I need to make a confession before we get into this one. For most of my life, I have treated "Final Fantasy" as a slightly misleading brand name, the way "Cool Ranch" doesn't really tell you much about the flavor profile you're getting into. There is nothing final about it. There have been sixteen mainline … Continue reading Same Name, Sixteen Different Games: How Final Fantasy Keeps Reinventing the RPG
Final Fantasy VI
From Cornelia to Ivalice: A Tour of Final Fantasy’s Greatest Worlds
One of the strange joys of being a longtime Final Fantasy fan is that no two games ever feel like they belong to the same universe. You can boot up one entry and find yourself in a medieval kingdom with knights and crystals. Boot up the next and you're navigating an industrial empire full of … Continue reading From Cornelia to Ivalice: A Tour of Final Fantasy’s Greatest Worlds
How Final Fantasy’s Magic Systems Have Evolved Over 35+ Years
There's a moment in every Final Fantasy game where magic stops being just a menu option and starts feeling like something real. Maybe it's the first time you grind out enough AP to finally unlock Ultima on your Materia. Maybe it's watching Lulu wind up in that absurd spinning doll animation before torching an entire … Continue reading How Final Fantasy’s Magic Systems Have Evolved Over 35+ Years
