Final Fantasy: who is the best character in each game?

Who is the best among such a huge number of epic characters?

The Final Fantasy franchise celebrated its thirtieth anniversary last year. During this time, the number of games released that featured this title approached hundreds, also thanks to the development of mobile games. In addition, the creators have also made sporadic forays into the worlds of cinema, anime and other media.

However, the "main" series contains 15 parts, some of which were expanded with prequels and sequels. With the exception of XI and XIV, which were massively multiplayer games, the heart of every other title was a story that unfolded over dozens of hours and featured a huge variety of characters both loved and hated.

Over the next few pages, we'll look at each game in turn, picking out the one character in each that stands out from the rest as the best.

Do you agree? No? Comments are open to suggestions. Only Be careful, as there will be spoilers for each game.

Few could have predicted the success to come when the original Final Fantasy cartridge was released in 1987. Since then, the game has been redesigned and re-released several times, but these reworks have never affected the characters.

Players take control of four "Warriors of Light", choosing character names and classes. From this point until the end of the game, these characters have no significance to the plot (despite driving it), and their personalities and motivations are open to interpretation.

As a result of this, when it comes to choosing the "best" character in the game, there is little choice. In this part, series favorite Bahamut appears for the first time, but, in fact, he is only here to improve the classes of the above-mentioned characters, and Matoya is needed mainly to give quests only.

The main villain, Garland, who is quickly dealt with when he appears as the game's first boss, returns again as the host of four demons and takes up the bulk of the remaining game time. His complex and amazingly sophisticated (at least for a 1987 game) grand plan allows him to stand out among his followers, and defeating him feels like a real accomplishment.

Thankfully, Final Fantasy II moves away from the shallow characters of its predecessor, weaving the personal stories of its characters into the narrative. However, the trio of Firion, Maria and Guy are far from inspiring creatures.

Some characters who become fourth party members during quests are much more interesting. For example, Gordon is a self-loathing coward who battles his demons to lead a rebellion against the Evil Empire, and Leon is Maria's brother who has fallen to the dark side and it is not known whether he fully accepts the Emperor's philosophy or not.

Minwu stands above them all, becoming your team's first companion and dying heroically (as many characters do, adding to the darker elements of the franchise), giving up her life so that your characters can gain access to higher magic.

He and three other characters who die during the course of the game became widely known in the Soul Of Rebirth expansion pack that accompanied almost every remake of the game. In this expansion, they played a leading role as they complemented the efforts of their living counterparts by drawing on the light side of the enigmatic Emperor.

Final Fantasy III is a very strange game for the Final Fantasy series. It wasn't even available in English until the DS version came out sixteen years later. This rebuilt the game from the ground up and strengthened the story, which was a nice touch considering the original version was going back to Final Fantasy I and the four unnamed "Warriors of Light".

With the exception of the opening sequence, Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus do very little, simply following in the footsteps of their predecessors and watching various subplots (Aria's self-sacrifice and the Alus/Gorn situation) develop without much personal involvement.

Due to a lack of choice, we are once again forced to set our sights on the game's surprisingly complex villain - Xand. Due to being rewarded with "mortality" by his master, much of the game revolves around his convoluted plan to regain the eternal life he previously enjoyed by freezing the flow of time.

Although he was revealed at the last minute to serve a powerful villain (like Zemus/Zeromus from IV and Kuja/Necron from IX), Xanda is nothing without his immortality. He ends up dead, but his actions can be considered the highlight of this unimpressive game.

11.IV – Cecil

The main characters are often a bit boring, especially in the fantasy genre, where they are often too polished "good guys" driven solely by the right cause. The hero of Final Fantasy IV, on the contrary, at the beginning of the game is on the side of darkness, figuring out the role he plays in the oppressive kingdom of Baron towards his people.

The first third of the game is built on his transformation from “dark knight” to “paladin”, and the moment of transformation is depicted simply brilliantly. From this point on, Cecil's relationships with Cain and Golbez play an important role, although each character has their own story (most of them die, as the game was very dark) in this superbly written narrative.

The second and third parts of the game talk about the differences between Cecil and his former brother in arms (Cain), as well as his brother by blood (Golbez). The revelation about his relationship with the latter is one of the most disappointing moments of the series because it wasn't well thought out, but it still made Final Fantasy IV the first truly great entry in the franchise.

