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explosionshark · 5 years

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Thanks for recommending Gideon the Ninth! It was so good! Do you have a book rec tag I could check out? :)

honestly i should, huh? i’ve read more books than probably ever before this year and i’ve talked about ‘em intermittently, but not with a consistent tag. i’ll recommend some right now, though, with a healthy dose of recency bias!

sf/f

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon - a truly epic fantasy novel with one of the most beautiful, satisfying f/f romances i’ve ever read. the novel takes account nearly everything i hate about fantasy as a genre (overwhelmingly straight, white, and male centric, bland medieval European settings, tired tropes) and subverts them. incredible world-building, diverse fantasy cultures, really cool arthrurian legend influence. one of my favorite books i’ve ever read tbh.

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir - which you’ve read, obviously, but for posterity’s sake i’m keeping it here! sci-fi + murder mystery + gothic horror. genuinely funny while still having a super strong emotional core and more than enough gnarly necromantic to satisfy the horror nerd in me. makes use of some of my favorite tropes in fiction, namely the slowburn childhood enemies to reluctant allies to friends to ??? progression between gideon and harrow. absolutely frothing at the mouth for a sequel.

the broken earth trilogy by nk jemisin - really the first book that helped me realize i don’t hate fantasy, i just hate the mainstream ‘medieval europe but with magic’ version of fantasy that dominates the genre. EXTREMELY cool worldbuilding. i’ve definitely described it as like, a GOOD version of what the mage-vs-templar conflict in dragon age could have been, with a storyline particularly reminiscent of “what if someone got Anders right?”

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone - i’m not usually big on epistolary novels, but this one really worked for me. spy vs spy but it’s gay and takes place between time traveling agents of two opposing sides of a war. the letter writing format really plays to el-mohtar’s strengths as a poet, the unfolding love story is weird and beautiful. it’s a really quick read, too, if you’re short on time or attention.

empress of forever by max gladstone - i just finished this one this week! if you’re in the mood for a space opera, look no further. imagine if steve jobs was an asian lesbian and also like not a shitty person. this is where you start with vivian liao. you get the classic putting-the-band-together arc with beings from all across the universe, your romances and enemies-turned-friends and uneasy alliances all over the place. really satisfying character development and some extremely cool twists along the way. it’s just a fun good time.

the luminous dead by caitlin starling - this one rides the line of horror so it’s closest to that part of the list. it reminds me of the most inventive low budget horror/sci-fi films i’ve loved in the best way possible because it makes use of the barest narrative resources. it’s a book that takes place in one primary setting, featuring interactions between two characters that only meet each other face-to-face for the briefest period. the tension between the two characters is the most compelling part of the story, with competing and increasingly unreliable narratives and an eerie backdrop to ratchet things up even higher. the author described it as “queer trust kink” at one point which is, uh, super apt actually and totally my jam. the relationship at the center of the book is complicated to say the least, outright combative at points, but super compelling. plus there’s lost of gnarly sci-fi spelunking if you like stories about people wandering around in caves.

horror

the ballad of black tom by victor lavalle - we all agree that while lovecraft introduced/popularized some cool elements into horror and kind of defined what cosmic horror would come to mean, he was a racist sack of shit. which is why my favorite type of ‘lovecraftian horror’ is the type that openly challenges his abhorrent views. the ballad of black tom is a retelling of the horror at redhook that flips the narrative by centering the action around a black protagonist.

lovecraft country by matt ruff - more of what i just described. again, lovecraftian themes centered around black protagonists. this one’s especially cool because it’s a series of interconnected short stories following related characters. it’s getting a tv adaptation i believe, but the book is definitely not to be missed

rolling in the deep / into the drowning deep by mira grant - mermaids are real and they’re the ultimate deep sea predators! that’s really the whole premise. if for some reason that’s not enough for you, let me add this: diverse cast, a romance between a bi woman who’s not afraid to use the word and an autistic lesbian, really cool speculative science tangents about mermaid biology and myth.

the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson - it’s halloween month so i’m thinking about hill house again. one of the greatest american ghost stories ever written. especially worth the read if you follow it up w the 1964 film adaptation (the haunting) and then the 2018 netflix series.

the hunger by alma katsu - i’ve always been fascinated by the donner party even though we now know the popular narrative is largely falsehoods. still, this highly fictionalized version of events scratched an itch for me and ended up surprising me with its resistance from the most expected and toxic racist tropes associated with donner party myth.

wounds / north american lake monsters by nathan ballingrud - nathan ballingrud is my favorite horror writer of all time. one of my favorite writers period regardless of genre. in ballingrud��s work the horror is right in front of you. you can look directly at it, it’s right there. but what permeates it, what draws your attention instead, what makes it hurt is the brutally honest emotional core of everything surrounding the horror. the human tragedy that’s’ reflected by the more fantastic horror elements is the heart of his work. it’s always deeply, profoundly moving for me. both of these collections are technically short stories, but they’re in the horror section of the recs because delineations are totally arbitrary and made solely at my discretion.

short stories

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado - tbh i almost put this in w horror but there’s enough weird fiction here for me to be willing to straddle the line. it was really refreshing to read horror that centered queer women’s perspectives. the stories in this collection are really diverse and super powerful. there’s an incredible weird fiction piece that’s like prompt-based law and order svu micro fiction (go with me here) that ends up going to some incredible places. there’s the husband stitch, a story that devastated me in ways i’m still unraveling. the final story reminded me of a more contemporary haunting of hill house in the best way possible. machado is a writer i’m really excited about.

vampires in the lemon grove by karen russell - my friend zach recommended this to me when we were swapping book recs earlier this year and i went wild for it! mostly weird fiction, but i’m not really interested in getting hung up on genres. i don’t know what to say about this really other than i really loved it and it got me excited about reading in a way i haven’t been in a while.

the tenth of december by george saunders - i really like saunders’ work and i feel like the tenth of december is a great place to start reading him. quirky without being cloying, weird without being unrelatable.

misc

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid - there’s something really compelling to me about the glamour of old hollywood. this story is framed as a young journalist interviewing a famously reclusive former starlet at the end of her life. the story of how evelyn hugo goes from being the dirt-poor daughter of cuban immigrants to one of the biggest names in hollywood to an old woman facing the end of her life alone is by turns beautiful, inspiring, infuriating and desperately sad. by far the heart of the book is in evelyn finally coming out as bisexual, detailing her decades-long on/off relationship with celia st. james, another actress. evelyn’s life was turbulent, fraught with abuse and the kind of exploitation you can expect from the hollywood machine, but the story is compelling and engaging and i loved reading it.

smoke gets in your eyes by caitlin doughty - a memoir by caitlin doughty, the woman behind the popular ‘ask a mortician’ youtube series. it was a super insightful look into the american death industry and its many flaws as well as an interesting, often moving look at the human relationship with death through the eyes of someone touched by it early and deeply.

love and rockets by los bros hernandez (jaime and gilbert and mario) - this was a big alt comic in the 80s with some series within running on and off through the present. i’m not current, but this book was so important for me as a kid. in particular the locas series, which centered around two queer latina girls coming up in the punk scene in a fictional california town. the beginning starts of a little sci-fi-ish but over time becomes more concerned with slice-of-life personal dramas.

