In 1987, Square was on the verge of an entire and utter breakdown, bankruptcy from a slew of failed games. it had been with this that they decided to throw everything that they had into one last ditch effort, aptly titled Final Fantasy. the sport was a monstrous success, utilizing leading edge technology to inform the primary of the many epic tales within the newly minted Japanese RPG format.
The next two games didn't see immediate release within the United State, but grew the name and recognition of the series in Japan, leading up to the discharge of ultimate Fantasy IV in 1991, released later in 1992 within the US as Final Fantasy II. it had been the primary of three releases for the SNES and single handedly blew away the whole genre. it had been an epic tale of deception and betrayal and therefore the quest of a disgraced Knight to uncover and destroy the conspiracy that promises to ruin his nation.
The next game was similarly skipped within the US, a more numbers and level oriented affair very similar to earlier entry III. it had been a growth within the series but nothing revolutionary, merely an extension of the name to bridge the gap until subsequent blockbuster in Final Fantasy VI.
Final Fantasy VI was released within the US as Final Fantasy III and proved to be the kick within the pants that a lot of American gamers needed to really fall crazy with the series. Even now, it's considered by many to be the simplest of the series. Terra, Kefka, intensely fun boss battles and a story line to rival any since then, Final Fantasy VI had it all and stands even now together of the foremost often played of my classic game collection.
And it had been with this game that Square delivered to an end the 16 bit era of ultimate Fantasy. The inclusion of offshoots, Mystic go after the SNES and Legends for the sport Boy should be noted as attempts by Square to increase the recognition of the franchise to a mainstream audience. Most will note the failure of the endeavor, as none of those titles were true Final Fantasies counting on the name quite the sport play to sell copies.
It would take a industrial revolution and therefore the abandoning of a classic partnership for Square's key franchise to form the jump to mainstream popularity. That came in 1997 with the PlayStation release of ultimate Fantasy VII. the choice to abandon Nintendo was made for multiple reasons, not the smallest amount of which was the lack of Nintendo to develop a platform capable of the technical capacity Square wanted to introduce. Staying faithful the classic cartridge format, Nintendo alienated the will for video and orchestrated music inclusion, something Sony's new CD format game console handled beautifully.
And it had been this new technology and openness to innovation that brought Final Fantasy VII to the market. it had been the primary within the series to leap to 3d. Also, the primary to use FMVs, the videos played during emotionally climactic moments of the sport. Whether the story or game play were revolutionary has always been hotly debated by fans and dissenters, but the impact of VII on the genre has been felt ever since. It reinvented, because the series did 10 years earlier how the RPG genre was viewed, and today remains one among the foremost popular games of all time.
A year and a half later saw the discharge of ultimate Fantasy VIII, step two of Square's PlayStation trilogy of games. It took the advances of ultimate Fantasy VII and built on them admirably, introducing a replacement format for magic and leveling that some saw as too easy, but also added entirely new levels of strategy to the experience.
Final Fantasy IX sought to return the series to the medieval roots from which it grew. By reverting from the nearly realistic approach of the eighth entry, we saw the reintroduction of the super-deformed cartoonish sort of earlier games. The plot retroacts to the medieval formats of the sooner games also, faraway from the fantasy elements of the previous three games. it had been received well but overlooked due to the simultaneous release of Sony's new PlayStation 2 and therefore the introduction of latest highs in graphical output.
Enter subsequent generation. Final Fantasy X was a breakthrough within the ways VII was five years before. It introduced true 3D, voice acting, astounding graphics, and one among the foremost compelling stories within the series, unabashedly harsh and unforgiving to its characters, so powerful it bred a sequel, the primary in Final Fantasy history. Of course, the sequel didn't quite live up to it's predecessor and Final Fantasy X-2 has never received the respect of its brethren, but the sport itself is fun and filled with innovation that no main series game could achieve.
Except, Square decided to travel for it, and in Final Fantasy XI they didn't even create a typical RPG. Instead, the RPG giant delivered to us their entry within the MMORPG realm, a sprawling, technically wonderful internet RPG, which now boasts one among the second largest internet populations (World of Warcraft destroys all of its competition). Some found it too hard, and more didn't appreciate the utilization of brand name name just to sell a totally new product, especially because it pushed the discharge of a replacement console game to almost 5 years later. XI has been around for a touch while now and is in need of a sequel, and it's yet to be seen if Square-Enix will attend the difficulty.
Yup that's right, Square Enix. the 2 giants merged shortly after XI's release and things took a sure change. Final Fantasy XII was indefinitely delayed for years due to the merger. But it finally released earlier this last year to critical acclaim. the sport took the more efficient elements of XI's battle system and introduced a more mature, involving story, revolving around all of its characters. As a game, XII succeeds on multiple levels due to its willingness to vary from the "formula" that the opposite games created. And this is often the story of ultimate Fantasy as a franchise. Through innovation, Square Enix has managed to always craft something incredible worth playing and lasting. I still have all of my original Final Fantasies intact on a shelf hidden away for safety, something only Zelda also enjoys as a game franchise. Everything else tends to disappear.
As PlayStation 3 arrives, the most recent entry is perhaps only a year or two away and we'll see what Square Enix does with it, but you'll calculate one thing. it'll be innovative and top notch.