Recent re-releases have expanded the story of Part IV and featured Cecil as Ceodore's father, a welcome addition that cements him as the series' best protagonist.

10. V – Gilgamesh

Final Fantasy V is one of the more forgettable games in the series, and contained some memorabilia that hindered the development of the system previously present in III. All of this is topped off by the fact that the main four, consisting of Bartz, Farisa, Galuf (later Krill) and Lenna, do virtually nothing. In such a situation, the villainous Exdeath feels much better considering that he is carrying out a great plan in the name of evil.

However, the secondary antagonist makes up for them all, considering he steals every scene he's in. Hilariously written (who else would come up with the line: "Enough of the revealing joke! Now we'll fight like men! And ladies! And ladies dressed like men") with an epic soundtrack (Clash On The Big Bridge) upon loading, Gilgamesh was the first minor villain to outshine his masters.

It's a testament to the character's legacy that he appears in almost every subsequent game. In Part VIII he can be summoned, in Part IX he appears as a treasure hunter, revealing his essence only to those players who collect each treasure chest, and in later parts he is an optional boss. He always retains his appearance, connecting all the games into one universe.

9. VI – Celes

Games often attract a lot of criticism for portraying female characters as exclusively cute. The Final Fantasy series is often accused of this, but it was the first to introduce strong female protagonists in Final Fantasy VI.

The amazing gaming ensemble consisted of three members who stood out from the other main characters. The reason for this was that two of them were women - the amnesiac Terra and the Imperial defector Celes - who had displaced the venerable "treasure hunter" (thief) Locke from the leading position.

Celes' suicide attempt is so impressive (I put it on my list of the 150 Greatest FF Moments years ago) that the black screen that lights up for a moment hints that Kefka has won and the game ends on a somber note. The fact that the sight of Locke's bandana on the bird keeps her going after her survival is very powerful (even though the game never properly hinted at their relationship, which was a big mistake). It was he who paved the way for her to play a leading role in the post-apocalyptic World of Ruin.

Long before this, she plays the main role in the most famous episode of the series - the Opera. No more words are needed here.

In a game with so many great characters (Edgar and Sabin, the devilish Kefka, the cheerful Ultros and others), standing out among them is not an easy task.

8. VII – Reno & Rude

The easiest thing to do would be to place either Cloud or Sephiroth under this heading, given that one of them always seems to lose to Link in the final GameFAQs' Character Battle vote. However, Final Fantasy VII has always been viewed through rose-colored glasses, and it's debatable that both of these heroes are vastly overrated. Sephiroth's grand plan is almost exactly the same as Kefka's, and Cloud is not a special protagonist.

However, they inhabit a wonderfully crafted narrative populated by a vast cast of fantastical characters: Vincent the mysterious outsider, Aerith the very innocence, Sid the everyman (and the wondrous sounds he made will be missed when they are removed from remake), and Rufus is a villain much more realistic than many of his predecessors.

Rufus' two Turks, Reno and Rude, are considered one of the best duos to ever grace the screen. Even though they are very different, together they are very cool. It's hard to imagine them as villains after we witness scenes of them awkwardly talking about girls and refusing to fight because it's their day off. And how Rude, shocked by the breakage of his glasses, takes out others of the same kind from his pocket. It's really impressive.

If there can be any valid criticism of VIII, it has to do with the fact that the playable characters, with the exception of Squall and Rinoa, are completely undeveloped. Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Irwin are dummies from beginning to end. Luckily, Squall's development from a stoic loner who doesn't care about anything to a hero who goes to the ends of the earth (and into space) for the woman he loves is amazing and makes up for any shortcomings.

Perhaps the most outstanding was the “third wheel” in their relationship – Safer. The main theme of the game is that he and Squall are two sides of the same coin, they have mirrored scars, black and white jackets, and the plot develops through the different paths they choose.

Seifer's turn into a villain is something that clearly torments him, and it's hard not to feel remorse as his misguided but noble intentions are manipulated by the forgettable Ultimecia. His absence is greatly felt considering the interactions between him and Squall are the highlights of the game. So it's worth thinking about, maybe it was necessary to give him redemption and the opportunity to continue participating in the plot.

