SPOILER alert! If you plan on playing any of the past Final Fantasies and don’t want any plot details ruined, now would be a good time to click the back button. For those still with me, I’m gearing up just like everyone for the eminent release of Final Fantasy XIII and in doing so, I figured we’d take a stroll down memory lane, with me as your loyal tour guide. We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, but together, we’ll make it through this. Now, without further ado, I present, in no specific order, the 5 most memorable moments from any Final Fantasy.
1. Cecil’s Transformation (Final Fantasy IV)
After serving a corrupt king and committing countless atrocities, dark knight and main protagonist of FF IV Cecil had had enough. This led players on an epic quest of retribution and eventual transformation from dark knight to paladin in perhaps one of the most unique battle of any Final Fantasy – against yourself. The catch of course was you couldn’t win the battle by attacking but rather by guarding, the true way of a paladin – defending the innocent. Genius.
2. The Opera Scene (Final Fantasy VI)
This next moment, goes down as one of the most unique in all of Final Fantasy. I mean come on, what other game lets you participate in an opera? Granted you’re merely choosing what to say (sorry, no karaoke here) but it was fresh and original for the aging super nintendo console and will be remembered as a truly unique FF moment.
3. Aeris’ Death (Final Fantasy VII)
You knew it was going to show up on the list. Perhaps one of the most memorable moment of any Final Fantasy EVER, the fateful death of Aeris Gainsborough at the hands of bad boy with a god complex Sephiroth was a revelation that floored fans everywhere. Soon after, message boards across the net were ablaze with theories on how to revive Aeris, one popular claim was with the use of a gameshark. Eventually though, we all just had to accept death was a natural part of life and move on.
4. FF VIII’s Opening Cutscence (Final Fantasy VIII)
Let’s face it, Final Fantasy VIII had a tough act to follow. And while it didn’t live up QUITE to its predecessor, it still advanced the series in many ways. Besides a shift to more realistically rendered characters, 8 helped pioneer jaw-dropping opening cutscenes (something 10 and 12 would go on to top). Aside from the action packed sword fight between Squall and Seifer, the opening of 8 had an epic score that’s still one of Final Fantasy’s finest. Domo arigato Mr. Uematsu.
5. The Ending (Final Fantasy X)
I admit it. I cried at the ending of Final Fantasy X. Brand me a pussy if you want but I challenge a gamer to invest 40+ hours into these characters and NOT shed at least one tear to arguably the best and most poetic of all Final Fantasy endings. Sure the main protagonist Tidus was whiny and looked like a lot like a male Meg Ryan but those qualms aside, I was sad to see him fade away to nothingness. Throw in the love story between him and Yuna and their bitter goodbye was double kleenex time.
That does it for this meager stroll down memory lane. Hopefully the newest installment, XIII, has its share of memorable moments that will rival these ones. Only time will tell but with the March 9th release date rapidly approaching, we shouldn’t have to wait too long to find out.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Props on giving FFVIII some much deserved love. I think I’m the only person in the world who liked Squall more than Cloud. I don’t care what anybody says, he was awesome. He has a blade which is also a gun! It just doesn’t get any cooler than that.
I loved every Final Fantasy game except X-2, which screwed up the story of X completely.
Also, the implication that being a “pussy” is a bad thing is pretty offensive to cats. Especially pussy cats.
What’s the difference between any old cat and a pussy cat exactly?
I would put FFIX’s Bahamut vs. Alexander battle somewhere on this list, but that’s just me.
Oh, Lord, You are about to incite a Fanboy Riot!
FFVIII’s opening was fantastic I will agree. The ending of X was depressing as hell.
I don’t care what anyone says, X-2 was silly fun.
It was silly all right. I liked the battle system but I felt the game was designed for teenage girls overall. Way too much giggling for me.
I’m with you Micah, I didn’t care for X-2 in the least bit and am content with FFX’s sad but heartfelt ending. And to Jonathan, I’m so glad someone mentioned Bahamut vs. Alexander! I really wanted to put that battle in there, 9′s one of my favorite of the series. We’ll just say it’s #6.
The Battle system is why I played through that game twice. There also may have not been much else out at the time. Desperate Times etc…
IX is the best Final Fantasy game ever. Kabosh. Followed by XII.
I loved Final Fantasy IX. Although it doesn’t seem to get the love it deserves.
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