

The game includes a new take on the License Board system, with twelve grids instead of one, each corresponding to a different Zodiac sign and job. The number of jobs was set at twelve as Final Fantasy XII is the twelfth main installment to the series, and because there are twelve Zodiac signs, a recurring theme in Ivalice games. The game already had fifteen different types of weapons in place, and the jobs were planned around the idea that what kind of weapon would belong to what kind of job.

The battle system was tweaked; guest characters were made controllable, while pressing the button accelerates the game's speed. The game features English voices and the widescreen 16:9 ratio support of the North American version, as well as a bonus disc based on the one initially released with the North American version. A new mode allows the player to hunt monsters and Espers in several series of small maps, to gain items and gil.

A list of new features as below:
 * The Zodiac Job System – There are now twelve License Boards, each one representing a job. Once a character chooses a job it cannot be changed. Isolated licenses can be accessed by unlocking Espers and Quickenings.
 * Trial Mode – The party must fight through 100 stages, each one containing stronger monsters. Completing this mode unlocks New Game+: Weak Mode.
 * Controllable Guests – Guest characters can now be controlled, their gambits can be edited, and can level up. Their equipment cannot be removed.
 * Controllable Espers – Espers can be controlled once summoned, and their gambits can be edited. The player can use their ultimate attack at will.
 * Speed Boost – Pressing the speeds up the game, making getting around faster. The music and cutscenes still play at normal speed.
 * Gambit Changes – There are 16 new gambits. All the gambits can be bought upon leaving Barheim Passage.
 * Item Changes – New items have been added, and some of their effects have been slightly changed.
 * Enemy Changes – Enemies have been changed slightly, plus new enemies have been added. A battle against all five Judge Magisters is also included.
 * Magick Changes – Water and Watera are renamed to Aqua and Aquara. Many spells have been re-categorized; Bravery and Faith are now White Magick for example. Cure and all tier 1 Black Magick elemental spells have an area of effect (same as their higher tier counterpart) instead of targeting only a single unit. Not all magick can be bought, and some must be found in treasure chests.
 * Equipment Changes – New weapons have been added, like the Excalipoor, while others have been slightly changed. Armor and accessories have also been slightly changed. Some weapons have different elemental alignments.
 * Shop Listings – Some shops have had their inventory changed.
 * Hunt Reward Changes - Rewards for defeating Marks have slightly changed.
 * Mist Knack (Quickening) Changes – Mist knacks no longer take up MP. Instead, they have their own Mist gauge.
 * MP Changes – Since Mist Knacks do not use MP now, obtaining Mist Knacks does not increase MP. Instead, characters simply get more MP as they level up. Max MP is determined by the character's job.
 * New Game+ – Two New Game+ modes are available. Strong Mode, where all characters begin at level 90, and Weak Mode, where all characters begin at level 1 and never level up. Nothing carries over into these new save files.
 * Treasure Respawns – Treasures pots now respawn by just moving one screen away.
 * Treasure Item Changes - Some items inside coffers have been switched around, added, or removed.
 * Break Damage Limit – There is no damage limit anymore. If a character does more than 9,999 damage, the game will show it. Against weak enemies, it is possible to achieve over 100,000 HP of damage with a single attack. This gives the strongest magick spells greater potency to rival melee attack with high hit combo.

Also, unlike Final Fantasy X-2 International, which supported old Final Fantasy X-2 save files, Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System does not support save files from the regular Final Fantasy XII.

Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System has only been released in Japanese, but there is a fan project that translates it to English using the English data of the official US release. It requires both the original Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System game and the original US release. Translation for other languages can be done using official European releases instead of the US release. 

Themes
The prominent theme in Final Fantasy XII is coping in the face of loss of family. Vaan loses his parents, and then his brother Reks in the war between Dalmasca and Archadia at the hands of Gabranth, thus giving Vaan an animosity towards the Archadian Empire. Like Vaan, Penelo loses her family to the war leading her to fear the empire. Her view slowly changes as her friendship with Larsa develops, a member of the empire's ruling family.

Ashe loses her husband, father, and kingdom to the Archadian Empire, and avenging them is her main motivation. Ashe's quest for revenge is used by the Occuria, who use a false apparition of her late husband Rasler to spur her thirst for revenge to use her to achieve their own ends. Ashe learns that exacting revenge is not something Rasler would have wanted her to do, and it will not bring him or her father back.

The theme of freedom is strong in Final Fantasy XII. Basch is physically imprisoned but breaks free with the party's help, but later comments the past can bind a man as strong as chains. Multiple characters seek to escape their past, only to find they must face it sooner or later. Fran leaves the woods to gain her freedom of the viera's traditionally restrictive lifestyle, but in doing so is permanently cut off from her family.

Balthier escapes an unbearable situation with his father by renouncing his identity, only to find he must confront his father's madness to move on. Vaan tries to obtain his freedom through becoming a sky pirate to explore the world as he pleases, but realizes it's his attempt to evade his problems. Ashe wishes to reclaim her throne and kingdom, and be free from the Empire's rule once and for all, but first has to overcome her hatred for the empire and the role it played in robbing her of her loved ones and the downfall of the Dalmascan kingdom.

Like with much of the games set in Ivalice, Final Fantasy XII has deconstructive elements regarding religion and theism on the social and human condition. The gods of Ivalice are revealed to be mere living beings, and even the truths of Raithwall are shown to be their machinations to enact their own plans.

Release
In North America, the game was available in two versions — the standalone game with a suggested retail price of $49.99 and a "Collector's Edition" for an additional $10. The Collector's Edition is an exclusive title offered only by GameStop or EB Games. This edition includes the original game packaged in a steelbook case, along with a special bonus disc, which contains Final Fantasy XII developer interviews, an art gallery, four U.S. and Japanese trailers, and a "History of Final Fantasy" featurette, which gives brief chronicles on all released and upcoming Final Fantasy games.

Sales and Reception
Final Fantasy XII sold more than 1,764,000 copies in its first week in Japan, and the total number of copies sold was over 2,150,000 after five weeks of release. . In North America, Final Fantasy XII shipped approximately 1.5 million copies in its first week. As of March 2007, the game has shipped over 5.2 million copies worldwide and is the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006.

Final Fantasy XII is the first game in the series to get a perfect score from Famitsu Weekly magazine. It was named best PlayStation 2 game by numerous video game publications and websites, including GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN. Both Edge Magazine and Famitsu awarded it Game of the Year 2006. Final Fantasy XII also received nominations in the categories "Game of the Year", "Best Role-Playing Game", "Best Story", "Best Art Direction", "Best Character Design", and "Best Original Score" from awarding bodies, such as the Interactive Achievement Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, BAFTA Video Games Awards, Spike Video Game Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, and the Satellite Awards. The game was awarded the "Double Platinum Prize" at the PlayStation Awards 2006, which was held on 25 July 2006.

At the Japan Game Awards 2006 held on 22 September 2006, Ito accepted the "Grand Award" and "Award for Excellence" for Final Fantasy XII. He thanked the development team, longtime fans and new players alike, and said the team was grateful for the awards as they could not possibly think about the game's reception during its creation.

In July 2007, Edge Magazine placed Final Fantasy XII 8th in their list "EDGE’S TOP 100 GAMES OF ALL TIME". It was highest ranking Final Fantasy game, and the only one to appear in the top 10. In March 2009, Edge Magazine placed the game 25th in their list "The 100 Best Games To Play Today". As with their former list, Final Fantasy XII was the highest ranking Final Fantasy game. In the 2009 issue of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, the game placed 8th in the list "The Top 50 Games of All Time". It was the highest ranking Final Fantasy game, and the only one to appear in the top 10. The list was decided on by "a crack team of industry experts", and games were ranked on their initial impact, lasting legacy, and how fun they were to play.

Manga
The story of Final Fantasy XII has been released as a manga in Japan. The manga version expands on the storyline seen in the game and adds new events and characters.

Allusions
Final Fantasy XII contains many references to the games developed by the same team, or based on the same world. For instance, a moogle named Montblanc runs a clan in Final Fantasy XII, and previously appeared as a main character in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Similarly, the player can acquire the Riskbreaker clan rank, a reference to the game Vagrant Story.

The names of the Archadian airships are taken from previous summons from the series, while all of the Resistance airships are named for previously appeared characters. The only airship with an original name is the party's airship, the Strahl.

Trivia

 * Final Fantasy XII is only the second main series Final Fantasy game where Cid is biologically related to one of the main members of the party - the other being Final Fantasy X.
 * Actor narrated the television commercial for the European and Australian versions of the game.
 * Veteran voice actor Corey Burton narrated a commercial for the American version of the game.
 * Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series, didn't play the game through to completion because he was disappointed by the departure of the original producer and director, Yasumi Matsuno. However, he later stated that the target lines used in the game were what inspired the creation of the target lines used in his game The Last Story.
 * Final Fantasy XII is the only game in the main series that is available on only a singular platform.

Gameplay
The game's progression is chapter-based and in most chapters, the player will see the story through different characters' view. Players can move around the field map while controlling the party leader, the other members moving independently, sometimes running ahead, engaging in dialogue, or stopping to look at objects on the field and pointing things of interest out to the party leader. Other party members being far away from the leader does not affect their participation in battles that take place in a separate module. Players can jump, but only at specific jump spots marked on the map.

Enemies will appear on the map and battles initiate when coming into contact with them. Treasure chests cannot be opened in close proximity to a monster, and there are several instances enemies are "guarding" treasures and must be banished to collect the loot. Shrouds can be used to move about the field without triggering enemy encounters, and to bestow the party with buffs prior to the battle's start.

Players can't set the party or the party leader until later into the game, diversity being brought in via the Paradigm Shift system. If the party leader is incapacitated in battle, it will result in a Game Over, but if a battle ends in defeat, the player will simply appear in the point on the field right before the fight was initiated, and they may either re-attempt the battle or leave it.

Final Fantasy XIII is the third main series Final Fantasy game in which the player does not routinely win gil from battles; rather the player obtains the currency from treasure spheres, or from selling items. The first such game was Final Fantasy VIII, where gil was received as SeeD salary, and the second was Final Fantasy XII, where although it is possible for some defeated enemies to drop gil, it is not a universal reward for victory.

Save Stations allow the player not only to save, but access the shops in Retail Network where items can be bought or sold.

Command Synergy Battle


The battle system, called Command Synergy Battle in-game, has been described as "more tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster than Final Fantasy X-2, and almost as seamless as Final Fantasy XII". The enemies are visible in the field. When the player runs into them, the screen lights up and the scene switches to a vast, blank battlefield, marking the start of a battle where the player can control one character out of a party of up to three. After a certain point in the game the lead character can be switched.

The Active Time Battle gauge is divided into sections. Each command has a numeric value referred to as "ATB Cost" next to the name indicating how many of these sections it will take up. This allows the player to input several commands per turn. The next turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar is only partially used. Magic and summoning are only available to party members who are l'Cie.

A new element called the Chain Gauge is specific to each enemy, and fills as the player performs attack combos marked by a percentage. Upon filling the gauge the enemy enters "Stagger Mode", where even more damage can be done. Staggered enemies can be launched in the air and juggled with attacks. Staggering is almost essential to winning many battles.

Because of the ATB cost determining the moves a player can use, there is no MP in the game. Since magic cannot be used outside of battle, the party's HP is restored after every battle. Full ATB Skills work similar to Limit Breaks from previous games as being character-specific special moves and even if there is no Escape command, the player can leave battle with the Retry option.

When a battle is won, a Battle Results screen pops up, giving the player a zero-to-five stars ranking on how they did, as well as showing how long the battle took. This information is linked to the Trophy and Achievement systems.

Paradigm Shift


The player can only control one character at a time in battle. The other party members' actions are governed by a system called the "Paradigm Shift". Paradigms are described as "stances" or "classes" the characters temporarily take during battle to define the abilities they use. They are more strict than job classes; for example, the party member with a Medic's role can do nothing but heal, while the Commando's role forces them to only attack with non-elemental attacks.

The paradigms can be changed at any time to suit the situation at hand, but they cannot be changed individually, only for the whole party at a time. Thus, a paradigm is a combination of three roles. There are a total of 83 possible paradigm combinations (6 single, 21 double, and 56 triple member combinations). The roles used are shown as colored abbreviations next to the characters' names in the battle screen.

The roles within the paradigms are:

Crystarium


Characters grow in power in a system similar to the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X called the Crystarium System. Characters win "Crystogen Points" (CP) in battle, and can use them to purchase stat boosts, spells and other abilities on a circular chart. The skills a character learns affects their ability to learn other skills and opens new paths on the chart — learning Fire, for example, opens a skill path that leads to Fira and other spells.

The available abilities in the Crystaria vary between party members, but series staples such as Attack, Fire, Blizzard, and Cure make a return, along with new commands such as Blitz, which causes area-of-effect damage, and Ruin, a new non-elemental spell.

The system opens up in stages, and party members cannot develop further after reaching the end of the current stage. The final stage of the Crystarium is only opened by defeating the final boss, meaning to fully develop the party players must take on the post-game content.

Equipment
Each character has eight unique base weapons, most of which can be found in the game, and all of which can be purchased at Retail Network stores. The base weapons can be upgraded to a unique second stage, and eventually to its third and ultimate stage. The third stage of all the weapons of a particular character share a common name, but have different stats and abilities depending upon which weapon it was upgraded from.

All characters can equip all accessories. Each character can initially equip one accessory at a time, but this capacity can be increased to up to four through upgrades obtained in the characters' Crystaria.

In addition to the basic enhancements provided by weapons and accessories, when a character equips weapons and accessories that belong to the same "synthesis" group (a hidden property), the character can gain additional passive enhancements (such as increased ATB gauge recharge rate).

The basic enhancements weapons and accessories grant to characters can also increase as the items are upgraded through the application of various components to increase its Experience Points (EXP). When the weapon or accessory reaches a certain number of EXP, it will be upgraded to a new "level". Once it reaches a certain level (usually 25 for weapons and 2 to 5 for equipment), the number will be replaced by a star (★), at which point it can no longer be upgraded by standard components. It can however be transformed with a stone ore catalyst into a new stage of the same class of equipment, with a new name, that can then continue to be levelled up for higher bonuses, although there are some accessories that transform into an item of a completely different synthesis group.

There are three types of components: biological, mechanical and monetary. Biological components are dropped by biological enemies and although they don't generally have a high EXP value, they do increase the EXP bonus of the weapon or accessory, meaning that subsequent components will give up to 300% more EXP points compared to their base value. Mechanical components are dropped by mechanical enemies, and work in the opposite way to biological components, giving a high number of EXP points, at the expense of reducing the EXP bonus. Therefore, biological components should be used to build up the EXP bonus, before using mechanical components to add EXP. The final type is monetary components. These are dropped by human enemies, and although they have a nominal EXP value, they are intended to be sold for gil at shops to buy other, more effective components.

Summoning


Summons return as Eidolons, linked with the powers of the l'Cie. Playable Eidolons include the Shiva Sisters, Odin, Bahamut, Alexander, and two new summons, Brynhildr and Hecatoncheir. While Ifrit, Carbuncle, Valefor, Ramuh, and Siren make an appearance, they are not playable.

The playable Eidolons have mechanical designs and the power to transform. The Eidolons are used both as a gameplay feature and as plot devices. Each character has one Eidolon, and Eidolons replace the other party members besides the summoner when called.

Eidolons are summoned by the use of Technical Points (TP), which are won after battles. Instead of HP, Eidolons use "Summon Points" (SP) to indicate their health, but SP also decreases over time. Once SP is depleted, the Eidolon will disappear, and the other party members will return. Each l'Cie must win the "approval" of their respective Eidolon by defeating them in combat.

In addition to summoning Eidolons to fight alongside them, each Eidolon can transform into a form the summoner can ride in a mode called "Gestalt Mode" ("Driving Mode" in the Japanese version), where combat becomes more action-oriented, with the summon being able to perform various special attacks with certain button combinations.

Each Eidolon's Gestalt Mode includes a powerful finisher move that will end the summoning. The duration of Gestalt Mode is determined by the Gestalt Gauge that appears once an Eidolon is summoned; the gauge will fill as the summoner builds attack chains with their Eidolon.

Missions
Gran Pulse has several points marked with Cie'th Stones where the party may acquire missions. These are similar in function to the Hunts in Final Fantasy XII, and involve battling one of the many monsters around Gran Pulse. They are not part of the main story, but players can experience Foci of past l'Cie who failed to complete their assignments, and thus their targets are still alive. It is up to the player whether to defeat the specified enemy, some of which have been compared by the staff to mountains towering above the party e.g.: Adamantoises.

By completing these tasks the party can gain materials and items to improve their equipment. The main difference between the hunts of Final Fantasy XII and the missions of Final Fantasy XIII is that while every hunt can only be completed once, the player may take up each mission multiple times, although the mission reward can be obtained only once; subsequent missions will earn the player a different type of reward, usually of lesser quality (e.g.: Bomb Ashes and Bomb Shells). Replaying these missions is a requirement for those seeking to attain all Achievements or Trophies for the game, as one requires a 5-star battle rating earned for all missions.

Characters


There are six playable characters in Final Fantasy XIII, and two guest characters. Although the game focuses on each of the playable characters equally, the majority of the story is told through the perspective of Lightning. The main playable characters are all l'Cie.

