Final Fantasy series

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー Fainaru Fantajī) is a popular series of role-playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co., Ltd.). It may be the most widely distributed game series of all time, including both standard console games and portable games, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, games for mobile phones, a CGI movie, two anime series, and a direct-to-DVD movie.

The first installment of the series premiered in Japan in 1987, and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localized for markets in North America, Europe and Australia, on several modern video game consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, the MSX 2, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sony PlayStation, the WonderSwan Color, the Sony PlayStation 2, IBM PC compatible, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS, as well as several different models of mobile phones. Future installments have been announced to appear on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game systems. It is Square Enix's most successful franchise, having sold over 60 million units worldwide to date.

As of 2008, twelve games have been released as part of the main (numbered) series, and twenty-eight games in total, including spin-offs and sequels, have been released in the franchise.

Overview
Square Co., Ltd. first entered the Japanese video game industry in the mid 1980s, developing a variety of simple RPGs for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System (FDS), a disk-based peripheral for the Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System). By 1987, declining interest in the FDS had placed Square on the verge of declaring bankruptcy. At approximately the same time, Square designer Hironobu Sakaguchi began work on an ambitious new fantasy role playing game for the cartridge-based Famicom, inspired in part by Enix's popular Dragon Quest (known in the United States as Dragon Warrior). Recognizing that the project could very well turn out to be Square's last game, the project was titled Final Fantasy. Far from being Square's last hurrah, however, Final Fantasy reversed Square's lagging fortunes, and became Square's flagship franchise.

Following the success of the first game, Square quickly began work on a sequel. Unlike a typical sequel, Final Fantasy II featured entirely different characters, with a setting and story bearing only thematic similarities to its predecessor. This unusual approach to sequels has continued throughout the series, with each major Final Fantasy game introducing a new world, and a new system of gameplay. Many elements and themes would recur throughout the series, but there would be no direct game sequels until the release of Final Fantasy X-2 in 2003, though Final Fantasy V received an anime sequel prior to this. After the merger with Enix, however, real game sequels have become increasingly prevalent. In a way, the Final Fantasy franchise has been a creative showcase for Square's developers, and many elements originally introduced in the series have made their way into Square's other titles, most notably two of its other major franchises, SaGa and Seiken Densetsu.

Dualism and Cycles
Dualism appears to be a strong theme in many Final Fantasy games. This dualism is expressed in a variety of ways, including two worlds, two different heros/heroines, or most commonly, dualism between antagonist and protagonist. Most often this dualism is thrown out of balance by outside forces, forcing the protagonists to restore balance. Sometimes, the final villain is a being who wishes to return all things to nothingness, and restore balance in the most extreme way possible.

A theme that is heavy in several Final Fantasy games is that evil cannot be entirely destroyed, only subdued or marginalized, and thus the balance between good and evil, light and dark, can and must always exist. Later Final Fantasy games also shifted to allude to some sort of cycle that was nearing completion, and some games also demonstrate a conflict between nature and mankind which much be settled.

In Final Fantasy, the villain Garland creates a time loop. Garland makes a pact to live forever by having the Fiends of Chaos summon him 2000 years in the past when he is defeated by the Light Warriors. There, Garland sends the Fiends of Chaos to the present, continuing the loop. When the Light Warriors travel back in time, Garland transforms into Chaos, and is defeated, breaking the loop.

In Final Fantasy III, there is a world of light and a world of darkness. Each world also has a group of heroes arise to save their world from being consumed by the opposing property. When Xande drains the Crystals of their power, he creates an imbalance between light and darkness. This causes the Cloud of Darkness to appear to return the universe to a state of nothingness. The Warriors of Light attempt to stop her, but are defeated. However, through the aid of the Warriors of Darkness, the Warriors of Light are able to overcome her and destroy her.