#book recs #long post #SORRY IF THIS IS MORE THAN YOU WANTED #obviouslyending #book tag

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shinygoku · 4 years

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Hot n Spicy Mario Takes

New Super Mario Bros (the DS game) is criminally underrated

Charles Martinet is the de facto best voice actor for the Bros, especially since it was established they are 20-something year olds

That being said, the accents and speech quirks would need to be toned down in fully voiced works like the upcoming movie

Meanwhile, I way prefer the voice Toad had in the old N64 games like MK64 and the first few Party installments. I think these were the Japanese voice tracks? Anyway he sounded cute and childish instead of raspy hellspawn

They overdo how high pitched and breathy Peach is sometimes, too. They don’t hafta make it as low as her 64 (and 64 DS) level but there’s a balance to aim for!

Yoshi’s more and more upright character model looks bad. He’s a dinosaur! Lengthen that tail back out and correct that posture!

Super Paper Mario is bad and it should feel bad! This WordsWordsWords simulator was the actual start of the Paper Decline but people cut it way too much slack because (refers to TV Tropes YMMV page) it’s story?! What rubbish! A generic ass Doomsday Villain with an even more Doomsday Dude cucking him, and undercooked interactions between the actual main characters. What a shit load of fuck.

Uhh.... that was most of the Spicy lol. But wait, I still have takes! Like, they should fire all the stupid Toads who rag on Luigi in SM64DS lol

While it’s actually a popular opinion to favour Luigi over Mario (eg I do this), it’s super uncool to turn around and try dragging Mario in some kinda misplaced retribution. They’re both wonderful and lovely Bros!! You don’t gotta pick just one to stan and you really shouldn’t subscribe to demonising Mario or edge-ifying Luigi. That’s both boring and wilfully ignorant

Bros can compete and engage in some rivalry and roughhousing while still being 500% ride or die for the other!!!

I appreciate Mario having a bit more depth to his personality in some portrayals! I get that he’s kept somewhat of a blank slate to seamlessly insert him into any situation, and that’s fine, but they can still let him be hot headed, competitive and something of a Leeroy Jenkins without contradicting his everyman and good egg self!

#Part 1 of ???#idk if I’ll have more to add for a while lol

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chainslaughter · 5 years

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here @doodledumpster list of series based on video games

See also:

List of anime based on video games

Air (2005)

Angry Birds Toons (2013–2016)

Arc the Lad (1999)

Bible Black (2003–2008)

Blue Dragon (2007–2009)

Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden (1998–1999)

Bomberman Jetters (2002–2003)

Canvas 2 (2005–2006)

Captain N: The Game Master (1989–1991)

Carmen Sandiego (2019–present)

Castlevania (2017–present)

Chaos;Head (2008)

Clannad (2007–2008)

Comic Party/Comic Party Revolution (2001, 2005)

Costume Quest (2019–present)

Cuphead (in production)

Darkstalkers (1995)

D.C. ~Da Capo~ (2003–2005)

Devil May Cry (2007)

Digimon (1997–2016)

Dinosaur King (2007–2008)

Donkey Kong Country (1997–2000)

Double Dragon (1993–1994)

Dragon's Lair (1984)

Dragon Quest (1989–1991)

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (1991–1992)

Earthworm Jim (1995–1996)

Ef: A Tale of Memories. (2007)

Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf (1992)

Fate/stay night (2006)

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals (1994) - A sequel to Final Fantasy V

Final Fantasy: Unlimited (2001–2002)

F-Zero: GP Legend (2003–2004)

Gakuen Heaven (2006)

Galaxy Angel (2001–2004)

Gungrave (2003–2004)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyō Shō (2004–2005)

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (2006–2007)

Inazuma Eleven (2008–2011)

Kanon (2002, 2006–2007)

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (2003–2004)

The King of Fighters: Another Day (2005–2006)

Kiniro no Corda (2006–2014)

Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (2001–2003)

Koisuru Tenshi Angelique (2006–2008)

Layton's Mystery Journey (2018–2019)

The Legend of Zelda (1989)

Little Nightmares (in production)

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha series - Based on Triangle Hearts 3 Lyrical Toybox (2004–2016)

Medabots (1999–2001)

Meet the Team (2007–2012) (Web series)

Mega Man

Monster Rancher (1999–2001)

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1996)

Mutant League (1994–1996)

Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective (1998)

Parappa the Rapper (2001–2002)

Pac-Man (1982–1983)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (2013–2015)

Persona

Piggy Tales (2014–2019)

Pokémon (1997–present)

Pole Position (1984)

Rayman: The Animated Series (1999–2000)

Rabbids Invasion (2013–present)

Sakura Wars (2000)

Saturday Supercade (1983–1984)

School Days (2007–2008)

Sentimental Journey (1998) - Based on Sentimental Graffiti

Shuffle! (2005–2007)

Sister Princess (2001)

Skylanders Academy (2016–2018)

Sonic the Hedgehog

Star Ocean EX (2001) - Based on Star Ocean: The Second Story

Street Fighter (1995–1997)

Street Fighter II V (1995)

Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shouganai (2005)

Super Mario

Taiko no Tatsujin (2005)

Tak and the Power of Juju (2007–2009) - Game and television series were developed in tandem.

