Summary
Final Fantasystarted as a dream when Squaresoft developed it for the NES in 1987. They never imagined it would blossom into a gaming empire with too many game and media spinoffs to count in a single breath. Many of these spinoff titles were developed bySquaresoft or Square Enixover the years after the merger.
There were a handful of titles that they got fresh blood for, too. These included everything from racing games to action titles. Are these some of the best games in the series or just mildly amusing side notes? Let’s review some history and discuss the ranking based on overall quality.
Chocobo GPwas the second racinggame starring Chocobos, with the first being on the PS1 calledChocobo Racing. Players could choose their racer, including various monsters and heroes from the series, to compete inMario Kart-like trials. This second iteration was developed by Arika, which was formed by previous Capcom developers.
Even though they left Capcom, these developers still worked with them on variousStreet Fighterports. Also, they are probably most known today for their various Battle Royale games based on classic titles from the 80s and 90s. This includesPac-Man 99,Tetris 99, andSuper Mario Bros. 35.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Lineis the third rhythm-based game based onFinal Fantasy. Players can assemble a team of heroes and go through many of the mainline and spinoff titles in mock turn-based battles to the best of classic tracks. It’s more intricate thanother rhythm gamesof this nature, likeParappa the Rapper.
Two developers are responsible for the game, indieszero and sAs, who co-developed the otherTheatrhythmtitles with Square Enix on 3DS. Outside of Square Enix, portable fans might recognize their work from the twoRetro Game Challengetitles on the DS. They weren’t rhythm games, but they were mini-game homages to classic gaming eras.
Final Fantasy Explorerswas co-developed with Racjin, a company that had worked with Square Enix on several titles, with Racjin taking the lead. Two of their biggest games, unfortunately, never left Japan.Final Fantasy Legend 2andFinal Fantasy Legend 3, which were secretly early entries intheSaGaseries, were originally on the Game Boy, but they got enhanced DS remakes in Japan.
Developers aside,Final Fantasy Explorerswas a Job-basedMonster Hunterclone. Players could choose a Job, design their character, grab a weapon, and then start hunting monsters in the area. It was a familiar gameplay loop, but it worked well enough on 3DS, thanks to the inclusion of co-op.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originis a Soulslike game that was developed by Team Ninja. They know a thing or two about the genre outside of FromSoftware, as they developed theNiohseries under Koei Tecmo’s umbrella. They are known mostly for making theDead or AliveandNinja Gaidengames, though.
Previous to this spinoff, Team Ninja also developedDissidia Final Fantasy NT, which was a fighting game.Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originis a great action entry for any fan who likes Job systems in this franchise and is looking to get intoan easier Soulslike. It has co-op for up to three players, so find two buddies and have a blast.
World of Final Fantasyis one of the cuddliest games in the franchise, thanks to the super-deformed art style making classic heroes and monsters more adorable. Two twins, Lann and Reynn, get sucked into a crossover universe with multipleFinal Fantasyheroes includingCloud fromFinal Fantasy 7. As the twins, players can collect monstersPokemon-style and fight them in turn-based combat.
Tose was the lead developer on this who helped Square Enix a lot with ports to portable consoles. They didFinal Fantasy Tactics’port to PSP,Chrono Trigger’sport to PS1 and DS, andFinal Fantasy 4’sport to GBA. That’s only the tip of the porting iceberg, but this is all to say that Square Enix threw them a bone to make a game all their own withWorld of Final Fantasy.
Matrix Software’s story is a similar one to Tose’s. Their biggest contributions to Square Enix’s catalog weretheir DS remakesofFinal Fantasy 3andFinal Fantasy 4,which were both received well. That possibly led Square Enix to give Matrix Software carte blanche to makeFinal Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.
It had similar turn-based gameplay to the older titles but with a twist. Characters could gain Crowns to change into various classes. There was co-op on the DS as well, which was still an early concept forFinal Fantasyat this time. For those looking for a challenge and a unique art style,Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Lightis worth tracking down as it is still trapped on DS.
