246-572: Final Fantasy X is a 2001 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for PlayStation 2 . The tenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, it is the first game in the series to feature fully three-dimensional areas (though some areas were still pre-rendered), and voice acting . Final Fantasy X replaces the Active Time Battle (ATB) system with the "Conditional Turn-Based Battle" (CTB) system, and uses
492-417: A first-person perspective . The class changing systems and multiple types of magic available were also influential on the genre, as were the use of a variety of vehicles. By contrast, IGN has commented that the menu system used by the games is a major detractor for many and is a "significant reason why they haven't touched the series". Destructoid ' s Chris Hovermale cited the battle systems of
738-699: A koala with a bat . Other recurring races include common monsters such as the cactus-like Cactuar , the Tonberry, the Malboro, the Behemoth, and the Iron Giant. A human character that has frequently appeared is Cid ( シド , Shido ) . Making his debut in Final Fantasy II , he has appeared in multiple forms as everything from a player character to an antagonist. His most frequent occupation
984-426: A top-down perspective world map . Earlier games featured a miniature representation of the expansive areas between towns and other distinct locations, used for long-distance traveling. In the game, almost all the locations are essentially continuous and never fade out to a world map. Regional connections are mostly linear, forming a single path through the game's locations, though an airship becomes available late in
1230-529: A Reader's Choice made in 2006 by IGN , it ranked as the 60th-best video game. It was also named one of the 20 essential Japanese role-playing games by Gamasutra . It also placed 43rd in Game Informer ' s list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time". In 2004, Final Fantasy X was listed as one of the best games ever made by GameFAQs , while in November 2005 it was voted as the 12th "Best Game Ever". In
1476-610: A band led by Nobuo Uematsu that arranges music from Final Fantasy video games into a rock music style, have arranged three pieces from Final Fantasy X . These are "Fight With Seymour" from their self-titled album , published in 2003, and "Otherworld" and "The Skies Above", both of which can be found on the album The Skies Above , published in 2004. Uematsu continues to perform certain pieces in his Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy concert series. The music of Final Fantasy X has also appeared in various official concerts and live albums, such as 20020220 Music from Final Fantasy ,
1722-450: A big open world , and let you do whatever you like [which makes it] difficult to tell a compelling story." Hironobu Sakaguchi noted that "users like to categorise" WRPGs as "a sort of different style, born from first person shooters." In recent years, some have also criticized WRPGs for becoming less RPG-like, instead with further emphasis on action. Christian Nutt of GameSpy states that, in contrast to JRPGs, WRPGs' greater control over
1968-419: A blitzball player whose younger brother was killed by Sin; and Lulu ( Paula Tiso / Rio Natsuki ), a stoic black mage close to Yuna and Wakka. During the journey, they are joined by Auron ( Matt McKenzie / Hideo Ishikawa ), a former warrior monk, who worked with both Tidus' and Yuna's fathers to defeat Sin 10 years prior; and Rikku ( Tara Strong / Marika Matsumoto ), Yuna's cousin, a perky Al Bhed girl and
2214-468: A blitzball tournament, the city is attacked by an immense creature that Auron, a man not originally from Zanarkand, calls "Sin". Sin destroys Zanarkand and takes Tidus and Auron to the world of Spira. Upon arriving in Spira, Tidus is rescued by Al Bhed salvagers, with the young Rikku explaining that Sin destroyed Zanarkand 1,000 years ago. After Sin attacks again, Tidus is separated from the divers and drifts to
2460-417: A central role in several games, though later games such as Final Fantasy XV focus on simple narratives and understandable knowledge for its lore. The central conflict in many Final Fantasy games focuses on a group of characters battling an evil, and sometimes ancient, antagonist that dominates the game's world. Stories frequently involve a sovereign state in rebellion, with the protagonists taking part in
2706-598: A cheerful young teenager and a star blitzball player from Zanarkand, who seeks a way home after an encounter with Sin transported him to Spira. To do so, he joins Yuna ( Hedy Burress / Mayuko Aoki ), a summoner on a journey to obtain the Final Aeon and defeat the enormous whale-like "Sin". Journeying with them are: Kimahri Ronso ( John DiMaggio / Katsumi Chō ), a young warrior of the Ronso tribe who watched over Yuna during her childhood; Wakka (also DiMaggio/ Kazuya Nakai ),
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#17327824936792952-643: A chosen games' core narrative. The concept of crystals was introduced into the original game by game designer Koichi Ishii . Based on positive fan feedback, Terada suggested carrying them into future entries. Since then, crystals have taken prominent roles in Final Fantasy III , IV , V , VI , VII , and IX . They took minimal roles in II , VIII , X , and XII . Crystals also took a central role in Final Fantasy XIII and XV , which both used
3198-506: A common mythos surrounding crystals and their associated deities. Fabula Nova Crystallis was originally planned as a platform for the development of multiple games planned out in advance, compared to Final Fantasy producer Shinji Hashimoto to the Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings film franchises. Eventually mixed reactions to the subseries prompted Square Enix to move away from
3444-607: A concept and promotional art gallery for the game, and a music video of "Suteki da ne" performed by Rikki. In 2005, a compilation featuring Final Fantasy X and X-2 was released in Japan as Final Fantasy X/X-2 Ultimate Box . Square also produced various types of merchandise and several books, including The Art of Final Fantasy X and three Ultimania guides, a series of artbooks/ strategy guides published by DigiCube in Japan. They feature original artwork from Final Fantasy X , offer gameplay walkthroughs, expand upon many aspects of
3690-488: A crew of over 100 people, most of whom worked on previous games in the series. Executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi has stated that although he had concerns about the transition from 2D to 3D backgrounds, the voice acting, and the transition to real-time story-telling, the success of the Final Fantasy series can be attributed to constantly challenging the development team to try new things. Producer Yoshinori Kitase
3936-444: A darker theme. Nojima also created the original scenario of Final Fantasy XV (2016), then called Final Fantasy Versus XIII . His original scenario was reworked for XV by Saori Itamuro. Another recurring writer is Daisuke Watanabe . His first job on the series was with Final Fantasy X . He worked on Final Fantasy XII (2005) as a scenario writer after original writer Yasumi Matsuno left due to illness. The initial script
4182-409: A finite number of points to the attributes of their choice. Gaining experience will also unlock new magic spells for characters that use magic. Some role-playing games also give the player specific skill points , which can be used to unlock a new skill or improve an existing one. This may sometimes be implemented as a skill tree. As with the technology trees seen in strategy video games , learning
4428-549: A gamemaster. Exploring the world is an important aspect of many RPGs. Players will walk through, talking to non-player characters , picking up objects, and avoiding traps. Some games such as NetHack , Diablo , and the FATE series randomize the structure of individual levels, increasing the game's variety and replay value. Role-playing games where players complete quests by exploring randomly generated dungeons and which include permadeath are called roguelikes , named after
4674-511: A general overview of the series, both GamesRadar and IGN listed Final Fantasy X as the fourth best game. At the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 2003, it was nominated for " Outstanding Achievement in Animation " and " Console Role-Playing Game of the Year ". Readers from GameFaqs also voted it as Game of the Year during 2001. In 2008, readers of Dengeki magazine voted it
4920-449: A greater degree in the early 1990s. As console RPGs became more heavily story-based than their computer counterparts, one of the major differences that emerged during this time was in the portrayal of the characters. Console RPGs often featured intricately related characters who had distinctive personalities and traits, with players assuming the roles of people who cared about each other, fell in love or even had families. Romance in particular
5166-460: A guardian to summoner Yuna to destroy Sin upon learning its true identity is that of his missing father, Jecht . Development of Final Fantasy X began in 1999, with a budget of more than $ 32.3 million ( $ 59.1 million in 2023 dollars) and a team of more than 100 people. The game was the first in the main series not entirely scored by Nobuo Uematsu ; Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano were signed as Uematsu's fellow composers. Final Fantasy X
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#17327824936795412-647: A hold as they had in the West due to their cost; there was little market for Western-developed games and there were a few Japanese-developed games for personal computers during this time such as The Black Onyx (1984) which followed the Wizardry / Ultima format. With the release of the low-cost Famicom console (called the Nintendo Entertainment System overseas), a new opportunity arose to bring role-playing games to Japan. Dragon Quest (1986)
5658-815: A large number of Western indie games are modelled after JRPGs, especially those of the 16-bit era , partly due to the RPG Maker game development tools . Another oft-cited difference is the prominence or absence of kawaisa , or "cuteness", in Japanese culture, and different approaches with respect to character aesthetics. WRPGs tend to maintain a serious and gritty tone, whereas JRPG protagonists tend to be designed with an emphasis on aesthetic beauty, and even male characters are often young, androgynous , shōnen or bishōnen in appearance. JRPGs often have cute characters, juxtaposed with more mature themes and situations; and many modern JRPGs feature characters designed in
5904-641: A little box doesn't mean it belongs there." Nick Doerr of Joystiq criticizes the claim that JRPGs are "too linear", pointing out that non-linear JRPGs are not uncommon—for instance, the Romancing SaGa series. Likewise, Rowan Kaiser of Joystiq points out that linear WRPGs were common in the 1990s, and argues that many of the often mentioned differences between Eastern and Western games are stereotypes that are generally "not true" and "never was", pointing to classic examples like Lands of Lore and Betrayal at Krondor that were more narrative-focused than
6150-613: A live recording of an orchestra performing music from the series including several pieces from the game. An odd note is that the unreleased/promo CD-R (Instrumental) version of Madonna's "What It Feels Like For A Girl" done by Tracy Young was used in the blitzball sequences. Additionally, "Swing de Chocobo" was performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra for the Distant Worlds – Music from Final Fantasy concert tour, while "Zanarkand"
6396-495: A main artist for the Crystal Chronicles spin-off series, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII , and the mobile game Mobius Final Fantasy . A key designer for much of the series' life was Kazuko Shibuya, who did sprite designs from Final Fantasy to VI . She also did work on Final Fantasy Dimensions . A notable outside collaborator was Hiromu Takahara, lead designer for Japanese fashion house Roen, who created
6642-423: A major challenge in order to progress to the next area, and this structure can be compared to the boss characters at the end of levels in action games . The player typically must complete a linear sequence of certain quests in order to reach the end of the game's story. Many RPGs also often allow the player to seek out optional side-quests and character interactions. Quests of this sort can be found by talking to
6888-459: A mixed class, such as a fighter who can cast simple spells. Characters will also have a range of physical attributes such as dexterity and strength, which affect a player's performance in combat. Mental attributes such as intelligence may affect a player's ability to perform and learn spells, while social attributes such as charisma may limit the player's choices while conversing with non-player characters. These attribute systems often strongly resemble
7134-479: A more action-based, single-character version that incorporated design elements cut from XIII . Final Fantasy XV used an action-based system that was described as a "realistic" version of those used in the Kingdom Hearts series and spin-off game Final Fantasy Type-0 . Unlike mainline Final Fantasy games up to this point, the players could only control one character out of the four-strong party. While
7380-416: A new city in their image, removed from the reality of Spira. Once they reach Zanarkand, Yunalesca —the first summoner to defeat Sin and unsent ever since—tells the group that the Final Aeon is created from the fayth of one close to the summoner. After defeating Sin, the Final Aeon kills the summoner and transforms into a new Sin, which has caused its cycle of rebirth to continue. The group decides against using
7626-541: A new leveling system called the "Sphere Grid". Set in the fantasy world of Spira , a setting influenced by the South Pacific , Thailand and Japan , the game's story revolves around a group of adventurers and their quest to defeat a rampaging monster known as Sin. The player character is Tidus , a star athlete in the fictional sport of blitzball, who finds himself in Spira after Sin attacked his home city of Zanarkand. Shortly after arriving to Spira, Tidus becomes