Playable Characters

 * Lightning — The main protagonist. Lightning was a member of the Guardian Corps in Bodhum before her life came crashing down when her sister Serah became a Pulse l'Cie. Regretting her refusal to believe Serah, Lightning volunteers to be Purged with the intention of saving her, only to be made a l'Cie like her. She is an agile fighter who makes use of a variety of gunblades, the Blazefire Saber among them.
 * Snow Villiers — Leader of NORA, Snow Villiers is a sturdy man whose mannerisms are said to resemble that of a cowboy. He travels to the Hanging Edge to fight PSICOM and the Purge in the hopes of saving his fiancée, Serah, who was imprisoned by the Pulse fal'Cie, only to share her fate as a l'Cie. Although Snow uses his fists to fight, his equipped 'weapon' is a runed coat, designed to enhance the wearer's strength.
 * Oerba Dia Vanille — A young and spirited girl with a mysterious past who carries a heavy burden the others are initially unaware of. Getting through the events of the Purge, she tags along with Hope and finds herself wrapped up in the events leading to her joining the others. She acts as the narrator of the story and can be considered a deuteragonist. Her weapon of choice is called the Binding Rod.
 * Sazh Katzroy — A middle-aged man with dark skin and an afro. He was formerly in the military, but now works as a civilian airship pilot. In the hopes of saving his son, Dajh, he boards the Purge train to the Hanging Edge, only to become a l'Cie himself. He owns a Chocobo Chick that hides in his hair. He fights with two pistols that can be combined into a rifle.
 * Hope Estheim — A young boy who, along with his mother, is part of the group of exiles onboard the Purge train. During an unsuccessful resistance effort by NORA, his mother dies in the conflict. Blaming Snow for his mother's death, Hope follows him but ends up becoming a l'Cie and being forced to work with him and the others as he waits for his chance to get revenge. He wields boomerangs in battle.
 * Oerba Yun Fang — A wild-looking woman with a large tattoo on one arm and a scorched mark of the l'Cie on the other. She first appears with Cid Raines and the Cavalry with the intention of capturing Snow in Lake Bresha. However, she has a more complicated agenda, as she searches for a friend and aims to complete her Focus. Spears are her weapon of choice.

Guest Characters

 * Gadot — A member of NORA and Snow's childhood friend. He is a dark-skinned man with orange hair and teal clothes. His design is based on NBA and hip hop fashion. He uses a machine gun in battle.
 * Lebreau — A woman with black hair and a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. She is the only female member of NORA. Her outfit is based on volleyball players, wearing short shorts and a tank top-like shirt with puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in battle.

Non-playable Characters

 * Serah Farron - Lightning's younger sister and Snow's fiancée. She was turned into a l'Cie and her fate is one of the main motives in the game.
 * Dajh Katzroy - Sazh's six-year-old son, who was branded a Sanctum l'Cie under mysterious circumstances and is in the custody of PSICOM.

Setting


Cocoon is a hollow floating world created thirteen centuries ago by the deity Lindzei, and is ruled by fal'Cie; godlike beings of immense power and authority. Located in Gran Pulse's atmosphere, Cocoon is a futuristic utopian world isolated from the wilderness of the lowerworld. Cities exist on the inside of Cocoon's shell with barriers all around, and the people are forbidden to leave Cocoon. Machines and mechanized beasts are commissioned as the guardians of the citizens while the resident fal'Cie provide them with whatever they need from food and water to protection and guidance and entertainment. The people of Cocoon are conditioned to believe that Pulsians are savages out to destroy them and their paradise, and that Pulse is a world full of unknown terrors, a hell for humans.

Gran Pulse, known to the people of Cocoon simply as Pulse, is the expansive lowerworld beneath Cocoon, created by its namesake deity Pulse. As opposed to the Cocoon fal'Cie, Pulse fal'Cie only serve to cultivate the land, having little to do with human affairs. The plants and wildlife can evolve and grow to immense sizes, and the world is ruled by where only the strongest survive. Compared to Cocoon, Gran Pulse is primitive with ancient technology and monsters roaming everywhere. The people of Pulse were raised to believe that Cocoon was a source of evil, a 'floating nest of vipers' posed to attack at any time.

Six centuries ago, tensions between Cocoon and Gran Pulse rose to the point of war and the War of Transgression broke out. Two Pulsian girls were made l'Cie and bestowed with the power to transform into the legendary beast called Ragnarok to destroy Cocoon. In the war's climax, Ragnarok cracked Cocoon's shell but failed to destroy the floating world. Cocoon was victorious and most of Gran Pulse's population had been wiped out. Cocoon's fal'Cie raided Pulse for raw materials to repair the damage sustained, and the war served to strengthen the people's paranoia towards Pulse.

Fates Intertwined


Having been secluded from the outside world for so long, the citizens of Cocoon have become paranoid of Gran Pulse. The Sanctum, Cocoon's government, led by the fal'Cie Eden and Primarch Galenth Dysley, issues an edict whereupon any individuals suspected to have come in contact with anyone or anything from the lowerworld of Pulse are to be banished from Cocoon.

One day, there is an incident at the Euride Gorge Energy Plant believed to have been caused by Pulse l'Cie. Six days later, a Pulse fal'Cie is discovered in the seaside town of Bodhum. Mass panic breaks out and soon Cocoon's citizens are crying out for the expulsion of the entire town to Pulse, prompting the Sanctum to initiate the Purge. Within the next two days the Sanctum's personal army, PSICOM, quarantines Bodhum, seizes the town's inhabitants regardless of whether they are citizens or tourists, and forces them onto Purge trains. The people are taken to the restricted Hanging Edge zone, along with the Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, contained within the Pulse Vestige.

One of the many onboard a Purge train is Lightning, a former Guardian Corps soldier who seeks to reach Anima and save her sister, Serah Farron, who ten days prior had become a Pulse l'Cie and is now being held captive by Anima. Accompanying her is Sazh Katzroy, a civilian airship pilot with a secret reason for pursuing the fal'Cie. They stop the train and fight their way through the Hanging Edge as the Purge's true nature is revealed: instead of a forced migration to Pulse as the Sanctum had everyone believe, it is a genocide. Elsewhere, Snow Villiers and his friends in NORA rally the deportees in a rebellion against PSICOM as he is also trying to rescue Serah, as she is his fiancée. Two children caught up in the chaos, Hope Estheim and Vanille, become involved when Hope's mother, Nora Estheim, joins Snow's resistance army and dies under his care, prompting the two to pursue him.

The five come together in the Pulse Vestige where they find Serah. She urges Lightning to save Cocoon before entering crystal stasis, a crystal sleep a l'Cie enters upon fulfilling their Focus. Lightning believes Serah is dead, while Snow refuses to give up the hope she will awaken someday. Seeking vengeance on Anima, Lightning heads into Anima's Throne to destroy the fal'Cie responsible for Serah's fate.

As the party faces Anima, PSICOM forces blast the Pulse Vestige and everything in it to pieces. The party is transported into an otherworldly realm where the god Pulse transforms Lightning and her companions into l'Cie, showing them a dreamlike vision of their Focus involving the capital city of Eden and Ragnarok. They fall down towards Lake Bresha below but survive due to Anima crystallizing the area in its death throes.

Separate Paths
Now enemies of the state, the newly branded l'Cie assume their Focus is to destroy Cocoon although Snow believes it to be Serah's wish to save it. They set off to escape the lake and come across Serah's crystallized form that has become part of the crystallized lake. Snow insists on staying by Serah's side while the others seek to outrun pursuit as PSICOM is hunting them and other Purge survivors. The party splits with Snow staying to dig out Serah, while Lightning and rest head to the ruins of an old city at the lake's edge where they come across an airship left by a PSICOM patrol.

After nearly being killed by a PSICOM platoon sent to exterminate him, the Shiva Sisters manifest in front of him and after subduing them Snow receives his Eidolon. He is captured along with Serah's crystal by another Pulse l'Cie, Oerba Yun Fang, as well as Rygdea and other members of the Cavalry, a division of the Guardian Corps.

Sazh pilots the stolen airship through the blockade and while onboard the group views a live newscast interviewing Galenth Dysley about the ongoing operation being carried out by PSICOM after the 'success' of the Purge. The airship is shot down by PSICOM pursuit and crashes in the Vile Peaks. The party splits after a disagreement on their Focus: Sazh and Vanille wish to flee from their pursuers, but Lightning is intent on getting revenge by destroying the Sanctum and the fal'Cie Eden said to be in control of it. Accompanied by Hope, she intends to travel through the Gapra Whitewood, his hometown of Palumpolum, and take a train to Eden, the heart of the Sanctum government.

As she and Hope trek through the remainder of the Vile Peaks, the pressure of keeping Hope safe and dealing with the enemy soldiers take their toll on Lightning and she snaps at him for being unable to keep up with her. The Eidolon Odin appears and attacks Hope, as if to force her to choose between her mission and him. Together they bring the Eidolon under control, and Lightning resolves to help Hope 'toughen up' as they continue on their mission together.

Snow and Serah's crystal are taken aboard the Cavalry's headquarters, the airship Lindblum, where their leader, Cid Raines, asks Snow to help him find the other l'Cie so they together they could free the people of Cocoon from the fal'Cie rule. While passing through the Gapra Whitewood, Lightning learns about Hope's mother and the boy's belief her death was Snow's fault. Hope reveals he followed Lightning to gain battle experience and become strong enough to face Snow and forms 'Operation Nora', his plan for revenge. Although Lightning tries to convince Hope it was the Sanctum that killed his mother and not Snow, Hope vows to make both Snow and the Sanctum pay for her death. To dissuade Hope from his goal of revenge, Lightning suggests Hope talks with his father in Palumpolum.

After making their way out of the Vile Peaks, Sazh and Vanille travel through the Sunleth Waterscape towards Nautilus. Sazh confesses why he went to the Hanging Edge; his son, Dajh Katzroy, was made a Sanctum l'Cie by the fal'Cie Kujata during the incident at Euride Gorge. Sazh suspected his Focus was to destroy Anima when Dajh sensed the Pulse Vestige in Bodhum and caused the Purge. To save Dajh from becoming a Cie'th, a mindless shambling monster that a l'Cie becomes if they fail their Focus, Sazh boarded the Purge train with Lightning to try and complete Dajh's Focus for him. Unbeknownst to Sazh, Vanille knows more about the Euride incident than she lets on.

Truths Revealed
Arriving in Palumpolum, Hope leads Lightning underground to slip past the soldiers occupying the city. Lightning realizes she has been running away from reality by making the Sanctum her enemy and she now has Hope following suit. She tells him to end Operation Nora and talk with his dad. Returning to the surface, Lightning and Hope are surrounded by PSICOM troops. They are saved by Snow and Fang and the l'Cie are separated in the chaos, with Lightning and Fang in one group and Snow and Hope in another. Fang reveals she and Vanille are not only Pulse l'Cie but citizens of Gran Pulse, having received their Focus there long ago and entered crystal stasis, but they somehow awoke in Cocoon within the Pulse Vestige several days ago, starting the chain of events that led Cocoon into chaos. Fang tells Lightning she and Vanille were indirectly responsible for Serah becoming a l'Cie, and that someday she will awaken from crystal stasis.

Elsewhere, Hope confronts Snow about his mother's death, intending on taking his revenge. His plans are foiled when a PSICOM warmech attacks them and Snow saves Hope from further harm by cushioning their fall from the rooftops. Snow apologizes to Hope for what happened to Nora and the two settle their differences. Fang, Lightning, Hope and Snow are reunited and head to the Estheim Residence where Snow recovers from his injuries while Hope informs his father of Nora's fate and repairs his relationship with him.

While the party is busy formulating a plan to deal with the Sanctum, PSICOM officer Yaag Rosch arrives with his troops. Snow tries to make them realize they wish to protect Cocoon and demands the Purge to be stopped, but Yaag claims the lives of Pulse l'Cie are not worth the risk of sparing, and that the Purge is demanded by the people of Cocoon. After a confrontation with an attack shuttle, Snow, Lightning, Hope and Fang are rescued by Rygdea and taken onboard the Lindblum with help from Cid.

Sazh and Vanille arrive at Nautilus where they watch a newsflash regarding the events in Palumpolum and the Pompa Sancta parade, a dramatic re-enactment of the War of Transgression. Tired of running Sazh decides to turn himself for a chance of seeing his son one last time. Vanille protests and is about to reveal the truth about the Euride incident when Jihl Nabaat, PSICOM's supreme commander, arrives with a PSICOM platoon and Dajh. Upon reuniting with Sazh, Dajh turns to crystal and his Focus is revealed to be the capture of Pulse l'Cie. Jihl shows security footage from Euride Gorge and reveals the truth behind the incident: Dajh's transformation into a l'Cie was the result of Vanille and Fang's threat towards Kujata.

Furious, Sazh confronts Vanille, triggering the appearance of his Eidolon, Brynhildr, which he brings under control with Vanille's help. In his grief, Sazh tries to shoot himself but is unable to do so, prompting the PSICOM soldiers to take him and Vanille into custody. They are taken aboard the Palamecia, upon which they will be transported to Eden for live execution. During their imprisonment Vanille reveals her origins to Sazh: she and Fang became l'Cie to fight Cocoon during the War of Transgression, and entered crystal stasis on Pulse. Twelve days before the Purge they awoke in Cocoon but Fang had lost her memory of their previous Focus. Not wanting any more people to get hurt because of them, Vanille lied to also have lost her memory and has been running from her fate ever since.

Upon learning of Sazh and Vanille's incarceration, Lightning and the rest mount a rescue mission with help from Cid and the Cavalry. They board the Palamecia using a stolen PSICOM shuttle but their ruse is discovered. Sazh and Vanille escape their holding cell, recover their weapons, and fight their way through the ship. The l'Cie are reunited on a forward portion of the Palamecia's exterior, and, using one of PSICOM's militarized wyverns, head towards the bridge. They face Galenth Dysley who kills Jihl and the entire bridge crew. Dismissing the l'Cie's assumption he is one of them, Dysley reveals he is the fal'Cie Barthandelus, the true master of Cocoon.

After suffering defeat at the hands of the l'Cie, Barthandelus reveals the l'Cie's Focus is to become Ragnarok and destroy Orphan, the fal'Cie that powers all the other fal'Cie in Cocoon and holds it afloat over Pulse. Barthandelus claims Serah's Focus was to gather them together to be made l'Cie so they could bring about Cocoon's destruction, a revelation that cripples Snow. Barthandelus departs, leaving behind his familiar Menrva to serve as an airship for them to escape from the now-sinking battlecruiser. The l'Cie make their escape, avoiding pursuit from Yaag Rosch onboard The Proudclad, ending up inside the Fifth Ark hidden underneath Eden. Fang and Vanille recall a legend concerning the purpose of the Arks, armories and training grounds for l'Cie.

The l'Cie's powers are fully awoken and deeper inside the Ark they come face-to-face with Cid Raines, who reveals himself as a Sanctum l'Cie, and that every action of the l'Cie had been orchestrated by Barthandelus. He explains the fal'Cie's desire Cocoon's destruction to summon the Maker, the creator of both fal'Cie and the world. Cid attacks the l'Cie to stop them from destroying Cocoon, but is defeated and turns to crystal despite defying his Focus.

Shaken by the turn of events, the l'Cie reach a dead end. Snow decides to follow Cid's example and forget their Focus and fulfill Serah's final wish of saving Cocoon. While everyone else agrees, Fang turns on them, proclaiming that even though they might wish to save Cocoon she would rather follow their Focus to destroy it than see any of her friends become a Cie'th for defying it. Fang unwittingly summons Bahamut, and brings it under her control with the others' help, reluctantly agreeing to follow with their plan. The l'Cie discover a new path following Bahamut's "taming" and a Pulsian airship at the end, which they use to travel through a portal leading to Gran Pulse.

Terra Incognita
The airship is attacked by a wild wyvern in the skies above Pulse, and the l'Cie become stranded in the valley of Vallis Media. The party searches Gran Pulse for days looking for a way to remove their brands but find no traces of human life. Sazh's Chocobo Chick warns the party that Hope's l'Cie brand is advancing and he has fallen unconscious. They bring Hope back to the base camp and Vanille suggests they go to Oerba, her and Fang's hometown. Hope wakes up and tells them he should remain behind but his Eidolon Alexander is summoned and brought under his control. After Hope is given newfound strength, the l'Cie come to believe the true purpose of the Eidolons is to give l'Cie hope instead of freeing them through death.

Discovering a path to the Archylte Steppe, the l'Cie begin their journey to Oerba. Along the way, Vanille claims she became Ragnarok during the War of Transgression and cracked Cocoon's shell as her previous Focus. While traversing the Mah'habara Subterra, Fang bluffs about remembering her past Focus to coax a confession out of Vanille. Fang claims she was the one who became Ragnarok and scarred Cocoon. Vanille tries to deny it but the shock from having her deepest lie exposed causes her Eidolon Hecatoncheir to appear, confirming Fang's suspicions. Vanille and Fang defeat it, after which Vanille resolves to come to terms with her fate and stop running away.