In Final Fantasy IV, there is the Blue Planet, which has two parallels; the Red Moon, and the Underworld. The surface world has four Crystals of Light, and the Underworld has four Crystals of Darkness. The Red Moon also has eight Crystals, four each of Light and Darkness. Cecil Harvey is a Dark Knight who becomes a Paladin by receiving the light-aligned power of his father Kluya. Golbez, Cecil's older brother, is aligned with darkness and uses powerful black magic to collect all eight Crystals in his quest for power. In the game's finale, Golbez uses a Crystal to attempt to subdue Zeromus, but fails as his heart is tainted with darkness. He thus passes the Crystal to Cecil, who uses his light to render Zeromus vulnerable and defeat him.

In Final Fantasy VII the conflict between light and darkness is replaced by a conflict between nature and humanity, and science and magic. Sephiroth, representing the power of science as a genetic experiment of the Shinra Electric Power Company, uses the Black Materia to summon Meteor to ravage the planet. Aeris Gainsborough, last of the magical Cetra, uses the White Materia to summon Holy, which can stop Meteor. The dualism between Aeris and Sephiroth is clarified in The Reunion Files, where Tetsuya Nomura states "as long as Sephiroth exists, Aerith must exist". In Final Fantasy VIII, Squall Leonhart is opposed by his archrival Seifer Almasy. Squall wears a black jacket and pants while Seifer's are white in color, and the two use Gunblades to battle, each having their own preferred model and fighting style. As well, it is revealed that the Sorceresses Ultimecia and Edea Kramer are part of a time loop. Defeated in the process of casting Time Compression to merge all times into one, Ultimecia and Squall emerge several years in the past, where a younger Edea absorbs Ultimecia's Sorceress Power, which later corrupts her and makes her a target for Ultimecia's possession. Because of this time loop, it is possible that Ultimecia's Sorceress Power, paradoxically, is her own power passed down to her from Edea through generations.

In Final Fantasy X, the monster Sin was created by Yu Yevon to destroy any machine-based settlement that grew too large. However, a Summoner is able to appease Sin and hold off this destruction by using their Final Aeon to destroy Sin. But when this happens, the spirit of Yu Yevon within Sin possess that Aeon, transforming it into a new Sin and continuing an endless cycle. By destroying Yu Yevon himself, Tidus and the Summoner Yuna are able to end the cycle and destroy Sin for good.

In Final Fantasy XI, the enlightened races--those races believed to have been created by Altana, the Dawn Goddess, a good deity--face off against the hordes of beastmen--races created by Promathia, the Twilight God, who is twisted and evil--on Vana'diel.

Supporting Element
Though each Final Fantasy story is independent, many themes and elements of gameplay recur throughout the series. From the strong influence of history, literature, religion and mythology on the story to the frequent reappearance of certain monsters and items, these shared elements provide a unifying framework to the series. Some key objects and concepts that have appeared in more than one Final Fantasy game include:


 * Airships &mdash; Powerful airborne vessels which usually serve as a primary mode of transportation for the player. In many games, most notably Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX, the presence of airships is a key component to the story itself. In most of the titles, airships generally had the appearance of flying sailing ships with a series of propellers instead of sails. However, in some of the later games they look more technological.
 * Job System &mdash; Playable character classes have included the Warrior; White, Black, Red, and Blue Mages; Monk; Thief; and Mime. Even in games where the player is not given the choice of choosing class alignment, these classes often play an important background role in the story. Additionally, several installments in the series (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy Tactics) have utilized a "Job" system wherein the player is able to switch character classes in between battles. In Final Fantasy X-2, the "Dressphere" system actually allowed a player to switch a character's job during the middle of a fight. In addition to this, certain recurring "Legendary Weapons" may be granted to certain classes, such as the sword Masamune for the Fighter (also known as "Warrior"), or the Black Mage's Ultima spell.
 * Magical styles &mdash; Magic in the Final Fantasy series is generally divided into different schools, which are usually named after a specific color. White Magic and Black Magic represent healing/support and attack magic, respectively, while Red Magic incorporates elements of both healing and attack magic, at reduced effectiveness. Later additions have included Blue Magic (sometimes referred to as Lore or Enemy Skill), which incorporates specific special attacks learned from monsters, and Time/Space Magic, which includes status affecting spells such as Haste,Slow, or Warp.
 * Status ailments and cures: Characters in Final Fantasy games are usually subject to a number of standard "status ailments" which cause deleterious effects, including silence, poison, petrification and confusion. While these are present in many console RPGs, Final Fantasy also has a standard list of items which may be used to cure specific ailments (for example, "Echo Herbs" cures Silence, and "Soft" cures petrification), as well as magical spells, such as Esuna or Poisona.
 * Creatures/monsters &mdash; Fictional creatures such as Chocobos and Moogles have appeared in most games in the series. Certain monsters also reappear frequently, including Goblins, Tonberrys and Cactuars. Lastly, summoned monsters (also known as Espers, Guardian Forces, Eidolons, or Aeons) such as Bahamut, Shiva, Ifrit, Leviathan and Ramuh have appeared in almost every title in the series.
 * Character names &mdash; A character named "Cid" has been present in every Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy II (with a simple mention in Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls). Although he is never the same individual, he is usually presented as an owner, creator, and/or pilot of airships. The motion picture Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within also featured a character named "Sid," presumably an alternate spelling of the more traditional "Cid." In a similar vein, characters named Biggs and Wedge (homages to the Star Wars characters Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles) have appeared in Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy X-2 (inclusive) (excluding Final Fantasy IX).
 * Plot elements &mdash; Many entries in the Final Fantasy series involve broadly similar plot points, such as rebellion against a major economic, political, or religious power, or a struggle against an evil which threatens to overtake or destroy the world. One of the most famous of such recurring themes involves elemental crystals, which have appeared in over half of the titles of the series (Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy XI), as well as in several spin-off titles (Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles).

