The launch date of Square Enix and Team Ninja’s Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is still a few weeks away, but the developer has released several updates and reveals leading up to the game's March launch. These have detailed gameplay mechanics, characters, and locations – just enough to get gamers interested after a bit of a lukewarm and slightly baffled response to the game's initial announcement and trailer reveal. Although fans of the Final Fantasy series didn't know what to make of the upcoming Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin at first, players have since become more intrigued by the Soulslike alternate retelling of the original Final Fantasy game.
Along with the demos that showed off some of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's mechanics, more has been revealed about the classes, or jobs, that players will be able to use throughout the game. Jobs have been a staple aspect of Final Fantasy games, and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is no different. The Job System determined what skills and perks characters will have, as well as the armor and items they can equip. In the later installments in the series, gamers had a lot more freedom and were not locked into just one job. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has already shown off a number of jobs like Red Mage that players will be able to switch between depending on the demands of combat.
Red Mage In Final Fantasy Origins
Just like the Berserker class that has also been revealed in further detail prior to the game's launch, Red Mage will be among the largest list of jobs available in any Final Fantasy game to date. Players will be able to equip two different jobs and switch between them at will, providing a lot more flexibility when it comes to combat and taking down enemies. Each job will have its own Job Tree with benefits and perks for players to unlock as they level up. Like any RPG, up-skilling characters through experience points to open up new abilities is a key element to the gameplay, and from what has been shown of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin so far it seems like this will be a fairly comprehensive and fluid system.
Along with other magical-based classes like Mage, Black Mage, and White Mage, Red Mage offers the chance for players to use some spell-slinging when facing antagonists and threats during Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. Players won't be able to do any magic unless they've unlocked the Mage job, but once they have, it will offer up more powerful variants with differing magical focuses. For instance, whereas White Mage has more of a focus on healing, Red Mage is balanced between combat and support spells for a varied approach.
The Red Mage job is a more versatile version of the other magical jobs, as it provides players with the chance to utilize both black and white magic, combining both offensive and defensive spells. With a unique ability called chainspell, the Red Mage can cast spells in quick succession. This will be very useful when trying to exploit enemy weaknesses and inflict elemental vulnerabilities. As more of a hybrid role, Red Mage perfectly represents the flexibility of the Job System in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
Other Appearances Throughout The Series
Red Mage has been a job class available in multiple Final Fantasy titles, and most notably as one of the first jobs available to the Warriors of Light in the original Final Fantasy. With Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin reworking the story of the first game, it is making some significant changes to the narrative, setting, and characters, but some elements remain.
The Red Mage job has always been a dynamic mixture of fighting and spellcasting, showing the fluidity of the class and its variability when it comes to combat. However, this versatility has come at the cost of lower stats and the inability to use higher-tier equipment in earlier iterations, so players will no doubt be interested to see how the upcoming title intends to offset these downsides.
While the Red Mage usually has higher physical stats than the White Mage or Black Mage, it has lower magical stats. Comparatively, the Red Mage also has lower physical stats than other more combat-focused jobs like the Warrior or Monk, meaning that while they have a foot in both offensive and defensive camps, other jobs provide more of a solidified focus in one aspect or the other. However, they are still one of the most flexible jobs and are able to fill many roles in a combative situation, making them a valuable party member.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin launches March 18, 2022, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