The l'Cie traverse the remainder of the Mah'habara mines and use the fal'Cie Atomos to reach the Sulyya Springs, where Vanille speculates Barthandelus lies to them about Serah's Focus, and that she had overcame her Focus and turned to crystal like Cid had. They reach Taejin's Tower, a crumbling mechanical tower where the fal'Cie Dahaka makes its home. The Menhirrim there help them destroy the errant fal'Cie and reach the top of the tower from where the l'Cie ride a capsule down to the slopes of Oerba. They find the village covered in a blanket of snow-like crystal dust and infested with Cie'th. At the end of a crumbling railway overpass, the l'Cie are shocked to find Serah waiting for them.

Serah implores the l'Cie to become Ragnarok and destroy Orphan, but they refuse to believe her. She abandons her disguise and assumes Barthandelus's human form. The fal'Cie explains the reason Cocoon was created: the fal'Cie, desiring to summon the Maker, need a sacrifice large enough to attract the Maker's attention and that the deaths of Cocoon's inhabitants would cause a large enough disturbance in "the great beyond" for it to happen. The l'Cie engage Barthandelus in battle, determined to prevent this atrocity from being committed.

After defeating him Barthandelus gloats how the citizens of Cocoon are fighting among themselves now that the resurrected Cid has become the new Primarch. He warns them the Cavalry is mounting an attack to destroy Orphan under the belief it would free Cocoon from the fal'Cie rule, and they have a choice: destroy Orphan themselves or let the people of Cocoon destroy it. He leaves behind another airship and returns to Cocoon to oversee the final stages of his plan. The l'Cie find an ancient record telling the War of Transgression's aftermath: the reason Fang hadn't destroyed Cocoon was because the goddess Etro intervened and turned her and Vanille to crystal before they could. Later, after Vanille and Fang's crystals were placed inside the Pulse Vestige, Barthandelus brought the Vestige into Cocoon so they could finish the job when they awoke. The party decides to return to Cocoon and either save Orphan or die trying. They board the airship and use a portal in Pulse's atmosphere to return to Cocoon.

Eden Under Siege/The Cradle Will Fall
The l'Cie disrupt an ongoing race in Eden with their Eidolons, causing mass panic among the spectators and the deployment of a full PSICOM battalion along with the resident Guardian Corps unit. Barthandelus uses transgates to warp Pulse creatures and automata from both the surface of Gran Pulse and within the Fifth Ark into the city, causing mass hysteria. The l'Cie fight their way through soldiers and monsters alike while the Cavalry infiltrates the Primarch's office, where Cid, no longer under the thrall of Barthandelus, tells Rygdea his actions will lead Cocoon into ruin. At his request, Rygdea shoots Cid, ending his torment, and leads the Cavalry to confront Orphan at Edenhall, the seat of the Sanctum's power.

The citizens take shelter at Edenhall and at the center of the complex, the l'Cie spot crystal shards floating in the air. An illusion of Barthandelus appears telling them the shards are the souls of the departed, and their presence signals the appearance of the Door of Souls and the Maker's inevitable return, and tells them he has their 'loved ones' captive. The Calvary soldiers and PSICOM troopers in their vicinity turn into Sacrifice Cie'th, the result of Barthandelus branding them without giving them a Focus. They are confronted by Yaag Rosch, who, after being defeated for the second time, helps the l'Cie by ordering his soldiers to evacuate the city rather than search for the l'Cie and detonating the Proudclad's wreckage, sacrificing himself and ensuring the party won't be followed into Orphan's Cradle, an alternate dimension serving as the true command center of Cocoon.

Inside Orphan's Cradle, the l'Cie discover the remainder of the Calvary soldiers have been converted into Cie'th. Guided by the fal'Cie Eden, they arrive at the Narthex, Orphan's resting place. Barthandelus destroys Serah's and Dajh's crystallized forms and commands the l'Cie to fulfill their destiny by destroying Orphan, thereby cutting the power fueling Cocoon's functions and causing it to crash onto the surface of the lowerworld. The l'Cie see through Barthandelus's illusions, and Barthandelus engages them in battle only to be defeated and sent sinking into a pool of liquid. Menrva dives into the pool allowing Barthandelus to rise up as the protective shell surrounding the dormant fal'Cie Orphan.

The l'Cie fight Barthandelus in Orphan's first form, but fail to destroy him. Barthandelus, growing frustrated, reveals the reason fal'Cie make l'Cie: Each fal'Cie was created by the Maker for a defined purpose, and given finite power to accomplish the task given to them, but humans have infinite potential to be anything they want to be through sheer willpower and determination, an ability beyond the reach of the fal'Cie. For this reason fal'Cie make l'Cie: to partake in the power inherent in humankind.

Orphan tortures Vanille to force Fang to transform into Ragnarok. Seeing no way out of their situation, Fang submits but the others try to stop her. She overpowers them, causing everyone except her and Vanille to turn into Cie'th. Fang is attacked by the shambling remnants of her companions, triggering her transformation into an incomplete version of Ragnarok. Fang's Ragnarok is unable to destroy Orphan; only the outer shield dissipates before Fang reverts to human form. Orphan revives Fang and tortures her to force her to transform into Ragnarok once more, while a helpless Vanille watches her friend suffer. Meanwhile, Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope relive the memories of their journey and find the strength of will to revert, though they believe their Cie'th forms were another fal'Cie illusion. As Vanille prepares to make a stand against Orphan, the others fire magic spells at Orphan and save Fang from the fal'Cie, who sinks into the pool where he is presumably destroyed for good.

After giving themselves the Focus of saving Cocoon rather than destroying it, the party's l'Cie brands burn out. Orphan's true form rises from the pool, and reveals it shares the same desire as Barthandelus to summon the Maker, even if it means its death. Believing that if they can destroy Cocoon, they can also save it, the l'Cie attack Orphan and destroy it.

The Dawn of a New Era
With Orphan's demise the rest of Cocoon's fal'Cie shut down as the now-powerless structure descends towards Gran Pulse. Finding themselves back in Eden, Lightning and the others float away and begin to crystallize while Fang and Vanille choose to sacrifice themselves and join hands to summon Ragnarok's true form. Ragnarok creates a column of lava, which engulfs the surface of Cocoon and slows its descent. Ragnarok crystallizes the lava by summoning the crystal dust from the ruins of Oerba, leaving Cocoon supported by a massive crystal pillar entrenched on Pulse's surface. Their Focus fulfilled, Lightning, Hope, Sazh and Snow are crystallized on the surface of Gran Pulse.

Through an unknown force, Lightning and her companions wake up from their crystal sleep. Finding their l'Cie brands gone, the group is reunited with Serah and Dajh who were also revived and are normal humans again. While the Cocoon survivors rally around the remaining military units as they see Gran Pulse for the first time, Hope takes a moment to mourn for Fang and Vanille while Lightning gives Serah her blessing to marry Snow. Within the core of the crystal pillar holding Cocoon above Gran Pulse, the crystallized forms of Vanille and Fang float, still holding hands, their Focus complete.

Web Novelization
The official Japanese website revealed a web novelization titled Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise- that contains a series of short stories written by Jun Eishima, leading up to the game events. The first story is called "Encounter", and focuses on Serah becoming the first Gran Pulse l'Cie on Cocoon for a long time. The second story is called "Stranger", and is about the moment Vanille and Fang awoke from crystal stasis, and began adjusting to Cocoon life. The third story, "Family", focuses on Sazh and his son, Dajh, detailing how Sazh came to own the Chocobo Chick and how Dajh fell into the Sanctum's clutches.

The fourth story, "Search", details Vanille and Fang's separation, Fang's encounter with Cid Raines, and joining him to locate Vanille. Part five of the novel is titled "Friends", and focuses on Hope Estheim's life with his family and friends before his mother's death. The sixth story, titled "Present", involves Snow buying engagement necklaces and Serah finding a birthday present for Lightning. The seventh and final story, called "Tomorrow", is about Fang and Vanille preparing to become l'Cie during the War of Transgression, and Vanille getting ready to be Purged to Gran Pulse.

Music


Masashi Hamauzu, one of the composers of Final Fantasy X: Original Soundtrack and the composer of the Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack, composed the music for Final Fantasy XIII. The game's vocal theme is called "Kimi ga Iru Kara" ("Because You're Here"), performed by the J-pop artist Sayuri Sugawara. Nobuo Uematsu was originally announced as the composer of the game's vocal theme, but later decided to give the duties to Hamauzu after being hired to work on Final Fantasy XIV.

The Japanese soundtrack was released on January 27, 2010 with two versions available for purchase. The standard version contains four discs while the limited edition contains a bonus "drama CD" written by scenario writer Motomu Toriyama.

In the game's western versions Leona Lewis sings the English theme song, titled "My Hands". Yoshinori Kitase explained the decision to use a different song was made due to difficulties translating the lyrics of "Kimi ga Iru Kara" into English, and thus "My Hands" was chosen as the lyrics of the song still fit the game's theme. In the game's western versions the song "Eternal Love" was replaced with "Serah's Theme".

Development
In Famitsu, Kitase revealed the initial project concept for Final Fantasy XIII was thought of in 2004 when the Final Fantasy X-2 International team came up with the idea during a jogging session. Final Fantasy XIII was originally planned as a PlayStation 2 game, but the development was moved to PlayStation 3 following May 2005 and the team had to restart making the game assets from scratch. The development of Final Fantasy XIII happened during a time when Square Enix were shifting to a new console generation, and to a certain extent had to anticipate what the future generation would be like. The game was originally developed under the working title "COLORS WORLD".

Final Fantasy XIII only had development on the PlayStation 2 at the very beginning of the project, mainly focused around creating the world and story. The team working on Final Fantasy XIII was derailed when they were commissioned to create the Final Fantasy VII technical demo for PlayStation 3; the demo's results were so promising the development of Final Fantasy XIII was moved to this platform as well. The idea from the start was to have a highly action-based battle system.

The development was led by Yoshinori Kitase and as such, the development team resembles that of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, although occasionally, developers from Final Fantasy XV (then known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII) assisted with the game's development.

Final Fantasy XIII was developed on the Crystal Tools engine since the production moved on PlayStation 3. The process of making the company's first PlayStation 3 title proved to be a challenge as the team found it a tricky console to code for. Determined to crack the puzzle, Square opted to create its own development kit, which became known as Crystal Tools.

The overarching concept of Final Fantasy XIII was "a future world fantasy" and "people fighting against fate." The concept for the battle system was to maintain the strategic nature of command-based battles, but to create battles similar to those seen in the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. According to art director Isamu Kamikokuryo, many additional areas that were functioning in an unreleased build, from team NORA's secret base, to Lightning's home and even a zoo, were cut from the game owing to concerns about the game's length and volume. Kamikokuryo additionally remarked that the volume of cut content was enough to make another game. Later, hackers have unveiled the dummied location Seventh Ark.

Final Fantasy XIII was first revealed at E3 2006. Since then, the battle system was changed several times. In the first trailer the camera angles and shifts were more dynamic and Lightning had a gravity-controlling ability that influenced the gameplay, lending to a somewhat more action-based and cinematic presentation than the final, more classic battle system. In the playable demo, the battle transitions were nearly seamless as the exploration and battle fields were very similar in appearance, unlike in the final game where the differences between the two fields are much more apparent.

It was revealed at E3 2008 that Final Fantasy XIII would be released on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe, but would remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive in Japan. A demo version of Final Fantasy XIII was released with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete in Japan on April 16 exclusively for PlayStation 3. Covering a part from the early stages of the game, the demo aimed to familiarize players with the battle system, while featuring Cocoon and the l'Cie. Only Lightning and Snow were playable, with Sazh, Lebreau and Gadot supporting them during battles. The demo was not released outside of Japan.

"Re: Final Fantasy XIII" is a promotional DVD that was released by Square Enix in Japan on December 13th, 2008, to advertise the upcoming games of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series. Said to be included were never-before-seen trailers, along with the rarely seen trailers shown at the DKS3137 conventional event. The DVD is reported to be fifty minutes and includes the first look at real Final Fantasy XIII gameplay. Included on the DVD as well were promos for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Dissidia Final Fantasy, and movies for non-Final Fantasy Square titles. A second demo was featured in the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party and Tokyo Game Show in September 2009, showcasing the summons as well as the Paradigm Shift system. Again, only Lightning and Snow could be controlled in battle, while Sazh, Vanille, and Hope were supporting party members.

The initial screenshots of the Xbox 360 version Square Enix released to compare to the PlayStation 3 version were revealed, in fact, to be screenshots from the PlayStation 3 version, with the Xbox 360 icons pasted on top. Square Enix apologized, claiming it was a mistake, and later released genuine Xbox 360 screenshots. The Xbox 360 version runs at 576p (FMV CG 576p), as opposed to the PlayStation 3's native resolution of 720p (FMV CG 1080p), but both versions can be upscaled to 1080p.

Similar to Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIII has only English and Japanese audio with subtitles localized to local languages.

A Problematic Development
After the game's release, Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy XIII's development was a difficult one and ridden with miscommunication between different sections of the development team. Final Fantasy XIII had the largest development team of any previous Final Fantasy game, with some of the work also done in conjunction with the Final Fantasy XV team (then-titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII). At the peak, there were over 200 people working on it, with 180 artists, 30 programmers, and 36 game designers. According to the October 2010 issue of Game Developer magazine, a big problem during the game's development was the lack of unified vision. The game was first announced at 2006, but the E3 trailer was merely a visual concept and the team hadn't created anything playable yet, leading to pressure within the development team on what the battle system should be like. What further complicated the development was that the team was also working on Square Enix's multi-platform engine Crystal Tools. The team made the mistake of trying to accommodate every single project in progress and a considerable amount of time was spent prioritizing all the different requests and the team was not able to determine the final spec requirements. It created a standstill between the engine and game development teams; if the engine's specs couldn't be finalized, neither could the game's.

Being a large-scale project Square Enix wanted to keep details of the game secret, but this led to the international player testing being too late, which further led to scheduling constraints as the team wanted to ensure the game would appeal to Western audiences. The development team was well-aware of criticism toward JRPGs coming from North America and Europe concerning game linearity and command-based battles; the development team experimented with Western development methods and international focus groups were set up for certain titles, including Final Fantasy XIII.

However, at this time the development team was already far along in development and it was too late to implement most of the feedback. Despite this, the team was able to gain some insight into what players wanted globally, but also led to conflicts because the development team didn't receive clear instructions on whether to force certain changes into an already tight schedule. Much of the feedback which was unable to be included in Final Fantasy XIII, was later used when developing Final Fantasy XIII-2.

The game's overall vision did not fully realize until the demo included with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, because even at a late stage of development, the team did not agree on the game's key elements. The team had to make adjustments to the schedule to accommodate the demo, but after it was complete, the team finally had a tangible version of the game that could actually be played, which unified the vision and understanding of the game's direction across the entire development team. Before the demo, different elements for the game had been created with no clear plan on how they would be used in the final game. With the demo pulling all the strings together, the team could prioritize to help increase productivity.

The way the development team has come out open with the problems with Final Fantasy XIII's development is rather unique, and may reflect the polarized reception the game received after its release.

Localization
Final Fantasy XIII was being localized for English as it was being made, but it had no infrastructure to support simultaneous development and localization. There were no content freeze deadlines to ensure the translators were translating with the final context, and cut scenes were still changing after the English voice recording was finished. The entire voice script ended up being re-recorded about four or five times. The translators would have to translate blindly from text, and then see an early render to notice it would not work. When placeholder audio would show up the translators would realize their lines wouldn't match the timing or the emotion that would be on the characters' faces. The translators had scripts from the writers, videos of events, transcripts of the actual Japanese voice data, and the latest game build, but all four would be different and none of them final.

Tom Slattery, who was handling the English localization, and Teruaki Sugawara, the sound engineer, who also subsequently left the company, were both serving as representatives from their respective departments at the monthly meetings between Sound and Localization, and both realized that if that was going to be the way localization was handled on subsequent projects, there needed to be a way of keeping all information synchronized without placing unnecessary burden on the development team, Sound, or Localization. When Final Fantasy XIII-2 would be developed, the developers would use a tool called Moomle to do just that.

Jack Fletcher did voice directing and casting for Final Fantasy XIII; his previous experience in the series includes Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XII, and Final Fantasy Tactics. Around twenty auditions were held for the important characters and Square Enix would let Fletcher cast the rest on his own by giving him character descriptions on how they wanted the characters to sound. For lead and cameo characters the producers would want to hear at least five to eight different voice samples per character to choose from.

The voice directing team would then pick portions from the game script to send to agencies and get auditions back from them. It has also been mentioned that Square Enix does not want to reuse voice actors too much, so anyone who has played a lead role before is unlikely to get another Final Fantasy lead part soon, and so, even if Ashe's voice actress Kari Wahlgren submitted a good audition, Square would not want to cast her as Lightning. The idea to cast two characters with Australian accents came from the localization team, who requested the voice directing team to look for either Australian or New Zealand sounding voices; the rationale was that the team wanted Fang and Vanille to sound like they were from another world, but more in a sense of having a different melody to their voices, rather than a thick accent.

