The Final Fantasy series first became a mainstream hit with the release of Final Fantasy VII.
The success of Final Fantasy VII happened at around the same time that the Internet was becoming more prominent in homes across the world, which meant that a massive online community of fans was created around the series.
Final Fantasy VII was a huge hit, but the previous games in the series were considered to be cult classics at best when they were first released.
The creation of emulation allowed many players to experience and appreciate these games for the first time. This helped to earn the older games in the series a new fanbase, to say nothing of the Final Fantasy titles which had never received an official English localization and were made available in English for the first time with the aid of fan-made patches.
The Final Fantasy series had an almost mythical quality to it in the old days of the Internet, with fans clamoring to learn more about the games that had just entered their lives.
The problem with this period is that it was the also the beginning of the era of Internet urban legends, which meant that a lot of false information and rumors were created about the games in the Final Fantasy series, many of which still persist to this day.
We are here today to shatter the myths and misconceptions that have built up around the Final Fantasy series over the years - from the original sequel movie that many fans had missed to the truth behind the not-so-final name of the series.
Here are the 20 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Final Fantasy!
Aerith & General Leo Don’t Have To Pass Away
The Internet was once brimming with false rumors of being able to revive Aerith in Final Fantasy VII, to the point where it may be the biggest urban legend of gaming of all time, with the possible exception of finding Mew in Pokémon Red & Blue.
Final Fantasy VI also had its fair share of revival rumors, as the demise of General Leo led to numerous fake methods on how to bring him back.
The methods for reviving Aerith and General Leo have been thoroughly debunked by this point, but there are ways to bring them back as playable characters… with the aid of glitches.
The Pop Fiction video series has detailed how to keep Aerith in your party before her demise, which requires swapping the Final Fantasy VII game disc with Saga Frontier, which lets you skip parts of the map.
Pop Fiction also explained how to add General Leo to your party with the aid of the “Airship Glitch” that allows you to acquire the airship at the start of the game.
Final Fantasy VIII Wasn’t The Dream Of A Fatally Wounded Squall
One of the most popular fan theories surrounding Final Fantasy VIII is the idea that Squall actually succumbed to the wound he suffered at Edea’s hands at the end of the first disc.
The rest of the game is said to be his last dream (or maybe, his final fantasy) as his life slips away.
The reason why this theory is so popular is that it explains a lot of the oddities that crop up in the story of Final Fantasy VIII after Squall’s injury.
The theory would also explain the bizarre and creepy ending of the game.
It seems that Final Fantasy VIII was just a game with a weird story, as Yoshinori Kitase confirmed in an interview with Kotaku that Squall is indeed alive and that the wound that Edea inflicted upon him was not fatal.
The Knights Of The Round Did Not Defeat Jenova
In the history of the world of Final Fantasy VII, the extraterrestrial being known as Jenova almost wiped out the Cetra race. It was only due to the actions of a few brave Cetra that Jenova was sealed away and the world was spared from her wrath.
The most powerful summon materia that you can find in Final Fantasy VII contains the power of the Knights of the Round.
These are a group of knights that can destroy almost every enemy in the game in a single hit.
It was once theorized by the Final Fantasy fans that the Knights of the Round were the members of the Cetra who defeated Jenova in the past and that their presence still lingered on in the world, in case they were needed once more.
The link between the Cetra and the Knights of the Round was quashed by Yoshinori Kitase.
Kitase stated that the summons in the game lacked any kind of backstory.
Aerith & Zack Weren’t A Couple
Final Fantasy VII had a pretty shoddy English translation, which was filled with numerous errors and alterations that changed the original meaning of the text.
There is one aspect of Final Fantasy VII that fans were incorrect about for years, which was due to the poor translation of the dialogue within the game.
This information was discovered by Tim Rogers in his excellent Found In Translation series, where he compares the text of the English and Japanese versions of Final Fantasy VII.
In the English version of Final Fantasy VII, Aerith states that Zack was her first boyfriend. This is an incorrect statement, as she originally said that Zack was the first person she ever liked in a romantic way.
