Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has a lot to live up to. The game is based on the first Final Fantasy which has been remade several times over. This is more of a reimagining, however, with Koei Tecmo taking over the reins from Square Enix.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is an action RPG like recent games in the series. However, it is also a Souls-like game similar to Koei Tecmo’s Nioh titles. Reviews so far have been all over the map, with most scores falling somewhere in the seventies. All told, it’s a decent game that has some pretty innovative features for the genre, but falls short of greatness due to a few fairly glaring flaws.
8 Best: The Job System
Job systems have traditionally played an important role in Final Fantasy games, and that is once again the case here. The satisfaction one gains from being able to pick a Job, master it, and then move on to the next one is a feeling that doesn’t happen often in modern RPGs.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin’s Job system allows players to take on two classes at a time. For example, players could be a Warrior Black Mage or a Ronin Thief depending on their play style. Mastering one Job will unlock another and the cycle then continues.
7 Worst: Way Too Much Loot
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin could best be described as a Souls-like action RPG. It also has the essence of a hack and slash looter RPG buried just beneath the surface. Enemies and chests will bestow mountains of loot for players to grab, which can quickly start to feel just a little overwhelming.
Getting new gear is another great feeling in an RPG. However, there is arguably too much of it here. If players are in an online co-op session, they might not want to deal with people constantly checking their equipment. Loot is a good thing to have in an RPG, but it can sometimes feel like a double-edged sword in this game.
6 Best: The Mission-Based Structure
Most Souls-like games operate like Metroidvanias. They take place in one giant, seamlessly connected world. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is mission-based, however, allowing players to hop into areas, finish the quest, and then exit out of there.
As anyone who has played the games will know, this is similar to how the Nioh series operates. It’s a great way to diversify the genre. The game makes it easier to find quests to play in multiplayer with this map system. Being able to replay missions, alone or in co-op, is also a huge plus.
5 Worst: Only Three Player Co-Op
This game is like a reimagining of the first Final Fantasy game. It sees four Warriors of Light rising to put an end to Chaos. There are four main characters in the party, following each other at all times. However, only three of these characters are actually playable at any given time while on a mission.
Players can select the two-party members they want to accompany Jack. For example, if Jed and Neon are chosen, Ash can still be heard in the background as if he were there too. He just can’t be seen or participate in battle. It was an odd choice on Square Enix’s part in an otherwise fun co-op RPG.
4 Best: The Movie Gallery
The movie gallery has been something of a tradition in Square Enix games for a while now. Being able to go back at any time to watch the story is a nice feature to have. It’s a shame more AAA games don’t do this.
One of the coolest things about the old Final Fantasy games was getting to see the CG cutscenes like in Final Fantasy 7. There was no comparison between the graphics. Now, everything is more seamless between CG and in-game graphics. Still, a movie gallery in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is appreciated even if the cutscenes aren’t quite jaw-dropping.
3 Worst: Jack
Jack is an odd name to give the protagonist in a Final Fantasy game, let alone a JRPG. He’s also not that much fun to be around. All he talks about is wanting to fight Chaos to the point where he quickly became a meme. It’s a noble goal, but it doesn’t make for an interesting character.
Yet, in spite of his blandness and one-track mind, everyone in this game is infatuated with him. It’s weird. The more the story goes on, the more complex things get. Even by the end, Jack is still like a wet blanket soaked in milk that has been left sitting in 100-degree heat for a week.
2 Best: A Souls-like With Options
One of the things that can turn gamers away from a Souls-like experience is the difficulty. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is one of very few of these games that has difficulty settings. It has two different types of difficulty modifiers, in fact.
As well as the more traditional Easy, Normal, Hard options, the game also includes a Casual Mode, which can be tacked onto Normal, for example. Casual enables fewer things to be lost upon death, while the actual challenge level scales how tough enemies are. This increased accessibility may lead to the game becoming a gateway of sorts for those seeking an entry point into the Souls-like genre.
1 Worst: Missing Basic RPG Features
As great as the difficulty options in the game are, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is missing a lot of basic action RPG features. For example, Jack cannot jump. This can make navigating even very basic hallways a bit of a challenge.
A tiny beam laying on the ground no more than an inch high has to be avoided. It is ridiculous. There is also no map, and the dungeons have many, many paths. This all makes exploring far more confusing than it needs to be. It would have also been nice to have a warp system between saves, just to improve navigation.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin was released on March 18, 2022 and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.