Category Archives: Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix. The game was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2016. It was later released for Microsoft Windows in March 2018. Final Fantasy XV is set in a fictional world called Eos. The story follows Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, who sets out on a journey with his friends to reclaim his throne after his kingdom is invaded by the Niflheim Empire. Along the way, they face various challenges and enemies, and uncover a deeper conspiracy. The gameplay of Final Fantasy XV combines elements of action and role-playing games. The player controls Noctis and his companions in real-time battles, using a variety of weapons and magic spells. The game also features an open-world environment, where the player can explore and undertake side quests. Final Fantasy XV received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics, storytelling, and combat system. It has since become one of the best-selling games in the Final Fantasy series.

Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), developed and published by Square (later Square Enix) as part of the Final Fantasy series. Designed and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, it was released in Japan on May 16, 2002, for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows-based personal computers in November of that year. The game was the first MMORPG to offer cross-platform play between PlayStation 2 and personal computer. It was also the Xbox 360’s first MMORPG. All versions of the game require a monthly subscription to play.

The story is set in the fantasy world of Vana’diel, where player-created avatars can both compete and cooperate in a variety of objectives to develop an assortment of jobs, skills, and earn in-game item rewards. Players can undertake an array of quests and progress through the in-game hierarchy and through the major plot of the game. Since its debut in 2002, five expansion packs have been released along with six add-on scenarios. Each expansion pack and add-on brings a new major storyline to the Final Fantasy XI world, along with numerous areas, quests, events and item rewards.

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the Final Fantasy series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertainment, and became the first in the main series to see a PAL release. The game’s story follows Cloud Strife, a mercenary who joins an eco-terrorist organization to stop a world-controlling mega corporation from using the planet’s life essence as an energy source. Events send Cloud and his allies in pursuit of Sephiroth, a superhuman intent on destroying their planet. During the journey, Cloud builds close friendships with his party members, including Aerith Gainsborough, who holds the secret to saving their world.

Development began in 1994, originally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. After delays and technical difficulties from experimenting on several platforms, Square moved production to the PlayStation, largely due to the advantages of the CD-ROM format. Veteran Final Fantasy staff returned, including series creator and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, director Yoshinori Kitase, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. The title became the first in the series to use full motion video and 3D computer graphics, which featured 3D character models superimposed over 2D pre-rendered backgrounds. Although the gameplay systems remained mostly unchanged from earlier entries, Final Fantasy VII introduced more widespread science fiction elements and a more realistic presentation. The game had a staff of over 100, with a joint development and marketing budget of around US$80 million..

Setting and characters

Characters of the Final Fantasy VII series Final Fantasy VII takes place on a world referred to in-game as the “Planet”, though it has been retroactively named “Gaia”. The planet’s life force, called the Lifestream, is a flow of spiritual energy that gives life to everything on the Planet. Its processed form is known as “Mako”. On a societal and technological level, the game has been defined as an industrial or post-industrial science fiction milieu. During Final Fantasy VII, the Planet’s Lifestream is being drained for energy by the Shinra Electric Power Company, a world-dominating mega corporation headquartered in the city of Midgar. Shinra’s actions are weakening the Planet, threatening its existence and all life. Significant factions within the game include AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group seeking Shinra’s downfall so the Planet can recover; the Turks, a covert branch of Shinra’s security forces; SOLDIER, an elite Shinra fighting force created by enhancing humans with Mako; and the Cetra, a near-extinct human tribe which maintains a strong connection to the Planet and the Lifestream.

The central protagonist is Cloud Strife, an unsociable mercenary who claims to be a former 1st Class SOLDIER. Early on, he works with two members of AVALANCHE: Barret Wallace, its brazen but fatherly leader; and Tifa Lockhart, a shy yet nurturing martial artist and childhood friend of Cloud. On their journey, they meet Aerith Gainsborough, a carefree flower merchant and one of the last surviving Cetra; Red XIII, an intelligent quadruped from a tribe that protects the planet; Cait Sith, a fortune-telling robotic cat controlled by repentant Shinra staff member Reeve; and Cid Highwind, a pilot whose dream of being the first human in outer space was not realized. The group can also recruit Yuffie Kisaragi, a young ninja and skilled Materia thief; and Vincent Valentine, a former Turk and victim of Shinra experiments. The game’s main antagonists are Rufus Shinra, son of President Shinra and later leader of the Shinra Corporation; Sephiroth, a former SOLDIER who reappears several years after he was thought dead; and Jenova, a hostile extraterrestrial life-form imprisoned by the Cetra 2000 years before. A key character in Cloud’s back story is Zack Fair, a member of SOLDIER and Aerith’s first love.