Tales

ToHeart (1999)

Tokimeki Memorial Only Love (2006–2007)

Tokyo Majin (2007)

The Tower of Druaga (2008–2009)

Tsukihime, Lunar Legend (2003)

Utawarerumono (2006)

Viewtiful Joe (2004–2005)

Virtua Fighter (1995–1996)

Viva Piñata (2006–2009)

Wakfu (2008–2017)

Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (1994–1999)

Wild Arms (1999–2000)

Wind -a breath of heart- (2004)

Wing Commander Academy (1996)

Xenosaga: The Animation (2005)

Yo-Kai Watch (2014–present)

Ys (1992–1993)

Yumeria (2004)

Z.O.E. Dolores,i (2001) - Set within the Zone of the Enders universe

Steins;Gate (2011)

Clannad After Story (2008–2009)

Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle (1993)

Mega Man (1994)

Mega Man NT Warrior (2002–2006)

Mega Man Star Force (2006–2008)

Mega Man: Fully Charged (2018–present)

Persona: Trinity Soul (2008) - A spin-off of Persona 3

Persona 4: The Animation (2011–2012) & Persona 4: The Golden Animation (2014)

Persona 5: The Animation (2018–2019)

Pokémon Chronicles (2002–2004)

Sister Princess ~ RePure (2002)

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993–1996)

Sonic Boom (2014–2017)

Sonic Mania Adventures (2018)

Sonic the Hedgehog (1993–1994)

Sonic Underground (1999)

Sonic X (2003–2005)

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (1989)

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)

Super Mario World (1991)

Tales of Eternia: The Animation (2001)

Tales of the Abyss: The Animation (2008–2009)

ToHeart Remember my Memories (2004)

To Heart 2 (2005)

Utawarerumono: The False Faces (2006–2009)

There have also been several one-off video game-based cartoons, including specials such as Bubsy (1993), Battletoads (1992) and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (2006–2009).

Defiance (2013–2015)

Dragon Age: Redemption (2011)

Fallout: Nuka Break (2011–2013)

Maniac Mansion (1990–1993)

Mortal Kombat: Konquest (1998–1999)

Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011–2013)

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (2012)

Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist (2014)

Street Fighter: Resurrection (2016)

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989)

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991–1995)

Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? (1996–1997)

You Don’t Know Jack (2001)

Aaron Stone (2009–2010) - A boy turns into his favorite online superhero

Accel World (2012) - A series about a boy who plays VR video games to escape bullies in school and discovers a secret program that is able to accelerate the human cognitive process to the point at which time appears to stop.

Ace Lightning (2002) - Children's television series centered on a teenage boy's life after his video game characters come to life.

Arcadia (TV series) (2008–present) - Guatemalan TV series about video games

Arcade Gamer Fubuki (2002–2003)

Breadwinners (2014–2016)– The Breadwinners "level up" like video game characters.

Captain N: The Game Master (1989–1991) - Revolves around a kid who travels across various NES video games.

Code Monkeys (2007–2008) - About the lives of video game programmers and animated to resemble and parody the tropes of 1980s 8 and 16 bit video games.

Da Boom Crew (2004)

Deadly Games (1995) - plot centered on video game villains that have escaped into reality.

Future Man (2017–present)

Game Center Arashi (1982)

GameCenter CX (2003–present)

Game Grumps (2012-present) (Web Series)

Game Over (2004) - TV series about the lives of video game characters after the game was over. Aired on UPN originally.

Game Shakers (2015–2019)

Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything (2015–2017)

GamesMaster (1992-1998)

The Guild (2007–2013)

.hack

Harsh Realm (1999) - Hobbes who is a soldier about to retire, is put into a virtual reality where the only way to get out alive and get back to his wife and the love of his life, is to kill a guy called Santiago. Santiago is another soldier who is in the game and has taken it over.

High Score Girl (2018–present)

The Hollow (2018)

Just One Smile Is Very Alluring (2016)

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (2016-2017) - The 18th installment of the Heisei era Kamen Rider series. This show utilizes game cartridges called Rider Gashats and the rider's motifs inspired by retro video games.

King Koopa’s Kool Kartoons (1989–1990) - not actually based on a game, just a framing device for cartoons and toy giveaways.

Kiss Me First (2018–present)

Level Up (2012–2013)

Log Horizon (2013–2015) - The series follows the strategist, Shiroe, and the other players of the long-lived MMORPG Elder Tales after they find themselves whisked away into the game world following a game update.

Nick Arcade (1992)

The Ones Within (2019–present)

Overlord (2015–2018)- Japanese anime series about a VRMMO that is in the process of getting shut down but becomes real.

Parker Plays (2017–present) - A Disney XD show featuring Youtube personality Parker Coppins, aka ParkerGames, playing video games, the series also features other Youtubers such as CaptainSparklez, Strawburry17, Shubble, and Steve Zaragoza, as well as Jimmy Wong and Whitney Moore.

The Power Team (1990–1992) Featured various Acclaim Entertainment video game characters.

ReBoot (1994–2001) - The characters commonly assume the roles of enemy NPCs in "Game Cubes".

Starcade (1982–1984) - Arcade game-based game show hosted by Geoff Edwards (with early episodes being hosted by Mark Richards)

Sword Art Online (2012–present) - A series where players get trapped in a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Game) named Sword Art Online.

The Tribe (1999–2003)- Series four focuses on tribes addicted to a virtual-reality game.

Tron: Uprising (2012–2013)

Video Power (1990–1992)

Video Game High School (2006–2009)

Video & Arcade Top 10 (1992–2008)

Virtual Insanity Advance (2012) - Sketch-comedy series centered on video games where people simulate popular and ancient corresponding video-games while interacting with real people and features short animated segments of cartoons based on popular video games.

Game Grumps Animated

Game Grumps Vs

Guest Grumps

Steam Train

.hack//Sign (2002)

.hack//Legend of the Twilight (2003)

ReBoot: The Guardian Code (2018–present)

#long post #very long post #just from wikipedia page

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colourinside · 7 years

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11 questions

I was tagged by @onthedriftinthetardis a while ago to answer these 11 questions. Thank you for tagging me (♥♥), I’m so sorry it took me so long to do this! I’m guessing, it is now my turn to answer your 11 questions, right? Weeelll, allons-y then!

Tropes you’d like to see more of?

This is a difficult question. I am quite sure I have something to say to this but since I mostly don’t really think of the things I’d like to see as “tropes”, it is difficult to think of some and even name them now. But I guess one thing I definitely like to see more often, are unconventional masculinities? You know, men who, for example, let themselves cry and are rather shy and really sensitive in general? Also, different sexual orientations or gender identities just not being a big deal. Like, they are casually mentioned and nobody makes a fuss. I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can think of right now...

What would constitute your perfect Saturday night?

Well, obviously my girlfriend has to be there and we’d first have an unconventional dinner like fish fingers and custard and then cuddle on the couch while watching an episode of a great show or a fantastic movie. And afterwards, we discuss the movie/episode and watch some more TV. So basically Netflix and chill, but literally? :)

What’s your favourite outdoor experience?

