Devastated worlds
There are a few things that make a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game: an emo-ass protagonist with a tragic past, a furry companion that joins your party at some point during the campaign, a maniacal villain that’s as terrifying as they are hot, and Cid.
But above all, what truly signals a Final Fantasy game is the world the characters inhabit. These games have settings that are just as much a part of the character roster as the playable characters themselves. Gaia from FFVII, FFX’s Spira, Eos from FFXV, even FFXVI’s Valisthea—every world, whether its name is shared (like Gaia, which is also in FFIX) or original, is distinct and memorable. It’s hard to picture a Final Fantasy game without an iconic, politically distraught, beautifully devastated world, which to me is what really makes these games. — Levi Winslow
