Ok, so this is my favourite series, and I’ve decided to make a rather long post about it, as there are tonnes of other threads that people make, most likely cause they think its something no ones ever seen or because they have the inability to use the search button at the top. Anyhow, lets get started.
Final Fantasy – what is it?
According to Wikipedia, Final Fantasy is a popular series of role playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co., Ltd.). The first installment of the series premiered in Japan in 1987, and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localised for markets in North America, Europe and Australia, on a variety of different video game consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, the MSX2, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sony PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, IBM PC compatible, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and several different models of mobile phone. Future installments will also appear on the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. It is (along with Dragon Quest) one of Square Enix's two most successful franchises, having sold over 60 million units worldwide to date.
Although that’s accurate, I’ll add a little more to this.
Final fantasy is the most highly acclaimed RPG to date, there is no other RPG that contends with it in any ranking system I’ve seen, and in personal opinion. Over the world rankings, it only comes marginally behind MGS, which is also renowned for being the best game of all time. My opinion on that is another story, so we’ll leave that out for now.
It may not have been the original RPG game, but it certainly has become one of the best. You gain experience and levels, whilst progressing through a deep storyline. Most games in the series 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 as some of you may have already seen.
There would be a lot more to write, but I can’t make this thread fully focused on what the game is, in short, its one of the best games of all time. Minus the Final Fantasy X-2, lets not go there.
Final Fantasy – History
• Final Fantasy I — 1987 — Nintendo Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System - Included as part of Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
• Final Fantasy II — 1988 — Nintendo Family Computer - Included as part of Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
• Final Fantasy III — 1990 — Nintendo Family Computer - Remake for the Nintendo DS is forthcoming 2006 and has been announced for release in North America and Europe.
• Final Fantasy IV — 1991 — Nintendo Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Included as part of Final Fantasy Chronicles (North America) and Final Fantasy Anthology (Europe)
• Final Fantasy V — 1992 — Nintendo Super Famicom - Original version was never released in North America or Europe. - Included as part of Final Fantasy Anthology (North America and Europe)
• Final Fantasy VI — 1994 — Nintendo Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Originally released in North America as Final Fantasy III - Ported to the Sony PlayStation in 1999 - Included as part of Final Fantasy Anthology (North American version only)
• Final Fantasy VII — 1997 — Sony PlayStation - First Final Fantasy title to be officially released in Europe
• Final Fantasy VIII — 1999 — Sony PlayStation
• Final Fantasy IX — 2000 — Sony PlayStation
• Final Fantasy X — 2001 — Sony PlayStation 2 - Expanded "international edition" released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002
• Final Fantasy XI — 2002 — Sony PlayStation 2 - Ported to the PC in 2003 -Also known as Final Fantasy XI Online: it is the first MMORPG in the series - Two expansion packs have been released: Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (2003) and Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia (2004) - Rise of the Zilart was included as part of the original North American release of the game in 2003 - Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia were both included in the European release of the game in 2004.
Final Fantasy – The new games
Ok, so now all that is out of the way, here’s the new stuff that’ll be making its way to your consoles and mobiles in the future, notice I didn’t say the near future, as deadlines are often pushed back. These have all been confirmed during December of last year (2004) and so are pretty much old news, however people are still posting “This is new omg omg!!!1!!1â€. So here we go..
Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Final Fantasy II (Mobile)
Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding (Mobile)
Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis — 2004 — NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i series mobile phones
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children — 2006 (announced) — DVD and UMD (UMD is still going to be released, no matter what other people say/post) – please remember this is a movie, not a game.
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus — 2006 (announced) — Sony PlayStation 2
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core — 2006 (announced) — Sony PlayStation Portable
The games themselves…lets get into a bit more detail here please!
Final Fantasy XII – PS2
Right then, this will be the latest episode in the Final Fantasy series, not to be confused with X-2, its XII or 12. Set in
Ivalice (Some of you may remember from Final Fantasy Tactics), you take the role of Vaan, a sky pirate. You, along with Ashe (The heir to the throne) are apart of the resistance.
Ok, lets take a look at some screenshots then..
LOTR style!
Heres the two of them fighting, if you’ve ever played Final Fantasy XI online, you’ll notice the battles are roughly of the same type, i.e. the monsters roam freely and you attack them, or they chase you.