There are many things I really love. Walking somewhere in nature where there is a great view, like, somewhere you can see the sea (see what I did there?) or exploring a city and walking from one amazing place right to another (like, you know, a movie/TV show locations rally) or picnicing somewhere on a meadow or near a lake... also walking around a city in a Cosplay, all the while being 100% in character... and so much more ♥

What’s one thing you want to do this summer?

Well, I am going to do an internship and I guess I also really want to do it. I also want to (or should/need to... uh) write at least two of the four seminar papers I’ll have to write for this semester, since I won’t have much time to finish them during the next semester since I’ll be abroad (in the UK)... uh. Yeah, apart from that, I guess I want to find some time to relax, some time I can spend with my friends, since I will do the internship in the city I used to live in. Many people will want to spend some time with me and it’ll be great :)

Who do you admire most? What is it about them that inspires you?

I really admire my best friend. She’s already been working on a cruise ship for half a year and she said it helped her grow out of her insecurities quite a lot. She seems so self-confident to me. She grew stronger, she is more relaxed about her future and her life choices in general. And while being so experienced at such a young age, she’s so grounded at the same time. She somehow manages stuff, she embraces challenges, they help her get out of her shell and don’t scare her deeper into it. It’s kinda fascinating to me how she combats fear and worries. And she can train herself to stop thinking a certain way. Like, when she detects a way of thinking about things that is harmful, she tries to cope by telling herself that thinking like that if of no use and to better stop thinking like this. And it works. I tried working on myself in the same way because I found her techniques so impressive. So far, it’s helping me quite a lot :)

What’s your favourite thing about your current primary fandom(s)?

Oh gosh, I dunno? The characters mostly? They are fascinating. Also, there’s a lot of fanfiction potential. Like a lot. Doctor Who for example is such a great universe (literally) and you can speculate so much. Also I love the way sexual orientations and gender identities are spoken about in (RTD era) Doctor Who. Just like it should be done. No big deal, no big drama :)

If you could take one trip anywhere in space & time and then safely return, where and when would you go?

Fuck, time and space. Uh. Damn. I guess, I’ll have to be boring and pick the 1920ies. I really kinda like that time period. Yes, I’d like to see England in the 1920ies, you know the later Downton Abbey England. I like the hairstyles and fancy dresses (at least some of them)... and I generally like England. Very much. So, there’s that xD

After a long day of work/school/life, what do you like to do to relax?

I like to just throw myself onto my bed or onto the couch and either read or just lie there and scroll through tumblr on my phone and/or listen to my Spotify songs. Sometimes, after an exhausting day, it can be the best to just lie there and stare. Just doing nothing. Dolce Farniente.

How do you feel about vegetables?

Since I am a vegetarian, it would kinda be rather bad if I didn’t like them, wouldn’t it? I honestly like most of the vegetables I know of and I regularly eat them. I just don’t like cooked peppers or even peppers in salads. I don’t know, the only way I enjoy eating peppers is raw and pure... Hm. I really eat as good as every kind of vegetable. There is none I can think of that I really despise with a passion. I mean, I don’t eat every single kind of vegetable with a passion but I eat them. Some with more enthusiasm than others. ;)

Where is your favourite place to shop?

Uh. I could name a few shops but I don’t think they’ll be known to most of you people on here. So, let me just say, I rather shop in some pedestrian area in Italy (or wherever) than in some bigger shopping centre. Smaller shops mostly have the greater things. More unique. More special somehow :)

Do you play any video games? If so, what are your all-time favourites?

I’m afraid I have to disappoint in this regard. I don’t play any nor have I ever played any video games, at least not regularly. I am horrible at them. Well, I did play some Lego Whatever X-Box/Wii games with my brother, those were the only ones I didn’t suck at completely (Like Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Star Wars, Lego Harry Potter, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, Lego Batman,... come to think of it, we had quite a few...). I also like playing those classical Wii games like Wii Party, Wii Sports (Resort) and Wii Fit... I’m sorry if those don’t count, but I really don’t play anything else. I mean, I had a Nintendo DS and I played Nintendogs and some Super Mario sometimes but... I guess that doesn’t count either? Uh.

And now I have to think of 11 questions, correct? Uh... I hope you don’t mind if I simply ask some of yours again and also take some of those you were asked... I’m bad at making up questions haha

My 11 questions:

What would constitute your perfect Saturday night?

What’s one thing you want to do this summer?

Who do you admire most? What is it about them that inspires you?

What’s your favourite thing about your current primary fandom(s)?

If you could take one trip anywhere in space & time and then safely return, where and when would you go?

Tell me about one tradition in your country you regularly partake in.

What is one thing you love about your family?

What is one essential trait of a good friendship?

Do you have a tattoo? If so, what do you have? If not, do you want one?

What is one song you currently listen to on repeat?

What is one song that always makes you happy? Tell me about the memory you associate with it.

I just realised, I forgot to tag people haha... sorry! So, I’ll tag: @chocolate-and-fandoms, @joi-in-the-tardis, @julibellule, @wordstothewisereaders, @jem-scribbles, @madabouttennant, @curiositykilledtheslug and @mrslydiaholden :)

#tumblr meme #that's me #11 questions #i was tagged #thank you!

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virginieboesus · 6 years

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The History of Final Fantasy

These days, it’s actually really hard to imagine the gaming industry without Final Fantasy. No matter if you’re a fan of RPGs or not, you’ll almost certainly have heard of the franchise. In fact, you’ve probably seen the adverts for Final Fantasy XV all over TV, billboards and YouTube, especially with the mobile game that is now available as well. But there was a time before this behemoth (pun intended) of a franchise existed and it is a story well documented amongst Final Fantasy fans.

However, in the effort to write up a really cool and educational post, I’m going to cover it once again! Why not, right? So, without further adieu, let’s dive into the deep end of Square Enix’s past and look at the history of Final Fantasy.

It’s All In The Name

It all started as the console market was being revolutionised by the brand new Nintendo Famicom, eventually released outside of Japan as the Nintendo Entertainment System. Around that time, a young 21-year-old developer joined a small company then known as Square, with hopes to bring them into the limelight of the computer games industry. His name was Hironubu Sakaguchi.

At that time, the Famicom was gaining huge strides due to the likes of Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, which also meant that expectations of video games were rather high. Therefore, it was definitely a turbulent climate for a small company to try and make their way into.