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7872-419: A non-player character, and there may be no penalty for abandoning or ignoring these quests other than a missed opportunity or reward. Players can find loot (such as clothing, weapons, and armor) throughout the game world and collect it. Players can trade items for currency and better equipment. Trade takes place while interacting with certain friendly non-player characters, such as shopkeepers, and often uses
8118-466: A number of user-configurable settings. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura offered players the option to play in either turn-based or RTwP mode via a configuration setting. The latter also offered a "fast turn-based" mode, though all three of the game's modes were criticized for being poorly balanced and oversimplified. Early Ultima games featured timed turns: they were strictly turn-based, but if
8364-442: A particular action will increase. Many role-playing games allow players to play as an evil character. Although robbing and murdering indiscriminately may make it easier to get money, there are usually consequences in that other characters will become uncooperative or even hostile towards the player. Thus, these games allow players to make moral choices, but force players to live with the consequences of their actions. Games often let
8610-483: A particular skill in the tree will unlock more powerful skills deeper in the tree. Three different systems of rewarding the player characters for solving the tasks in the game can be set apart: the experience system (also known as the "level-based" system), the training system (also known as the "skill-based" system) and the skill-point system (also known as "level-free" system) Older games often separated combat into its own mode of gameplay, distinct from exploring
8856-546: A party of characters, commanding anywhere between three and eight during battles. Players must face a variety of enemies who continually try to damage the player; in battle, the characters can select a variety of commands from a menu, such as "Fight", "Magic", "Item", as well as other special skills such as "Steal", "Throw", or "Summon". The battle is won when all enemies are defeated. Up until Final Fantasy XI , battles were triggered through random encounters: starting with XI and continuing in following games, enemies were visible in
9102-485: A piece of full artwork rather than a simple logo. Since Final Fantasy IV , the current font style was adopted, along with a specially-designed logo by Amano. The emblem relates to a game's respective plot and typically portrays a character or object in the story. Subsequent remakes of the first three games have replaced the previous logos with ones similar to the rest of the series. His work on Final Fantasy brought him international fame. From Final Fantasy VII onward,
9348-652: A plot-related connection between Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII , another well-received Final Fantasy game. In 2013, after the release of the HD Remaster , Nojima said that he would like to see a second sequel to X , and if there were demand for it, it could happen. The minigame of blitzball has made it into other games, such as its sequel , and was mentioned as a possibility for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn . The advancements in portraying realistic emotions achieved with Final Fantasy X through voice-overs and detailed facial expressions have since become
9594-581: A positive-feedback cycle that is central to most role-playing games: The player grows in power, allowing them to overcome more difficult challenges, and gain even more power. This is part of the appeal of the genre, where players experience growing from an ordinary person into a superhero with amazing powers. Whereas other games give the player these powers immediately, the player in a role-playing game will choose their powers and skills as they gain experience. Role-playing games usually measure progress by counting experience points and character levels. Experience
9840-402: A result, Japanese-style role-playing games are held in disdain by some Western gamers, leading to the term "JRPG" being held in the pejorative. Some observers have also speculated that JRPGs are stagnating or declining in both quality and popularity, including remarks by BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk and writing director Daniel Erickson that JRPGs are stagnating—and that Final Fantasy XIII
10086-442: A side-scrolling view. Most notably since Ultima Underworld (1992), role-playing games started implementing true three-dimensional (3D) graphics, where players typically navigate the game world from a first or third-person perspective. However, an isometric or aerial top-down perspective is common in party-based RPGs, in order to give the player a clear view of their entire party and their surroundings. Role-playing games require
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10332-418: A similar fashion to other contemporary MMORPGs. Final Fantasy XII used a similar real-time command-based system to XI : dubbed the "Active Dimension Battle" system, characters fought enemies in environments without random encounters, with players acting on commands set by the player. The battle system for Final Fantasy XIII was designed to retain the strategic elements of earlier games while emulating
10578-494: A single paragraph) spread across 13 booklets, while the second contains 50,000 paragraphs spread across 14 booklets. Most of the games from this era are turn-based, although Dungeon Master and its imitators have real-time combat. Other classic titles from this era include The Bard's Tale (1985), Wasteland (1988), the start of the Might and Magic (1986–2014) series and the continuing Ultima (1981–1999) series. Later, in
10824-409: A smaller set of possible actions, since computers can't engage in imaginative acting comparable to a skilled human gamemaster. In exchange, the typical role-playing video game may have storyline branches, user interfaces, and stylized cutscenes and gameplay to offer a more direct storytelling mechanism. Characterization of non-player characters in video games is often handled using a dialog tree . Saying
11070-415: A specialized trading screen. Purchased items go into the player's inventory. Some games turn inventory management into a logistical challenge by limiting the size of the player's inventory, thus forcing the player to decide what they must carry at the time. This can be done by limiting the maximum weight that a player can carry, by employing a system of arranging items in a virtual space, or by simply limiting
11316-463: A spell, as ammunition is consumed by a gun, most games offer players a finite amount of mana which can be spent on any spell. Mana is restored by resting or by consuming potions. Characters can also gain other non-magical skills, which stay with the character for as long as the character lives. Role-playing games may have the player focus only on a single character throughout the game; the character may be joined by computer-controlled allies outside of
11562-445: A standard for RPGs. The series also produced spin-off entries including SaGa and Mana , and in turn influenced later game developers and studios. The Final Fantasy media franchise began with the development of the titular first game in the series. It was developed at Square , later dubbed Square Enix after its 2003 merger with Enix . Final Fantasy was creator Hironobu Sakaguchi 's last-ditch attempt at success within
11808-429: A staple of the series, with X-2 and other subsequent titles (such as Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII , Final Fantasy XII , XIII and its sequels, and XV ) also featuring this development. Traversing real-time 3D environments instead of an overworld map has also become a standard of the series. Final Fantasy X can be considered a pioneer in 3-D RPG maps. The Sphere Grid system of FFX had an influence on
12054-469: A substantial input into the character stories. While Final Fantasy VII would become Nomura's favorite project, its graphical limitations meant that his art style was limited in turn. For Final Fantasy VIII , he worked with other artists to make the characters more realistic. Nomura returned for Final Fantasy X , designing the main cast and creating a setting influenced by the South Pacific , Thailand , and Japan . For Final Fantasy XV , Nomura created
12300-415: A time as they swim through the sphere performing passes, tackles, and attempts to score. The gameplay is similar to that of the main game in the way that the controlled character moves through the area until they encounter an enemy. In this case, the enemy is a member of the opposing team. Status effects are also implemented in the minigame as each player can learn techniques that are equivalent to abilities in
12546-594: Is "Summoning", a mechanic where characters can evoke summoned monsters (summoned beasts ( 召喚獣 , Shoukanjuu ) in Japanese) to aid the party through cinematic actions. The concept of summoning was proposed for the first Final Fantasy but was not implemented until Final Fantasy III . Summons can be either optional acquisitions or tied to story events and particular characters. The names of summons derive from multiple cultures, including Egyptian , Middle-Eastern, Asian, and Classical mythology. As groups within
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#173278249367912792-432: Is Banri Oda. The scenario of Final Fantasy XVI is written by Maehiro. The first game to receive a direct sequel was Final Fantasy X ; X-2 is set in the same fictional world of Spira while using a lighter tone than its predecessor. No sequel to Final Fantasy X was planned initially. Final Fantasy XIII was also intended to be a standalone game, and was later expanded into the series' first official trilogy with
13038-435: Is Gilgamesh; first appearing in Final Fantasy V , he has made cameo appearances in multiple Final Fantasy games since then. Gilgamesh, named after the mythological figure , was created by Sakaguchi, and designed by Tetsuya Nomura and Yoshitaka Amano . Since the series' inception, gameplay in the majority of mainline Final Fantasy games has followed certain conventions of the role-playing genre. Players take control of
13284-495: Is Sin's true identity. Ten years ago, Auron and Jecht bodyguarded Yuna's late father Braska to defeat Sin but Jecht became a new Sin. As Yuna's party continues their pilgrimage, Tidus reunites with Rikku, who the party learns is Yuna's cousin. When the party arrives in the city of Guadosalam, the leader of the Guado and major clergy member Seymour Guado , proposes to Yuna, saying that it will ease Spira's sorrow. At Macalania Temple,
13530-422: Is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi , and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square ). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs). The eponymous first game in the series , published in 1987, was conceived by Sakaguchi as his last-ditch effort in the game industry; the game was a success and spawned sequels. While most entries in
13776-687: Is an engineer, and he is commonly associated with the party's airship. Cid was originally created as a character that would appear in multiple forms: his one common attribute was that he was an intelligent and wise figure "like Yoda from the Star Wars series". Two other recurring human characters are Biggs and Wedge, a duo named after characters from the Star Wars franchise who are often used for comic relief. Making their debut in Final Fantasy VI as footsoldiers, they have since appeared in multiple Final Fantasy games. A different character
14022-419: Is generally divided into classes organized by color: "White magic", which focuses on spells that assist teammates; "Black magic", which focuses on harming enemies; "Red magic", which is a combination of white and black magic, "Blue magic", which mimics enemy attacks; and "Green magic" which focuses on applying status effects to either allies or enemies. Different means of transportation have appeared through
14268-496: Is largely predefined for the sake of telling a specific story, many role-playing games make use of a character creation screen. This allows players to choose their character's sex, their race or species, and their character class. Although many of these traits are cosmetic, there are functional aspects as well. Character classes will have different abilities and strengths. Common classes include fighters, spellcasters, thieves with stealth abilities, and clerics with healing abilities, or
14514-492: Is not even really an RPG; criticisms regarding seemingly nebulous justifications by some Japanese designers for newly changed (or, alternately, newly un-changed) features of recent titles; calls among some gaming journalists to "fix" JRPGs' problems; as well as claims that some recent titles such as Front Mission Evolved are beginning to attempt—and failing to—imitate Western titles. In an article for PSM3 , Brittany Vincent of RPGFan.com felt that "developers have mired
14760-492: Is notable for introducing automapping and in-game scrolls providing hints and background information. They also released Pool of Radiance in 1988, the first of several " Gold Box " CRPGs based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules . These games feature a first-person display for movement, combined with an overhead tactical display for combat. One common feature of RPGs from this era, which Matt Barton calls
15006-621: Is often rooted in speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ), which allows players to do things they cannot do in real life and helps players suspend their disbelief about the rapid character growth. To a lesser extent, settings closer to the present day or near future are possible. The story often provides much of the entertainment in the game. Because these games have strong storylines, they can often make effective use of recorded dialog and voiceover narration. Players of these games tend to appreciate long cutscenes more than players of faster action games . While most games advance
