History WhatCouldHaveBeen / FinalFantasy

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' -- Where to begin? It is well-known that the game began development in 2006 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6At_bb1PNU as]] ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'', an action-based spin-off meant to be a dark reimagining of the franchise and, while sharing a world lore but unrelated in continuity (as part of the ''Fabula Nova Crystallis'' series), the antithesis in terms of theme to ''FFXIII''. Over the course of its decade long conception-to-release, so much was changed. Some details include Lucis being perpetually at nighttime, the Lucis Caelum royal line acting more like a mafia family than a typical monarchy, Noctis and his love interest (who was a different woman named Stella) being able to see "the light of expiring souls", and also being unwilling combatants, a villain named Safay Roth being heavily involved in the plot, and perhaps most extremely, the idea of chasing after Luna, only to learn that Noctis had lost his memory of killing her himself while under some kind of possession. While the finished product still somewhat fulfills the goal of being the opposite thematically to ''FFXIII'', it's safe to say that little, if anything, of the original story ideas for ''Versus'' remain recognizably intact since the game was previewed in 2006.

** Back when he was still the director for ''Versus XIII'', Nomura, having seen the 2012 version of ''Film/{{Les Miserables|2012}}'', was hell-bent on turning the highly anticipated game into a musical. Square Enix managed to talk him out of it.

* A number of jobs were scrapped according to a design doc shown in the Ultimania, including a proper upgraded Red Mage job. Additionally, Xande was described as a "cold and beautiful woman" and the Cloud of Darkness is said to have been created by Xande using the Dark Crystals.

* The remake of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' has unused Japanese text strings within the data of the DS version which seemed to belong to an earlier version of the script. How many? On average, ''[[https://tcrf.net/Final_Fantasy_III_(Nintendo_DS)/Unused_Text at least one per town/dungeon.]]'' These scrapped scenes vary in importance; some were throwaway scenes, some showcased character traits or world lore, some show scrapped sub-plots or skits and some even point to differences with the final game, such as Castle Hein and Saronia playing out differently or the Bard class being optional.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' was planned to be a MobilePhoneGame, but was moved to the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]], and was to be titled ''Final Fantasy Agito XIII'', but the title was changed when the game bore no connection to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. Planned localizations for PSP and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita Vita]] were cancelled after the servers in Japan were shut down. After the world wide release of ''Final Fantasy Type-0 HD'', there were tentative plans to continue the series with ''Type-1'', ''Type-2'' and ''Type-3''.

** In 2017, Square Enix tried running the game's engine (Luminous Engine, which was developed internally) on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, but the system couldn't handle the game's engine. They instead settled for porting the ''Pocket Edition'' to the Switch a year later.

** As stated earlier, one rejected draft had Midgar being envisioned as New York City circa 1990s, while another had it being a floating world in the sky. The former partly inspired Insomnia from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' (though it was inspired by Tokyo rather than New York), while the latter directly influenced Cocoon from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''.

* In early 2001, only a few months after the release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] announced their intentions to remake the entire ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series on then-current generation systems. ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII III]]'' were slated for the [[Platform/{{WonderSwan}} WonderSwan Color]]; ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' were being planned for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance; VII, VIII, and IX were to be remade for the Platform/PlayStation2, which came out the previous year. The [=PS2=] remakes would be released on [=DVDs=], with updated graphics and sound, and would also include bonus features. However, ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' was released that summer and [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed at the box office]], resulting in a massive financial loss for Square of between $50-120 million. The film had been directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of ''Final Fantasy'' and Square's vice president, who resigned shortly after. The handheld ''FF'' remakes were delayed for several years (except for the one of ''III'', which was canceled entirely--though it did eventually get a heavily reimagined remake on the Platform/NintendoDS, then a more direct one as part of the ''Pixel Remaster'' series), and the [=PS2=] remakes were canceled entirely. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]], however, got [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake a remake]] in 2020, on the Platform/PlayStation4.

** An earlier draft of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' and XIII story was actually a proposed script for ''Final Fantasy VII''. Yes, you heard that right.

