Final Fantasy

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Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game series created by Hironobu Sakaguichi, and developed by SquareSoft (later SquareEnix).

Most of the video game titles published (the main series currently stands at 14 titles) are fantasy or science-fantasy RPGs, although it could be argued that Final Fantasy XI - an MMO, still counts as an RPG. Movie titles, strategy games, other video games, anime, printed media, and other paraphernalia have also been published. None of the central titles have any kind of storyline relationship to one another, and are essentially self-contained continua save where one gets a continuation sequel or spin-off game.

The Final Fantasy series has been covered by several artists, including Yoshitaka Amano, Tetsuya Nomura, and Akihiko Yoshida.

Despite being developed in Japan, the Final Fantasy series still enjoys a lot of popularity on a more global scale. This, along with the fact that a movie based on FFVII was recently released, means that there is plenty of Final Fantasy Fanfic and hence Badfic to go around.

Game Play
The original Final Fantasy series was a classic turn-based RPG battle system: meaning, each character had a character class (or specialized moveset) and attacked in a turn order to reduce an enemy's hit points to 0. This battle system was simple until Final Fantasy IV, which used an active-time turn based battle system. This kind of battle system was kept, improved, and modified in various ways until Final Fantasy X, which used a conditional (no time pressure for picking actions) battle system. Real time battles were the system of choice in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. Final Fantasy XII uses a real-time battle system once again.

The Final Fantasy Tactics series uses a turn-based strategy game style interface.

The Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles series uses a real-time (and if you wish it, co-op!) battle system.

Releases and Timelines
The first Final Fantasy game was intended to be just that: a final fantasy title by Squaresoft, which at the time did not have a sunny outlook for its continued existence. This proved to be a load of balderdash later, when the very first Final Fantasy game proved to be not only extremely successful, but company-saving. Years later, the Final Fantasies have proved to be anything but final. This is a list of big releases, as of 2010 accompanied by original Japanese release date: Also released are And, Furthermore, There are like a zillion more games, including games released for mobile phone, remakes of these games for newer consoles, other spin-offs, and more. But these are the biggest releases, and if anybody wants to expand this list, please do.
 * Final Fantasy (1987)
 * Final Fantasy II (1988)
 * Final Fantasy III (1990)
 * Final Fantasy IV (1991)
 * Final Fantasy V (1992)
 * Final Fantasy VI (1994)
 * Final Fantasy VII (1997)
 * Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
 * Final Fantasy IX (2000)
 * Final Fantasy X (2001)
 * Final Fantasy XI (2002)
 * Final Fantasy XII (2006)
 * Final Fantasy XIII (2009)
 * Final Fantasy XIV (2010)
 * Final Fantasy Tactics (1997)
 * Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003)
 * Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (2003)
 * Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (2009)
 * Final Fantasy Dissidia

Final Fantasy
The original Final Fantasy was released on the NES, and follows four heroes called the Light Warriors who are carriers of four Elemental Orbs. Their quest is to restore light to these orbs and battle the four elemental fiends, the evil knight Garland, and even Chaos itself to fix a terrible time paradox and to save the world, restoring peace throughout time.

In Badfic
Rarely. Final Fantasy 1, on the NES could only be told in intermittent snippets and its age prevents fangirls from picking it up first. Little fic of it is written at all, much less badfic. However, one of the Light Warriors and a villian from this game appears in Final Fantasy Dissidia-- and may revive a bit of zeal for the world or even just that character at least.

Final Fantasy II
This game centers around four youths who have been orphaned by the conquering empire of Palamecia. Their journey as they join a rebellion, experience betrayal and finally must unite to defeat the 'Dark Emperor.'

In Badfic

Rarely. However, this game did introduce many things the Final Fantasy series now takes as staples, such as the appearance of chocobos (large ostrich-chicken-like beasts of burden) and the inclusion of a character named 'Cid.' It gained little notoriety outside of Japan, however-- though its remakes did well overseas. In addition a character and a villain from the game has been included in the Square-Enix fighting game Final Fantasy Dissidia... which has recently provoked at least a little interest from fangirls. This might be a good thing. Might.

Final Fantasy III
The story revolves around four orphaned would-be fighters drawn to a crystal of light. This relic grants them a portion of its power, and tells them to go and restore balance to the world. They find out there's a whole world other than the floating continent they live on, and at length they go forth to defeat the Cloud of Darkness that is causing chaos in the lands beyond.

In Badfic
This game wasn't even released outside of Japan (where it enjoyed a good reception despite it's grind-heavy difficulty) until a 1996 remake made it known. However, this is the first game that incorporated special battle commands (specific skills to each combat member) and to also use the 'summon' mechanic to summon powerful allies to fight. The remake is for DS, but is actually fairly difficult which makes it unlikely a fangirl will write much about it-- as exposure equals fanbase. Once again, a character and a villain from it appears in Dissidia-- so fangirls may get a little exposure that way.