The English version of Final Fantasy VII suggested that Aerith and Zack were actually in a romantic relationship, while the truth is that their affections never had a chance to develop before Zack’s demise.
The Tidus & Yuna Laughing Scene Was Meant To Be Awkward
Final Fantasy X represented a huge technological shift for the series, as the power of the PlayStation 2 removed a lot of the barriers that were limiting the scope of the series up until that point, including allowing the use of voice acting.
The English dub of Final Fantasy X has had a mixed response, especially as the most infamous scene in the game involves Tidus and Yuna forcing a laugh in an awkward manner.
The terrible laughing moment has caused many fans to blame either the localizers of the script or the English voice actors of the game for the scene.
James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Tidus) has clarified in a video on his YouTube channel that the scene was meant to be awkward and it was the same in the original Japanese version of the game.
Final Fantasy X had a few ropey moments in its English dub, but the laughing scene wasn’t one of them.
Setzer Didn’t Join The Party Out Of Kindness
The original Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, and Final Fantasy VII all suffered from issues with their English translation.
This was due to a lack of time and resources, as localizing the games for the western market was never a huge priority for Squaresoft. The quality of the English localizations didn’t improve until Final Fantasy VIII.
The original English translation of Final Fantasy VI (known as Final Fantasy III in America) had an error that changed the motivation of one of the characters in the game.
Setzer was originally presented as joining the party against the Empire, even though he was earning money due to their presence, which made him seem more heroic than he actually was.
It turns out that the Empire was actually costing Setzer money and that his joining the party was influenced by self-interest rather than heroism.
Final Fantasy X-2 Wasn’t The First Sequel In The Series
The games in the Final Fantasy series were once meant to be totally disconnected from each other, save for shared elements and references to earlier titles.
It has often been said that Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to receive a sequel, with Final Fantasy X-2 showing the world of Spira without the shadow of Sin hanging over its people.
Yuna was finally free from her destiny as a summoner and could live any kind of life that she wanted.
Final Fantasy X-2 wasn’t actually the first sequel in the series - that title goes to Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystal, which was an OVA that acted as a sequel to Final Fantasy V.
Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystal is set two-hundred years after the events of Final Fantasy V.
The movie follows Linaly, who is one of the descendants of Bartz Klauser, as she has to protect the world from a new threat.
Dark Matter Doesn’t Have A Purpose
There is a tendency among RPG players to save all of their finite healing items for the moment when they are needed the most, which sometimes means that they are stockpiled for the final boss.
If it’s possible to steal an item from the final boss, then you may as well use it straight away, as there isn’t anything else you can use it on.
In Final Fantasy IV, it’s possible for Edge to steal some Dark Matter from Zeromus during the final battle in the game. Though it’s possible to use the Dark Matter, it has no effect in-game.
Fans had speculated for years that the Dark Matter had some kind of effect on Zeromus’ stats or made him more susceptible to damage, but these theories were incorrect.
The Dark Matter was finally given a use in the 3D remakes of Final Fantasy IV, as it allows you to access the battle against Proto-Babil.
The Famous “You Spoony Bard!” Line Wasn’t Covering Up An Expletive
The most infamous poorly translated line in the Final Fantasy series belongs to the one uttered by Tellah during his battle with Edward in Final Fantasy IV.
Tellah blames Edward for the demise of his daughter, which prompts him to yell the immortal insult “You spoony bard!” at poor Edward.
The term “spoony” is an archaic term for someone who is sentimental or foolish, so it’s presence in the game is unusual.
This led to fans spreading false rumors about how the “spoony bard” insult was used to cover up a swear word-filled rant against Edward and that the original dialogue was far ruder than what made it into the game.
The truth of the matter is that, while Tellah was incredibly angry in the original Japanese version of the game, he never went on some kind of South Park-style tirade against Edward.
Gogo Is Not Daryl
Gogo is one of the most enigmatic characters in Final Fantasy VI. The first time we saw Gogo was when he acted as a secret boss in Final Fantasy V who needed to be defeated in order to unlock the Mime job.
He would return as a playable character in Final Fantasy VI, where he possessed the ability to use the Mime command in battle.
