Magicite

In Square Enix's (formerly Square Co., Ltd.) Final Fantasy series of RPGs, summon magic is one of the principal types of magical attack. A summoning spell brings a powerful monster onto the field of battle, who will typically perform a major attack on every opponent. Particularly in later games in the series, summon spells have served as a showcase for Square's technical prowess, and are generally accompanied by an extended non-interactive graphical sequence. Summoning spells are generally performed by characters known as Summoners. Incipient Summon magic is easily identified by the appearance and dispersion of green orbs containing orange flames or runes.

Summon magic in the Final Fantasy series

RPGs Summoning magic first appeared in Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo Family Computer. There were three character classes capable of casting summon spells, and the effect of the summon varied depending on which class cast the spell. In other words, each summoned monster had two distinct attacks. The first type, which was only initialized when cast by a Conjurer, generally served to heal the player's party, or to inflict minor status conditions on the enemy. The second type of attack, which was initialized when the summon was cast by either a Summoner or a Sage, generally invoked powerful attack magic against every enemy on the screen. Like all other magic in the game, summon spells could be purchased at various magic stores in towns across the world map. Summon magic took on more central importance to the plot of Final Fantasy IV, where one of the main characters, Rydia, was the last surviving child of Mist, an isolated mountain village inhabited solely by summoners. Later on, after being separated from Cecil Harvey, the protagonist of the game, for some time, Rydia discovers a vast underground kingdom of summoned monsters, presided over by King Leviathan. In terms of gameplay, summon magic was extremely powerful, and, unlike typical black magic spells in the game, was comparatively quick to cast. Most summon spells were learned as Rydia gained new experience levels, although a handful of "secret" summons, such as Goblin and Bomb, could only be learned from items dropped by specific monsters. One such secret summon, Cockatrice, was removed from the North American release of the game (which was retitled Final Fantasy II). Final Fantasy V once again saw the return of summoning magic. One of the character classes available through the game's "Job" was that of Summoner, and many now-familiar summoning spells make a return appearance. Although other types of magic were purchased in magic stores, much like in Final Fantasy III, summons could only be learned through a series of optional battles or story sequences at various points throughout the game. The summon magic system takes on a very different form in Final Fantasy VI, and summoned monsters (called Espers in the North American localization) play a major role in the storyline. Espers are described as humans that were transformed in the magical crossfire between the three Statues during the long War of the Magi. Afterwards, Espers created their own world and sealed the gate between it and the human world tightly. This did not, however, prevent power-hungry humans such as the Emperor Gestahl from attempting to harness the magical abilities of the Espers. Opening the gateway to their dimension, Gestahl plans to reduce all of the Espers therein to "Magicite," the distilled essences of deceased Espers. Several of his top generals, including Kefka Palazzo and Celes Chère, have been recipients of magical infusions drawn from Espers, and the Empire's great war machines, Magitek armor, are powered by unwilling Espers. One of the main characters, of the game, Terra Branford, is the daughter of an Esper and a human woman, and later in the game has the option to "morph" into an Esper-like form during battle. Pieces of Magicite allow Espers to summoned, much like summons in previous installments in the series. Every player character in the game is capable of equipping Magicite, although only one can be equipped at a time, and each Esper could be summoned only once per battle. Magicite is also the way in which traditional magic spells are "learned" by player characters. Terra Branford Summons are incorporated into the Final Fantasy VIIs materia system, and operate much like summons in previous games in the series. As the first game in the series to enjoy a fully 3D battle environment, however, summoning sequences have been greatly expanded, leading some critics of the game to argue that they were, in fact, too long, and distracted from the gameplay itself. Like in some previous installments, there were a handful of secret summons which could only be obtained through a complicated subquest. The most famous of these summons was Knights of the Round, the most powerful Summon in the game, which could only be learned by raising a Gold Chocobo and riding it around the game world. Final Fantasy VIII introduced Guardian Forces, or GFs, a substantial retooling of the summoning system, and a major component of the game's plotline. Balamb Garden, the elite battle academy with which most of the game's main characters are affiliated, is devoted to the training of SeeDs, or special mercenaries trained in the usage of GFs in battle. It is later explained that the magical powers of GFs are dangerous to the human psyche, and that regular usage of such powers results in random selective amnesia. In terms of gameplay, GFs are given their own set of battle statistics and abilities, which affects the power of their attacks. Additionally, they play a central role in the junctioning system, which is one of the primary ways of improving the statistics of player characters. Deliberately reminiscent of earlier games in the series, Final Fantasy IX was similar to Final Fantasy IV in that only two player characters were capable of casting summon spells: Dagger (a.k.a. Princess Garnet) and Eiko Carol. Summons, here called Eidolons, are powerful extra-dimensional beings that can be called upon by summoners. Specific Eidolon summons are learned through equipping specific pieces of equipment, which slowly teach either Dagger or Eiko the ability to cast a specific summon spell. Because of the importance of summoning to the game's story, Final Fantasy IX also saw the first appearance of summoned creatures in pre-rendered CGI sequences. Yuna, the female lead of Final Fantasy X, was one of a long line of summoners, whose duty it was to invoke the power of Aeons to defeat Sin, a monstrous entity who would periodically return to devastate the surface of the planet Spira. Once again, summon magic plays a pivotal role in the plot of the game, but, unlike previous games in the series, they act somewhat differently in battle. Rather than appearing briefly to perform one attack, Aeons replace all three members of your battle party, and it remains in battle in their place until either recalled or defeated. Also of note is that one of the final battles in the game involves fighting every one of the Aeons the player has gathered throughout the course of the game. Note: In the sequel to Final Fantasy X, titled Final Fantasy X-2, these Aeons make a reappearance as enemies in each temple after the weapon Vegnagun begins to disrupt the Farplane. Final Fantasy X-2 In the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, summon magic appears once again, as the primary utility of the Summoner class. Summoned monsters, here called Avatars, are obtained through two methods: magical scrolls, which are notoriously difficult to obtain and allow the Summoner to call forth elemental spirits (e.g. Air Spirit, Dark Spirit, etc.); and by defeating the Avatar in either solo or group combat. Once obtained, the