The Final Fantasy franchise is one of the most popular and influential game and media franchises to ever exist, created and developed by Square Enix over thirty years ago. The science fiction and fantasy franchise centers on role-playing video games but over the years it has branched out into anime, CGI films, and mangas. Their style, visuals, and music have influenced the gaming industry throughout the decades and there is no doubt of Final Fantasy’s innovation in the world of RPGs.
However, no franchise, not even one as important as Final Fantasy, is ever without its flaws. With over fifteen video games with individual stories and characters, the franchise has created its fair share of non-exciting plot twists, over-hyped characters, and side quests that no one asked for. Characters sometimes appear out of nowhere, certain fates could be avoided, and the characters’ spikey hairstyles never ever move. How is that possible?
We’re not looking to dismiss the Final Fantasy games, but for every incredible story line they create, there is a plot twist or character arc that leave fans feeling uninspired. They can ignore it all they want for the sake of their love for the franchise, but we are persnickety.
It still makes no sense that princes hitch rides instead of having a variety of vehicles at their disposal. Why do some characters survive catastrophic explosions but others are injured from an earthquake? And why does no one perish from falling from extreme heights?
Here are 20 Things Wrong With Final Fantasy Everyone Chooses To Ignore.
Can’t skip the intro of summons
Final Fantasy’s visuals are incredible. Seeing the animation of an Aeon summon for the first time is very cool. Seeing it for a second time is still great. Seeing the exact same, lengthy intro for the hundreth time is not so much fun.
For some reason, there is no way to skip the Aeon intros in the Final Fantasy games.
You are obligated to see the same animations over and over again with no way of getting rid of them.
There is an option to shorten the sequences once the player has seen the complete intro for the first time. However, there is no way to completely eliminate them and the player is still obligated to see the full enemy Aeon animations without the option to shorten them.
Fusoya and Golbez appear on the Red Moon for no reason FF4
The story line of Final Fantasy IV is based on the Blue Planet, where humans live in the surface and a race of Dwarves live underground. There is a third race of Lunarians who live in an artificial moon that orbits the Blue Planet.
After spending several missions in search of the Lunar Whale, the player is able to travel between the Blue Planet and the Red Moon. When the party returns to the Red Moon at the end of the game, Fusoya and Golbez just happen to be there battling Zemus.
The problem is Fusoya and Golbez never boarded the airship to get to the Red Moon. How did they magically appear there? The game never explains how they managed to make it to the moon while everyone else needed to go by airship.
Everyone copies Aerith’s sacrifice
Final Fantasy VII is praised for the bold decision to end one of the main characters at the hand of the villain. Aerith Gainsborough is introduced as a flower seller when she meets the hero, Cloud Strife. Her role in the story is very important as she is one of the last surviving Cetra and her prayer can summon the only power that can stop the destructive magic.
The only problem is that this wasn’t the first and only time Square Enix made bold decisions about the main members of a party.
In Final Fantasy II, Minju sacrifices himself in order for the party to gain access to Ultima. In Final Fantasy IV, Tellah suffers a similarly sad fate after casting Meteor.
While Aerith’s fate was shocking, it wasn’t a new tactic in the Final Fantasy franchise.
Why is the Final Fantasy VII remake taking so long?
For years and years, fans have pleaded for a modern remake of the 1997 critically acclaimed Final Fantasy VII. The narrative, technology and visuals combined in a new way that gamers had never seen before. It would only be right to update the twenty-year-old game to the visual standards of modern games.
However, Square Enix has met such requests with excuses, ambiguity and no release date in the horizon. The rumors started all the way back at the 2005 E3 convention when they released a video featuring the introduction sequence of FF VII recreated to the graphic capabilities of a PlayStation 3.
Ten years later, at the 2015 E3 convention, the remake was announced for PlayStation 4, but it’s been three years and there is still no footage or release date announced.
The villain reveal in Final Fantasy IX
A villain could make or break a movie, TV show, and a video game. In Final Fantasy IX, the bait-and-switch villain definitely didn’t do the game any favors.
The game plays up the main villain Kuja, a mystic wizard, as the guy to defeat for the majority of the game’s story line. The powerful wizard, who rides a silver dragon, wishes to rule Gaia by collecting the power of the eidolons. Seems like a worthy adversary, right?
Once the party defeats Kuja, a new villain named Necron appears from out of nowhere claiming to be the ultimate bad guy of the story.
The game gives this new character no history or context and the whole twist ends up feeling like a cheap trick with no silver lining.
Weiss isn’t as cool as he seems
Weiss is one of the coolest looking characters in the Final Fantasy franchise. As a member of the Tsviets and the secondary antagonist in Final Fantasy VII, Weiss commands respect and fear from the Deepground soldiers who follow him.
