Highlights
- Final Fantasy's cult fandom began with FF6 and FF7, with anticipation for new games being a significant part of the franchise's appeal.
- Square Enix's return to Nintendo in 2003 included the announcement of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
- Final Fantasy 13's reveal on Xbox 360 at E3 2008 marked a significant accomplishment for Microsoft, and the first direct sequel in the series, Final Fantasy 10-2, was announced in 2002.
Final Fantasy began in 1987 in Japan and was moderately successful enough to port it westward in 1990. It also gathered a cult fandom followed by a bigger group of fans as the series went on. For some, Final Fantasy 6 and Final Fantasy 7 are two pinnacles of the series that fans adore.
Final Fantasy: The Biggest Gameplay Change In Every Main Game
The Final Fantasy series always tries to keep things fresh. These are the most noticeable changes made to every main entry.
Part of the fun of the Final Fantasy franchise cycle is anticipation. When a new game gets announced, it can be celebrated in numerous ways. Often, the best reveals are surprises even with rampant rumors. Let’s go over some of the biggest reveals in the franchise from E3 showcases to other big media events.
6 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Final Fantasy Returns To Nintendo
Squaresoft stopped supporting Nintendo even though they had a big hand in helping their consoles thrive. That’s because Squaresoft supported Sony once the PS1 launched. Their last series of Nintendo games was in 1996 which included the infamous Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars along with Japan exclusive games like Treasure Hunter G and Front Mission: Gun Hazard. So, it was a big deal when it was revealed Squaresoft, or Square Enix which was just on the horizon in 2003, was going to be making Nintendo games again.
In this archived article on IGN, they report that Square Enix announced their Jump Festa 2003 lineup which included Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The West would not get to see these games until E3 2003 via the Nintendo press conference. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was also a big deal because it was the first dedicated multiplayer game in the series and it was one of several games that would launch using the GameCube’s Link Cable.
5 Final Fantasy 13
Fabula Nova Crystallis And Xbox 360 Fans Get A Treat
Final Fantasy 13 had two wild things that happened after its announcement. First of all, Square Enix announced Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy in 2006 which included several titles set in this universe like Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy Versus 13, and Final Fantasy Agito 13. Most of Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy projects would get canceled or remade into different games like Final Fantasy Versus 13 became Final Fantasy 15 and Final Fantasy Agito 13 became Final Fantasy Type-0.
Final Fantasy: 10 Best NPCs That Joined Your Party, Ranked
The first Final Fantasy to incorporate NPCs as temporary party members, or guests, was as far back as Final Fantasy II.
The Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy project was a huge deal although at this time Square Enix seemed to enjoy building universes out of each new major release. The bigger reveal from this came much later at E3 2008. At the end of Microsoft’s press conference, there was a “one more thing” type of reveal which turned out to be Final Fantasy 13 was coming to the Xbox 360. Before this, Final Fantasy 11 was the first entry to hit an Xbox platform in 2006. That was big, but Final Fantasy 13 was the greater accomplishment for Microsoft who probably made a good monetary deal with Square Enix to make it happen.
4 Final Fantasy 10-2
The First Mainline Sequel
Final Fantasy 10-2 is the first direct game sequel the series ever received. Final Fantasy 10 launched in 2001 with the sequel debuting in 2003. That’s a relatively quick turnaround for a sequel albeit one that reuses assets. However, the gameplay was quite different as it included a Job system via Dresspheres, so it couldn’t have been easy. It’s hard to find a lot of direct information about wherever Square Enix announced this title, but there is one source with a date online.
In the 2002 Holiday issue of PSM, an unofficial PlayStation magazine, they wrote about the reveal on October 21, 2002. In the write-up up they described everything that happened most notably that Yuna was now using guns. Fans who passed by newsstands around this time probably did a double take at this issue of PSM with Yuna holding those same guns. Was it April Fools already?
3 Final Fantasy 7 Remake
A Promise Ten Years In The Making
The concept for Final Fantasy 7 Remake began in 2005. At E3 that year, Square Enix showed a tech demo on the PS3 which was the opening train scene from Final Fantasy 7. Even though it was clearly labeled as a tech demo, fans wanted a remake to happen. The promise finally came true in 2015 with an amazing teaser trailer during Sony’s E3 showcase.
Final Fantasy: 6 Hardest Secret Characters To Unlock, Ranked
The franchise has done away with this idea recently, but Final Fantasy games used to feature secret characters that were very challenging to unlock.
It could have been anything set in the Final Fantasy 7 universe, like another movie or spinoff game, but when that logo for Final Fantasy 7 Remake appeared, the crowd went wild, and memes upon memes were made. It went through some development hell but it was eventually released in 2020 as part one of what is supposed to be three games.
2 Final Fantasy 9 Through Final Fantasy 11
Three Mainline Titles In Three Years
- Final Fantasy 9 (July 7, 2000 PS1)
- Final Fantasy 10 (July 19, 2001 PS2)
- Final Fantasy 11 (May 16, 2002 PS2)
In 2000, Squaresoft held their Square Millennium Event to reveal some big news. They not only announced Final Fantasy 9 as a throwback to the old-school NES entries, but they also announced Final Fantasy 10 and Final Fantasy 11 all with footage. Imagine Square Enix doing that today to announce Final Fantasy 17 through Final Fantasy 19 with real trailers too and not some weird title card trick like Bethesda did with Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6.
It was an unheard of gimmick with an interesting twist to one of these announcements besides Final Fantasy 11 being an MMO which was admittedly huge too. In the trailer footage for Final Fantasy 10, Tidus has black hair. It’s wild to see almost like Zack from Final Fantasy 7 was cosplaying as Tidus in a new game.
1 Final Fantasy 15
Final Fantasy Versus 13 Gets Uncanceled
It was touched on already that Final Fantasy Versus 13 was part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis announcement in 2006. Well, unlike Final Fantasy 13, that game went through the wringer. It would get a trailer or a few screenshots sporadically and then disappear for years and yet Square Enix never announced it was canceled. In 2012, IGN reported that it was canceled only for that to be refuted a year later. At E3 2013, there was a trailer for Final Fantasy Versus 13 and at the end of the trailer, the name changed to Final Fantasy 15.
So, in a way, IGN was not wrong. In 2016, Square Enix held a dedicated event to the game wherein they also announced a CG movie, mobile games, an anime, and more. They even had a dramatic big red button to announce the release date…which they later backtracked on because it was delayed a month from September 30, 2016 to November 29, 2016. From announcement to release, it took ten years and in the end, fans are torn whether it was worth it or not. Still, it’s a harrowing story and this summary is just a blip on the radar for Noctis’ journey in Final Fantasy 15.
Every Final Fantasy Anime, Ranked
Final Fantasy is over 30 years old with plenty of games and just a smidgen of anime adaptations as well.
