181-501: Spira is the fictional world of the Square role-playing video games Final Fantasy X and X-2 . Spira is the first Final Fantasy world to feature consistent, all-encompassing spiritual and mythological influences within the planet's civilizations and their inhabitants' daily lives. The world of Spira itself is different from the mainly European-style worlds found in previous Final Fantasy games, being much more closely modeled on
362-592: A box-office bomb , the film damaged Square's finances, and led to the closure of Square Pictures. Following both the failure of The Spirits Within and a delay of Final Fantasy X (2001) for the PlayStation 2 , Square suffered a financial loss for the first time, prompting Sakaguchi, Takechi, and director Masatsugu Hiramatsu to resign from their positions. Sakaguchi was kept on as executive producer for Final Fantasy , while Takechi and Hiramatsu were retained as external consultants. This period left Sakaguchi in
543-695: A joint-venture partnership with Electronic Arts ; Square Electronic Arts published Square titles in North America, while Electronic Arts Square published Electronic Arts titles in Japan. The partnership emerged the year following Electronic Arts winding down a similar partnership with Victor in December 1997. Shares were distributed between the two on a 70/30 basis relating to their role; Square Electronic Arts had Square owning 70%, while Electronic Arts owned 30%. Electronic Arts Square would also develop
724-429: A media franchise with a film series started in 2000, which is a continuation of the series story with later generations of Angels. A reboot television series was broadcast in 2011, but was canceled after seven episodes. After the success of Police Woman , the first hour long drama starring a woman, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts came up with the idea for a series about three beautiful female private investigators as
905-672: A novel of the same name by Hideaki Sena ; Front Mission , which began on the Super Famicom but was transferred to the PlayStation beginning with its second entry ; and the Final Fantasy spin-off series Chocobo , starring an incarnation of the titular mascot character . As Square was estranged from Nintendo at the time, the company supported other platforms including the WonderSwan and Windows . Late in
1086-486: A "simple fantasy world". To Kitase, the word "fantasy" did not indicate a purely medieval European setting, so he intentionally set out with the objective of redefining the stereotype held in players' minds. Nomura identified the South Pacific , Thailand, and Japan as major influences on the cultural and geographic design of Spira, particularly in regard to the geographic locations of Besaid and Kilika. Yusuke Naora,
1267-405: A Japanese video game developer and publisher . It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto , who spun off part of his father's electronics company Den-Yu-Sha. Among its early employees were designers Hironobu Sakaguchi , Hiromichi Tanaka , Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii , artist Kazuko Shibuya , programmer Nasir Gebelli , and composer Nobuo Uematsu . Initially focusing on action games ,
1448-421: A breakthrough but also as an escapist television series. Producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg first considered actress Kate Jackson during the early pre-production stages of the series. She had proven popular with viewers in another police television drama, The Rookies . Jackson was initially cast as Kelly Garrett, but was more attracted to the role of Sabrina Duncan, and her request to switch roles
1629-453: A brunette, blonde, and red-headed woman. Smith was the only brunette who auditioned for the role and was cast only after producers liked the on-screen chemistry she shared with Jackson and Fawcett. Producer Leonard Goldberg had the initial idea, three years previously, for a show that would be a cross between The Avengers and Honey West , a short-lived drama from the 1960s about a female private investigator. Goff and Roberts had first titled
1810-507: A collective. The fayth aids High Summoner Yuna and her guardians in bringing the spiral of death to an end, which results in their own passing. In X-2 , the fayth return in their aeon forms, this time having been overcome by the despair and malice of Shuyin, rendering them his unwilling puppets of chaos. Yuna and her allies free both the fayth and Shuyin from the darkness that has consumed them. Ten aeons are identified in Final Fantasy X : Valefor, Ifrit, Shiva, Ixion, Bahamut, Anima, Yojimbo and
1991-644: A contract between the two companies. Eidos Interactive notably handled the Windows ports of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII . In Europe, Square's local branch self-published a number of games including mainline Final Fantasy titles. It also partnered with third-party companies including Eidos, Crave Entertainment , and Infogrames for either publishing or distribution of different titles. In 1989, Square established SquareSoft in Redmond, Washington , to provide development and publishing support in
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#17327917880942172-573: A dedicated CGI film studio called Square Pictures in Hawaii; his aim was to both develop The Spirits Within and help with further development of Square's CGI technology. By the end of 2001, Square Pictures was dissolved and merged into Visual Works. Square USA's Hawaiian branch developed the CGI short "Final Flight of the Osiris" that later formed part of the 2003 anthology film The Animatrix . The branch
2353-410: A desire to work on their own projects. These included Takahashi and Tanaka, Fujioka, Nishi, Kikuta, Mitsuda, and Mana artist Shinichi Kameoka. In April 2000, Suzuki was appointed Square's new President, while Takechi became a company chairman. Also at this time, two outside directors were appointed, Kenichi Ohmae of Ohmae & Associates and Makoto Naruke of Microsoft . The corporate reshuffle
2534-403: A heart to the show. Critics said that as actresses we were sexually exploited, but it was a nursery rhyme. We were in a bathing suit at the beach, and if there was a hint of a love scene, it was so proper. I think the producers were smart. They wanted to bring in that younger audience and did want families to watch together". Smith adds: "Each of our characters had their own unique personality, yet
2715-550: A joint Crusader-Al Bhed attempt to destroy Sin with a giant machina weapon. The operation failed and the Crusaders were largely eradicated in the process. A group known as the Crimson Squad was also formed around Operation Mi'ihen. Three candidates survived the final exercise; Baralai , Nooj and Gippal , all of whom would eventually lead one of the three political factions during the events of Final Fantasy X-2 . Spira
2896-849: A large replica of Jecht's sword in the center. Tidus and Wakka are supporting characters in Kingdom Hearts and its follow-ups Chain of Memories and Coded . Auron makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II as a supporting team member and Final Fantasy X-2 ' s main cast of Yuna, Rikku and Paine appear also make an appearance as supporting characters. Tidus, Auron and Yuna are also playable characters in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy . In Imagined History, Fading Memory: Mastering Narrative in Final Fantasy X , Washburn writes that Final Fantasy X "makes
3077-520: A larger island featuring dense jungles and numerous conflicts during the games; and the desert island of Bikanel, which is also the location of the Al Bhed's headquarters — "Home". The ruins of Baaj Temple are on an island to the south of the Spira mainland; this is where Tidus begins his journey in Spira. The mainland of Spira is where the bulk of Final Fantasy X takes place. The southernmost location of
3258-469: A lead artist, and Nojima as scenario writer. Released worldwide in 1997, Final Fantasy VII was a worldwide commercial and critical success, bringing Square international fame. Also in 1997, at Square's invitation, Takechi returned and took Mizuno's place as President. Three new hires during the period were Shinji Hashimoto , Yasumi Matsuno , and Masashi Hamauzu . Hashimoto joined in 1995 as promotions producer for Final Fantasy VII . Matsuno, along with
3439-475: A little more empowered". Kate Jackson has stated that she believes the first season of Charlie's Angels was the TV show's high point, and it was the most fun for herself, Smith, and Fawcett: "When you think about Charlie's Angels , you think about three specific people". Jackson added: "I don't know what the connection that the three of us have is, but it is there, and it is something extremely special. I think that
3620-469: A lot of young women. Young women would write us and say, 'I want to be like you. I want to be a cop when I grow up and taking chances to be something else other than the acceptable school teacher or secretary'". In reference to the show being called "Jiggle TV", Ladd said: "Which made me laugh, I never went braless, and I was married and the mother of a 2-year-old. The 'Angels' were grown-up Girl Scouts. We never slept with anyone; my most 'Aaron Spelling' moment
3801-410: A mental link. This link grants a summoner access to a fayth's dreams and enables him or her to physically realize those dreams as aeons ( 召喚獣 , shōkanjū , lit. "summon beast") , powerful creatures which may be employed to aid the summoner in battle or in a time of special need. During the events of Final Fantasy X , the fayth of the aeon Bahamut serves as the chosen representative of the fayth as
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#17327917880943982-468: A merger of two companies "at their height". Despite this, the merger had its skeptics, particularly Miyamoto who did not want to see his controlling stake diluted in a merged company. Miyamoto's issue was resolved by altering the exchange ratio to one Square share for 0.81 Enix shares, and the merger was greenlit. Square Enix was formed on April 1, 2003, with Enix as the surviving corporate entity and Square dissolving its departments and subsidiaries into
