The originalFinal Fantasypremiered in 1987 in Japan, which was just a year afterDragon Questmade a splash, one of the biggest RPGs of all time. Like that,Final Fantasywas also a success that continues to this day. WhileDragon Questhas remained more traditional, even up to its eleventh entry,Final Fantasyhas prided itself on experimenting past the original’s turn-based, by the books, RPG systems.
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That is to say the four player party, with optional jobs, and a basic story, has certainly increased in scope over the years. Starting from the second entry, let’s examine where the biggest gameplay evolutions have sprung forth from.
14Final Fantasy II
This is more like a precursor battle system for what would become theSaGaseries. Instead of traditional experience and leveling up, characters would increase stats through usage. For example, if a character got hit a lot, they might increase defense and or HP.
13Final Fantasy III
This was the first game in the series to introduce a Job system. Otherwise it was more or less like the original game. The only difference was that classes could be changed instead of having to stick with the initial party setup.
12Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IVwas a big stepping stone for many reasons and not just because it was the first Super Nintendo iteration. Instead of random characters, heroes were now more integral to the story and there actually was a more developed narrative for that matter.
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For gameplay, said heroes had their own assigned jobs like Rydia as a Summoner. This was also the first game to have five party members for battle. Plus the party was constantly rotating with guests.
11Final Fantasy V
This operates as a more refined Job system fromFinal Fantasy III. It had more options, spells, and so forth. With that, plus the more developed story, borrowing from the last game, it made for a robust system and story.
10Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VIis a bit like the fourth’s approach. Heroes were assigned jobs as one example. There was not only a rotating party, but there were also rotating storylines meaning that players would split off into multiple groups. It’s also the biggest cast in the entire series with fourteen key members. Magicite was also a big introduction. Equipping a Summon, or Esper, is how other characters would learn magic.
9Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIIwas another giant leap forward. Materia was sort of a refined idea from Magicite except that these crystals were no longer associated only with Summons.Final Fantasy VIhad Desperation Attacks which were a precursor to the more developed introduction of this game’s Limit Break system. Characters were also not assigned classes.
8Final Fantasy VIII
LikeFinal Fantasy II, this game is a bit of an odd duck. The Draw system made players absorb magic, like Fire, from monsters. Instead of MP, casting said Fire would cost one Stock point.
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Magic could also be equipped to characters if their Summon, or Guardian Force, had an accessible slot. For example, putting Cure on HP would increase that stat.
7Final Fantasy IX
This game went back to the fourth’s idea as characters once again had assigned jobs. And like the sixth, the game constantly gave players multiple parties and scenarios to play through in order to better diversify the story. Characters would learn some skills from leveling up, mostly the magic users like Vivi, along with gaining abilities from equipment as well.
6Final Fantasy X
Traditional experience points were also thrown out the window forFinal Fantasy Xin favor of AP. AP could be spent in the Sphere Grid which housed not only abilities, but boosts in stats as well. Everyone started at their own end but eventually a character could break their limit and gain power from an adjacent grid. Summons were also more like party members whenever Yuna called them in. Plus normal party members could be swapped at any time during battle.
5Final Fantasy XI
As the series’ first MMO, it goes without saying that a lot changed for this game. It was online, which featured multiplayer. Battles were fought on the map and were sort of auto-fought. There was a Job system and the list goes on.