Employee Departures
The problematic development of Final Fantasy XIII led to the departure of several members of the development team, who left Square Enix during development or on the game's release, including:
 * Toshiro Tsuchida (battle planning director)
 * Takashi Ohkuma (background technical director)
 * Masashi Hamauzu (composer), who went freelance
 * Nao Ikeda (sub-character designer), who went freelance

Themes
The main themes of Final Fantasy XIII are challenging fate and the concept of willpower. The main cast has an unjust fate (Focus) forced upon them and seek a way to escape it and do what they believe is right. Ultimately free will triumphs over fate, as the party rejects their Focus and follows their true desire, to save Cocoon. The themes are present with the characters of Serah and Cid Raines, who similarly defy their fate, and with the interactions of Hope and his father, who tells Hope he must find his own path in life. The fal'Cie are on the other side of this coin, unable to follow their heart's desire as their fate is predetermined by their creator.

Despite lacking magical powers and immortality like the fal'Cie, humans are still implied to be stronger in the end due to possessing free will, and Orphan explains to the party that humans' infinite potential is why fal'Cie chose to make l'Cie of men to carry out tasks they themselves are unable to do. Having a white l'Cie brand may represent a human's free will triumphing over the bond of a fal'Cie-given Focus, as in the end of the game, all of the party's l'Cie brands burn out, which is known to halt the process of turning into a Cie'th.

Many characters in Final Fantasy XIII suffer great losses in losing their homelands and loved ones, and the different ways they deal with their losses are at the center of their character arcs. While their first reaction is anger and vengeance, the party must come to terms with their losses and ultimately realize that revenge is futile, and the only way to cope is to move forward. Related themes are the themes of guilt and running away from the past, the things the party are forced to face if they wish to move on.

Other central themes in Final Fantasy XIII are theocracy, a system of government that rules under a single God recognized as the supreme ruler, and totalitarianism, a government system in which all aspects of life are controlled by the supreme ruler and any opposition is forbidden. Following theocracy, the Sanctum of Cocoon is ruled by the fal'Cie Eden that communicates through Primarch Dysley, who acts as Eden's messenger and makes its orders known to the rest of Cocoon. In accordance to totalitarianism, the military forces follow the Sanctum's policies without question and ensure the populace follows suit, justifying their actions by claiming them to be for the greater good of everyone and necessary to keep the peace, and willing to go as far as fire upon unarmed civilians who try to escape or resist.

The Sanctum uses propaganda and false pretenses to control the public and cover up its true intentions, the prime example being the Purge, a method to slaughter civilians supposedly tainted by Pulse by pretending to cast them out to the lowerworld, "execution masquerading as exile" as Lightning points out. The Cocoon society pushes their own fears away by Purging anyone connected to Pulse, and it is a personal revelation to Lightning when she realizes she is doing the same in having initially set out to destroy Eden.

Another theme is the union of two worlds. For centuries, the people of Gran Pulse and Cocoon have despised and lived in fear of each other. Those from Cocoon are conditioned by the fal'Cie acting through the Sanctum to believe Gran Pulse to be hell and to fear and hate anything having to do with Pulse. The people of Pulse call Cocoon a "floating nest of vipers" and hate the people of Cocoon for luring Pulsians to their world and stealing their resources. The party realize their two worlds and their people are more similar than they thought. It is when Gran Pulse and Cocoon are connected by the crystal pillar formed by Ragnarok that the hostility ends and the two worlds become one.

Release
Final Fantasy XIII was released on December 17th, 2009 in Japan exclusively for PlayStation 3. Coinciding with the release a Japanese alcoholic beverage distributor Suntory released the energy drink Final Fantasy XIII Elixir to promote the game's release. A PlayStation 3 bundle called "Lightning Edition", which includes a copy of Final Fantasy XIII, was released in Japan on the same day. 200 units were allocated to be sold in Taiwan. It contains a Ceramic White PlayStation 3 slim 250GB set with pink Lightning artwork.

On November 13th, 2009 the game creators released a video with interviews and new footage that announced the game's international release date. One month prior to the game's release, Square Enix had begun promoting the game via a tour bus where gamers could preview and play the game, until March 9th, 2010, Final Fantasy XIII was released worldwide on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

A Limited Collector's Edition of the game was released exclusively in PAL territories. It contains the game packaged with the following exclusive content:
 * Artwork of all six party members with their respective Eidolons.
 * Two stickers of the Pulse l'Cie brand.
 * The Original Sound Selection, which includes composer Masashi Hamauzu's comments on the ten tracks comprising the selection.
 * A hardback book, titled The World of Final Fantasy XIII, which contains scenario information for the game.

A special Xbox 360 bundle was available for the North American, European, Australian, and New Zealand releases of the game. The bundle included a 250GB Xbox 360, 2 wireless controllers and a copy of Final Fantasy XIII.

Final Fantasy XIII is the first game in the series to receive an official release in Chinese. The localization uses the original Japanese audio with traditional Chinese subtitles, and was made by SEC Asia. Unofficial translations call Final Fantasy "Space Warrior" (太空戰士), but Yoshinori Kitase kept the name "Final Fantasy" for consistency.

The game was released as an Ultimate Hits International Edition on Xbox 360 in Japan on December 16, 2010. It includes a brand new Easy Mode and is packaged with the following content:
 * An artwork booklet, titled FINAL FANTASY XIII -Corridor of Memory- with visual art from both Japan and overseas.
 * FINAL FANTASY XIII Unused Event Scenes, a look at scenes cut from the game with an accompanying script.
 * An epilogue novel, titled Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-, which reveals the events after the end of the game.

The International release also includes "My Hands" as its theme song instead of "Kimi ga Iru Kara".

On July 21st, 2011, the Japanese PlayStation 3 version of the game, got a free update, which introduced Easy Mode difficulty, to get on par with the Japanese Xbox360 version released a year earlier. The update also disables the use of preemptive attack to the Ochu enemies, and disables the menu when walking to access the Shroud menu.

Sales
In Japan Final Fantasy XIII sold over a million units on its first day of sale and had sold over 1,600,000 copies in Japan at the end of 2009. In March 2010, Square Enix stated that Final Fantasy XIII is the fastest selling title in the series' history. By April American game sales reached an estimated 800,000 units for PlayStation 3 and 500,000 units for Xbox 360. As of June 9th, 2011, Final Fantasy XIII has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide.

Reception
Final Fantasy XIII received favorable reviews in Japanese game media and was voted as the second best game of 2009 in Dengeki Online's reader poll, and in January 2010, was voted "the best game ever" in Famitsu's reader poll. The game's Metacritic score stands at 83 for the PlayStation 3 and 82 for the Xbox 360, signifying "generally favorable" reviews. However, this score is the lowest of all the offline main series Final Fantasy titles after the Nintendo DS re-release of Final Fantasy III.

Final Fantasy XIII has been hailed as a technical milestone with the presentation of CGI cutscenes and the almost seamless transition of visual quality between them and real-time gameplay. Many have appreciated the game's soundtrack though some feel the replacement of the game's original theme song with Leona Lewis's "My Hands" was unfortunate. The game's battle system has been generally liked, with the increased battle speed and the depth of the Paradigm Shift system. The story, characters and voice acting were mostly received well with reviewers stating the characters worked well together, and the interactions among them made up for shortcomings in the storyline.

Many, however, reacted negatively to the game's linear nature especially in the first ten chapters on Cocoon compounded by the absence of traditional towns and little interaction with non-player characters. Many also noted that the slow pace the game opens up, with the Crystarium System only expanding at certain storyline points to allow the characters to learn more abilities, and the rather late point in the game the player is allowed to choose their battle party, contributed to the game's linear feeling, some citing it "boring".

The game director Motomu Toriyama has since stated the lower-than-expected review scores were a result of reviewers approaching the game with a Western point-of-view, and that reviewers were used to games in which the player was given an open world to explore; he noted this expectation contrasted with the development team's vision in that it "becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom".

Final Fantasy XIII ended up being unexpectedly polarizing and is the first Final Fantasy main title to get such a strong reaction from the fans, that even Square Enix CEO, Yoichi Wada, acknowledges it, saying in a Gamasutra interview that "... when it comes to the customers' reaction to the quality of the game, some value it highly and some are not very happy with it".

When the game was rereleased in October 2014 for PC, the game received a "mixed reception" and at its lowest favor rate from the players had 41% of positive reception. Among many issues that made the players dissapointed were locked 1280×720 resolution, lack of graphic settings, stuttering, and lag.

Controversies

 * Initial screenshots of the Xbox 360 version released by Square Enix to compare to the PlayStation 3 version were revealed shortly after to be screenshots from the PlayStation 3 version, with the Xbox 360 control icons pasted on top. Square Enix apologized, claiming there would be no need to enhance the Xbox 360 screenshots and that a mistake was made, and later released screenshots that did come from the Xbox 360 version. Though the screenshots were of low quality, including one with a mouse pointer over it, analysis of the new screenshots and later technical analysis by DigitalFoundry of both versions of the game revealed that the Xbox 360 version runs at 576p (FMV CG 576p), as opposed to the PlayStation 3's native resolution of 720p (FMV CG 1080p). Both versions can be upscaled to 1080p.
 * On June 2nd, 2010, a class action lawsuit was filed against Square Enix and Sony Computer Entertainment America due to alleged freezing bugs in the game damaging and physically breaking PlayStation 3 consoles. Square Enix claims it is an issue with the console, while Sony blames the issue on a glitch on the game disc.
 * In August 2010, a television advert of Final Fantasy XIII was banned in Britain by the Advertising Standards Authority due to Square Enix advertising the Xbox 360 version of the game with footage of the PlayStation 3 version exclusively.
 * After the confirmation that an Xbox 360 port of Final Fantasy XIII would be released in Japan, CEO Yoichi Wada received death threats from angry fans accusing him of being a liar.

Sequels
A sequel titled Final Fantasy XIII-2 was announced on January 18th, 2011.

Square Enix registered a domain name for Final Fantasy XIII-3 on September 7th, 2011, but no development plans were announced. A representative of Square Enix noted that the filing is to protect the Final Fantasy XIII intellectual property and is not indicative of a new title. On September 1st, 2012, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was announced, which is said to be the last installment in the story of Lightning.

Microsoft Windows and Steam
Square Enix announced at Tokyo Game Show 2014 that Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII are coming to PC and Steam. Final Fantasy XIII arrived first on October 9, 2014. The game features English and Japanese dubs, and subtitle in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. The Japanese and Asian version have Japanese audio only, with subtitle in English, Traditional Chinese, and Korean.

The game runs capped at 60FPS. Both Xinput and DirectInput controllers are supported.

A patch update will be released in December 2014. Customizable rendering resolution options are included.

Steam Trading Cards
The Steam version of Final Fantasy XIII comes with 6 Steam Trading Cards; all of them feature Lightning.

Voice Cast

 * Cocoon Inhabitants (English version)

Alex Fernandez, Barbara Goodson, Cam Clarke, Catherine Cavadini, Cindy Robinson, Daisy Torme, Darren Norris, Dwight Schultz, Erin Fitzgerald, Gideon Emery, James Arnold Taylor, Jeannie Ellas, Jill Talley, Joe Cappellietti, John Mariano, Kate Higgins, Kim Mai Guest, Kyle Hebert, Maile Flannegan, Michael Lindsey, Megan Hollingshead, Mike Sorich, Nika Futterman, Pat Fraley Phil Procter, Robin Atkin Downs, Sam Riegal, Scott Menville, Steve Kramer, Tara Platt, Travis Willingham, Yuri Lowenthal

April Stewart, Ben Diskin, Candi Milo, Chris Edgerly, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Dante Basco, Dave Rasner, Eden Riegal, Fred Tatasciore, Hynden Walch, JB Blanc, Jessica DiCicco, Jim Ward, John DiMaggio, Kari Wahlgren, Keith Silverstein, Kirk Thornton, Liam O'Brien, Masasa Moyo, Michael Gough, Mickey Cheetham, Neil Kaplan, Nolan North, Patrick Seitz, Robbie Rist, Roger Craig Smith, Scott MacDonald, Sheri Lynn, Steve Van Wormer.

Packaging Artwork
Final Fantasy XIII is the first Final Fantasy title with European packaging artwork that does not only feature the game's logo, but the main protagonist as well.

Allusions
Final Fantasy XIII contains numerous allusions to the number thirteen, as well as references to various world mythologies, among others.

Trivia

 * During the development, models of Yuna, Rikku, Ashe, and Vaan were used as stand-ins for characters that weren't finished yet.
 * The PlayStation 3 version came with a code that, when registered with Square Enix's community website, allowed one to register to be a beta tester for Final Fantasy XIV.
 * In the lead-up to the release of Final Fantasy XIII, Microsoft ran a promotion where a Chocobo Avatar item would become available if a certain amount of the hashtag '#FFXIIIXBOX' had been used on Twitter or if one registered with an email. The chocobo looks and behaves similarly to the one Sazh carries around with him.
 * Players who registered a first production run of the Xbox 360 version at the Square Enix Members site received download codes for Male and Female PSICOM uniforms for their Xbox Live Avatar.
 * The game was originally planned to have downloadable content (DLC) released after the game, but Square Enix scrapped the plans.
 * Final Fantasy XIII is the first main series game to not feature either the original "Prelude" or "Victory Fanfare".
 * Final Fantasy XIII marks the fourth time Square Enix has enlisted a non-Asian vocalist (Leona Lewis) to perform a vocal piece for a Final Fantasy soundtrack, after Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, and Dissidia Final Fantasy.
 * An Easter Egg exists where if the player spins the analog stick as is common for grinding in previous games, the player character will stop and get irritated.
 * The game was released in Japan on December 17, 2009, a day before the anniversary of the original Final Fantasy which was released in Japan on December 18, 1987.

Character Creation
Character creation in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is typical of most MMORPGs. There are five races to choose from:
 * Hyur - The typical "Human" race found in most MMOs, reminiscent of the Hume of Final Fantasy XI.
 * Elezen - The typical "Elf" race found in most MMOs, reminiscent of the Elvaan of Final Fantasy XI.
 * Lalafell - A race of diminutive folk reminiscent of the Tarutaru of Final Fantasy XI.
 * Miqo'te - Feline humanoids reminiscent of the Mithra of Final Fantasy XI.
 * Roegadyn - Hulking giants reminiscent of the Galka of Final Fantasy XI.

The customization is detailed enough to make a unique character without going too deep in details. Players can adjust height, facial features, voice, hair, facial hair, and other features. They choose their character's birthdate from a mythical calendar of 12 months of 32 days each and pick a "Guardian" or deity of sorts (see The Twelve), which will modify some elemental resistance stats.

Finally, players choose a starting class. Each class has a city-state base, and the game begins in that city-state.

Currently, there are nine classes and three city-states to choose from:
 * Archer - Gridania
 * Conjurer - Gridania
 * Lancer - Gridania
 * Arcanist - Limsa Lominsa
 * Marauder - Limsa Lominsa
 * Rogue - Limsa Lominsa
 * Gladiator - Ul'dah
 * Pugilist - Ul'dah
 * Thaumaturge - Ul'dah

Unlike the other classes, Rogue is not available at character creation. Those wishing to play one must first level to 10 in another class and then change classes. Those wishing to unlock rogue as soon as possible are recommended to choose either Marauder or Arcanist so they start in the same city.

Characters from version 1.0 will be allowed to re-customize their appearances once. This includes the character's name, race, sex, date of birth, starting class, starting city-state, height, hair, face, bust size, etc. A second re-customization can be earned via veteran rewards, called the Fantasia, and is the only redo available to characters created in 2.0. Additional Fantasia may be purchased from the Square Enix shop for a fee, as of patch 2.28.

By completing the quest "Beauty is Only Scalp Deep," players can also call the aesthetician to any of the inn rooms. This allows players to tweak more basic aspects such as hairstyle, hair color, and face paint for only 2,000 gil without needing to use a Fantasia potion.

Basic Gameplay
After the player has created a character, the game will start in one of the three city-states depending on the character's starting class. The player cannot change class until finishing the level 10 class quest of their starting class.

Doing the Main Scenario quests will help the player gain EXP, Gil, items, an airship ticket, an ability to use the inn room, permission to do Guildleves, hire Retainers, and be able to join Grand Companies of Eorzea.

The player can choose between playing with mouse and keyboard or play on a gamepad. The skill HUD will adapt on the player's selected choice.

Hotkey Bars
A Realm Reborn on the PlayStation 3 and Playstation 4 versions have a unique interface for gamepads called the Cross Hotbar that has two sides. When the player holds down the right half of the bar is highlighted. There are eight total buttons that can be used:, , , , and the. The same thing happens if the player uses, but it is with the left side. There are eight in total different hotbars the player can change by holding and selecting them.

The player can use the standard twelve-slot hotbars found in most MMOs by playing with the mouse and keyboard on the PC-version; the player can have multiple hotbars on screen simultaneously and bind different key commands to control them. The Playstation 4 version also supports mouse and keyboard control, however the Playstation 3 version does not.

Leveling and Partying
There are two main methods of seeking parties: the Duty Finder and the Party Finder. The Duty Finder is a dedicated party search system in A Realm Reborn for undertaking instanced duties. It allows the player to form an allocated party with other players, including players from different worlds on the same data center. The Party Finder, while limited to current server, allows recruiting with more varied and specific criteria (such as participating in FATEs).

Players may also manually invite party members at any time.

