“Fighting Fantasy” was Hironobu Sakaguchi’s last hope to become a video game script writer of merit. He faced imminent lay off for his mediocre output in the Square company; thus, changing the title of his final work to “Final Fantasy”. “Final Fantasy” (FF) took Japan by storm in 1987. The game introduced the idea of a Role-Playing Game to Japan, a country that had never encountered this style before. Hiroyuki Ito, a battle programmer, took inspiration from American style football, players lined on each side with a strategy. Congruently, Akitoshi Kawazu, a battle programmer, took his inspiration from the American game “Dungeons and Dragons”. Since 1987, “FF” has become one of the best-selling games of all time and continues to sell copies worldwide. Notable genre conventions include, but are not limited to: cutting edge graphics, dramatic musical scores, witty dialogue, and intricate story development and characterization. Four unique compositions relating to “FF” will be critically analyzed in order to better understand the influence and reception of the game. The compositions are as follows: a critical analysis of each core game in IGN’s “Ranking Final Fantasy”, a meme summarizing the plot of each core game in “Final Fantasy in a Nutshell, a musical composition by Nobuo Uematsu titled “One-Winged Angel”, and a comparison video between FFVII and FFVII HD. 

    The first composition selected to analyze is Nobuo Uematsu’s “One-Winged Angel”. The composition is a musical score, thereby having an auditory mode. “One-Winged Angel” is a digital composition and can be viewed online, therefore the general audience is very wide spread. The first method of access is a digital recording on an online video provider. Secondly one may use an audio streaming service such as Spotify, Amazon Prime, or iTunes. Concert experiences allow the audience to access the audio live, while still the audience can use a physical copy of the CD. The targeted audience is anyone who is deemed able to appreciate the music, as it is not pop music. This composition was uniquely written in multiple bursts of movements, to be combined in a final product . The design and style are descriptive as Uematsu uses a wide range of dynamics to characterize Sephiroth, the antagonist. The track supports the convention of in depth characterization. The song narrates the hatred Sephiroth harbors, and the movements in the song illustrate his fall from grace to corruption.  In the first movement there is a strong underlying beat provided by the percussion, signaling the movement of Sephiroth to his victims. Further the use of violins and violas give a sense of flight. The second movement progresses into a large brass section where horns sound the arrival of the foe. The third movement provides Latin lyrics “Burning inside with a violent anger, Sephiroth.” These lyrics seek to provide the audience with a reason for his violence and antagonist ways. Furthermore, the lyrics transition to “Fate monstrous and empty”, describing the state of the moment, a monstrous fate is immanent with all hope, empty. The next movement transitions to ¾ time, a waltz. Fencing is like a waltz, back and forth with careful steps, between good and evil. More instruments such as the brass are added to transition smoothly to the next movement, the marimba. This peaceful innocent sounding theme characterizes the childhood innocence of Sephiroth, a fallen hero. Prior to uncovering the nature of his creation, Sephiroth was a kind young man. The final transition is the corruption of Sephiroth. The lyrics chant ominously with an instrumental build “Come come, do not let me die” and “Glorious, Merciful”. The finale ends on the lyric “Sephiroth”, the end of this narrative of corruption. Uemtasu uses narrative prose in order to detail the life and internal struggle of Sephiroth, the one-winged angel. “One-Winged Angel”, therefore, is a brilliant representation of the convention of “dramatic music”.  It is regarded as one of the most well-known “Final Fantasy” soundtracks of all time, further one of the best video game soundtracks of all time . The merit of “One-Winged Angel” can be found in its use of complex dynamics and smooth transitions from theme to theme. 

    The second composition selected is the “Final Fantasy in a Nutshell” meme. This meme seeks to give a humorous summary of the plots of each core game. This meme directly subverts the genre convention of “intricate and unique storytelling”. Some critical reviews of the series give praise to their unique storylines and innovation, whereas the meme blatantly reveals the similarities between games and other Pop Icons. The style and design are in chronological order from one to fifteen. Chronological order is convenient and allows the reader to see the progression of the story from one game to the next. The mode is visual based text, as one must read the meme in order to appreciate what the author seeks to convey. The meme was posted on the “Otaku Central” Facebook page, the intended audience. The general audience however, is anyone who is a registered Facebook user. 
The humor of the meme is only understood with knowledge of the game. This severely restricts the audience to people who understand the references drawn upon. For example, “Final Fantasy XV” is about the crown prince and his three bodyguard friends driving to his wedding in a neutral kingdom. While the crown prince is traveling to his wedding, his kingdom falls and is lost to darkness. The meme summarizes this plot as a “bachelor party goes very badly”. Another example is “Final Fantasy X”. The protagonist and his father are sports stars and are transported to another dimension where cultists live. The cultists worship the sport “Blitzball” as something sacred, and follow strict rules to keep them under control. The protagonist’s father becomes the main antagonist in the game. “Daddy issues”, “sports story”, and “Christian Guilt Complex” are all representative of the elements in “FFX”. 