Avatar can be summoned at will, provided the Summoner can pay the Avatar's perpetuation cost (given in MP per second). The Avatar exists as a non-playable character indirectly controlled through player commands, including "Blood Pact" abilities which enable the Avatar to use special skills. Despite the tradition of summon magic being primarily offensive, Summoners in FFXI are just as sought after for those Blood Pact skills which confer positive status effects on party members as for their damage output. In Final Fantasy Tactics, the Summoner job is reintroduced. In this game, the whole list of summon spells (minus one) is visible from the start, but the characters can only use those they have unlocked by spending the Job Points they gathered in battle. The innovative part is that unlike the other Final Fantasy games, there is no level or plot requirement: any summon (but one) can be unlocked anytime, provided the character has enough Job Points. The summon spells work almost like the other kinds of magic (with a cost in magic points and a casting time) but they only target enemies OR allies, even if there are both enemies AND allies in their area of effect. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance also features the Summoner as a Viera-only job. Like its predecessor, any summon can be obtained at any time given an adequate number of Job Points. In addition, each of the game's five races are able to call their own being known as a Totema after specific plot points.
Common summoned creatures
Viera Some of the most frequently appearing summoned monsters include:
- Ifrit is a demon-like monster whose attack ("Hellfire") damages all enemies with fire-based magic. He has appeared in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. He is to appear in Final Fantasy XII as well. The North American version of Final Fantasy IV (a.k.a. Final Fantasy II) referred to him as Jinn. There is a resemblence between him and Efreet of the Tales of Symphonia game also, where he could be summoned after defeating him in battle.
- Shiva is a humanoid female whose attack ("Diamond Dust") damages all enemies with ice-based magic. She has appeared in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
- Ramuh is an elderly humanoid male whose attack ("Judgment Bolt") damages all enemies with lightning-based magic. Although the Lightning element is as much a Final Fantasy staple as fire or ice magic, Ramuh himself appears less often than Ifrit or Shiva, sometimes being replaced by a different spirit of lightning. However, he does have a much larger impact on gameplay in some of the games he appears in. He, in the form of a human, first informs the players of the Espers and magicite in Final Fantasy VI. He is also the first summon Princess Garnet receives in Final Fantasy IX, after he tells a short story.Ŀ He has appeared in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The North American version of Final Fantasy IV (a.k.a. Final Fantasy II) referred to him as Indra. In Final Fantasy VIII he is replaced by the Guardian Force Quetzalcoatl; in Final Fantasy X he is replaced by the Aeon Ixion.
- Leviathan is a sea serpent whose attack ("Tsunami") damages all enemies with water-based magic. In Final Fantasy VI and the anime series Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Leviathan is replaced by the whale Bismarck. He has appeared in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. He also appears as a non-playable character in Final Fantasy II.
- Titan is a humanoid male whose attack ("Anger of the Earth") damages all enemies with earth-based magic. He has appeared in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy Tactics. In Final Fantasy VI he is replaced by the Esper Terrato and in Final Fantasy VIII he is replaced by the Guardian Force Brothers.
- Odin is a humanoid male (usually dressed similarly to an armored samurai on horseback) whose attack (varyingly "Atom Edge," or "Zantetsuken") usually attempts to kill all enemies instantly by cleaving them in two, and on some appearances is replaced by non-elemental damage to uncleavable enemies ("Gungnir"). He has appeared in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy Tactics. In Final Fantasy VIII, he appears as a non-controllable Guardian Force; he may pre-emptively strike the enemies at the beginning of a battle. In Final Fantasy X, the mercenary Aeon Yojimbo possesses similar attacks.
- Bahamut is a dragon whose attack ("Megaflare") does massive non-elemental damage to all enemies. While at first the most powerful of his kind and especially hard to acquire, in later games he's typically the penultimate summon while the strongest one require specific side-quests to acquire. He has appeared (as a summoned creature) in Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. He appears as a non-player character in Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy X-2 & Final Fantasy XI, and as a racer in the spin-off racing game Chocobo Racing. In Final Fantasy VII, in addition to his regular form, Bahamut appears in two more powerful forms, Neo Bahamut and Bahamut Zero.
- Golem is a vaguely humanoid being composed entirely of rock. When summoned, Golem will intercept all physical attacks directed at the party, taking damage in their stead until his hit points are depleted. Golem does not block magic or special attacks, however. He has appeared in Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, and Final Fantasy Tactics.
- Carbuncle is a tiny green-skinned animal with a gemstone on its forehead. When summoned, Carbuncle will perform "Ruby Light" which casts the "Reflect" white magic spell on all friendly combatants. While active, any magic, either hostile or friendly, targeted at affected characters will be redirected to an enemy. Carbuncle has appeared in Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. In Final Fantasy XI, it plays a role as one of the game's legendary Avatars, alongside Phoenix, Diablos, and Bahamut. In Final Fantasy IX The colour of the gemstone and the action performed by Carbuncle can be modified by equipping different gems. The alternatives are Diamond Light (Casts Vanish), Emerald Light (Casts Haste) and Pearl (moonstone) Light (Casts Shell).
- Alexander is a huge humanoid machine whose attack ("Holy Judgment") damages all enemies with holy magic. He has appeared in Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy VIII. He also appears in Final Fantasy IX during a cutscene, but his summoning magic can never be used during battle in that game.
- Fenrir is portrayed as a wolf with varying colors of fur. He has made an appearance in Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IX, appearing as a non-summon in Final Fantasy X, and finally appearing in Final Fantasy XI. In IX he sets himself apart as being Eiko Carol's first summon. He normally would call forth an earth attack, but when Eiko equips Maiden's Prayer his attack becomes wind based. In XI he is the hardest to obtain summon (although not necessarily the best) and represents the element dark.
- Phoenix is a giant bird of fire whose ability ("Phoenix Flame") revives all dead party members and in some games inflicts fire damage on all enemies as well. In Final Fantasy VI, Locke is searching for the Phoenix magicite in the World of Ruin in order to revive his departed love Rachel. In Final Fantasy VIII, Phoenix can be summoned by using a Phoenix Pinion, and may appear randomly at Game Overs to restore your entire party. In Final Fantasy IX, after having Eiko learn the Phoenix summon, there is a chance of Phoenix coming at Game Overs to revive your entire party in a percentage equal to the number of Phoenix Pinions in your stock divided by 255. Phoenix also appears in Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
Notes