* In early 2001, only a few months after the release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] announced their intentions to remake the entire ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series on then-current generation systems. ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII III]]'' were slated for the [[UsefulNotes/{{WonderSwan}} WonderSwan Color]]; ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' were being planned for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance; VII, VIII, and IX were to be remade for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, which came out the previous year. The [=PS2=] remakes would be released on [=DVDs=], with updated graphics and sound, and would also include bonus features. However, ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' was released that summer and [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed at the box office]], resulting in a massive financial loss for Square of between $50-120 million. The film had been directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of ''Final Fantasy'' and Square's vice president, who resigned shortly after. The handheld ''FF'' remakes were delayed for several years (except for the one of ''III'', which was canceled entirely--though it did eventually get a heavily reimagined remake on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, then a more direct one as part of the ''Pixel Remaster'' series), and the [=PS2=] remakes were canceled entirely. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]], however, got [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake a remake]] in 2020, on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

** The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] version would have had an English release, but in the end it was canceled as the 16-bit era drew nearer, ''IV'' was brought over instead, and ''II'' wouldn't see the light of day in the western hemisphere until ''[[CompilationRerelease Final Fantasy Origins]]''. A prototype of the ROM exists, although with a hilariously awful translation.

* [[http://www.lostlevels.org/200311/200311-square.shtml There was originally going to be]] a game for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] called ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. Other than the fact that it existed at some point, not much is known about it except that it was canceled and the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom/SNES]] game starring a Dark Knight named Cecil Harvey that was planned to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' was renamed ''Final Fantasy IV'' [[note]](or ''Final Fantasy II'', in the case of the first English-language version)[[/note]] due to the cancellation of the 8-bit game that was going to have that title. Its cancellation also resulted in every future game having a number lower than it would have had; had the game with Cecil and Kain that ended up as ''IV'' stayed as ''V'', we would have ended up with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' being called ''VI'' and so on.

* ''Final Fantasy IV'' had some portions of its script tossed out before it was finished, not unlike fellow Squaresoft game ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana''. Fortunately, restoring at least part of it was one of the goals of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS [[VideoGameRemake remake]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' was considered for a North American release on PC, under the name ''Final Fantasy Extreme'', since Squaresoft thought it was too difficult for SNES players. The only remnant of this release is the [[BlindIdiotTranslation rather bad translation job]] that was used as the script for the ''[[CompilationRerelease Final Fantasy Anthology]]'' release on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation.

* Following the 3D remake of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' on the DS, 3D remakes of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' were to be on the DS or [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]]. Both remakes were put on hold due to "technical issues" and ultimately never materialized.

** Before the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} version, the game had tentative plans to be released on the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]], UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 N64]] (either the base console or the 64DD add-on drive), and on PC on [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]], before settling on the [=PS1=] and later making a Windows port.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' was planned for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, the battle system would have been more dynamic and action-based, battles would've taken place on the field map, Lightning would have a much less serious personality and gravity-based powers that influenced gameplay, Serah would have been the seventh party member, and Fang was going to be a male character (explains the [[HoYay Les Yay]] she and Vanille have, doesn't it?). The entire hoo-hah around ''XIII'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 its]] [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII sequels]] and spin-offs being categorized into their own subseries stems from the fact that the ''Franchise/{{Fabula Nova Crystallis|FinalFantasy}}'' series was supposed to be a set of {{Action RPG}}s, akin to titles that had recently become popular in western markets such as ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series and ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls''. ''Lightning Returns'' supposedly is a resurrection of this original concept.

* The [[VideoGame/IvaliceAlliance Ivalice-related]] spin-off ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' had a sequel planned for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube sometime before 2003, but it was scrapped.

** The game was also planned to be released on the UsefulNotes/Xbox360, but the idea was put on the backburner after Microsoft refused to budge with their online polices; Square Enix wanted Microsoft to allow the game to be able to connect to the same servers, regardless of what platform/client they used, but Microsoft wouldn't allow it since they would be forced to deal with connections towards Sony for their UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 platform, and Square also wanted the game to be able to go online without requiring an Xbox Live membership, since it would be unfair for Xbox players to have to pay for both going online with the console in general and have a separate subscription for ''FFXIV'' on top of it. The troubles continue into the next generations, which is why the game is not on the UsefulNotes/XboxOne or [[UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS its successor(s)]] either, ironically for the opposite reason - now that Microsoft is more willing to allow cross-platform play, ''Sony'' is suddenly deciding they don't like the idea.