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#173278249367915252-475: Is performed by Japanese folk singer Rikki , whom the music team contacted while searching for a singer whose music reflected an Okinawan atmosphere. "Suteki da ne" is also sung in Japanese in the English version of Final Fantasy X . Like " Eyes on Me " from VIII and " Melodies of Life " from IX , an orchestrated version of "Suteki da ne" is used as part of the ending theme. The other songs with lyrics are
15498-403: Is set two years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy X , establishing new conflicts and dilemmas and resolving loose ends left by the original game. Although the sequel did not sell as well as the original, 5.4 million units versus over 8 million units, it can still be considered a commercial success. As a result of the title's popularity, Yoshinori Kitase and Kazushige Nojima decided to establish
15744-706: Is the Chocobo , a galliform bird that regularly acts as a means of transport for characters. The Chocobo was created by Ishii for Final Fantasy II , and have appeared in every mainline Final Fantasy game since then. A second recurring race are the Moogles , whose Japanese name is Mōguri , a portmanteau of the words mogura (mole) and kōmori (bat); while frequently seen running shops or assuming some other background role, they have also appeared as party allies or playable characters. The Moogles were also created by Ishii, originally designed in his school days by combining
15990-439: Is the " Active Time Battle " (ATB) system: while utilizing a turn-based combat system, action meters are assigned to all characters that empty when they act in battle. Each player character being issued a command when their action meter is filled: enemies could attack at any time despite player actions being in progress, adding an element of urgency to battles. The ATB system was designed by Hiroyuki Ito . According to Kawazu, Ito
16236-406: Is usually divided so that each game location is an opportunity to reveal a new chapter in the story. Pen-and-paper role-playing games typically involve a player called the gamemaster (or GM for short) who can dynamically create the story, setting, and rules, and react to a player's choices. In role-playing video games, the computer performs the function of the gamemaster. This offers the player
16482-451: Is usually earned by defeating enemies in combat, with some games offering experience for completing certain quests or conversations. Experience becomes a form of score , and accumulating a certain amount of experience will cause the character's level to go up. This is called "levelling up", and gives the player an opportunity to raise their character(s)'s attributes. Many RPGs allow players to choose how to improve their character, by allocating
16728-627: Is very different from the mainly European-style worlds found in previous Final Fantasy games, being much more closely modeled on Southeast Asia , most notably with respect to vegetation, topography, architecture, and names. Spira features a variety of races, though predominantly populated by humans. Among them are the Al Bhed, a technologically advanced but disenfranchised sub-group of humans with distinctive green eyes and unique language. The Guado, which are less human in appearance, with elongated fingers and other arboreal features. Still less human are
16974-649: The Asia-Pacific region, 1.47 million in North America, and 840,000 in Europe. By March 2003, the game had sold 5.89 million units worldwide, including 2.87 million in Japan and 3.02 million abroad. It sold 6.6 million copies worldwide by January 2004. By July 2006, it had sold 2.3 million copies and earned $ 95 million in the United States ( $ 144 million in 2023). Next Generation ranked it as
17220-584: The Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. Some role-playing games make use of magical powers , or equivalents such as psychic powers or advanced technology. These abilities are confined to specific characters such as mages, spellcasters, or magic-users. In games where the player controls multiple characters, these magic-users usually complement the physical strength of other classes. Magic can be used to attack, defend, or temporarily change an enemy or ally's attributes. While some games allow players to gradually consume
17466-420: The Final Fantasy series as an example of video games have evolved their combat systems over time. Edge cited the visuals of the series as a reason for its long-standing critical praise. In 1996, Next Generation included the series on a ranking of the best games and series of all time, with one of its points of praise being the narratives. That magazine later cited the "melodramatic storylines" used in
17712-422: The Final Fantasy series over its existence, the most prominent having worked on the mainline games. The first Final Fantasy writer was Kenji Terada , who was asked on board the project by staff who were fans of his work in anime. He was asked to create a scenario that would make players cry. Terada would provide the scenarios for Final Fantasy II (1988) and III (1990). He later had mixed feelings about
17958-628: The Final Fantasy XIII games: he had a major role in the design of Lightning's new appearance in XIII-2 . He was also involved in the world design of Final Fantasy XV . Naora had a presence within the series since Final Fantasy VII , for which he designed the kanji logo for the antagonistic Shinra Corporation. His involvement in the series has primarily been as an art director for games such as Final Fantasy X and XV , in addition to creating character designs for Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Final Fantasy Type-0 . Other artists have also contributed to
18204-543: The Nintendo DS have had more original and experimental Japanese RPGs released in recent years. Western RPGs have also received criticism in recent years. They remain less popular in Japan, where, until recently, Western games in general had a negative reputation. In Japan, where the vast majority of early console role-playing video games originate, Western RPGs remain largely unknown. The developer Motomu Toriyama criticized Western RPGs, stating that they "dump you in
18450-555: The Nintendo Switch and the Xbox One was released on April 16, 2019. Final Fantasy X received critical acclaim from video game critics. The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu and Famitsu PS2 awarded the game a near-perfect 39/40 score. Another Japanese gaming magazine, The Play Station , gave the game a score of 29/30. Famitsu , Famitsu PS2 , and The Play Station expressed particularly favorable responses toward
18696-664: The Sharp X1 computer in 1983 and later ported to the MSX in 1984, the NES in 1985 and the Sharp X68000 as New Bokosuka Wars . The game laid the foundations for the tactical role-playing game genre, or "simulation RPG" genre as it is known in Japan. It was also an early example of a real-time , action role-playing game . In 1986, Chunsoft created the NES title Dragon Quest (called Dragon Warrior in North America until
18942-438: The South Pacific , Thailand and Japan as major influences on the cultural and geographic design of Spira, particularly concerning the geographic location of the southern Besaid and Kilika islands. He has also said that Spira deviates from the worlds of past Final Fantasy games in the level of detail incorporated, something he has expressed to have made a conscious effort to maintain during the design process. Kitase felt that if
19188-504: The Ultima series, employed duplicates of the miniatures combat system traditionally used in the early role-playing games . Representations of the player characters and monsters would move around an arena modeled after the surrounding terrain, attacking any enemies that are sufficiently close. Earlier role-playing video games used a two-dimensional top-down view or tile-based first-person view. Early action-based role-playing games often used
19434-405: The artificial intelligence and scripted behavior of computer-controlled non-player characters . The premise of many role-playing games tasks the player with saving the world, or whichever level of society is threatened. There are often twists and turns as the story progresses, such as the surprise appearance of estranged relatives, or enemies who become friends or vice versa. The game world
19680-500: The eighth game ), which drew inspiration from computer RPGs Ultima and Wizardry and is regarded as the template for future Japanese role-playing video games released since then. Also in 1986 The Legend of Zelda was released for the NES , while not generally considered an RPG itself did inspire many aspects of future action-RPGs. In 1987, the genre came into its own with the release of several highly influential console RPGs distinguishing themselves from computer RPGs, including
19926-436: The " Golden Age " of computer RPGs, is the use of numbered "paragraphs" printed in the manual or adjunct booklets, containing the game's lengthier texts; the player can be directed to read a certain paragraph, instead of being shown the text on screen. The ultimate exemplar of this approach is Sir-Tech 's Star Saga trilogy (of which only two games were released); the first game contains 888 "textlets" (usually much longer than
20172-738: The 11th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country. As of March 2013, the game had shipped over 8.5 million copies worldwide on PS2. As of 2017, the PS2 version of the game has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The "Ultimate Hits" bargain reissue of the game in September 2005 sold over 131,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2006. As of October 2013, Final Fantasy X and its sequel X-2 had together sold over 14 million copies worldwide on PlayStation 2. Final Fantasy X received
20418-416: The 1980 video game Rogue . The game's story is often mapped onto exploration, where each chapter of the story is mapped onto a different location. RPGs usually allow players to return to previously visited locations. Usually, there is nothing left to do there, although some locations change throughout the story and offer the player new things to do in response. Players must acquire enough power to overcome
20664-422: The 1990s, and became known for being more heavily story and character-based, American computer RPGs began to face criticism for having characters devoid of personality or background, due to representing avatars which the player uses to interact with the world, in contrast to Japanese console RPGs which depicted characters with distinctive personalities. American computer RPGs were thus criticized for lacking "more of
20910-767: The Bangaa race that would later appear in Final Fantasy XII . For XII , he designed the main characters. As inspiration for their physical appearances, Yoshida used a variety of influences from multiple cultures. He returned to work on Final Fantasy XIV , where he needed to adjust from working on a static project to designing for the more fluid environment of an MMORPG. He would also contribute designs to A Realm Reborn , and its first expansion Heavensward . Kamikokuryo first did work on Final Fantasy VIII and X , then became art director for XII . He would return to this role for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings , and
21156-560: The Best Game Award from the Japan Game Awards for 2001–02. In GameSpot 's "Best and Worst Awards" from 2001, it came seventh in the category "Top 10 Video Games of the Year", and won the "Best Story" and "Best Role-Playing Game" awards. The game also received a PlayStation 2 Game of the Year award nomination at the 2002 Golden Joystick Awards , but lost to Grand Theft Auto III . Readers of Famitsu magazine voted it
21402-518: The CTB system is a turn-based format that pauses the battle during each of the player's turns. Thus, the CTB design allows the player to select an action without time pressure. A graphical timeline along the upper-right side of the screen details who will be receiving turns next, and how various actions taken will affect the subsequent order of turns. The ordering of turns can be affected by a number of spells, items, and abilities that inflict status effects upon
21648-526: The Farplane. Dream Zanarkand and Tidus disappear, now that the freed fayth stopped the summoning. Afterward, in a speech to the citizens of Spira, Yuna resolves to help rebuild their world now that it is free of Sin. In a post-credits scene, Tidus awakens under water and swims towards the ocean surface. Final Fantasy X ' s development began in 1999, costing approximately ¥ 4 billion (approximately $ 32.3 million , or $ 59.1 million in 2023 dollars) with
21894-474: The Final Aeon, due to the futile sacrifices it carries and the fact that Sin would still be reborn. Yunalesca tries to kill Tidus' group, but she is defeated and vanishes, ending hope of ever attaining the Final Aeon. After the fight, the group learns that Yu Yevon — the deity of the Yevon religion who was a summoner from Zanarkand before losing his humanity and mind — is behind Sin's cycle of rebirth. This leads
22140-475: The Final Aeon, leading to his desire to find a way to defeat Sin while keeping Yuna alive. The group finds Yuna in Bevelle, the center of the clergy’s power, where she is being forced to marry the unsent Seymour. They crash the wedding, after which Seymour reveals his plan to become Sin with Yuna's help. The party defeats him a second time and escapes with Yuna. The group heads toward the ruins of Zanarkand, seen in
22386-664: The IHI Stage Around Tokyo from March 4 to April 12, 2023 with a cast including Kikunosuke Onoe as Tidus and Yonekichi Nakamura as Yuna. Role-playing video game A role-playing video game , role-playing game ( RPG ) or computer role-playing game ( CRPG ) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of
22632-748: The Job System in favour of a character class-driven system where equipment determined skills and growth. For the later stages of XIV and later A Realm Reborn , the Job System was reintroduced as a second level to the class system. Many Jobs, such as the Dragoon, the Summoner, the White Mage, the Black Mage, and the Red Mage have become closely identified with the series. A different system
22878-492: The Overdrives can be used when the character receives a significant amount of damage, the player is able to modify the requirements to unlock them. Final Fantasy X overhauled the summoning system employed in previous games of the series. Whereas in previous titles a summoned creature would arrive, perform one action, and then depart, the "Aeons" in X arrive and replace the battle party, fighting in their place until either