- Leviathan first appeared as a monster in Final Fantasy II that swallows the main party. They must travel from its bowels to its mouth to get out.
- Bahamut and Leviathan appear as summon dragons in Squaresoft's Bahamut Lagoon. There's also an Alexander in the game, but it shares little but the name with the one in the Final Fantasy series and uses a dark-based attack. Bahamut and Leviathan's attacks are fire and water elementals respectively, deviating from Bahamut's non-elemental attacks in the Final Fantasy titles.
- Several summon creatures including Ifrit, Odin, Phoenix, Shiva, and Titan appear in the anime series Final Fantasy: Unlimited.
- In the CGI film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, another form of Bahamut known as Bahamut SIN is summoned by the character Kadaj.
- Fenrir (sometimes spelled Fenir) is the name of Cloud's jet-black bike in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The colour of the bike may also refer to the dark nature of Fenrir in Final Fantasy XI.
See also

- Summoner (character class)
- Final Fantasy magic
External links

- [http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/summon.shtml Final Fantasy Compendium's full list of summons] Category:Final Fantasy magic Summon magic

Square Co., Ltd.
Square Co., Ltd. was a Japanese company founded in 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi. Square's first games were released for the Nintendo Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) and the Famicom Disk System. Their early games were not very successful, and by 1987 the company was faced with the possibility of bankruptcy. That same year, Square employee Hironobu Sakaguchi was charged with the creation of a game that might well prove to be the company's last. The result was Final Fantasy, a computer role-playing game for the Famicom. The term Final was picked because he was planning on retiring from the gaming industry and that Final Fantasy was going to be his last game. Final Fantasy did much better than Sakaguchi and Square had hoped, and led to a North American distribution deal with Nintendo of America, who released to market Final Fantasy in the United States in 1990. Due to its success, Hironobu Sakaguchi's plans for retirement ended and he stayed at SquareSoft to develop new Final Fantasy games. It may also be possible that the reason every new Final Fantasy game has a new story, with new characters is because the original Final Fantasy game was created with the belief that a sequel would never be created. Final Fantasy was followed by a sequel in 1988, marketed exclusively in Japan until Final Fantasy Origins. North American localization was originally planned for the Famicom version of the sequel, but given the age of the game at that point, and the imminent arrival of Nintendo's Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System), it was abandoned in favor of the Super Famicom Final Fantasy IV. Square has also made other widely known games such as Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, Brave Fencer Musashi, Vagrant Story, and Kingdom Hearts (done in collaboration with Disney Interactive). Square was merged into Enix, another Japanese video game producer, in 2002 so as to curb development costs and become more competitive as a result of Square's major financial loss with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. In April of 2003, the merger was completed, forming the new company, Square Enix.
Subsidiaries and related corporations
The Disk Original Group (DOG) was a union formed of no less than seven Japanese video game companies: Square Co., Ltd., MicroCabin, Thinking Rabbit Co., Ltd., Carry Lab, System Sacom, Xtal Soft, and HummingBird Soft. Founded July 14, 1986, Square took the lead of this promising alliance to produce games on the Famicom Disk System. Because Square headed DOG, all DOG titles were published under the name Square. In reality, however, Square only produced a few of the eleven games published under the DOG label. In general, the games were commercial failures, leading to Square's brush with bankruptcy and the creation of Final Fantasy. Squaresoft is a brand name used by Square between 1992 and 2003. As such, the name is often used (incorrectly) to refer to the entire organization, but its corporate name remained Square Co., Ltd. until the Enix merger. Square Soft, Inc. was established as the official North American subsidiary of Square in March 1989. It was responsible for both the production and distribution of North American localizations of Square titles during the 16-bit era, and continued to produce English language localizations of Square games in the 32-bit era. It has also been responsible for localizing a number of non-Square titles, including Capcom's Breath of Fire for the SNES and Sony's Wild ARMs 3 for the PlayStation 2. It developed the game Secret of Evermore for the SNES. It is currently known as Square Enix, Inc. Square Soft's original headquarters were in Redmond, WA, but it was relocated to Los Angeles, CA in 1997, where it remains to this day. Square L.A., Inc. was established in August 1995. It was subsequently renamed Square USA, Inc.. It operates as a high-end computer-generated imagery research and development studio, and has been integral in the production of graphics for Square-produced games since the beginning of the 32-bit era. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, CA. Square Electronic Arts, L.L.C. was a joint venture between Square and Electronic Arts (EA) established in May 1998 to distribute Square-produced game titles in North America. Its counterpart was Electronic Arts Square, K.K., in Japan, which was established to distribute EA games in Asia. Both companies were folded at the end of March 2003 as a result of the merger of Square and Enix. Square Europe, Ltd. was established in December 1998 to localize and market Square-developed games in Europe and Australia. DigiCube Co, Ltd. was established in February 1996. It was formed to market and distribute games and related merchandising (toys, books, music, etc.) in Asia. It declared bankruptcy in October 2003. Square Pictures, Inc. was established in November 1997 to develop and produce computer-generated imagery films based on Square properties. It was folded in 2003, following the box-office failure of its only feature-length production, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within however, it did survive just long enough to create the CGI short-film, Final Flight of the Osiris for The Matrix spin-off DVD, Animatrix. Quest was an independent software development studio established in July 1988, best known for the Ogre Battle series. Several team members, including Yasumi Matsuno, Hiroshi Minagawa and Akihiko Yoshida, left Quest in 1997 to join Square, where they worked on several titles for the Sony PlayStation, including Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story. In June 2002, Quest was purchased by Square. Square Visual Works Co., Ltd. (CG Studio), Square Sounds Co., Ltd. (Sound Studio), Squartz Co., Ltd. (Quality Assurance) and Square Next Co., Ltd. were all founded in June 1999. All were subsequently absorbed into Square Co., Ltd. in 2001 and 2002.
