Summary
Final Fantasyis responsible for some of the most iconic JRPGs in gaming history, with one oftheir biggest grand slamsbeingFinal Fantasy 7. WhileFinal Fantasy 7can get a little wild, there are titles in the franchise that dive into the completely absurd.
Games can get confusing and hard to follow, and this can be because of just how off the rails the story can lead players.Final Fantasy 2is a great example of how constantly throwing twist after twist can send the story into an utterly bizarre spiral.
The story starts with a standard high fantasy style storyline andone of the shortest ones out of anyFinal Fantasygame. A powerful evil emperor poses a threat to the neighboring kingdom and sends forth all manner of hellish forces across the land. While absurdity is pretty common among modern RPGs,Final Fantasy 2was one of the first to shove as many ideas as possible into a single story. Technology ranges from magical items and mechanical airships to the sci-fi style Dreadnought of the Dark Knight.
The King of the neighboring kingdom falls deathly ill and the player party sets off to find the last Dragoon, only to end up being attacked by pirates — who join them. The last Dragoon entrusts the players with its egg to take to a magic spring. The game also implements many uses of the “switcharoo” such as when an ally turns out to be an enemy shapeshifter. This is just a small taste of the absurdity that ensues.
Final Fantasy Versus 13went through a roller coaster of development, making its final form,Final Fantasy 15, one ofthe most impressive revealsin the franchise.FinalFantasy 15is set in the world of Eos and does an amazing job of capturing a modernized world setting, in a world where magic exists. The way players drive a stylish car down paved roads, set up campsites, and stop to take pictures with a camera, creates the experience of a group of friends going on a road trip. The game’s story itself has been said to be extremely confusing, and this is because not all of the lore is within just the game.
The story is spread across numerous media, including a series, a film, and a novel. Players that explore these other mediums will have a greater understanding of many of the elements in the game to have the full story come together. Hunting down all the lore elements for Ardyn, the Demons, and both timelines the game is set in can be a little too much for some players to digest.
In the world of Gran Pulse is the isolated floating city of Cocoon. Anyone in Cacoon who interacts with the outside world will be banished. These laws are enforced by the fal’Cie of Cocoon, beings treated by the inhabitants of Cocoon as gods, despite having been created by an even more powerful being. The story’s main protagonist, Lightning, wishes to save her crystallized Cocoon l’Cie sister by finding a fal’Cie from Gran Pulse. The l’Cie are humans that have been chosen by the fal’Cie to fulfill a special purpose known as their Focus. Those who fulfill their focus are crystallized as a reward, as this grants them “eternal life.”
Upon confronting the fal’Cie, the protagonist and party are turned into l’Cie. It is revealed that two of the party members are former Pulse l’Cie who awoke from their crystalized state thirteen days before the events ofFinal Fantasy 13’s start. The party discovers their Focus is to destroy Cocoon, as this will summon the being that created the fal’Cie. The party members are able to slay the sleeping fal’Cie which holds up Cocoon, causing Cocoon to fall, fulfilling their Focus and turning into crystals. However, two of the party members transform into a powerful entity known as Ragnarok, and then into a pillar that holds up Cocoon, preventing its destruction. This causes the other party members to all awaken from their crystal states, including Lightning’s sister. This is one of severalFinal Fantasygames to spawn several sequels, which are easier to follow.
Ofall theFinal Fantasygames released on the PS2 console,Final Fantasy 10was the first. The narrative has players following the story of Tidus, who is a resident of the city of Zanarkand. After a giant monster named Sin attacks, he supposedly wakes up in the far future, where Zanarkand is a ruined city. Players will learn more about the world of Spira and beings called the Fayth.
Turns out, Tidus is not from the past, but instead a dream of the Fayth. Both he and the Zanarkand that he is from were both dreams the whole time. The Fayth were people that willingly let their spirits be infused into stone tablets, but still dream in this state. These dreams can be used to call Summons into the world of Spira. There are a lot of fans who are still eagerly waiting to see if this is one of the nextFinal Fantasygames to hopefully get a remake.
There aremany versions ofFinal Fantasy 4, but the story stays just as bizarre. Players will easily notice that the game is set in a world that has two moons. What they will not be aware of is that one of these moons is a fake created by an advanced alien race. The story follows the game’s protagonist and his close friend, who are following the orders of the king, but turn on the king after realizing how much destruction they have left in their wake under his orders. However, this realization comes just before an earth-splitting cataclysmic event that releases a mighty titan and separates the protagonist from his friend.
This sets the player on a path of a globetrotting journey filled with characters who are not who they claim to be, including a voice inside the protagonist’s head that claims to be his father. The protagonist also reunites with his friend who is now brainwashed and serves as a major antagonist. This is all to create a pathway to the Red Moon, but is thwarted. However, the protagonist is able to acquire an airship capable of sailing to the Red Moon where an alien being resides. It is here the player learns that the protagonist is half-alien and that he has a brother. After defeating the final threat, the alien is able to go back into hibernation as the Red Moon drifts off and out of the planet’s orbit.