Nevertheless, Sakaguchi and his team got to work on various games, including Rad Racer and a number of other titles. These games definitely showed off the development prowess of the team, but there was one huge problem; they didn’t sell.

So it was that Square was running out of money fast, edging closer and closer to bankruptcy. Many people would have just given up at that point, but Sakaguchi was determined to put his mark on the gaming industry before it was all lost. He and his team decided to try one final time, this time focusing their efforts on an epic fantasy adventure to rival games like Wizardry – a “final fantasy” if you will.

The Revival Of A Company

The appropriately named Final Fantasy hit the shelves in Japan on the 18th of December, 1987. This was also the same week that saw the launch of Phantasy Star from SEGA, and was just two short months ahead of Dragon Quest III as well.

However, Sakaguchi had a few tricks up his sleeve to help the game. Firstly, Square had brought on Yoshitaka Amano, the artist behind the Vampire Hunter D anime, to create the visual designs for the game. Secondly, the soundtrack was composed by Nobuo Uematsu which, when combined with the story and visuals, created a complete and well-crafted package that gamers could pick up and enjoy immediately.

It was this release that finally turned the tide for Square, dragging them back from the brink of bankruptcy. One single game proved so popular that it saved the entire company. So, if you’re ever wondering why Square Enix (as they are now called) are so protective about the series, it is because they literally wouldn’t exist without it.

A Not-So-Final Fantasy

Before the first game had even started to be localised for other countries, Square had started putting together plans for a sequel. How could they not, when the game had saved them all?

On top of that, their biggest competition (Enix’s Dragon Quest) series was producing new titles almost every year. Square had to compete, so another Final Fantasy was needed, despite the confusion that the name would cause.

At the time, RPG series tended to focus on sticking to pre-determined conventions. Whether this mention continuing with the same characters through each game, or at least keeping it within the same world, each game was an actual sequel to the last. Sakaguchi and his team decided to break away from that with Final Fantasy II. Instead, the game featured an entirely new world with new characters, backstory and a more complex plot.

Experimentation quickly became one of the staples of Final Fantasy sequels, beginning with Final Fantasy II. For example, a brand new leveling system was put into place. Rather than simply gaining levels from experience points, you powered up your skills by using them or weapons that were related to them. For example, using magic more often would make a character better at using magic. This was a huge change of gameplay direction for RPGs in general at the time.

Sadly, it didn’t get well received, due mostly to the fact that it meant you had to grind far more often. This was both frustrating and tiring for many players. So it was that development quickly moved to the third game in the series.

The 8-Bit Trilogy

Final Fantasy III marked the last game in the series to be released on the Famicom and NES. It continued the experimental attitude of the second game, although to a much smaller extent. That level of experimentation was moved over to the SaGa series instead.

Dropping the new leveling system, Final Fantasy III introduced the Job system. This allowed each character to take on the role of over 20 different “jobs”, or classes. These could be switched in and out at any time as well, meaning that each character could learn a vast array of abilities. It also added a tactical element to party structure, as you had to plan out how each party member would work and what role they would play.

The game, itself, was well recieved, helping to bring back some love to the series. However, it was a short-lived game and, despite building the framework for the rest of the series, quickly disappeared from memory.

The 16-Bit Era

So it was that Final Fantasy III ended the series’ run on the Famicom and NES. However, that was only because of the release of the Super Famicom (or the SNES outside of Japan). This brand new system launched the next generation for gaming, bringing the world into the 16-Bit era.

Square was, however, reluctant to throw all of their chips into one basket and fully commit to a new system. As such, they planned to create two new Final Fantasy games at the same time, named Final Fantasy IV and V respectively. IV would be released for the NES, which was now reaching the end of its life cycle, whilst V would be developed for the SNES.

Unfortunately, it was just too much for the company to handle, so they were forced to scrap the original NES game known as Final Fantasy IV. Thus, they put all of their focus onto the SNES game, changing its name from V to IV.

This version of Final Fantasy IV sort to refine the gameplay of its predecessors, doing away with the interchangeable job system in favour of predetermined classes for each character. This meant that the classes could be far more complex, but also helped the developers create a more in-depth storyline.

Final Fantasy IV added everything from meaningful relationships between characters to complex political struggles. Despite still being firmly rooted in the fantasy genre, this allowed the developers to show fans that they could expand the horizons of the series beyond standard tropes.

Experimentation continued as well, as Square made huge changes to the standard turn-based battle system that had been in place since the very first game. Final Fantasy IV was the first game to introduce the Active Time Battle system, which meant that characters would need to “rest” after each attack, with the rest time varying depending on the strength of the attack. It also meant that the Speed statistic suddenly became even more important.

This was because, the higher a character’s Speed (or Agility), the shorter their rest time was. Finally, it was Final Fantasy IV that saw the introduction of Save Points, which by today’s standards, is now seen as an outdated gameplay mechanic. However, at the time it was a brilliant addition that meant the pacing and length of the game could be greatly improved.

Interestingly enough, due to the fact that Final Fantasy II and III were not localised outside of Japan, when Final Fantasy IV came to the West on the SNES, it was renamed as Final Fantasy II. This was cover up the fact that we had essentially missed two full games (and wouldn’t be the last time this happened).

Making It Easy For The West

The RPG genre had never really been big in the West. In fact, it was still very much a niche genre until Final Fantasy IV (I mean II) came out on the SNES. It was that game which really introduced Western audiences to the genre. Therefore, Square wanted to take advantage of this and grow the Final Fantasy brand in the States as quickly as possible.

However, they had already needed to make Final Fantasy IV (II) easier than its Japanese counterpart for it to be successful. So it was that the view of developers became the idea that the Western audience just wasn’t able to handle the complexities of the RPG genre. So, Square decided to make an RPG just for Americans; Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.

It removed the free-roam aspects of the genre, as well as taking away control of all characters except for the main protagonist. In essence, it cut out all of the tactical elements and grinding, but kept the standard slow pacing. You can find out how well it turned out in my review of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest here.

In the end, it was a really bad decision. Even when Mystic Quest was released in Japan (amusingly named Final Fantasy USA), it didn’t sell very well at all. This was a learning experience for Square, who decided that they wouldn’t dumb down any future releases outside of Japan (thankfully).

The Fifth Fantasy

Final Fantasy V, having been developed whilst the world was experiencing Mystic Quest, finally released in Japan in December of 1992. It had been designed to give the deepest experience of a Final Fantasy game to date – that’s the reason why the West didn’t get the game.

