5 Iconic Elements That Make Final Fantasy More Than Just A Poster Child For Turn-Based Combat

Ah, the spiky-haired anime protagonist with a brooding background. Very much a staple of the Final Fantasy world, and none embody this ‘Final Fantasy protagonist’ look more than Cloud Strife.

Introduced in the original Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, Cloud and his post-apocalyptic world provided an entirely unique perspective on the classic RPG hero. Unlike the traditional roles, which were gung-ho and excitable or hellbent on bringing about change to effect their immediate world, Cloud brought attitude to his story and a sense of spiteful hopelessness that made people want to thrott-uh, I mean, unravel his story and his relationship with the people that did want to effect change.

Of course, Square Enix and the Final Fantasy franchise have rolled with this, not just the angular and well air-brushed look of their characters, but the engaging, and oftentimes unconventional, story progression which comes with the character’s attitude to their quest, their budding, yet reluctant relationships and the natural way in which they tend to change and grow throughout their narratives.

#2: Chocobos, Moogles, And Summons

In a truly genius move, Final Fantasy has included Moogles, Chocobos, and their take on summoned creatures into nearly every single one of their games, despite each of the Final Fantasy instalments being completely unrelated to the last. This consistency gives a genuine sense of belonging and identity to each game and gives the fans a little thrill of excited recognition each time they find one of these creatures along their travels.

The choice to include these creatures in each game shows off the ingenuity of the game writers in how they choose to utilise these pre-rendered elements and it offsets some of the seriousness that those brooding characters bring to the screen, lightening the tone and shifting the focus from something heavy to something comedic, which gives the games a wider feel overrall.

It is particularly cool to realise that even if you didn’t realise you were playing a Final Fantasy instalment at first, the minute a Moogle pops up with a save book or you’re able to barter a passage on a Chocobo, you know exactly what game you’re playing and all the other expectations, that patented turn-based combat and the exhilaration of knowing you’re in for a very well-written story, come flooding right back in. We’re reminded, in that instant, that Final Fantasy’s quality is un-kweh-stionable.

#3: The Crystals

Like the Chocobos, the Moogles, and the summons, crystals are a part of the lore of every Final Fantasy game, and this has given the fanbase something to go mad speculating over. The crystals represent a myriad of different things within the Final Fantasy franchise, including elemental powers, being pillars of existence, or being the artefacts to fuel life on certain worlds, or the power within the protagonists themselves.

With the creatures, it’s easy to accept their inclusion across the Final Fantasy board because they don’t carry the weight of heavy lore like the crystals do, and indeed, there are fan theories that suggest the crystals link up the Final Fantasy games in one big narrative universe that the game devs of Squeenix have yet to delve into. It’s another genius move to focus in on these crystal inclusions without giving any contextual information – to keep the fans invested and guessing what’s to be in store for the next game. Will they finally hint at the connection between the previous games? Or will they do something completely different yet again?

#4: Cid and The Airships

Cool travel mechanics and Final Fantasy are like peas and carrots; you really don’t see one without the other unless you want an incomplete meal. The director of the recently released Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 admitted to basing his travel mechanics around the pioneering of the Final Fantasy franchise and indeed, being able to see the glorious map for its colours, it’s level-design diversity and giving that element of freedom to choose a destination to the player is something that one can expect in every Final Fantasy instalment.

With each new airship, and just to bring it home that it’s definitely a Final Fantasy game you’re playing, you usually meet a mechanic that goes by the name of Cid. Of course, Cid isn’t always an air pilot mechanic, but he is usually involved with machines and, like all the other consistencies in the franchise, he differs greatly from game to game, sometimes by being brash and hot-headed, sometimes by being colder and more robust.

He’s even made an appearance in Final Fantasy Unlimited, much younger than usual and tasked with transporting Ai and Yu up to the palace to finally meet the Earl. He is a plot facilitator, a whirlwind of a character, and as much a beloved part of the series as the Chocobos and Moogles that tend to feature on die-hard Final Fantasy fan merchandise.

#5: Innovation and Flare

While the above elements make Final Fantasy unique and entertaining, it’s that expectation of quality pioneering that the fans keep coming back for, because at the end of the day, the stories of each Final Fantasy instalment aren’t related, so they have to stand on their own two feet to gain and keep the audience’s attention. To do that, the creators at Square Enix are always looking for ways to innovate, be that through taking a step back to work on a game on the original PlayStation 1 instead of moving to PlayStation 2, as with Final Fantasy IX, or shifting gameplay to a more open world experience with Final Fantasy XV.

The games have changed up the battle systems and shifted turn-based combat with a completely irreverent gesture to the concept of ‘don’t fix what’s not broken’. Sometimes, this has worked, like the marvellously entertaining real-time turn-based battles of Final Fantasy XII, and sometimes it’s been a bit more difficult. The sphere grid system of FFX made skill trees a lot easier to comprehend and see on that visual scale, but the accessibility of the game before that was totally lost in the process.

The best part about purchasing a Final Fantasy game is knowing that you’re about to embark on something totally new, an offering from game designers unafraid to push the bounds and forge new pathways in both storytelling and game development. It will be very interesting, following the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, to see where Square Enix will push their series next. Will they attempt to return to their roots with a more traditional turn-based system, or will they try to wow the gaming community with something entirely new yet again?

Not Just Turn-Based Gold

The moral of this story is that you can’t just become something great by being the king of turn-based gameplay. It takes something memorable, something that will stick with kids and adults alike through generations. It takes remembering Zidane Tribal for choosing to go back into the dying Iifa Tree to rescue his brother, or Lightning for the way her choices shaped the vengeful heart of a young boy on the cusp of manhood.

Final Fantasy is a mash of unforgettable tropes, bizarre yet delightfully cute animals, and Cids crawling out of the woodwork to provide access to airships in the nick of time. The strength of the turn-based combat system, always different with each instalment in the franchise, is just the icing on a very iconic cake.