Never ask why it's called "Final" Fantasy again!

[Locke4God]

It has to be said, that what Final Fantasy has meant to the RPG genre is both incidental and poetic. The series is amazing because it doesn't rely on keeping any similarities between games, and thus it is able to constantly test boundaries that push the entire genre forward.

If the series were a set of sequals, it would be bound to the traditions of that series. As it is however, we are blessed with new takes every single time on the battle system. Were invited to meet completely new characters and explore entirely different worlds, and not simply embark on a different quest. We have relearn how to play the game, and determine what we want to accomplish.

If the series had not doomed itself to finality with the very first game, it would not have been able to be reborn with each new edition. But it did, and so it constantly reinvents inself, pushing the industry forward, and simultaneously keeping old players interested while allowing easy access to new players.

And it was all because they never planned to make another.

Imagine James Bond, if in the first film, Bond had died. Perhaps we'd have had a new actor every movie, set in an entirely different realm. But regardless you would always know that it was going to be the best spy movie there was.

That's what Final Fantasy is. You can simply play one of them, you can pick your own favorite for whatever reasons you choose. You can play them all and enjoy the trivial similarities and compare and contrast the vast differences. You can enjoy how various aspects of the series have grown and matured over the years, and consider how characters, weapons, and enemies compare.

There's just no other series out there, whether it be in novels, film, comics, or video games, that quite compares to the essence of this series. It's just amazing, and it keeps growing. I love it.

[Rnin]

Yeah, I watched this on G4 one time about old games, and it was gonna be Squares last game. So they called it Final Fantasy. There after hit it big.

[Josh_R]

honestly I could care less the name as long as it has good story structure like all the FF titles

[EvT1991]

lol i remember hearing about this YEARS ago... i find it silly that people ask it... why wait for an answer from someone here that will rip your face off, when you can just go here and not get your face ripped off by "[NAG]omg how can you not know this, you call yourself a fan[/NAG] business

[LIGHTNING_71013]

its the FINAL fantasy because no other fantasies can ever beat it!!!!!

and i'm totally serious about it.

[Xtrmn8r_V.13.7.3]

He also named it Final Fantasy cause he was only on making one (As a finale for Square's bankruptcy), and made a game succesful enough to save their asses. . .We're so lucky it was a succes, if it was'nt forums like this one would'nt exist.

[dekimaro28]

I thinkrich is an understatement. And i deal with non-gamers all the time asking me why, ... it's the gamers that really piss me off, i can understand why someone who doesn't know what a nintendo is would wonder why theres over 30 final fantasy titles out there. But I do have one problem, ... the sequels they've been poping out, X2 and crap like that. i think each game should have it's own story seperate from any other ff title.

[dekimaro28]

kinda posted that a little late heheh

[NeoAquarius12]

I suppose someone already mentioned the whole, "Final" effort to save Squenix? haha. It was their last game, and then it made money, and now they're titans of the industry.

Also, if that's too long. Just tell people that it's the final fantasy of their Universe. You know, each world is different. Or all connected. haha

[Jonathanx221]

Yeah that shit's gotta stop, it's getting old.

[Gau]

I have always wondered about the name as well as other games names too. But I just thought it was a cool name as well as unique. Thank you for the interesting background info on the FF name origin. Being as I was 6 in '87, I would not have known that, lol. Especially since I grew up in deep dark central redneck Texas, lol. Seriously, very nice information. Thank you for sharing.

[Sharpshooter]

Ah so thats how the epic series started
So Final fantasy actually saved Square Enix from disaster
0.o
Kinda makes you wonder
We would have never had all these magnificent games if it wasn't for Final Fantasy 1
So we all owe our thanks

[Crono]

I don't care why its called final fantasy its just an awesome game! why ask why it is called final fantasy

[Zargabaath]

I'm surprised nobody else has seen this article or heard word about it. Early this month an article came out on vgchartz about "the real reason why Final Fantasy is called Final Fantasy". What is in quotation's is the title of said article and it piqued my interest.


It turns out in an interview that Square Enix Executive Producer Akitoshi Kawazu has debunked the myth behind the origin of Final Fantasy's name. The game wasn't called Final Fantasy because it could've been Square's "final fantasy" title since they were going into bankruptcy when they made the game, but for a completely different reason.

