25 Reasons Why We Still Love Final Fantasy 25 Years Later

I can't believe it's already been 25 years since Final Fantasy was first created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and the talented developers at Square Enix, which was then known as Squaresoft. What makes the series so special? What has allowed the franchise to survive when other RPGs have faded into the catacombs of retro-reviews on YouTube?

The series has seen a lot of dramatic shifts over the years, and here are the 25 reasons why I love Final Fantasy, and why I think it has endured. (Warning, there are a whole lot of Final Fantasy spoilers!!!)

1. The Name, Final Fantasy

Many different companies have come up with derivatives off the title of Final Fantasy, but none have the same ring or are quite as catchy. Think about some of the Square Enix titles: The Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery, Lord of Vermilion, Heroes of Ruin, and Threads of Fate. They're good titles, but they don't resonate or linger the way FF does. Maybe it's the double Fs, but Final Fantasy just has something epically sublime about it.

2. The Victory Fanfare and the Theme Song

Bah bah bah baaaah, etc. You know the chime of the fanfare followed by the melody, which they mixed up in the PS1 and PS2 versions, with FFVII and FFX being my two favorites. The lack of the fanfare was one of my biggest complaints about FFXIII. As for the Theme Song, that's always classic.

3. Airships

The moment the airship first emerged from the desert in FFI and I rode around in it to navigate the world, I was a convert. 

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