Key points
- Final Fantasy games have a deep lore, with themes of change, complex stories, and acceptance of death.
- Final Fantasy XV is rich in lore spread across games, movies, and anime, but it can be difficult to fully understand its story.
- The ever-evolving world of Final Fantasy 14 fuses epic fantasy with cutting-edge technology, drawing on the series' history.
Over the years, the Final Fantasy series has thrilled fans with its rich and deep fantasy worlds, brought to life by compelling cultures, characters, and dreamlike visuals. As gaming technology has advanced, so has the ability to store more information and convey stories in a more nuanced way.
While once explaining the ruins of a technologically advanced civilization or the motivations of a dragon would have been in the realm of imagination, there are now many examples of Final Fantasy games with a truly evocative tradition, whether presented in a single game, multiple games, or across multiple media platforms.
7 Final Fantasy 9
A Deeply Introspective Love Letter to the Past
Most Final Fantasy games have a theme or message, but Final Fantasy 9 It might be the most philosophical, even if on the surface it might not seem so. FF9 It was meant to be a love letter to the pixel and PlayStation era, and contains numerous allusions to locations, characters, and themes from the entire series.
As such, Final Fantasy 9 is a game about embracing change and accepting death, whose world is steeped in lost civilizations, parallel worlds, and existential musings. While much of its lore requires digging to uncover, the story dives into every theme (e.g., Freya's lost lover, Vivi's tragic origins, and the identity of the main villain).
6 Final Fantasy 15
An epic tapestry woven through a network of transmedia
While Final Fantasy 15 It is presented as a character-driven, coming-of-age road trip adventure, there is a lot to the lore of this game that is often overlooked due to its distribution format. The criticism that too much has been hidden is valid. For example, in the game, most of the information on Starscourge, crystals, and Astrals is found in eight Cosmogeny books scattered around the world. Outside of those, there is no way to fully immerse yourself in the lore.
The biggest obstacle for players looking to immerse themselves in the game's lore is the fact that much of the story is split between the game, a CGI movie, and an anime series (Kingsglaive and Brotherhood, respectively). To properly experience the game's story, without considering the lore, a guide to the game's timeline Final Fantasy 15 and its media are necessary, which may explain why much of its lore is neglected.
5 Final Fantasy 7 Collection
Tradition compiled over two decades
From Final Fantasy 7 is set in a post-industrial world where, as in the real world, much of the history and culture of the population has been wiped away in the name of technological progress and exclusive rights to profit, it might seem that the history of the planet (and consequently its tradition) has been erased.
However, its numerous expansions (spin-offs and sequels) form a collection of Final Fantasy 7. Crisis core, Funeral Song of Cerberus, Advent ChildrenTHE Remake trilogy and more expand the world-building and character histories, allowing fans to further delve into the mythology of the planet, the Lifestream, and Jenova.
4 Final Fantasy 13 Trilogy
With a story worth three games, it's no surprise that the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy would have a depth of tradition. However, the 13 The games are generally not remembered as such. Instead, they are widely considered linear and opaque in their storytelling due to the first game's limited exploration and dense, confusing terminology.
However, those willing to make the effort to open the menus and rummage through the data logs will find a rich trove of world-building details, such as the complex and intertwined history of Cocoon and Pulse, the nature of the Fal'Cie and l'Cie, and more about the backstory of Lightning, Fang, and Vanille.
3 Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2
An intimate and richly crafted world of culture
With the advent of expressive and realistic character models, voice acting and cinematic storytelling, the team behind Final Fantasy 10 sought to create an intimate and emotional narrative. While the journey is designed in a more linear fashion than previous titles, the richness of each area, including local histories, unique social quirks, and distinct cultural rituals, keeps the world of Spira feeling fresh and alive throughout the pilgrimage.
Most of Final Fantasy 10 revolves around the spiritual teachings of Yevon and Sin, but thanks to the first sequel in the series, Final Fantasy 10-2Players were able to explore Spira in a post-Sin world, delving into the thought and belief systems and political changes that had been suppressed before the fall of Yevon, and of course, the fates of the group from FF10.
2 Final Fantasy 14
A celebration of the series' tradition with new twists and new avenues
Massively multiplayer online games are designed to be played over a long period of time, which means that the game world is almost always filled with substantial backstory and lore. As the world is constantly being expanded with patches and expansions, the world evolves and new, tractable threads are constantly being introduced for fans to theorize about.
As per tradition for Final FantasyEorzea blends traditional fantasy with cutting-edge technology, but also draws from the entire history of the franchise, past and future, to add ever more color to the universe. The ongoing story, shaped by expansions such as “Heavensward,” “Shadowbringers,” and “Endwalker,” explores the fates of old gods, fallen civilizations, and the interplay between light and darkness.
1 Final Fantasy 12 / Tactics
Shared Stories Setting Ivalice
While others Final Fantasy The games collect sequels and spin-offs based on their popularity, the shared universe of Ivalice, as seen in the Final Fantasy Tactics games and Final Fantasy 12and even a non-Final Fantasy game, Wandering storyweaves a world of story through incremental growth, with each title expanding the world incrementally.
The Ivalice lore is not only broad but also deep, as the Tactics games have an underrated level of complexity in terms of historical and political realism, from the War of the Lion to the Archadian Revolt. In addition to politics, the usual myth-making series is known for everything, of course. For example, the mystery of the ruins of the technologically advanced culture and the twelve Knights of the Zodiac of creation.