6. IX – Vivi

Final Fantasy IX did an outstanding job with almost all of the main characters, both playable and non-playable. Each of them had a clearly defined story, and although some of them (Freya and Fratley's relationship, Amaranth) had been written before, the storytelling was one of the best, if not the best in the series.

At the end of the game, as everyone gathered to witness Zidane's return and express their love for Garnet, all players immediately noticed that one character was missing: Vivi.

The Black Mage is the heart of the story, and coming to terms with the idea that he was created as a weapon of war and must die after a short life is truly heartbreaking. However, this sadness did not break him.

The aforementioned ending turns from triumphant to tragic when you realize that Vivi has died by this point, when a monologue is read in which he says goodbye to each of his friends and thanks them for their training, experience and companionship. The appearance of his children and a chance meeting with Puck (Vivi first meets him at the beginning of the game) is a wonderful way to end the game.

There were very few people who didn't warm to Auron after his first appearance in the opening sequence of Final Fantasy X, where he calmly watches as the city of Zaparkand is consumed by the terrible Sin. A heavy metal soundtrack, incredible graphics (for the time) and a mysterious atmosphere combine to reveal this character. As a result, players looked forward to meeting him after his disappearance.

His second appearance is said to be one of the defining moments as he effortlessly takes down some scary looking demons to join the lead character Tidus and his new summoner Yuna.

X is all Tidus and Yuna's story, but you can feel that Auron knows more than he seems. His subtle sarcastic remarks towards, for example, Seymour (another awesome villain) are amazingly predictive of what is to come. In addition, as the story progresses, it turns out that he is an unsent soul with a lot of secrets. The revelation of the circumstances of his death has a serious impact on the main characters.

His disappearance was not shown, but he is mentioned in the sequel despite not being physically present in the sequel.

Final Fantasy XII never seemed to get much love. Its combat system and politicized storyline are underrated, but its three main flaws are hard to ignore. The first downside is that Vaan is the weakest main character in the series to date. Created like Tidus, he plays virtually no role.

The second drawback is that Vine, the villain of the game, is one of the worst in the list of villains in the franchise. His interactions with the team can be counted on one hand, and the players are never given any specific reason to hate him.

The third drawback is the lack of a love story. Not every game had it, but those that do (IV and VI to X) are significantly better known. Ashelia could have easily been the game's best character if her only romantic interest hadn't been killed off in the opening scene and her revenge on the empire hadn't been so underwhelming.

All of this makes Balthier a self-proclaimed "protagonist" who fits perfectly into the dashing hunter archetype. His strong connection to Fran and dark past with the Archadians and his father make him an interesting character, rivaled only by Basch and his brother Gabranth.

3. XIII – Serah

Final Fantasy XIII never made much of a splash, even after the release of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns. The overall story of this trilogy is utter chaos, and this incoherence means that the large selection of stories and characters present in this installment tend to be forgettable.

Lightning is a weak leader who is essentially Squall in a skirt, only she hasn't had any events in her life that would turn her into a battle-hardened hero. Yes, she ultimately defeats God, but her relationship with her sister Serah is not explored much, despite Lightning and Snow's shared desire to save her being the point of the game.

On the one hand, it seems that Serah is nothing more than a teenage stereotype and a MacGuffin. But as the main character of XIII-2, she became a much more believable and human figure than her sister.

The fact that it took three games to chaotically tell a story that could have been compressed into one characterizes Square-Enix when it comes to writing stories in recent years. Sera's carefree nature makes her journey with Noel and conflicts with Kaias enjoyable, which is often not the case with Lightning's journeys in the first two games.

2. XV – Ignis

Final Fantasy XV is by far one of the best entries in the series. It's a shame that it took over a year of content updates and production of story tricks to see the game rise to these heights, and the vast majority of players who panned it upon release will be unaware of the developments that completed what initially seemed unfinished.

At first glance, each character from the main four is a walking stereotype. Noctis is bratty, Prompto is carefree and annoying, Gladio is muscular, and Ignis is straightforward. However, their journey cements their brotherhood, and the final quiet scene around the fire before their sacrifice is one of the most poignant moments in Final Fantasy history.

