Final Fantasy

This is a /v/ related article, which we tolerate because it's relevant and/or popular on /tg/... or we just can't be bothered to delete it.

Final Fantasy is a long, LONG running series of fantasy-themed video-games created by Square Enix. First released for the Nintendo, the original Final Fantasy was the company's last hurrah, as they were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy; the name was an ironic dig at this. Then, to everybody's surprise, it caught on, and the videogaming world would never be the same. The games didn't have a decent plot until FFV. As before that game the stories were paper thin(FFI,FFIII), a D&D style adventure(FFII), or cheesy melodrama(FFIV).

/tg/ Relevance

As perhaps the most iconic fantasy gaming series on /v/, Final Fantasy inspires more than its share of gamers to try and convert the games to the tabletop gaming experience. As such, threads about converting races, classes, jobs, spells and other such things from the games sporadically appear on /tg/.

The original game, Final Fantasy 1, is particularly beloved for its efforts at replicating the Old School Roleplaying feel, and is practically a Dungeons & Dragons game in everything but name - it even steals many classic D&D monsters and throws them at the party. Beware though, as unlike later games(FFIII,V,FFT) that use a class system. The remakes railroads you into having a Fighter/Knight and at least one healer.

An article in Dragon Magazine #323 saw the adaptation of the Chocobo running bird to Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition. The most blatant thing to /tg/ however is the card game.

Homebrews

Of course there are homebrews. Three notable homebrews are:

• Final Fantasy RPG: use a percentile dice.
• Final Fantasy d6: use 2d6.
• Final Fantasy d20: A homebrew system created by Viladin, this is a rather comprehensive homebrew adding new classes, spells, feats and items into the Pathfinder system to replicate the Final Fantasy experience. Though the system has a heavy emphasis toward representing Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy d20 (or ffd20 for short) does make an attempt at replicating classes in their basic, popular states, while using Pathfinder classes as a chassis. Spellcasters even use MP rather than Vancian Casting... kind of. MP is balanced very similar to Vancian Casting, except there is much less MP to the point that a Black Mage has less MP than a sorcerer's equivalence in spell slots. That being said, due to this system being fan made and with an overly active creator, it is very prone to intensive changes and modifications over time; with classes sometimes getting overhauled mechanics overnight. In addition, there's a number of archetypes that are expressly not Final Fantasy related, but this is less of an issue. If there's any particular flaw, it is that although the system primarily averts the usual issue of Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards, it does so by making casters quite a means inferior and unable to truly match up in combat versus their martial brethren who gain immense numbers of dice, rather than making martial fighters more interesting in combat and able to compete with mages in these encounters or limiting casters in a way that also could thematically fit Final Fantasy. They're also then stripped of their "toolkit" spells, and are often forced into a blasting role or otherwise mostly rely on their class features over their spells. It's entertaining and quite detailed, but it is definitely worth a warning before going into it.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Released in early 2011 in Japan it released in late 2016 in the US. Since it had an iconic franchise behind it and this was around when Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh went full retarded in their own ways, it actually has a decent marketshare in the west. All decks are exactly 50 cards and duplicate cards are limited to three however all character cards you control must be uniquely named. Multiple cards with different effects can have the same name but can't co-exist on the field though, having separate ID codes, count separately for deck limits.

Settings

The Final Fantasy series is quite complicated to get into for one major reason: it's not a continuous series, but rather a shared title. Different games take place in their own worlds, and whilst some games share a common universe (the world of Ivalice is particularly fleshed out), the connections between are... rocky at best. At the very least there are hints of a shared Multiverse with the mention of the Interdimensional Rift/The Void. Something that was created for Final Fantasy V. More or less the Final Fantasy equivalent of the Warp. Though much of this was added in via remakes and retcons.

Races

There are a wide variety of races in Final Fantasy, and many of them only appear in one game. A large varities are just different tribes of humans, such as the Al Bhed (green-eyed humans with a racial proclivity for machina). The more unusual species tend to capture the imagination more.

Moogles are cutesy little humanoids who commonly feature in the games as companions to the player characters or NPCs. They've also been called Mogs and Moglis. Their depictions defer depending on the game but most follow the same design of pudgy white fluffballs with catlike ears, a red nose, comically small wings and a red "pom-pom", that hangs on top of their heads from an antenna. Can be considered the series mascot along with Chocobos.

Burmecians, who only appeared in FF9, are a race of ratfolk (arguably kangaroo rat-influenced). Their society is based on togetherness, family, and close community, and they are known to be quite religious, with practices focused on worshipping through dance.