With an updated version of the Job system, as well as an Ability System that connected to it, character depth was greatly improved. If you were to level up one class high enough, you could then unlock the ability to cross-equip some of that class’ skills onto another one (this idea would later be used as a key feature in Final Fantasy XIV).

Despite this, Square remained vigilant with their storytelling, creating unique characters rather than relying on nameless protagonists. The storyline was littered with memorable moments, grand villains and emotion. It was a really strong entry in the franchise – one that we didn’t get to experience outside of Japan, at first.

Goodbye To The 16-Bit

And so we come to the end of the SNES’ life cycle as well, and with it, the last in the second trilogy of Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy VI released on the 2nd of April, 1994. It marked a huge change for the series in terms of setting style, as it moved away from medieval fantasy and dove straight into steampunk.

The world mixed swords and magic with a society of industry and machinery. This was introduced to players immediately in the opening scene through the use of Magitek Armor right at the beginning of the game.

In the West, the game was hyped up through previews and ads across all sorts of gaming magazines. There was even an animated TV advert as well.

On top of this, Square had learnt their lesson; the game was not going to be made easier for the West. Instead, the game itself scrapped the Job system once again, focusing on the characters themselves (like Final Fantasy IV). Square also decided to buck the trend of J-RPGs of the time by expanding the game’s world, rather than narrowing storylines.

This meant that a whole host of sub-plots and backstory events were included. Considering the fact that gamers at the time weren’t used to open-world games or massive narratives at the time, this helped to make Final Fantasy VI really stand out from the crowd.

The game received glowing reviews across the board and, to this day, is very as one of the best games in the series as a whole.

All Lucky Sevens

First years, Square had been partnered with Nintendo. In fact, they even put together a tech demo for the Nintendo 64 that uses characters from Final Fantasy VI. This lead to many believing that the next Final Fantasy was an imminent N64 release.

However, since Nintendo was determined to stick with cartridges for the N64 whilst Sony had just released the PlayStation using CDs as a medium, the time for change had come. Square jumped ship to the new console. Many fans were outraged at first, viewing the company as traitors.

However, it turned out to be the right decision, as fans would soon come to realise.

Sakaguchi moved away from being the director of the next Final Fantasy game, instead acting as Producer due to the larger team needed to produce the seventh game. In fact, the team had grown four times as large compared to that of Final Fantasy VI! With Sakaguchi no longer in the director’s chair, Square put Yoshinori Kitase in the role instead – he was the director of the huge success that was Chrono Trigger.

Whilst the team had very limited experience with CGI graphics, through hard work they managed to start bringing everything together. It was at that point that they knew the Western audiences would be sold on the game, because of how amazing it looked. However, he was concerned about the Japanese audience and how they would react to the new Final Fantasy game being on Sony’s console and not Nintendo’s.

On the 31st of January 1997, Final Fantasy VII was released into the wild. Nervousness was certainly the feeling of the day in Square’s offices. However, within the first three days of release, Final Fantasy VII sold 2 million copies! Once it hit Western shores, that number jumped up to 10 million, sealing the deal and letting Square and its fans know that the jump had been the right move.

Square had dared to fight against two prevailing theories;

Americans and Europeans would never play RPGs

Americans and Europeans cared more about action than story

They took a stand to prove these ideas wrong, and they were successful. Final Fantasy VII was a runaway success that, to this day, is still beloved by millions. It has even lead to sequels and prequels called Crisis Core (PSP), Dirge of Cerberus (PS2) and Advent Children (movie). Sadly, Square has yet to reach quite that level of success again.

Divided We Stand

Moving on from Final Fantasy VII, Square had another lesson to learn. Final Fantasy VII had seen many delays during development due to poor planning. As such, Square decided to split their development team in two in order to plan and work on two new games at the same time.

Whilst this had been tried before when working on the original Final Fantasy IV and V, things had moved on considerably since then.

Thus, work on Final Fantasy VIII and IX began almost simultaneously. VIII would stick with the more modern style setting of VI and VII, whilst IX would return to the medieval world, filled with nostalgia. It was a bold decision.

Final Fantasy VIII was set in a world inspired by modern-day Europe and threw away much of the traditional leveling system. Whilst you still grew stronger through gaining experience points, you could actually improve your characters’ stats further by “junctioning” (equipping magic onto your individual stats). This also lead to the removal of MP (magic points), as Magic was “drawn” out of monsters or Draw Point, giving you limited numbers of each spell until you found another place or monster to draw it out of.

Despite the fact that the game received critical praise, earning scores of 9 or higher across the board, it split fans considerably. Some loved the game’s new style of gameplay and epic tale of romance, whilst others found the Junction system to be overly complicated and the Draw system tedious.

As for Final Fantasy IX, development was marred by confusion. To begin with, Square wasn’t sure whether they wanted it to even be a numbered sequel. This is because numbered sequels were considered the “bread and butter” of the franchise and the game was very much a nostalgic throwback to the older games. To be a numbered sequel, the game had to be worthy of it. In the end, it was.

Returning to the deformed character styles of Yoshitaka Amano, Square took Final Fantasy IX’s design back to the style of the older games, which adding in new gameplay features and a massive plot that spanned four discs.

It was largely considered a work of art upon release, actually being the highest rated game of the series so far. However, it ended up being the worst selling of the PlayStation era games, possibly due to the end of the 32-bit era coming ever closer.

The 32-Bit Swan Song

As we reached the end of the 20th century, the 32-bit era of the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and N64 was coming to an end as well. So, in order to get as much out of the 32-bit consoles as possible, Square began to release a bunch of spin-off and cash in titles.

These included Chocobo Racing, which was a Mario Kart inspired game with the main character being a chocobo with rocket-propelled shoes. There were also a few small RPGs featuring said chocobo as the main character.

However, amongst all of these cash in titles was one spin-off game that was truly worthy of the Final Fantasy name; Final Fantasy Tactics.

It was actually developed around the same time as Final Fantasy VII, but focused more on the traditional 2D graphical style of RPGs, except for the 3D world. The standard turn-based RPG battle system was replaced with a tactical RPG system, which resembled chess. On top of this, the Job system made a comeback, but in far more depth.

Despite the game featuring a brilliant and rich storyline, the hardcore tactical gameplay proved to be its downfall, at least at the time of launch. Sales were very poor, partly because everyone had recently fallen in love with the gameplay style of Final Fantasy VII. In fact, the game sold so badly that it wasn’t even released in Europe!

