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 a

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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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