Elvaans (FF11) look like your classic elf, but are proud, disciplined, hardy warriors who have no talent for magic and instead devote themselves to proving their skill with the art of the sword.

Galka are hulking, seemingly all-male ogre-like creatures in FF11.

Genomes (FF9) are a race of artificial life-forms that resemble humans with monkey-like tails, which were created to exist as back-up bodies for an invading alien race.

Mithra (FF11) are infamous for being the catgirl race. There apparently are males, but due to their scarcity, they are kept strictly segregated in the Mithra lands, looking after the children. Like cats, they are playful, curious, and prone to mischief. They are best at being thieves, rangers, ninja, and mages with their high dexterity and agility.

Qu (FF9) are a bizarre race of androgynous, long-tongued humanoids which dwell in swamps. Known for their obsession with gourmet cooking and their love of frog-meat in particular.

TaruTaru (FF11) are basically the gnomes of Final Fantasy, although they look more like the titular Chipmunks and Chippettes from the 80s cartoon "Alvin and the Chipmunks". Dedicated and hard-working, they use their skill in magic to make up for their lack of physical prowess.

Ivalice Races

Ivalice has made the most appearances of any one Final Fantasy setting, with two being tactical RPGs full of generic soldiers, and thus has the largest array of potentially playable races to show up so far.

Aegyls are a primitive race of winged humanoids, in a state of cultural and spiritual decline. Only appeared in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and only on their own flying continent. Because of lore reasons their souls were enslaved to their god and said god was draining them to keep his godhood resulting in the aegyl becoming mostly emotionless sentinels.

Bangaas are a powerful race of hulking lizardfolk, distinguished by their two pairs of long, droopy, bunny-like ears. They are note for their strength and agility (Officially. Gameplay wise they are fairly slow.), favoring classes that require high physical power. In earlier incarnations (FFTA/FFXII) they were the 'orc' archetype with penchants towards unsavoury and criminal activities but later on (FFTA2) that archetype was taken over by the Seeq and now they fill the 'honourable warrior race' archetype.

Garifs are a primitive race of ogre-like humanoids, characterized by their thick fur coats and their cultural doctrine of wearing masks throughout their life. They have a distinctly desert nomad feel and maintain an surprisingly intelligent culture but they do fuck all in any of the games aside from exposition.

Gria are an all-female race of humanoid dragons, with the classic "dragongirl" appearance of a dainty tail, horns and dragon wings on an otherwise human body. Despite their girlish looks, Gria are formidably strong due to their homeland being a volcanic island hellhole. They also make use of geomancers to survive in unfavourable terrain both at home and afar. Due to their natural wings they have the ability to fly everywhere but are gimped in terms of job selection.

Humes are Humans. Well balanced and have access to a variety of jobs. What did you expect? Tends to render Bangaas and Nu Mou pointless in their respective areas simply by virtue of having wider options for support abilities and able to cheese the fuck out of their Speed stat through clever class management, resulting in extremely high initiative second only to the Viera. They pay for it by being statistically worse in many areas compared to the more specialised races.

Moogles are as mentioned above. A distinct contrast from their depiction in most other Final Fantasy titles, the Moogles in Ivalice have a clearly defined, independent civilization and homeland while also being the most capable Moogles in any FF title. Think Dwarfs but with a lot more charm and a hell of a lot more scientific progress (they built the first airships of the setting, after all). While speedy they tend to focus on gimmicks mechanically, which barring a couple of absurd builds hampers their general use. Oddly enough they are the only other race barring Humes and select Bangaa to wield firearms widely and efficiently.

Nu Mou are the wise race of Ivalice, resembling a strangely cute mix of lizardfolk and long-eared, hunch-backed dog- or rabbitfolk. They are known for their proficiency with magic and scholarly attitude, leaning more towards the science side of magic. They populate most of the learning centres of Ivalice and almost comically resemble university professors, aside from the fact they can very casually cast extremely advanced magic in battle. They are the premier spellcasting race in Ivalice but suffer terribly in every other role.

Seeqs are the new orcs of Ivalice, appearing as large, bulky pig-men (with a hint of shark). Barbarous and cowardly, they often tend to be bandits though later interpretations make them out to be more inclined towards the outdoors and nature than merely being the criminal race. Their idiosyncratic culture often puts them at odds with the legalistic civilizations in Ivalice. They are playable in one game and very physically focused outside of one surprisingly broken setup that can boost and reverse the effects of items for massive damage.