It’s always a disappointment when the creators undermine what appears to be a complex villain in order to serve some manufactured twist that ends up hurting the story. But that is exactly what they did.
It is later revealed that Weiss is being manipulated like a puppet by Professor Hojo. This reveal that doesn’t add anything to the story. All it does is make a once-fearsome villain look like a henchman with no real agenda of his own.
Tidus comes back to life
There is no doubt that Tidus, being the main character of Final Fantasy X, would be a beloved character by fans. It seems his story was so impressive that Square Enix decided to bring him back to life for Final Fantasy X-2.
In Final Fantasy X-2 they rewrite stories by having Yuna wish Tidus back into existence. Tidus then awakens at the bottom of the ocean before making his way to the surface. Then the characters get a strange happy moment as they all reunite.
While bringing cespecially beloved character back to life is not something new to video games, sometimes it’s best to leave it well alone and not mess up previous storylines.
This resurrection completely undermines Tidus’s sacrifice in Final Fantasy X and the moments that used to feel emotional and important are now turned into artificially manufactured scenes.
Princess Garnet is not that strong
Princess Garnet is a major character in Final Fantasy IX as she is the heir to the kingdom of Alexandria. Disguising herself as Dagger while traveling with Zidane, Princess Garnet toughens up and learns how to defend herself outside of the castle walls. Her resolve is to protect her kingdom and she will use her powers as a summoner in order to do so.
However, Dagger is not really as strong as we are lead to believe since there is another character who is much stronger and has the same set of skills. Eiko Carol, also known as Little Girl, is a better selection than Dagger since she has a better selection of White Mage spells.
Even though Dagger can summon Bahamut and Ark, two of the best eidolons, players can’t use them until much later in the game.
Malak and Rafa are overrated
The pair of siblings appear to be a big deal in Final Fantasy Tactics. Due to Rafa’s Sky Mantra and Malak’s Nether Mantra, the Grand Duke Gerrith Barrington covets their powers and will do almost anything to obtain their powers for his own purposes.
The characters also come with a complex story of manipulation and violence from the Duke as he made them believe he saved them from the destruction of their village when in fact, he was the one responsible for it.
The problem is in regard with the siblings’ powers of Heaven Knight and Hell Knight.
As cool as it may sound, their unique attacks are not very targeted. In fact, they work quite at random. While their attacks may be powerful, they don’t always land where they are supposed to. It can get pretty embarrassing.
The victory dances are unnecessary
It is safe to say the majority of the Final Fantasy characters are part summoners, part cheerleaders. Characters celebrate every single victory and they do so with the art of dance.
It is fine and dandy to celebrate one’s achievements but must it happen every time? And must it happen prematurely? Plenty of players have lost lives in their games due to a victory dance that happened all too soon.
While they are some characters known for their victory dances, it is quite common that party members celebrate too much, too often, even if the battles are small. Much like a summoning sequence, they tend to go on a little bit too long.
What even is blitzball?
In a time and place where life, as the characters know it, might come to an end, you’d think they’d abandon all luxuries and leisure in order to do anything possible to survive and defeat the enemy. In Final Fantasy, they were like “nah, let’s play blitzball instead!”
Blitzball is easily one of the most hated mini games in Final Fantasy.
In Final Fantasy X, it is explained that blitzball is a type of diversion for people so they can take a moment away from the troubles surrounding them.
That is understandable, but what even is blitzball? Why is it in other games, like Final Fantasy X-2? Why is the team’s name Goers?
There is nothing final about Final Fantasy
The biggest irony about Final Fantasy is that it doesn’t seem to end. Why use the word “final” in a franchise that has over fifteen games? Maybe the creator Hironobu Skaguchi never saw it becoming a major game phenomenon.
The truth is, at the time when Square was creating Final Fantasy, the company was at the brink of bankruptcy and perhaps the name had a sentimental value regarding that time. Maybe it was their last shot before calling it quits. Thankfully, the game took off after its publication in 1987, becoming a major success in the gaming industry.
After that, the sequels and the side games continued but by then, it was too late to change the game’s name. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that they are at Final Fantasy XV at the moment and there is still nothing final about it.
The crazy hairstyles never move
The hairstyles in Final Fantasy do not abide by the laws of gravity. The hairs stick out in all directions but never seem to move, not even after a vicious attack or an explosion.
It has become a recurrent design in anime characters; the spiked artificially colored hairs that distinguish characters from one another.
In earlier games, it was easier to accept the hairstyles perfect maintenance, given that the graphics weren’t as detailed to show perfect moving hair.
