Even after the two public betas, there remain a number of mysteries surrounding the story of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. Everyone knows the premise of protagonist Jack and his fellow Warriors of Light hunting down Chaos, but between that premise and Jack himself apparently being the character Garland, it’s unclear whether this a retelling of the very first Final Fantasy game, a sequel, a prequel, a side-story, or something else altogether.
Aside from both games featuring four Warriors of Light to battle Chaos and the presence of characters like Garland and Princess Sarah (key figures from the original Final Fantasy), there are a number of references and nods that connect the two games. Earlier today, Square Enix has shared several new screenshots to highlight more of the cast and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin’s world, and the connections continue to run deeper.
The first of the new characters is a pirate captain named Bikke, although "new" may be the wrong choice of words because, just like Garland and Sarah, he is from the first Final Fantasy as well. In the original game, he and his crew invaded the town of Pravoka, but were driven off by the Warriors of Light, with Bikke surrendering his ship to them.
In Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, it seems like he’s terrorizing Pravoka once more, although this time he’s taken over the town and his piracy business is no longer thriving since the oceans are wrapped in darkness. Square Enix also mentions that he fights with a two-handed axe, all but confirming that he will serve as a boss fight at some point or, perhaps, another party member.
The king and queen of Cornelia, minor characters from the first Final Fantasy will also make an appearance, with the king believing Jack and his allies are the prophesized Warriors of Light that will thwart Chaos. Two entirely new characters have been revealed: Mia, the younger sister of Sarah, and Minister Lagone, who decides to keep a record of Jack and his party’s journey.
Aside from these connections, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is probably best known for the memes its pre-release material has generated. The original announcement saw many make fun of how often the characters mention the word Chaos in the trailer, and a cutscene from the second beta where Jack randomly blasts music from a smartphone after listening to another character’s backstory immediately made the rounds online for how bizarre it was.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin releases for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on March 18th, 2022.
Source: Square Enix