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->"''I don't think I have what it takes to make an a good action game. I think I'm better at telling a story.''"
-->--'''Hironobu Sakaguchi''', before the creation of ''FinalFantasyI''

(For the first game in the series, see ''FinalFantasyI''.)

Absurdly popular RolePlayingGame series from Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft), currently on its [[strike:thirteenth]] fourteenth incarnation plus numerous side ("''[[GaidenGame gaiden]]''") games. ''FinalFantasy'' games are known for their lavish sound, music, and (recently) voice acting production values, well-thought-out plots, and deep BackStory.

Until recently, no ''FinalFantasy'' game was a true sequel - each was set in an entirely new world dreamt up on the spot by the producers and given life. Two recent releases, ''{{Final Fantasy X-2}}'' and ''FinalFantasyXII'', are set in worlds previously used by other ''FinalFantasy'' games (''FinalFantasyX'' and ''FinalFantasyTactics'', respectively), and further games set in the ''FinalFantasyVII'' [[TheVerse Verse]] are planned. The upcoming ''FinalFantasyXIII'' is planned as a series of several games in a brand new setting, though how they are connected is not entirely clear. Recently, ''FinalFantasyXIV'' was announced, and has been in development alongside FFXIII. Early on the games were very basic, but the series [[GrowingTheBeard grew the beard]] with ''FinalFantasyIV'', or [[FinalFantasyVI VI]], or [[FinalFantasyVII VII]]; [[BrokenBase fan opinions differ]]. At any rate, the games are now viewed as classics, with many games praised for their epic stories.

Some trademarks of the ''FinalFantasy'' series include:

* SchizoTech, frequently based on LostTechnology.
* {{Power Crystal}}s that frequently represent the force of "light" or "life". They are sometimes sentient, but almost always [[McGuffin have a heavy say in the plot]].
* Powerful [[SummonMagic summonable creatures]] that a particular class of character can invoke, and which represent most of the combat power for that character.
** ... one of which is almost always a [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons humongus dragon]] named Bahamut, usually the most powerful or second-most powerful summon of the game.
* A GlobalAirship that becomes available at some point during the game.
* A character named "Cid", who's either a GadgeteerGenius or the pilot of the airship. (Or both.)
* A [[BraggartBoss ridiculously over-the-top boss]] named "Gilgamesh", [[EpilepticTrees who may or may not be the same person in every appearance.]]
* [[{{BFS}} Swords that in real life would be very difficult if not impossible to wield "properly"]].
* [[CallARabbitASmeerp Flightless ostrich-like birds]] known as "chocobos" used as [[HorseOfADifferentColor mounts]].
* AnAesop about peace, environmentalism, ThePowerOfFriendship, or all three at once.
* ThoseTwoGuys: [[strike:Vicks]] [[StarWars Biggs and Wedge]], who appear in various guises in almost all of the games from ''VI'' onward (and who were retconned into ''IV'' by ''The After Years''), and die horribly about half the time.
* A quirky new [[TechPoints experience and character advancement system]] in each game.
* A magic system with a common set of spell names across the series, with several frequently reused classes of spellcasters, and quirky variations for magic advancement and availability unique to each game.
* A specific set of findable healing "potions" (also available for purchase at conveniently located shops) that operate by being thrown at the character they're supposed to heal.
* Lots of {{side quest}}s and minigames.
* Freely name-able party members, resulting in HelloInsertNameHere in every game until it was dropped in the tenth.
** And then only because voice acting made it impossible.
*** Though Tidus (otherwise known as "hey, you", "new guy", "kid" etc.) is the unfortunate exception.
** In FF 8, only Squall, Rinoa, and her dog were name-able. The rest came with their predetermined names, although you could modify them using a special (hard to obtain) item.
* An unusually high level of attention paid to [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome the soundtrack]]; NobuoUematsu's scores are practically worshipped by many fans of the series, and have spawned tons of remix projects and orchestrations.
* {{Ridiculously Cute Critter}}s called "moogles," who are [[VerbalTic fond of saying "kupo."]]
* Several recurring monsters, including the [[MetalSlime weak but difficult-to-hit]] Cactuars and the [[KillerRabbit surprisingly strong two-foot-tall]] Tonberries.
* [[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja Ninja when there doesn't seem to be any reason for there to be.]]
* Several enemies that count as TheOgre and some that count as a BossInMookClothing.
* Spells such as [[FireIceLightning Fire, Blizzard, Thunder,]] [[KillItWithFire Flare]], [[HolyHandGrenade Holy]], [[NonElemental Ultima.]]
* RagnarokProofing - You can't swing a sword in Final Fantasy games without hitting a fully functional relic of a lost civilization.
* At least one [[TheScrappy character per game that nobody wants in their party, no matter how good they are.]]
* StockWeaponNames, such as Excalibur, Masamune, and the series' own Ultima weapon.
* ThemeNaming : A recent trend in ''Final Fantasy'' games is having the protagonists' names related to weather or the sky.
**Cloud Strife of ''FinalFantasyVII''.
***Zack Fair's last name was first revealed in ''[[CrisisCore Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-]]''. [[WordofGod According to Tetsuya Nomura]] it is derived from "fair weather", and is intended to contrast with "Cloud Strife".
**Squall Leonhart of ''FinalFantasyVIII''. His mother's name was Raine, while his father's name was Laguna.
**Tidus, of ''FinalFantasyX'', is a romanization of "tidaa", which is Okinawan for "sun". Yuna, on the other hand, is Okinawan for "night".
**Lightning and Snow Villiers of ''FinalFantasyXIII''.
**Noctis Lucis Caelum of ''FinalFantasyVersusXIII'' is a Latin phrase that means "sky of the night light". The "stella nox" part of Stella Nox Fleuret's name is latin for "night star".