Free Companies are the new guild system in A Realm Reborn, taking the place of Linkshells that are now simply chat channels for various player purposes. To register a new free company, the player must be level 25, aligned with a Grand Company, have at least four starting members, and 15,000 Gil. However, any player may join an existing free company regardless of level by applying for, or being invited into it. Unlike Linkshells, a player may only belong to one Free Company at a time. Free Companies offer several unique ways to play with an established group of players, including a shared housing system and special bonuses.

Fighting
Using skills on a A Realm Reborn is an easy learning system. The player has four different battle bars to watch: HP, TP, MP, and (in parties) the Limit Gauge.


 * HP stands for Hit Points and determines how close a player is to being K.O. HP is governed by the Vitality attribute.
 * TP stands for Tactical Points and is used for Melee attacks and physical commands like Sprint. Most skills under this category are instant cast and you are able to run and cast with no cast timer (still has a cool down timer though). Players are set at a fixed maximum of 1000 TP, and cannot be increased by any means.
 * MP stands for Magic Points and is used for magical attacks (EX: Fire, Blizzard). Although most of these skills have a casting time, there are some instant spells that can be cast while moving. Spells with a cast time require the player to stand still until the casting is complete. MP is governed by the Piety attribute.

Limit Break
A Realm Reborn implements a limit break system for parties in place of the Battle Regimen system found in Version 1.0. Each party has a limit gauge that increases as actions are taken during battle. When at least one section of the gauge is filled, a limit break may be activated by a party member, emptying the gauge. The effects of the limit break are dependent on the class or job of the character who triggered it, while the strength of those effects is based upon how many sections of the limit gauge were filled when the limit break was triggered. A tank class will increase the defense of the party with his Limit Break, a healer or Archer/Bard will use a healing effect that can raise at level 3, a physical DPS will unleash a powerful attack on one target, and a magic DPS will loose an area blast.

The rate at which the limit gauge is filled changes in response to the conditions of battle. Executing certain skillful maneuvers, such as inflicting the Stun status effect on an enemy, can make the limit gauge rise more quickly. Conversely, the death of a party member will cause the limit gauge to decrease by a certain amount. The limit gauge will also fill more slowly if multiple party members are using the same class or job at one time.

Synthesis
Crafting is initiated through the Crafting Log, provided materials are available in inventory. Players must use abilities to advance the progress and quality of the crafted item. Increasing progress gradually leads to completion of the item, while increasing quality increases the chance of a HQ (high quality) product and increases EXP gained. While performing actions, the materials Durability will gradually decrease; if it reaches zero, crafting fails and materials may be lost.

At each step, the materials may be in one of four states: Normal, Good, Excellent, and Poor. Good and Excellent will provide bonus to quality gained if the relevant skills are used at that step. Poor occurs right after Excellent, and will penalize any quality gains, but does not affect progress or other skills. Some skills can only be used while in Good condition.

Synthesis is governed by three stats:
 * Craftsmanship: Affects how much progress is increased by when using corresponding abilities.
 * Control: Affects how much quality is improved by when using corresponding abilities.
 * CP: Stands for Crafting Points and is used for various skills during synthesis. Players must manage this so it doesn't deplete too quickly, and some abilities can restore CP in certain conditions.

Materia Melding
By completing the appropriate quest, players can also meld Materia on to crafted gear. Melding requires the appropriate materia as well as appropriate grade of carbonized matter, by a crafter of the appropriate class and level. Most crafted equipment will have at least one slot available for melds. Note that special gear awarded from quests, dungeons, raids, or trials cannot be melded.

Overmelding can also be performed by unlocking the "Advanced Melding" ability, which enables extra materia to melded onto gear. This process may fail, costing the materia regardless, making it financially risky.

Players lacking the necessary crafting skill can "Request Meld" from another player, provided they possess the required items. The interface enables a tip in gil to be given for services rendered.

Repairs
While most players can pay certain NPC menders to repair their gear, crafters can use Dark Matter to perform the repairs manually. Starting with Patch 2.28, players can perform repairs regardless of current class as long as the associated Disciple of the Hand class is high enough. Manual repairs will increase current durability by 100% (up to 199%), allowing them to go longer without needing repairs. To perform repairs, the crafting class must be at least ten levels lower than the item's required level.

Desynthesis
Players can also perform Desynthesis on equipment, fish, and other certain items to break them down into components, including rare items not obtained in any other circumstance. This is possible once the associated Discipline of the Hand is at least level 30 (regardless of current class). Desynthesis is handled by its own skill rating (per discipline), which affects the chance of success and is increased by successful desynthesis.

Gathering System
Gathering is performed by reaching the respective node in the field, which brings up a list of items to retrieve, along with the chances of success and the frequency of a high-quality item being obtained. As items are gathered, nodes will lose "health" until it is depleted. Individual nodes will refresh as others are depleted.

Fishing is a more straightforward (but completely random) process, that simply requires casting line at a body of water and waiting for something to bite. Unlike other classes, consumable bait is required to fish.

Gathering is governed by three stats:
 * Gathering: Affects how likely an item can be successfully harvested or fished up.
 * Perception: Increases the chance of obtaining a high-quality item. Without the use of abilities, the chance is capped at 15%.
 * GP: Stands for Gathering Points and enables certain abilities to aid in gathering. Not used by Fishers. Maximum GP is set at 400, but unlike TP, it can be increased with better equipment.

Classes
There are four base disciplines, each divided into several classes. Each class has its own weapon type, and changing classes is as simple as changing weapons; this is known as the Armory System. Classes can be changed at any time, except during a battle. The player can use most skills on any class after learning them, but skills are scaled with the current class level.

Players can use all skills learned by their current class, and set up other classes' skills based on his or her current max level. The maximum number of cross-class skills that can be used is capped at 10 for a level 50 character with no soul crystal equipped.

Jobs
Introduced in patch 1.21 of the original version, classic Final Fantasy jobs appear as types of specializations inside the armory system. Upon reaching Level 30 in a class, players can do a quest unlocking the use of a job obtaining a soul crystal, carved with the deeds of past warriors.

Setting a job on top of one's class limits the use of cross class abilities (can only use half the usual number—max of 5 skills at level 50—and only from specific classes) but allows the use of powerful job-specific abilities and equipment. The main advantage of using a job will be the possibility of specializing on a role (like tanking as a Paladin) for high level party play, while using the regular classes will be advantageous while playing solo or in smaller parties (where things like a White Mage who can heal can prove useful). Jobs change the player's base stats to help fulfill its intended role.


 * Paladin, requires Gladiator level 30 and Conjurer level 15. Can use Gladiator, Marauder and Conjurer abilities.
 * Dragoon, requires Lancer level 30 and Marauder level 15. Can use Lancer, Pugilist and Marauder abilities.
 * Monk, requires Pugilist level 30 and Lancer level 15. Can use Lancer, Pugilist and Marauder abilities.
 * Bard, requires Archer level 30 and Pugilist level 15. Can use Archer, Lancer and Pugilist abilities.
 * Warrior, requires Marauder level 30 and Gladiator level 15. Can use Gladiator, Marauder and Pugilist abilities.
 * White Mage, requires Conjurer level 30 and Arcanist level 15. Can use Arcanist, Thaumaturge and Conjurer abilities.
 * Black Mage, requires Thaumaturge level 30 and Archer level 15. Can use Thaumaturge, Archer and Arcanist abilities.
 * Summoner, requires Arcanist level 30 and Thaumaturge level 15. Can use Archer, Arcanist and Thaumaturge abilities.
 * Scholar, requires Arcanist level 30 and Conjurer level 15. Can use Conjurer, Arcanist and Thaumaturge abilities.
 * Ninja, requires Rogue level 30 and Pugilist level 15. Can use Rogue, Pugilist and Lancer abilities.

The level 30 class quest for the main class (e.g. Gladiator) has to be completed to unlock its respective job quest(s) (e.g. Paladin). It's not mandatory to complete the class quest at level 15 for the required subclass (e.g. Conjurer), simply reaching level 15 will suffice.

World & Lore
Final Fantasy XIV is set in the world of Hydaelyn. Players can explore a realm of Hydaelyn known as Eorzea, though there are many other distant landmasses with numerous civilizations.

In Eorzea, towering mountains dominate the north, their peaks lashed with icy winds, and to the south, a bleak expanse of unforgiving desert holds sway. These inhospitable lands hold lure for man and monster alike: the currents of Aether. Aether is a magical substance that flows through the planet and everything living on it. It can be used in a number of ways, including fueling magic, powering machina, aiding in crafting, and allowing instantaneous teleportation through Aetheryte Crystals. This valuable substance can start wars, as different organizations and races compete for control over it.

Eorzea is said to cycle through prosperous Astral eras and disastrous Umbral eras. Eons ago the land was inhabited by gods and goddesses, which the wandering tribes that settled the land called the Twelve. The gods blessed the tribes that came to the savage land with welfare and prosperity, in what is known as the First Astral Era. The tribes began fighting with each other, and war tore Eorzea apart. The gods and goddesses vanished, starting the First Umbral Era. There have been six such eras of calamity since the First Astral Era ushered in the age of man. Each of the Umbral catastrophes has, in turn, borne the characteristics of one of the six elements.

With the end of the Sixth Umbral Era, all the elements had been represented, and it was believed the Sixth Astral Era would last into eternity. With the end of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0, and the fall of Dalamud, a period known as the Seventh Umbral Era has started. The unleashing of Bahamut has destroyed much of the land, and numerous other dark omens signal great suffering to come. The A Realm Reborn relaunch takes place in this Seventh Umbral Era.

Three major city states exist within Eorzea: the bustling commercial hub of Ul'dah, the forest nation of Gridania, and the marine city-state of Limsa Lominsa. Each state hosts a Grand Company—economic and military organization tasked with defending the land. Adventurers join these organizations to further their goals and ambitions, while simultaneously helping keep the peace over Eorzea. Two other city-states also exist: the reclusive Holy See of Ishgard, which has been continually warring with Dravanian Horde, and Ala Mhigo, which fell to the Garlean Empire twenty years ago.

Eorzea's main enemies consist of the Beast Tribe races and the Garlean Empire. The Beast Tribes are a group of intelligent but monstrous clans, whose ideals and objectives clash with the humanoid races, while the Garlean Empire is a magically weak but technologically advanced, cosmopolitan (though Hyuran-dominated) nation hailing from outside of Eorzea who seeks to conquer the land and its Aether, which powers their various technologies, including Magitek Armor and Airships. In addition, threats from the Void frequently trouble the realm, including mysterious shadowless agents.

Limsa Lominsa
On the southern coast of the island of Vylbrand, under the shadow of ancient cliffs worn by the relentless onslaught of the Rhotano Sea, lies the marine city-state of Limsa Lominsa. Said to be blessed by the goddess of navigation, Llymlaen, the city is spread out over countless tiny islands, each connected by sturdy bridges of iron and wood construction, earning her the name the "Navigator's Veil" from traveling bards who have witnessed the city's beauty from afar.

Limsa Lominsa is a traditional thalassocracy, with power lying in the hands of the ruling party and its leader, the Admiral. Its economy is driven by shipbuilding, fishing, and blacksmithing, but the majority of wealth comes from the lucrative shipping industry.

To maintain the safety of its maritime routes, the city employs a formidable navy known as the Knights of the Barracuda. However, even in the waters nearby the city, pirate bands run rampant, raving and pillaging.

Gridania
In the eastern reaches of the Aldenard landmass, home to vast, dense woodlands and coursing rivers, lies the forest nation of Gridania. The cityscape is a mosaic of labyrinthine waterways and great wooden structures, so gracefully constructed they seem a part of the surrounding environment.

The Gridanian emphasis on natural harmony has led to its preeminence among Eorzea's city-states in trades such as forestry, agriculture, carpentry, and leatherworking. Gridania is home to the Wood Wailers, a militant band of polearm-wielding sentries charged with the protection of their homeland.

The favored goddess of the citizenry is Nophica, the Matron, but great faith is also placed in the wisdom of the Seedseers—young oracles who guide the nation based on the will of the forest's elementals.

Ul'dah
The bustling commercial hub of Ul'dah sits amid the desolate desert landscape of southern Aldenard. The city is organized strategically around the dome-shaped citadel at its center. Its towering fortifications and protective outer walls are visible for malms in all directions, and serve as a stark deterrent to would-be besiegers.

Visitors from every corner of Eorzea come to Ul'dah to partake of the city's famed recreation, most notably the fighting arenas and gambling halls. Ul'dahn culture is known for its affluence, and the nation's wealth comes from its abundant mineral resources and prestigious clothcrafting industry.

Historically, the sultan claims sovereignty over Ul'dah, but true power is wielded by the Syndicate, an elite group of six of the most influential and richest members of society. Nald'thal is the city's patron deity and two great halls devoted to his two aspects are found in the eastern and western sections of the city.

Ishgard
In the central region of Abalathia's Spine, that great mountain range that spans Aldenard from east to west, can be found the forbidding highlands of Coerthas and the Holy See of Ishgard. The archbishop of the church, while leading his people in the teachings of Halone, the Fury, rules also as the nation's sovereign.

Ishgard's formidable army of knights wages constant battle against its mortal enemies, the dragons. Faced with ever more aggressive attacks from its serpentine foes, as well as an unprecedented spell of bitter cold, the theocracy's days are dark indeed. Matters have grown so grave as to prompt the archbishop and his advisors to consider throwing open the heretofore sealed gates of Ishgard and calling for outside aid.

Ala Mhigo
The highlands of Gyr Abania in the eastern reaches of Aldenard were once under the control of a martial nation known as Ala Mhigo. It was, perhaps, the historically conflicted nature of the territory that forged the country into a significant military power.

Even as this aggressive nation sent its forces to conquer in the west, it repelled repeated attempts at invasion from the east. In the Year 1557 of the Sixth Astral Era, however, it finally fell to the incursions of the Garlean Empire. From that time onwards, the country became merely another imperial territory under the governance of its usurpers. Though the people of Ala Mhigo once revered Rhalgr, the Destroyer, as their patron deity, any such religious observance has since been forbidden by the controlling authorities.

Grand Companies of Eorzea
These are the groups being formed by the city-states to combat the coming and current threat of the Garlean Empire, as well as clashes with the beast-tribes.

The Maelstrom of Limsa Lominsa
At the heart of the Thalassocratic Navy lies the Lominsan Armada, composed of nine independent squadrons, the First through the Ninth. The Maelstrom is an extension of the First Squadron, expanding its role as armada flagship and granting it power to administer not only the remaining eight squadrons, but the various merchant fleets that navigate the seas off Vylbrand.

With the reestablishment of the Maelstrom, the Admiral has begun the move to invoke ancient maritime law, by which she would promote herself to Chief Admiral, effectively expanding her authority to cover not only state and military dealings, but grant her the power to directly command all ships in Lominsan waters, and freely punish any who disobey. The city-state's pirates are not about to take this encroachment on their freedom without a fight.

Gridania's The Order of the Twin Adder
The Order of the Twin Adder establishes a medium from which the Seedseers can return from their wanderings deep within the Black Shroud and directly oversee not only the safety of Gridania's citizens, but the workings of the local guard, Both the Gods' Quiver, who defend the forest from external threats, and the Wood Wailers, who protect it from internal strife, have expressed their support of this temporary measure.

There are those within Gridania who would question the ability of the Seedseers, whose duties until now have been limited to various ritualistic proceedings, and doubt whether or not they are fit to lead a nation into war.

The Immortal Flames of Ul'dah
Currently, the bulk of Ul'dah's military strength comes from their standing army of mercenaries and the small contingent of the palace guard known as the Sultansworn. To bring order to their ranks and oversee additional wartime training, the Sultana has considered resurrecting the Immortal Flames-an elite force of battle-hardened veterans that once instilled fear in the city-state's neighboring nations during ages past.

This unit would act as a core aspect of the army bolstering its power, and grant more authority to the Sultana and her advisers—something of which those in control of the city-state's economy—namely the Syndicate—are wary.

Transportation
The player characters move quickly from place to place by using Aetherytes, large shards of crystallized aether fused with ancient machinery. These crystals act as teleporters, for a fee. In 1.0, this was limited by the amount of "Anima" points the player had, but in A Realm Reborn, the fee is in gil instead. One can also set three Aetherytes as "favorites", reducing teleport costs to that Aether by half, and one as "home", reducing teleport costs to that Aether to zero. Teleporting to one's home aetheryte for free is limited to once every fifteen minutes, but the player can return there whether this time has elapsed or not as long as they have been KO'd. Players with a one time password attached to their account can set one Aetheryte to be free of charge for teleporting at any time.

Players can also obtain mounts for swift movement within a zone. This includes a chocobo issued from a Grand Company, as well as other exotic steeds and even Magitek Armor. Ferry and airship services can be obtained at the major cities.

Playable Races
There are five playable races resembling those from Final Fantasy XI. Each is divided into two clans. In the game's initial release, there were three "missing genders"—Female Roegadyn, Male Miqo'te and Female Highlander Hyur—but these became available on the launch of A Realm Reborn. A recent players' poll presented the possibility of mixed races (Miqo'te-Lalafell, Hyur-Elezen), though nothing is confirmed as of yet.

