Final fantasy

[Jonathan]

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー Fainaru Fantajī?) is a science fiction and fantasy media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs). The eponymous first game in the series, published in 1987, was conceived by Sakaguchi as his last-ditch effort in the game industry; the title was a success and spawned sequels. The video game series has since branched into other genres such as tactical role-playing, action role-playing, massively multiplayer online role-playing, racing, third-person shooter, fighting, and rhythm. The franchise has since branched out into other media, including CGI films, anime, manga, and novels.

Although most Final Fantasy installments are stand-alone stories with different settings and main characters, they feature identical elements that define the franchise. Recurring elements include plot themes, character names, and game mechanics. Plots center on a group of heroes battling a great evil while exploring the characters' internal struggles and relationships. Character names are frequently derived from the history, languages, pop culture, and mythologies of cultures worldwide.

The series has been commercially and critically successful; it is Square Enix's best selling video game franchise, with more than 115 million units sold, and is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. The series is well known for its innovation, visuals, and music, such as the inclusion of full motion videos, photo-realistic character models, and orchestrated music by Nobuo Uematsu. Final Fantasy has been a driving force in the video game industry, and the series has affected Square Enix's business practices and its relationships with other video game developers. It has also introduced many features now common in role-playing video games and has been credited with helping to popularize console-based RPGs in markets outside Japan.

Contents

[Jonathan]

media
Games Edit
Main article: List of Final Fantasy video games
The first installment of the series premiered in Japan on December 18, 1987. Subsequent titles are numbered and given a story unrelated to previous games; consequently, the numbers refer more to volumes than to sequels. Many Final Fantasy games have been localized for markets in North America, Europe, and Australia on numerous video game consoles, personal computers (PC), and mobile phones. Future installments will appear on seventh and eighth generation consoles; upcoming titles include Final Fantasy XV. As of January 2014, the series includes the main installments from Final Fantasy to Final Fantasy XIV, as well as direct sequels and spin-offs, both released and confirmed as being in development. Most of the older titles have been remade or re-released on multiple platforms.[1]

Main series Edit
Timeline of release years
1987 Final Fantasy
1988 Final Fantasy II
1989
1990 Final Fantasy III
1991 Final Fantasy IV
1992 Final Fantasy V
1993
1994 Final Fantasy VI
1995
1996
1997 Final Fantasy VII
1998
1999 Final Fantasy VIII
2000 Final Fantasy IX
2001 Final Fantasy X
2002 Final Fantasy XI
2003
2004
2005
2006 Final Fantasy XII
2007
2008
2009 Final Fantasy XIII
2010 Final Fantasy XIV
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 Final Fantasy XV
2017
Three Final Fantasy installments were released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Final Fantasy was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1990.[2][3] It introduced many concepts to the console RPG genre, and has since been remade on several platforms.[3] Final Fantasy II, released in 1988 in Japan, has been bundled with Final Fantasy in several re-releases.[3][4][5] The last of the NES installments, Final Fantasy III, was released in Japan in 1990;[6] however, it was not released elsewhere until a Nintendo DS remake in 2006.[5]

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) also featured three installments of the main series, all of which have been re-released on several platforms. Final Fantasy IV was released in 1991; in North America, it was released as Final Fantasy II.[7][8] It introduced the "Active Time Battle" system.[9] Final Fantasy V, released in 1992 in Japan, was the first game in the series to spawn a sequel: a short anime series titled Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals.[3][10][11] Final Fantasy VI was released in Japan in 1994, but it was titled Final Fantasy III in North America.[12]

The PlayStation console saw the release of three main Final Fantasy games. The 1997 title Final Fantasy VII moved away from the two-dimensional (2D) graphics used in the first six games to three-dimensional (3D) computer graphics; the game features polygonal characters on pre-rendered backgrounds. It also introduced a more modern setting, a style that was carried over to the next game.[3] It was also the second in the series to be released in Europe, with the first being Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Final Fantasy VIII was published in 1999, and was the first to consistently use realistically proportioned characters and feature a vocal piece as its theme music.[3][13] Final Fantasy IX, released in 2000, returned to the series' roots by revisiting a more traditional Final Fantasy setting rather than the more modern worlds of VII and VIII.[3][14]

Three main installments, as well as one online game, were published for the PlayStation 2 (PS2).[15][16][17] The 2001 title Final Fantasy X introduced full 3D areas and voice acting to the series, and was the first to spawn a direct video game sequel (Final Fantasy X-2, published in 2003).[18][19] The first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in the series, Final Fantasy XI, was released on the PS2 and PC in 2002, and later on the Xbox 360.[20][21] It introduced real-time battles instead of random encounters.[21] Final Fantasy XII, published in 2006, also includes real-time battles in large, interconnected playfields.[22][23] The game is also the first in the main series to utilize a world used in a previous game, namely the land of Ivalice, which had previously featured in Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story.[24]