Design
Artistic design, including character and monster design work, was handled by renowned Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy VI. Following Amano's departure, he was replaced with Tetsuya Nomura, who continued to work with the series through Final Fantasy X, with the exception of Final Fantasy IX, where character design was handled by Shukou Murase, Toshiyuki Itahana and Shin Nagasawa. Akihiko Yoshida, who served as character designer for the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as the Square-produced Vagrant Story, also the designer of the main series title Final Fantasy XII.

In October 2003, Kazushige Nojima, the series' principle scenario writer, resigned from Square Enix to form his own company, Stellavista, Ltd. He partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. Square Enix continues to outsource story and scenario work to Nojima and Stellavista, Ltd.

Music
Nobuo Uematsu was the chief music composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. His music has played a large part in the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise abroad. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the American synchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to music from Final Fantasy VIII. Uematsu is also involved with the rock group The Black Mages, which has released three albums of arranged Final Fantasy tunes. Other composers who have contributed to the series include Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano.

There have already been two successful runs of Final Fantasy concerts in Japan as of 2004. Final Fantasy soundtracks and sheet music are also increasingly popular amongst non-Japanese Final Fantasy fans and have even been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

On November 17, 2003, Square Enix U.S.A. launched an America Online radio station dedicated to music from the Final Fantasy series, initially carrying complete tracks from Final Fantasy XI in addition to samplings from Final Fantasy VII through Final Fantasy X. Many video game and MIDI web sites offer renditions of Final Fantasy musical pieces.

Due to overwhelming demand, and the overwhelming success of the first Final Fantasy concert performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 10, 2004, the Dear Friends: The Music of Final Fantasy concert tour was established, starting February 2005. Music from Final Fantasy was first performed outside of Japan as a part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Germany. The Final Fantasy soundtracks have also joined the catalogue of the iTunes Music Store.

While the music in the games offers wide variety, there are some frequently reused themes. The games often open with a piece called Prelude, which is actually based off one of Bach's preludes. It is a simple arpeggio theme in the early games, with further melody parts added in later games. The battle sequences that end in victory for the player in the first ten installments of the series would be accompanied by a victory fanfare that used the same nine-note sequence to begin the fanfare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of music relating to the Final Fantasy series.

Other memorable tunes include the Chocobo's theme, the Moogle's theme, and a piece originally called Ahead On Our Way in the original Final Fantasy, which was in fact the opening theme and which is now usually played during the ending credits of the game and called "Prologue".