Ignis has an unwavering loyalty to Noctis, and this is most evident in the episode when he is willing to give up his life in an instant to save the life of his comrade. Ultimately, it costs him his eyes, but accepting his blindness is one of the best moments leading up to the finale.

Among other things, Ignis' impression is enhanced by his British accent, which always gives him an air of authority. Also worth a special mention is his meme-worthy culinary skills.

We included this installment even though it's not a "core" entry in the series because Tactics is one of the most criminally underrated games of all time, thanks to its epic story involving war, religion, politics, manipulation, and all sorts of other plot elements . Although the difficulty may be one of its downsides, its lack of fame means that a number of great characters are often missing from lists like this one.

The heroes include a number of fantastic villains: Delita, the childhood best friend of the main character Ramza, becomes an ally and an enemy throughout the story, manipulating everyone to ensure her own growth. At the same time, Gaffgarion's early betrayal sets the tone for a game where you never know who to trust.

Wiegraf stands out above all these characters given his tragedy. He began with the noble intention of overthrowing the oppressive class world system and putting power in the hands of the people, but the death of his sister forced him to turn to the dark side. It was then that he meets Ramza several times.

It's heartbreaking to see him in demonic form with his humanity destroyed and to hear him declare that he doesn't care about his sister or noble causes. All he wants now is to bring death to the world

Final Fantasy belongs to that rare series of games that many literally grew up with. They experienced dozens of lives together with the heroes, participated in hundreds of battles, died thousands of times in order to be resurrected and with new strength rush into battle with superior enemy forces. Here, the quest to “save the world from the bad guys” has always faded into the background, giving way to small personal journeys of the heroes.

This, perhaps, is the magic of “Finals” - to remain close to the heart of every player, appealing to the emotions, aspirations, desires, fears that everyone is subject to, be it a Shinra mercenary, a cadet at the elite SeeDs academy, a famous blitzball player or an heir to the throne on the run. Final Fantasy XV It follows this canon like no other, telling us the story of Prince Noctis and his childhood friends whose lives are about to go off the rails, changing their goals and aspirations, changing them.

The whole team is assembled and ready for adventure.

My love - "Regalia"

The concept of a “road movie”, which the creators of FF XV talked about so much, is not new to the series, but it is here that it gets its most direct embodiment: our characters spend almost the entire game in a luxurious Regalia - a car that once belonged to Noctis’s father, King Regis . The world of Eos is frighteningly huge, and you can’t get far here on your own, so you can’t get by without the help of this steel beauty.

“Regalia” is the mobile headquarters of our team, where everyone has their own place and role. Noctis can drive the car himself or transfer the steering wheel to the clever Ignis. Night trips are possible, but quite risky: at this time, especially vile demons come out hunting, literally crawling out of the asphalt. Either fight or turn back. Fortunately, you can upgrade your car by installing a more powerful engine and blinding headlights that even the devils of hell are afraid of. If you're going to travel around the world, do so in comfort!

The game has the ability to quickly transition, but sometimes you just want to go for a ride, enjoying the views of Eos.

If somewhere the car is useless, overgrown chocobo chickens, known to all fans of the series, will come to the rescue, which can be rented at any transshipment point. Moreover, in the fifteenth part the ability to change the appearance of your pet was returned. You can upgrade the basic parameters and teach him various tricks, even helping him on the battlefield. Although it is not appropriate for individuals of blue blood to race chickens, in impassable thickets and swamps, feathered transport is a necessity.

Riding across the expanses of Eos on a chocobo is a pleasure.

New world

The entire mythology of the game is built on the confrontation between the royal family of Lucis (Noctis is the last surviving member of the family) and the evil imperials, eager for world domination. The royal family has long guarded the crystal - a relic of the mighty power on which Eos is based. But, according to tradition, there is a side that does not agree with this order of things. We find the hero and his friends in a sad hour for the kingdom, and the fate of the crystal and the world as they know it depends on us.

If we forget for a second that our heroes have a “main quest”, then all that we have to do in FF15 is to travel across the endless world, hunt monsters, explore dungeons in search of royal tombs containing ancient weapons of the Lucis family, spend the night under open air, get to know yourself and your friends.

By the way, the rest of our four is an extremely important part of the game, because it is at these moments that the characters gain experience and improve special skills (for Noctis - fishing, for Ignis - cooking, for Gladio - collecting items, and for Prompto - photography).