4163-627: A mysterious, naturally occurring phenomenon that heavily influence the events of Final Fantasy X and X-2 , as well as the world of Spira at large. Heavily prevalent throughout Spira, these "bundles of life energy" are closely associated with death and other spiritual events and entities by the people of Spira. At high concentrations, Pyreflies are capable of recording memories, sights and sounds. Pyreflies are also associated with many commonplace technological innovations including sphere-shaped recording devices and large, suspended spherical conglomerations of congealed water (called "sphere pools") that serve as
4344-810: A new pastime in Luca called Sphere Break ; a group of entertainers at the Moonflow; a tourist service at the Zanarkand Ruins; and machina transportation in favor of Chocobos on the Mi'ihen Highroad. Lastly, the death of the Aeons at the end of X causes the Macalania forest and lake to melt, sinking the former Yevon temple and destroying the forest's life. X-2 also introduces floating ruins atop Mt. Gagazet and previously unexplored caverns throughout Spira. Although it
4525-533: A noun having been modified for English audiences. Other differences like Sano's name being changed to Ormi for the English version, with Mangiron and O'Hagan noting a possible issue with the Spanish meaning of "Sano" as "healthy" in stark contradiction to Ormi's obese appearance. Mangiron and O'Hagan conclude that these changes and contextualisation by addition result in transcreation instead of just translation. Using
4706-715: A number of other developers, had left Quest Corporation following the release of Tactics Ogre (1995), and worked with Sakaguchi on Final Fantasy Tactics (1997). Hamauzu joined in 1996, and worked on Final Fantasy spin-off titles and the SaGa series. Sakaguchi, working on other projects, took on the role of executive producer for the series beginning with Final Fantasy VIII , and Hashimoto stepped in as producer. Hirata went from an administrative position to lead producer, focusing on diversifying Square's library into new game genres. Several properties were introduced during this period. These included Parasite Eve , based on
4887-414: A number of translators. Following the release of Final Fantasy VII , which saw criticism for its localization, Square created a new internal department to encourage higher quality. Initially having only two employees, it grew steadily over the years. Individual games still ran into difficulties due to their large text sizes, difficulties translating some culture-specific elements, potential censorship, and
5068-423: A number of well-known faces during its five seasons. Some of those individuals were long-established stars of film and television; others would find considerable fame and recognition many years after appearing in the program. Notable appearances of celebrities (whether famous then or later) include those of: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released all five seasons of Charlie's Angels on DVD in region one over
5249-666: A plot-related connection, in which the Shin-ra corporation in VII is founded on another planet after about one thousand years, after space travel became possible, by descendants of Shinra of the Gullwings in X-2 . This connection was conceived only after Final Fantasy X was already finished and realized in X-2 riding on the success of the original game and is not reflected in the gameplay or storylines of Final Fantasy VII or X . Religion
5430-596: A positive outlook with the onset of the Eternal Calm. New political groups fought for power, two being the Youth League, the New Yevon Party, while Machine Faction seeks to salvage machina. Yuna ultimately restores peace and saves Spira a second time with multiple endings based on the player's performance. In the world of Final Fantasy X and its sequel, many supernatural elements influence events in
5611-479: A race of horned, blue-furred, lion-like humanoids who live on Mt. Gagazet, which they consider sacred and guard fiercely. Ronso are tall and formidable warriors with a strong sense of honor and loyalty. A subplot of FFX involves Kimahri Ronso 's conflict with his social status that results in his leadership of the Ronso in X-2 . The Hypello are a docile, amphibious race with blue skin and live primarily in and around
Spira (Final Fantasy) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5792-481: A remake of Final Fantasy Adventure . Also in 2000, Mizuno founded AlphaDream , engaging Fujioka and going on to develop the Mario & Luigi series. Staff members from Square Pictures, including The Spirits Within co-director Motonori Sakakibara, established Sprite Animation Studios in 2002. After his resignation from Square, Takechi founded music label Dreamusic in 2001 with Kazunaga Nitta. Mitsuda founded
5973-591: A reputation for merely being " jiggle television " that emphasized the sex appeal of the female leads, Charlie's Angels was a top ten hit in the Nielsen ratings for its first two seasons. After the third season, however, the show had fallen from the top 10, and by the fifth season, from the Top 30. Charlie's Angels continues to have a 1970s American cult and pop culture following through syndication , DVD releases, and subsequent television shows. The show also spawned
6154-475: A runaway hit in the 1976-1977 season in its first of five time slots, Wednesdays at 10:00pm, where it followed Baretta . Facing little competition from CBS and NBC , Charlie's Angels finished fifth in Nielsen ratings in the spring of 1977 with an average 26.0 rating. The three lead actresses were suddenly propelled to stardom, with Kate Jackson later commenting that the first few months were like being in
6335-412: A setting influenced by the South Pacific , Thailand and Japan , most notably with respect to its vegetation, topography and architecture. The creation of Spira includes distinct ethnic minorities including a portrayal of the fictional Al Bhed language that is prevalent throughout the game's dialogue. The backstory and concept behind the dark religious themes of Final Fantasy X were a central theme to
6516-430: A slow death, murder it with sheer force, or utilize one's knowledge of the (game) world to give it no power to stand on". The Game Theorists add additional concepts, going further as to cite Final Fantasy as "anti-religion". The fayth ( 祈り子 , inorigo , lit. "prayer child") are humans who willingly give up their lives to have their souls sealed in statues and commune with summoners with whom they have established
6697-462: A society where technology and religion clash, the desire for a dream realm of memories as the source of an alternative history, and the nostalgic desire for the sublime experience of the annihilation of the past and the completion of history". Washburn uses FFX and the analysis of its narrative to make the case for academic study of the medium and counter the critical views held by detractors like Espen Aarseth , summarizing that "the ability to complete
6878-523: A stake in Bushido Blade developer Lightweight , founded in 1995. It sold that stake to software company Forside in 1999. Front Mission developers G-Craft were initially independent, developing the original Front Mission with Square collaborating through their Solid subsidiary and acting as publisher. Square bought out G-Craft and incorporated it in 1997 during production of Front Mission 2 . Other affiliates associated with Square between
7059-498: A state of low morale. In late 2001, Suzuki stepped down as President, and was replaced by Wada. Yosuke Matsuda became Senior Vice President. Kenji Ito also left during this period to work as a freelance composer. Prior to the film's release, rival company Enix was proposing merging with another game company to alleviate development costs, opening serious discussions with Square in 2000. Square's financial losses with The Spirits Within prompted Enix to halt discussions. Under Wada,
7240-459: A streetwise fighter and model from New York , but the season premiere episode drew mild ratings. She was pictured on the cover of People magazine and featured in an article surrounding the series. The article, titled "Is the Jiggle Up?", asked if Roberts could save Charlie's Angels from cancellation. Executive Brett Garwood said that they hoped to keep the show going for next year, but nothing
7421-612: A string of projects that Square produced exclusively for Nintendo consoles, including the portable Game Boy . In 1990, Square moved its offices to the Akasaka district, and then to Ebisu, Shibuya in 1992. In April 1991, Square merged with an identically-named dormant company in order to change its share prices. As a result of the merger, Square's foundation was backdated to the other company's July 1966 founding date. At that time, Square drew some of its development funding from loans from Shikoku Bank. Due to increasing development costs,
Spira (Final Fantasy) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7602-551: A subsidiary called Solid and focusing their work on cooperating with external developers. In 1995, Square established DreamFactory as an affiliate studio, which developed fighting-based titles for the PlayStation and PS2. DreamFactory became an independent company in 2001 after Square transferred their shares. Square later founded subsidiary Escape in March 1998 with DreamFactory staff. It only produced Driving Emotion Type-S (2000) before being liquidated in 2003. The company held
7783-516: A summoner a ritual known as "the Final Summoning", which would give Spira a brief reprieve from Sin's terror in a period known the "Calm" ( ナギ節 , Nagisetsu , lit. "calm time") . However, the Final Summoning is based on a strong bond, and requires a summoner to turn their guardian into the Fayth of a Final Aeon whose summoning kills the summoner who is memorialized as a high summoner. Though
7964-550: A tennis court, as he recalled, "I was coming off the court when she came up to me and said, 'Charlie! I finally met Charlie!'". Forsythe was offered the 'Charlie' role in a panicky late-night phone call from Spelling after the original choice, Gig Young , showed up too intoxicated to read his lines: "I didn't even take my pajamas off – I just put on my topcoat and drove over to Fox. When it was finished, Aaron Spelling said, 'That's perfect'. And I went home and went back to bed". Spelling and Goldberg decided to add actor David Doyle to
8145-578: A war-torn African nation. The Death Trap was the first game published under the Square brand. Its sequel, Will: The Death Trap II , was released the following year to commercial success. Many of Square's early titles were produced for PC devices, and focused on the action genre. In 1985, the company negotiated a licensing agreement with Nintendo to develop titles for the Famicom ( Nintendo Entertainment System ). The company shifted to developing for