** The ''majority'' of the playable party were originally going to be killed off during the raid on Shinra towards towards the end of disc 2, with only three characters surviving (exactly who survived would be down to the player's choice). Yes, that's right. Apparently, this very nearly made it into the final product. Until one particular member of the development team, Creator/TetsuyaNomura, advised against it, on the grounds that it would've been ridiculous and cheapened Aerith's death.

** Jenova is a ''massive'' change from its original concept, as explained in "Another Hypothesis". Initially, Jenova was supposed to be a [[JustForPun gene]] that was a part of every person, and that Aerith could use this power naturally because she's a Cetra. Shinra's methods for creating SOLDIER are the same as the final product, but they, along with Sephiroth, were [[FauxSymbolism "awakened" beings]] with the gene. The Turks would be the people who were able to ''sense'' the usage of Jenova, and they would bring the subjects back to Shinra for experimentation.

** It was rumored at one point that ''Final Fantasy IV'' for the Famicom was a mock-up only, with no coding or beta version in development. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170815142935/http://matotree.com/2012/08/final-fantasy-iv-for-the-famicom-was-80-complete/ According to Sakaguchi,]] however, it was actually some 80% done. Based on what we know of it, it's likely that a good deal of what there was of it in terms of story/concept was reworked into what we now have as ''Final Fantasy V'', as it was stated the game concept was largely based on job classes, ''FFV'''s famous niche. As well, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' has been stated to have been based in part on unrealized concepts from the series' Nintendo era, so there's a decent chance some of what was originally the canceled [=NES=] ''[=FFIV=]'' made it into that game, as well.

*** In fact, Aerith was going to be the ''only'' female party member in the game (and there would only be three members, Barret being third). Tifa was added later in development when the writers realized there was no character conflict, and the party would be [[FlatCharacter too flat]] without something to unify them -- in this case, a possible LoveTriangle.
** Additionally, Red XIII was originally intended to be the character who was cloned by Hojo, as opposed to Sephiroth. After defeating the clones, the party would have confronted the mad scientist and killed him earlier than they do in the actual game. This seems to suggest that Hojo wasn't originally as important to the plot as he eventually became. As for the clones, they were originally going to return as minions of Sephiroth. They were originally named Cobalt and Jade, leading to the idea that they may have been re-envisioned into the WEAPON supermonsters who are minions of the Planet rather than Sephiroth.

* Following the 3D remake of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' on the DS, 3D remakes of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' were to be on the DS or [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]]. Both remakes were put on hold due to "technical issues."

** An earlier draft of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' and XII story was actually a proposed script for ''Final Fantasy VII''. Yes, you heard that right.

** An earlier draft of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' story was actually a proposed script for ''Final Fantasy VII''. Yes, you heard that right.

** The Machinist class originally started life as Chemist, which would have been a gun-using healer class, which it stayed as long enough during development that it was hinted at in some reveals, but ultimately the release would have Machinist as a DPS class and an entirely separate class, Astrologian, as a new healer. ''Heavensward''[='=]s new playable race was also at one point possibly going to be the Viera from ''Final Fantasy XII'', in both a version appearing identical to that game and a more LittleBitBeastly version that was sized somewhere between Miqo'te and Lalafell; ultimately, the race we now know as Au Ra was picked for the expansion instead, and Viera, female-only and appearing identical to those from ''FFXII'', would only become playable in ''Shadowbringers''. Even then, there was a chance that they still wouldn't have made it in, since Hrothgar was the first choice for a new race added with ''Shadowbringers'', and the options the dev team were considering were either male and female versions of Hrothgar, or male-only Hrothgar and female-only Viera, the latter of which we got.

