Editing Final Fantasy (section)

=== Origin ===
{{See also|Final Fantasy (video game)#Development|Final Fantasy II#Development|l1=Development of Final Fantasy (video game)|l2=Development of Final Fantasy II}}
[[File:Hironobu Sakaguchi 20070706 Japan Expo 1.jpg|thumb|[[Hironobu Sakaguchi]], creator of the ''Final Fantasy'' series|alt=A man sitting in a chair and speaking in a microphone.]]
In the mid-1980s, Square entered the Japanese [[video game industry]] with simple RPGs, [[racing video game|racing games]], and [[platform game|platformers]] for [[Nintendo]]'s [[Family Computer Disk System|Famicom Disk System]]. In 1987, Square designer [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]] chose to create a new fantasy role-playing game for the cartridge-based NES, and drew inspiration from popular fantasy games: [[Enix]]'s ''[[Dragon Warrior|Dragon Quest]]'', Nintendo's ''[[The Legend of Zelda (1986 video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'', and [[Origin Systems]]'s [[Ultima (series)|''Ultima'' series]]. Though often attributed to the company allegedly facing bankruptcy, Sakaguchi explained that the game was his personal last-ditch effort in the game industry and that its title, ''Final Fantasy'', stemmed from his feelings at the time; had the game not sold well, he would have quit the business and gone back to college.<ref name="developmentFF">{{cite web|url=http://www.develop-online.net/news/28960/Sakaguchi-discusses-the-development-of-Final-Fantasy |title=Sakaguchi discusses the development of Final Fantasy |author=Fear, Ed |date=December 13, 2007 |work=[[Develop (UK magazine)|Develop]] |publisher=Intent Media |access-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809114048/http://www.develop-online.net/news/28960/Sakaguchi-discusses-the-development-of-Final-Fantasy |archive-date=August 9, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="IntroSE">{{cite web|title=An Introduction to Square-Enix |url=http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1554/An-Introduction-to-SquareEnix/p2/ |publisher=IGN |work=[[TeamXbox]] |last=Berardini |first=César A. |date=April 26, 2006 |access-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716200245/http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1554/An-Introduction-to-SquareEnix/p2/ |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FF-Retro-1">{{cite web | url = http://www.gametrailers.com/video/part-i-final-fantasy/22250 | title = Final Fantasy Retrospective Part I | publisher = [[GameTrailers]]| date = July 15, 2007 | access-date = August 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090608140809/http://www.gametrailers.com/video/part-i-final-fantasy/22250 | archive-date = June 8, 2009 | url-status = live}}</ref> Despite his explanation, publications have also attributed the name to the company's hopes that the project would solve its financial troubles.<ref name="IntroSE"/><ref name="GS-FFHistory">{{cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/features/vgs/universal/finalfantasy_hs/ | title = The History of Final Fantasy: Introduction | work = The History of Final Fantasy | last = Vestal | first = Andrew | publisher = [[GameSpot]] | access-date = August 4, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210055911/http://www.gamespot.com/features/vgs/universal/finalfantasy_hs/ | archive-date=February 10, 2009}}</ref> In 2015, Sakaguchi explained the name's origin: the team wanted a title that would abbreviate to "''FF''", which would sound good in Japanese. The name was originally going to be ''Fighting Fantasy'', but due to concerns over trademark conflicts with the [[Fighting Fantasy|roleplaying gamebook series of the same name]], they needed to settle for something else. As the English word "Final" was well known in Japan, Sakaguchi settled on that. According to Sakaguchi, any title that created the "''FF''" abbreviation would have done.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.famitsu.com/news/201505/24079276.html|title=『FF』はどのように世界に広がっていったのか？坂口博信氏と浜村弘一ファミ通グループ代表が"国際日本ゲーム研究カンファレンス"にて語る|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|date=May 24, 2015|access-date=May 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526221313/http://www.famitsu.com/news/201505/24079276.html|archive-date=May 26, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The game indeed reversed Square's lagging fortunes, and it became the company's flagship franchise.<ref name="Edge177"/><ref name="IntroSE"/> Following the success, Square immediately developed a second installment. Because Sakaguchi assumed ''Final Fantasy'' would be a stand-alone game, its story was not designed to be expanded by a sequel. The developers instead chose to carry over only thematic similarities from its predecessor, while some of the [[gameplay]] elements, such as the character advancement system, were overhauled. This approach has continued throughout the series; each major ''Final Fantasy'' game features a new setting, a new cast of characters, and an upgraded battle system.<ref name="GT-FFRetrospectiveII"/> Video game writer John Harris attributed the concept of reworking the game system of each installment to [[Nihon Falcom]]'s ''[[Dragon Slayer (series)|Dragon Slayer]]'' series,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/game-design-essentials-20-rpgs |author=John Harris |title=Game Design Essentials: 20 RPGs - Dragon Slayer |website=[[Gamasutra]] |page=13 |date=July 2, 2009 |access-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012154920/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4066/game_design_essentials_20_rpgs.php?page=13 |archive-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> with which Square was previously involved as a publisher.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kurt Kalata |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dragonslayer/dragonslayer.htm |title=Dragon Slayer |publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101 |access-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723142515/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dragonslayer/dragonslayer.htm |archive-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The company regularly released new games in the main series, but the time between the releases of ''XI'' (2002), ''XII'' (2006), and ''XIII'' (2009) were much longer than previous games. Following ''Final Fantasy XIV'', Square Enix released ''Final Fantasy'' games either annually or biennially. This switch was to mimic the development cycles of Western games in the ''[[Call of Duty]]'', ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' and ''[[Battlefield (video game series)|Battlefield]]'' series, as well as maintain fan-interest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-21-se-wants-to-release-a-final-fantasy-every-year-or-two |title=SE wants to release a Final Fantasy every year or two |website=Eurogamer |first=Wesley |last=Yin-Poole |date=November 21, 2011 |access-date=November 22, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123161322/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-21-se-wants-to-release-a-final-fantasy-every-year-or-two |archive-date=November 23, 2011}}</ref>