8326-487: A week, but she declined those offers. ABC reluctantly released her from her series contract in the summer of 1977. However, she was assigned to another contract with ABC, stating that since she left her contract four years early that she would return to the series later on in its run for six guest appearances. Fawcett would return as Jill Munroe on Charlie's Angels for three guest appearances in season three, and again returned for three more in season four. As Fawcett departed
8507-630: A writer and later director, artist Tetsuya Nomura began as a graphic designer, and Tetsuya Takahashi and Kaori Tanaka were both artists and writers. Takashi Tokita became a full-time employee at the company, and Hiroyuki Ito began his work as a game designer. Chihiro Fujioka worked on several projects including co-directing Super Mario RPG . Kenichi Nishi worked in minor roles on Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG . Masato Kato , who joined in 1993, became scenario writer for Chrono Trigger . Artist Yusuke Naora first worked on Final Fantasy VI . Kazushige Nojima , known for his work on
8688-407: A year and I wasn't. I did my year and I moved on". Casting calls went out for Hack's replacement. After a series of false commitments, Spelling and ABC selected model and former dance instructor Tanya Roberts , beating out Jayne Kennedy , Susie Coelho , and what Roberts skeptically called "the [other] alleged 2,000 Angel candidates". Roberts debuted in the fifth-season premiere as Julie Rogers ,
8869-496: Is Al Bhed, and Yuna is part Al Bhed on her mother's side and assistance in gaining through a cast of supporting Al Bhed character's, prevalent in Final Fantasy X-2 . With the collapse of the teachings of Yevon and the wider acceptance of machina at the end of X , prejudice against the Al Bhed seems to have eased significantly by the time of X-2 , though it is still present. The Al Bhed speak their own "language" which
9050-491: Is Charlie!" Charles "Charlie" Townsend's opening narration. In the initial concept, Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garrett have graduated from the police academy in Los Angeles , California . Despite proving their capability during training, all three have subsequently been assigned to be a meter maid, office worker, and crossing guard, respectively. Dissatisfied with these jobs, they are recruited to work for
9231-509: Is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes . It was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions . The show follows the crime-fighting adventures of three women working at a private detective agency in Los Angeles , California, and originally starred Kate Jackson , Farrah Fawcett (billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors), and Jaclyn Smith in
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#17327917880949412-399: Is an important part of life for many of the peoples of Spira, with a large majority of the population describing themselves as "Yevonites". Though by the end of Final Fantasy X some people had begun to question them, nevertheless the teachings of Yevon were millennium-old and heavily influential. The Yevonite clergy taught that Sin was a divine punishment set upon the people for their pride in
9593-631: Is an important song. Its fictional history started as a song of defiance turned scripture and has numerous variations that is played throughout the game throughout Yuna's journey, primarily as the music of the temples. Though the Hymn's words apparently have no discernible meaning within the context of Spira, the lyricist and scenario writer, Kazushige Nojima, composed a small puzzle with the lyrics, using Japanese syllables. When properly deciphered, they form sentences that translates thus: Pray to Yu Yevon. Dream, fayth. Forever and ever, grant us prosperity . The hymn
9774-420: Is predominantly populated by humanoids, Spira features a variety of races. The people of Spira mainly reside in small towns and villages and cities like Bevelle and Luca. The Al Bhed is a unique ethnic group which plays an important role in the storyline and world of the games with distinctive green eyes with spiral-shaped pupils. The culture and conflicts of the Al Bhed permeate the games. The main character Rikku
9955-458: Is really just a substitution cipher of Japanese (English in the English localization of the game), a system of transposing certain letters for others; however, within the game world, it is intended to be an actual language. The original Japanese version of the cipher uses the syllable -based kana system of writing where each symbol represents a combination of "consonant + vowel" or simply a vowel. Certain keywords are not translated into Al Bhed in
10136-491: Is the reason the show worked". Time magazine called Charlie's Angels an "aesthetically ridiculous, commercially brilliant brainstorm surfing blithely atop the Zeitgeist 's seventh wave". Camille Paglia , an American academic and social critic, said that Charlie's Angels was an "effervescent action-adventure showing smart, bold women working side by side in fruitful collaboration". Charlie's Angels proved to be
10317-409: Is the world of Final Fantasy X and X-2 , but elements of its world and characters have been included in other Final Fantasy media. For Dissidia Final Fantasy and its prequel Dissidia 012 the characters Tidus, Yuna, Jecht and an area known as The Dream's End ( 夢の終わり , Yume no Owari ) were featured. The Dreams' End shares similarities to the final area of Final Fantasy X complete with
10498-677: The Dragon Quest series. Following the success of Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts , negotiations resumed and the merger went ahead on April 1, 2003, forming Square Enix . Square was initially established in September 1983 as a software subsidiary of Den-Yu-Sha, an electric power conglomerate led by Kuniichi Miyamoto. His son Masafumi Miyamoto , then a part-time employee of the Science and Technology Department at Keio University , had little interest in following his father into
10679-497: The Glory of Heracles series, joined as a scenario writer. Future director Motomu Toriyama , who had no experience with game development, began as a scenario writer. In 1993, Square struck a deal with G-Craft to release Front Mission , one of their first major games to be developed by a third party. Square also hired additional music staff. Kenji Ito contributed to both the SaGa and Mana series. Hiroki Kikuta worked on
10860-409: The Kingdom Hearts series and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy . There have been numerous academic essays on the game's presentation, narrative and localization aspects. Washburn writes that mastering the game comes with the mastering of the cultural knowledge of Spira to unlock skills and abilities. O'Hagan writes on the localization of the games that impact the game experience, detailing alterations to
11041-493: The Mario -themed Super Mario RPG co-produced with Nintendo. Reflecting on this period, Sakaguchi noted that Final Fantasy was the company's most recognized property, while celebrating the fact that the company would still be profitable on the merits of their other successful game series. Additional staff joined Square by the early 1990s, inspired by the successful Final Fantasy series, with several first working on Final Fantasy IV (1991), Yoshinori Kitase acted as
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#173279178809411222-808: The Shadow Hearts series; he left Sacnoth in 1999 following the release of his project Koudelka and founded the music label Nostrilia. Several Xenogears developers, including Takahashi and Tanaka, founded Monolith Soft in 1999 in order to pursue projects outside the Final Fantasy series, developing more games using the Xeno prefix; it would eventually be more well known for the Xenoblade Chronicles series with Nintendo. Kameoka and other developers who worked on Legend of Mana (1999) founded Brownie Brown in 2000. Brownie Brown later worked with Square Enix on Sword of Mana (2003),
11403-452: The Final Fantasy series. Miyamoto stepped down as Square's President in 1991 while remaining a major shareholder, and was replaced by Tetsuo Mizuno. In 1991, Suzuki became Vice President. As Final Fantasy became a featured property for the company, Square produced additional projects that became successful series of their own. The Japan-exclusive real-time strategy series Hanjuku Hero , which began in 1988, parodied conventions of
11584-589: The GameCube in late 2001. Square also began production on Final Fantasy X-2 , the first direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy X-2 was Sakaguchi's last credited project at Square, and he left the company in 2003. Around this time, Square also began development on Kingdom Hearts (2002), with Nomura making his directorial debut. The game was a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company , blending Disney characters with Final Fantasy elements in an original story. Kingdom Hearts
11765-601: The International Edition , saying that in-game dialogues were produced fresh to match the dubbed American version, instead of using the original Japanese script. O'Hagan noted a point of contention raised by fans were Yuna's final words to Tidus in Final Fantasy X as "Thank you" (Arigato) being translated in English as "I love you"; this translation would extend to the European release and the voice dialogue would be in English. Other academic publications refer to
11946-632: The Mana series and standalone projects. Yasunori Mitsuda started as a sound designer and was lauded for his work on the Chrono series. Yoko Shimomura , formerly a Capcom composer, did her first work on Live A Live (1994). In 1995, Square moved its headquarters to the Shimomeguro district in Meguro . Following the release of Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger , Square staff began planning
12127-476: The PlayStation 2 launch title X-Squad . In March 31, 2003, coinciding with the Square Enix merger, both ventures were dissolved, with each partner buying the other's shares. In its February press release, Square described the joint-venture as a success. The Square side of the venture was rebranded under the Square Enix name. Between 1986 and 1988, Square led a collective of game developers dedicated to