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV follows Cecil Harvey: a Dark Knight of the Baron Empire and his adventures moving against his own empire, gathering allies, saving his beloved Rosa, and above all discovering himself as a good person under dark armor-- and midway through the game-- forsaking that armor altogether to become a Paladin of light. Together with his friends and newfound heritage, he unites the world to strike back at Baron, the evil Golbez, get to the moon and to fight the terrible power of Zeromus that threatens to destroy the Blue Planet-- the world that Cecil and his company call home.

The After Years
This game was released for mobile phone, Wiiware and Playstation Portable. It is a sequel to Final Fantasy IV, following Cecil's son Ceodore as well as a returning party of Cecil, Rosa, Cid, Edward, and Kain. The game revolves around freeing the original cast from control of the original keepers of the world crystals, and more fiddling about on the Second Moon. Eventually Ceodore proves himself and everything works out.

In Badfic
This was the second Final Fantasy game to be released in North America, and the first localization sucked. This was a time before the ESRB, so overt references to death were removed as well as any possible judeo-christian words... and the quality was that of a blind idiot translation. However, it has enjoyed several re-releases and has done very well. It introduced the idea of a troubled hero that must handle his demons before he handles the world, which extrapolates to angst in the greater fandom abstraction. Fanfiction is not widespread, but it is definitely there: and by extension there must be badfic somewhere. Unfortunately.

Cecil makes an appearance in Final Fantasy Dissidia, along with Golbez.

This is the game that the expletive "You spoony bard!" came from. Some agents (and others) familiar with the game may use this in an effort to remain Friendly To All Audiences.

Final Fantasy V
The hero of Final Fantasy V is a young man named Bartz, who is interrupted one day by a woman smacking down in the middle of the forest. This mysterious young lady needs to get to the Wind Temple where the Wind Crystal is, and so does Bartz-- and they discover the crystal is shattered and a King is missing. On the journey, the other crystals in the world are discovered to be a seal that holds the dark sorcerer Exdeath sealed away, and the prosperity of the land would fade if they all were broken. Inevitably, Exdeath is freed-- and wishes death on all of reality... including himself. But as this is a game Exdeath is ultimately defeated, and, using the power of the Crystal shards, the heroes of this game seal the Void once more and restore the reunified world and its Crystals.

In Badfic
This game sold fairly well, and has had several re-releases... but for nothing more recent than the Game Boy Advance. As such, fic about it is somewhat limited... but this was also the game that introduced a 'job' mechanic that allowed a character to play as different classes. This feature lead to modern diversity in the game series in character classes and probably the wide range of 'jobs' an original character (or Mary Sue) could take. Like all of the other games, a hero (Bartz) and a villain (Exdeath) appear in Final Fantasy Dissidia.

Final Fantasy VI
Unlike the previous Final Fantasy games, this one focuses on a more 'steampunk' setting-- roughly comparable to the Second Industrial Revolution. Most of the game concerns a main character Terra's struggle against a tyrannical empire, the Emperor Gestahl, and the clown-general Kefka. The barrier between the world of the espers (this installment's version of summoned monsters) is weakening, and the empire uses the power of Espers to fuse magic, man, and machine to make their ghastly Magitek Knights-- the project that drove Kefka himself insane. Later, Kefka eventually destroys the world and one year later, Terra and her party make a stand against Kefka in a ravaged world. Kefka, having absorbed all of the power of the espers, is a hellish foe, and when he dies all magic in the world leaves... including Terra's own as she is half-esper. But she is saved because she is also half-human.

In Badfic
Nearly the same as Final Fantasy V in terms of badfic saturation. The latest release was on the Game Boy Advance, and young chipper badficcers are not quick to pick anything but the new release up. This was the first final fantasy game to take on a more science-fantasy feel to it Also, both Terra and Kefka show up in Final Fantasy Dissidia.

Another note: Kefka is a cult favorite villain. There are some places that would say Kefka is the best bad guy in all of Final Fantasy. Don't argue with them. They will not relent.

Final Fantasy VII
Oh boy. This one. The least of the facts first: This game retired the longtime artist Amano and brought in Nomura. It also was the first Final Fantasy to feature three-dimensional character models. Now the heavy scoop-- Final Fantasy VII was and still is lauded by many to be one of the best games ever created. The plot revolves around the semi-amnesiac hero Cloud Strife, who believes himself to be an ex-Soldier First Class. He joins the terrorist group AVALANCHE against a mega-corporation SHINRA, protesting the extraction of Mako energy which is the lifeblood of the Planet and the world's economy. They run into trouble with a mad super soldier general Sephiroth, who was the product of many mad experiments and sees an evil space-traveling alien calamity JENOVA as his 'mother.' Cloud Strife, along with AVALANCHE and many new friends along the way journey to take down both SHINRA corporation and Sephiroth to save the world. This used to be a spoiler, but is not a spoiler any longer: half way through the game, AERIS DIES. There. I said it. This entry is complete.