Kawazu gave the reason as this:

“It was something that was decided a long time ago, so my memory might be a bit faulty, but I think one of the things we had decided up front was that we wanted a title that could be abbreviated as FF. That abbreviation has special meaning. So we came up with many different titles, and Final Fantasy was one of them. From there, I think we were quick to make the call. There were some concerns about calling something ‘final’ from the get-go, but in the end we all warmed up to it. On a side note, one other option we liked was Fighting Fantasy, but it was the name of a game-book series by legendary game designer Steve Jackson, so we canned the idea. I wonder what would have happened if we didn’t realize this and went with the Fighting Fantasy option.”

It seems that for a long time we were all being misled by speculation. Unfortunately he never gave the reason why the abbreviation "FF" has a special meaning to them. It'll take a while for this to sink in but it's interesting to know the real reason many years after the original Final Fantasy released.

I concur that it would have been nice to learn the special meaning behind "FF", but it sheds some new truth on the matter. Kawazu was there from the beginning so it's not as if it was somebody who wasn't there since inception or a nobody.

As for Fighting Fantasy. It is nowhere near as catchy as Final Fantasy, but I think it has some charm to it. Fighting Fantasy is better than "Last Battle" that was mentioned earlier in this thread.



Source:VGChartz - Please Take A Moment To Visit Our Sponsor

Source for the article:Nintendo Everything – Our second language is Nintendo++ » Blog Archive » Square Enix on the origin of the Final Fantasy name

[Selcopa]

Wow, very interesting, but honestly im not all that surprised, was it square that put forth that idea originally? or was it a fanmade myth that square didnt confirm/deny?

[Zargabaath]

Wow, very interesting, but honestly im not all that surprised, was it square that put forth that idea originally? or was it a fanmade myth that square didnt confirm/deny?

Taking a look at what Loco posted first, his source is wiki. Now that section has in bold does have a reference (reference 6 currently) that leads to an article at teamxbox.com titled "An Introduction to Square Enix". The writer could've been playing on the popular idea of the reasoning for Final Fantasy's name, I don't know. Now Squaresoft was going bankrupt and I still think it is true that Sakaguchi was going to retire soon. They wanted to use the abbreviation "FF" for the title of this game, which could have been their last, and "Final Fantasy" happens to fit as a title for their "last" game.

[Amne]

Dose it matter? I fine it a cute name you could ask why is a window called a window and it wouldn't matter.

[Gau]

To me, the title is a minor importance. It has always been one of my favorite series. I still have not gotten to play all of them yet, lol. The series is good though.

[Illusion]

It would be nice to know what the special meaning of FF was, but I think that most players don't give the name much thought any more because, as one of the most popular game franchises, its taken to mean something else now. I did read about this a few years ago in a gaming magazine, but they never said that the abbreviation had any special meaning to the creators of the series.

[markandrewkinzett]

I can't understand why people would ask such a stupid question in the first place. I mean what is the point? Not all song names and band names make sense so what is the difference with a video game? It just makes no sense to me and to be honest how many of you really care?

[chinkerbell]

ohhh, so that's why. cool!

[Peachesonfire2012]

Its called "Final Fantasy" because the creator Hironobu Sakaguchi had one last chance to make a successful game otherwise he would have been fired and sent back to collage . so this was his "Final Fantasy" who knew it would have been this amazing?

[Yuffinara]

Lol my cousin was wondering why there were so many of them and I would be like, "Oh, well I don't know. They're just good games."

[tuch]

What is more of an awkward title?

Final fantasy II
or
The neverending story II?

[tnt]

Good thread.......and really good favor.

[HeroZero]

I feel like the point of the name being FF had to do with hexadecimal, but that could have just been happy coincidence.

[Odin1199]

What goes on in your mind when you hear or read the words Final Fantasy? What associations does it trigger? For me it means the ultimate fantasy that doesn't get better, as well as the last fantasy before impending doom. FF basically means searching for that ultimate something, but having to face great risk at some point and one can never happen without conquering the other.