12308-568: The 1977 summer hiatus of the series, ABC and Fawcett entered a legal battle over her contract. At the beginning of the series, all three female leads signed five-year contracts, and the network was insistent that they live up to their commitments. Business partners Leonard Goldberg and Aaron Spelling tried to work out a deal with Fawcett and her agents. Goldberg and Spelling had arranged for her to make one film during her summer hiatuses, and her choice over subsequent television shows and miniseries. ABC even agreed to raise her salary from $ 5,000 to $ 8,000
12489-504: The 1990s to develop for Sony Computer Entertainment 's upcoming console PlayStation . Their first major project for the console, Final Fantasy VII , was a worldwide critical and commercial success and was credited with boosting the popularity of role-playing video games and the PlayStation outside Japan. Alongside the Final Fantasy series, the company developed and published several other notable series, including SaGa , Mana , Front Mission , Chrono and Kingdom Hearts . Over
12670-447: The 1997-established Square Pictures studio on a Final Fantasy feature film. Titled Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within , it was planned as Sakaguchi's first push towards cross-media storytelling; however, the project ran over budget and ended up costing Square and co-producer Columbia Pictures US$ 137 million. Upon its release in 2001, The Spirits Within was met with mixed critical reception, and grossed only $ 85 million. Labeled as
12851-536: The ABC networks disbelief in the project, the repeat ratings were just as high. Golden Globes (1977) Golden Globes (1978) Golden Globes (1979) Golden Globes (1980) Primetime Emmy Awards (1977) Primetime Emmy Awards (1978) People's Choice Awards (1977) American Cinema Editors, USA (1978) TV Land Awards (2003) TV Land Awards (2004) TV Land Awards (2007) TV Land Awards (2010) Online Film & Television Association (2015) Charlie's Angels played host to
13032-586: The Al Bhed language. Several other races are found throughout Spira, including the Guado, the Hypello, and the Ronso races. The Guado are an arboreal humanoid race with long limbs and fingers, pale skin, and wild, tangled hair. The Guado are the keepers of the entryway to the Farplane, where the dead are sent and have the unique ability to "smell the deceased" and other abilities related to pyreflies. The Ronso are
13213-481: The Al Bhed. The Thunder Plains lead into Macalania, a sparkling forest complemented by a frozen lake and a Yevonite temple. Bevelle, the spiritual center of the Yevon religion, lies on a thin strip of land slightly north of Macalania. The city is built as a series of layers, with the headquarters of Yevon located at the top. The Via Purifico, located beneath Bevelle, serves as an oubliette for outcasts. Further north are
13394-679: The Calm Lands, a series of plains that have been the site of numerous battles in Spira's history; the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, an equally historical area; and Mt. Gagazet, home of the Ronsos. Lastly, the sacred city of Zanarkand is on the northern tip of the Spiran mainland, reduced to ruins by Sin one thousand years before the events of FFX . Final Fantasy X-2 features several changes to
13575-484: The Charles Townsend Agency as private investigators . All of this is explained in the opening credit sequence; neither the pilot film nor subsequent series ever actually depicted an "origin story" as they are seen to have been working as investigators for some time as of the start of the pilot. Their boss, Charlie Townsend, who nicknames them "Angels", is never viewed full face, but is often seen from
13756-526: The Crimson Blades were thereafter inducted into the Yevon clergy as the Crusaders. The road Mi'ihen had walked was renamed the "Mi'ihen Highroad" in his honor. Unlike guardians, Crusaders are directly related to the temples. No non-Yevonite is permitted to serve as a Crusader, although there are unofficial chapters composed entirely of people who have been excommunicated. All of the Crusaders were excommunicated, however, when they set up Operation Mi'ihen,
13937-539: The Famicom to benefit from its stable hardware, compared to the constantly changing components of PCs. Square's first Famicom release was a port of the run and gun game Thexder (1985), and its first original game was the scrolling shooter King's Knight (1986). During this period, the team also hired new developers Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii , artist Kazuko Shibuya , Iranian-American programmer Nasir Gebelli , and composer Nobuo Uematsu . Yusuke Hirata joined that year as sales manager, and later became
14118-515: The Farplane, the final resting place of departed souls. If the sending is not performed, the body's spirit may remain trapped in the physical plane and take on the form of a fiend. A spirit of the dead may resist the transformation into a fiend, even when not sent and remain among the living, they are "unsent". The unsent play a prominent role in the storyline and mythos, including the playable character Auron and other characters including Maester Jyscal Guado , Shuyin , and Lady Yunalesca. Pyreflies are
14299-653: The Final Aeon can destroy Sin, it would become a new vessel of Yu Yevon and turned into a new Sin. A thousand years following the establishment of the Yevon Order, Spira became a rustic land, almost completely devoid of large cities and higher civilization. Due to the actions of Sin, and the Yevon ban on machina, few territories reached larger than hamlet size, as they were destroyed by Sin and their populations decimated before they were able to develop. The only cities left larger than small villages were Luca, which houses
14480-411: The Final Summoning being able to destroy Sin itself, the central core of Sin, which is an entity known as Yu Yevon, would survive. From this, Sin is "reborn" after a time. Spira's history centers around an ancient war a thousand years prior to the start of the game between Bevelle and Zanarkand, the latter's ruler deeming his city's eventual demise and reserve to preserve its memory. Yevon's people became
14661-431: The Final Summoning which results in the sacrifice of the summoner and her guardian to prevent its secrets from being divulged. Though Yevon set up Operation Mi'ihen to instill further loyalty to the teachings by making the Crusaders use machina that would never win against Sin. By the end of FFX , the Yevon religion was effectively disbanded once evidence of its corruption was discovered, and its remaining priests volunteered
14842-586: The Game Boy in 1991. Ishii went on to develop additional Seiken Densetsu titles, released outside of Japan as the Mana series. A famous game from the period was Chrono Trigger , born from a collaboration between Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii , and Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama . Among other standalone titles were the Western-exclusive Secret of Evermore , and
15023-525: The Moonflow and east to Djose Temple. The Moonflow is a large river running through the heart of Spira, featuring shoopuf rides, ancient ruins, and a high density of pyreflies . A path from the Moonflow leads to Guadosalam, home of the Guado race and the gateway to the "Farplane" ( 異界 , ikai , lit. "other world") . North of Guadosalam are the Thunder Plains, which are the site of a never-ending thunderstorm made safe by lightning rods calibrated by
15204-422: The PlayStation 2 hardware made mastering it difficult, but more rewarding because the details on Yuna's sleeves to the depiction of shine and shadow could be rendered more realistically. Final Fantasy X was the first game that allowed for 3-D model rendering of backgrounds that increased the presentation, including small details like grass blowing in the wind and cloud movement. Takayoshi Nakazato decided to abandon
15385-598: The PlayStation's lifecycle, Square continued to support the console with multiple releases, such as Threads of Fate (1999) and Vagrant Story (2000). The company also began work on PlayOnline , a digital storefront and a platform for online game services and web content. During the late 1990s, Square launched an initiative to give teams of younger staff members a chance to create experimental titles on smaller budgets. Among such titles were Xenogears , Soukaigi , and Another Mind . Around this time, several staff members departed Square due to creative differences or
15566-527: The RPG genre. Kawazu helmed an RPG project for the Game Boy. Released in 1989, Makai Toushi SaGa ( The Final Fantasy Legend ) spawned the SaGa series, which Kawazu would continue to be involved over the years. After the release of Final Fantasy III (1990), Ishii was offered the chance to create his own game, leading to the production of Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden ( Final Fantasy Adventure ) for
15747-440: The Square Enix merger, though it declared bankruptcy in 2004 after years of declining sales. In 1999, Square created a number of subsidiaries with dedicated roles: Square Visual Works to focus on producing CGI animation, Square Sounds for music and sound effects, Squartz for quality control and user support, and Square Next to support smaller game projects. Following the success of Final Fantasy VII in 1997, Sakaguchi founded
15928-464: The TV series had no intelligence or substance. These characterizations stemmed from the fact that the lead actresses frequently dressed scantily or provocatively as part of their undercover characters (including roller derby girl, beauty pageant contestant, maid, female prisoner, or just bikini-clad), and the belief that their clothing was a means of attracting viewers. "Jiggle TV" is seen as trashy and escapist entertainment. Farrah Fawcett once attributed
16109-412: The TV show's success to this fact: "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra". Contrariwise on TV Tales , Cheryl Ladd said "I'm just saying, personally, I wore a bra"; Shelley Hack stated: "I don't jiggle much, so I didn't have anything to worry about"; and Jaclyn Smith said, "Jiggle TV. I thought it
16290-574: The West. As Square moved its projects to PlayStation in 1994, SquareSoft moved to Marina del Rey, California, while changing its name twice in one year, to Square LA followed by Square USA. Square USA would notably develop Secret of Evermore . In 1997, a second Square USA branch was opened in Honolulu , Hawaii to focus on new interactive entertainment research, going on to help with CGI development on Parasite Eve and Final Fantasy IX . Square Europe
