A Love Letter to Final Fantasy

For countless gamers growing up in the golden era of late nineties gaming, Final Fantasy marked a full transition into a lifelong love affair with games. While other titles like Ocarina of Time or Twisted Metal captured my imagination and kept me coming back, it was Final Fantasy that had the greatest impact. Since reaching the United States, the Final Fantasy brand has had a lasting appeal which constantly evolves while never forgetting its roots.

I was lucky enough to receive both Final Fantasy VII and VIII at once as a kid, and it was impossible not to be One of Those FF7 fan-boys growing up, complete with all sorts of memorabilia. By the time Kingdom Hearts came around in 2002, I was a grizzled pre-teen veteran of the Playstation & Playstation 2 era titles. I even managed to push my way through Demon Wall in FFVII, an early challenge that made me put it down until I was old enough to understand how to level. I was excited for the quickly disappointing Final Fantasy XI, but what really caught my eye was Kingdom Hearts.

Here was a game that was overflowing with imagination and nostalgic charm. Better yet, the story had the perfect blend of Disney (family friendly magic) and Square (character driven epics) carried by a cast of familiar faces acting just like you’d expect them to (with the exception of an extra-moody Cloud). Kingdom Hearts topped this off with a battle system that was fresh, simple, and rewarding, and some side-quests that added the same level of depth as some of the greatest Final Fantasy classics.

Final Fantasy has been more than its core titles as far back as Final Fantasy Tactics, and these offshoot games helped cement Square Enix as a global juggernaut. Since releasing Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix has done a lot of experimental offshoots.

While some of these offshoots have missed the mark, most are unique and charming additions to the main series. In recent years, they’ve even jumped into the mobile market, and are seeing great success with Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

What makes Final Fantasy Record Keeper great is how familiar it feels. Final Fantasy Record Keeper is Final Fantasy without the dungeons and towns, it’s simply battle after battle, with bosses and enemies lifted directly from the series, complete with their same weaknesses and attacks. The game is simple to play but challenging to master. The game rewards your knowledge of the past titles through its play, and even offers up a brief synopsis of past events when you clear a level.

Ignoring confusion which stemmed the SaGa series, Final Fantasy has branched out into the Chocobo series, Crystal Chronicles, Final Fantasy Tactics, Kingdom Hearts, Dissidia, and more. All of these offshoots feature their own unique battle systems and branching story-lines, but borrow from the core titles in various ways. The choice to do this has helped Square Enix to maintain some of the same trends and quality that goes into their core games.

Looking back at Dissidia, it’s easy to see the care and time that Square Enix put into making it stand on its own. Before Dissidia, I had no idea who many of these characters were, but as I slowly worked my way through it over the years, I became more and more familiar with the villains and heroes clashing in this new story.

What’s consistent throughout is their understanding of their legacy and brand. Even with eccentric titles like Theatrhyhm, Square Enix tries to capture the spirit of the classics by adapting the game-play and lifting their favorite characters and assets.

Perhaps that’s why World of Final Fantasy seems like a sleeper title people won’t see coming, and why I think we shouldn’t “let the nostalgia die” if you’re dealing with a crossover title. World of Final Fantasy comes from a pedigree of great RPG traditions with team members who worked on the well-received Crystal Chronicles series. It’s primarily targeted at a new era of kids who need something to remind them to go back and play all these great titles we had growing up. But if Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Dissidia, and Kingdom Hearts are any indication, it’s also going to be a great standalone title for those of us who remember the days of farming Cactuar island.