* In early 2001, only a few months after the release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] announced their intentions to remake the entire ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series on then-current generation systems. ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII III]]'' were slated for the [[UsefulNotes/{{WonderSwan}} WonderSwan Color]]; ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' were being planned for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance; VII, VIII, and IX were to be remade for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, which came out the previous year. The [=PS2=] remakes would be released on [=DVDs=], with updated graphics and sound, and would also include bonus features. However, ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' was released that summer and [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed at the box office]], resulting in a massive financial loss for Square of between $50-120 million. The film had been directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of ''Final Fantasy'' and Square's vice president, who resigned shortly after. The handheld ''FF'' remakes were delayed for several years (except for the one of ''III'', which was canceled entirely--though it did eventually get a heavily reimagined remake on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, then a more direct one as part of the ''Pixel Remaster'' series), and the [=PS2=] remakes were canceled entirely. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]], however, got a [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake a remake]] in 2020, on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

* In the originally planned ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Terra would have been a male character in his twenties and died with the other Espers. In the ending of the final version, she receives instructions on how to specifically avoid this fate and does. Recently, lost official preproduction art from Creator/TetsuyaNomura himself has shown up on the internet, and this mystery character shows up in one of the pieces. [[http://i.imgur.com/SNLCNiz.jpg He heavily resembles]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Squall]].

** The ''majority'' of the playable party were originally going to be killed off during the raid on Shinra towards towards the end of disc 2, with only three characters surviving (exactly who survived would be down to the player's choice). Yes, that's right. Apparently, this very nearly made it into the final product. Until one particular member of the development team Creator/TetsuyaNomura, advised against it, on the grounds that it would've been ridiculous and cheapened Aerith's death.

** The game's lifecycle being cut short denied it a final alternate ending over the aformentioned canned DLC that ended up being shown in a book of concept art that released once it became clear that the DLC cycle was done with. Over the course of the three episodes (which, together with Ardyn's episode, would form a tetralogy) it would reveal that Ardyn finally broke free of his ThenLetMeBeEvil, forcing Bahamut to revive [[spoiler:Lunafreya]] as a new Starscourge carrier, only for her to break free, reveal Bahamut as the GreaterScopeVillain, and have the Noctis, Luna, Aranea, and [[EnemyMine Ardyn]] team up to kill him, creating a GoldenEnding where EveryoneLives except for Ardyn, who gets a RedemptionEqualsDeath and has Noctis acknowledge the honors he was denied that led to his villainy. That being said, the development team still wanted to tell the story, so they opted to release the three episodes in the form of a novel, ''Final Fantasy XV -The Dawn of the Future-'' (named after the planned title of the full tetralogy).

** The game's lifecycle being cut short denied it a final alternate ending over the aformentioned canned DLC that ended up being shown in a book of concept art that released once it became clear that the DLC cycle was done with. Over the course of the three episodes it would reveal that Ardyn finally broke free of his ThenLetMeBeEvil, forcing Bahamut to revive [[spoiler: Lunafrea]] as a new Starscourge carrier, only for her to break free, reveal Bahamut as the GreaterScopeVillain, and have the Noctis, Luna, Aranea, and [[EnemyMine Ardyn]] team up to kill him, creating a GoldenEnding where EveryoneLives except for Ardyn, who gets a RedemptionEqualsDeath and has Noctis acknowledge the honors he was denied that led to his villainy.

* In early 2001, only a few months after the release of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] announced their intentions to remake the entire ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series on then-current generation systems. ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII III]]'' were slated for the [[UsefulNotes/{{WonderSwan}} WonderSwan Color]]; ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' were being planned for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance; VII, VIII, and IX were to be remade for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, which came out the previous year. The [=PS2=] remakes would be released on [=DVDs=], with updated graphics and sound, and would also include bonus features. However, ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' was released that summer and [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed at the box office]], resulting in a massive financial loss for Square of between $50-120 million. The film had been directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of ''Final Fantasy'' and Square's vice president, who resigned shortly after. The handheld ''FF'' remakes were delayed for several years (except for the one of ''III'', which was canceled entirely, though it did eventually get one on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS), and the [=PS2=] remakes were canceled entirely. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]], however, got a [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake a remake]] in 2020, on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

** Back when he was still the director for ''Versus XIII'', Nomura, having seen the 2012 version of ''Film/{{Les Miserables|2012}}'', was hell-bent on turning the highly anticipated game into a musical. Thankfully, Square Enix managed to talk him out of it.