16471-520: The area of the Moonflow. Though extremely quick and agile swimmers, they are the only race in Spira that does not participate in Blitzball tournaments. The male Hypello are all voiced by John DeMita . Spira also features various animal species and fictional species, such as the gigantic shoopuf and the chocobo that are used primarily for transport purposes. Most other unusual creatures encountered in Final Fantasy X are "fiends", monsters created from
16652-532: The art director, noted that during the concept stage many people on the project were interested in Asian themes including Nojima and Kitase. For Zanarkand, the Tajik city of Samarkand has been cited as an inspiration. Nomura said that Spira deviates from the worlds of past Final Fantasy games most notably in the level of detail incorporated, something he has expressed to have made a conscious effort to maintain during
16833-544: The back, mostly in the company of beautiful women. As a former detective, Charlie made many enemies, therefore to protect the Angels, as well as his own identity, Charlie gives the Angels their assignments via a Western Electric speakerphone; he never meets them face to face (Bosley being the exception), which leads to recurring queries from the Angels as to when, or if he will ever join them on an assignment. In season two, San Francisco police academy graduate Kris Munroe takes
17014-699: The bank sent Tomoyuki Takechi on secondment to be their office manager in 1990. Takechi's secondment lasted until 1994, by which time Square had annual sales worth ¥16 million per year. In August of that year, Square registered with the Japan Securities Dealers Association to offer shares for public purchase. Sakaguchi was by now a prominent figure within the company, and was promoted to Executive President in 1991. His increasing corporate involvement lessened his creative input, prompting him to give greater influence to other staff. Gebelli left Square in 1993, retiring on royalties from
17195-539: The best idea. Sakaguchi proposed making a role-playing video game (RPG), believing it to be a viable project after the success of Enix 's Dragon Quest (1986). While skeptical, Miyamoto allowed production of the RPG on the condition it only had a five-person team. Sakaguchi led development, bringing in Gebelli, Kawazu, Ishii, and Uematsu. Production of the game, eventually called Final Fantasy , proceeded in "fits and starts". Sakaguchi eventually received help from
17376-404: The boss's identity remain a secret. With this, millionaire Charlie Townsend was an unseen character on the series who only spoke to the Angels via a Western Electric speakerphone. John Forsythe , who played the unseen Charlie Townsend, recorded his lines in an audio studio and was never on set. Thus, Forsythe rarely met any of his female co-stars. Some years later, he bumped into Farrah Fawcett at
17557-500: The case of 花鳥風月 ( kachōfūgetsu , Meaning "Beauties of nature" Literally: "flower, bird, wind, and moon" ) that became "Painkiller" in English. Other cases include the addition of accents as in the case of Final Fantasy X-2 ' s O'aka, a merchant, who speaks Cockney despite no accent being present in Japanese. Also included were references to Lollapalooza and humorous references to speech, with Rikku's verb conjugation of
17738-478: The cast as John Bosley, an employee of Charlie, who would frequently aid the Angels in their assignments. Although ABC had approved of a pilot film, they were concerned about how audiences would accept three women fighting crime on their own. ABC executives brought in David Ogden Stiers as Scott Woodville, who would act as the chief backup to the Angels and Bosley's superior; he would also be depicted as
17919-470: The cast, the show's fourth season saw some ratings erosion as it ranked twentieth for the 1979–80 season, tying with Barney Miller . The fifth season saw the final cast change with Tanya Roberts. The final season was plagued by the 1980 actors strike , causing a delayed premier date. In addition, the series was shuffled around with three different time slots: Sundays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 8:00pm, and finally Wednesdays at 8:00pm, where it remained for
18100-507: The company to "never come back". In 1996, Square's final project with Nintendo was Sting Entertainment ' s Treasure Hunter G for the Super Famicom, while the company debuted DreamFactory 's Tobal No. 1 for the PlayStation that same year. Soon after, the company signed a licensing agreement with Sony, who gained the exclusive right to publish Square's next six games in the West. Square continued work on Final Fantasy VII , with Kitase as director, Naora as art director, Nomura as
18281-438: The company underwent restructuring with the intent of streamlining production and resources, and cutting development costs to increase profits. After evaluation of its financial position, and with changes to the console war due to Microsoft's Xbox , Square opened talks with Nintendo for the first time since their breakup in the 1990s. The talks were successful, with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles beginning development for
18462-485: The company was divided into eight development divisions, with two based in Osaka. In 1998, the old development divisions were restructured into Production Departments, and the Osaka branch was closed down. The system was reshuffled again in 2002 to promote "greater understanding", and allow for reassignment between divisions. Among the heads of divisions at this time were Kitase, Kawazu, Tanaka, Matsuno and Hirata. Following
18643-503: The company's publicity manager. In April 1986, Square moved into new offices based in Ginza , noted as one of the most expensive areas for companies to operate; Sakaguchi later speculated Miyamoto was hoping to attract business by appearing affluent. Square was re-established as an independent developer in September of that year with capital of ¥ 10 million, buying the original Square gaming division from Den-Yu-Sha in December. Sakaguchi
18824-409: The completion of Crystal Chronicles , first renamed to SQEX Corporation and eventually dissolved entirely in 2010. Square Sounds was dissolved into the main company in March 2002 as an internal division, a move attributed to cost cutting. All the other subsidiaries were folded into Square Enix during the merger, with Visual Works becoming its own dedicated department. On May 1, 1998, Square formed
19005-416: The course of its five-year run, Charlie's Angels had a series of highly publicized cast changes. The first of these took place in the spring of 1977, just after the conclusion of the first season . Fawcett turned in her resignation just before the season one finale aired on May 4, 1977. Fawcett's decision not to return for a second season triggered a lawsuit against the actress by ABC and Spelling. During
19186-406: The design process. Fumi Nakashima, the sub-character chief designer, concentrated on giving characters from different regions and cultures distinct styles of clothing. Nakashima wanted the machine-oriented society of the Al Bhed to stand out and had them wear masks and goggles to give them a strange and eccentric appearance. Koji Sugimoto, main programmer for characters, said that the complexities of
19367-750: The early 1990s to 2000 were font company Kusanagi, and developers Positron and Luciola. In 2002, Ogre Battle developer Quest Corporation withdrew from game development and was bought by Square. Absorbed and repurposed into a production division, their first project was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003). Many Square employees went on to found notable development studios and other ventures. Nishi founded Love-de-Lic in 1995, producing three games including Moon: Remix RPG Adventure . Love-de-Lic staff went on to found other small studios including Skip Ltd. ( Chibi-Robo! ), and Punchline ( Rule of Rose ). Frustrated with Square's rigid hierarchy, Kikuta founded Sacnoth in 1997, which would become known for
19548-552: The electricity business. Miyamoto instead became a software developer at the Yokohama branch of Den-Yu-Sha in Hiyoshi , with a focus on the emerging video game market. Their original offices were based in a former hairdresser's salon. The company's name referred to a golfing term, and represented its aim to face challenges head-on. It also referenced a town square , emphasizing a production environment based on cooperation. At
19729-420: The eye of a storm. Farrah Fawcett became hugely popular and was branded a phenomenon. However, the situation off screen was not as rewarding. The long working hours on set, combined with numerous calls for photo shoots, wardrobe fittings, and promotional interviews, took their toll on the trio. Jackson was especially unhappy as she felt the quality of scripts was declining and the format was now more "cop story of
19910-481: The fayth to create this manifestation and Yevon made himself the core of a powerful monster known as Sin to protect it, though the process destroyed his mind as he continuously maintains Sin's summoning as the creature is compelled to destroy. Through the machinations of Yevon's daughter Yunalesca, Bevelle established a religious faith built on atonement and sacrifice to conceal the spiral of death that runs throughout Spira's history. This process involves Yunalesca teaching
20091-414: The fictional world of Spira, defining the life of the planet's inhabitants. Magic, spiritual energy, and the power of memories are heavily intertwined, and their effects manifest in a number of situations, including sporting events, religious practices, technology, and even in some of the native wildlife of the planet. The most popular pastime is Blitzball . The depiction of Sin as an "existence that agonizes
20272-453: The figure that is Seymour's mother and tying the form to her bound to servitude to Seymour in his descent into madness. The Crusaders (formerly known as the "Crimson Blades") were a loosely-knit army that existed to protect towns and temples from Sin. The group was founded by Lord Mi'ihen, who made a journey to Bevelle 800 years ago to calm the maesters' fears that he was assembling an army to conquer them. Mi'ihen managed to win their trust, and
