Summary
Final Fantasybegan in 1987, and the storytelling on the NES was certainly quaint. It wouldn’t be until the SNES’ first entry,Final Fantasy 4, that the storytelling would get more advanced. Still, the SNES’s capabilities weren’t much more advanced than the NES’s, besides some animation advances with sprite-based models.
The biggest leap that helped the narrative structure of the serieswas the jump to the PS1. Thanks to the system’s disc-based format, Squaresoft was able to implementCG cutscenesto help tell their stories. The heyday of CG cutscenes was between the PS1 and PS2 because, after that, graphics got so much more advanced that there simply wasn’t a need. With that in mind, let’s go throughwhichFinal Fantasygames used CG the bestand rank their overall quality.
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lionswas a PSP port of the original PS1 game that didn’t see many upgrades. The biggest addition was the new CG cutscenes, but unlike other games in the series, these cutscenes were more artistic. They had a colored pencil crayon aesthetic to them, which looked great on the PSP.
While good-looking, there aren’t many exciting scenes, and their usage was rather sporadic as players journeyed through theland of Ivalice. They mostly focused on Ramza and Delita talking. They didn’t even include some of the weirder moments in the game, like the Zodiac transformations. The cutscenes with the most action were optional, like when players recruited Balthier fromFinal Fantasy 12,or Luso fromFinal Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.
Final Fantasy 12was a late addition to the PS2 in 2006, right before the PS3’s launch in North America. As a late-gen game, time has helped it still look good on the system thanks to Square Enix using every ounce of the PS2’s power. While the game didn’t need CG cutscenes, some standouts still look cool to this day.
There’s the opening, which cutsbetween Princess Asheand Lord Rasler getting married and a large conflict taking place. There’s a lot of good airship content throughout the game, from soaring to floating continents to epic battles. The overall design of the ships looks like they were inspired byStar Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace,which makes sense given the era when this game was being developed.
Final Fantasy 9was the last mainline game to hit the PS1, and it had a distinct look from the previous PS1Final Fantasytitles. Instead of realistic models, the characters were squatter and weirder-looking, from thetiny Black MageVivi to Steiner in his giant suit of armor. This made the translation to CG effective, almost like a Studio Ghibli film was spliced with Pixar’s art style.
The opening cutscene sets the stage, with Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi all getting ready for a big show in the kingdom of Alexandria. It’s not as exciting an opening as the previous two games in the series, but it ramps up throughout the intro, and especially during the escape from Alexandria, making this whole opening act between gameplay and CG cutscenes very well paced. Other standout moments include the Black Waltz airship chase, Odin destroying Cleyra, and Alexander taking on Bahamut.
Final Fantasy 8has one of the best openings in theseries, with Squalland Seifer fighting a Gunblade battle while an operatic chant, “Liberi Fatali,” blasts in the background. There’s a shocking amount of blood involved for aFinal Fantasygame, as Squall gets his signature scar from this battle. Shortly after, there’s also Balamb Garden’s first mission, a storming of Dollet that mimics the storming of Normandy in World War 2.
There’s an even bigger battle scene when rival schools, Galbadia and Balamb, invade each other. Other standouts include Squall and Rinoa dancing, Edea’s sniper parade, and Squall and Rinoa’s mission to space.Final Fantasy 8is also the first game in the series to have a lyrical ballad at the end, titled “Eyes on Me,” which is set to heartwarming moments like Laguna proposing to Raine.
“Liberi Fatali” is still a banger, but it is slightly edged out by the of-the-times metal song, “Otherworld,” played during the opening ofFinal Fantasy 10. Between the wild lyrics,Tidus’ Blitzball match, and Sin coming for Zanarkand, fans couldn’t have hoped for a cooler opening. It’s all a bit bizarre, but it makes more sense once players finish the game.
The Tidus and Yuna weird kiss ballet in Macalania Woods was for the romantics, while the airship wedding raid on Bevelle satisfied action fans in 2001. Some other standout scenes include the sending in Kilika, Auron reappearing in Luca, and the Sin battle at Mushroom Rock Road. Like inFinal Fantasy 12,Final Fantasy 10didn’t need to rely on CG as heavily, but Squaresoft certainly went all out for the PS2’s first series entry.
The cultural impactFinal Fantasy 7had on the gaming industry in 1997 is indescribable, and it all starts with the CG cutscene,s which were heavily marketed in ads. They set the game apart from the 8-bit and 16-bit games that came before, and every cutscene was burned into the brains of fans. There’s the opening cinematic with Aerith’s eyes that pulls out to reveal the metropolis of Midgar, followed by thearrival of Cloud.
The rest of the Midgar saga is light on CG, but the motorcycle exit from Shinra was a highlight. Then there was the iconic fire burning of Nibelheim (with Sephiroth standing among the flames), the entrance into Gold Saucer, the awakening of the WEAPONs, and so much more. Chief among the CG cutscenes was Aerith’s death, which sent shockwaves across the world and created a permanent moment in gaming history. The list could go on, but even thoughFinal Fantasy 7lacks voice acting, these are still some of the best overall moments in the series.