The ''FinalFantasy'' series is the [[TropeMakers ur-Trope Maker]] for RolePlayingGame VideoGameTropes. Many of the conventions of Japanese-style console {{roleplaying game}}s that didn't originate in the ''DragonQuest'' line originated with the ''FinalFantasy'' series, which in turn were influenced by ''{{Ultima}}'' and other Western computer {{role playing game}}s, which the genre has now almost entirely replaced in the console world.

Tracking the early parts of the FinalFantasy series can be confusing, as only three of the first six games made it to North America, where the numbers were changed so that the US releases were consecutive numbers. Therefore, ''FinalFantasyIV'' was released in America as Final Fantasy II, while ''FinalFantasyVI'' was released as Final Fantasy III. ''FinalFantasyVII'' broke the trend and was released as VII everywhere, and from then on every mainline FF would get a North American release. But that's not the end of the confusion, as the various remakes for the Playstation, GBA and DS have used the Japanese numbering system for the original games, resulting in the strange situation where in the US, ''Final Fantasy VI Advance'' is a remake of a game previously called ''Final Fantasy III''. Finally, four "gaiden" games were given the name Final Fantasy to increase sales in North America: Final Fantasy Legend I-III and Final Fantasy Adventure. The first three are from the ''{{SaGa}}'' series and the fourth is the first installment in the ''ManaSeries''.

The ''KingdomHearts'' series is a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover between Final Fantasy and the DisneyAnimatedCanon.
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The ''FinalFantasy'' series consists of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Main Series ]]

* ''[[FinalFantasyI Final Fantasy]]''
* ''FinalFantasyII'' (Not to be confused with ''FinalFantasyIV'', which was originally released in North America as "Final Fantasy II".)
* ''FinalFantasyIII'' (Not to be confused with ''FinalFantasyVI'', which was originally released in North America as "Final Fantasy III".)
* ''FinalFantasyIV''
* ''FinalFantasyV''
* ''FinalFantasyVI''
* ''FinalFantasyVII''
* ''FinalFantasyVIII''
* ''FinalFantasyIX''
* ''FinalFantasyX''
* ''FinalFantasyXI'' (Not a single-player RolePlayingGame, but an {{MMORPG}}.)
* ''FinalFantasyXII''
* ''FinalFantasyXIII'' will be coming out [[strike:soon]] March 9, 2010(though that is not set in stone). It will be the second main Final Fantasy game, after ''XI'', to be released on multiple platforms (not counting the SNES games' re-releases 10 years after the fact, or the PC versions of ''VII'' and ''VIII''), and the first non-remake, non-spinoff entry not exclusive to a Sony console since ''[[strike:VI]]'' ''VIII''.
* ''FinalFantasyXIV'' is yet another {{MMORPG}} coming soon for the Playstation 3 and PC.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Spin-offs, Prequels and Sequels ]]