Typical bloggers were seen in the game.

Eos is full of people who need our help in a variety of pressing matters, be it exterminating a rampaging beast in the surrounding area, checking the steam valves in the city, or collecting red frogs in the swamps. There are an innumerable number of side quests, but make no mistake - they are all monotonous and will quickly get boring even for the most avid grinder.

Another thing is that a trivial task can often lead you to a hidden dungeon with serious bosses and high-quality loot. In addition, this is the only way to quickly level up if you are not at the same level as the boss in the story mission.

This is the first game in the entire history of the series where exploration of the world forms a separate gameplay cycle independent of the main storyline. You, of course, are free to move strictly according to the plot, but be prepared for the fact that such a choice will deprive you of the lion's share of the pleasure from the game.

In this game you can kill almost everything, catoblepas is no exception.

The fascinating world of Eos is bustling with life, there is always something to do: fishing, chocobo racing, gardening, playing arcade machines, tasting Ignis dishes, taking selfies against the backdrop of local attractions.

The latter, by the way, is the responsibility of the blonde Prompto. He clicks everything that happens on the screen, be it a giant fish caught by Noctis or a spectacular shot during a fight. You can look at the pictures, select the most successful ones and add filters to them (how could we do without this in 2016) while relaxing. Eh, the main thing is not to “drown” in these third-party amusements, because we still have to save the world.

Food prepared by Ignis not only replenishes health, but also gives characters bonuses to their parameters. Try to prepare dishes that appeal to different team members.

One for all

Fighting monsters is still the main task of our team, and the new “Final” is doing well with this. Forget about the elections of “paradigms” from the thirteenth part and long chains of actions. The combat in FF XV is somewhat similar to the action-oriented system from Final Fantasy Type-0. Everything is tied to one-button attacks and parries. A successful parry makes it possible to effectively counterattack and stun the enemy.

Let’s not forget about Noctis’ extremely useful ability to teleport to any part of the “arena.” It can be used both for a strategic retreat and for an attack: the prince launches a weapon at the monster and teleports towards it with lightning speed in order to deliver a powerful blow.

Noctis is an avid fisherman, so don't pass by a body of water without doing some fishing.

During the battle, only Noctis can be controlled; all other characters are subordinate to AI. However, you are free to initiate a special attack on your partner, which is possible when the “reception scale” is filled. The developers completely abandoned the ability to program the team's behavior in battle. The “gambit” mechanics have been replaced by joint attacks that work depending on the “context” (your position, the weapon you are using, etc.).

Just imagine: at one moment Noctis and Gladio find themselves shoulder to shoulder, the faithful bodyguard, using a two-handed sword, launches the prince into the sky so that he crashes like a comet from above. With joint attacks, the battlefield turns into a ballet, where characters replace each other in turns to distribute kicks to their enemies.

Where would we be without Lovecraftian motifs?

Also, the heir to the Lucis line has the magic of his ancestors: weapons borrowed from deceased kings are collected into a stream of light and deliver dozens of powerful blows to the target. The more weapons you collect, the stronger the attack will be. The game also has its own analogue of “idolons” - the so-called “astrals”, which can be called upon for help. I won’t say anything more about this, since their appearance is closely related to the plot.

Treasures and tombs of kings are hidden in the dungeons, but there are also more serious monsters there.

There is no longer a separate loading phase for combat; everything happens in real time. On the map, the enemy’s visibility zone is outlined with a red halo; it also serves as the boundary of the arena during the battle. Often, in the heat of battle, you can accidentally go beyond the invisible boundaries of the zone, and then the battle will be abruptly interrupted, the enemies’ health may be restored (but yours, not so much) and everything will have to start again.

We didn’t really want to find out where “her baby” was.

Another unpleasant moment is associated with the friendly fire added to the game for some reason. This makes it incredibly difficult to use elemental magic in battle: given that Noctis's spells cover a fairly large part of the arena, it is not uncommon for the prince to strike not only monsters, but also his partners with ice, lightning or fire, so he has to cast a spell either at the very beginning of the battle, or making sure that the comrades have moved to a safe distance.

Sometimes the prince just wants a simple hug.