Softography
(Note: Dates are based on the original Japanese release dates.)
- NEC PC-8801
- 1984: The Death Trap
- 1985: Will
- 1986: Cruise Chaser Blassty, Alpha, King's Knight Special
- 1987: Genesis
- NEC PC-9801
- 1984: The Death Trap
- 1985: Will
- 1986: Cruise Chaser Blassty, Alpha
- Fujitsu FM-7
- 1984: The Death Trap
- 1985: Will
- 1986: Alpha
- Sharp X1
- 1985: Will
- 1986: Cruise Chaser Blassty, Alpha, King's Knight Special
- MSX 1
- 1985: Dragon Slayer
- 1987: Aliens
- MSX 2+
- 1989: Final Fantasy
- Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System
- 1986: King's Knight
- 1987: The 3-D Battles of World Runner, Rad Racer, JJ Tobidase Daisakusen Part II, Final Fantasy
- 1988: Deep Dungeon III, Hanjuku Hero, Final Fantasy II
- 1989: Square's Tom Sawyer
- 1990: Final Fantasy III (Japan only), Rad Racer II
- 1994: Final Fantasy I-II
- Famicom Disk System
- 1986: Crystal Dragon, Deep Dungeon
- 1987: The 3-D Battles of World Runner, Apple Town Story, Hao's Mystery Adventure, Deep Dungeon II, Jikai Shounen Met Mag, Cleopatra no Mahou, Sword of Kalin
- 1988: Aku Senki Raijin, Moon Ball Magic
- Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis
- 1991: Bahamut Bahant Senki (Japan only)
- Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- 1991: Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy II in North America), Final Fantasy IV Easy Type, Romancing SaGa
- 1992: Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (Final Fantasy USA in Japan and Mystic Quest Legend in Europe), Hanjuku Hero: Aah Sekai yo Hanjuku Nare
- 1993: Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan), Romancing SaGa 2, Alcahest
- 1994: Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III in North America), Breath of Fire, Live A Live
- 1995: Chrono Trigger, Front Mission (Japan only), Secret of Evermore, Seiken Densetsu 3 (Japan only), Romancing SaGa 3
- 1996: Bahamut Lagoon (Japan only), Front Mission: Gun Hazard (Japan only), Radical Dreamers (Japan only), Rudora no Hihou, Super Mario RPG, Treasure Hunter G,
- Satellaview (Super Famicom satellite system add-on - Japan only)
- 1996: Koi ha baransu (Japan only), Dynamitracer (Japan only), Treasure Conflix (Japan only), Radical Dreamers (Japan only)
- Sony PlayStation
- 1996: Tobal No. 1
- 1997: Pro-Logic Mahjong Pai-Shin, Bushido Blade, Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon (Japan only), Einhander, Digical League, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII International, Power Stakes Grade 1, Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission Second (Japan only), Front Mission: Alternative (Japan only), SaGa Frontier, Tobal 2 (Japan only)
- 1998: Super Live Stadium, Brave Fencer Musashi, Bushido Blade 2, Ehrgeiz, Final Fantasy V, Hai-Shin 2, Parasite Eve, Power Stakes 2, Soukaigi, Saga Frontier, Soukaigi, Another Mind, Xenogears, Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon 2
- 1999: Chocobo Collection (Japan only), Chocobo Racing, Chocobo Stallion, Dice de Chocobo (Japan only), Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Cyber-Org (Japan only), Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy Collection (Japan only), Final Fantasy Collection Anniversary Package, Front Mission 3, IS: Internal Section (Japan only), Legend of Mana, Parasite Eve 2, Racing Lagoon (Japan only), SaGa Frontier II, Threads of Fate (Dewprism in Japan)
- 2000: Final Fantasy IX, Vagrant Story, Brave Fencer Musashi (Square Millenium Collection), Final Fantasy Tactics (Square Millenium Collection), SaGa Frontier (Square Millenium Collection), SaGa Frontier 2 (Square Millenium Collection), Front Mission (Square Millenium Collection), Legend of Mana (Square Millenium Collection), Ehrgeiz (Square Millenium Collection), Parasite Eve 2 (Square Millenium Collection), Xenogears(Square Millenium Collection) Fei Edition, Xenogears (Square Millenium Collection) Elly Edition, Chrono Cross (Square Millenium Collection)
- 2001: Final Fantasy Chronicles, Final Fantasy Tactics (PSone Books), Final Fantasy VII International (PSone Books), Xenogears (PSone Books), Chocobo Racing (PSone Books), Front Mission (PSone Books), Ehrgeiz (PSone Books), Chrono Trigger (PSone Books)
- 2002: Final Fantasy Origins, Vagrant Story (PSone Books), Threads of Fate (PSone Books), Legend of Mana (PSone Books), Chrono Cross (PSone Books), Racing Lagoon (PSone Books), Parasite Eve 2 (PSone Books), SaGa Frontier (PSone Books), SaGa Frontier 2 (PSone Books), Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy I & II Premium Package,
- Bandai WonderSwan (Japan only)
- 1999: Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon
- 2000: Hataraku Chocobo
- Bandai WonderSwan Color (Japan only)
- 2000: Final Fantasy
- 2001: Final Fantasy II, Romancing SaGa, Wild Card, Blue Wing Blitz
- 2002: Final Fantasy IV, Makaitoushi SaGa, Front Mission, Hanjuku Hero
- Sony PlayStation 2
- 2000: Driving Emotion Type-S, All Star Pro-Wrestling (Japan only), Gekikuukan Pro Baseball (Japan only), The Bouncer
- 2001: All Star Pro-Wrestling II (Japan only), Final Fantasy X
- 2002: Final Fantasy X International, Final Fantasy XI (Japanese version only), Kingdom Hearts, Neichibeikan Professional Baseball Final League (Japan only), World Fantasista (Japan only), Final Fantasy Anthology European Edition (Europe only), Final Fantasy XI 2002 Special Box Art, Unlimited SaGa (Japanese version only), Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Limited Platinum Version, Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix-,
- 2003: Final Fantasy X-2 (Japanese version only), Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart Expansion (Japanese Version only), Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (Japanese version only)
- Nintendo Game Boy
- 1989: Makaitoushi SaGa (Final Fantasy Legend in North America)
- 1991: Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure in North America), SaGa II (Final Fantasy Legend II in North America)
- 1992: SaGa III (Final Fantasy Legend III in North America)
- 1998: Makaitoushi SaGa (Final Fantasy Legend in North America), SaGa II (Final Fantasy Legend II in North America), SaGa III (Final Fantasy Legend III in North America), Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure in North America) (all of these re-releases were published in North America by Sunsoft, and omitted any printed material beyond the instruction manuals, though the box and manuals differed only in the publisher logo.)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- 2002: Chocobo Land (Japan only)
- 2003: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
- IBM PC compatible (Microsoft Windows)
- 1998: Final Fantasy VII
- 1999: Final Fantasy VIII
- 2002: Final Fantasy XI (Japanese Version only)
- 2003: Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart (Japanese Version only)
References