This allowed him to copy the moves of another party member for free.
There have been numerous theories over who Gogo really is, with the most prominent one being that he is Daryl, who crashed her airship in a remote location.
This led many fans to believe that she may have lost her memories and taken on a new identity.
Yoshinori Kitase debunked this theory in an interview with Kotaku and stated that Gogo’s true identity had never been fleshed out.
The Empire Didn’t Hire A Lunatic (They Created One)
On the surface, it seems that Emperor Gestahl had some holes in his application process, as his closest advisors all turned out to be trouble.
Celes betrayed the Empire, while General Leo seemed as if he was close to defecting before his demise. The worst was Kefka, who pushed the Emperor off a floating island when the first opportunity presented itself.
You may think that Emperor Gestahl was being incompetent when he hired the wizard version of the Joker to be one of his associates, but there is actually an explanation as to why Kefka is part of the Empire’s army, even though it’s found in one easily missable conversation.
One of the citizens of Vector will tell you that Kefka was actually the prototype for the experiment that created Magitek Knights.
This was what caused him to snap, as the process hadn’t been perfected yet.
The Onion Knights Are Not Weak
The Final Fantasy games that allow you to switch jobs will often make you use a weaker one at the start of the game before several different choices are unlocked and you can start to shape your party in whatever way you see fit.
In Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the first job that was unlocked was the Onion Knight.
This was a pretty terrible job in every way and you were better off switching to the Warrior or Black Mage at the first opportunity.
Fans have written off the Onion Knight as the worst job in the game, but they are wrong. If an Onion Knight hits level ninety, then it has by far the best stat growth in the game.
It is also the only job that can use the Onion equipment, which is the best gear in the game.
Bahamut/Cid/Chocobos Have Not Appeared In Every Game In The Series
There are several recurring elements within the Final Fantasy series that seem to show up in every game.
Bahamut is an incredibly powerful dragon that often appears as one of the best summons in the game. There have also been occasions where Bahamut has been important to the story of a Final Fantasy title.
The Final Fantasy series is littered with characters named Cid who are often either engineering or scientific geniuses. Their knowledge often plays an important role in the story.
The Final Fantasy games will also often give the player the chance to ride on a chocobo, which is a race of cute horse-sized birds that have become the mascot of the series.
These three things have seemingly appeared in every Final Fantasy title, but that’s not entirely true.
Bahamut never appeared in Final Fantasy II, the first Cid did not debut until Final Fantasy II (though some of the remakes of the original Final Fantasy have tried to retcon a Cid in), and chocobos did not appear for the first time until Final Fantasy II.
Final Fantasy VIII & X Weren’t The First Games In The Series To Feature Voice Acting
The Final Fantasy series shifted from Nintendo consoles to the PlayStation in order to benefit from the added memory of a CD-ROM.
The extra space provided by the CD-ROM was still not enough to allow voice acting to be added into the series, especially as Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX used a lot of FMVs, which took up a ton of memory.
Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy game to use voice acting throughout the story, though some fans have argued that the song “Eyes On Me” in Final Fantasy VIII should count, as it is played during the game.
The truth of the matter is that Final Fantasy VII was the first game in the series to use voice acting, as you can hear a voice speaking over the intercom during the sequence where the Sister Ray is fired when it is stationed at Midgar.
Rinoa Is Not Ultimecia
Ultimecia might be one of the coolest looking Final Fantasy villains, but she is often criticized for her lack of character motivation. Ultimecia wants to become a god by compressing all of time and space, which is pretty much all we know about her.
One of the most prominent theories concerning Final Fantasy VIII is the idea that Rinoa is actually Ultimecia.
The power of the sorceress made Rinoa immortal and she lost her memories over time due to the Guardian Forces, turning her into the wicked Ultimecia.
The reason why Rinoa/Ultimecia wants control over time is that she wants to be reunited with Squall, though she has forgotten this reason due to losing her memory.
The Rinoa = Ultimecia theory adds a lot to the story of Final Fantasy VIII, but it was another idea that was debunked by Yoshinori Kitase during his interview with Kotaku.