Viera are perhaps the most famous of Ivalice's races, being a species of practically all-female amazon rabbitfolk-elves of legendary beauty and with a preference for skimpy clothes. Quick, agile, great with bows, long-lived and equally proficient with both magic and martial combat, only female Viera ever appear, as their menfolk are both rare and extremely territorial, hiding even from their women until it's breeding season. Their depiction is the most erratic of Ivalice's races but tend to follow a synthesis of Wood Elf and Amazon elements. Despite their attractive image they are surprisingly stoic and deadpan.

Eorzea Races

Eorzea is the setting of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. Some are variations of the same races from FFXI or other games, and typically come in two ethnicities, which basically amounts to variations in skin and hair colors. Unlike FFXI, races are largely cosmetic, so you can cast spells as a hulking Roegadyn or trade blows with a giant as a tiny Lalafell wielding an axe for little to no mechanical disadvantage.

Au Ra(Pronounced "OW-Rah") are human-like beings with dragon-like horns, tail, and scales over their body. Males are significantly taller than females. They generally come from the Far East, with most in Eorzea being refugees from Imperial conquest. They come in Raen(white scales) and Xaela(black scales). Both are pretty enough to count as Monstergirls.

Elezen are The game's version of the Elvaan, a.k.a. the Elves of the game. Elezen are tall, slender, and long-limbed, with the requisite ears and really good hearing. They are one of the few native races to Ezorea, with the Wildwood Elezen(Wood Elves) who live in the forests of the Black Shroud and respect the power of the Elementals living there, and the Duskwight Elezen(i.e. Drow), who lived underground and have a not-too-unwarranted criminal reputation.

Hrothgar are huge Cat-furries, one of the largest races in the game. So far, only male Hrothgar have been seen, but females are known to exist.

Hyur are Humans(again). 'Nuff said.

Lalafell are the next version of the Tarutaru: Tiny and extremely cute(even the ones with facial hair are adorable). More like Halflings than Gnomes, Lalafell don't have any particular bend towards the mystic arts. The game actually makes a decent point to not play kid gloves with the Lalafell in spite(if not because) of their cuteness: You can find some real bastards among them.

Miqo'te are the resident Cat-person race, like the Mithra(who are said to be their ancestors). Like the Mithra, they were originally a female-only race in the game, but apparently their males aren't as rare, and the A Realm Reborn relaunch allowed players to choose Male Miqo'te.

Roegadyn Started off effectively being their versions of the Galka, but female Roegadyn NPCs were seen around the game. Like the Miqo'te, they got the option of playing females in the relaunch. Roegadyn are extremely tall, with even short females often being taller than the males of other races. Males are wide-bodied and muscular, rivalling Hrothgar in overall size.

Viera are pretty much the same as before. Bunny-girl fanservice that kicks ass.

Classes

Final Fantasy(I) started you with four faceless adventurers that could each be one of six classes. Most subsequent games would use defined characters, but often with abilities similar to the classes defined in the first and third games. Many spinoffs and the MMO games used classes as well. These classes have become rather iconic to the series, and even have signature looks and abilities.

One thing some games (especially the third, fifth, Tactics, and the MMOs) had was what is called the Job System: a single character could have many classes, and can switch from one or the other between battles, or sometimes even use the abilities of one class while being another.

Fighter is usually one of the first classes a character can use at the start of the game. Nothing much to it but high physical stats, so it hits hard and takes hard hits. Usually used as a stepping stone to more speciallized martial classes like Knight, Warrior, or the like.

Black Mage is the basic Wizard who casts the spells that make the peoples fall down. They are specced almost entirely to inflict damage. One of the more iconic looks for the series, the classic Black Mage wears a dark blue robe with a yellow cone-shaped hat with a wide brim. Typically, only a pair of yellow eyes can be seen of their faces beneath the hat.

The White Mage conversely is the Cleric. Thus they heal damage, add protection, and smite with holy energy when needed. They are typically seen as wearing white hooded robes trimmed with red triangles. There is a very good chance that a "generic" White Mage(and many characters for that matter) will be female.

Red Mages are essentially Bards who know how to keep it in their pants. They can cast both Black and White magic(though not as many as the dedicated mages), and can fight decently once their MP runs out. Many games have given them the ability to Doublecast, which allows them to cast a spell twice in one turn.

Blue Mages can cast some of the spell-like abilities used by monsters and other enemies. The problem is that to learn an abiltiy, they have to let themselves be hit by the attack(and survive it) first.

Dragoons are a specialized fighting class typically armed with a spear/lance and armor that makes them look like a dragon. Their signature ability is to jump really high and come down right on your head.

Summoners call on the power of God-like beings to fight in battle. In practice, they're Black Mages who drop much bigger numbers of damage after a short(or not) cutscene. The beings they summon have become recurring icons in and of themselves(and have helped reinforce the idea of Bahamut being a Dragon).