23124-451: The PCs enter these locations or perform certain actions. Combat options typically involve positioning characters, selecting which enemy to attack, and exercising special skills such as casting spells. In a classical turn-based system, only one character may act at a time; all other characters remain still, with a few exceptions that may involve the use of special abilities. The order in which
23370-625: The Ravager and Menzoberranzan , transferred the AD&;D license to several different developers, and eventually gave it to BioWare , who used it in Baldur's Gate (1998) and several later games. By the 2000s, 3D engines had become dominant. The earliest RPG on a console was Dragonstomper on the Atari 2600 in 1982. Another early RPG on a console was Bokosuka Wars , originally released for
23616-471: The Sphere Grid is to give players an interactive means of increasing their characters' attributes, such that they will be able to observe the development of those attributes firsthand. At the time of the game's development, Nojiima had been reading about cryptography , and thus created the means to decode the Al Bhed language within the game, albeit simpler than initially planned. Final Fantasy X marks
23862-495: The Thief, and variations on magical classes such as White and Black Mages. More original classes have appeared throughout the series, such as Bards, Scholars, and Summoners. Due to the series' popularity, they have become staples of RPGs since their debut. The complexity and scope of the job system, as well as whether or not characters are capable of changing jobs, varies from game to game. The original Final Fantasy XIV did away with
24108-589: The ability to pause the game and issue orders to all characters under his/her control; when the game is unpaused, all characters follow the orders they were given. This "real-time with pause" system ( RTwP ) has been particularly popular in games designed by BioWare . The most famous RTwP engine is the Infinity Engine . Other names for "real-time with pause" include "active pause" and "semi real-time". Tactical RPG maker Apeiron named their system Smart Pause Mode (SPM) because it would automatically pause based on
24354-536: The action role-playing game Path of Exile (2013), along with the Materia system of Final Fantasy VII . According to Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto , cosplays of the characters have been popular. Takeo Kujiraoka, director of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT , regarded Final Fantasy X as his favorite game from the franchise based on its emotional impact on the players as well as the multiple amount of playable content that surpasses 100 hours. Kujiraoka noted that
24600-401: The actors had to act, and act well, within those restraints". The game was initially going to feature online elements, offered through Square's PlayOnline service. The features were dropped during production, and online gaming would not become part of the series until Final Fantasy XI . Map director Nakazato wanted to implement a world map concept with a more realistic approach than that of
24846-490: The aeon wins the battle, is defeated itself, or is dismissed by the player. Aeons have their own statistics , commands, special attacks, spells, and Overdrives. The player acquires five aeons over the course of the game through the completion of Cloister of Trials puzzles; three additional aeons can be obtained by completing various side-quests . As with previous titles in the series, players can develop and improve their characters by defeating enemies and acquiring items, though
25092-437: The ambitious scope of Final Fantasy VII raised the possibilities for the genre, with its dozens of minigames and much higher production values. The latter includes innovations such as the use of 3D characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, battles viewed from multiple different angles rather than a single angle, and for the first time full-motion CGI video seamlessly blended into the gameplay, effectively integrated throughout
25338-412: The animators sought feedback from younger staff at Square Enix, as well as female members of staff. The scene was remade multiple times after receiving responses that earlier drafts were "unnatural" and "not believable". Nojima has revealed that the inclusion of voice acting enabled him to express emotion more powerfully than before, and he was therefore able to keep the storyline simple. He also said that
25584-439: The battle system was a traditional turn-based system with characters appearing on the left-hand side of the screen, a feature later adopted by multiple other role-playing games (RPGs). For Final Fantasy II , Kawazu designed the battle system based around a more focused approach to story, along with accommodating for character classes being locked to specific characters. In Final Fantasy II , character abilities improved based on
25830-416: The best game of all time in early 2006. Final Fantasy X came in fifth on IGN 's "Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time" list in 2007 and sixth in "The Top 10 Best Looking PS2 Games of All Time". In a similar list by GameSpy, the game took the 21st place. 1UP.com listed its revelation during the ending as the third-biggest video game spoiler, while IGN ranked the ending as the fifth best pre-rendered cutscene. In
26076-544: The category," pointing to Chrono Trigger (which he also worked on) and the Mana games. He further noted that there have been "other games similar to the style of Chrono Trigger ," but that "it's probably because the games weren't localised and didn't reach the Western audience." Xeno series director Tetsuya Takahashi , in reference to Xenoblade Chronicles , stated that "I don't know when exactly people started using
26322-401: The character artwork for the mobile games Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and Final Fantasy Dimensions . Toshitaka Matsuda's first major work was on Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings , and he would later serve as a costume and character designer for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII . Toshiyuki Itahana first worked on character designs for Final Fantasy IX , then later served as
26568-448: The character at an effectiveness determined by that character's numeric attributes. Often these attributes increase each time a character gains a level , and a character's level goes up each time the player accumulates a certain amount of experience. Role-playing video games also typically attempt to offer more complex and dynamic character interaction than what is found in other video game genres. This usually involves additional focus on
26814-503: The character development and inventory management systems. He also felt that the game's graphics had improved on its predecessors in every way possible, and that the game as a whole was "the best-looking game of the series [and] arguably the best-playing as well". Greg Kasavin of GameSpot praised the game's storyline, calling it surprisingly complex, its ending satisfying, and its avoidance of role-playing game clichés commendable with Tidus viewed as an appealing protagonist. He also lauded
27060-643: The characters act is usually dependent on their attributes, such as speed or agility. This system rewards strategic planning more than quickness. It also points to the fact that realism in games is a means to the end of immersion in the game world, not an end in itself. A turn-based system makes it possible, for example, to run within range of an opponent and kill them before they get a chance to act, or duck out from behind hard cover, fire, and retreat back without an opponent being able to fire, which are of course both impossibilities. However, tactical possibilities have been created by this unreality that did not exist before;
27306-460: The characters within a tile-based graphics system . Dragon Quest was highly successful in Japan, leading to further entries in the series and other titles such as Final Fantasy that followed the same simplifications made in RPGs for Dragon Quest . Because of these differences, the role-playing genre began to be classified into two fairly distinct styles: computer RPG and console RPG . By
27552-605: The cinematic action of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children . While retaining the ATB system, elements such as magic points were removed, and a strategic role-change system dubbed the Paradigm System was implemented, with the roles being based on Final Fantasy jobs. Final Fantasy XIII-2 continued using the Paradigm system with added gameplay functions based on criticism of the first game, while Lightning Returns changed to
27798-460: The clothing for the main cast of Final Fantasy XV . The Final Fantasy series and several specific games within it have been credited for introducing and popularizing many concepts that are today widely used in console RPGs. The side view perspective with groups of monsters against a group of characters used by the early Final Fantasy games has been frequently imitated, supplanting the prior RPG standard of one-on-one battles against monsters from
28044-459: The controlled characters or the enemies. The player can control up to three characters in battle, though a swapping system allows the player to replace them with a character outside the active party at any time. " Limit Breaks ", highly damaging special attacks, reappear in Final Fantasy X as "Overdrives". In this incarnation of the feature, most of the techniques are interactive, requiring button inputs to increase their effectiveness. While initially
28290-402: The crystal-based Fabula Nova Crystallis lore. In contrast, overt references such as terminology and branding were removed from XV to help with marketing. Crystals were included in A Realm Reborn as a central plot due to being given "short shrift in recent games". For Final Fantasy XVI , crystals were included as the equivalent to limited fuel sources, with their fading power triggering
28536-480: The designs he recalled was for the summon Bahamut: while the original Bahamut was an aquatic monster, he did not know this at the time, so he designed Bahamut as a "mecha dragon". As of Final Fantasy XV , Amano's artwork has been created fairly early in a game's development based on the basic themes. Amano's most enduring contribution to the series is his logo designs: receiving design documents as primarily text-based requests and descriptions, he treats each logo as
28782-408: The development and customization of playable characters has come at the expense of plot and gameplay, resulting in what he felt was generic dialogue, lack of character development within the narrative and weaker battle systems. He also states that WRPGs tend to focus more on the underlying rules governing the battle system rather than on the experience itself. Tom Battey of Edge Magazine noted that
29028-485: The development of XIII-2 (2011) and Lightning Returns (2013). Final Fantasy XV was expanded into a multimedia series to avoid creating a video game series; named the Final Fantasy XV Universe, it is split between pre-release media including a feature film and original net animation , and post-release content including other spin-off games and downloadable content . Final Fantasy VII
29274-520: The earliest role-playing video games on a microcomputer was Dungeon n Dragons , written by Peter Trefonas and published by CLOAD (1980). This early game, published for a TRS-80 Model 1, is just 16K long and includes a limited word parser command line, character generation, a store to purchase equipment, combat, traps to solve, and a dungeon to explore. Other contemporaneous CRPGs (Computer Role Playing Games) were Temple of Apshai , Odyssey: The Compleat Apventure and Akalabeth: World of Doom ,
29520-437: The early 2000s, the distinction between platforms became less pronounced as the same games appeared on both console and computer, but stylistic differences between Western role-playing games (WRPGs) and Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) remained, rooted in the earlier distinctions. Though sharing fundamental premises, WRPGs tend to feature darker graphics, older characters, and a greater focus on roaming freedom, realism, and
29766-413: The end of March 2022 had surpassed 21.1 million. A remaster, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2013, for PlayStation 4 in 2015, Windows in 2016, and for Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in 2019. Like previous games in the series, Final Fantasy X is presented in a third-person perspective, with players directly navigating the main character, Tidus, around
30012-589: The esoteric and complex storylines it incorporated. A world later incorporated into the Final Fantasy series is Ivalice , the setting for games within the game collection known as the Ivalice Alliance . Taking place within a single world across a large time period, Ivalice is the setting for Final Fantasy Tactics (1997), Final Fantasy XII , and Vagrant Story (2000). Vagrant Story did not originally take place in Ivalice, being incorporated into
30258-707: The fictional world of Ivalice , Compilation of Final Fantasy VII , and the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos. The art design for the series has been associated with multiple artists, the three most prominent being Yoshitaka Amano , Tetsuya Nomura , and Akihiko Yoshida . Amano designed characters up to Final Fantasy VI and continues to design each game's logo, Nomura has designed characters for multiple games since Final Fantasy VII , and Yoshida has been involved in XII , XIV , and games associated with Ivalice. The original gameplay created by Akitoshi Kawazu
30504-399: The field and could be avoided. Like other role-playing games, Final Fantasy most commonly uses an experience point-based leveling system, where each battle awards experience points and gaining levels increases character statistics such as health and magic. Magic is another common role-playing element in the series. The method by which characters gain magic varies between installments, but