20453-506: The game requires mastering not only the instrumental controls needed to acquire and perfect game skills but also the narrative itself, the cultural knowledge of Spira that facilitates the acquisition of skills and abilities". In Languages Of Navigation Within Computer Games Flynn asserts that Final Fantasy X ' s navigation is a representative and symbolic language, writing that "[a]lthough FFX establishes itself through
20634-509: The game, to give the impression of use of loanwords compared to modern foreign languages. Most keywords are proper nouns , but some common nouns also are not translated, such as "fiend" (e.g. Y fiend ! Eh risyh teckieca! [A fiend ! In human disguise!]). Alexander Smith decided to "map common phonemes in English to common phonemes in Welsh" and gave preference to Welsh pronunciations, but had to work with new diphthongs to maintain consistency in
20815-568: The games as a case study, Mangiron and O'Hagan highlight that the freedom to modify, omit or add content results in the traditional concept of fidelity being discarded to maintain the "game experience". In the Marie Curie Euroconference on the Challenges of Multidimensional Translation, Minako O'Hagan expanded on the localization issue including the extreme rewrite of Final Fantasy X-2 ' s theme song 1000 words and
20996-409: The hype the series had with Fawcett, Ladd was written in the series as her sister, San Francisco police academy graduate Kris Munroe. Ratings dropped during the third season. Jackson began to complain about the show's diminishing script quality (she once complained: "The scripts are so light it would take a week to get to the floor if you dropped it from the ceiling") and further stated that initially
21177-445: The introduction of voice acting with games including Final Fantasy X . Notable localization staff included Kaoru Moriyama, Ted Woolsey , Michael Basket, Richard Honeywood , and Alexander O. Smith . Many Square titles remained exclusive to Japan, for reasons including design complexities, low graphical quality, and technical difficulties. In the 1990s, Square's first six PlayStation releases were published by Sony as part of
21358-413: The leading roles and John Forsythe providing the voice of their boss, the unseen Charlie Townsend, who directed the crime-fighting operations of the "Angels" over a speakerphone. There were a few casting changes: after the departure of Fawcett, Cheryl Ladd joined; after Jackson departed, Shelley Hack joined, and she was subsequently replaced by Tanya Roberts . Despite mixed reviews from critics and
21539-401: The localization process of Final Fantasy X including Hevian and Marco. Final Fantasy X ' s depiction of Spira set a new standard with the traversing of real-time 3D environments instead of an overworld map, making the portrayal of Spira a pioneer in 3-D RPG maps. Square (video game company) Square Co., Ltd. , also known under its international brand name SquareSoft , was
21720-629: The locations of Spira. The Djose Temple, abandoned by a faltering Yevon after X , becomes the headquarters of the Machine Faction; likewise, the Youth League sets up their headquarters at the site of the failed operation on the Mushroom Rock Road. Bevelle remains the capital of the New Yevon faction, although the game introduces a large, technological area hidden beneath the city. Several new enterprises have been started, including
21901-408: The mainland, Luca, is a large city home to Spira's pastime, Blitzball . North of Luca is the mountainous area of Djose, which features a Yevonite temple. Connecting Luca and Djose are several roads: the Mi'ihen Highroad, a historical path that features Chocobos for transportation; the Mushroom Rock Road, home of the failed operation to defeat Sin; and Djose Highroad, a rocky path that forks north into
22082-556: The merger with Enix, the eight divisions were incorporated into the new company, with two additional divisions brought in from Enix. Square self-published the majority of its games in Japan, and sporadically acted as a publisher for third-party developers. By contrast, their Western presence during the 80s and early 90s was small. RPGs were not popular in the North American market at that time, and Square's presence in Europe
22263-461: The most important element incorporated into X-2 was the "peaceful world of Spira achieved in X and unification of characters' state of mind". Kitase identified Final Fantasy X ' s theme as "independence from the ties of law and customs" and X-2 ' s theme is about "the changes that occurred from the chaos after gaining that independence". For Final Fantasy X-2 many pop culture references were used, including Charlie's Angels and with
22444-655: The music studio Procyon in 2001 so he could work while maintaining his health. After stepping down as president in 2001, Sakaguchi experienced a period of low morale before returning to game development, founding Mistwalker in 2004. The studio became known for the Blue Dragon and Terra Wars series, as well as stand-alone projects such as Lost Odyssey , The Last Story . and Fantasian , whose console and PC versions would eventually be published by Square Enix, making it Sakaguchi's first work with Square Enix in years. Charlie%27s Angels Charlie's Angels
22625-548: The natural surroundings of these environments as the player moved through them. The decision to create Final Fantasy X-2 came after fan response to the "Eternal Calm" in the International Edition of Final Fantasy X which depicted events two years following Yuna's final battle. The dark religious theme of the first game was concluded and the cultural changes were explored as the people of Spira focus on fashion that "reflects their state of mind". Toriyama believes
22806-423: The new company. Around 80% of Square's staff transitioned into Square Enix. Square's final release was the Japanese version of X-2 . During reports on the merger with Enix, Takashi Oya of Deutsche Securities contrasted Enix's tradition of outsourcing development versus Square's approach to developing "everything by itself". When Square was founded in the early 1980s, there was no set development structure, with
22987-470: The next entry in the Final Fantasy series, and entered the emerging 3D gaming market. With the production of Final Fantasy VII , Square decided to shift their projects to Sony Computer Entertainment 's new PlayStation console, prompted by the affordability of CD-ROM distribution, compared to Nintendo's continued use of expensive cartridges . This shift caused a long-standing rift between Square and Nintendo; one Square employee recalled Nintendo telling
23168-475: The only blitzball stadium in Spira, and Bevelle, the center of the temples of Yevon. Yuna and her guardians break the cycle and bring about the "Eternal Calm". As a result of the events in Final Fantasy X , in X-2 the teachings of Yevon were deemed invalid after the order's secrets were exposed while the Al Bhed accepted by the Spirans with association with machina no longer sacrilegious. Spirans in general had
23349-474: The opening cut scene as narrative based, it becomes clear that a poetic and mythic experience of space rather than a cinematic sense of space is in operation". The localization process of Final Fantasy X and X-2 was analyzed as a case study by Mangiron and O'Hagan to highlight the liberties of localization. Technical limitations include localizing over a thousand weapons with unique names that must be conveyed in 15 characters yet have no English equivalent as in
23530-474: The organizer of the plan, in similar fashion to Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible , a series for which Goff and Roberts had written. The 74-minute pilot film initially aired on March 21, 1976. The story focuses heavily on Kelly Garrett (a role intended for Jackson before she and Smith swapped) who poses as an heiress who returns home to gain her father's successful winery. In the end of the film
23711-406: The other team at Square led by Tanaka, which included Shibuya and newcomer debugger Hiroyuki Ito . Production on the game lasted roughly ten months. While shipments of 200,000 units were planned, Sakaguchi persuaded Square to double that number. Final Fantasy was released in 1987 to commercial success, selling over 400,000 copies in Japan. It saw greater sales success in North American when it
23892-410: The place of her older sister, Jill, in the trio; in the fourth season, Tiffany Welles, a Boston police academy graduate, takes Sabrina's place; and in the fifth and final season, upon Tiffany's departure, Julie Rogers, a former New York model fills the void when she is granted a temporary private detective license. Charlie's Angels was generally formatted in the way of a procedural drama, much like
24073-522: The playing field for blitzball games. The pyreflies are also a source of raw energy to empower the giant machina, Vegnagun. Shinra of the Gullwings suggests that the life energy flowing through Spira on the Farplane could possibly be harnessed for the purpose of supplying electricity to a city. In interviews published in the Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω and Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania guidebooks, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima and producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed that Final Fantasy VII and X-2 share
24254-407: The possibility of further remasters based on reception. Many views could not simply be reframed to 16:9 because that would reveal characters waiting for their cues off-screen, so the remastering team performed a lot of redrawing and additions to the visuals. The main landmass of Spira is surrounded by small islands, including: Besaid, a tropical town serving as the origin of Yuna's pilgrimage; Kilika,
24435-618: The production of games for the Famicom Disk System. The Square-owned label, called Disk Original Group (DOG), included Square, HummingBirdSoft , System Sacom , Microcabin , Carry Lab, Thinking Rabbit , and Xtalsoft . This coalition was able to pool financial resources, allowing them to overcome the prohibitive costs of acting individually. The Famicom Disk System was rendered defunct by 1988 due to increased storage capacity in standard Famicom ROM cartridges. In January 1994, Square acquired developer Cobra Team, turning it into
24616-405: The relationship of memory, history, and the struggle for control of knowledge a central element of both its gameplay and its narrative". Washburn gives a synopsis of the game's alternate history and describes Spira's development as "evok[ing] a number of culturally vital discourses in Japan that the designers of the game drew on: the modernist aesthetics of evanescence, the loss of faith and belief in