Bro Code

Compared to other parts, there are not so many secondary characters in Final Fantasy XV, and this is rather a plus: all the spotlight is directed at the main four, and no charismatic villains and lovely ladies can distract the attention of real friends from their mission to save the world.

And yet, let's be honest: the main storyline is as simple as boots and, in addition, presented very poorly. Most of the time, the player is bombarded with information about the universe as if he already knows everything about it. We highly recommend watching the full-length film Kingsglaive before the start of the game, because the scriptwriters did not consider it necessary to smoothly introduce users to the process.

And one day Noctis will be left completely alone for a long time - this means that the stealth part of the game has begun. This is where it becomes clear how difficult it really is for a powerful prince without friends. The drama is far-fetched: they are simply trying to squeeze tears out of us with pincers, and this, you see, is a completely hacky approach. It takes about thirty hours to complete the main story, ten of which at least openly make you want to yawn.

Date of publication: 02/07/2017 09:44:38

In fact, it doesn't matter whether you're a beginner or an experienced player - the character development system in Final Fantasy XV so incomprehensible at first glance that it can confuse almost any gamer when choosing the next skill.

Although your heroes gain levels with experience, this only affects their base stats. New skills and abilities are unlocked with special points (AP), and they are common to the entire squad. At the same time, there is far more than one path of development, and some useful skills are not directly related to leveling up any of the heroes.

How the leveling system works in Final Fantasy 15

Before moving directly to the selection of skills, we will devote a little time to explaining the pumping system in general.

There are nine different pages with leveling trees in total. Each of them represents one aspect of the FF15 gameplay. One, for example, is entirely dedicated to the powerful skills of Noctis, another to magic, and the next one contains leveling up the unique skills of all group members.

All the skills presented there are arranged in the form of trees connected by lines. So you will always need to decide which branch is best to develop on - the most interesting skills are at the ends of the branches, and to open them you will have to learn several additional skills.

The best skills in Final Fantasy 15 for initial leveling

There are several skills in FF15 that we recommend taking straight away without any hesitation. While not all of them will directly increase the combat power of your squad, they will contribute to their development in the near future.

Several skills increase the overall flow of AP earned by providing them as rewards for completing certain actions that you will still spend time doing as you progress. That is why revealing them to others will ultimately result in a much more pumped-up squad as a whole, because you will immediately start earning more points.

• Road-running(32 AP, Exploration page): Gain AP for driving a car (it doesn't matter if you're driving or an Ignis).
• Chocobump(32 AP, Exploration page): Gain AP for riding a Chocobo.
• Happy Camping(32 AP, Exploration page) and Happier Camping(48 AP, Exploration page): Gain AP for resting in camps.
• Magic Action(24 AP, Magic page): Gain AP for casting spells.
• Armiger Action And Armiger Chain Reaction(48 AP each, Armiger page, unlocked at a certain point in the storyline): Gain AP for activating Armiger mode with Noctis.

Best Combat Skills in Final Fantasy 15

While these skills may seem useful in the early stages, they will continue to be useful in the future. These skills should be unlocked as early as possible in the playthrough.

• Regroup(18 AP, Techniques page): Gives Ignis the Regroup skill. Brings the entire group out of a dangerous situation and restores health without the use of potions. Requiring two gauge bars to use, this skill will most likely be locked to Ignis throughout the game.
• Airstep(6 AP, Combat page): Being able to step mid-air after attacking is useful for long combos.
• Light Phase(8 AP, Combat page) and Ultralight Phase(32 AP, Combat page): Reduces the MP cost of avoiding attacks while blocking.
• Warp Factor(24 AP, Combat page): Increases damage from teleporting attacks. A further improvement allows you to break body parts of monsters with this attack, which is very useful in battles.
• Stalker(26 AP, Combat page): Increases damage against enemies from behind. A very important skill on which the tactics of battles with strong opponents are based.
• Link Up(8 AP, Teamwork page): Increases the power of linked attacks. They already cause a lot of damage, why not make them even more destructive?
• Health Level(10 AP, Stats page): Increases health based on hero level. It is cheap to pump up, but it gives a constant increase in health as you level up your heroes.
• Accessory Slots(16 AP x4, Stats page): Gives a second accessory slot for each hero. Very useful even in the early stages of playthrough.
• First Shot, Reflex and Analyze(6 AP x3, Teamwork page): These are three base skills for each of your companions. They are very cheap to upgrade, but seriously help in battles. Guys use these skills automatically.
• Death Drop(28 AP, Combat page): An attack that allows you to deal damage from a distance. A useful technique that is often useful in battles.