In 2009, Final Fantasy XIII was released in Japan, and in North America and Europe the following year, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[25][26] It is the flagship installment of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy series[27] and became the first mainline game to spawn two direct sequels (XIII-2 and Lightning Returns).[28] It was also the first game released in Chinese & High Definition along with being released on two consoles at once. Final Fantasy XIV, a MMORPG, was released worldwide on Microsoft Windows in 2010, but it received heavy criticism when it was launched, prompting Square Enix to send an apology for the players, and to re-release the game under the title A Realm Reborn, this time to the Playstation 3 as well, in 2013.[29] At E3 2013, Final Fantasy XV (originally a spin-off titled Versus XIII) was officially unveiled as an upcoming title for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and currently scheduled for release in 2016.[30][31] Like XIII, XV uses the mythos of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, although in many other respects the game stands on its own and has since been distanced from the series by its developers.[32][33][34][35][36][37]

Remakes, sequels and spin-offs Edit
See also: Category: Final Fantasy spin-offs
Final Fantasy has spawned numerous spin-offs and metaseries. Several are, in fact, not Final Fantasy games, but were rebranded for North American release. Examples include the SaGa series, rebranded The Final Fantasy Legend, and its two sequels, Final Fantasy Legend II and Final Fantasy Legend III.[38] Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was specifically developed for a United States audience, and Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical RPG that features many references and themes found in the series.[39][40] The spin-off Chocobo series, Crystal Chronicles series, and Kingdom Hearts series also include multiple Final Fantasy elements.[38][41] In 2003, the Final Fantasy series' first direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, was released.[42] Final Fantasy XIII was originally intended to stand on its own, but the team wanted to explore the world, characters and mythos more, resulting in the development and release of two sequels in 2011 and 2013 respectively, creating the series' first official trilogy.[28] Dissidia Final Fantasy was released in 2009, a fighting game that features heroes and villains from the first ten games of the main series.[43] It was followed by a prequel in 2011.[44] Other spin-offs have taken the form of subseries—Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Ivalice Alliance, and Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy.

Related media Edit

[Jonathan]

Film and television Edit
Final Fantasy in film
1994 Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
2002
2003
2004
2005 Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV
Square Enix has expanded the Final Fantasy series into various media. Multiple anime and computer-generated imagery (CGI) films have been produced that are based either on individual Final Fantasy games or on the series as a whole. The first was an original video animation (OVA) titled Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals, a sequel to Final Fantasy V. The story was set on the same world as the game, although 200 years in the future. It was released as four 30-minute episodes, first in Japan in 1994 and later in the United States by Urban Vision in 1998. In 2001, Square Pictures released its first feature film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The film is set on a future Earth invaded by alien life forms.[45] The Spirits Within was the first animated feature to seriously attempt to portray photorealistic CGI humans, but was considered a box office bomb and garnered mixed reviews.[45][46][47]

In 2005, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a theatrical CGI film, and Last Order: Final Fantasy VII, a non-canon OVA,[48] were released as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Advent Children was animated by Visual Works, which helped the company create CG sequences for the games.[49] The film, unlike The Spirits Within, gained mixed to positive reviews from critics[50][51][52] and has become a commercial success.[53] Last Order, on the other hand, was released in Japan in a special DVD bundle package with Advent Children. Last Order sold out quickly[54] and was positively received by Western critics,[55][56] though fan reaction was mixed over changes to established story scenes.[57]

A 25-episode anime television series titled Final Fantasy: Unlimited was released in 2001 based on the common elements of the Final Fantasy series. It was broadcast in Japan by TV Tokyo and released in North America by ADV Films.

Two animated tied ins for Final Fantasy XV were announced at the Uncovered Final Fantasy XV fan and press event, forming part of a larger multimedia project dubbed the Final Fantasy XV Universe. Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV is a series of five 10-minute-long episodes developed by A-1 Pictures and Square Enix detailing the backstories of the main cast. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, a CGI movie set for release prior to the game in Summer 2016, is set during the game's opening and follows new and secondary characters.[58][59][60][61]

Other media Edit
Several video games have either been adapted into or have had spin-offs in the form of manga and novels. The first was the novelization of Final Fantasy II in 1989, and was followed by a manga adaptation of Final Fantasy III in 1992.[62][63] The past decade has seen an increase in the number of non-video game adaptations and spin-offs. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within has been adapted into a novel, the spin-off game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has been adapted into a manga, and Final Fantasy XI has had a novel and manga set in its continuity.[64][65][66][67] Seven novellas based on the Final Fantasy VII universe have also been released. The Final Fantasy: Unlimited story was partially continued in novels and a manga after the anime series ended.[68] The Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII series have also had novellas and audio dramas released.

Two titles, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy: Unlimited, have been adapted into radio dramas.