24797-424: The remainder of its run. Despite generally receiving mild competition from its rival networks on these time slots, Charlie's Angels placed fifty-ninth out of sixty-five shows for the 1980–81 season. ABC thereby canceled the series after five seasons and 115 episodes. The Charlie's Angels seventy four minute pilot film that aired on March 21, 1976, received enormous ratings, but ABC network — who thought this
24978-415: The restless dead by Pyreflies to devour the living. Aeons and the unsent are also forms created by pyreflies. Sin, the bringer of destruction, is a powerful fiend that is made of high-density pyreflies; it can control gravitation forces to replenish its strength and even fly. Sin's high concentration of pyreflies affect the pyreflies present in the bodies of those present, and is known as "Sin's toxin". Despite
25159-411: The script and dialogue with modifications, additions and omissions. Another aspect was that the presentation of Spira without an overworld view can be considered a pioneer in 3D role-playing game maps. In speaking about the inspiration behind Spira, producer Yoshinori Kitase recounted that players had found fault with the science fiction atmosphere of Final Fantasy VII and VIII , instead desiring
25340-728: The scripts, Jackson became problematic, as she admitted, "I guess I did cause a few problems" and she was let go. In a statement, Spelling said: "Due to problems on the set, Kate is being dropped for the good of the show". Casting calls for Jackson's replacement began during the summer of 1979. Several up-and-coming actresses were considered for the role, including Barbara Bach , Connie Sellecca , Shari Belafonte , Judith Chapman , newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer and The Price Is Right model Dian Parkinson . ABC producers auditioned Revlon Charlie perfume model Shelley Hack and cast her as Jackson's replacement. Producers at Spelling-Goldberg were quoted as saying: "We feel that Shelley Hack has exactly
25521-480: The second season, the series still remained in the top five for the 1977–78 season, placing fourth in the ratings, tying with 60 Minutes and All in the Family . In the third season, viewership stabilized, but the series began losing traction as it ranked twelfth behind newcomers Mork & Mindy , The Ropers , and Taxi for the 1978–79 season. With Jackson's departure and Shelley Hack entering
25702-490: The series The Alley Cats in which the three females (named Allison, Lee, and Catherine) would reside in alleys and wear whips and chains. Jackson disapproved of the title and, since she was given semi-control over the development of the series, she encouraged producers to find a new title. It was Jackson who decided the three women would be called "Angels" after seeing a picture of three angels hanging in Spelling's office, and
25883-399: The series became known as Harry's Angels . This title was changed, however, when ABC did not want to run into conflict with the series Harry O , and it thereby became Charlie's Angels . In the initial concept of the series, the three females' boss would be a millionaire who often aided them in their assignments; however, Jackson and Spelling decided it would be more interesting to have
26064-663: The series focused on "classic detective work", but had become more of a "cop story of the week". During the third season, Jackson was offered the part of Joanna Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) with Dustin Hoffman but the Charlie's Angels producers refused to reorganize the shooting schedule to allow Jackson time off to shoot the film (the part of Joanna ultimately went to Meryl Streep , who won an Academy Award for her performance). Upset by this situation and her negative opinion of
26245-412: The series, ABC began searching for her replacement. Executives eventually noticed singer turned actress Cheryl Ladd and offered her a screen test. Initially, Ladd refused the opportunity for a screen test, but after lobbying from studio executives, she relented. Although executives noticed Ladd was inexperienced, they saw promise in her performance and signed her to a four-year contract. In an effort to keep
26426-585: The series. However, after an initial spike in the ratings, they began to erode, so in an attempt to revitalize declining ratings and regain popularity, ABC released Hack from her contract in February 1980. A statement later issued by Spelling-Goldberg read: "When she signed her contract for the series, Miss Hack had a personal agreement that she could review her continuation with the show at the end of her first season since series television represented an enormous change in her career and lifestyle", implying that Hack
26607-404: The series; according to The Charlie's Angels Casebook , audiences also reacted negatively to the character. Bosley was kept, made slightly less inept than depicted in the pilot, and was given many of Woodville's attributes and responsibilities. The series formally premiered on Wednesday, September 22, 1976, at 10:00pm. The pilot film received enormous ratings, but ABC – who thought this was one of
26788-424: The show was all very cohesive - it just worked. We really were all good friends and that showed on the screen". Ladd believed the TV series was "inspirational" to women despite the critics calling it a "jiggle show". She noted, "there hadn't been a show like this on the air [with] three powerful women who had the latest hairdos, wore the coolest clothes and could walk around in a bikini. We were very inspirational to
26969-496: The span of ten years, with the fifth and final season released as a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Amazon.com & WBShop.com and only in the U.S. Additionally, seasons 1–3 have been released on DVD in regions 2 and 4. Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Charlie's Angels in 2013. They subsequently re-released
27150-593: The story and their ultimate resolution was well received. The popularity of the Eternal Calm video served as the impetus of Square Enix to do Final Fantasy X-2 to make their first direct sequel in video game form and depict the evolution of Spiran society after religious and political upheaval results in new factions and instability in the world. Spira and its inhabiting characters have been featured in several other Square Enix works including Dissidia Final Fantasy and its prequel Dissidia 012 , three games within
27331-452: The talent, style, and intelligence we were looking for". Producer Spelling loved the idea of the headline "The Charlie Girl Becomes A Charlie's Angel ". Hack debuted in the fourth-season premiere as Tiffany Welles , an elegant police graduate from Boston . In hiring Hack, Spelling's priority for season four was to "bring back the glamour" while ABC hoped Hack's sophisticated personality would bring an interesting new mystique and intrigue to
27512-504: The team saw popular success with the role-playing video game Final Fantasy in 1987, which would lead to the franchise of the same name being one of its tentpole franchises. Later notable staff included directors Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita , designer and writer Yasumi Matsuno , artists Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora , and composers Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu . Initially developing for PCs, then exclusively for Nintendo systems, Square broke up with Nintendo in
27693-471: The ten-person staff freely shifting between roles and projects. This eventually evolved into two loosely-defined production groups, led by Sakaguchi and Tanaka, respectively. Following the release of Final Fantasy IV , Sakaguchi divided the production team, assigning different staff members to the Final Fantasy , SaGa and Mana series. A secondary studio was founded in Osaka in 1990, with Final Fantasy Legend III (1991) as their first project. By 1997,
27874-627: The three Magus Sisters. The game builds on mythological figures through the inclusion of the aeons, such as the Arabic Ifrit , the Hindu deity Shiva and even the Jungian figure Anima and the demon Valefor . Wilder wrote on the Jungian analysis of Anima and tied Square Enix's depiction of the Aeon as both a representation of Seymour's corruption. Wilder analyzes the chained and blinded depiction of
28055-402: The three women are caught in a bind and Scott attempts to save them, but to no avail, leaving them to solve the dilemma on their own (and with the help of allies made during the story). ABC executives were somewhat disappointed in this initial project, fearing there was more emphasis on camp than serious drama. After viewing the pilot, Spelling encouraged executives to delete Scott Woodville from
28236-400: The time, video games in Japan were usually created by a single programmer. Miyamoto, on the other hand, believed that graphic designers, programmers, and professional story writers would be needed to keep up with advances in computing and video game development. During these early years, the group was compared to a family business ; one of the early hires, Shinichiro Kajitani, joined because he
28417-477: The transformation of the dress spheres being a reference to the magical girl genre of anime . Square Enix chose to update Final Fantasy X and X-2 ' s graphics for a remastered release in high-definition. With a production cycle longer than two years, the graphics were not merely upscaled to higher resolutions and feature updated models and textures. Kitase commented that he wanted to excite new and returning players and added more depth to do so and opened up
28598-453: The truth. Half a year later, the moral teachings of Yevon were revitalized in the form of the New Yevon Party, later led in Final Fantasy X-2 by Praetor Baralai. Although technically a splinter group of Yevon, the New Yevon party was not a religion, but a simple philosophy, their motto and position on Spira's advancement being "One thing at a time". In Final Fantasy X the "Hymn of the Fayth" ( 祈りの歌 , Inori no Uta , lit. 'song of prayer')
28779-416: The typical world map concept for a more realistic depiction. Final Fantasy X ' s spatial presentation of Spira is tied to progression, with a player's progress being marked through the panoramic introduction and depiction of the area upon first entry. Chiharu Minekawa, the supervising sound editor, commented that the transition in sound from one environment to the next was done seamlessly in order to mimic
