The Final Fantasy Retrospective

Final Fantasy has been a titan in the realm of video games for nearly 35 years, even since the release of Hironobu Sakaguchi's original Famicom game in 1987. But what were the circumstances of Final Fantasy's creation? What was the cultural context in which Final Fantasy was created and birthed into? How did works and creatives like Star Wars, Dragon Quest, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, and 17th century Irish satirist Jonathan Swift influence Sakaguchi's work?

Today, we are going to examine the original 8-bit classic in glorious detail, explore the early years of Square (now Square-Enix), and attempt to properly contextualize it all within its time and place in video game history. This is the beginning of The Final Fantasy Retrospective, just in time for the release of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and as a celebration of 35 years of Final Fantasy!

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
2:57 - Part I - Sakaguchi
8:32 - Part II - Square & The Evolving Market
18:47 - Part III - Developing the Fantasy
27:10 - Part IV - Final Fantasy
31:37 - Structure Analysis
36:35 - Combat & Difficulty
50:54 - Design & Aesthetics
1:09:23 - Climax
1:19:08 - Personal Thoughts
1:22:21 - Part V - Remaking the Fantasy
1:33:10 - Part VI - Reception & Legacy
1:39:01 - Epilogue & To Be Continued...

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