    The third composition is a digital article released by IGN, a video game and entertainment website. The article is titled “Ranking the Final Fantasy Games”, and critically analyzes the thirteen core games, since early 2016. The mode is visual text based, whereas the media is digital, as IGN is a digital platform. As it is a critical analysis, the style of the article is an informative analysis. The analysis allows the audience to form their own opinions on the games and rank them according to a specific set of criteria set in place by the article author. The audience is limited to people with internet access, and the intended audience are those who frequent the IGN website. The article is integral to the curations as it not only supports all genre conventions, but simultaneously condemns those that do not. Some examples are the analysis of “FFVIII”. Although “FFVIII” is regarded as one of the bestselling titles (ranked 7th) , the story falls apart in the third act with plot holes and introductions to subplots that are never resolved. This directly subverts the convention of “intricate storytelling”. What “FFVIII” does excel in however, is “dramatic music” and “cutting edge graphics”. The use of polygon styling in 1998’s “FFVII” had now been made smoother in “FFVIII”, marking a new era for PlayStation graphics. “FFVI” (1994) however marked a new era with a new fast paced tactical combat system that the following games would be modeled after, until the release of “FFXIII” (2010). This production supports the convention of an ever-improving series. A critical analysis of “FFIX” displays a non-romantic relationship between the main protagonist and his female companion. This is very important as “Final Fantasy” is a series known for empowering women and giving them large roles in the story. Other females such as Yuna (FFX) and Lunafreya (XV) have romantic relationships with the protagonists. “Final Fantasy IX” is praised for the characterization of the protagonists, making them grow closer as friends by the end of the story. The article ensures to highlight the fact that “Final Fantasy” did not use a woman as a love interest or a place holder. However, “FFVI” subverts the genre convention as there are many male protagonists who adore the female leads. One cannot neglect “FFIV”’s subplot of a love triangle between the three leads on the topic of subversion. The article brings to light the use of genre conventions whilst critiquing the titles that neglect the conventions. 

    The final selected composition is a video comparing the “Final Fantasy VII” trailer from 1998 and the “Final Fantasy VII HD” trailer from E3 2015. The mode is visual and audio based, as one experiences the trailer by watching the graphics and listening to the music and dialogue. The media is digital, one must have a way to view the video. The audience is widespread, anyone with internet access to view YouTube. The targeted audience however are “gamers” interested in “Final Fantasy” and those subscribed to the channel “Candyland”. The style is informative as the video seeks to show the audience the 17-year difference between the games. It is not persuasive however, because the video itself does not try to sell either game to the viewer. The design allows the creator to switch from a clip of the 1998 trailer to the 2015 E3 trailer. The viewer can then see the difference between a selected segment. The trailer is chronological, as playing the trailer out of order would cause confusion, even splitting it in segments. The trailer comparison composition supports the genre convention of an ever-improving game series. The HD Director, Tetsuya Nomura, stated “[Yoshinori] Kitase [director of the original FF7] would asked me how the individual elements should be adjusted in fine detail”  One can see the evolution from the PlayStation 1 polygon style graphics, to the prerendered smooth PlayStation 4 graphics. In every console era, Square Enix has remained a leader in design and graphics. PlayStation 1 was the first platform for 3D models, in 1998, the prerendered scenes were ahead of their time. With the development of 2015’s E3 trailer, one can see the guard’s mouths twitch in disgust before they attempt to seize Cloud. This is such a jump in programming and graphics that other companies still sorely lack. The graphics are smooth, shaded, and humanoid. One can notice the defined cheek bones on Cloud’s face, even individual freckles and strands of flaxen hair. The original turn-based battle programming of “FFVII” has evolved to a free world fighting style. With the poor reception of “FFX”’s turn-based system, Square Enix knew they had to evolve. Since “FFXIII” the free world style fighting system has been implemented. As shown in the HD trailer, the fighting mechanics will be free world, allowing the user to fight who they want, when they want, how they want. This is a large step out of the comfort zone of “FFVII” producers as much of the game’s mechanics were in fact tied into the turn based system. The evolution of dialogue has is also prevalent. Notably, the HD trailer is fully voiced, whereas the original trailer solely uses dialogue boxes. The dialogue has also changed from the original trailer. Rather than translating text, the translators are now tasked with translating spoken dialogue. In the Japanese language, some spoken nuances are not featured in writing, therefore would not be featured in the English script. With the evolution of spoken word rather than text, nuances and personality can be accurately portrayed. Tone is also very important. Take Barret’s dialogue for example. The original box says “Come on newcomer, follow me!”. One could argue that he is using any tone. In the spoken dialogue of the HD trailer however, Barret has developed more personality saying “Let’s go recruit, we are paying you more than a few gil.”. This shows his intensity and attitude towards Cloud. Furthermore, the dramatic and memorable 8-Bit “Opening~Bombing Mission” track has been replaced by the symphonic “Distant Worlds” arrangement. This replacement directly supports the theme of dramatic music. 

    “Final Fantasy” is a game that people of all interests can enjoy. The common misconception is that “Final Fantasy” is only for “hardcore” gamers or “nerds”. In fact, the subheading of “FFXV” is “A Final Fantasy for Fans and First Timers”. There is much diversity to appreciate in the world of “Final Fantasy”. One who is interested in social issues may praise the series for its use of strong female leads and males who express a wide range of emotion. Another who is interested in art and design can appreciate the hand painted backgrounds to the evolution of cell shading. Still others consumed by the world of music will be enchanted by the dramatic operatic scores and symphonic compositions. Linguists may be enraptured in the use of Japanese, English, Latin, and even Esperanto . The World of “Final Fantasy” is a world for all, created by dreamers, hard workers, and those who love tales of peace and unity. Let no story go untold, for “No story is not worth hearing.” .