The 8-bit and 16-bit generations
Final Fantasy began on the Nintendo Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) as Final Fantasy in 1987, and was joined by two sequels, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III, the latter two of which were only released in Japan initially (remakes have since introduced them to the international market). On the main world screen, small sprite representations of the leading party member were displayed because of graphical limitations, while in battle screens, more detailed, full versions of all characters would appear in a side view perspective.

The same basic system was used in the next three games, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI, for the Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). These games utilized updated graphics and effects, as well as higher quality music and sound than in previous games, but were otherwise similar to their predecessors in basic design.

The text of the Japanese language versions of early Final Fantasy games was comprised purely of kana. Much of the dialogue was simply clumps of text, making it especially hard for older gamers and foreigners learning Japanese. Finally, in Final Fantasy V, the games began to use kanji. This would continue to get more advanced in Final Fantasy VI, and the trend would continue to make the games much more erudite.

32-bit generations
1997 saw the release of Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation and not Nintendo 64 as originally anticipated. The characters and entire game world were now 3-dimensional, with fully pre-rendered backgrounds. Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to use full motion video sequences, part of the reason why the game spanned a full three CD-ROMs. However, Final Fantasy VII ' s FMVs often lacked consistency, with characters appearing tiny and very indistinct in one scene, and extremely detailed in the next. Also, note that Square was forced to sign a contract with Sony vowing to stick with them and the Playstation series forever to gain access to the PlayStation, which is why Crystal Chronicles (which was on the Nintendo Gamecube) had to be released indirectly.

Released shortly after Final Fantasy VII, the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, once again utilized sprites for the characters. As the only real user-interaction outside of battle was menu-driven, the developers saw no need for fully 3D-rendered overhead graphics.

Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. The full motion video sequences utilized a display technique wherein video would play in the background while the polygon characters would be composited on top.

Final Fantasy IX returned briefly to the more stylized design of earlier games in the series, but maintained most of the graphical techniques utilized in the previous two games in the series.

The Next generations
Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII were released on the PlayStation 2, and made use of the much more powerful hardware to render certain cutscenes in real-time, rather than displayed in pre-rendered video. Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to use voice overs to any degree. Final Fantasy X-2 utilized the same game engine as Final Fantasy X, and was aesthetically not much different.

Both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII used a completely different style of combat and revolutionized the series with its advanced graphics, the latter emphasizing on finer details in its art and style.

A new compilation called Fabula Nova Crystallis will include three new Final Fantasy's: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Game screens
The games typically have several types of screens, or modes of interaction, broadly categorized as:


 * Field screens &mdash; These are where the main interaction between the characters occurs, and indeed most of the exploration of the world occurs on these screens. Dialogue mostly occurs on these screens.  Final Fantasy VII marked the point that Final Fantasy would have realistic computer graphics, while Dragon Warrior stayed with anime style cel-shaded graphics.  Prior to Final Fantasy VII, they were pseudo-orthographic, using a simple 2D engine. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy IX used pre-rendered and pre-painted backgrounds over which 3D models were overlaid.  Final Fantasy X used a completely 3D field screen system, which allowed the camera angle to change as the characters moved about.
 * Battle screens &mdash; Battles occur on a separate type of screen (or arena), usually with a change of scale and a backdrop "arena" that usually generically represents where the battle is occurring in the game. (For example, a random battle in a desert gets a desert backdrop.)  Plot-relevant battles (as opposed to battling random monsters) may have a specially built battle screen/arena, however.  In Final Fantasy VII and later, these screens are fully 3D, using higher resolution versions of the characters, but very restricted in size. Final Fantasy XII will do away with "scene-battles": battle sequences will occur on the main field screen.
 * World screen &mdash; A low-scale screen used to symbolize traveling great distances in times that would otherwise slow the game down unacceptably plot-wise. These are usually not scaled, as a character may appear the size of a small mountain.  Relatively little plot occurs here, but there are exceptions.  The world screen was eliminated in Final Fantasy X, as you travel to different areas in the games via airship, where you see a picture of the World screen and select from a list where you wish to go. (You get to have this option of transportation near the end of the game.)
 * Cutscenes &mdash; These scenes are non-interactive playback that usually advances the plot. They can either be pre-rendered (video FMV), or they can be executed in with the same engine as the field screens.  In some cases, pre-rendered video was overlaid with real-time rendered field screen graphics (full motion video-3D).
 * Menu Screen &mdash; This screen is used for navigating your party's status, equipment, magic, etc. This screen is usually a very simple blue-table layout, with a gloved hand to select one's options. In some games, the option to change the color or texture of the tables is given.