30750-408: The first Final Fantasy to IV , Amano created his artwork based on specific descriptions from game staff, while for Final Fantasy V and VI it was the game staff that took and adjusted his artwork to suit the games. He returned as a character designer for Final Fantasy IX , working from specifications provided by the game's staff. For Final Fantasy XI , Amano created the game's world map. One of
30996-503: The first footage of Final Fantasy XI Online . An international version of the game was released in Japan as Final Fantasy X International in January 2002, and in PAL regions under its original title. It features content not available in the original NTSC releases, including battles with "Dark" versions of the game's aeons and an airship fight with the superboss "Penance". Final Fantasy X
31242-428: The first friendly person Tidus meets upon arriving in Spira. Tidus waits with his allies outside the ruins of an ancient city. He narrates the events that led to the present, spanning most of the game's storyline. It begins in his home city, the high-tech metropolis of Zanarkand , where he is a renowned blitzball player and son of the famous blitzball star Jecht , an abusive father who disappeared 10 years prior. During
31488-410: The first time regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu has had any assistance in composing the score for a game in the main series. His fellow composers for X were Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano. They were chosen for the soundtrack based on their ability to create music that was different from Uematsu's style while still being able to work together. PlayOnline.com first revealed that the game's theme song
31734-435: The game world. More recent games tend to maintain a consistent perspective for exploration and combat. Some games, especially earlier video games, generate battles from random encounters ; more modern RPGs are more likely to have persistent wandering monsters that move about the game world independently of the player. Most RPGs also use stationary boss monsters in key positions, and automatically trigger battles with them when
31980-626: The game's 10-year anniversary. The remaster was released in December 2013 for Japan, and the following year in March for other markets. The production of the remaster started in January 2012. Producer Yoshinori Kitase was once again involved in the production, and wanted to work on its quality. Character models of Tidus, Yuna, Bahamut and Yojimbo were presented in HD quality. The remaster also included its sequel X-2 , remastered in HD and they were released under
32226-679: The game's conclusion, finding some of them unappealing. Game Revolution complained that cutscenes could not be skipped, some even being too long. Square initially expected the game to sell at least two million copies worldwide owing to the reduced PlayStation 2's fanbase, making it smaller than the last three released titles. However, within its first day of its release in Japan, more than 2.14 million units were shipped, including 1.4 to 1.5 million pre-orders . A million units were sold within hours, and first-day shipments were expected to generate ¥17.6 billion or $ 145,000,000 (equivalent to $ 250,000,000 in 2023) in sales revenue. These figures exceeded
32472-497: The game's designer. For Final Fantasy V (1992), the scenario was a collaboration between Sakaguchi and Yoshinori Kitase . Final Fantasy VI (1994) was worked on by a group of four or five different writers, including Kitase. Sakaguchi was responsible for providing the basic story from the original game until Final Fantasy VI . Sakaguchi would also write the scenario draft for Final Fantasy IX (2000), with further contributions Kazuhiko Aoki and Nobuaki Komoto. One of
32718-518: The game's storyline and feature several interviews with the game's designers. There are three books in the series: Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania , Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania , and Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω . The game was re-released as part of the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box release in December 2012. Final Fantasy X was re-released in high-definition for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita , in celebration of
32964-442: The game's storyline, graphics, and movies. The game maintains a 92 out of 100 on Metacritic . Producer Shinji Hashimoto said that the overall reception to the game was "excellent", having received praise and awards from critics. IGN ' s David Smith offered praise for the voice actors and the innovations in gameplay, particularly with the revised battle and summon systems, the option to change party members during battle, and
33210-575: The game, giving the player the ability to navigate Spira faster. Like previous games in the series, Final Fantasy X features numerous minigames , including the underwater sport blitzball. Final Fantasy X introduces the Conditional Turn-Based Battle (CTB) system in place of the series' traditional Active Time Battle (ATB) system first used in Final Fantasy IV . Whereas the ATB concept features real-time elements,
33456-529: The game. The battle system of the original Final Fantasy was designed by Akitoshi Kawazu . When creating it, he closely followed the mechanics created in the Western tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons , particularly the incorporation of enemy-specific weaknesses that were otherwise missing from Japanese games at the time. He also added elements such as weapon and item abilities based on their successful implementation in Wizardry . This first version of
33702-521: The game. The game was soon ported to the PC and gained much success there, as did several other originally console RPGs, blurring the line between the console and computer platforms. Computer-driven role-playing games had their start in Western markets, with games generally geared to be played on home computers. By 1985, series like Wizardry and Ultima represented the state of the art in role-playing games. In Japan, home computers had yet to take as great
33948-518: The games, they have been referred to by several names (Espers, Guardian Forces, Aeons, Eidolons, Astrals, Primals, Eikons), and have taken either core roles in the story or less prominent roles as tools for the player characters. The artwork and character designs of the first Final Fantasy were created by Yoshitaka Amano, a noted artist who had worked with Tatsunoko Production on multiple anime series including Science Ninja Team Gatchaman , and also did illustrations for Vampire Hunter D . Amano
34194-448: The genre is that characters grow in power and abilities, and characters are typically designed by the player. RPGs rarely challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, with the exception of action role-playing games . Role-playing video games typically rely on a highly developed story and setting, which is divided into a number of quests. Players control one or several characters by issuing commands, which are performed by
34440-537: The genre-defining Phantasy Star , released for the Master System . Shigeru Miyamoto 's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the Famicom Disk System was one of the earliest action role-playing games , combining the action-adventure game framework of its predecessor The Legend of Zelda with the statistical elements of turn-based RPGs . Most RPGs at this time were turn-based. Faxanadu
34686-455: The group discovers a message from the spirit of Seymour's father, Lord Jyscal; he declares that he was killed by his own son, who now aims to destroy Spira. The group reunites with Yuna and kills Seymour in battle; soon afterward, Sin attacks, separating Yuna and sending the others to the arid Bikanel Island. While searching for Yuna at the island's Al Bhed settlement, Tidus has an emotional breakdown when he learns that summoners die after summoning
34932-440: The group to infiltrate Sin's body in order to find Yu Yevon. Inside Sin, the party finds the unsent Seymour, who had been absorbed by Sin and intends to control it from within. Yuna defeats him for the final time before sending him to the Farplane. Shortly after, the group reaches the core of Sin and finds Jecht's imprisoned spirit. Tidus and Jecht come to terms with the latter's abuse. Jecht transforms into his Final Aeon form, asking
35178-551: The heavy metal opening theme, " Otherworld ", sung in English by Bill Muir; and "Hymn of the Fayth", a recurring piece sung using Japanese syllabary. The original soundtrack spanned 91 tracks on four discs. It was first released in Japan on August 1, 2001, by DigiCube, and was re-released on May 10, 2004, by Square Enix. In 2002, Tokyopop released a version of Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack in North America entitled Final Fantasy X Official Soundtrack , which contained 17 tracks from
35424-424: The highest-selling Final Fantasy game to date. Final Fantasy has become one of Square Enix's major gaming franchises; as of 2016, the series has sold 110 million copies worldwide across 48 video game releases. Final Fantasy series consists of multiple games that, while generally having separate settings and narratives, share common themes and motifs in their worlds and plots. Multiple writers have worked on
35670-443: The impact of Final Fantasy on his career, as many only knew him from his video game writing. When Final Fantasy IV (1991) was pushed forward onto the next generation of game hardware, Terada's planned scenario was scrapped by the management and he parted with Square on poor terms. After Terada's departure, scenario work was delegated to Takashi Tokita . Tokita wrote the scenario for Final Fantasy IV (1991), along with being
35916-417: The implementation of the new summoning system seen in the game. As a player of the games in the Final Fantasy series, battle director Tsuchida wanted to recreate elements he found interesting or entertaining, which eventually led to the removal of the Active Time Battle system, and instead, incorporated the strategy-focused Conditional Turn-Based Battle system. Kitase has explained that the purpose behind
36162-450: The internal struggles, passions, and tragedies of the characters, and the main plot often recedes into the background as the focus shifts to their personal lives. Other aspects explored are the relationships between characters, which range from love to rivalry. Other recurring situations that drive the plot include amnesia , a hero corrupted by an evil force, mistaken identity, and self-sacrifice. Esoteric and mystical elements also take
36408-460: The introduction of the game. Shortly before arriving, Tidus learns that he, Jecht, and the Zanarkand they hail from are summoned entities akin to aeons based on the original Zanarkand and its people. Long ago, the original Zanarkand battled Bevelle in a machina war, in which the former was defeated. Zanarkand's survivors became " fayth " so that they could use their memories of Zanarkand to create
36654-539: The key features of RPGs were developed in this early period, prior to the release of Ultima III: Exodus , one of the prime influences on both computer and console RPG development. For example, Wizardry features menu-driven combat, Tunnels of Doom features tactical combat on a special "combat screen", and Dungeons of Daggorath features real-time combat which takes place on the main dungeon map. Starting in 1984 with Questron and 50 Mission Crush , SSI produced many series of CRPGs. Their 1985 game Phantasie
36900-520: The label "JRPG" is most commonly used to refer to RPGs "whose presentation mimics the design sensibilities" of anime and manga, that it's "typically the presentation and character archetypes" that signal "this is a JRPG." Modern JRPGs are more likely to feature turn-based battles; while modern WRPGs are more likely to feature real-time combat. In the past, the reverse was often true: real-time action role-playing games were far more common among Japanese console RPGs than Western computer RPGs up until
37146-437: The late 1990s had become more cinematic in style (e.g. Final Fantasy series). At the same time, WRPGs started becoming more novelistic in style (e.g. Planescape: Torment ), but by the late 2000s had also adopted a more cinematic style (e.g. Mass Effect ). One reason given for these differences is that many early Japanese console RPGs can be seen as forms of interactive manga or anime wrapped around Western rule systems at
37392-415: The late 1990s have had a stronger focus on extensive dialog tree systems (e.g. Planescape: Torment ). On the other hand, JRPGs tend to limit players to developing pre-defined player characters , and often do not allow the option to create or choose one's own playable characters or make decisions that alter the plot. In the early 1990s, JRPGs were seen as being much closer to fantasy novels , but by
37638-934: The late 1990s, due to gamepads usually being better suited to real-time action than the keyboard and mouse. Some journalists and video game designers have questioned this cultural classification, arguing that the differences between Eastern and Western games have been exaggerated. In an interview held at the American Electronic Entertainment Expo , Japanese video game developer Tetsuya Nomura (who worked on Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts ) emphasized that RPGs should not be classified by country-of-origin, but rather described simply for what they are: role-playing games. Hironobu Sakaguchi , creator of Final Fantasy and The Last Story , noted that, while "users like to categorise" JRPGs as "turn-based, traditional styles" and WRPGs as "born from first-person shooters ," there "are titles that don't fit
37884-428: The late 1990s, which saw the rise of optical disks in fifth generation consoles. The implications for RPGs were enormous—longer, more involved quests, better audio, and full-motion video . This was first clearly demonstrated in 1997 by the phenomenal success of Final Fantasy VII , which is considered one of the most influential games of all time. With a record-breaking production budget of around $ 45 million,