Hyur
The Hyur are a race not originally from Eorzea, having migrated there and brought their technology with them. They are split into two clans, the Highlanders and the Midlanders. They are similar to Humes from Final Fantasy XI.

Lalafell
The Lalafell are a race from the seas south of Eorzea. The race consists of the Plainsfolk and the Dunesfolk. They are similar to the Tarutaru.

Miqo'te
The Miqo'te are a race from Eorzea, and like the Hyur, are not native to the region. Miqo'tes are either Seekers of the Sun or Keepers of the Moon. They are cat-like beings, similar to the Mithra.

Roegadyn
The Roegadyn are a race from the seas north of Eorzea. This maritime race is broken into two tribes: the Sea Wolves and the Hellsguard. They are like the Galka, though they lack tails.

Elezen
The Elezen are the race that has lived in Eorzea the longest and co-exist peacefully with the other races. Elezen can either be Wildwood Elezen or Duskwight Elezen. They are similar to the Elvaan.

Guildleves
The player character must join a guild to receive Guildleves, decorative cards that hold a quest for the character to complete. The quests can include anything from hunting a specific monster to item collection or negotiation with the enemies. The Guildleves can be completed alone or with a party of other players, with everyone reaping the benefits of the quest. The players can multitask on several leves at the same time.

Story

 * This section contains a brief summary of Final Fantasy XIV's lore and story. For a comprehensive explanation of the Final Fantasy XIV storylines, please see List of Final Fantasy XIV Storylines.

Five years before the events of the game, metal-clad warriors invaded Eorzea with flame-spewing weapons and colossal airships. The army came from the Garlean Empire, and it didn't take long before the mightiest of the six city-states, Ala Mhigo, fell under their force. The other city-states united their power to defend themselves, but just as fast as it had arrived, the imperial army was gone. A new era began at Eorzea, known as the Age of Calm, which the city-states spent by building up their defenses and training their armies.

Before, the cities had hired mercenaries for their inner wars, but now they trusted only professional soldiers, leaving the sellswords unemployed and restless. To keep them from causing harm and steer their energy into helping others instead, the city-states founded a network of adventuring guilds.

Music
The original soundtrack of Final Fantasy XIV at launch was composed entirely by Nobuo Uematsu, and was the first full musical score he has composed for a Final Fantasy game in ten years, the last being Final Fantasy IX. Not all songs added on later patches have been composed by Uematsu, being compositions or remixes by Masayoshi Soken, Naoshi Mizuta, Ryo Yamazaki and Tsuyoshi Sekito, with most "banner" pieces being composed by Soken. A Realm Reborn uses many new themes as well, most composed by Soken, who is now the main sound director for the game.

A selection of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0's tracks have been released in two volumes named Final Fantasy XIV / Field Tracks and Final Fantasy XIV / Battle Tracks, with the entire official soundtrack of 1.0 released in Before Meteor: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack, which includes rearrangements of the series' "Main Theme", "Prologue" and the "Victory Fanfare".

The game's vocal theme, "Answers", is sung by American musician Susan Calloway, who is also one of the vocalists to sing Distant Worlds from Final Fantasy XI. She is the vocalist for the Distant Worlds concert CDs and has performed live in many of the concerts.

Development
In the wake of the disastrous launch of Final Fantasy XIV's original version and the backlash the game received from players, critics and investors, Square Enix announced the development of a "2.0" update to the game, titled "A Realm Reborn: Final Fantasy XIV" (or "Shinsei Eorzea"/"Reborn Eorzea" in Japanese) on October 14, 2011. A Realm Reborn would be the culmination of the cycle of updates to the game that began after the staff replacements earlier that year. A Realm Reborn was pitched not as an expansion pack, but an entire reworking of the game, rebuilt from the ground up.

The update requires an all new client, currently available for free download for all purchasers of 1.0. It uses a different graphics engine, based on a branch of Square's Luminous technology and drastically redesigns the game world map for ease of use and play and boasts a different server structure which allows for more rapid player action; the new engine is also better optimized for both lower end PCs and the PlayStation 3. The main storyline is modified to fit in with the new Eorzea, but does hit a number of similar plot beats to the original storyline; the new story is set five years after the fall of Meteor and the end of Legacy.

During E3 2012, new information regarding the release for the PlayStation 3 version and the 2.0 revision of the game, along with new screens and artwork of the content for the update, was released. It included concept art for Typhon, a series recurring enemy, Fenrir with a design similar to that of the one seen in Final Fantasy XI, new screenshots of male Miqo'te as a Paladin and another as a Dragoon, as well as many new weapons and equipment. The first gameplay presentation was shown at Gamescom, and the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event on September 1st featured a keynote with Naoki Yoshida.

On July 5, 2012, Square Enix launched a new teaser site, which was constantly updated with information, including a blog with weekly updates concerning everything from teases to new content to the occasional bit of office shenanigans.

The Alpha Test, conducted during the last several weeks of 2012, was an encouraging success. Many praised the Alpha for having far more content than was needed to conduct server stress tests.

The Beta Test application site was open from early 2013 until late July of that year, and the A Realm Reborn beta commenced on February 25th, 2013, with testing coming to a successful close on August 19th. Legacy members and players with a Final Fantasy XIII Members Registration Code were given priority for selection in Phase 1 of the Beta, but more testers were invited regularly; Phase 4 was an "open beta" in which virtually everyone who applied before the July cut-off was allowed in, and progress made carried forward into the release game.

This resulted in several problematic errors on the North American server cluster that caused some people to get locked out of the game, but these were largely caused by congestion as the beta shattered player-concurrency records, not just for Final Fantasy XIV but for any massively-multiplayer open beta, anywhere. This necessitated the emergency opening of whole new servers, which were quickly filled.

In July 2014 Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV development team was recorded as saying the team has progressed their planning to about four years into the future.

A Realm Awoken (2.1)
The first major patch update for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was released on December 17, 2013. The main concept of this patch is the further awakening of the Primals. "Extreme Mode" versions of Ifrit, Garuda, Titan, and Ultima Weapon trials were added to the game along with one new dungeon: Pharos Sirius. Two previously released dungeons received a hard mode option; the Haukke Manor and the Copperbell Mines. The first 24-man raid was introduced with the Crystal Tower where players get into one of three full party groups.

Company Housing, Duty Roulette, PvP, Treasure Hunt, new main scenario quests, and Beastman sidequests were added to the game. The Aesthetician NPC allowed the players to change their hairstyle and hair color. Lightning and Snow's hairstyles are also available for players who finished the Lightning Strikes quest.

Through The Maelstrom (2.2)
Released on March 27, 2014. The Primal Leviathan debuted as the main boss of the main scenario, with the mysteries of the Allagan civilization further covered. The Lost City of Amdapor was included as a new dungeon, along with Turns 1-4 in the Second Coil of Bahamut (also known as Turn 6-9 by players) dungeon and hard mode versions of Brayflox's Longstop and Halatali. The patch also included new beastmen daily quests focusing on the Sahagin and Kobold tribes. An extreme mode version of Good King Moggle Mog was added, along with the 2nd episode of the Inspector Hildibrand sidequest and the addition of a vanity slot system called Glamor.

Defenders of Eorzea (2.3)
This update was released on July 8, 2014. Ramuh was introduced as the newest Primal trial in the Main Scenario quests. The 3rd episode of Inspector Hildibrand and the second part of the Crystal Tower debuted. Desynthesis and the Hunt were be implemented as new game systems.

A massive PvP mode called "Frontline" was added that involves three teams fighting against each other, with up to 24 players. Three new dungeons were added: the all-new "Hullbreaker Isle", as well as Hard Mode versions of Tam-Tara Deepcroft and Stone Vigil.

Dreams of Ice (2.4)
The Primal Shiva debuted as the main boss of the main scenario quests. Three new dungeons were added, including the Snowcloak, as well as Hard Mode versions of Sastasha and the Sunken Temple of Qarn. In addition, the new Rogue class and its upgrade Ninja were introduced in 2.4. The Final Coil of Bahamut was added and serves as the conclusion for the story of the Binding Coil of Bahamut. The fourth episode of the Inspector Hildibrand sidequests was added in the patch. The Allagan Tomestones of Poetics were also implemented into the game for equipment exchange. Allagan Tomestones of Philosophy were removed from the game and players are no longer able to obtain Allagan Tomestones of Mythology or purchase items with them.

Before the Fall (2.5)
Unlike other patches, Before the Fall will be in two parts. Part 1 will include three new dungeons, including the Keeper of the Lake, as well as Hard Mode versions of the Amdapor Keep and the Wanderer's Palace. The patch will also debut the final chapter of the Crystal Tower story arc, and possibly the conclusion of the Hildibrand story. In addition, the Gold Saucer is planned to finally open for players to compete in minigames in Patch 2.51, along with the next stage of the Zodiac Weapons.

Part 2 has less known, but will feature the second half of the Main Scenario quests for 2.5, along with an event known as the Battle of Ishgard, likely to be the transition to Heavensward (3.0).

Heavensward (3.0)
The first expansion pack of the game was announced by Square Enix on October 18, 2014. It is set to release in Spring 2015.

Naoki Yoshida revealed that the first expansion of the game will let the players fly, and one of the themes will revolve around a "great conflict that spans across millennia."

Release
A Realm Reborn launched as scheduled on August 27, 2013, on both the PC and with the long-awaited PlayStation 3 version. Players who pre-ordered A Realm Reborn got "early access" on August 24.

The Steam version was released on February 17, 2014. Both Standard and Digital Collector's Editions are available.

The PlayStation 4 version was released on April 14. 2014. Players of the PS3 version were able to upgrade to the PS4 version for free.

The limited edition of the PlayStation 4 bundled with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was available in Sony Japan stores, limited to only 1,400 units. The package included a 500 GB PlayStation 4 console with a laser etched hard drive bay cover and a copy of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn on disc.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Game of the Year Edition will be available from November 14, 2014. It will only be available for PC and comes bundled in a printed Book of Diamonds Grimoire box, along with five art cards and 90 days worth of subscription to the game.

Third Party Services
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will be published in China with full Chinese translations by Shanda Games. Korean server will also be published by Actoz Soft with full Korean translations.

Reception and Sales
Early previews and reception of A Realm Reborn were more positive than reception of Version 1.0 was, with many previews extolling the virtues of the revised game   , and with major news site Destructoid awarding A Realm Reborn a "Best MMO of E3 2013" award.

Among the fan community, A Realm Reborn received some criticism for the difficulties connecting to the game during "prime time" hours in the game's first week or so of service. This was due to unprecedented interest and sales which exceeded Square Enix's projections and led to every server being at capacity before even the end of early access; even the beta was breaking concurrency records, and the game's release saw concurrency go even higher with still greater sales, necessitating significant expansion of the data centers for both major regions.

Reviews have been substantially more positive than ones of the original version with the release currently holding an 83/100 on Metacritic for the PC version, a 78/100 for the PS3 version, and an 86/100 for the PS4. USGamer gave the game a perfect score, saying: "Square Enix has pulled off the seemingly impossible: rescuing a disastrous flop of an online game without going free-to-play, and creating an incredibly addictive, satisfying experience for both MMO and Final Fantasy veterans in the process. A Realm Reborn is a triumph for Naoki Yoshida and his team." Even sites previously harshly critical of the original, such as IGN, rated the game highly, saying: "Grounded in tradition and learning from the lessons of the games that preceded it, it thrives on the strength of its excitingly varied and flexible class system and highly mobile combat.[...]But considering the stunning reversal of fortune that Square has achieved here, it seems like anything is possible."

The game went on to sell a million and a half copies in its first month of renewed operation, and in its first month where a paid subscription was required, immediately surpassed the concurrent subscriber record of Final Fantasy XI, with over 600,000 subscribers. The game's success was, in part, responsible for a reversal of Square Enix's fortunes from making a loss to making a profit in the quarter in which it was released.

According to Square Enix's announcement, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn reached 2 million registered users in April 2014.

Trivia

 * All party members from the 2.0 concept screenshot are characters from previous Final Fantasy games and Vagrant Story; their free company names and titles are also references to their own games.
 * Square Enix has a Final Fantasy XIV themed cafe in Tokyo named Eorzea Cafe.

Gameplay
The game is set in a world with one giant land mass, meaning players can cross the entire world. The player party's car can be either driven manually or put on autopilot, although walking is also possible. Trains will also be available and players will be able to explore them freely when riding them. Monsters wander throughout the field and sometimes hostile ones will suddenly appear to ambush the player. The battles are real time action with the player controlling one person, Noctis, the other party members being controlled by the AI with the player able to issue them commands. The system has been described as streamlined rather than full of button-smashing, and readily accessible in that with obtaining good weapons and leveling up players will be able to clear the main scenarios, but further challenges are implied to lie waiting in the optional content requiring more player skill.

Summons will be called Eidolons and are based on a ranking system with their size influencing their rank. For example, Leviathan is one of the top-ranked summons, as shown by its massive size. Titan is an Eidolon the party can obtain that will play a role in the story. Eidolons are a symbol of the power of stars and only Noctis can summon them. Some Eidolons must be defeated in battle to obtain them as summons.

The game will support the new-generation consoles' features, such as sharing, but the remote play function on PlayStation 4 is yet to be decided. With the remote play, the players can play their PlayStation 4 games on PSVita anywhere as long as their internet connection is fast enough. The feature won't be in the demo, but it might be added to the retail game.

Battle System
The battle system is called Active Cross Battle (AXB). Battles will be seamless with no load times, taking place in real-time environments using all regions of the field from up-high buildings to down-low streets. Battles can take place in areas with great differences in height, and players will have to fight using the full environment. This means fighting what's both in front of the player and above and below (vertical battles). Players can climb onto large enemies to reach their weak points, and to take down specific parts. Battles against huge enemies are carried out in the same fashion as standard battles, but will enable exclusive party co-op actions. Players can jump during battles. Smaller enemies are easier to aggravate, but the bigger ones have "aggro radius", meaning one can approach them within reason without them immediately attacking. Even within the same monster species, the creatures come in different physical sizes, and can have different move sets. What monsters spawn depends on the time of day. Monsters fought at night are tougher, and the battle music is different in the dark as well.

A red encounter gauge appears on the screen when enemies are close. It also has an audio cue. When the red encounter gauge fills, battle starts, but the player can run before it does. The combat system will utilize three buttons: an attack button, a defense button, and an interactive button for abilities and interactions between different party members. Using abilities expends MP. Abilities are tied to equipped weapons. Defending also uses MP, so keeping track of MP use is important. The longer the battle draws, the more chances there are that other enemies will join the fray, and the more damage the party deals to some enemies, the more their bodies fall apart.

Players can continuously dodge while holding down the block button, and auto-attack by holding down the attack button, or perform combos by tapping the attack button. Both styles have their pros and cons, e.g. timing the button presses allows the party to insert parries and co-op moves. Holding a button to continuously guard or evade drains the user's MP, and thus the player won't be able to do that indefinitely, and not all attacks can be evaded.

Players can move around while defending. Holding the attack button invokes the standard combo and the player can change the actions by using it in coordination with the directional buttons. The actions depend on the circumstances—such as when guarding, there might be a chance to counterattack, or whether other party members are close by; it is said this combat feature will be easy to pull off as long as Noctis has allies nearby. If the enemy flashes the following attack is going to be an extra strong one. This is a chance to counter or defend. After parrying, "partner attacks" can kick in automatically. The counter feature lets the player turn some enemy attacks back on their originators if timed correctly. Each counter is unique depending on the foe and the type of reversal. For some enemies the nature of the counterattack is decided by which ally is nearby.

As the party grows closer, new partner moves are unlocked while they talking at camp. The player can switch position quickly with another character for strategic gameplay and there is also a cover system where players can take cover to avoid attacks and recover before returning to the battle. The player can take cover behind large objects, or by teleporting Noctis somewhere so high up enemies cannot reach him.

When a party member falls to 0 HP they fall into a "critical" status and are unable to attack or use abilities. If the critical gauge depletes the party member will die, but during the critical phase the player can seek shelter and heal and then return to the battle. If all party members fall to 0 HP, the party can only run away to recover. When the "critical" status finishes, the party becomes KO'ed, and the game is over if Noctis dies. If a party member's HP is 0 and they are attacked, the damage is taken directly from the max HP value, which can kill them if they don't recover or escape soon. The party's HP and MP regenerate when behind cover, and MP also regenerates by attacking enemies. If the "max HP" has been damaged then the player may need to camp to heal it.

According to Tabata, the combat isn't about pressing a button once for a single action to happen, but a continuous flow of movements associated with the buttons, and building upon them for actions through the combat system. The gameplay is less about focusing on menus and more about navigating 3D spaces with predetermined moves, similar to the Gambit system of Final Fantasy XII. There are no menu commands in combat. The game controls like an action game where players switch between offense and defense. The player can give orders to other party members and swap weapons on the fly.

All team members will have different approaches and specialties in battle unique to them. There will be situations where the party will perform co-op attacks, such as Noctis fighting an Iron Giant and teaming up with Prompto and Gladiolus to take it down. Party members will automatically react to situations differently according to the circumstances, but certain abilities, equipment and weapons may encourage the characters to cooperate more likely when the circumstances are right. The co-op moves can be pulled off continuously and although invoking them is automatic the player must aim their mark. For example, to connect a co-op move while avoiding an enemy attack, the player must keep an eye out for an indication when to invoke it.

