Summary
In addition to the unique worlds featured across sixteen mainline games, Square Enix has also produced some truly outstanding spin-off worlds for theFinal Fantasyfranchise. These spin-off worlds have also influenced the core titles in some pretty significant ways, sometimes even becoming the main setting for a numbered entry. And muchlike the Ivalice Alliancebefore it, theFabula Nova Crystallissubseries has had major implications not just on spin-off games, but on the mainline titles as well.
Conceived as a way to create a central mythology forFinal Fantasythat tied back to the franchise’s origins and its use of crystals,Fabula Nova Crystalliswas designed to streamline future games in the series with a unified world that could be tweaked as each team saw fit. It produced some of the most fascinating entries in franchise history, including the13trilogy, and was even the setting for a mainline title withFinal Fantasy 15. These games have been ranked based on their stories, gameplay systems, and overall quality within theFabula Nova Crystallisseries.
7Final Fantasy Agito
Engaging Mobile Game Built From Early Type-0 Concepts
Final Fantasy Agitowas born from a batch of discarded concepts forType-0, as director Hajime Tabata used many of those elements to craft a mobile gameusing traditional turn-based combatfrom the franchise’s past.Agitowas unique in that regard, as the mainline series had made a full transition into action-based combat by then, making it one of the more interestingFinal Fantasygames of its era.
Agito’scombat is excellent, with fluid animation and a charming cast of likable characters. Similar toFinal Fantasy Awakening, which would launch just four years later and reboot the experience,Agitofeatures deep character customization and is set in the same world asType-0, retaining all of its drama and militaristic action. Unfortunately,Final Fantasy Agitowas not released outside of Japan, despite efforts to do so, and was discontinued in 2015.
6Final Fantasy Awakening
One Of The Franchise’s Best Mobile Experiences
Square has been pushing its vaunted JRPG franchiseinto the mobile spaceever since the 2000s, and that trend continued with the iOS and Android release ofFinal Fantasy Awakeningin 2018. Set in the same world asFinal Fantasy Type-0,Awakeningexists within an alternate reality of that game and further demonstrates the flexibility present within the framework of theFabula Nova Crystallisseries.Final Fantasy Awakeningalso acted as a reboot ofAgito, a mobile game in the franchise that never made it out of Japan.
Final Fantasy Awakeningis an action RPG that allows players to customize their characters, then jump into the compelling world ofType-0on a smaller scale.Awakeninglacked some of the depth and charm of theType-0combat system and story progression, but it was a decent enough mobile experience, and was still a worthy entry in theFabula Nova Crystallisfranchise. It was also a fairly successful endeavor for Square, with strong numbers and player counts, but the servers were discontinued in 2019.
TheFinal Fantasy 13trilogy dominated discourse surrounding the franchise for roughly five years,as the story of Lightningwas the focal point of the series beginning in 2009. And inLightning Returns, the phenomenal conclusion to the trilogy, she finds herself back in the spotlight after taking more of a supporting role inFinal Fantasy 13-2. This made the world ofFF13feel bigger, and that the stakes were much bigger than the story of one single person.
Lightning Returnsmakes a great effort to solidify itself as the finale, as it repositions Lightning as a key figure and focuses on her relationships that have been built ever sinceFinal Fantasy 13. It uses a much faster, more direct combat system that feels like a combination of13and13-2, while also re-introducing several key elements from the franchise that the first game ignored. Shops, towns, and other Final Fantasy tropes were put back into the spotlight, allowing the13trilogy to end on a fairly high note, embracing the past and the future at the same time.
Final Fantasy Type-0was originally released for the PSP in 2011, but it was given a fantastic HD remaster for modern hardware in 2015, whicheven included a demofor the hotly anticipated fifteenth mainline entry.Type-0is set in the world of Orience, where the ongoing conflict between warring nations over the control of powerful crystals drives the majority of the plot and is a huge part of the ongoingFabula Nova Crystallismythology.
Type-0’smassive story is full of betrayal, as the themes of war and its consequences take center stage, but it’s the quieter moments in between, where Class Zero’s interpersonal relationships start to flourish, that make up some of the game’s best moments. It also has an excellent action-based combat system, as swapping targets feels snappy and the overall flow of battles is still among the best in the franchise.
Final Fantasy 15first entered development in 2006 asVersus XIII, where it remained stuck in a perilous state of constant revisions and even a hardware change, until it was finally released in 2016. Set in the world of Eos,Final Fantasy 15is the epic story of Noctis, a young man on a journey to retrieve a stolen crystal and reclaim the throne as the rightful king. Noctis' adventure is still one of the largest, most ambitious stories ever crafted forFinal Fantasy, and the open world of Eos is proof of that.
Eos is still one of the most beautifulFinal Fantasyworlds of all time, and exploring it withNoctis and his friendsin various forms of travel, such as Chocobos or upgrading the Regalia, is simply breathtaking. Combat is some of the franchise’s best, and the wide-open fields accommodate the enemies and bosses perfectly. Its writing, thematic elements, and combat system all come together brilliantly, and this outstanding experience is one of the best entries inFinal Fantasyhistory.
Thanks to a lot of work already done onFinal Fantasy 13, the development timefor the sequel wasmuch shorter, lasting only a year and a half.Final Fantasy 13-2continues the adventure from the first game, this time seeing Lightning lost to time as her sister Serah and newcomer Noel take center stage. It was a calculated move, but it paid off, asFinal Fantasy 13-2makes the trilogy feel like an ongoing saga of its own with a lot of moving parts and important characters.
Final Fantasy 13-2also attempted to address a lot of criticisms leveled at the first game in the trilogy, particularly how linear it was, by opening up the world and allowing for much more freedom. It allowedFinal Fantasy 13-2to feel much more like a traditional mainline game, but maintained its own unique identity and fast-paced combat system.13-2is still one of the most incredible core entries in the franchise, with a spectacular battle system and mind-bending time-travel story that focuses on the themes of family and loss.
Internally referred to as “Colors World” during development,Final Fantasy 13was a hugely ambitious project that marked the debut of theFabula Nova Crystallisseries and the ongoing story of Lightning. In hindsight, it’s fascinating to see just how big of a gamble Square was taking with13, as the trilogy was the only coreFinal Fantasygame being worked on and consumed by fans for over ten years. The franchise had already abandoned turn-based combat withFF12, butFinal Fantasy 13took it to the next level, as it focused on a muchtighter, more linear experience.
It was a bold move, but it allowed the world of Cocoon to feel tight and overbearing, tying into the game’s themes of oppression and class warfare. This tale of revolution and underdogs is also the benefit of some wonderful characters, and is one of the best parties inFinal Fantasyhistory, as each of them feels like a unique, wholly different individual. With its sharp, highly engaging combat and beautiful art direction,Final Fantasy 13is still one of the most fascinating and compelling entries in the franchise. It was the start of something special, as Square put a lot of effort into makingFabula Nova Crystallissomething for fans to be excited about, and this unique fantasy world is well worth returning to today.