The games often feature various minigames with their own graphical engines.

Battle system
Final Fantasy borrowed many gameplay elements from its primary rival, the Dragon Quest franchise. As such, Final Fantasy uses a menu-driven, third-person, turn-based battle system. Most games in the series utilize an experience level system for character advancement (although Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy X did not), and a point-based system for casting magical spells (though Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy VIII all featured different approaches). Most games in the series (from Final Fantasy III and on) feature a variety of "special commands," over and beyond the traditional "Attack," "Defend," "Cast Magic," and "Run" battle commands, such as the ability to steal items from enemies, or performing a leap attack. Often these special attacks are integrated into the job system, which has appeared in several games in the series and spinoffs (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X-2).

Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy III all featured a traditional turn-based battle system. The player would input all battle commands at the beginning of each combat round, which would then be carried out based on the speed rating of each character. Starting with Final Fantasy IV, and continuing until Final Fantasy IX (and revived in Final Fantasy X-2), the "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system was introduced. The ATB system was semi-real time, and afforded every creature in combat a time gauge. When a specific character's time gauge was filled, the character could act, which would then reset the timer. Generally each of these games included both "active" and "wait" modes: when "wait" mode was chosen, then all activity relating to the time gauge would pause whenever the player was using a submenu to choose a magic spell, item, or special attack.

Final Fantasy X abandoned the ATB system in favor of the Conditional Turn-Based Battle System (CTB). In the CTB system, every creature in battle would be ranked according to speed. As this ranking was displayed on screen during battle, it was possible to know when a character and/or enemy would move several combat turns in advance, and to plan battles accordingly. The CTB system is always in wait mode, featuring no time gauge.

Final Fantasy XI featured a fully real-time combat system similar to that employed by the game EverQuest: when confronted with an enemy, a character would automatically perform basic physical attacks unless otherwise instructed by the player. Final Fantasy XII adopted a similar real-time combat system, however "gambits" were added to allow a player to program commands into the characters, to smooth out the monotonous junk monsters (since random encounters were removed). Unlike previous games, battles in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII take place on the field screen, with no separate battle screen.

Criticism
Although the franchise is extremely popular, it is not without critics. Some cite a lack of interactivity, such as overuse of full motion video, rigid and often linear story structure, and unoriginality. More recent installments of the series (following its premiere on the PlayStation in 1997) are especially attacked by critics within the video game community. Nintendo's Legend of Zelda, Konami's Suikoden, Square Enix's own Dragon Quest, and Nihon Falcom's Ys franchises are strong competitors of Final Fantasy. Fans of these games often argue that the nostalgia factor plays a significant role in many of the negative critical responses to post-Final Fantasy VII installments.

Many long time fans of the series have also criticized character designer Yoshitaka Amano's departure from the series after Final Fantasy VI. Tetsuya Nomura, who has handled character design for the majority of the post-Final Fantasy VII series, has been criticized by many Amano fans, especially by those who feel that Nomura's designs look too juvenile in comparison to Amano's work. Similar complaints have begun to surface surrounding the departure of long-time series music composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Of the more recent installments in the series, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy X-2 have been most frequently singled out for criticism. A number of diehard fans have accused Hironobu Sakaguchi for neglecting the traditions of the series by making Final Fantasy XI an MMORPG (although it should be noted that online elements had also been considered by Sakaguchi for Final Fantasy X during development, before the idea was canceled due to the PlayOnline network not being ready yet at that time). On the other hand, the single-player Final Fantasy X-2 has attracted negative attention for its status as the first direct sequel to a previous Final Fantasy game, and, as some would say, its over reliance on fan service.

In popular culture
The Final Fantasy series has had many pop culture references throughout its existence, ranging from minor notations which only die-hard Final Fantasy fans would recognize to direct parodies.