Noctis has a number of different weapons with different methods of attack, and some will be usable as shields to go along with Noctis's crystal power. Weapons will have some sort of customization element. Weapons are set in a deck to up to five weapons and during battle it will choose the most appropriate weapon based on the situation. The player can set the weapons before battle considering what actions can be used with each weapon. The player can determine one weapon to be the main weapon, and that weapon will come with techniques that can be invoked at the player's discretion in battle. The player can also change weapons mid-battle in the menu, e.g. if they want a different skill.

Besides the basic attack button, the player can invoke techniques with the technique button. Combos are automatically formulated based on which weapon is currently being utilized out of the ones equipped. Abilities locked to weapon categories exist, as do weapons with no abilities. Rare weapons acquired from dungeons will have unique properties, some examples being those with hack-and-slash aspects. The player is able to allocate different weapons to different positions in a combo chain to suit their play style, enabling one to prioritize speed, damage or range based on the player's preferences and the current foes.

"Armiger" is Noctis's "Limit Break". During Armiger all abilities cost 0 MP and Noctis's damage output is increased, but it drains MP until it reaches 0, and Armiger ends. When Noctis unleashes his power, swords will fly around the area severing off the damage Noctis takes. In that state his Attack rises greatly and, on top of automatically guarding enemy attacks, he can move at high speed. There will a powered-up state even beyond that. The phantom swords used during Armiger are different from the normal weapons.

Noctis can warp around the field and throw his sword and warp to that location. The player can only teleport to certain locations and depending on the circumstances, there is a glowing icon denoting a warp spot. Noctis can teleport to certain places in the environment, and also to all enemies. Warping, along with special moves and dodging, requires units of MP to perform, but the Warp command will be exclusive to Noctis.

A "Link Form" command has also been seen in use during the E3 2013 material, which allowed Noctis to grapple with a soldier and slam the enemy into the side of a car, and climb up a Behemoth's horns to reach a more favorable position. This suggests Link Form could be an invaluable function for interacting with enemies and vehicles alike.

Magic will be available and spells will have unique effects and manifestations among each team member. Magic doesn't use MP. Weather will have a tactical impact on battle conditions, with different types of magic having varying effects depending on weather patterns. Using fire spells on a clear day, for example, will not only hurt monsters, but also ignites the surrounding area, and monsters afraid of fire will be sent fleeing, but it can hurt party members as well. As such, using magic can be a liability, too.

Game World
The world of Final Fantasy XV is similar to the real world with modern technology, such as cars and highways, but also contains countries with medieval elements, such as castles and armored soldiers. According to the developers the game's locations are based on real world places. So far, the following replicas have been seen or confirmed by the developers: Piazza San Marco and Basilica (from Venice, Italy), Manchester (England), a U.S. gas station and Shinjuku (an area of Tokyo, Japan), and the Bahamas.

The game is seamless open world with vast fields able to be explored as far as the eye can reach, although currently Square Enix can't guarantee the entire game will be entirely seamless as important scenes will likely require some loading. The player will be able to drive the party's car, Regalia. In early information on the game it was said the party would be able to fly airships like in older Final Fantasy titles, but in January 2015 director Hajime Tabata said the airship issue was "still to be determined". The development team is aware airship travel is something everyone is looking forward to, but recognizes it a huge technical challenge. The player will be able to rent chocobos.

Depending on the terrain, characters' walking and running animations will change and running long distances sees party members tire and catch their breath. Some developers even climbed a mountain to make the mountain portions of the game more realistic. At lakes or rivers the party will be able to fish, and in the woods the party can find sheds where NPCs live. Objects and terrain are said to be destructible.

Sometimes the player can find hints in the environment on where to find bosses, such as big foot steps. Party members will also point things out, and say they want to go to certain places to let the player discover optional stuff organically. The player can set can set their destination marker, making it easier to navigate. Items found on the field appear as blue shiny things and some items can be traded for cash. Even if the player is free to explore far and wide and possibly stumble upon optional content, such as dungeons, the objectives are laid out clearly so players won't get lost in the vastness of available area. The player can earn gil by taking quests.

The day and night cycles and cloud formations are done by physical calculations, the lighting and the shadows changing as the day goes on. At night towns will be lit up, with people turning the lights on in their homes. It was decided to be made this way to have a smooth change between the cycles and to have a more dynamic lighting system, reflecting the mood of a certain region/place. One in-game day lasts a real-life hour with 40 to 45 minutes being daytime, and the rest being night time. This bit is currently in development, and is subject to change. There will be events where the party must fight for days at a time.

Camping out is important. Camps are safe havens, making them ideal headquarters when setting out to explore new areas. Camps can be set up at any time of the day, but can only be set up on "safe" areas. Using a camp to rest progresses the time to the next day and when a day is over, accrued experience will be calculated to give players an idea of how much they've accomplished over that stretch of time. If the party forgoes sleeping the stat boosts obtained from food will lose effect.

Players can eat meals at camp for status buffs and obtain ingredients to cook at camp from monsters and shops. The party's "Cooking Level" determines what dishes they can cook, and the player can pick what meal to make. Different meals boost different stats. The "Victory Fanfare" plays when the party levels up as the stat boosts kick in and the dawn arrives.

By properly sleeping, the party will maintain the buffs obtained this way, such as bonus multipliers applied to EXP gain. The party needs to take a break to level up as experience points earned in battle are converted towards level progression whenever the party sleeps. Not sleeping makes it possible to to attempt low-level challenge runs. If the player is knocked out in battle, they lose the accrued EXP. The party can go three days without sleep, but any longer than that will lose the status buffs. Camps also function as fast travel, as the player can return to the last camp they rested at.

Monsters in dungeons will wander above ground during night, adding extra impetus to camp. The party can camp out in the open, or stay at a hotel while in town. There are gas stations alongside the roads where the party can also stop by to rest, eat and compile information.

Playable Characters

 * Noctis Lucis Caelum - The main protagonist. A childhood affliction endowed Noctis, heir apparent to the throne of Lucis, with the mystical power to see a heavenly light, through which he can sense others' deaths. Noctis rejects rigid royal conventions and acts as somewhat of a renegade, much to the dismay of those who tend to him. Yet while "Noct" may act brash at times, he does so in defense of those loyal to him.

Supporting Characters

 * Ignis Stupeo Scientia - Ever the unwavering voice of reason, Ignis was weaned on shrewd logic and a classical education from boyhood so that he might one day counsel the would-be king, Noctis. He applies the deep mutual understanding and trust they have built over time to help smooth over Noctis's brusqueness with others.
 * Gladiolus Amicitia - As lord of the noble House Amicitia, Gladiolus continues a line sworn to protect the crown. "Gladio" shares a friendship with Noctis that transcends birth and title, and his loyalty to his liege is born not of duty, but of brotherhood.
 * Prompto Argentum - The puckish playboy Prompto befriended Noctis in his school days. He wears a chip on his shoulder as an outsider to the royal circle, but remains eager to do all he can for the cause.

Guests

 * Cor Leonis - A living legend of Lucian lore, Lord Commander Cor Leonis's devotion to the art of war is surpassed only by that to his king. Little love is lost between the ill-starred stalwart and Noctis's retinue, yet honor binds him to keep watch over the group all the same.

Setting
Noctis Lucis Caelum—the latest in a lineage of kings, and the heir apparent to the throne—hails from the kingdom of Lucis, a country holding the world's last crystal, which is beneficial to his country's military, political, and economic standing. Because of increasingly apparent industrialization in contrast to neighboring nations, Lucis has isolated itself from the rest of the world.

At one time, all countries possessed a crystal, but many lost them due to fighting over them. They thus pooled their resources into weapons and warfare, granting them firearms along with swords and magic, becoming modern and advanced in only their military power, and in consequence, left regressive in their cultural and societal aspects, severely affecting their standards and quality of life. A cold war has gone on between Lucis and the rest of the world about the use and possession of the last crystal, but recently, a peace treaty was negotiated, ending the standoff.

There exists a myth in the kingdom of Tenebrae about a goddess of death, the Goddess Etro, who is said to greet the souls of the deceased, and open the door to the afterlife. When the door opens the released souls burst out in a streak of light that ascends to heaven. Few people are able to see the light, and those who can are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. Both Noctis and Stella have gained this power.

Story
On the night of the signing of a peace treaty between the kingdoms of Lucis and Niflheim, which the royal family of Tenebrae also attends, Niflheim's ruler, Idola Aldercapt, uses the treaty as an excuse to bring down Insomnia's magic barrier so his army can seize control of the city's crystal. Niflheim's forces lay waste to the crown city, apparently killing King Regis Caelum. King Regis's son, Noctis Lucis Caelum, is pronounced dead, along with a young woman named Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. After Niflheim's attack, Lunafreya wanders the streets of Insomnia and eventually makes her way to Altissia.

The report that Noctis has been killed is false. When the prince realizes that Idola Aldercapt and the rest of Niflheim want him dead, Noctis and his vassals—his royal advisor, Ignis; his bodyguard, Gladiolus; and his childhood friend, Prompto—flee across the country. Their car is wrecked by Prompto when he and his friends reach the Duscae region. Noctis and the others take the car to Cindy for repairs and end up needing to take on local bounties to raise the funds for their bill. When the car is fixed, Noctis and his friends begin a road trip towards Altissia to rendezvous with Lunafreya.

Music
The music is composed by Yoko Shimomura, who was also responsible for the soundtracks of the Kingdom Hearts series, Super Mario RPG, and the first Parasite Eve. She was also one of the composers for the critically-acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles.

The game's theme song, performed by Aundréa L. Hopkins, is titled "Somnus - Sleeping" (「somnus - 眠り -」), refers to the. The god is often depicted as a young man sleeping, which matches the game's logo art.

"Omnis Lacrima" is the second released track from the game. On May 26th, 2014 it was released as a bonus track from Yoko Shimomura's compilation album, memoria: The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura. "Omnis Lacrima" is Latin for "every tear." Before its release, it was used as the music in three trailers for the game: the 2008 DKS3713 trailer, the 2011 Square Enix 1st Production Department Premier trailer, and the E3 2013 gameplay trailer.

A new track that was used in the Tokyo Game Show 2014 trailer was the collaboration between composer Yoko Shimomura and Video Game Orchestra, a well-known orchestra that had collaborated with composer Masashi Hamauzu for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

2006-2009
Unveiled at E3 2006, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was said to be "not merely a sequel, but a wholly independent story unfolding in a different world with different characters." The game was going to be developed by the team responsible for the hit Kingdom Hearts series. Tetsuya Nomura would be the director and character designer, but not costume designer, as Square Enix signed a contract with Japanese fashion brand Roen to promote their clothing designs in the game through different characters, and thus Roen Creative Director Himuro Takahara serves as the game's costume designer.

In E3 2013 it was revealed Square Enix was thinking Final Fantasy Versus XIII could be made into Final Fantasy XV much earlier in the game's production than what was revealed to the public. Within the company, about one to two years after Versus XIII was announced, discussions were had on its scale and concept and the talks went on for several years.

2009
After nearly a year of silence, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was briefly shown at Tokyo Game Show 2009 in a private theater showcasing the game's first gameplay footage, though Nomura commented it was merely a demo and most footage would not be used in the final game. He said the clip was made to prove the game was still in development.

At Jump Festa 2010 Noctis's new outfit was put on display. It had a more modern look with a jacket and pants, as opposed to his old outfit from past trailers.

2010
During an interview with Famitsu, Nomura stated he was unsure whether Versus would be shown at E3 2010. When E3 took place, the game was not shown.

On May 18, when asked by a Square Enix investor at a shareholders' meeting about a possible Xbox 360 port, president Yoichi Wada stated "We'll be looking into it internally until right before the formal announcement." After some backlash, he later clarified his original statement by saying on Twitter "It looks like the [inter]net is heating up. Versus on Xbox? What I said at the earnings press conference was just that until a formal announcement is made at the announcement time; all points about all titles are not finalized."

On June 23, new in-game screenshots and details about Final Fantasy Versus XIII were revealed, and it was confirmed the game would appear at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.

On June 29, an issue of Dengeki PlayStation stated Nomura and the fashion company Roen had completed all character designs and the scenario was finished as well.

On August 9, Nomura announced via Twitter that voice casting for Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII had begun along with other bits of news.

On August 25, Yoshinori Kitase announced, during an interview with GamingUnion.net, that Final Fantasy Versus XIII "may not be released until after 2011".

During the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix confirmed they planned to present Final Fantasy Versus XIII in their January 2011 conference, which was part of their Fabula Nova Crystallis conference.

On September 17, the 30-second trailer for the game had been leaked onto the Internet along with that for Final Fantasy Type-0. The footage contained Noctis in his new outfit briefly running through the areas shown in previously released screenshots. The trailer ended with Noctis fighting a Behemoth and there were instances of blood shown whenever Noctis slashed at it. On October 8, the combined Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer from Tokyo Game Show was officially released on the Internet through the Japanese Square Enix Members website.

2011
On January 18, 2011, Square Enix held the 1st Production Department Premier. It was originally named the Fabula Nova Crystallis Conference and the original date was set on January 11. The event included new trailers and the announcement of official release dates. Fans got to hear Noctis speak for the first time, along with the other characters. Besides Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the event featured new video content of Final Fantasy Type-0, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix, and other titles. Square Enix hinted at several new titles to be revealed at this event, such as Final Fantasy XIII-2.

On July 2011, in an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, it was revealed that Final Fantasy Versus XIII hadn't yet entered full production. He went on to say the date for the next showing of the game had been set.

In early August for the 500th issue of Dengeki PlayStation magazine, Nomura stated Final Fantasy Versus XIII would not be shown at Tokyo Game Show 2011 in September.

On August 31, 2011, a renewal for the trademark of Final Fantasy Versus XIII was filed by Square Enix.

On September 10, 2011 during the Final Fantasy XIII-2 fan meeting, producer Yoshinori Kitase was questioned about the development of Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. His answer was: "for Type-0 and Versus XIII we are giving 100% to development."

In 2011, developers began to hear about next-generation consoles, and the team decided to make Final Fantasy Versus XIII into Final Fantasy XV, but this was not public knowledge yet. While the game was rebranded, the ideas of having a different story from previous Final Fantasy games and an action-based battle system did not change. Nomura had to confirm this during talks of the game being rebranded as the next numbered Final Fantasy, but after being told it wouldn't be a problem, the project went ahead.

2012
On the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Nomura announced the game will be a mix between real-time cutscenes and pre-rendered cutscenes with a ratio of 7:3 (70% real-time and 30% pre-rendered). He stated the next time the game will be shown there would be a demonstration using real time footage. Nomura said working on Final Fantasy Versus XIII takes priority, in response to fans' requests for a Final Fantasy VII remake.

On July 24th, 2012, the then Square Enix president Yoichi Wada posted a tweet dismissing rumors that arose about the game being cancelled after a long period of media silence, also hinting its progress would surprise its fans, particularly in the game's city environments.

On September 1st, 2012, in the event of Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary, Tetsuya Nomura did a sketch of Noctis for the event. "Congratulations on the 25th anniversary. Please wait for his turn to appear".

On October 10th, 2012, Nomura said that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still in development and asked fans to wait for more detailed news regarding the game.

In 2012 it was decided development would shift to next-generation consoles, and the name was officially changed into Final Fantasy XV within the company, although the public revelation of the re-branding would wait until E3 2013. In July 2012, around the time of the cancellation rumors, Wada ordered the Final Fantasy Type-0 team to join the Final Fantasy XV development with a mission to create a prototype for the next-gen consoles.

In December 2012 Hajime Tabata became co-director to finish the project, which would eventually have him transition as the new director. At the time Tabata joined there was a lot of discussion and hard looking at the project, what the team had planned and what they had made, and a lot of time was spent thinking about how to change the team structure. The game's development was re-examined between the gameplay team, the CG team, and the game engine team and Tabata decided to merge them.

Tabata has said that with the change of name and platform and thus the game engine and him taking the reins it would no longer be "the exact same game" as some things had to re-evaluated to fit the change of circumstances. But he assured the game did not lose its core and he had sat down with Tetsuya Nomura about the direction of the title to ensure that characters, like Noctis, would be maintained in the best possible way.

2013
On February 21st, 2013, GameSpot reported that Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said about Final Fantasy Versus XIII that "I have some knowledge, but I'm not in a position to talk about it".

On March 19th, 2013, VG Leaks reported that not only has production been halted because of the failure and subsequent rebuilding of Final Fantasy XIV, but that it has been moved to the PlayStation 4 and was being co-developed by Sony as a PlayStation 4 exclusive, and was reworked into Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix refused to comment on the rumor.

On April 17th, 2013, during the inaugural episode of Square Enix Merchandise Radio, Tetsuya Nomura spoke briefly about the game: "It's a delicate situation within the company. The date for our next reveal is set and we are working toward preparing information for that. Perhaps the details as to why information couldn't be released might be touched upon with the next information announcement".

During this time Nomura briefly envisioned making Final Fantasy XV into a musical after watching the 2012 film version of Les Miserables. He charged into the Square offices the next morning intent on transforming Final Fantasy XV but Square Enix convinced him to continue on the game's current trajectory.