- [http://www.square-enix.com/jp/company/e/history/ Square Enix Company Timeline]. Accessed on May 12, 2005.
- "[http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/362/362710p1.html Square Completes Acquisition of Quest]." [http://gameboy.ign.com/ IGN Game Boy]. June 19, 2002. Accessed on January 18, 2005.
External links

- [http://square-enix.com Square Enix's Homepage]
- [http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_square/index.html The History of Square]
- Category:Defunct computer and video game companies ja:スクウェア (ゲーム会社)

Final Fantasy
:This article is about the Final Fantasy series as a whole. For the Toronto-based musical project Final Fantasy, see Owen Pallett. Owen Pallett Owen Pallett Final Fantasy (Japanese: ファイナルファンタジー Fainaru Fantajii) is a popular series of role playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co., Ltd.). It may be the most widely distributed game series of all time, including both standard console games and portable games, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, games for mobile phones, three anime series, and two full length CGI films. The first installment of the series premiered in Japan in 1987, and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localized for markets in North America, Europe and Australia, on several modern video game consoles, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, the MSX 2, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the PlayStation, the WonderSwan Color, the PlayStation 2, IBM PC compatible, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and several different models of mobile phones. Future installments have been announced to appear on the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Revolution, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game systems. It is Square Enix's most successful franchise, having sold over 60 million units worldwide to date. As of late 2005, eleven games have been released as part of the main (numbered) series, as well as many other spinoffs and related titles.
Overview
Square Co., Ltd. first entered the Japanese video game industry in the mid 1980s, developing a variety of simple RPGs for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System (FDS), a disk-based peripheral for the Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System). By 1987, declining interest in the FDS had placed Square on the verge of bankruptcy. At approximately the same time, Square designer Hironobu Sakaguchi began work on an ambitious new fantasy role playing game for the cartridge-based Famicom, inspired in part by Enix's popular Dragon Quest (known in the United States as Dragon Warrior). Sakaguchi had plans to retire after the completion of the project so he named it Final Fantasy because it was his final game, although it was also going to be Square's final game. In fact, it's commonly believed that the game was named Final Fantasy because of Square and not Sakaguchi, although Sakaguchi himself has confirmed it was named because of his plans for retirement. Either way, Final Fantasy turned out to be far from being Square's or Sakaguchi's last game. Final Fantasy reversed Square's lagging fortunes, and became their flagship franchise. Following the success of the first game, Square quickly began work on a sequel. Unlike a typical sequel, Final Fantasy II featured entirely different characters, with a setting and story bearing only thematic similarities to its predecessor. This unusual approach to sequels has continued throughout the series, with each major Final Fantasy game introducing a new world, and a new system of gameplay. Many elements and themes would recur throughout the series, but there would be no direct sequels until the release of Final Fantasy X-2, in 2003 (after the merger with Enix however, real game sequels have become increasingly prevalent). In a way, the Final Fantasy series has been a creative showcase for Square's developers, and many elements originally introduced in the series have made their way into Square's other titles, most notably two of its other major franchises, SaGa and Seiken Densetsu.
Common themes
Seiken Densetsu shown).]] Though each Final Fantasy story is independent, many themes and elements of gameplay recur throughout the series. From the strong influence of history, literature, religion and mythology on the story to the frequent reappearance of certain monsters and items, these shared elements provide a unifying framework to the series. Some key objects and concepts that have appeared in more than one Final Fantasy game include:
- Airships — Powerful airborne vessels which usually serve as a primary mode of transportation for the player, enabling fast movement nearly anywhere in the overworld without the risk of random encounters. In many games, most notably Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX, the presence of airships is a key component to the story itself. In most of the titles, airships generally had the appearance of flying sailing ships with a series of propellors instead of sails. However, in some of the later games they look more technological, appearing to be zeppelins or even ornate space ships.
- Character classes and the Job system — Playable character classes have included the Fighter; White, Black, Red, and Blue Mages; Monk; and Thief. Even in games where the player is not given the choice of choosing class alignment, these classes often play an important background role in the story. Additionally, several installments in the series (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy Tactics) have utilized a "Job" system wherein the player is able to switch character classes in between battles. In Final Fantasy X-2, the "Dressphere" system actually allowed a player to switch a character's job during the middle of a fight. In addition to this, certain recurring "Legendary Weapons" may be granted to certain classes, such as the sword Masamune for the Ninja, or the Black Mage's Ultima spell.
- Magical styles (see also Final Fantasy magic) — Magic in the Final Fantasy series is generally divided into different schools, which are usually named after a specific color. White magic and Black magic represent healing/support and attack magic, respectively, while Red magic incorporates elements of both healing and attack magic, at reduced effectiveness. Later additions have included Blue magic (sometimes referred to as Lore or Enemy skill), which incorporates specific special attacks learned from monsters, and Time/Space magic, which includes status affecting spells such as Haste and gravity spells such as Demi. The most recent magic set is called Green Magic, first appearing as Songs in Final Fantasy X-2, then as a fully separate magic type in demos of Final Fantasy XII. Green Magic introduces skills which were previously classified as Black or White magic, such as Darkness and Petrification.
- Status ailments and cures: Characters in Final Fantasy games are usually subject to a number of standard "status ailments" which cause deleterious effects, including silence, poison, petrification and confusion. While these are present in many console RPGs, Final Fantasy also has a standard list of items which may be used to cure specific ailments (for example, the "Echo Screen" cures silence, and "Soft" cures petrification), as well as magical spells, such as Esuna or Panacea.
- Creatures/monsters — Fictional creatures such as Chocobos and Moogles have appeared in most games in the series. Certain monsters also reappear frequently, including Goblins, Tonberrys and Cactuars. Lastly, summoned monsters (also known as Espers, Guardian Forces, Eidolons, or Aeons) such as Bahamut, Shiva, Ifrit, Leviathan and Ramuh have appeared in almost every title in the series.
- Character names — A character named "Cid" has been present in every Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy II (with a simple mention in Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls). Although he is never the same individual, he is usually presented as an owner, creator, and/or pilot of airships. The motion picture Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within also featured a character named "Sid," presumably an alternate spelling of the more traditional "Cid." In a similar vein, characters named Biggs and Wedge (homages to the Star Wars characters Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles) have appeared in Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy X-2. Other repeated names include Gogo (Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI), Gilgamesh (Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy XI), Lonewolf the Pickpocket (Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI), and Sara (Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, and Final Fantasy IX).
- Plot elements — Many entries in the Final Fantasy series involve broadly similar plot points, such as rebellion against a major economic, political, or religious power, a struggle against an evil which threatens to overtake or destroy the world, or nature versus technology. One of the most famous of such recurring themes involves elemental crystals, which have appeared in over half of the titles of the series (Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy XI), as well as in several spin-off titles (Final Fantasy Mystic Quest and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles).
Design
:See also: List of Final Fantasy designers List of Final Fantasy designers for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX.]] Artistic design, including character and monster design work, was handled by renowned Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy VI. Following Amano's departure, he was replaced with Tetsuya Nomura, who continued to work with the series through Final Fantasy X, with the exception of Final Fantasy IX, where character design was handled by Shukou Murase, Toshiyuki Itahana and Shin Nagasawa. Akihiko Yoshida, who served as character designer for the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as the Square-produced Vagrant Story, has been announced as the designer of the upcoming Final Fantasy XII. In October 2003, Kazushige Nojima, the series' principle scenario writer, resigned from Square Enix to form his own company, Stellavista. He partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. Square Enix continues to outsource story and scenario work to Nojima and Stellavista.
Music
:Main article: Final Fantasy music Final Fantasy music, a hard rock band that has released two albums of arranged Final Fantasy music.]] Nobuo Uematsu was the chief music composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004. His music has played a large part in the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise abroad. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the American synchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to music from Final Fantasy VIII. Uematsu is also involved with the rock group The Black Mages, which has released two albums of arranged Final Fantasy tunes. Other composers who have contributed to the series include Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano. There have already been two successful runs of Final Fantasy concerts in Japan as of 2004. Final Fantasy soundtracks and sheet music are also increasingly popular amongst non-Japanese Final Fantasy fans and have even been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. On November 17, 2003, Square Enix U.S.A. launched an America Online radio station dedicated to music from the Final Fantasy series, initially carrying complete tracks from Final Fantasy XI in addition to samplings from Final Fantasy VII through Final Fantasy X. Many video game and MIDI world wide web sites offer renditions of Final Fantasy musical pieces. Due to overwhelming demand, and the overwhelming success of the first Final Fantasy concert performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 10, 2004, the Dear Friends: Music From Final Fantasy concert tour was established, starting February 2005. Music from Final Fantasy was first performed outside of Japan as a part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Germany. The Final Fantasy soundtracks have also joined the catalogue of the iTunes Music Store. While the music in the games offers wide variety, there are some frequently reused themes. The games often open with a piece called Prelude, which is actually based on one of Bach's preludes. It is a simple arpeggio theme in the early games, with further melodies added in later games. The battle sequences that end in victory for the player in the first ten installments of the series would be accompanied by a victory fanfare that used the same nine-note sequence to begin the fanfare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of music relating to the Final Fantasy series. Other memorable tunes include the Chocobo's theme, the Moogle's theme, and a piece originally called "Ahead On Our Way" in Final Fantasy I, which was in fact the opening theme and which is now usually played during the ending credits of the game and called "Prologue".
Graphics and technology