* ''FinalFantasyTactics'' (Combines TurnBasedStrategy with a RolePlayingGame.)
* ''FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' (Ditto, but on a handheld.)
* ''{{Final Fantasy Tactics A2}}'' (on the DS, so "Advance" got shortened to "A")
* ''{{Final Fantasy X-2}}'', a direct sequel to FinalFantasyX
* ''FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles''
* ''FinalFantasyVII: DirgeOfCerberus''
* ''CrisisCore: FinalFantasyVII''
* There is also ''FinalFantasyMysticQuest'', although the Final Fantasy fan community has attempted for years to [[DisContinuity deny its existence]]; the movement has reversed in recent years, though, as fans come to accept its merits.
* ''[[{{ptitlefjcz80qe}} Dissidia: Final Fantasy]]'', a MassiveMultiPlayerCrossover of the first 12 games where the god Chaos (from the first game) has summoned villains from all of the games and the goddess Cosmos (a new mention) has summoned heroes to counter them.
* ''[[FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears Final Fantasy IV: The After Years]]'', a sequel to ''FinalFantasyIV'' for mobile phones and WiiWare done [[{{Retraux}} in the style of the 16-bit SNES Final Fantasy Games]].
* ''[[FinalFantasyXIIRevenantWings Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings]]'', a spin off/sequel to ''XII''.
* ''Final Fantasy Gaiden: Four Warriors of Light'', A GaidenGame featuring [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 4 Warriors of Light]]. Completely unrelated to ''Final Fantasy Gaiden: [[WorldOfMana Seiken Densetsu]]'', but also on a handheld.
* ''FinalFantasyVersusXIII'', due to be released sometime after XIII. Despite the name, it is neither a sequel nor prequel to ''FinalFantasyXIII'', and is an ActionRPG and {{Playstation 3}} exclusive.
* ''FinalFantasyAgitoXIII'', another GaidenGame like ''Versus XIII'', release date to be announced. Like ''Versus XIII'', it is not directly related to ''FinalFantasyXIII''. It will be a PlaystationPortable game.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dolled Up Installments ]]

Released in North America as ''FinalFantasy'' games, there were four more on the Nintendo Game Boy.
* ''Final Fantasy Legend'' 1, 2 and 3, which were retitled releases of ''{{SaGa}}'' 1, 2, and 3
* ''Final Fantasy Adventure'', originally titled ''Final Fantasy [[GaidenGame Gaiden]]: [[WorldOfMana Seiken Densetsu]]'', was the first title in that series as well.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chocobo Series ]]

There are also a set of unconnected LighterAndSofter spinoffs starring the series mascot Chocobo.
* ''Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon'' (1997, [=PlayStation=]; Japan only)
* ''Chocobo Racing'' (1999, [=PlayStation=])
* ''Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2'' (2000, [=PlayStation=]; the U.S. version [[MarketBasedTitle drops the "Mysterious" part from the title]], but not the [[SequelDisplacement "2"]])
* ''Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales'' (2006, Nintendo DS)
* ''Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon'' (2008, Nintendo Wii)
[[ChocobosDungeon The Dungeon games]] are part of the franchise-spanning Mysterious Dungeon series, which are effectively simplified (well, depending on the installment) {{roguelike}}s with prettier graphics.

There is also an {{anime}} [[TheMovie movie]] sequel {{OVA}} for ''FinalFantasyVII'', titled ''FinalFantasyVII: AdventChildren.''

Also not to be forgotten (though many wish they could), is the movie ''[=~Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within~=]''. As well as this, two other ''FinalFantasy''-based anime have been produced: ''Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals'', a four-part {{OVA}} that continued in TheVerse of ''FinalFantasyV'', and ''FinalFantasyUnlimited'', a somewhat surreal TV series with plenty of {{Conspicuous CG}}.
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