*This article is compiled from IGN US and is not reproduced without authorization.
What would 1987's Final Fantasy 1 look like if it were to be a modern action game in 2022? Final Fantasy Origins: Strangers in Paradise asks this question and gives a copy of its own.
The game's overly complex story and blandly portrayed NPCs were not redeemed until the last few hours, but challenging combat and a highly liberal character customization system were satisfying from start to finish, even after the end of the week. It's a love letter to Final Fantasy filled with Easter eggs and homages that seem to want all Final Fantasy players to have some fun.
Like the tv series Lost, which revolves around a huge mystery, the storyline of Final Fantasy Origins has always puzzled me, until the last moment when all the clues come together and the secrets are revealed. But before the mystery is revealed, Lost underpins the plot with memorable characters and twists, while Final Fantasy Origins' characterization is substandard, relying entirely on a solid combat system to pick the slack, using only ambiguous and incomprehensible clues to hint at the real situation.
None of the five squad members are brilliant, and apart from small talk and non-stop re-reading to kill "Chaos", there is basically no real character growth. So when I read their names, I certainly didn't have the same enthusiasm as when I read "Claude" or "Yuna." Maybe in a month I'll forget what they're called.
However, although the plot of the first few hours was difficult to attract me (especially the protagonist Jack and his initial companions, Arthur and Jeter, who both had different degrees of amnesia and said that they seemed to have seen it everywhere they went), in the end, it became a good foreshadowing: the epilogue was very different from the beginning, answering all the questions I had accumulated along the way. However, when I played, I specifically looked for collectibles, and most of them were obtained, which allowed me to find enough clues to connect the main story and the backstory.
Some of the collections complement the story to some extent, such as the origin and importance of the Black Crystal that brought the original members together, while others explain the meaning of "foreigner" and "paradise" in the title. But it's easy to leave out, and without the important additions these collections offer, the ending and final revelation might not have resonated so strongly with me.
While Final Fantasy Origins wasn't a direct remake of Final Fantasy 1, many of the original locations were completely renovated. The main city of Cornelia is where the adventure begins, and locations such as the Temple of Chaos and the Caves of the Earth are infused with new life by the Glorious Tekumo. They also found inspiration from several other Final Fantasy films. For example, the factory in the game is reminiscent of the Magic Furnace of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, there is a pirate base full of fishmen (like Shastasha in Final Fantasy 14), and a wetland on the adventure also has a weather conversion mechanism similar to the Sanres Water Town in Final Fantasy XIII.
There are also many excellent map designs, I will not introduce them one by one, so as not to spoil the surprise. For fans, discovering which game inspired each level of Final Fantasy Origins is both a treat and a puzzle-solving process. In fact, almost every level has a different look, and every exploration can bring new ideas. Some of the soundtracks are also adapted from other Final Fantasy and are sure to make old fans feel very intimate.
However, in terms of graphics, even in the HDR mode of the PS5, Final Fantasy Origins is an average level most of the time. Some of the cutscenes did look so extraordinary that I immediately pressed the screenshot button, but it was rare. The in-game graphics are decent, the character models and textures are of decent quality, and they look a lot like Final Fantasy XIII, but they're not good enough to make me crave the photo mode.
I opened up the week in quality mode, did not feel a significant frame drop in the middle, and basically stabilized at about 30 FPS. After a week of clearing, I cut to performance priority mode and never went back. The 60 FPS makes dodging and bouncing easier, and some of the flashy combos have a better experience because I can use the "Cancel Chain" (by pressing the button to switch classes) more stably, which in turn cancels the hard straight and connects more combos.
Final Fantasy Origins offers 5 levels of difficulty: Casual, Story, Action, Hard, and Chaos (unlocked after completing the week). The temptation to drop high-level items led me to choose Hardmode during the week, and I ended up playing through it in nearly 30 hours, including side quests for equipment, unlocking classes for teammates, replaying missions in three-player online mode, lots of backpack management, constantly upgrading and customizing team configurations, and many deaths (especially when testing different genres and class combinations in Boss Battles).
At this difficulty, almost every enemy poses a threat to my survival, whether it is a small roundworm that will turn into a purple flame wheel, or a dangerous lantern monster with its deadly kitchen knife and powerful range attack. Sometimes, I'm under siege by a swarm of bats or skeletons. The outside world is too dangerous! Fortunately, you can adjust the difficulty at any checkpoint (Rubik's Cube), so if you find yourself at a low level, you can lower the difficulty of any battle - this is better than the Death Brush level.
Although Final Fantasy Origin's fighting style is clearly influenced by Soul games, it's fairly forgiving about death: experience, materials, armor, weapons, and even extra healing agents don't fall off, and PS5's super-fast loading speed allows you to return to combat in no time.
However, death is not without consequences, in addition to re-running the map and clearing the map, your maximum mana will also be temporarily reduced. Spells like Healing and Fire, or command skills like Dragon Sword and Light Revelation, or even class combos like Dragon Knight jumps and warriors' roars, all require mana to use, so increasing the mana cap back to 6 is a critical task. (Limiting mana is also quite restored to Final Fantasy 1, the mana value in the original generation will not be automatically restored, if you want to make up for the magic, you have to stay in a hotel or use recovery items such as huts and tents.) ）
Fortunately, there are several ways to restore mana, such as using the execution technique "Soul Blast" after depleting the enemy Break slot.
