FINAL FANTASY SEQUELS
We look at the times Final Fantasy’s developers have expanded on its worlds rather than entirely stick to the anthology format – with mixed success
Square Enix’s premier RPG series is known for its rich worlds, so it’s no surprise that during its 35-year history the devs have often expanded on them beyond the main numbered titles.
Whether that’s via remakes with a twist like FFVII Rebirth (p54), or the constantly growing Final Fantasy theme park that is FFXIV (p42), there’s always an extra adventure to be found. We’ve gathered together all of the series spinoffs to show just how much bigger Final Fantasy really is, and explore the different approaches to building out those worlds.
WE’RE HERE TO KILL CHAOS
Format PS5, PS4 Released 2022 Expanded Final Fantasy
We’d seen previous remasters of the original Final Fantasy game improve upon its pixel art and soundtrack, but Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a different beast entirely. Instead of being a remake with fancy graphics, or even a slight twist on the story á la FFVII Rebirth, it’s a full-blown reimagining and expansion of where the series all began - with Ninja Gaiden-like action combat thanks to developer Team Ninja.
Following a very angry, Chaosobsessed man called Jack and his friends Ash and Jed, Stranger tells the story of the amnesiac trio and their fight to save the world from Chaos. Of course things aren’t that straightforward and they end up having effectively to ask themselves, ‘Are we the baddies?’ It turns out the only way to kill Chaos is to become Chaos and set the stage for four Warriors Of Light to eventually kill you. And so the stage for the first-ever Final Fantasy is set.
Square Enix has said that Stranger Of Paradise sets up an alternate storyline rather than being the true original, so maybe one day we’ll get a FFI remake with a twist, similar to how FFVII Rebirth is to FFVII.
FOUR POINT FIVE’S A CROWD
Format PSP Released 2008 Expanded Final Fantasy IV
Set 17 years after the events of FFIV, The After Years was an episodic mobile game that eventually got the treatment it deserved when it was ported to PSP. It came as part of a huge FFIV bundle called ‘The Complete Collection’ which also included an extra Interlude chapter that linked the two games together. We finally got to see what happened to the world after the events of IV and play as the son that resulted from Cecil and Rosa’s relationship.
Unfortunately for the heroes of the first game, the second moon appears once more to see the world destroyed and they’re left with no choice but to stop it, and to confront their pasts in the proce
