Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a wild spinoff for the series. It is one of the most violent games in the Final Fantasy franchise. The violence is over the top — for example, players can finish off monsters with brutal kills, causing them to explode into crystals and mists of blood. It is a cool effect. The gore in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is nowhere near other violent games like Mortal Kombat, but it's still a lot for a relatively tamer franchise.
This game took some chances in its reimagining of the first Final Fantasy — which the point. The darker tone is a part of that. The game didn’t quite hit every ball out of the park; however, given some patches, it could go beyond its initial scores.
6 Change From Three To Four Player Co-Op
Final Fantasy’s main gimmick was allowing players to customize four characters at the start of the game, because it centered on Four Warriors of Light. Even though Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin starts with only three heroes, the fourth mythical character, Neon, is unlocked after the first main mission. So, why then is a game about four Warriors of Light restricted to only three characters?
It doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially considering the fourth character, not chosen for combat, can still be heard (though not seen) in the background. It might take a lot of effort, but there should be a patch to enable four-player co-op in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
5 Needs A Map
RPGs don’t need a lot of things to succeed. Giving players experience points and allowing them to level up is one part of the equation. Another is giving them plenty of dungeons or an open-world environment to explore. There are plenty of dungeons in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. However, they are missing another critical mechanic: a map.
How can an RPG not give players a map in a dungeon? Some of these mission areas are huge too, with many branching paths. It can be confusing to navigate without a map, so one should be added to the game post-haste.
4 Add Warping Between Saves
There is another thing the developer could do to help with the exploring of dungeons in addition to giving players a better map. There are save points littering areas, which are great. The game is seemingly always autosaving, so save points don’t act like they do in other Final Fantasy games. They are more like checkpoints. When players reach these points, they can quit out of a mission and go back to the home screen if they wish to retire for the time being.
It’s a great system, as these points act like bonfires do in some Souls-like RPGs. It would be great if these save points got another functionality: warping. Being able to warp between saves on a level would help save a lot of time. On a related note, giving players more save slots in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin would be incredible too.
3 Needs A Jump
This series has been in desperate need of a jump button for decades. It has appeared in some titles, but not many. Now, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin falls toward the missing branch of the franchise. It seems odd to run around a small column or a piece of rubble on the ground without being able to jump onto or over it. Additionally, there are small ledges that separate areas, and the only way to get back to them are going all the way back around. It doesn’t matter how large or small the drop is.
If adding in a jump button now would be too complicated, then there are two other solutions. Firstly, there could be a vault prompt like the ones found in cover-based shooters. Secondly, there could be a climb button. Either or both prompts would be a great solution if a jump button cannot be added.
2 Add A Photo Mode
Most Souls-like RPGs do not allow players to enter into photo modes. Part of the reason is that many don’t have pause buttons. If players can’t pause the game normally, then it would be odd to be able to pause in this way. For example, if Dark Souls had a dedicated photo mode, players would exploit it to pause the action instead.
In the case of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, there is a pause button. With that being the case, then there should be a photo mode added into the game. This could be planned as a future feature already as it has happened in past entries, like the remake of Final Fantasy 7. Hopefully, a photo mode comes sooner rather than later. Having the developer remove the watermarks would be fantastic as well.
1 Add Names In Multiplayer
The more players Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin can add into co-op, the better; however, there is another feature that the developer should patch into the game regarding co-op. When fans are playing the game with one or two other people, their names appear on the side above their health bar.
This seems to be standard in most multiplayer games. However, another standard feature is missing from Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin: Names do not appear above the heads of teammates. This makes it hard to tell if fans are playing with other people or NPCs. A glance over at health bars would resolve this issue. It’s a small thing to complain about, but it is also small enough that it seems feasible for the developer to add it in.
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.