The 8-bit and 16-bit generations
16-bit during a battle.]] Final Fantasy began on the Nintendo Family Computer (also known as the "Famicom," and known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) as Final Fantasy in 1987, and was joined by two sequels, Final Fantasy II (re-released on the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance worldwide) and Final Fantasy III (only released in Japan). On the main world screen, small sprite representations of the leading party member were displayed because of graphical limitations, while in battle screens, more detailed, full versions of all characters would appear in a side view perspective. The same basic system was used in the next three games, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI, for the Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). These games utilized updated graphics and effects, as well as higher quality music and sound than in previous games, but were otherwise similar to their predecessors in basic design. The text of the Japanese versions of early Final Fantasy games was comprised purely of kana. Much of the dialogue was simply clumps of text, making it especially hard for older gamers and foreigners learning Japanese. Finally, in Final Fantasy V, the games began to use kanji. This would continue to get more advanced in Final Fantasy VI, and the trend would continue to make the games much more erudite.
CD/DVD-based generations
DVD.]] 1997 saw the release of Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation and not Nintendo 64 as many had originally anticipated. The characters and entire game world were now 3-dimensional, with fully pre-rendered backgrounds. Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to use full motion video sequences, part of the reason why the game spanned a full three CD-ROMs. However, Final Fantasy VIIs FMVs often lacked consistency, with characters appearing tiny and very indistinct in one scene, and extremely detailed in the next. Released shortly after Final Fantasy VII, the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, once again utilized sprites for the characters. As the only real user-interaction outside of battle was menu-driven, the developers saw no need for fully 3D-rendered overhead graphics. Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. The full motion video sequences utilized a display technique wherein video would play in the background while the polygon characters would be composited on top. Final Fantasy IX returned briefly to the more stylized design of earlier games in the series, but maintained most of the graphical techniques utilized in the previous two games in the series. Final Fantasy X was released on the PlayStation 2, and made use of the much more powerful hardware to render certain cutscenes in real-time, rather than displayed in pre-rendered video. Also, rather than having 3D models moving about in pre-rendered backgrounds, the game featured full 3D environments, giving it a much more dynamic look. Final Fantasy X-2 utilized the same game engine as Final Fantasy X, and was aesthetically not much different. In 2006, the PC/PS2 title Final Fantasy XI is to be ported to the Xbox 360, which utilizes dual-layer DVD-ROM technology. Final Fantasy XII is scheduled to be released on March 16th 2006 in Japan for the PlayStation 2. Final Fantasy XII will utilize only half as many polygons as Final Fantasy X in exchange for more advanced textures and lighting. This will also allow the game to use a free rotating camera. Although no footage of a Blu-ray Disc (BD-ROM) generation Final Fantasy game has been released yet, a technical demo of Final Fantasy VII was revealed at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo to showcase what the next title in the series will look like on Sony's PlayStation 3.
Gameplay

Game screens
The games typically have several types of screens, or modes of interaction, broadly categorized as:
- Field screens — These are where the main interaction between the characters occurs, and indeed most of the exploration of the world occurs on these screens. Dialog mostly occurs on these screens. Final Fantasy VII marked the point that Final Fantasy would have realistic computer graphics, while Dragon Warrior stayed with anime style cel-shaded graphics. Prior to Final Fantasy VII, they were pseudo-orthographic, using a simple 2D engine. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy IX used pre-rendered and pre-painted backgrounds over which 3D models were overlaid. Final Fantasy X used a completely 3D field screen system, which allowed the camera angle to change as the characters moved about.
- Battle screens — Battles occur on a separate type of screen (or arena), usually with a change of scale and a backdrop "arena" that usually generically represents where the battle is occurring in the game. (For example, a random battle in a desert gets a desert backdrop.) Plot-relevant battles (as opposed to battling random monsters) may have a specially built battle screen/arena, however. In Final Fantasy VII and later, these screens are fully 3D, using higher resolution versions of the characters, but very restricted in size. Final Fantasy XII will do away with "scene-battles": battle sequences will occur on the main field screen.
- World screen — A low-scale screen used to symbolize traveling great distances in times that would otherwise slow the game down unacceptably plot-wise. These are usually not scaled, as a character may appear the size of a small mountain. Relatively little plot occurs here, but there are exceptions. The world screen was eliminated in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2.
- Cutscenes — These scenes are non-interactive playback that usually advances the plot. They can either be pre-rendered video (FMV), or they can be executed in with the same engine as the field screens. In some cases, pre-rendered video was overlaid with real-time rendered field screen graphics (full motion video-3D).
- Menu Screen — This screen is used for navigating your party's status, equipment, magic, etc. This screen is usually a very simple blue-table layout, with a gloved hand to select one's options. In some games, the option to change the color or texture of the tables is given. The games often feature various minigames with their own graphical engines.
Battle system
minigame during a battle.]] Final Fantasy borrowed many gameplay elements from its primary rival, the Dragon Quest franchise. As such, Final Fantasy uses a menu-driven, turn-based battle system. Most games in the series utilize an experience level system for character advancement (although Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy X did not), and a point-based system for casting magical spells (though Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy VIII all featured different approaches). Most games in the series (from Final Fantasy III and on) feature a variety of "special commands," over and beyond the traditional "Attack," "Defend," "Cast Magic," "Item," and "Run" battle commands, such as the ability to steal items from enemies, or performing a leap attack. Often these special attacks are integrated into the "job system," which has appeared in several games in the series and spinoffs (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy X-2). Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy III all featured a traditional turn-based battle system. The player would input all battle commands at the beginning of each combat round, which would then be carried out based on the speed rating of each character. Starting with Final Fantasy IV, and continuing until Final Fantasy IX (and revived in Final Fantasy X-2), the "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system was used. The ATB system was semi-real time, and assigned every creature in combat a time gauge. When a specific character's time gauge was filled, the character could act, which would then reset the timer. Generally each of these games included both "active" and "wait" modes: when "wait" mode was chosen, then all activity relating to the time gauge would pause whenever the player was using a submenu to choose a magic spell, item, or special attack. Final Fantasy X abandoned the ATB system in favor of the "Conditional Turn-based Battle" (CTB) system. In the CTB system, every creature in battle would be ranked according to speed. As this ranking was displayed on screen during battle, it was possible to know when a character and/or enemy would move several combat turns in advance, and to plan battles accordingly. The CTB system is always in wait mode, featuring no time gauge. Final Fantasy XI featured the "Real Time Battle" (RTB) system, which is similar to that employed by the game EverQuest. When targetting an enemy, a character would automatically perform basic physical attacks unless otherwise instructed by the player through menu-based commands. Final Fantasy XII will adopt a similar combat system to Final Fantasy XI, called the "Active Dimension Battle" (ADB) system. The system is similar to the RTB system in that characters are free to move about during battle, and after targeting a monster, the character automatically perform basic attacks. However, there is also a visible ATB-like time gauge showing when a character would act, and "active" and "wait" modes as well. Unlike previous games, battles in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII take place on the field screen, with no separate battle screen.

Criticism

Although the series is extremely popular, it is not without critics. Some accuse it of a lack of interactivity (overuse of full motion video), rigid and often linear story structure, and unoriginality. More recent installments are attacked in particular, especially those made after Final Fantasy VII. Defenders of these games often argue that the negative responses can be attributed to nostalgia. Many long time fans of the series blame the fall in standards on the departure of character designer Yoshitaka Amano after Final Fantasy VI. Tetsuya Nomura, who has handled character design for the majority of the post-Final Fantasy VII series', has been criticized by the Amano fans, especially those who feel that Nomura's designs look too juvenile when compared to Amano's work. Similar complaints have begun to surface surrounding the departure of long-time series music composer Nobuo Uematsu. Final Fantasy XII has neither Amano nor Nomura as character designer, but instead has Akihiko Yoshida as character designer. Final Fantasy is also known for "re-inventing" the RPG genre with almost every game, as each game takes a different approach in gameplay and story than the last; although this keeps the series from feeling stale with repeated sequels, fans of one game may not like the other games in the series. Of the more recent installments in the series Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy X-2 have been most frequently singled out for criticism: Final Fantasy XI for switching to a MMORPG format and Final Fantasy X-2 for its status as the first direct sequel to a previous Final Fantasy game and for its supposed overreliance on fan service.