However, in 2001, Square decided to re-release it in the “Greatest Hits” line of games. This is the American version of Europe’s Platinum range of games. It was then that the game suddenly shot up in popularity. Sure, it may not have come close to the main numbered series in sales, but it sold well enough to spawn two sequels on the GameBoy Advance (which were nowhere near as good) and a port to the PSP with improved dialogue.

The New Millenium

The move into the 21st century marked yet another change in the Final Fantasy franchise. Having seen what CGI storytelling could do through Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX, Sakaguchi began work on Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

This was not the next game in the series, nor another spin-off title. Instead, it was completely CGI movie, similar to that of Dreamworks and Pixar. However, instead of creating cartoon graphics for kids, Sakaguchi and his team created a photo-realistic movie to show what they could do. It took three years to create and, to this day, is still one of the best reviewed videogame to movie adaptations.

However, it had almost nothing to do with Final Fantasy, except for the idea of the planet’s “spirit” being called Gaia. The Spirits Within was actually just a relatively standard science fiction film. Because of this, and the fact that it was far too deep and philosophical for a standard action movie, it failed miserably.

In fact, it was one of the biggest commercial failures and financial losses in movie history, nearly bringing Square back to the position they had been in before Sakaguchi first released Final Fantasy all those years ago.

The Tenth Release

Luckily for Square, the next game in the Final Fantasy series released very soon after. Sakaguchi, due to his involvement with The Spirits Within, had only acted as Executive Producer on this new game, but you could still feel his influence.

Having been in development for over two years, Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to appear on the newly released PlayStation 2. Once again, the team behind it had ditched traditional RPG design in favour of experimentation.

This lead to a battle system known as the Conditional Turn Battle system, where using certain actions meant that a character would have his or her next turn pushed further down the queue. On top of this, you could swap characters in and out of battle as long as they were still standing.

The other major point of experimentation worth mentioning, apart from the inclusion of voice acting for the first time in the series, was the Sphere Grid. In another effort to step away from traditional leveling, Final Fantasy X saw characters gain Sphere Levels which could then be spent to move around the Sphere Grid.

The Sphere Grid was a huge board full of nodes that contained skills and stat increases, as well as special lock nodes that need key spheres to unlock. In essence, it was a giant puzzle that you had to move the characters around in order to grow their stats and abilities. This added an insane amount of customisation to the characters, as you could choose how they developed depending on how you moved around the grid.

Finally, the developers ditched the World Map idea (except when you’re in an airship), favouring a “connected world” style of gameplay. This meant that there were no immersion-breaking changes in the size of the world. No longer would you step out of a town and suddenly be a giant character towering above the rest of the world as you moved to the next location. Instead, every single road, forest and town were part of one single world connected by loading zones.

Final Fantasy X marked the moment in time that the series turned around again, becoming the king RPGs once more. The gameplay and storyline where sheer brilliance and are remembered very fondly to this day.

The First True Sequel

Square was so elated with how well received Final Fantasy X was that they decide to do something they had never done before; make a new game with the same world and characters. For the very first time, Squaresoft made a direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game!

Because development and release of Final Fantasy XI were already looming, they had to choose a different naming convention. Thus, they named this new game Final Fantasy X-2, starting a new naming convention that would stick when they eventually made more direct sequels in the future.

Final Fantasy X-2 was very much a game about fan-service. It focused on being more light-hearted than the rather dark and depressing story of Final Fantasy X. A good example of this is when you first start up the game and are greeted with a pop concert.

Also, due to the fact that the game only featured 3 playable characters, the developers opted to bring back the Job system in order to give more variety to the characters. However, this was done through a “dress up” system, where you had to get different outfits to unlock the different classes.

Despite the fact that it doesn’t hold very fond memories with many Final Fantasy fans, it sold rather well.

A Historic Merger

For years, Square’s Final Fantasy series and Enix’s Dragon Quest franchise had been bitter rivals in the gaming industry. All of that changed shortly after the release of Final Fantasy X-2.

It was, at this time in Final Fantasy’s history, that Square merged with Enix to create a brand new entity that is still known as Square Enix today.

However, it also marked the end of Sakaguchi’s reign as the king of Final Fantasy. Following the merger, his new bosses took one look at the stain on his record caused by The Spirits Within and that was all there was to it. So, after working at Square for 21 years, Sakaguchi left the company he had helped to build and moved on to start a new business.

Multiplayer Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy XI was a game that caused a lot of controversy with fans when it was first announced. It was going to be a massively-multiplayer RPG (MMORPG) similar to World of Warcraft or EverQuest. This angered many longtime fans, similar to how Final Fantasy VII had done the same before release.

This was especially true in Japan, as online gaming hadn’t really been a success compared to the West.

However, Square Enix had a trick up their sleeve – one that they would use again later in the franchise’s life. You see, Final Fantasy XI was a cross-platform MMORPG, which meant that PC and PS2 players were able to play together on the same servers. This was a first in the industry. On top of this, the Job system returned, which meant that one character could play all of the classes in the game.

This was a huge selling point compared to other MMORPGs, as traditionally, you would have to “role”, or play as, multiple characters to try out and enjoy the different classes. Having all of them available on one character made life far more simple for gamers.

However, to this day, Final Fantasy XI is widely regarded as one of the most challenging MMORPGs. In fact, the game has one boss fight that became legendary when elite end-game players fought it for 20 hours straight, in a huge group, only to eventually give up before they could kill it.

Despite this, the game continued to run on a Pay to Play monthly subscription model for 14 years! The servers were eventually shut down and the game closed in 2016.

The Return of Nintendo

It wasn’t long after the release of Final Fantasy XI that Square Enix announced that they would be bringing a new game in the franchise to Nintendo’s GameCube console. It wouldn’t be a main numbered entry, but rather a spin-off series of its own known as Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.

The game featured multiplayer and returned to the more child-friendly graphical style of the original Nintendo Final Fantasy games. It sold relatively well, especially since the development team featured less than 20 people. As such, it has since gone on to create its own series on the DS and Wii consoles.

The Twelfth Battle

By the time Final Fantasy XII came out, the cards were already stacked against it. The next generation of consoles was already beginning as the Xbox 360 had been released and the PS2 was losing traction.

However, Square Enix was undeterred and created their most ambitious game to date. Utilising the idea of a connected world that they had perfected with Final Fantasy X, the team created a huge game world suitable for an MMORPG. However, the game wasn’t an online one, instead sticking true to the single-player RPG style.