Vaan, Basch and Fran (bunny thing)
Sword weilding heir to the throne
Want to see some videos of this??
http://www.ffxii.net/?nav=media/video
now we’ll move on
Final Fantasy II – Mobile
Final Fantasy II is a complete port of the Famicom game that was released exclusively in Japan, so those who are expecting Cecil, Kain, Yang, and the Four Fiends to make an appearance will be sorely disappointed. In fact, the game that Square sold as Final Fantasy II in the West was actually the fourth game in the series in Japan. This was the game that introduced dialogue and storytelling as integral components of the Final Fantasy game play experience. Fortunately, the mobile version of the game appears to be a very comprehensive copy of the original, down to the copious amounts of conversation. Most impressively, Final Fantasy II seems to run at a Famicom-like speed on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA phones. These handsets also feature sharp QVGA displays, which allow for an amount of visual detail exceeding that of the Famicom. It's great fun to traipse about the world map, tackling goblins and werewolves--and revealing in the experience of playing one of Japan's golden oldies more or less verbatim on a phone.
If you’re expecting in the US, don’t hold your hopes too high.
Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding – Mobile
This is the mini game famous from Final Fantasy 7
Ok, lets take a look at some screenshots then..
The start screen..obviously..
Cloud lined up ready to start
Cloud making a jump for the balloon
Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis - Mobile
This game takes place six years before the events of Final Fantasy 7, and is based around the turks.
Screenshots include:
Tseng, Rude and Reno – Blonde can’t be Elena as she was new to Final Fantasy 7’s Turks.
Reno doing his stuff
The official link to Square-Enix’s page http://www.square-enix.co.jp/mobile/bcff7.html
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children – DVD & UMD
The film everyone is talking about and waiting for!
Set two years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud now leads a solitary life traveling the Planet as a transporter. The office of Strife Delivery Service is located in 7th Heaven, which also functions as an orphanage for children stricken with Geostigma.
Three new enemies make an appearance in Advent Children. Kadaj, their leader, is in his teens, while Yazoo and Loz are known to be in their twenties.
There’s a brief starter to get you all excited, Cloud and Tifa running a business together, and three silver haired men to fight with. If you want more, just ask me, but beware of heavy spoilers that’ll light up your life!
Lets take a look at some screenshots eh?
Cloud on Fenrir (his bike) clashing with Kadaj
Rude and Reno
Rude standing by “man in wheelchair†– Please don’t release any spoilers about who this is in this forum, do it in PMs, I personally have my own idea who it is, and its very much justified. So PM me if you wish to know.
Materia thief aka yuffie
Cloud and Tifa in the Church, in the slums.
Aerith and Cloud – If you wish for more information on this, reply below..
Tifa giving Loz a kick in the jaw
Badass AKA Cloud
If you want more pictures, or anything on this, reply below, or PM me and I’ll add it.
The official link to Square-Enix’s page
http://www.square-enix.co.jp/dvd/ff7ac/ - Japanese – has everything
http://na.square-enix.com/dvd/ff7ac/ - American – has “coming soonâ€
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus – PS2
This game is all about Vincent from the game Final Fantasy 7.
Pictures include:
Looking cool no?
Looking like a strategy/action game no?
Looks cool [period]
The official link to Square-Enix’s page
http://www.square-enix.co.jp/games/ps2/dcff7/ - nothing so far, keep checking back though.
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
The project is being headed up by some big talent over at Square Enix. Production is being overseen by Yoshinori Kitase, the director of the original Final Fantasy VII, with Hajime Tahata serving as director. Tahata and Kitase served similar roles on the development of Before Crisis. Character designs for the game are being handled by Square Enix superstar Tetsuya Nomura.
Exactly where Crisis Core fits in that bigger picture is still an unknown. What we know about those other pieces has, however, led to some intriguing speculation. The first part is a cell phone game already out in Japan. Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis, delves into the advancement of the Turks in Midgar up to the events of Final Fantasy VII. Then there is the upcoming Advent Children movie (which has grown so much that it may end up in theaters after all). It picks up some years after the original and prominently features the core characters Cloud, Tifa and apparently Sephiroth as well. The PS2 gets what looks like a Devil May Cry styled action game when Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of the Cerebus arrives. Its place in the timeline is uncertain, but the adventure follows Vincent's fight with a group of enemies known only as "DC".
That leaves Crisis Core, coming as the fourth and presumably final chapter to tie everything together. Comments made by Nomura during a recent interview strengthen this theory. He called Crisis Core "the kind of game that's gonna bring about some new sensation to the crowd." He continued, "The story itself's the link which will encompass the whole of the compilation."
The official link to Square-Enix’s page
http://www.square-enix.co.jp/games/psp/ccff7/ - nothing so far, keep checking back though.
Now, keep it all in one thread, namely, this one.
Linear Mode