External links

- [http://www.square-enix.com/na/title/ff/ Square Enix]'s official Final Fantasy website (English)
- [http://www.square-enix.com/jp/title/finalfantasy/ Square Enix]'s official Final Fantasy website (Japanese)
- Open Directory Project: [http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Roleplaying/F/Final_Fantasy_Games/ Final Fantasy sites]
- [http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGroupId,176/ Final Fantasy Series] at MobyGames
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- [http://ffwiki.blueshinra.com/ Final Fantasy Wiki]
- [http://www.gamespot.com/features/vgs/universal/finalfantasy_hs/ History of Final Fantasy]
- ko:파이널 판타지 ja:ファイナルファンタジー simple:Final Fantasy th:ไฟนอลแฟนตาซี

Computer role-playing game

Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally uses gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. Modern RPG games encompass a wide range of styles and types of engines and have significantly branched out. RPG gameplay elements can be found in real-time strategy games, first-person shooters, third-person shooters, and some other types such as massively multiplayer online games. However, games that are actually called just "RPGs" are usually limited to top-down perspective point-and-click and some third-person perspective types.

Overview

third-person perspective CRPGs, in general, are derivative of paper-and-pencil based role-playing games (RPGs) such as Dungeons & Dragons. For example, the vast majority of video-game RPGs assign various attributes to the characters, such as hit points (HP), magic points (MP), and levels. These games also tend to borrow the narrative structure of many paper-and-pencil RPGs; usually a group of heroes (a party) is sent on some sort of quest. Along the way, the adventurers face an endless barrage of enemies and monsters (often inspired by real-world mythology). An example is illustrated here, a status screen taken from Final Fantasy IX. It includes the character's name, portrait, level (LV), current/total hitpoints (HP), and current/total mana (or magic) points. Other information includes basic stats and what sort of weapon, armor, and accessories the character is equipped with.

Character Development

Video-game RPGs sometimes involve intricate plots and character development as characters advance through a large number of statistics, items and abilities. Players must usually choose which of several possible combinations of these things to acquire for their character in order to advance, and if possible, win the game. Just as in a paper-and-pencil RPG, the characters can be of various races (besides humans, mythical ones like elves) that differ in their capacities for professions (e.g., sworders, archers, thieves, mages). Characters can try to advance in two of these professions, but more is not effective. A recent development has been the goal-directed notion of "jobs", temporarily taking up a profession to gain a needed skill (like lockpicking).

Setting Genres

Although the word "genre" has come to be used for a type of computer game such as a driving game or a sports game, a need still exists for the old use of the word. Most RPGs are set in a fantasy world with a vaguely medieval setting, though with magic. Many add to this science fiction elements. Few differ from these two categories. EarthBound uses a child's viewpoint of the United States (or a place implied to be so) in the twentieth century. Wasteland and Fallout are set after a nuclear war. Many games are also structured around time travel.

Layout

Starting with Akalabeth, these games feature characters moving on more than one 2-D map. When the player-character in that game entered a dungeon, the viewpoint shifted to a first-person view of a 3-D maze. An example of the scales of what games have come to display on the screen starts with the world-map. It shows a large area, but not the entire gaming world. In addition, some games use part of the screen to show an automap, showing one's location. When one moves the player-character into a town, cave, or other significant feature marked on the map, the scene shifts to a view inside a smaller-scale plan view, which can depict non-player characters and enemies. Then, when one begins combat, a combat scene is presented. These maps are usually set up so that North is always at the top, and often most features are laid out on a rectilinear grid. Hence, unlike in the real world, one cannot become lost through disorientation, especially by following a feature that one assumes to be rectangular but which gently curves. So the layout of these maps is often in the form of a concealed maze to make one's paths take longer and more involving. Dragon Quest I began the trend (in Japanese games, at least) of having the player-character take extraordinarily roundabout paths to reach destinations, guided by a limited view of the world map. Dungeons are also usually in the form of a maze, but not as complex as a garden one. Many games require lamps to see in dungeons, and present a more restricted view to make it more like a maze. The reason why the layout is only somewhat maze-like is that movement is punctuated by many combats.

Combat Sequencing

Most games are designed around a system of "random encounter", in which every few steps one's characters take on the screen signals the start of an engagement with minor enemies. By defeating these, one's characters gain "experience points" just as in a paper-and-pencil RPG. But if one considers one's characters too weak, one can choose to deliberately battle many more minor villains. The difference is that the gamesmaster of a PnPRPG would consider doing this a waste of time. Computer game players demand lots of different types of minor villains (e.g., griffins, octopuses, silver knights, funny thieves, rabbits), as they're battling these all the time - some games have 200 - and dislike palette-swapped foes, which look the same as a weaker enemy one fought several scenes back but are a different color, something which was done in the early CRPGs due to lack of computer memory space. Some games have many of these imposed combats made avoidable through not coming too close to an enemy shown on the screen. What are called "chapters" of gameplay are marked by more powerful villains called "bosses", who take some skill to defeat. These may have had some foreshadowing in the story and the defeat of each may result in setting the party off on a subsidiary quest. There may be "side quests" which result either in more experience points or the getting of special weapons or magical items that wouldn't be necessary to win the game. The game usually ends with a battle with the major villain, the one whose defeat is the main storyline of the game. Often the player has already fought this villain several times during the game in various weaker conditions, and it often turns out that there is an even more powerful villain behind this one.

History

palette-swapped from 1980 is considered to be one of the first graphical CRPGs not hosted on PLATO.]] Role-playing video games began in 1975 as an offshoot of early university mainframe computer text RPGs on PDP-10 and Unix-based computers, starting with Dungeon and graphical RPGs on the PLATO System, pedit5 and dnd, themselves inspired by paper-and-pencil role-playing games. Other influences during this period were text adventures, Multiple-User Dungeons (MUDs) and roguelike games. Some of the first graphical CRPGs after pedit5 and dnd, were orthanc, avathar (later renamed avatar), oubliette, baradur, emprise, bnd, sorcery, moria, and dndworld, all of which were developed and became widely popular on PLATO during the latter 1970s, in large part due to PLATO's speed, fast graphics, nationwide network of terminals, and large number of players with access to those terminals. These were followed by (but did not always lead directly to) games on other platforms, such as Akalabeth (1980) (which gave rise to the well-known Ultima series), and Wizardry. These early Ultima and Wizardry games are perhaps the largest influence on the later console RPG games that are now popular. Many innovations of Ultima III: Exodus eventually became standards of almost all RPGs in both the console market (if somewhat simplified to fit the gamepad) and the PC market. The earliest console RPG was the Intellivision title AD&D Treasure of Tarmin (1982). Much later, in 1986, Enix made the NES title Dragon Quest (called Dragon Warrior in North America and would remain that way until the 8th game in the series). This was followed shortly by ports of the computer RPGs Wizardry and Ultima III, and by Final Fantasy (1987) by Squaresoft. Both of these games proved popular and spawned a series of sequels. Both game series remain extremely popular today, Final Fantasy more so in North America, and Dragon Quest in Japan. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy both borrowed heavily from Ultima. For example, leveling up and saving must be done by speaking to the king in Dragon Quest, and in order to rest and get healed, the characters must visit the king (Dragon Quest) or stay the night at an inn (both games). The games are played in a top-down perspective, much like the Ultima games, as well. The combat style in Dragon Quest was borrowed from another PC-based series, the Wizardry games.