However, fast forward to 2018 and its latest game, Final Fantasy XV, has the most realistic looking characters to date. The main character, Noctis, has gray straight hair that sticks out in the back and long bangs that cover his eyes. It sways lusciously but it never ever loses its shape, even after rolling in the desert or escaping and exploding city.
The King sends the Prince to enemy territory
Final Fantasy XV focuses on the world of Eos, which is divided into four nations. In order to bring peace, King Regis agrees to marry off his son, Noctis, with the princess of Altissia, Lunafreya. The marriage will hopefully end the war and bring the two nations together.
The King sends off his son behind enemy lines with his three buddies and a car and says “Well, good luck son!” (We’re paraphrasing.)
Even though Noctis is essentially having a bachelor party road trip, surely he should require more protection than his three friends and a convertible.
The nations are still enemies, right? Anyone could decide to capture the prince. Maybe it’s all a cheap trick to capture the prince! But no one thinks anything of it.
The King’s Tombs are all over the place
After King Regis is assassinated at the beginning of Final Fantasy XV, Prince Noctis has the task of retrieving the Royal Arms, also known as the magical weapons of past Lucian Kings. Noctis can then rescue the Crystal and reclaim his throne.
However, the kings’ tombs are all scattered and even considered lost. How is that possible? King Regis had access to these weapons when he was alive and must have kept a record or a map of their locations.
It is also strange that the tombs of the past Lucian Kings are in different locations, even in different continents, as opposed to having them all in the same area like usual royal families would. It’s almost as if the game needed the tombs to be far away so each mission was longer and more adventurous.
Gladiolus becomes a jerk for no reason
After a major turning point in Final Fantasy XV, the main character, Noctis, is low in spirits and rightfully so. His father, the King, was taken down, his fiancée met a similar fate, and the nation of Altissia is in danger. He has the right to feel down and hopeless.
However, one of his best friends, Gladiolus, decides to snap at him and screams he needs to get over and quickly. He follows it up with a generic speech about responsibility and duty.
Can Noctis have a minute to cry, feel sad, and overall distraught? He has lost everything he cared about and has no Plan B in mind. He is allowed to be a human being for a second and have emotions.
The Phantom War
Final Fantasy: Spirits Within is riddled with many errors but one that particularly stands out is the similarity of the alien races featured in Aki’s dreams.
Earth is infested with an alien like form called Phantoms. Just by contact, the Phantoms consume the spirit of living beings, which is the biggest threat to humanity. Aki continues to have beautiful but confusing dreams throughout the movie which slowly reveal the true identity of these Phantoms. The dream shows the Phantoms are the spirits of perished aliens who were brought to Earth from their destroyed planets.
In a sequence, these alien races are shown battling each other but each side looks exactly alike. Even though they are aliens, surely their races would look somewhat different? Is Final Fantasy suggesting all aliens look alike?
The crowd cheers for Edea
Not everyone can get away with performing a fatal attack in front of a crowd that consequently will clap and cheer, but apparently Edea can.
In Final Fantasy VIII, Edea pretends to be on the side of President Deling. Once she becomes an ambassador she eliminates him in front of an audience.
Even though she basically committed treason in front of hundreds of witnesses, the crowd cheers for Edea.
The game doesn’t explain how Edea can get away with it. The only way to know how she did it is by reading Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, where it is explained that Edea cast a spell on the audience. While this could be a solid explanation, it is never explained in the game.
Surviving falls
For some reason, in the Final Fantasy games, falling from great heights is not really a big deal. Players can fall from very high up and only hit 1 HP from the fall.
It is very rare for a player to perish from a fall, unless they have any form of aggro.
Maybe this is just a way to minimize damage in the missions but even the story lines fail the laws of gravity. In Final Fantasy XV, Noctis is separated from his group of friends and is forced to use the Ring of the Lucii to survive Zegnautus Keep. During this sequence, while fighting Daemons, Noctis falls several stories high from a metal bridge. After falling to the ground, Noctis gets up with barely a scratch on him.
Cid and Yang survive catastrophic explosions
It seems certain characters can survive earthquakes, explosions and other powerful blasts just because the creators make it so. Cid and Yang from Final Fantasy IV are two of those characters.
Cid Pollendina is a master engineer who designed the airships from the Red Wings and Yang Fang Leiden is the head of the monks of Fabul. Both characters join Cecil’s mission to uncover the corruption from their kingdom and save the world from monsters.
Midway into the story, their ship is attacked by Leviathan. Somehow Cid and Yang survive catastrophic explosions as they fall into sea and once they are found, they are practically unharmed very healthy.
This makes no sense considering Cecil and Rydia are knocked unconscious by an earthquake. Other characters also suffer worse injuries from less fatal attacks than what Cid and Yang encountered.
What else other problems with Final Fantasy get overlooked? Let us know in the comments!