You can breathe a huge sigh of relief after what came out almost an eternity later Final Fantasy XV, and perhaps the best installment of the franchise since Final Fantasy X perhaps even more powerful Final Fantasy IX.

The four heroes accompanying you as Prince Noctis are an updated XP system where you no longer level up after each fight, but rather "pool" your experience at the end of a good day of questing and monster hunting.

Magic has also been changed a lot, reverting back to three "base powers" elementals (Fire, Lightning and Ice) that can be mixed and created. Combine an ice attack with a healing spell, for example, and you can heal your entire team at once while freezing the opposition.

All this takes a little getting used to. But with new things like the gas station meets giant monster, the friendly banter between Noctis and his crew, and the gorgeous open world itself, Final Fantasy 15 could be a late contender for Game of the Year.

So what are the best stories, facts and conclusions from the last 10 years of development? Well...

11. One hell of a reminder on Final Fantasy VII

We don't tend to discuss outright scary moments in FF VII, but for the first time, you'll see Sephiroth at Shinra Headquarters, proving that he's a force to be reckoned with. Then kill the clock by losing to the menacing Midgar Ash, a giant swimming snake that will wipe out your team in a matter of seconds. And then you will find that Sephirs has already killed one of these, as if nothing had happened.

FF XV references the canonical moment with the same snake, but a much smaller version, which appears when you participate in the fishing mini-game in certain areas of the world. Fortunately, this time it can be destroyed.

10. The names of all four characters have double meanings

Square Enix has had plenty of time to perfect the latest installment of FF XV, starting with the character names themselves.

Now you only control Noctis, but there are three other main characters who are also constantly on screen. Gladiolus, a strong bodyguard, Prompto, an energetic happy-go-lucky type with a penchant for selfies and photographs, and Ignis, Noctis' childhood friend, a chef and the wisest of the gang.

Although their names are translated from Latin differently:

Noctis Lucis Caelum – "Night Light Sky" / "Night Sky Light". If by “light” we mean a star, then Noct’s future bride Luna (Latin for “moon”) is just right for him.

Ignis Stupeo Scientia –"Dazed or afflicted by the knowledge of fire" / "Fire of knowledge". As the group's primary decision-maker and Noct's personal advisor, Ignis's name literally means information itself for a reason.

Gladiolus Amicitia– "Little Sword of Friendship". Quite a subtle translation, considering the gladiatorial connotation associated with his name. Gladiolus's full name reinforces his connection to Noctis and the player, as well as highlighting his primary purpose as the "muscle" of the group.

Prompto Argentum– "Mobility / Quicksilver". A deceptively simple name, but at the same time, Quicksilvers were in Final Fantasy in the form of pistols (Quicksilver was the name of Vincent's firearm in FF VII). A more relevant comparison comes from Final Fantasy Type-0, a 2011 game in which they were wielded by a character named King.

It turns out that this is “King’s weapon.” And Noctis is already in line to take the throne with Prompto as his right-hand man?

9. It Almost Became a Musical

Remember the new "Les Misérables" in 2012, with songs and dances?

FF XV director Tetsuya Nomura was "so moved by Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway's lyrical work in Victor Hugo's novel that he went to the Square offices the next morning with the intention of transforming FF XV into a musical in the vein of Les Misérables."

Naturally, the team was not happy about having to throw away six years of work on a whim, and Tetsuya was politely asked to reconsider his idea.

However, it's strange to know that the director had intentions of making a musical game after all.

8. The number of polygons from FF VII, VIII and IX will fit into the four main characters of FF XV

Some mind-boggling math:

The 3D PS1 Final Fantasy typically allocated up to 1,000 polygons per character by the time the more eloquent Final Fantasy IX models arrived. And if you take into account the unwieldy 100,000 polygons that make up just one FF XV character model (20,000 per hair), you can easily add up the total number of polygons from all 3D PS1 games into the main characters of FF XV.