Plot

AVALANCHE destroys a Shinra Mako reactor in Midgar; an attack on another reactor goes wrong, and Cloud falls into the city slums. There, he meets Aerith and protects her from Shinra. Meanwhile, Shinra finds AVALANCHE and collapses part of the upper city, killing most of AVALANCHE along with the slum population below. Aerith is also captured; as a Cetra, she can potentially show the “Promised Land”, which Shinra believes is overflowing with exploitable Lifestream energy. Cloud, Barret and Tifa rescue Aerith; during their escape from Midgar, they discover that President Shinra was murdered by Sephiroth, who was presumed dead five years earlier. The party pursue Sephiroth across the Planet, with now-President Rufus on their trail; they are soon joined by the rest of the playable characters.

At a Cetra temple, Sephiroth reveals his intentions to use the Black Materia to call “Meteor”, a spell that will hit the Planet with a devastating impact. Sephiroth will absorb the Lifestream as it attempts to heal the wound, becoming a god-like being. The party retrieves the Black Materia, but Sephiroth manipulates Cloud into surrendering it. Aerith departs alone to stop Sephiroth, following him to an abandoned Cetra city. During her prayer to the Planet for help, Sephiroth attempts to force Cloud to kill her; failing, he kills her himself before fleeing and leaving the Black Materia behind. The party then learns of Jenova, a hostile alien life form whose remains were unearthed by Shinra scientists decades earlier; at Nibelheim, Jenova’s cells were used to create Sephiroth. Five years before the game, Sephiroth and Cloud visited Nibelheim, where Sephiroth learned of his origins. Driven insane by this, he murdered the townspeople, then vanished when confronted by Cloud.

At the Northern Crater, the party learns that the “Sephiroths” they have met are Jenova clones created by the insane Shinra scientist Hojo. Confronting the real Sephiroth as he is killing his clones to reunite Jenova’s cells, Cloud is again manipulated into delivering the Black Materia. Sephiroth then taunts Cloud by showing another SOLDIER in Cloud’s place in his memories of Nibelheim, suggesting that Cloud is a failed Sephiroth clone. Sephiroth summons Meteor and seals the Crater; Cloud falls into the Lifestream and the party is captured by Rufus.

Escaping Shinra, the party discovers Cloud at an island hospital in a catatonic state from Mako poisoning; Tifa stays as his caretaker. When the island is attacked by a planetary defense force called Weapon, the two fall into the Lifestream, where Tifa helps Cloud reconstruct his memories. Cloud was a mere infantryman who was never accepted into SOLDIER; the SOLDIER in his memories was his friend Zack. At Nibelheim, Cloud surprised and wounded Sephiroth after the latter’s mental breakdown, but Jenova preserved Sephiroth’s life. Hojo experimented on Cloud and Zack for four years, injecting them with Jenova’s cells and Mako; they escaped, but Zack was eventually killed. The joint trauma of these events triggered an identity crisis in Cloud; he constructed a false persona around Zack’s stories and his own fantasies. Cloud accepts his past and reunites with the party, who learn that Aerith’s prayer to the Planet had been successful: the Planet had attempted to call Holy to prevent Meteor’s impact, but Sephiroth blocked Holy.

Shinra fails to destroy Meteor but manages to defeat a Weapon and puncture the Northern Crater, costing the lives of Rufus and other staff. After killing Hojo, who is revealed to be Sephiroth’s biological father, the party descends to the Planet’s core through the opening in the Northern Crater and defeats both Jenova and Sephiroth. The party escapes and Holy is summoned, which destroys Meteor with the help of the Lifestream. Five hundred years later, Red XIII is seen with two cubs looking out over the ruins of Midgar, which are now covered in greenery, showing the planet has healed.

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy is a massively popular video game franchise that has been around since 1987. It has been praised for its creative storytelling, unforgettable characters, and immersive worlds. The series has evolved over the years, with each new game bringing new gameplay mechanics, characters, and stories.

One of the defining features of Final Fantasy is its beautiful music. The series has a long history of memorable soundtracks that have become fan favorites over the years. The music is composed by legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu and has been performed by orchestras around the world.

Another signature element of Final Fantasy is its distinct art style. The games have always had a unique look that blends fantasy, science fiction, and anime influences. This has helped to establish Final Fantasy as one of the most visually stunning game franchises around.

Despite its many changes over the years, the series has remained true to its roots. Final Fantasy is known for its epic stories, diverse cast of characters, and deep RPG mechanics. Whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer to the series, there’s always something new to discover in the world of Final Fantasy.