** The entire game was originally planned as the first in a spinoff series [[GenreThrowback made to appeal to old school fans]].

** The story sections that focus on Laguna were originally going to be just as big as the sections that focus on squall, and would encompass the first half of the whole game. But for various reasons related to time and budget, these sections ended up having to be heavely cut down.

* The remake of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'' has unused Japanese text strings within the data of the DS version which seemed to belong to an earlier version of the script. How many? On average, ''[[https://tcrf.net/Final_Fantasy_III_(Nintendo_DS)/Unused_Text at least one per town/dungeon.]]'' These scrapped scenes vary in importance; Some were throwaway scenes, some showcased character traits or world lore, some show scrapped sub-plots or skits and some even point to differences with the final game, such as Castle Hein and Saronia playing out differently or the Bard class being optional.
* [[http://www.lostlevels.org/200311/200311-square.shtml There was originally going to be]] a game for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] called ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. Other than the fact that it existed at some point, not much is known about it except that it was canceled and the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom/SNES]] game starring a Dark Knight named Cecil Harvey that was planned to be ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' was renamed ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' [[note]](or ''Final Fantasy II'', in the case of the first English-language version)[[/note]] due to the cancellation of the 8-bit game that was going to have that title. Its cancellation also resulted in every future game having a number lower than it would have had; had the game with Cecil and Kain that ended up as ''IV'' stayed as ''V'', we would have ended up with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' being called ''VI'' and so on.
** It turns out ''Final Fantasy IV'' for the Famicom was a mock-up only, with no coding or beta version in development. ''Or was it?'' [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170815142935/http://matotree.com/2012/08/final-fantasy-iv-for-the-famicom-was-80-complete/ According to Sakaguchi,]] it was actually some 80% done.
*** But based on what we know of it, it's likely that a good deal of what there was of it in terms of story/concept was reworked into what we now have as ''Final Fantasy V'', as it was stated the game concept was largely based on job classes; ''FFV'''s famous niche. As well, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' has been stated to have been based in part on unrealized concepts from the series' Nintendo era, so there's a decent chance some of what was originally the canceled [=NES=] ''[=FFIV=]'' made it into that game, as well.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' had some portions of its script tossed out before it was finished, not unlike fellow Squaresoft game ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana''. Fortunately, restoring at least part of it was one of the goals of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS [[VideoGameRemake remake]].

** Before the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} version, the game had tentative plans to be released on [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]], UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 N64]], and the N64 with the 64DD add-on drive, and on PC on [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]] before it was eventually ported to PC.

** Before the writing for ''FFVII'' even really got going, another game was originally planned to be ''Final Fantasy VII''. And that game was ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}''. However, Square executives felt (possibly rightly) that the game's plot and tone were too dark to be a proper ''Final Fantasy'' game, so it was turned into a spin-off. (And before developing an identity of its own, ''Xenogears'' was allegedly meant to be an entirely different Squaresoft title: ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''.) A negative effect of this was that the team working on the game was unable to finish the project in the allotted two-year development period [[note]]a leading theory was that ''Xenogears''[='s=] funding was cut near the end of production in order for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' to meet its own deadlines, but this was later proven false[[/note]], leading to the infamous "talking heads" segments of Disc 2.

** Yugiri Mistwalker was supposed to have a major presence in the ''Heavensward'' expansion, but she ends up appearing briefly in Patch 3.0 helping to rescue Raubahn before disappearing until near the end of Patch 3.5. This was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot because Yugiri's second English actress had been murdered]], and Square Enix decided to [[PutOnABus put her on a bus]] until the court cases surrounding the actress's murder were cleared up.

*** But based on what we know of it, it's likely that what there was of it in terms of story/concept was reworked into what we now have as ''Final Fantasy V'', as it was stated the game concept was largely based on job classes; ''FFV'''s famous niche.