And what's even better: Even Final Fantasy XIV's character models averaged 8,000 polygons back in 2013, meaning a lot of that game's core players could easily fit into XV's heroes, too.

Remember this fact when you talk about how far the game has come.

7. The story was written by one of the main writers of Final Fantasy VII

Wondering why FF VII and VIII have the Square quality they've been fighting to get back for years?

This is all Kazushige Nojima, now the lead writer of Final Fantasy XV, who teamed up with Yoshinori Kitase on the legendary Final Fantasy VII, having previously taken on VIII himself - in a similar way that XV was invented.

Many reviews and early impressions highlighted that the first few hours of the game are so inviting and detailed, and that you can interact with them both through the characters themselves and through various things. And while you're reminiscing about openings from older games, don't forget that Nojima played a significant role in this.

6. This is the largest map per square mile in gaming history.

Covering a monstrous 780 square miles, FF XV's vast landmass underscores the smallness of Just Cause 2's 400 square miles.

Here are some more comparisons:

Fallout 3– 16 square miles

Grand Theft Auto V– 31 square miles

Skyrim– 39 square miles

Fallout 4– 43 square miles

The Witcher: Wild Hunt– 52 square miles

Of course, it's not the size, it's how it's used, but it's still an impressive feat for a team of coders to create such an impressive gaming space by hand.

5. It all started with Final Fantasy Versus XIII back in 2006

This is probably one of the most famous facts about FF XV, but it's still one of the craziest considering the circumstances.

History has it that what is now known as Final Fantasy XV actually began life as Final Fantasy Versus XIII back in 2006, a game that was supposed to tell a "dark" parallel story, appearing as FF XIII.

During production, the team faced several obstacles, including the formation of the chosen characters, the implementation of a newer game engine, and then the information that PS4 and Xbox One were coming.

The decision was then made to rebrand and remake huge chunks of the game to give it a canon look, but this obviously delayed development.

Versus XIII was said to be "20-25% done" when the change was officially unveiled to the public in 2012, and it took another four years (with multiple delays) to finally release what is now available for purchase as Final Fantasy XV.

4. There was a game version of the car for 50 million yen

Thanks to ever-increasing development costs over the years, Square quickly realized that they would need additional products and sponsorship deals to make FF XV as well known as possible.

To this end, they struck a deal with Audi to create the Regalia, a fictional car based on the real Audi R8. Of course, the game took some creative license (like the ability to fly), but the basic structure was taken from a real supermachine.

Taking it a step further, Square was commissioned to create a real-life version of the Regalia (again, flightless, but with fancier wheel covers and other tweaks) for a whopping 50 million yen, or almost $470,000, which was given to the prize winner ahead of release.

3. Many of the monster designs are over 30 years old.

They renew their roots.

Lead artist Yoshitaka Amano had been with Square back in 1987, when he helped develop some of the game's original characters and monster designs. Amano stayed with the company and has contributed to every Final Fantasy since, helping design logos for various games that you can recognize from a mile away.

For FF XV, a ton of Amano's original monster designs were repurposed and remade for the modern generation, including the Behemoth and the elephant-like Catoblepas, the latter of which was seen in the original Episode Duscae demo.

2. For the first time in 24 years, almost no moogles appear

One of the iconic creatures in RPG history, Final Fantasy moogles have been present in every game since 1992's Final Fantasy V (they first appeared in FF III, but were dropped in the fourth installment).

And now director Tetsuya Nomura has noted that he felt the furry little ball-headed creatures wouldn't "fit" with the atmosphere of FF XV, yet after polling fans to see if audiences might still want to see them, the result was unanimously positive .

As a result, even though there are no animated moogles in FF XV, they are still available as "lucky items" at retail outlets and gas stations along your route.

1. Ramu's Staff - a subtle nod to the summoning creature from Final Fantasy X

Quick question: can you name the creature in the picture above?

Why, it's Ixion, the lightning summoning creature that first appeared in Final Fantasy X to replace Ram. Now he's back, it's just that the designers wanted to pay homage to the original replacement from 2001 by placing Ixion on the top right side of Ramu's new and improved staff.

Of course, this inclusion can be easily missed, but it really shows that the game's art style is on another level.