28960-481: The use of machines. As a result, the temples forbade the use of modern technology, and promoted a culture of atonement for past sins in the hopes of appeasing Sin. While the Yevon church forbids most machina including weapons, their capital Bevelle retains machina to ensure its dominance. The Al Bhed are seen as dangerous to the Yevon clergy because they use machina and pose a threat to the church's uncontested control of Spira. The church retains its power by role in using
29141-499: The vast majority of other crime shows of the era. Many of the episodes follow a regular structure whereby a crime is committed, the 'Angels' are given the case details, and then they go undercover to solve the crime. Inevitably, the final scene takes place back at the Townsend office with Charlie offering his congratulations for a job well done. Most episodes have stand-alone plots and are usually not referenced in future episodes. Over
29322-544: The week" rather than classy undercover drama, which had been the intention with the pilot film . With season two, the series moved up an hour to the Wednesday 9:00pm time slot, where it stayed for three years. During that time, the series competed with such popular shows as One Day at a Time , The Jeffersons , and Diff'rent Strokes . The transition from Fawcett to Cheryl Ladd in the second season proved to be popular with viewers. While viewership dipped marginally in
29503-399: The world" and as a "disaster with form" plays an important role in Spira's everyday life throughout the game. In X-2 , the population of Spira pursues additional leisures including attending concerts and a coin-collecting fad called Sphere Break . In Spira, when a person dies suddenly and unexpectedly, his or her life force, manifested as pyreflies, must be released from the body and sent to
29684-464: The worst ideas for a TV series they had ever heard – did not believe the figures and showed the pilot again at a later date to check. The ratings were just as high, even for a repeat screening. Each episode of the series cost between $ 575,000 and $ 600,000. "Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the police academy; and they were each assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that and now they work for me. My name
29865-452: The years, many staff left to found studios such as Monolith Soft ( Xeno ), Sacnoth ( Shadow Hearts ), Mistwalker ( Fantasian ), and AlphaDream ( Mario & Luigi ). In 2001, the company saw financial troubles due to the commercial failure of the feature film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within , which ultimately led Sakaguchi to leave the company in 2003. The film's failure disrupted merger discussions with Enix , publisher of
30046-608: Was Shimomura's last project as an in-house composer before going freelance in 2002. Also released in 2002 was the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XI , the company's first MMORPG . Conceived by Sakaguchi, it was developed by the Chrono team and led by Ishii. Final Fantasy XI and its first expansion was Kato's last work for Square before leaving in 2002 to go freelance. Following the commercial success of Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts , Square and Enix resumed talks and agreed to merge their two companies. Wada described it as
30227-508: Was a friend of Miyamoto, and later compared the company at that time to a "college club". To recruit for this new organizational structure, Miyamoto organized a salon in Yokohama and offered jobs to those who demonstrated exceptional programming skills. This led to the part-time hiring of university students Hironobu Sakaguchi and Hiromichi Tanaka , as well as Hisashi Suzuki, who would go on to become Square's CEO. Miyamoto's initial plan
30408-522: Was appointed as a Director of Planning and Development, and Hisashi Suzuki became one of the company's directors. Due to the high cost of Ginza rents, the company was forced to move into smaller offices in Okachimachi, Taitō . Square began struggling financially following multiple commercial failures for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System peripheral. Miyamoto asked the company's four directors for game proposals, with plans to have their staff vote on
30589-481: Was certain. Between November 1980 and June 1981, the series was broadcast in three different time slots and its ratings further declined, so ABC cancelled the show in the spring of 1981. Charlie's Angels became known as " Jiggle TV ". Jiggle TV was also called " Tits & Ass Television" or "T&A" for short and in the 1970s the amount of sex on television increased, as did its ratings, creating social controversies and consequences, by critics who believed that
30770-486: Was composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu and Masashi Hamauzu . Final Fantasy X ' s negative depiction of organized religion has been compared to the Catholic Church and the corruptibility of organized religion in general with the ultimate battle against a god. Stark writes that the game is a thesis on religion and the final battle with Yu Yevon offers a discourse on how to defeat it, by "let[ting] it die
30951-670: Was founded in 1998 in London , England, focusing on publishing in Europe. A publishing brand called Aques was established by Square in 1996. The name was an anagram of Square's name, as well as an acronym for "Advanced QUality Entertainment and Sports", representing the company's diversification outside of role-playing games. That same year, Square established a distribution company called DigiCube , with convenience stores as their main strategy. The subdidiary expanded into book publishing, stocked games from other companies, and at one point published games under its own brand. DigiCube survived
31132-419: Was granted. Farrah Fawcett was next cast as Jill Munroe but, like Jackson, did not audition for a role. She was offered a part by Spelling after he had viewed her performance in the 1976 film Logan's Run . Jaclyn Smith was among the hundreds of actresses who auditioned for the role of Kelly Garrett. Despite liking Smith, Spelling and Goldberg were wary about hiring her because their initial concept concerned
31313-437: Was included in the decision to exit Charlie's Angels . In an interview with People , Hack said: "They can say I didn't work out, but it isn't true. What happened was a network war. A business decision was made. Change the timeslot or bring on some new publicity. How to get publicity? A new Angel hunt. Who is the obvious person to replace? I am—the new kid on the block". Hack later stated: "I never expected to be there more than
31494-464: Was intended to strengthen Square's overseas connections and bring in technical and administrative support for future digital and online content. Alongside this, Yoichi Wada joined the company as a company director and eventually COO. In August 2000, Square was listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange 's first section, which includes the largest companies on the exchange. In addition to leading production on Final Fantasy IX (2000), Sakaguchi also worked at
31675-774: Was limited. The original Final Fantasy was published in North America in 1990 by Nintendo of America close to the launch of the Super Nintendo, resulting in its two sequels being passed over for localization at that time. After opening their North American offices, Square began publishing selected titles under the "SquareSoft" brand. One of their third-party North American releases was the original Breath of Fire by Capcom, who were busy enough to outsource publishing and localization to Square. The Redmond office later closed, with some localization staff choosing not to relocate to California. Square initially did not have an internal localization department, instead outsourcing to
31856-403: Was one of the worst ideas for a TV series they had ever heard — did not believe the figures and showed it again a week later to check. At the time of Spelling pitching the pilot of Charlie's Angels to the network, ABC executive Michael Eisner told Spelling that his pitch had to be "one of the worst ideas I've ever heard", and ABC executive Barry Diller claimed no one would ever watch it. Despite
32037-545: Was released in 1989, selling 700,000 copies. Two other Japanese successes from 1987 were Rad Racer and The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner . The success of Final Fantasy prompted development of Final Fantasy II (1988), which established many of the series recurring elements . This and four more Final Fantasy titles would appear on the Famicom and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom), culminating in Final Fantasy VI (1994). These were among
32218-399: Was ridiculous". Reflecting on the 1970s female-driven drama, Jaclyn Smith, who was the only 'Angel' to star on all five seasons, states how Charlie's Angels changed her – and TV audiences across America: "It was ground-breaking. It was about three emotionally and financially independent women. We shot at beautiful locations with fancy fast cars, and they cared about each other, so there was
32399-412: Was shut down in 2002 following a failed attempt to find a film studio partner. In 2002, Square Next was rebranded as The Game Designer Studio, with ownership between Square's Product Development Division 2 and Kawazu. The aim was to allow for development of games for Nintendo consoles without impacting production on Sony platform games. The Game Designers Studio was absorbed back into Square Enix after
32580-413: Was to recruit from Keio University, but this never materialized. Square's first attempt at a game was an adaptation of the television game show Torin-ingen . As Miyamoto had not secured the license to adapt it, the show's producers forced Square to cancel the game, prompting its team to be reshuffled. Square's first completed game was The Death Trap (1984) for NEC PC-8801 , a text adventure set in
32761-472: Was wrestling an alligator. With the feminist movement, we were kind of half-heroes, half-goats". Hack said: "Of course it's fluff, but high-grade fluff. You don't compare Agatha Christie to Tolstoy". Additionally, referring to the Revlon Charlie commercials and Charlie's Angels , she stated on The Oprah Winfrey Show : "I was lucky. There were two things I was in that were about making women feel
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