In its previous promotional material, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has been shown off as a unique depiction of the long-running JRPG franchise. While players will have to wait until March to see everything that Final Fantasy Origin is hiding, Square Enix has dropped a final trailer giving players one more dose of character reveals and surprises.
From Final Fantasy Origin's initial reveal at E3 2021, one of the game's major takeaways was the edgy nature of the protagonist and setting in general. This became especially apparent when footage from one of Final Fantasy Origin's later trailers took on meme status, the protagonist Jack totally disregarding the backstory of another character and proceeding to play grunge rock on his phone. While this tone isn't necessarily a bad thing for a Final Fantasy game, it has had players concerned for what the final product will look like, the game being a pseudo-retelling or prequel to the original Final Fantasy.
The final trailer for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is densely packed with new characters, bosses, gameplay footage, and potential story beats. For starters, the Warriors of Light will seemingly be joined by a fifth character named Sofia, who is introduced by slicing down an enemy, before joining the gang with a fist bump. Like older entries in the series, Final Fantasy Origin uses a revamped job system that allows players to customize the skills and abilities of Sofia and the rest of the party in real time. Players also get another look at the trickster Astos, in the trailer showing some familiarity with Jack, though it appears to have been in another time.
Generally, the trailer is split into two parts, the first focusing more on gameplay, and the second creating tone. The Warriors of Light are shown fighting (and getting thrashed) by a handful of bosses including a large humanoid creature with tentacles named Kraken, a fiery insect-like creature with multiple arms, and Lich, a fearsome skeletal entity that reeks of death. Keeping in line with the character so far, the scene ends with Jack boisterously proclaiming his lack of regard for Lich before punching them across the face. In the back half of the trailer, Jack walks through a field listening to Frank Sinatra's "My Way," as characters pop in and out of the video, as if he is recollecting them.
Overall, this trailer provides an effective final look at Final Fantasy Origin before its release. It balances exciting gameplay snippets and character moments, with more subtle world-building and tone-setting techniques, particularly with the use of "My Way" at the trailer's end. This being the final trailer, there likely won't be any more material released that could potentially sway potential buyers until reviews start appearing. Those people are sadly going to miss out on Final Fantasy Origin's unique steelbook then because chances are they won't be making pre-orders.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin launches March 18, 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.