2023-07-02 08:20:02
Like many great video game sagas, Final Fantasy’s origins have often been fictionalized to enhance the aura of the series. However, the choice of this title is much more down to earth than we think, which may seem like a return to reality for some. But beyond this cold truth, this name was not chosen at random by its creator who, beyond commercial reasons, wanted to convey through these words his vision of the saga. But first, let’s take it step by step.
A founding myth that is a little too romanticized
Hironobu Sakaguchi (gauche) avec Hiromichi Tanaka
In the eyes of the general public, the origin of Final Fantasy is a beautiful and inspiring story, but one that is actually heavily fictionalized. To put things in context, it all started in the 1980s, in Japan, within the video game company Square. At the time, the studio created simple role-playing games and racing games that kept it afloat, nothing more. In 1983, a young man from Hironobu Sakaguchi joined the company and in 1987 offered a fantasy title which would be at the crossroads of Dragon Quest, The Legend of Zelda and the Ultima series. You will have understood it, but it is regarding the creator of Final Fantasy at the time when the idea of the first FF germinates in his mind. If until then everything is true, it is when we evoke the spirit in which the game was developed that many elements are romanticized.
In the collective unconscious, Square was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time of the development of the first FF and since the company was betting everything on this project of the last chance, they would have decided to call it Final Fantasy, the final game of the studio . In fact, if the company was not in great financial shape at the time, saying Square was regarding to shut down is fictionalized to lend a legendary aura to the origins of the first FF. On the other hand, what is true is that the project was Hironobu Sakaguchi’s last personal attempt in the world of video games. In an interview with the famous magazine Famitsu on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy, its creator declares:
The name “Final Fantasy” conveyed my feeling that if the game didn’t sell, I was going to quit the gaming industry and go back to college. I should have repeated a year, so I would have had no friends – it was really a “final” situation. -Hironobu Sakaguchi, papa de Final Fantasy
Once once more, this is a pretty story… which hides another much more down to earth one.
Origins simpler than imagined
Behind the name Final Fantasy hides a simpler explanation than one might imagine. Admittedly, the word “Final” symbolizes the last attempt of its creator, but in reality, it was not the first name chosen by the development team. What is certain is that the title had to contain the word “Fantasy” in its title since it is one of its central aspects. So, during the production of the game, the developers wanted the title to be abbreviated as FF to make it sound good in Japanese. As a first choice, they had then thought of Fighting Fantasy, since the fights occupy an important part of the experience. Unfortunately, this choice was not possible for legal reasons due to a series of role-playing games books of the same name already popular at the time.
Photo of the Final Fantasy development team at the game’s launch party
In this case, since the developers insisted that the game be called FF, the name Final was chosen because it was already well known in Japan. In an interview, Hironobu Sakaguchi even admitted a little later that any other term that would have formed the abbreviation FF would have done the trick.. For all these reasons, one would have the impression that Final is not so important in the saga and that everything that is told around serves above all to do story-telling to reinforce its aura. However, one cannot put aside the state of mind of Hironobu Sakaguchi at the time which sticks to this term which has, moreover, a direction which one does not suspect at first sight.
If you’ve been a gamer for years, you’ve probably heard these explanations before and you haven’t discovered anything new so far. However, what few people know is that the term Final translates Hironobu Sakaguchi’s vision of the saga that few people seem to have grasped…even within Square Enix.
The true meaning of Final Fantasy
Beyond the fictionalized and realistic versions of the origin of the Final Fantasy name, the choice of the word “Final” has a very special meaning for Hironobu Sakaguchi who is ultimately little known to the general public. To explain it, let’s first remember that Final Fantasy is an anthology series in which each episode is independent and takes place in its own universe. This allows the franchise to renew itself with each opus and it was the wish of its creator from the start. Beyond this idea of perpetual restarting, there is another central element which defines the saga according to Hironobu Sakaguchi and which is found in the term “Final”. Again, during an interview with Famitsu for the franchise’s 20th anniversary, when asked what Final Fantasy means to him, he explains:
At the time, our state of mind was that we were not making a product but a creation. It was regarding putting his soul into the productionto pour all his ideas into the game, even if they arise during development, and to keep nothing for the future.
When you finish (the development of a Final Fantasy) you are empty, you have no idea what you are going to do next. But moving forward, new things appear. I think it’s good that this spirit continues with Final Fantasy from today. -Hironobu Sakaguchi, papa de Final Fantasy
So this is the true meaning of Final Fantasy for Hironobu Sakaguchi: to offer players an experience in which the developers have given their all, without keeping aside elements, to offer the final version, the ultimate vision of the game desired by its creators. It must be said that the Japanese producer hates sequels and it is for this reason that he wanted the saga to be renewed with each episode. Unfortunately, at a time when development costs are exploding, which is pushing publishers to focus on sequels, DLCs and other reboots, this vision of things no longer seems relevant, or even difficult to sustain. Moreover, this was already beginning to be the case when Hironobu Sakaguchi was still at Square Enix.
It all started with Final Fantasy X-2, the first sequel to a numbered FF, which was partly developed to monetize the assets created for the production of the original game and ride on its success. Same thing for the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy for example, but also for the DLCs of Final Fantasy XV which was to receive several sequels, there was a time. If we continue in this logic, we might wonder if the Final Fantasy VII Remake project would not go once morest Sakaguchi’s wishes twice, since it involves several games and in addition in an already known universe. . And then, it must be recognized that this vision is quite idealistic, because even at the time when the producer was still at the head of the franchise, it was not always achievable, despite lower development costs than today. For example, we think of Final Fantasy VIII where the sequences with Laguna were to constitute half of the game, and not only a few passages as in the final experience.
In reality, the question is not to know whether this vision of things has been realized each time, but to point out that this intention runs through all of Final Fantasy and defines itregardless of the complications encountered during production, which explains its longevity for more than 35 years.
1688289451
#origins #Final #Fantasy #saga #hides #hidden #meaning #suspect