Tseng Did Not Perish In The Temple Of The Ancients
The people who played Final Fantasy VII may be under the impression that Tseng of the Turks perished during the events of the game.
The last time you see Tseng in Final Fantasy VII is inside the Temple of the Ancients. Tseng was left wounded by Sephiroth and he gives Cloud the Keystone before passing out.
The fact that the Temple of the Ancients is destroyed shortly after led a lot of fans to believe that Tseng had been crushed. This was not helped by an incorrect translation of Elena’s dialogue later in the game where she accuses you of “doin’ in” Tseng.
Elena’s dialogue was meant to imply that Tseng was badly wounded but still alive. This screw up meant that a lot of players assumed that Tseng perished when the Temple of the Ancients collapsed.
Tseng did appear in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but his role in the story is very brief and it’s easy to miss him. His role was expanded upon in Advent Children Complete.
The “Little Money” Line Wasn’t Trying To Make A Point
The original version of Final Fantasy Tactics suffered from the same fate as the mainline series of games that appeared on the PlayStation, as it too had an awful translation that was borderline unreadable in parts.
There is one scene in particular that stands out in the minds of Final Fantasy Tactics fans and it involves a cutscene at the start of the game where the current political situation is being outlined.
At one point during this cutscene, the words “little money” appear in the dialogue.
These two words take over fifteen seconds to appear on the screen, leading some fans to believe that the emphasis on these words was meant to be some comment by the developer or the localization team.
It turns out that the reason for the slow typing speed of “little money” was due to an error in the code of the game.
Therefore it wasn’t meant to be emphasized on purpose.
Don Corneo Did Not Perish In Wutai
Don Corneo is the creepy gangster who appeared in the infamous section of Final Fantasy VII where Cloud has to dress like a woman in order to save Aerith.
He sends Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa plummeting down into the sewers and does not reappear until much later in the game.
Don Corneo is forced to flee Midgar and he takes up residence in Wutai. He is last seen plummeting from the giant statue of Da Chao after being shot with a silenced pistol.
Corneo never appears in the game again after this point, which led many fans to believe that he perished due to the fall.
It was later revealed that Don Corneo did survive the fall, though he lost the use of his legs.
He appeared in a Japan-exclusive novel, called Final Fantasy VII Lateral Biography Turks ~ The Kids Are Alright ~ where he has become a supplier of fuel to remnants of the Shinra Corporation.
Final Fantasy Tactics Did Not Include A Trans Character
Final Fantasy Tactics allows you to hire human units of either gender. These units can select almost any job in the game, with only the Bard and Dancer classes being tied to gender.
There is an unusual unit hidden within the Midlight’s Deep dungeon that has the sprite of a male Time Mage, except that it used the female scream when it is knocked out.
This unit is referred to as the “Dragqueen” by fans.
It’s possible to hire this unit, which has a female character sprite, but a male menu sprite.
This unit can equip all of the female-exclusive items and can even use the normally male-exclusive Bard job, though it’s still limited to the Dancer skill set.
The fans used to wonder if the inclusion of this unit was intentional or if it was the result of a glitch.
The fact that this unit doesn’t appear in the PlayStation Portable port of the game suggests that it was never meant to appear in the game.
The Series Wasn’t Called Final Fantasy Due To Squaresoft Running Out Of Money
The Final Fantasy name has become less accurate over time, as there is nothing final about the series.
The series has encompassed numerous different video games that have been released consistently and they don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
There has long been a misconception that the reason why the first game was called Final Fantasy was due to the fact that Squaresoft had almost run out of money and were putting all of their remaining resources into what was likely going to be their final game.
There is some truth to the idea that Squaresoft would have gone under if Final Fantasy had failed, but the real reason is that Hironobu Sakaguchi (the creator of the Final Fantasy series) had wanted to use a name that consisted of two words that started with the letter “F.”
Sakaguchi had originally wanted to use the name Fighting Fantasy, but that had already been taken by a series of gamebooks that originated in England, so he went with another cool sounding word instead.
Can you think of any other common misconceptions about the Final Fantasy series? Let us know in the comments!
