60) Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022)

Final Fantasy, as one of gaming's longest running franchises, is certainly no stranger to spin-off titles. Generally, these either become new series themselves, such as with the Mana, Bravely Default, and Octopath games, or serve as the odd direct sequel to a mainline game. The few times that the series has experimented by branching out into other genres is typically met rather tepidly. So, imagine my absolute surprise when Square, in collaboration with Team Ninja, announced a new title that would serve as a prequel to the original Final Fantasy while playing more like a Soulslike than a traditional RPG.

We play as Jack, a man absolutely consumed with the need to destroy Chaos. We begin with our companions, Ash and Jed, with the three of us being hailed as the foretold Heroes of Light, owing to the fact that we carry black crystals. While some are skeptical since the prophecy mentions there should be four warriors of light, the King of Cornelia reluctantly sends us to the Shrine of Chaos. There, we meet up with a woman named Neon, also bearing a dark crystal, who joins us as our fourth Warrior of Light.

Up until this point, while obviously being different, the plot shares plenty of similarities with the original Final Fantasy, such as names, locations, and certain plot beats. Our party, though having names and personalities, seemingly have no memories, and assume that they are the Warriors of Light due to bearing crystals. Though likely unintentional, I like that the names of our first four party members are only three to four characters long, as four was the character limit for names in the original game. Though Jack himself speaks gruffly and certainly doesn't act like your typical stoic protagonist, the world nonetheless responds to him as though he must be a destined hero. Hell, the game throws in plenty of homages and parallels to the original game, as if it needs to prove to the player that it is a Final Fantasy game.

Of course, the story quickly deviates from the expected plot, introducing a fifth party member and shoving the sci-fi elements that appear at the end of the original near the beginning. We're even introduced to Astos, a minor villain from the original who is our ally, seeming to know a lot more about us than he's willing to tell. We then go through the process of restoring the four crystals of the elements, facing off against the familiar fiends along the way. Without going into too much more detail, the plot is about as convoluted as you might expect, and the twist that the developers were very open about when the game was announced is heavily foreshadowed.

Where the game truly shines is in how it plays. As I said, this is less an RPG and more of a Soulslike, with emphasis on combat, learning enemy attack patterns, and finding a fighting style that suits the player. There are a lot of options in combat, owing largely to the inclusion of a job system. With a whopping 35 jobs, the majority of which the player must unlock by spending points in other jobs first, there are a ton of tools to play with. It was a lot of fun to play around and experiment with, finding the jobs that fit my playstyle. I generally stuck with close combat melee classes, though you can have two jobs active at a time, switching between them with a single button press.

As a Soulslike, the game features rest areas that save your progress and allow you to respawn upon death. However, death has almost no penalty, as you don't drop or lose anything other than time if you die. Without the fear of losing resources, combined with having two NPC allies at all times, Stranger of Paradise is surprisingly lenient and forgiving. In addition, unlike other Soulslike games that feature a hub area that you revisit as you branch out into what can feel like an open world, the game instead focuses on individual, wholly independent maps that only change depending on the mission you choose to play. All of this combines to make a game that seems hard, but is ultimately pretty easy.

One of my favorite aspects of the game is Jack himself. Being very gruff and speaking bluntly, I found myself laughing multiple times at how over the top and edgey they try to make him. While he is very aggressive and brutal, he's not against telling someone to shut the hell up, which is appreciated. Hell, the game opens and closes with Jack listening to Sinatra's "My Way", which I think sets the absolute perfect tone.

Despite how ludicrous the story and dialogue were, and how easy the game is for its genre, I had a ton of fun with it. Combat always felt good and satisfying with plenty of options, and without the ever present fear of losing progress with death, I felt more inclined to experiment. The environments are varied with some interesting puzzles, though they can get a bit repetitive. The fact that the lead writer considers it to be a canonical prequel to the original game, which the time travel shenanigans fully permit, is both hilarious and oddly fitting. It serves that role well, and is a surprisingly accessible entry point into an otherwise daunting genre.