The turn-based battle system was heavily altered again, with battle scenes removed from the game. Instead of running around and then being pulled out of the game map and into a separate battle scene randomly, enemies now appeared on the game map and battles took place in the game world. The active time battle system made a comeback, but with an MMORPG style twist as well.

The storyline was also set in the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics and another PSX game, Vagrant Story. This helped to capture the interest of fans of both of these games. It was very well received by critics, but due to the PS2 reaching the end of its lifecycle, sales were low.

It did, however, get a small sequel on the Nintendo DS a year later.

Lightning Strikes In Threes

With the PS3 coming out, fans of Final Fantasy waited eagerly for the next game in the series; Final Fantasy XIII. Originally slated to be the flagship game in a new collective series known as Fabula Nova Crystallis, it featured a strong, female lead character called Lightning who was dubbed as a mix between Terra from Final Fantasy VI and Cloud from Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy XIII was an absolutely beautiful game, really showing what the PlayStation 3 was capable of. However, it was ultimately frowned upon by fans due to the simplistic combat system (you could let the game fight for you if you wanted to) and extremely linear first half of the game. It was even nicknamed as a corridor simulator by fans of the series.

Nevertheless, Square Enix developed a direct sequel, utilising the naming convention started with Final Fantasy X-2.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 focused on Sarah, Lightning’s sister, and featured the ability to travel through time. This was designed to remedy to feeling of XIII being too linear. However, the fact that you only had two playable characters (plus monsters that you could tame) meant that the battle system felt just as simplistic as the original game.

Despite the multitude of endings adding to the replayability of the game, fans were waiting for the other games in the Fabula Nova Crystallis instead. However, they were to be disappointed when one of them was taken away to be its own game (we’ll get to that) and the other just seemed to fade away (we’ll get to that too).

It wasn’t long after XIII-2 that we were then given Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, the third game in this mini-series within a series. Taking place 500 years after the events of XIII-2, the game features a clock that was constantly ticking down to the end of the world.

With a Job system in the style of Final Fantasy X-2’s dress up game coming into play again, plus the fact that Lighting was the only real playable character, it was a very different Final Fantasy game. This was in keep with the idea of experimentation that permeates the franchise. However, by this point, fans were ready to move on from Lightning.

Refocused

As mentioned earlier, one of the planned games for the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos was taken out of the collective to become its own game. This became known as Final Fantasy Type-0 and was released for the PSP originally, before eventually getting an HD remake for the PS4.

Similar to the spin-off prequel to Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, Type-0 uses an action-battle system as the basis for combat. The game itself is a huge departure from the standard gameplay of the franchise, with 14 playable characters and (on the PSP version) multiplayer with a 3-minute time limit.

The game is structured using a mission-based format as well, similar to Crisis Core, and also features an arena mode as well.

An Era Reborn

The next game in the Final Fantasy series was Final Fantasy XIV, a second attempt to create an MMORPG after the success of FFXI. However, the original version of XIV was a disaster.

The game itself needed top of the range PCs to be able to even run the game. From there, it was full of bugs at launch and felt incredibly empty due to the size of the world and lack of NPC and monster population. Despite this, it did gain dedicated players who stuck with it.

However, Square Enix could see how badly the game was doing and, rather than risk tarnishing the Final Fantasy name again (like they did with The Spirits Within) they decided to take action. A new development team took over the game, adding in various patches to fix the most broken bugs whilst creating a storyline that led to the End of an Era event.

This involved one of the moons coming down to the planet, summoned by one of the antagonists. That moon subsequently exploded to reveal Bahamut, the king of dragons within it. Bahamut proceeded to obliterate the world whilst a powerful mage sent players’ characters into the future.

This was the end of the original Final Fantasy XIV and marked the day the servers were turned off.

The new team then went to work to rebuild the game from the ground up. This lead to new graphics and systems being used to make the game work better on all types of PCs, but also on the PS3 as well (plus the PS4 at a later date). Thanks to this, cross-platform gameplay was added successfully to the game as well.

The gameplay was altered and improved immensely as well, and a new storyline was written. This led to the game being relaunched as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

In this new version, players of the original could continue with the characters that they already had, as the developers had written the plotline of these characters being sent forward in time. The new game took place 2 years after Bahamut’s attack and reintroduced previous players through one starting storyline and new players through a different one.

From here, the game became a resounding success and is currently one of the most popular MMORPGs available, with two expansion packs and additional content being added to the game for free every 3 months. There have also been a number of Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festivals around the world as well.

Final Fantasy XIV is the story of how Square Enix was able to salvage a completely failing game and turn it into a true success story.

Brotherhood And The Future

Finally, we’re going to talk about the third game from the Fabula Nova Crystallis; the one that just seemed to vanish. For years, no news was heard about this game, originally titled as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Because of this, everyone had come to the assumption that this awesome looking game had been quietly cancelled.

Then, at E3 2013, everyone was focused on the PS4 and Xbox One, not really expecting anything of note to come from Square. However, when Sony’s press conference started, we got something no one was expecting. Tetsuya Nomura appeared on the screen to announce that he had a surprise for us all.

A trailer appeared, showcasing an utterly beautiful looking game from Square Enix. Part way through the trailer, Noctis, the main character of Versus XIII came into view, followed by some of the most amazing looking gameplay ever. Then, the Versus XIII logo finally appeared on the screen, only the shatter into pieces and be replaced with the title Final Fantasy XV.

The long lost game was back, and was now a main numbered title! The crowd erupted, and the game was alive.

It eventually released on the PS2 on the 29th of November 2016. With a massive open world, exciting and frantic gameplay and a story about brotherhood and friendship, it was a return to form for the series. Since then, it has seen numerous DLC added to it, including one that fixed one of the less popular sections of the games. This shows Square Enix’s continued desire to improve and make Final Fantasy games as good as they can be, first seen in how they handled Final Fantasy XIV.

With more DLC coming in 2019, set the end the story of Noctis and his friends, we can now start to look towards the future of Final Fantasy and the 16th numbered title in the series. Considering the success of both Final Fantasy XIV and XV, I think the future is a bright one.

And That’s All Folks

Final Fantasy has a storied history of twist and turns, successes and failures. It is one of the longest running video game series to date and looks set to keep going for a long time to come. It helped save a company from the brink of collapse, popularise the RPG genre in the West and create a devoted fan base.

Have you played a Final Fantasy game? Which is your favourite? What do you think the future holds for the franchise? Let me know in the comments below!

from More Design Curation https://www.16bitdad.com/the-history-of-final-fantasy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-history-of-final-fantasy source https://smartstartblogging.tumblr.com/post/172910252185

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