History Of RPG’s

Final Fantasy’s influence on the genre

Origins Of RPG’s

Hobbit (1937), Lord of the Rings (1954, 1955) Greatly expanded interest in fantasy fiction

In 1974, Dungeons & Dragons is released and becomes the signature game of the genre

Rogue (1980): dungeon crawling computer game (Unix minicomputers) Initial development at UCSC, completed at UCB.

In 1980, Ultima I is released on the Apple //. This marks the first widely influential Computer Role Playing Game (or, CRPG)

Apple // is dominant platform for CRPGs Ultima 2 (1982), Ultima 3 (1983), Ultima 4 (1985) Wizardry (1981) All broadly popular games

In 1984, the Intellivision game AD&D: Treasure of Tarmin is released. This is the first RPG for an game console. Later that year Dragonstomper, another RPG was released

for the Atari 2600

In 1986, Dragon Quest is released on the Nintendo Entertainment System

In 1987, five RPGs were released, titles include Dragon Quest II, Fantasy Star, and, Final Fantasy. The RPG craze had begun…

Final Fantasy I

Japanese Release: December 17, 1987

Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System

Ability to name one’s characters

Detailed battle animation

Expansive world with many different means of transportation

Puzzle Mini game, first to affect the in game situation of the user

Final Fantasy II

Japanese Release: December 17, 1988

Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System

Introduction of “Use Based System”

Attributes, like strength and magic, were increased via actions in battle

Key terms could be memorized and then used in conversation with other characters in the game

Introduction of Cid and the Chocobo

Final Fantasy III

Japanese Release: April 27,1990

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Job system allowed characters to change various professions.

The combination of Jobs

Final Fantasy IV

Japanese Release: July 19, 1991

Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Introduction of the “Active Time Battle System” (Or “ATB”)

Final Fantasy V

Japanese release: December 2, 1992

Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Used ATB battle system

Revived the Job system from Final Fantasy III

The job system was combined with ATB system to make the user’s character’s fully customizable

Introduction of Moogles to the series

Final Fantasy VI

Japanese Release: April 2, 1994

Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Opera house music-based mini game

Used a “Steam Punk” art style QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

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Final Fantasy VII

Japanese Release: January 31, 1997

Platform: PlayStation 1

First game of the PlayStation

Used full polygon rendering for all characters and monsters

Materia system allowed characters to combin “materia” with items, unlocking new abilities

Many mini games were added

FF:VII Spin Off Games

FFVII: Advent Children (Movie)

FFVII: Dirge of Cerberus (PS2 Game)

FFVII: Before Crisis (Cell Phone Game)

FFVII: Crisis Core (Cell Phone Game)

Final Fantasy VIII

Japanese Release: February 11, 1999

Platform: PlayStation Game Console

Draw system allowed characters to steal (or draw) abilities from enemies

Final Fantasy IX

Japanese Release: July 7, 2000

Platform: PlayStation

Introduction of the Active Time Event system

ATE puts the user in the middle of the action of the game

Final Fantasy X

Japanese Release: July 19, 2001

Platform: PlayStation 2

First Final Fantasy game on PS2

First Final Fantasy game to use voice acting

Used “Conditional Turn Based Battle” system

Use of the “Sphere Grid” allowed the user to unlock new skills and abilities

Spin off: Final Fantasy X-2First game in the series to use a fully

female cast of main characters

Final Fantasy XI

Japanese Release: May 16, 2002

Platform: PlayStation 2, PC, X-Box 360

First Final Fantasy game to go on-line

Allowed users on all platforms to play together in an on-line world

RPG’s legacy

Pokemon: The worldwide best selling Computer RPG. Selling over 91 million units across 11 different titles as of 2004

The second and third best selling series worldwide are Square Enix’s (originally SquarSoft) Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Final Fantasy has sold 63 million units, and Dragon Quest has sold over 40 million units

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