During Sony's press conference at E3 on June 10, 2013, a prerecorded video of Tetsuya Nomura was played. In the video, Nomura acknowledged that not much information on the project had been released as of late, and that while he couldn't immediately share new details himself, new information on the game would be revealed in the coming days. Following the message, a new trailer for the game was shown, with the end of the trailer announcing the game has been renamed Final Fantasy XV, with development moved to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Square Enix's Final Fantasy brand director Shinji Hashimoto wouldn't comment on how close to completion Final Fantasy XV was. The game shown at E3 was running on a prototype environment (Ebony), rather than the actual environment (Luminous Engine). , and the footage shown was the "prototype" company president Yoichi Wada had tasked Hajime Tabata's team with.

2014
In February Yoshinori Kitase commented that the game was "quite far in development" and that the game was given a high priority within Square Enix. Final Fantasy XV was not shown at E3 2014, but producer Shinji Hashimoto promised new information would be revealed some time after the event.

In August co-director Hajime Tabata assured development on Final Fantasy XV was Square's top priority, unhindered by the announcement of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD during the E3. When new release info on Final Fantasy Type-0 HD arose during Tokyo Game Show, it was revealed every copy would include a voucher for a playable Final Fantasy XV demo. A new trailer was released on September 17th, showcasing the setting, the party and their car, battles, and a new character, Luna, and unlike the E3 2013 showing, the game was running on Luminous Engine. During Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix announced Hajime Tabata had taken over directing the game with Nomura focusing on Kingdom Hearts III. Nomura later told Famitsu it had been Square Enix's decision to remove him from the Final Fantasy XV project.

Final Fantasy XV returning to media focus was met with enthusiasm and Tabata showcased a gameplay demonstration showing different weather effects and elaborating on the game's battle system and day and night cycles. In his numerous interviews Hajime Tabata mentioned the game was 50-60% done, with the team working on it from the beginning to the end, meaning the beginning portions were more complete than others. He said the release date was still a way off, and lamented on the "Versus era" when the team was not able to reveal any information on release timing because the project had to overcome many problems. In around 2012 when Tabata officially joined the project the team did a major directional change in deciding to abandon the previous generation, and Tabata hoped people would "reset their timers" from when he joined the team, restarting the count from there. He also mentioned the fundamental parts of the game's systems are implemented, and did not expect there to be too long a wait after the demo is out. The development team was revealed to be around 200 to 300 of staff as Tabata doesn't want a 1000-plus team like for big western releases, as he'd rather have a team with people who can make the most of their individual potential.

On 2nd October Square Enix broadcast a livestream showing the game being played, and Tabata elaborated on its progress and gameplay details. He said the team was in the process of migrating functions from the prototype environment into the actual game environment (Luminous), but it would take time to complete. Despite this, Tabata had wanted to show footage in the actual environment and thus something unfinished was shown, with Tabata stressing it was primitive to what the final game would be like. Based on fan reactions to the Tokyo Game Show footage, the goal was to shed light on the concerns that had arisen with Tabata receiving daily reports from development staff about what people had been discussing on the Internet. Tabata said he'd like to release development information again in another live broadcast on November 1st, and include information from others in the development team than just himself. Tabata confirmed Final Fantasy XV had entered the phase where the team was mass producing resource material, and after that it would be a fight against the amount of resource material and time. It was said Square Enix hiring to help make the game. On a lighter note, Tabata mentioned he found the image macros fans had been compiling of Noctis and the party in the car looking out with different backgrounds photoshopped in hilarious, and provided official assets for people to use as a template.

On 1st November lead programmer Takeshi Aramaki and movie director Takeshi Nozue livestreamed from Paris Games Week with new footage on the party traversing the map with enemies and events removed, and a tech demo showing off different environmental effects. The game's transfer from its previous Ebony Engine to its current Luminous Engine was said to be 80% complete with Aramaki noting the engine has surpassed even Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Next livestream was scheduled for Jump Festa in December.

A part of the reason the team scheduled so many press meetings and gave up so much new information on a half-finished game was because the team was well aware there were many fans who had been following the game since beginning eager for news, and the more open atmosphere with giving new information was set up as a way of "apology" and to quell fans' worries on the game's development.

On 20th December Final Fantasy XV featured prominently at the Jump Festa 2015 convention with a new trailer and new information on summons and the world. The trailer was made by the Square Enix marketing department rather than by the development staff, and thus the omission of some of the material the staff had requested to be in the trailer caused unhappiness among the team, but some of the cut footage was shown separately.

2015
At Taipei Game Show at the beginning of February Hajime Tabata announced Taiwanese publisher and developer XPEC Entertainment as one of many outside firms pitching in to help develop Final Fantasy XV. An extended version of the snowy train scene from the Jump Festa trailer was shown, as well as a newly revealed area still in-development: a big city train station. The footage was given in a "cat cam" format, following the eye-view of a cat, XPEC's take on Square Enix's "dog cam" shown at Jump Festa when exploring Lestallum.

On 20th February director, Hajime Tabata streamed himself playing the Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae demo over YouTube and introduced the battle system. At the Q&A session after playing the demo Tabata said the game was around 60% complete. On the 26th of February Tabata held another Active Time report, this time from London. During it English gameplay was shown for the first time and videos depicting the wild life encountered in Final Fantasy XV and the party entering a cave were released. On the same SMU's Guildhall campus hosted a Yusuke Naora lecture on his career at Square Enix. During it Naora shared concept art of old and new games alike, along with some never-before-seen art from Final Fantasy XV.

Many players had reacted negatively to the combat slowdown seen in the live gameplay footage of the battle system that was streamed via YouTube, known as hitstun or hitstop. The inclusion of this feature was meant to convey a sense of weight and forcefulness to each attack. Hajime Tabata admitted in London that the effect was probably exaggerated at the time, and confirmed the team had already adjusted it and were working out the right balance.

In early March Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae was playable at PAX East in Boston, where two of the game's lead game designers, Wan Hazmer (head of the Culture team working on the civilizations and towns), and Prasert Prasertvithyakarn (leads the Buddy team focused on the interactions with the player's AI comrades) also talked about developing Final Fantasy XV. Final Fantasy Type-0 HD was released in North America on March 17th, to be followed by other regions couple days later. The first print includes a download code for Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae demo.

Development to different gaming platforms
At E3 2013 it was said that until a year before, the developers were making the game for then current-generation consoles as well, but this was abandoned when it became clear next-generation consoles would have superior quality. Tetsuya Nomura commented that the way of developing games in general has changed and that before, when going multi-platform, a game would be fit to one console's specifications and would be evened out to other consoles, but Nomura said he didn't want to make a game that compromises quality. Using a different development method, Nomura chose not to look at consumer consoles to meet their specifications.

The shift in platform had several reasons. The lifespan of the current generation of consoles was starting to pose a problem, as if Square Enix was a year late entering the next generation, other companies would have had more time to research developing for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and releasing the game against their products on the older generation could have caused Square to look inferior. Nomura also thought they had hit the wall with the power offered by PlayStation 3 due to limitations of having a seamless world and simultaneously having all required actions always available in the memory; world map sized maps that can have elements change and be destroyed during battles, the myriad of weapons, party members' individual actions, magic spells, monsters on a large map, light sourcing, physics, filters and other graphical elements; and that to fully realize his vision they would need to shift the project to the next generation of consoles.

Square Enix is developing Final Fantasy XV on DirectX 11, which is not based on either the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One, letting the team develop full-spec without worrying about individual platforms, then port it to each console in the most appropriate way. The original Final Fantasy XV runs on a high-spec PC, and how close a console gets to the original depends on its specs. Nomura has explained the idea is to keep the options open in case a console comes out in the future that can recreate the original. It is the opposite approach from Square Enix's previous 'multiplatform' projects, which were based on the specs of a single console and then ported to other platforms. Nomura even mentioned the possibility of bringing Final Fantasy XV out on high-end PCs if there was ever enough demand.

Hajime Tabata works both as director of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and director for Final Fantasy XV. The decision to release the former for PlayStation 4 and XBox One was in part because Square wants to push the install-base for the consoles to ensure the success of Final Fantasy XV in turn, in Japan as well as overseas.

Gameplay
The game takes place in a seamless open world. Though the player is free to explore, the game was designed around clear objectives so players would not wander into the world haphazardly. The game is balanced to ideally satisfy fans who like traditional Final Fantasy storytelling for a feel of following an epic story.

When making the transition from a Nomura-led project to a Tabata-led one, the two directors discussed the game with Tabata feeling it should shift to be more realistic. "For example, when you're battling a really strong boss like a behemoth, if you go at it from just the front you're going to get hit with his counter-attacks. You have to think about baiting it to attack forward, but then break its stance and attack it from the side. I wanted to make it so you're fighting a real animal, but with easy-to-manipulate controls as well as dramatic effects. My basis was to keep it grounded in reality."

Tabata wanted to make the game accessible for a broad audience, so both casual and hardcore gamers would find something to enjoy. For example, the party's car can be set to autopilot, or it can be driven manually. The idea of streamlining was used when designing the combat system, made into "a one-button action" with the AI intuitively outputting an action that gives instant player gratification. The idea was not to design a game that requires frantic button pushing, but that still has depth. Despite striving for a game "anyone can immediately be able to play", the game as a whole is said not to be casual, even if it has basic controls.

Previously it had been said players would be able to switch characters on the fly, allowing the opportunity to create multi-character combos, but although it was shown in the E3 2013 trailer, in its current specifications Final Fantasy XV does not allow the player to switch the playable character, allowing direct control of only Noctis. The development team looked into an "Active Cross Battle system" that made free use of attack, guard, and co-op functions, but as a result concluded that changing characters would be too difficult. Early footage showed a third person aiming mode for firearms, exclusive to Prompto, and the player being able to control mechanic structures, such as tanks or robots. The old footage depicted a menu titled "EX Arts," but it has been absent since the 2013 gameplay demonstrations.

Originally it had been planned only Noctis would use magic in battle as per game lore but it was changed so all party members could wield it to make the battles more fun. In Jump Festa 2015 it was mentioned the magic system has a prototype as the battle system exists, but its polishing had been delegated to the later stages of development.

The 3rd Birthday, a PlayStation Portable action game also directed by Hajime Tabata, has an Overdrive function where the player could switch position quickly with another character. Tabata drew on that idea for Final Fantasy XV and it can be utilized strategically. He also drew ideas from The 3rd Birthday for the cover system.

Visuals and Art Direction
Final Fantasy XV uses Square Enix's Luminous Studio game engine. There are about 5,000,000 polygons per frame with each character made up of at max 100,000 polygons. The inner hair alone has about 20,000 polygons, which is five times the previous generation. Character models have around 600 bones, roughly 10-12 times greater than what was seen previous generation. About 150 bones are for the face, 300 for hair and clothes, and 150 for the body. There is a bone-based physical simulation technology applied so that clothing reacts to the body's movements.

The capacity of just one character's textures is about 30 megabytes. The team are using 2048×2048 texels and 4096×4096 texels for HD textures. The game’s resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p), with a target of 30fps frame rate.

The modernistic art direction for Final Fantasy XV derives inspiration from real world locations, as opposed to the more fantasy-futuristic feel of Final Fantasy XIII. The cars driven in the game resemble modern cars rather than the various fantasy vehicles utilized in Final Fantasy XIII and the main characters' clothes are designed by the clothing brand Roen rather than being designed by Nomura. In its strive for a more corporeal-looking world, the style is somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy VIII, although darker and more monochromatic. While the beginning of the game takes place in a more contemporary setting, as the story progresses the player will find various fantasy environments and atmospheres similar to what past titles like Final Fantasy VII did.

Knowledge gained from the development of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and a canned Final Fantasy Type-0 sequel is being used in the development of Final Fantasy XV. The art division was flattened and made less section-based and more task based allowing for more collaboration and feedback from multiple disciplines. The new team went on trips in small groups, undertaking activities like mountain climbing, cave exploring and visiting a zoo to get practical references to draw upon. The challenge of Final Fantasy XV has been said to lie with setting the fantasy within the boundaries of reality as the team wants the world to feel simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar. The towns are designed to walk a balance between delivering a culture shock while still being rooted in familiar culture; Back to the Future Part II's depiction of 2015 has been mentioned as inspiration for this style.

This goal required a lot of resources that had to be allocated, or even outsourced. A lot of the game's architecture and feel was inspired by the area surrounding Square Enix's old office in Kyoto and to test the fantasy against the reality, Yusuke Naora painted over a number of photographs taken around Kyoto to see how well the balance would feel.

With the improved processing power of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the need for prerendered cutscenes is diminished and thus Final Fantasy XV is set to have fewer prerendered cutscenes than many of its main series predecessors. Former director Tetsuya Nomura has commented that even in considerably dynamic scenes, the player will be in control of their character, and cited the scene where Leviathan is rioting through the city as an example.

One of the concepts of the game's graphic design is to keep the original monster designs by Yoshitaka Amano from the previous titles and to adapt them in a realistic way. However, director Hajime Tabata has mentioned that in creating a new game, throwing in familiar elements just to please the fans gives an impression of shallowness. Thus, Tabata thinks carefully how Final Fantasy icons apply to the setting and ensures they are included there because they are necessary.

There is a difference with Final Fantasy XV and what Final Fantasy Versus XIII had tried to depict back then in regards to gory content. This is not just in relation to ratings restrictions, but in relation of what the team wants to do with Final Fantasy XV on its own. Trying to work within the ratings restrictions changed how the team was proceeding with the game in many ways, such as thinking about a menu where the player could choose how much blood would be shown, or a DLC for a different rating. Despite the ratings restrictions Tabata is planning for shocking moments where brutal scenes are necessary.

Story
The theme of the story is said to be "a road trip" and adventure focusing on brotherhood. Though Noctis is the main character, the party itself, that includes Noctis's friends, could be treated as main characters in all scenes of the game.

Tetsuya Nomura said that because he designed his game to have a modern setting and a story focused on human drama, he chose not to use the names in the mythos, such as "l'Cie", instead using the concepts behind the terms and not directly referring to the mythos as Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0 did.

Director Hajime Tabata has cited the ending of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, namely Zack's Final Stand as an inspiration to writing scenes for Final Fantasy XV, wanting to capture a similar emotion.

Game World
The world continuously changes as time passes affecting player experience while journeying through it with day and night cycles occuring naturally. Weather affects the characters' appearance on the field; in wet weather, the party's hair and clothes get a subtle damp look. The game world is seamless with intention of making players feel all locations are connected. The locations are meant to have an air of verisimilitude.

Tabata has explained that in the most classic Final Fantasy titles dungeons were scary, chaotic and uncontrollable with an air of "strangeness" where something that shouldn't necessarily be there would be found, and wanted to replicate this feeling of "the non-normal" with Final Fantasy XV dungeons.

Localization
Square Enix is aiming for a multi-regional game, but the details on this are still uncertain as for the full game there's the issue of size and if it can contain everything (Japanese and English voices and all the language subtitles), or if there will be region-specific versions.

The first titbit on Final Fantasy XV localization came on June 15 2013, days after the game was revealed at E3, when Jay Preston, a relatively unknown actor, announced he has received an unspecified part in the localization of Final Fantasy XV, suggesting the localization for the game was further along than previously thought. In February 2014 further details on the English voice acting surfaced, with voice actress Katy Townsend having listed "various" roles in the game as part of her resume. Townsend's resume lists Chris Borders as voice casting director, which indicates the game's voice work will be performed by world leading voice over production company TikiMan Productions, of which Borders is CEO. Soon after the news broke David Yang, Senior PR Manager Square Enix, has confirmed English voice casting has yet to begin for Final Fantasy XV. In a later update, Yang stated that voice acting for the final game had yet to begin in all languages. On December 15, 2014, the TGS 2014 trailer with English voice over was released.

In 2014 the English version of the Tokyo Game Show trailer was the first time fans could hear the English voice actors for the cast.

Themes
Final Fantasy XV was announced in 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The "Versus XIII" name comes into play in juxtaposition to Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels that take place in fantastical worlds that are literally and culturally disconnected (Cocoon and Gran Pulse in Final Fantasy XIII; the different eras and timelines in Final Fantasy XIII-2; and Nova Chrysalia and the new world in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.). For "Versus XIII" Square wanted the world to be different from the original Final Fantasy XIII by presenting one whole, connected world.

Sequels
During E3 2013 it was talked how Final Fantasy XV would likely have sequels.

However, in a later interview at Japan Expo 2013 Nomura was more cautious when talking of sequels.

Demos
A live demo called Final Fantasy XV: The Overture was featured during the Tokyo Game Show 2014.

A demo of Final Fantasy XV will come bundled as a downloadable code for players who purchased Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The demo is known as Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, named after a location from the game, which will show off the early stages of the game. The demo will be available for a limited time, offered with the first print editions of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The demo will be available on the day Type-0 HD releases in all regions, and will have dual audio and various language options.

Square Enix is planning a free demo set in the same location as "The Overture" tech demo, and they are creating an extended version of it. However, the plans aren't yet finalized.

Trivia

 * The game is said to have many small details, such as Noctis drinking his coffee "properly" because he is a prince, compared to the way his companions do it.