Modern games

Wizardry elements.]] Fairly recently, more and more multiplayer CRPGs have appeared. For instance, Diablo (1996) features a system by which different players can enter the same world and cooperate against the enemies, trade equipment, or, should they wish, kill one another. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), huge open-ended worlds with hundreds of interacting characters, have also appeared, pioneered by games like Ragnarok Online, Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call. An interesting entry into the CRPG world is Pokémon (a.k.a. Pocket Monsters), a fairly simplistic set of games whose main innovation is the replacement of the party by creatures that can be captured, collected, and trained for fighting. Its success has been phenomenal, leading to a huge industry with many spin-off products, including other games, cartoons, and endless merchandise. In 1997, a new Internet fad began. Influenced by console RPGs, a large group of young programmers and aficionados began creating independent CRPG games, based mostly on the gameplay and style of the older SNES and Sega Genesis games. The majority of such games owe to simplistic game development kits such as the Japanese RPG Maker series. This started the independent RPG video games movement. More recently, with the advent of games like Deus Ex and Warcraft III, the idea of what it means to be a RPG has become blurred. Many non-RPG games are increasingly featuring aspects traditionally seen in RPGs, such as a skill system, experience, and dilemmas. The expansion of traditional RPG elements into 3D game engines is creating a myriad of hybrid game categories, crowding successors to earlier representations of CRPGs. The representation of RPG elements in first- and third-person shooters is indistinguishable from the game simply incorporating a story with cut-scenes and traditional FPS problem solving, and developments to the incorporation of the genre's usual character building (such as getting better weapons). As FPS develop and increase in these characteristics it remains to be seen whether the games will simply be called FPS (or TPS), break off into a new category of FPS/RPG, or just adopt the RPG name.

Cultural differences

Due to cultural differences between developing companies based on their country of origin, there are now two certain "families" of graphical RPGs. The differences are primarily focused on the graphics and storyline, but also on statistics systems, magic systems and the like. At the basic level, though, both are pretty much the same, with attributes, statistics and levels dominating gameplay, and characters and personalities dominating the storyline. cut-scenes One of the families is the Japanese family of graphical RPGs with the Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, Grandia and the Lunar series as clear examples. These games are often more colorful and brighter than their western counterparts, and include the Japanese inclination to use a very loose fantasy world, not always strongly based on actual folklore or medieval times (perhaps because of a lack of familiarity thereof), but with arguably more influence from Japanese comics (manga) and cartoons (anime). Science Fiction may also have an impact on these games. Fantasy/sci-fi "hybrid" games are also common (some examples include Star Ocean and Final Fantasy). The characters in these games are usually anime-style with personalities ranging from both extremes of the spectrum. The storyline often involves an epic and final battle between the forces of good and evil, with the player nearly always fighting for the forces of good. Some exceptions include Xenogears, where there is no defined "evil" force. Character races tend to be limited to humans or completely new, created races that look just like humans; in games that do include various races, these are usually limited to a selection of humans, beastmen/women, espers (i.e. ESPers, who look just like humans but have different powers), androids and, on rare occasions (such as Tales of Symphonia), elves and dwarves, etc. It is also rare or nonexistent to be able to actually choose your characters' races; you are typically given no choice. D&D-based systems among these games do not exist; instead, Japanese RPGs often create new, unrelated "systems" for each game, even for each game in a single series. Most games use a level-based advancement with little customization involved, with level 1 as the basic level of power in the game and level 99 as the top; but recent games tend to include some customization, like occupations that can be levelled as well. Level advancement in Japanese CRPGs is also more brisk than their American counterparts, often requiring fighting only a few monsters to advance to the next level in early parts of the games. android The other family of graphical RPGs is the western (American) one, with Baldur's Gate, Diablo and Neverwinter Nights as good examples, but also including older games like the Gold Box series. These games are often darker, almost horror-like in design and art, and the characters featuring in these games are rendered or drawn in a more realistic way according to western styles, with armor, weapons, and so on being drawn based on actual counterparts in the Middle Ages. The personalities of the characters are more varied than those of their Japanese counterparts, without any real absolutes in morality. The storyline too is often darker, with the main theme being usually an ongoing struggle, almost never ending with a total victory over whatever enemy is given. The character races are diverse and the player is usually offered various races to choose from - often based on D&D rules - including dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings. These races, as well as other game characters, are based on the many characters that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote about, including dwarves, wizards, and dragons (hobbits typically being represented as the nearly identical halflings). These graphical RPGs often based their game systems on the various D&D systems used at the time, sometimes even displaying dice rolls, but it is not uncommon for completely different systems to be borrowed or created for use as well. Level advancement in Western RPGs is typically very slow, and often includes rather low level (or experience point) limits, which in some games can be as low as level 6-8, unheard of in the Japanese game market. A minor family also exists in Taiwan and other Chinese-speaking areas. The mechanics (i.e. combat and job selection) of this Chinese family of graphical RPGs is largely the same as the Japanese one. Differences lie in the graphics and plot. Many of those games use Chinese-style graphics and the storyline is told with a wuxia style, inspired by novels. One famous exmple is Sword of Xuan Yuan. A large difference between American RPGs and Japanese RPGs is the way the stories are structured. Western style RPGs are generally less linear and thus allow more freedom. Japanese style RPGs are usually more linear, and the player choices usually have little to no effect on the outcome of the plot. However, it could also be said that a linear storyline allows for a tighter and more complex story, much like watching an interactive movie, than does a completely open-ended structure. A good counter-example - a Japanese style RPG with fairly open and non-linear storyline - is Romancing Saga, a far more open Japanese CRPG famous for its non-linearity in Japan, but not released in the West.

Shared Characteristics

The following are universal staples applicable to many CRPGs of both cultures in general.
- Death is almost always the final solution employed by the protagonists to prevent the antagonist from achieving his or her goals, often after reason fails.
- In several cases, but not all, the lead protagonist is silent, sometimes so the player controlling them (who will likely get to name the character at the beginning) can have a greater sense of presence in the role.
- While female characters in fighting games and certain other types are notorious for being faster than the males but less powerful, women in RPGs regularly have the potential to become just as capable at offense as their counterparts. That being said, the female healer is a stereotype in Japanese CRPGs, less so in Western CRPGs where there is more character creation.
- The plot often is structured around the ancient Western theory of the four elements: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Spells, objects, weapons, and monsters of these elements exist to be found or defeated, and elemental relations (fire is weak to water and ice weak to fire) are often preserved. Because it seems a simple extension, other non-traditional "elements" like electricity or light may be added as well in Japanese CRPGs; Western CRPGs may use para-elements (ice, ooze, magma, smoke) and quasi-elements (lightning, radiance, minerals, steam, vacuum, ash, dust, salt) as defined by Dungeons & Dragons instead. In contrast, the Chinese "elements" of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water are not often seen in CRPGs, while the "elements" corresponding to the Bagua (concept) (Heaven, Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Mountain, Lightning, Marsh) are used almost never at all. (See the respective articles for more information on elements.)
- Usually two lead characters of opposite sex who are seen interacting