Using executions will cause enemies to explode into a pile of crystal fragments, incidentally repelling nearby enemies. Soul Blast has a lot of exaggerated execution animations that bring a lot of joy to the battle. For example, when using Soul Blast on the guardians of Floating City, Jack would knock them to the ground and then trample on their lower bodies, which was extremely insulting; when executing cacti, he would grab them and throw them out; before breaking the Lantern Monster, Jack would gently pat the Lantern Monster on the head. His tricks are really too many.
Final Fantasy Origins has 28 classes, each with a unique skill tree, so you have a lot of room to experiment, you can experience different classes, try different team formations, and find a style of play that suits you. You can equip any two classes for your character (only one for your indirectly controlled companions), and although only one class can be activated at a time, it can be switched with a single button.
You can mix and match classes as you please, such as using the mage class of two glass cannons to boost your intellectual stats, make your spells deal more damage, and quickly exhaust the enemy's Break slot to stun them. You can also use Warriors with Berserkers, so you can use warriors' "Battle Roars" to bleed back and forth, counteracting berserkers' inability to use healing agents in a furious state, while also enjoying the short-term attack and defense bonuses that come with berserks. Tank classes such as Knight and Paladin can also be combined to increase health and fitness, which also reduces Break slot consumption when damaged.
But my favorite combination is the Sage Dragon Knight. Sages can combine black and white magic with super black magic to "the ultimate", and Dragon Knight's jumping skills provide battlefield maneuverability and deal considerable damage with short but fast combos. It's not the strongest output combination, but it improves my survivability, and I love flying kites, so sacrificing a little damage isn't a problem.
In addition to the two classes you choose, you can also use Jack as a Green Magician, as he can use the Soul Shield to take down enemy skills and use them as his own. After catching the Bomber Monster's flame magic, if you serve it as it is, you can also make the bomb explode, which may be one of the coolest ways to kill Final Fantasy Origins. The Soul Shield can also be quickly connected, and I used this move to block the entire beam attack of the six-headed dragon Tiamat (Wind Chaos in Final Fantasy 1). Blocking such a powerful attack reminds me of the days I used to play Street Fighter 3: Three Degrees of Impact.
Combat and customization are well done, but Final Fantasy Origin's backpack system is a bit of a drag. The good news is that the Items List menu can be sorted and filtered, and they can be organized by class, value, special effects, and so on.
However, the problem is that "battle preparation", that is, there is no screening function in the menu of equipment change, and can only be sorted by order of acquisition, equipment level, class adaptability, defense (or attack power), and equipment type. At first glance, this may sound fine, but once you have 500 pieces of equipment, to find the right equipment for both classes, you'll have to spend a lot of time flipping through the menus instead of spawning monsters to get more loot.
The Battle Readiness menu does have a shortcut called "Strongest Equipment", but it doesn't work particularly well. Pressing the touchpad of the PS5 handle automatically equips the highest level of available equipment, but for some classes, this is a very bad feature. For example, a tank is likely to wear mage equipment because it has the highest level of equipment.
In addition, you can't send items to the warehouse at any time, only the Magic Cube. If your backpack is stuffed, you'll have to throw away the worst gear – it's too retro, and it's an online co-op game where no one wants to stand and wait for someone else to pack up their backpack.
And it's very common for backpacks to be stuffed. In most games where equipment is spent, item drop rates are usually low, but Final Fantasy Origins does the opposite: each mission generously offers 80 to 120 items, and certain rewards are given the first time they are completed, which are previewed before the mission is started. I can't think of another game that makes brushing gear so efficient from the start. Moreover, "Final Fantasy Origins" is a hub-like large map, which means that the map is basically looking at the map between missions, and it is easy to forget to break down the excess equipment, and accidentally enter the new mission with a full backpack. (I probably, probably, maybe did it once or twice.) ）
summary
Final Fantasy Origins: Strangers from Heaven initially seems like a patchwork of scattered stories with no definite direction, but it slowly pieces together all the pieces to produce an excellent ending—though if you want to sort through all the clues, be sure to collect as much collectibles as possible.
It has a solid and fun action battle system, which can make people feel challenged and can get a sense of satisfaction. It also has a rich character customization system, players can freely mix and match dozens of classes that can be replaced at any time, try different genres, fight in their own style, and find winning policies for single-player challenges or three-player cooperation.
Each mission drops a lot of equipment, but there's plenty of room for improvement in the backpack management system. However, the level is full of content that pays tribute to the history of the Final Fantasy series, which is enough to make people forget the unhappiness of tidying up their backpacks. There are even more challenges after the end of the story, and this game has a lot to experience, and if you can go online with friends, the experience is even better.
merit
Excellent scenography
The diverse careers and skill sets are interesting
Solid and fun combat design
shortcoming
Character building is relatively bland
Overly complex storyline