Summary
Despite having the genre in its name, theFinal Fantasyseries has seen fit to deviate from realms of wizards, high-walled kingdoms, and battleaxes by steering into theneon-drenched world of science fiction. Magic and myth still permeate through these technology-steeped stories, even when the setting of the world bourgeons with diesel engines and pseudo-computers.
However, science-fictionFinal Fantasygames don’t only bring industrial innovations forward for flavor, but provide their own takes on the speculative-tech genre, whether it’s the tension between innovation and the natural world, technology and the limits of the human experience, and the hidden costs of progress at the hands of the machines' masters. The followingFinal Fantasygames are ranked for their potency as science fiction, both in aesthetics and themes.
After pursuing grandiose worlds, both in high fantasy and high technology,Final Fantasy 15feels refreshingly grounded. Rather than thrusting players into an incomprehensibly different world, Eos might instead be seen as a mirror of the modern age, with a liberal flourish of sci-fi trimmings.
Eos includes magitek soldiers, airships, and even flying cars. However, these elements are always secondary to the intimate immersion of thecoming-of-age journeyand the relationships that blossom forth from it. There are, of course, some big, sci-fi setpieces throughoutFF15,but Eos is a setting distinctly born out of the familiar and accented with sci-fi staples.
The idea of a post-apocalyptic fantasy world may be difficult to fathom, as such realms already feel in some way backward, fallen, or primitive when compared to the modern world. That’s why the opening ofFinal Fantasy 10takes place in Zanarkand, an overtly futuristic city, and stars a protagonist who would not feel out of place in the real world. He may, however, be unimpressed by this world’s lack of water-shaping technologies.
Tidus' perspective allows the player to share the experience of seeing a world of science and tech-driven comfort torn down in favor of meager sustenance in the ever-present shadow of destruction. During his journey through Spira, Tidus encounters many old relics, ruins, and vehicles that are eventually reclaimed and turned against Sin. However, lessons abouttechnology’s threat against all of humanityare central to the narrative, as each ruin serves as a reminder that its fall took place during the height of progress, and its collapse resulted from civilizational hubris.
The series' first foray into a tech-inspired world was somewhat timid compared to later entries.Final Fantasy 6’s World of Balance appropriately seems to be undergoing a magical-industrial revolution. Its landscape is transformed by steaming-and-aether-powered machines, which have the potential to tip the natural order into chaos.
TheFinal Fantasy serieshas always flirted with technology in some way (the originalFFfamously featured a spaceship in its final act), and while it does not delve as deeply into technology’s impact as later entries, itschaotic evil antagonist, Kefka, is stated to have been driven mad by techno-magical experiments that prime him towards having a disordered disposition and a lust for power.
TheFinal Fantasy 13trilogy has its fans and detractors, but its sci-fi credentials, and contribution to the genre, at least in terms of visuals, are undeniable. Themes of lies, manipulation, slavery (humans and beasts), artificial intelligence, and system-driven inequality are directly tied to its plot and, with a charitable interpretation, even its linear level design.
Whileits (largely nightmarish) worldand lore are largely considered opaque and difficult to parse, those willing to delve into its logs will find an immersive sci-fi setting that complements its stellar visuals well. Later games in the trilogy double down and explore other science fiction tropes, such as time travel and parallel dimensions.
Despite being known as being the “romance"Final Fantasy,Final Fantasy 8hardly shies away from putting sci-fi front and center, even if its love story would work just as well in a fantasy world. However, its contribution proves that science fiction need not feel sterile or inhumane. Thanks topainstakingly beautifully pre-rendered backgrounds,Final Fantasy 8immerses players in a world more richly detailed and expansive than anything seen in gaming before, and even in most games today.
Unlike its two predecessors, which both sought to capture another shade of the sci-fi genre,Final Fantasy 8creates an optimistic (if sometimes war-troubled) world that oozes ornate mindfulness and brilliant color in its designs. Every aspect of the world, from architecture to vehicles and fashion, is consistently presented as clean, sleek, and modestly futuristic and seems to be made with the comfort of people in mind, even despite the threat of constant war and sorcerous tyranny.
The game with a science fiction setting that comes to mind for just about every fan ofFinal Fantasyis, of course,Final Fantasy 7. It is hard to find a setting as iconic as Midgar, which is featured throughout its first act. The sprawling dystopian metropolis, powered by Shinra’s Mako reactors, strikingly captures the cyberpunk vibe with its towering industrial zones, neon-lit slums, and a society divided by wealth and power.
There are plenty of other science-fiction staples plastered throughout, including biotechnology experiments like Sephiroth and Jenova, the Sister Ray cannon, and giant cyborg monsters created as the planet’s protectors; the WEAPONs. Not only is there an exquisite level of science fiction world-building, but the setting feeds into the story itself. Much of the plot in Final Fantasy 7 revolves around the power imbalancebetween corporations and the have-notsand the ecocide that results from their insatiable desire for profit.