38130-400: The lion-like Ronso and the frog-like Hypello. A subset of Spira's sentient races are the "unsent", the strong-willed spirits of the dead that remain in corporeal form. In Spira, the dead who are not sent to the Farplane by a summoner come to envy the living and transform into " fiends ", the monsters that are encountered throughout the game; however, unsent with strong attachments to the world of
38376-428: The living may retain their human form. Other fauna in Spira, aside from those drawn from real animals, such as cats, dogs, birds, and butterflies, include the gigantic, amphibious shoopufs (which are similar to elephants); and the emu-like chocobo , which appears in most Final Fantasy games. There are seven main playable characters in Final Fantasy X , starting with Tidus ( James Arnold Taylor / Masakazu Morita ),
38622-434: The main character designer for the series was Tetsuya Nomura, whose first major contribution had been character and monster designs for Final Fantasy VI . He was chosen by Sakaguchi as the character designer for VII after being amused by his storyboards for VI . His greater involvement was also due to scheduling conflicts with Amano's overseas trips to open exhibitions in Europe and North America. Nomura would end up having
38868-779: The main characters alongside being one of the main creative forces behind its development. A trend with Nomura's characters is their names being related to the weather or the sky ( Cloud , Squall , Tidus , Lightning ). He wanted to break this tradition when designing Noctis Lucis Caelum , but after Final Fantasy XIII ' s Lightning was given a weather-based name, Nomura gave Noctis his current name: Noctis' name translates from Latin to "Night of Light Sky". Other notable artists include Akihiko Yoshida , Isamu Kamikokuryo , and Yusuke Naora . Yoshida's first major games were Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story , which he worked on together with Hiroshi Minagawa . He also did design work for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance , creating
39114-417: The main game. Blitzball is introduced in the beginning of the game during one of the early cinematic sequences in which Tidus, the main character who is described as a star blitzball player, is part of an intense game. It is the only minigame that plays a role in the overall plot line as it is a main part of Tidus's character, and is in the first scene where the game's main antagonist, Sin is shown. Unlike with
39360-478: The masks and goggles of the Al Bhed give the group a "strange and eccentric" appearance, while the attire of the Ronso lend to them being able to easily engage in battle. Tidus was originally envisioned to be a plumber as to connect to the underwater elements used in the game, according to Nojima, but they later made him into a blitzball athlete, helping to distinguish his character from prior Final Fantasy protagonists; Tidus' final outfit still incorporated elements of
39606-461: The mid-1970s, as an offshoot of early university mainframe text-based RPGs on PDP-10 and Unix -based computers, such as Dungeon , pedit5 and dnd . In 1980 , a very popular dungeon crawler , Rogue , was released. Featuring ASCII graphics where the setting, monsters and items were represented by letters and a deep system of gameplay, it inspired a whole genre of similar clones on mainframe and home computers called " roguelikes ". One of
39852-468: The middle of the grid and may follow whichever path the player chooses. As a trade-off, the Expert grid has fewer nodes in total, thus decreasing the total statistic upgrades available during the game. Blitzball is a minigame that requires strategy and tactics. The underwater sport is played in a large, hovering sphere of water surrounded by a larger audience of onlookers. The player controls one character at
40098-591: The middle to late 1990s, isometric, sprite-based RPGs became commonplace, with video game publishers Interplay Entertainment and Blizzard North playing a lead role with such titles as the Baldur's Gate , Icewind Dale and the action-RPG Diablo series, as well as the dialogue-heavy Planescape: Torment and cult classics Fallout and Fallout 2 . This era also saw a move toward 3D game engines with such games as Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven and The Elder Scrolls: Arena . TSR , dissatisfied with SSI's later products, such as Dark Sun: Wake of
40344-576: The modern JRPG in unoriginality", citing Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada who stated that "they're strictly catering to a particular audience", the article noting the difference in game sales between Japan and North America before going on to suggest JRPGs may need to "move forward". This criticism has also occurred in the wider media with an advertisement for Fallout: New Vegas ( Obsidian Entertainment ) in Japan openly mocked Japanese RPGs' traditional characteristics in favor of their own title. Nick Doerr of Joystiq noted that Bethesda felt that JRPGs "are all
40590-421: The more fantasy novel approach of Squaresoft console RPGs such as Final Fantasy IV . However in 1994, game designer Sandy Petersen noted that, among computer gamers, there was criticism against cartridge-based console JRPGs being "not role-playing at all" due to popular examples such as Secret of Mana and especially The Legend of Zelda using "direct" arcade-style action combat systems instead of
40836-602: The more "abstract" turn-based battle systems associated with computer RPGs. In response, he pointed out that not all console RPGs are action-based, pointing to Final Fantasy and Lufia . Another early criticism, dating back to the Phantasy Star games in the late 1980s, was the frequent use of defined player characters , in contrast to the Wizardry and Gold Box games where the player's avatars (such as knights, clerics, or thieves) were blank slates. As Japanese console RPGs became increasingly more dominant in
41082-431: The music, feeling it was "diverse and well suited to the various scenes in the game". Similarly, GamePro described its character building system and battle system as "two of the best innovations in the series". The visuals of the game were commended by GameSpy 's Raymond Padilla, who referred to them as "top-notch", as well as giving praise to the character models, backgrounds, cutscenes, and animations. The voice casting
41328-474: The notable recurring writers is Kazushige Nojima : he first joined the development team for Final Fantasy VII , and would later write the scenario for Final Fantasy VIII (1999). He was also a major contributor to Final Fantasy X (2001) alongside other writers. He returned to write the scenario for Final Fantasy X-2 (2003), despite initial reluctance due to its upbeat feel when compared to its predecessor. His later supplementary material would return to
41574-459: The number of items that can be held. Most of the actions in an RPG are performed indirectly, with the player selecting an action and the character performing it by their own accord. Success at that action depends on the character's numeric attributes. Role-playing video games often simulate dice-rolling mechanics from non-electronic role-playing games to determine success or failure. As a character's attributes improve, their chances of succeeding at
41820-470: The number of times they were used and the number of hit points accumulated during battles: if a character used magic, they would become strong in magic while other attributes would suffer. For Final Fantasy III , the system changed back to a traditional class-based model: Kawazu said that the reason for this was because no-one could fully understand the system he had created for Final Fantasy II . The battle system most closely associated with Final Fantasy
42066-416: The option for players to move around the landscape during enemy encounters. However, hardware limitations resulted in these ideas not being used. Instead, a compromise was made, whereby some transitions from the field map to the battle map were made relatively seamless with the implementation of a motion blur effect that would happen at the end of an event scene . The desire for seamless transitions also led to
42312-445: The original album on a single disc. Other related CDs include feel/Go dream: Yuna & Tidus which, released in Japan by DigiCube on October 11, 2001, featured tracks based on Tidus' and Yuna's characters. Piano Collections Final Fantasy X , another collection of music from the game, and Final Fantasy X Vocal Collection , a compilations of exclusive character dialogues and songs were both released in Japan in 2002. The Black Mages ,
42558-486: The original plumber outfit they had designed for him. Tidus' relationship with his father Jecht was based on "stories throughout the ages, such as the ancient Greek legends". This would eventually reveal the key of Sin's weakness and eventual defeat. Auron was intended to be silent throughout the game but became a voiced character as they developed out the Guardian storyline between Tidus and Yuna. Although Final Fantasy X
42804-443: The other minigames, playing blitzball is mandatory near the beginning of the game, but it is later optional. Final Fantasy X is set in the fictional world of Spira, consisting of one large landmass divided into three subcontinents, surrounded by small tropical islands. It features diverse climates, ranging from the tropical Besaid and Kilika islands, to the temperate Mi'ihen region, to the frigid Macalania and Mt. Gagazet areas. Spira
43050-460: The party to defeat him and end the cycle; they do so. With Sin's host defeated, Yuna summons and the group defeats each aeon after Yu Yevon possesses each one until finally they vanquish Yu Yevon himself. Sin's cycle of rebirth ends when Yuna sends Sin and the Aeons to the farplane, and the spirits of Spira's fayth are freed from their imprisonment. Auron, who had been revealed to be unsent, is sent to
43296-426: The performances of Final Fantasy VII and IX in a comparable period, and Final Fantasy X became the first PlayStation 2 game to reach two and four million sold copies. In October 2007, the game was listed as the 8th best-selling game for the PlayStation 2. Final Fantasy X sold over 2.43 million copies in Japan alone in 2001. By June 2002, it had sold 5.07 million units worldwide, including 2.76 million in
43542-610: The platform divide between consoles and computers , respectively. Finally, while the first RPGs offered strictly a single player experience, the popularity of multiplayer modes rose sharply during the early to mid-1990s with action role-playing games such as Secret of Mana and Diablo . With the advent of the Internet, multiplayer games have grown to become massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), including Lineage , Final Fantasy XI , and World of Warcraft . The role-playing video game genre began in
43788-424: The player control an entire party of characters. However, if winning is contingent upon the survival of a single character, then that character effectively becomes the player's avatar . An example of this would be in Baldur's Gate , where if the character created by the player dies, the game ends and a previous save needs to be loaded. Although some single-player role-playing games give the player an avatar that
44034-547: The player determines whether the loss of immersion in the reality of the game is worth the satisfaction gained from the development of the tactic and its successful execution. Fallout has been cited as being a good example of such a system. Real-time combat can import features from action games , creating a hybrid action RPG game genre. But other RPG battle systems such as the Final Fantasy battle systems have imported real-time choices without emphasizing coordination or reflexes. Other systems combine real-time combat with
44280-549: The player to change the party's character classes during the course of the game. Another "major innovation was the introduction of day/night cycles; certain items, characters, and quests are only accessible at certain times of day." In 1989, Phantasy Star II for the Genesis established many conventions of the genre, including an epic , dramatic, character-driven storyline dealing with serious themes and subject matter. Console RPGs distinguished themselves from computer RPGs to
44526-896: The player to manage a large amount of information and frequently make use of a windowed interface. For example, spell-casting characters will often have a menu of spells they can use. On the PC, players typically use the mouse to click on icons and menu options, while console games have the player navigate through menus using a game controller. The role-playing video game genre began in the mid-1970s on mainframe computers , inspired by pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons . Several other sources of inspiration for early role-playing video games also included tabletop wargames , sports simulation games, adventure games such as Colossal Cave Adventure , fantasy writings by authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien , traditional strategy games such as chess , and ancient epic literature dating back to Epic of Gilgamesh which followed
44772-435: The player waited more than a second or so to issue a command, the game would automatically issue a pass command, allowing the monsters to take a turn while the PCs did nothing. There is a further subdivision by the structure of the battle system; in many early games, such as Wizardry , monsters and the party are arrayed into ranks, and can only attack enemies in the front rank with melee weapons. Other games, such as most of
45018-406: The player's control. Other games feature a party that the player can create at the start or gather from non-player characters in the game, coming into partial or full control of the player during the game. Although the characterization of the game's avatar will develop through storytelling, characters may also become more functionally powerful by gaining new skills, weapons, and magic. This creates
45264-471: The player. The Job Change system was initially proposed by Sakaguchi as he wanted to give players freedom to customize the party members. The Job System has continued to have a strong role in the series, being most prominent in Final Fantasy V with 22 available jobs. Jobs have recurring functions throughout the series. Some of the more traditional classes include the Warrior/Fighter, the Dragoon,
