The massively popular Final Fantasy Japanese RPG franchise is rapidly approaching its 35th anniversary, and its developer and publisher Square Enix has prepared events and multimedia collaborations to celebrate the series’ Coral Anniversary. Perhaps apocryphal stories state that the first game, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, was originally supposed to be called Fighting Fantasy. That name was already taken by a series of single-player RPG books that launched in 1982. Game director Hironobu Sakaguchi reportedly planned to leave the game industry if the title sold poorly, leading to the Final Fantasy name. The game proved to be anything but final, as the series approaches its sixteenth main numbered entry, and has had dozens of remakes, subseries and spinoffs released over the past three and a half decades.
There are many iconic elements of the series, such as Final Fantasy’s giant, chicken-like Chocobo birds that largely serve the function of horses within its fictional worlds. Crystals are another reoccurring motif that have appeared in most games since the original. Certain character names are reused, such as Cid, Biggs, and Wedge. These all add to the uniquely recognizable tapestry of Final Fantasy, but its 35-year history has been defined by experimentation as much as consistency. Final Fantasy first released shortly after the original Dragon Quest game, which was a major success in Japan. Square produced Final Fantasy, and Enix, the Dragon Quest publisher, was the company’s main rival in the JRPG space for many years prior to their merger.
Game Releases, Music, And Emojis Promote The Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary
Where Dragon Quest has defined itself through maintaining its classic JRPG identity, Final Fantasy has always been prone to innovation, though not every approach met with success. Each main game in the Final Fantasy series takes place within a unique fantasy world. Some think Final Fantasy 16 should've returned to Ivalice, the setting of Final Fantasy 12, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy Tactics, but original worlds for each numbered entry have remained a defining characteristic. The first Final Fantasy adhered closer to the mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons, with spell slots instead of magic points. Final Fantasy 2 was a divisive game whose mechanics would go on to inspire Square’s SaGa series. Final Fantasy 3 and 5 returned to the first game’s Job Class focus, while Final Fantasy 4 and 6 focused on unique character abilities.
Every subsequent Final Fantasy has evolved on the mechanics in some way, including experimental entries like FF12, which used a real time Gambit-fueled battle system. Two entries in the series are MMORPGs instead of single-player titles, and Final Fantasy 14 is considered among the highest quality MMORPGs active today. With such diverse content, no celebration could fully encapsulate the series' 35-year history, as even ranking the best and worst Final Fantasy Cid characters is a complex subject. The upcoming anniversary is being recognized with two recent game releases, Chocobo GP and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, both of which received mixed reviews, at best. The Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy Coral musical tour is currently underway, and will continue at international venues through March 2023.
Square Enix also partnered with LINE to release commemorative Final Fantasy emoji stickers, and the Final Fantasy Piano Cover collection covered iconic songs from the 35-year-old franchise. Renowned Final Fantasy character designer Yoshitaka Amano created the logo for the anniversary which has been featured on promotional materials. Although the original NES Final Fantasy did not launch until 1990 in the USA, the Japanese Famicom version released much earlier, on December 18, 1987. That makes December 18, 2022, the 35th anniversary for the series. The central series has had direct sequels and spinoff games, meaning there are roughly 25 main Final Fantasy series games. Adding in the spinoff series like Crystal Chronicles, Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon, Final Fantasy Tactics, and numerous mobile titles, there are nearly 100 Final Fantasy games altogether. Few series can match the volume of games linked with Final Fantasy, but the franchise has clearly not worn out its welcome, as longtime fans and new RPG players alike await the series’ 35th anniversary, and the 2023 planned release of FF16.