Final Fantasymay not have begun with trying to push the boundaries of video games forward, but it certainly evolved to hit those goals. It all seemingly started withFinal Fantasy 7which was the first entry on the PS1. The graphics blew everyone away and since then Square Enix has tried to make a spectacle with the sequels.
As great as new, compelling graphics are, sometimes they don’t stand the test of time without a good art style. For example,The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Wakerholds up natively on the GameCube way more thanThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princessthanks to the cel-shading. Let’s dive into theFinal Fantasyseries and pick the best ones that still hold up thanks to weird art designs and rank them based on style.
7Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy 15
Shrinking Things Down For The Prequel
Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy 15was a free-to-play demo that was released before the final game arrived. Even though it has “demo” in the title it is a standalone prequel starringNoctis as a young child. With the help of Carbuncle, a childhood Summon friend, Noctis can go into dreams and run through a fantastical version of his home. The graphics are on par with the main game but the developers were able to play around with the set pieces more making it stand out aesthetically. It’s like the Alice in Wonderland stage in the firstKingdom Heartsgame which makes sense since Noctis has a similar move set to Sora in this prequel. It’s imaginative but a shame that a full spinoff wasn’t produced after this given the other spinoffs that were made based onFinal Fantasy 15instead.
Final Fantasy 10was unlike any game in the series at that point for the PS2 and there has never been a game that matched it aesthetically since. The world of Spira is mostly made of water, like our Earth, except that it’s mostly formed of islands. This gives the various nations in this world a very tropical feeling.
It’s one of those games that’s fun to play in the summer thanks to this tropical setting and the emphasis on water with a lot of gameplay bitslike the mini-game Blitzball. While it may look a bit dated graphically even with the remaster now,Final Fantasy 10still holds up thanks to the overall art design of Spira.
There were two bigremakesfor Final Fantasyon the DS including the third entry andFinal Fantasy 4.Final Fantasy 4is the better of the two games overall as its world was more realized. This is the game on the SNES that pushed storytelling forward with lots of main characters and various nations and organizations working against each other. This remake exaggerates characters a bit, even the villains, which makes them all have a Chibi aesthetic. While it’s not the most realistic remake the series ever got, it’s at least the prettiest from a cute point of view which helps it resonate more in the grander hierarchy.
There are a lot of great-looking pixel art games in theFinal Fantasyseries, especially from the SNES era, but among them all a special shoutout needs to be given toFinal Fantasy Tactics Advance. The Game Boy Advance really has a great graphical system to make everything pop more with color which is why the sprites look so good here. It’s the best representation of thegolden era of Ivaliceas there are tons of races and characters all over the place. It makes sense why everything perhaps has a more imaginative art style as this technically takes place within a childhood book which makesFinalFantasy Tactics Advancean isekai story.
World of Final Fantasyis a celebration of the franchise and also has that anime-Chibi aesthetic going on in the design choices. Lann and Reynn are siblings who get sucked into a world that combines all of theFinal Fantasygames together or at least the ones released at this point. Together, they will have to help characters in their various lands to solve problems likeCloud fromFinal Fantasy 7. The gameplay is likePokemonin that the siblings can collect monsters and use them in battle by stacking them on their heads. It’s a weird game which is why it’s so much fun to experience as long as fans know they are jumping into a silly and not serious adventure with surprises hiding everywhere.
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Talesis probably a spinoff most don’t remember playing on the DS or one that they probably haven’t even heard of. It’s a collection of mini-games all presented in a HUB world looselytied into a Chocobotrying to get their home in order.
This core HUB area looks on par with other DS games of the era but the mini-games are whereFinal Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Talesshines. The art styles vary but because there is a storybook tinge to everything, mini-games often look like they are drawn with crayons. Too bad more Final Fantasy games don’t have this art style overall.
Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Lightwas the first attempt to reboot theFinal Fantasyseries to be more old-school. While it didn’t quite hit that cultural zeitgeist, it later inspiredBravely Defaultto get created under the Square Enix umbrella. Those games look great but they are missing the abstract and simplistic imagery ofFinal Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light. Going through dungeons or towns can often make players think they are traversing a spherical world. No building looks right as if someone hand-crafted the whole universe themselves using basic materials. Like other entries, it does present a childhood-like wonder to the world everything which is strange considering it is brutally difficult and not intended for younger players whatsoever. This contrast is another reason why the game is so mesmerizing.