45510-461: The players, to be as exciting as the Japanese imports", and lacked the arcade and action-adventure elements commonly found in Japanese console RPGs at the time. In the early 1990s, American computer RPGs also began facing criticism for their plots, where "the party sticks together through thick and thin" and always "act together as a group" rather than as individuals, and where non-player characters are "one-dimensional characters", in comparison to
45756-410: The plot when the player defeats an enemy or completes a level, role-playing games often progress the plot based on other important decisions. For example, a player may make the decision to join a guild, thus triggering a progression in the storyline that is usually irreversible. New elements in the story may also be triggered by mere arrival in an area, rather than completing a specific challenge. The plot
46002-487: The plot's events. In games with universes containing more advanced technology, it is often depicted as predominantly powered by magic. This is specifically called magitek in Final Fantasy VI , XIV , and XV , while other games have similar elements under a different name, such as mako technology in VII and magicite technology in XII . Such magical technology is often used as a metaphor for overreaching, evil ambition, breaking
46248-437: The precursor to Ultima . Some early microcomputer RPGs (such as Telengard (1982) or Sword of Fargoal ) were based on their mainframe counterparts, while others (such as Ultima or Wizardry , the most successful of the early CRPGs) were loose adaptations of D&D . They also include both first-person displays and overhead views, sometimes in the same game ( Akalabeth , for example, uses both perspectives). Most of
46494-454: The presence of voice actors led him to make various changes to the script, in order to match the voice actors' personalities with the characters they were portraying. The inclusion of voice, however, led to difficulties. With the game's cutscenes already programmed around the Japanese voice work, the English localization team faced the difficulty of establishing English-oriented dialogue and the obstacle of incorporating this modified wording with
46740-497: The problems often cited against JRPGs also often apply to many WRPGs as well as games outside of the RPG genre. BioWare games have been criticized for "lack of innovation, repetitive structure and lack of real choice." WRPGs, such as Bethesda games, have also been criticized for lacking in "narrative strength" or "mechanical intricacy" due to the open-ended, sandbox structure of their games. Limit Break Final Fantasy
46986-661: The rebellion. The heroes are often destined to defeat the evil, and occasionally gather as a direct result of the antagonist's malicious actions. Twin antagonists, with the second main antagonist being hidden for the majority of the game, is also a recurring element. Other common plot and setting themes include the Gaia hypothesis , an apocalypse, and conflicts between advanced technology and nature . Most games feature names inspired from various cultures' history, languages, and mythology, including Asian , European , and Middle-Eastern . In-game items such as weapons follow this tradition:
47232-480: The rendering of characters' facial expressions, achieved through motion capture and skeletal animation technology. This technology allowed animators to create realistic lip movements, which were then programmed to match the speech of the game's voice actors. The cutscene of Tidus and Yuna kissing was developed by Visual Works , a subsidiary of Square Enix. Many of the animators were not experienced with romance scenes - Visual Works director Kazuyuki Ikumori said that
47478-438: The rhythm and timing of the characters' lip movements. Localization specialist Alexander O. Smith noted that they had to keep the localized sound file within the duration of the original Japanese, as longer files would cause the game to crash. He described the process of fitting natural-sounding English speech into the game as "something akin to writing four or five movies' worth of dialogue entirely in haiku form [and] of course
47724-409: The right things to the right non-player characters will elicit useful information for the player, and may even result in other rewards such as items or experience, as well as opening up possible storyline branches. Multiplayer online role-playing games can offer an exception to this contrast by allowing human interaction among multiple players and in some cases enabling a player to perform the role of
47970-509: The rules of the world, and stealing its energy no matter the cost. Extremely powerful magitek armor is recurring in various games in the series, such as in VI , XIV , and XV in the form of mecha , and in XV as powered armor . Characters and monsters have made appearances in multiple Final Fantasy games, although they remain unconnected in a narrative sense. A recurring animal in Final Fantasy
48216-488: The same terminology , settings , and game mechanics . Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences. Role-playing video games use much of
48462-436: The same basic structure of setting off in various quests in order to accomplish goals. After the success of role-playing video games such as Ultima and Wizardry , which in turn served as the blueprint for Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy , the role-playing genre eventually diverged into two styles, Eastern role-playing games and Western role-playing games , due to cultural differences , though roughly mirroring
48708-492: The same style as those in manga and anime . The stylistic differences are often due to differing target audiences: Western RPGs are usually geared primarily towards teenage to adult males, whereas Japanese RPGs are usually intended for a much larger demographic, including female audiences , who, for example, accounted for nearly a third of Final Fantasy XIII 's playerbase. In 2015, IGN noted in an interview with Xenoblade Chronicles X 's development team that
48954-424: The same terminology, settings and game mechanics as early tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons . Players control a central game character, or multiple game characters, usually called a party , and attain victory by completing a series of quests or reaching the conclusion of a central storyline. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in combat. A key feature of
49200-598: The same" and "too linear", to which he responded that "[f]or the most part, it's true" but noted there are also non-linear JRPGs such as the Romancing SaGa series. Such criticisms have produced responses such as ones by Japanese video game developers , Shinji Mikami and Yuji Horii , to the effect that JRPGs were never as popular in the West to begin with, and that Western reviewers are biased against turn-based systems. Jeff Fleming of Gamasutra also states that Japanese RPGs on home consoles are generally showing signs of staleness, but notes that handheld consoles such as
49446-538: The scenario for Final Fantasy X . Nojima was particularly concerned with establishing a connection in the relationship between player and main character. Thus, he penned the story such that the player's progress through the world and growing knowledge about it is reflected in Tidus' own understanding and narration. According to the Square Enix companion book Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume III , 17 SEVEN TEEN
49692-483: The second best game ever made. It was voted first place in Famitsu ' s and Dengeki ' s polls of most tear-inducing games of all time. Both Tidus and Yuna have been popular characters in games in general due to their personalities and their romantic relationship. Due to its commercial and critical success, Square Enix released a direct sequel to Final Fantasy X in 2003, titled Final Fantasy X-2 . The sequel
49938-465: The selected character. The Sphere Grid system allows players to fully customize characters in contrast to their intended battle roles, such as turning the White Mage -roled Yuna into a physical powerhouse and the swordsman Auron into a healer. The International and PAL versions of the game include an optional "Expert" version of the Sphere Grid; in these versions, all of the characters start in
50184-602: The series are separate from each other, they have recurring elements carrying over between entries, including plot themes and motifs, gameplay mechanics, and visual elements. The Final Fantasy series features recurring thematic elements, including magical crystals and creatures such as the Chocobo and Moogle which have appeared in multiple roles. Numerous writers have worked on the series, including Sakaguchi himself, early writer Kenji Terada , Kazushige Nojima , and Yasumi Matsuno . Some settings and specific themes have been used in multiple installments and subseries, including
50430-480: The series as a factor in its longevity. In a review of Final Fantasy VI from 2005, GameSpot cited that game as a genre-defining game with its storyline and emphasis on character development, while Final Fantasy VII has frequently been classed as a game that helped solidify the structure and style of RPGs for many years to follow. Digital Spy said in 2012 that Final Fantasy had "shaped and defined role-playing games across generations of consoles", though felt
50676-457: The series had lost some of its appeal as its more recent installments differed too much from their predecessors, with some fans referring to Final Fantasy X as "the last traditional game in the series". Kawazu would develop the concepts he created for Final Fantasy II into its own series, titled SaGa , and other franchises including The Elder Scrolls would adopt its usage-based skill systems. Ishii's experience working on Final Fantasy
50922-403: The series since the first game, where players chose each character's job from the outset. Kawazu created this system to give players freedom to customize the party. For Final Fantasy IV , jobs were attached to specific characters. Each job in a Final Fantasy game has unique abilities which develop as the player's level increases. In some games, the player can assign a character a specific job at
51168-519: The series. Hideo Minaba contributed character designs to Final Fantasy IX , worked as an art director for XII , and would later design characters for XIII-2 . Italian-born artist Roberto Ferrari worked as a secondary character designer for Final Fantasy Type-0 , Final Fantasy XV , and Final Fantasy VII Remake . Yusaku Nakaaki worked with Naora and Nomura to create characters for Final Fantasy Type-0 , and along with Ferrari created secondary characters for Final Fantasy XV . Akira Oguro created
51414-481: The series. The most common is the airship for long range travel, accompanied by chocobos for traveling short distances, but others include sea and land vessels. Following Final Fantasy VII , more modern and futuristic vehicle designs have been included. For Final Fantasy XV , a car dubbed "Regalia" was introduced as both a ground-based transport and later as a vehicle that could be converted to function as an airship. Airships are often unlocked for players fairly late in
51660-536: The setting went back to a medieval European fantasy, it would not seem to help the development team advance. While he was thinking of different world environments, Nojima suggested a fantasy world that incorporated Asian elements. Sub-character chief designer Fumi Nakashima's focus was to ensure that characters from different regions and cultures bore distinctive characteristics in their clothing styles, so that they could be quickly and easily identified as members of their respective sub-groups. For example, she has said that
51906-415: The staff received multiple requests by fans to include Tidus' and Yuna's Will look as an alternative design but Nomura said it was not possible as the company would first need to develop Final Fantasy X-3 . In addition, a kabuki stage adaptation of the game's story, Kinoshita Group presents New Kabuki Final Fantasy X , a collaboration between Square Enix and Tokyo Broadcasting System , was performed at
52152-491: The start of the game, while other games allow characters to combine and learn abilities from a number of jobs. In addition to other abilities, a character's job usually determines the types of weapons and armor that they can use. Final Fantasy III saw the introduction of the Job Change System: through special crystals, the four player characters were granted a variety of jobs that could be switched at any point by
52398-474: The subseries by Square Enix long after its release. The game's references to other Final Fantasy games were originally intended as fan service. Ivalice itself was the creation of Yasumi Matsuno, the main creative force behind Tactics and Vagrant Story . It first appeared in Tactics . Matsuno's work with Ivalice later inspired the scenarios for A Realm Reborn . Stories in the series frequently emphasize
52644-706: The system further as he felt the version in IV was incomplete. A mechanic introduced in Final Fantasy VII was Limit Breaks, special cinematic moves that have become a staple of the series. The ATB system was in use until Final Fantasy X , which switched to a system called the "Conditional Turn-based Battle" system: while reverting to a purely turn-based model, it included additional elements such as in-battle party member switching. Final Fantasy XI , XIV , and its sequel A Realm Reborn used real-time command-based combat systems and removed random encounters, playing in
52890-562: The team experimented with multiple character control, it was decided that it presented too many development difficulties. The battle system of Final Fantasy XVI , designed by Capcom veteran Ryota Suzuki, again focused on action with a single protagonist with a focus on switching elemental abilities gained from the world's summons. Battles were also split between standard combat with smaller enemies, and large cinematic battles with their own mechanics. Character classes in Final Fantasy are often referred to as "jobs"; they have been present in
