Final Fantasy
The great Japanese RPG series published by Square Enix.
- First game
- 1987 (Japan)
- Creator
- Hironobu Sakaguchi
- Publisher
- Square Enix
- Genre
- Japanese role-playing game (JRPG)
- Signature composer
- Nobuo Uematsu
Final Fantasy is a series of Japanese role-playing games whose first entry launched in Japan in 1987 on the Famicom. Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi for the company Square (which became Square Enix after merging with Enix in 2003), the saga stands out for its worlds reinvented in each installment, its ambitious stories and its music by composers such as Nobuo Uematsu.
Despite its title, which originally hinted at a possible final project for a struggling studio, Final Fantasy became one of the most influential RPG franchises in the world. The series helped popularise the genre beyond Japan and has sold tens of millions of copies.
A title that lived up to its name
In the late 1980s, the company Square was going through a difficult period. Hironobu Sakaguchi and his team then designed a role-playing game that, according to several accounts, was meant to be a decisive project for the studio's future, hence the idea of a final fantasy.
The success of the first entry changed everything and launched a long-running series. Each new main installment offers a fresh world, characters and battle system, allowing the franchise to constantly reinvent itself.
Why it is iconic
Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997 on the PlayStation, is often cited as a major milestone for the RPG. With its dense story, its cutscenes and its character Cloud, it introduced the genre to a very wide audience in the West.
The series continues today with main installments, online games such as Final Fantasy XIV, remakes and many spin-offs. The music of Nobuo Uematsu and other composers is performed in symphonic concerts around the world.
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