Dirge of Cerberus
This side-game was released much later. It is a third-person shooter that follows the character Vincent Valentine and his investigation into the Deepground-SOLDIER activities. It did fairly well. And the fans rejoiced.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
This follows Zack Fair, the man that was the real SOLDIER First-Class that Cloud Strife imprinted on. It covers the events leading up to Final Fantasy VII, including some content that was in flashbacks. But it also goes on to show the real personalities of the SOLDIERS, especially Sephiroth and his two peers Genesis and Angeal-- both of which die. And the fans rejoiced.

In Badfic
If you are a Final Fantasy fanatic, you must be locked in a box without the internet to NOT know how insanely popular this series still is. It has gotten a mobile phone game, and anime OAV, not one but two side-games, and a whole movie to it. Fangirls still go wild over Sephiroth, even MORE since the movie, and YET AGAIN since the side game Crisis Core came out and it's shown that Sephiroth was actually a decent person once upon a time. Fanfiction is spread far and wide, and with the amount of pairing possibilities badfic is inevitable. Count on it. Also count on that badfic to be bad. Really, really bad. Do not go to the Unclaimed Badfic page. Do NOT scroll down to 'Cloud Mows The Lawn.'

DO. NOT. DO. IT.

Also, Cloud and Sephiroth are in Dissidia. And the fans rejoiced.

Final Fantasy VIII
The first to feature realistically proportioned characters in all shots (cutscene and gameplay), Final Fantasy VIII's protagonist was Squall Leonhart: a young loner training at Balamb Garden to become a SeeD-- a mercenary employed by the garden. The player follows him through training, butting heads with a jerk named Seifer, all through graduation and beyond. Shenanigans happen, and he travels with his friend Rinoa (a nice young lady with a wrist-mounted dog launcher) and others to do their new job... or not. Turns out that a sorceress from the future named Ultimecia wants to compress all time to a single moment, and all sorts of weird stuff happens concerning her. But she's eventually defeated and Squall and Rinoa end up kissing under the moonlight as the game ends.

in badfic
There is a very decent amount of fanfic and badfic for Final Fantasy VIII-- not as much as for Final Fantasy VII, but the depths of its badness are just as luridly awful. This was the first Final Fantasy that had fully realistic-proportioned cut-scenes, and so has a little more depth of emotion where Final Fantasy VII fell a bit short. Many fans decry Squall as an overly-cardboard angst ridden character... even more than Cloud, who showed some emotion sometimes.

Both Squall and Ultimecia appear in Final Fantasy: Dissidia.

Final Fantasy IX
Set in the fantasy world of Gaia, this installment's plot focuses on an international war. The protagonist is Zidane Tribal, a thief who teams up with friends he meets along the way of his journey to defeat Queen Brahne of Alexandria, who started the great war. The plot shifts, however, when the cast realize that Brahne is a puppet for an arms dealer called Kuja. In many ways, this game is very much a return to form after the science-fantasy escapades of VI, VII, and VIII and many references are made to the first Final Fantasy and other games earlier in the series.

In Badfic
There is some. Not as extremely virulent as VII or VIII, but it is there. Once again, this game was a sort of callback to early Final Fantasies, and it also looks much more polished than VII or VII-- so there is an appeal to fangirls. However, as the main character is a more impish character rather than a 'bishie' there's not as much fuss over him.

Of note, there is a slightly abrasive difficulty curve in the game's battle progression that may dissuade some from getting further than the first few areas. As many young fangirls don't like to spend effort, this could deter some. Also, this game is just old enough to be obsolete a few consoles yet not have enough notereity to draw those young fangirls like VII or VIII.

Zidane and Kuja are seen in Final Fantasy: Dissidia.

Final Fantasy XI
This was a Massively Multiplayer Online Game. Few people cared.

In Badfic.
Too few even cared enough to write much badfic about it. It was that not-cared-about. This is impressive.

There is a sizable amount of porn art concerning it, though. And as with all MMOs, beware the terrible ERP (erotic roleplay) transcript or any other bad shenanigans.

Final Fantasy XIV
This is another Massively Multiplayer online game. It remains to be seen if enough people will care about it... though if anybody cared about FFXI, now they care about this.

In Badfic
Unknown, but because all things exist on the internet there must be some, somewhere. There must.

Like all MMOs, do not be surprised if you see transcripts of terrible ERP (erotic roleplay) or other bad shenanigans that have taken place within its confines.

Missions in this Continuum

 * Agents Tyler and Kirsten, DMS-Video Games
 * Assassins Please Enter Stage Left, (Final Fantasy VII)
 * Sewer Rats, (Final Fantasy VII)
 * a child hero, (Final Fantasy VII)
 * Real Killers Always Improvise, (Final Fantasy X)
 * Can You Repeat What You Just Called Yourself?, (Final Fantasy X)
 * Got Grammar?, (Final Fantasy X)
 * Say what?, (Final Fantasy X)
 * Sues and Sniper Rifles, (Final Fantasy X)
 * Bullets of Bad Characterization (Final Fantasy X-2), Agents Katrina and Samuel (DMS-Freelance)
 * The Story, and Epilogue, of Rain Strife (Final Fantasy VII), Agents Arti and Lunac (DMS-Video Games)