53136-496: The term 'JRPG,' but if this game makes people rethink the meaning of this term, I'll be satisfied." The writer Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com states that " Xenoblade throws into high relief the sheer artificiality of the gaming community's obsession over the differences between" Western and Japanese RPGs, pointing out that it "does things that don't really fit into either genre. Gamers do love their boundaries and barriers and neat little rules, I know, but just because you cram something into
53382-503: The time, in addition to the influence of visual novel adventure games . As a result, Japanese console RPGs differentiated themselves with a stronger focus on scripted narratives and character drama, alongside streamlined gameplay. In recent years, these trends have in turn been adopted by WRPGs, which have begun moving more towards tightly structured narratives, in addition to moving away from "numbers and rules" in favor of streamlined combat systems similar to action games. In addition,
53628-553: The title Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster on a single Blu-ray disc game. It was sold separately on game cartridges on Vita in Japan and sold together in North America, Europe and Australia as a set, with FFX being on a cartridge and FFX-2 being included as a download voucher. Downloadable versions were available for both systems. The games contain all the content found in the International version, including Eternal Calm and Last Mission . Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
53874-428: The traditional Final Fantasy game, in line with the realism of the game's 3D backgrounds, as opposed to pre-rendered backgrounds. Battle art director Shintaro Takai has explained that it was his intention that battles in Final Fantasy X come across as a natural part of the story and not an independent element. Features would have included wandering enemies visible on the field map, seamless transitions into battles, and
54120-506: The traditional experience point system is replaced by a new system called the "Sphere Grid". Instead of characters gaining pre-determined statistic bonuses for their attributes after leveling up , each character gains "Sphere Levels" after collecting enough Ability Points (AP). Sphere Levels allow players to move around the Sphere Grid, a pre-determined grid of interconnected nodes consisting of various statistic and ability bonuses. "Spheres" are applied to these nodes, unlocking its function for
54366-583: The traditional role-playing " offered by Japanese console RPGs, which instead emphasized character interactions. In response, North American computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the 1990s with interactive choice-filled adventures. Several writers have criticized JRPGs as not being "true" RPGs, for heavy usage of scripted cutscenes and dialogue, and a frequent lack of branching outcomes. Japanese RPGs are also sometimes criticized for having relatively simple battle systems in which players are able to win by repetitively mashing buttons. As
54612-511: The tropical island of Besaid, where he meets Wakka, captain of the local blitzball team. Wakka introduces Tidus to Yuna, a young summoner about to go on a pilgrimage to obtain the Final Aeon and defeat Sin with her guardians Lulu, a mage of black magic, and Kimahri, a member of the Ronso tribe. The party travels across Spira to gather aeons, defending against attacks by Sin and its "offspring" called Sinspawn. Tidus meets Auron again, who convinces Tidus to become Yuna's guardian upon revealing that Jecht
54858-518: The two most notable are Excalibur and Masamune, derived respectively from the Arthurian sword and legendary Japanese swordsmith . A recurring concept within Final Fantasy settings is the use of important magical crystals; in early games, they represented the Japanese classical elements and were instrumental in keeping the world in balance. Due to this, control over the crystals forms part of
55104-513: The typical Western-style RPGs of the time. Due to the cultural differences between Western and Japanese variations of role-playing games, both have often been compared and critiqued by those within the video games industry and press. In the late 1980s, when traditional American computer RPGs such as Ultima and Defender of the Crown were ported to consoles, they received mixed reviews from console gamers, as they were "not perceived, by many of
55350-448: The underlying game mechanics (e.g. "rules-based" or "system-based" ); whereas JRPGs tend to feature brighter, anime -like or chibi graphics, younger characters, turn-based or faster-paced action gameplay, and a greater focus on tightly-orchestrated, linear storylines with intricate plots (e.g. "action-based" or "story-based" ). Further, WRPGs are more likely to allow players to create and customize characters from scratch, and since
55596-406: The video game market; Sakaguchi had long wished to create a role-playing game, but the company had denied him the opportunity until then. The first Final Fantasy was released in 1987, and was a commercial and critical success that fueled the development of further games. The series garnered international popularity with the release of Final Fantasy VII (1997) for the PlayStation , which became
55842-411: The world by chocobo or control the airship. Eurogamer ' s Tom Bramwell noted that the game's puzzle segments were "depressing" and "superfluous", and that although the Sphere Grid was "a nice touch", it took up too much of the game. The linearity of the game was positively commented on by GamePro who stated that a player would not be required to participate in side-quests or the mini-game to reach
56088-486: The world to interact with objects and people. Unlike previous games, however, the world and town maps have been fully integrated, with terrain outside of cities rendered to scale. As Tidus explores the world, he randomly encounters enemies. When an enemy is encountered, the environment switches to a turn-based battle area where characters and enemies await their turn to attack. The gameplay of Final Fantasy X differs from that of previous Final Fantasy games in its lack of
56334-419: Was a temporary title early in Final Fantasy X ' s production. 17 SEVEN TEEN ' s story differed from the final version: the protagonist, who looked similar to Tidus, traveled the world seeking a cure for a pandemic that killed people when they reached the age of seventeen. This inevitable death motif was later carried over to Yuna's fate as a summoner. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura has identified
56580-446: Was a theme that was common in most console RPGs at the time but absent from most computer RPGs. During the 1990s, console RPGs had become increasingly dominant, exerting a greater influence on computer RPGs than the other way around. Console RPGs had eclipsed computer RPGs for some time, though computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the decade with interactive choice-filled adventures. The next major revolution came in
56826-447: Was also the chief director of Final Fantasy X , while the direction of events, maps and battles was split up between Motomu Toriyama , Takayoshi Nakazato and Toshiro Tsuchida , respectively. The development of the script for the game took three to four months, with the same amount of time dedicated to the voice recording afterwards. Tetsuya Nomura and Kazushige Nojima collaborated with Daisuke Watanabe , Toriyama and Kitase on writing
57072-451: Was another early action RPG for the NES, released as a side-story to the computer action RPG Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu . Square 's Final Fantasy for the NES introduced side-view battles, with the player characters on the right and the enemies on the left, which soon became the norm for numerous console RPGs. In 1988, Dragon Warrior III introduced a character progression system allowing
57318-489: Was based around Dungeons & Dragons and Wizardry . Starting with Final Fantasy IV , the Hiroyuki Ito -designed ATB system took prevalence; variations of the ATB system have been used in multiple entries since then. These various elements have been positively received by critics over the series' lifetime, contributing to its overall worldwide success, with the gameplay and narratives frequently cited as setting
57564-400: Was both a critical and commercial success, shipping over 8.5 million units worldwide on PlayStation 2. It is considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made . It was followed by Final Fantasy X-2 in March 2003, making it the first Final Fantasy game to have a direct game sequel. As of September 2021, the Final Fantasy X series had sold over 20.8 million units worldwide, and at
57810-425: Was brought on board the first Final Fantasy as general artwork designer, filling that role for II and III . For Final Fantasy IV , Amano was given more freedom to create elaborate character designs. Amano returned as character designer and general artwork for Final Fantasy V . Final Fantasy VI , in addition to featuring work by Amano, also had contributions from other designers including Kaori Tanaka . From
58056-477: Was completed in November 2000. As Square still had not revealed who would sing the song, GameSpot personally asked Uematsu, who jokingly answered that it was going to be Rod Stewart . The game features three songs with vocalized elements, including the J-pop ballad " Suteki da ne ", which translates to "Isn't it Wonderful?". The lyrics were written by Kazushige Nojima, and the music was written by Uematsu. The song
58302-399: Was first released in Europe on October 31, 2003, and featured English voice-overs. The international and PAL versions include a bonus DVD called Beyond Final Fantasy , a disc including interviews with the game's developers, and two of the game's English voice actors, James Arnold Taylor (Tidus) and Hedy Burress (Yuna). Also included are trailers for Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts ,
58548-509: Was inspired while watching a Formula One race and seeing racers pass each other at different speeds. This gave him the idea of different speed values for the individual characters. Ito himself described the inspiration as his wish to balance pure turn-based mechanics with real-time battle mechanics, which played into a movement in Formula One where cars were shifting towards using semi-automatic gearboxes. For Final Fantasy V , Ito evolved
58794-509: Was later expanded into a multimedia series gamed Compilation of Final Fantasy VII , which included video games ( Before Crisis , Dirge of Cerberus , Crisis Core ) and film projects ( Advent Children , Last Order ). A different subseries linked by common elements, and indirectly inspired by the Compilation , is Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy ; while the subseries' games have unique settings and stories, they all share
59040-441: Was originally centered on the relationship between Tidus and Yuna, the addition of Jecht's character and his feud with his son was added later in the making of the game to provide more focus on how the father and son produce a bigger impact in Spira's history rather than the romantic couple. Kitase found the story between Tidus and Jecht to be more moving than the story between Tidus and Yuna. Final Fantasy X features innovations in
59286-807: Was performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in the Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy concert series. Independent but officially licensed releases of Final Fantasy X music have been composed by such groups as Project Majestic Mix, which focuses on arranging video game music. Selections also appear on Japanese remix albums, called dojin music , and on English remixing websites. The Japanese version of Final Fantasy X included an additional disc entitled "The Other Side of Final Fantasy", which featured interviews, storyboards, and trailers for Blue Wing Blitz , Kingdom Hearts , and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within , as well as
59532-408: Was praised by Game Revolution who noted most of them were "above average" and called the music "rich". Edge rated the game considerably lower, criticizing many aspects of the game for being tedious and uninnovative and describing the dialogue as "nauseating", particularly panning Tidus. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer criticized the game's linearity and that players were no longer able to travel
59778-411: Was released as Greatest Hits in North America in September 2003. The Japanese release of Final Fantasy X International also includes "Eternal Calm", a 14-minute video clip bridging the story of Final Fantasy X with that of its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2 . The video clip was included in a bonus DVD for Unlimited Saga Collector's Edition under the name Eternal Calm, Final Fantasy X-2: Prologue . It
60024-587: Was released for the PlayStation 4 worldwide in May 2015. It included enhanced graphics in full HD ( 1080p ), the option to switch to the original soundtrack and the ability to transfer save files from the PS3 and PS Vita versions. One year later, it was released for Windows via Steam on May 16. It includes an auto-save feature, 5 game boosters, 3 parameter changes, the option to skip FMVs /cinematics, 4K resolution support, audio settings and graphic options. A version for
60270-541: Was the first such attempt to recreate a role-playing game for a console, and requires several simplifications to fit within the more limited memory and capabilities of the Famicom compared to computers; players in Dragon Quest controlled only a single character, the amount of control over this character limited due to the simplicity of the Famicom controller, and a less-realistic art style was chosen to better visualize
60516-669: Was written by Miwa Shoda, whose work was fleshed out by Watanabe. Watanabe would later work on the scenarios of Final Fantasy XIII (2009) and its sequels, which would become one of his major projects. The scenario for Final Fantasy XI (2002) was created by Masato Kato , who returned for the expansion Rise of the Zilart . For Final Fantasy XIV (2010), the writer was Yaeko Sato, who also worked on XI and XII ; Sato stayed on as lead writer for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (2013), alongside new writer Kazutoyo Maehiro. The lead writer for expansions beginning with Heavensward
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