Video game characters would probably be one of the last things you'd expect to see when you open a fashion magazine, but this month's Arena Homme+ will feature just that. Part of SquareEnix's 25 Years of Final Fantasy celebration, the 12-page spread will feature characters from the games wearing items from Prada's Spring 2012 Menswear collection.

Yoshinori Kitase, producer of Final Fantasy XIII-2 (and several other Final Fantasy games) said in an interview, “The Final Fantasy series is known for its creativity and innovation, ...

It’s a simple fact of life that everybody has, at some point, had parents. Even immaculate conception along the lines of Jesus Christ and Anakin Skywalker needs at least one parent. Some people have adoptive parents. Parents are everywhere. So too are parents present in the Final Fantasy series. Most of the time. While it seems a sad trait that the main parties are usually orphans of one kind or another, there are some NPCs who are parents, some main characters who fortuitously retain their parents, and some who even are parents themselves. In a toast to the people who raised us, let’s look at the parents throughout Final Fantasy and the impacts they have had! Watch out for spoilers, kids.

Final Fantasy
The original Final Fantasy was light on plot and character development, there’s no denying. However, this was the first instance of a character having both parents alive. Princess Sarah, of Cornelia, was kidnapped by the wicked Garland. Her father who is aptly named King of Cornelia, tasks the Light Warriors with rescuing his daughter and defeating the evil knight. Queen Jane, who resides elsewhere in the castle, appears rather distraught at her daughter’s disappearance. You can always be sure that your parents are missing you when you’re kidnapped by an evil knight, I guess.

Final Fantasy II
The main party of Final Fantasy II are all presumed orphans, their parents killed by the Palamecian Empire in the raid on Fynn. However, Final Fantasy II is also the first instance of a party member being a parent! Josef, of Salamand, joins the party as they search for the Goddess’s Bell. Sadly, when exiting the Snow Cavern with the bell, the party is ambushed and Josef sacrifices himself to save them.

In another sad moment, the King of Fynn, father to Princess Hilda, leader of the Wild Rose Rebellion, passes away from the injuries he received in the raid on Fynn. Lastly, there is an NPC named Elina, who resides in Castle Deist. Her son is Kain, whose name would later become synonymous with dragoons. Little wonder, since his late father, Phillip, was a dragoon and his almost-step-father-until-he-too-died, Ricard, was also a dragoon. Happy families is not what Final Fantasy is all about, it seems.

Final Fantasy III
There are many more biological parents present in Final Fantasy III than the previous games in the series. The kings of both Sasune and Saronia are alive – at one point. King Gorn of Saronia is mind-controlled by Gilgamesh into attacking his son, but he resists, stabbing himself. On his death bed, he begs forgiveness for all the things he did whilst under Gilgamesh’s power. Sad stuff! Takka, in the DS remake, is the adopted father of Refia.

Cid Haze, and his wife Mrs Cid, are the pseudo-adoptive parents of the main party – the onion kids. After Cid and the four children survived an airship crash ten years prior, he and Mrs Cid looked after them until they ...

In the late 13^th century and early 14^th century there was a particular Japanese man who went by the name Masamune. He was particularly renowned as the best sword smith ever to live, and created many masterful pieces of work. Masamune’s skill was legendary – literally – and so it is no surprise that his name entered Japanese folklore. Being a series native to the land of the rising sun and so heavily based on mythos from around the world, it is little wonder that every Final Fantasy game to date references the legendary sword smith, attaching his name to the most powerful of swords.

There is one particular legend regarding Masamune and his student, Muramasa. Muramasa was a fine sword smith, and thought himself ...

After seeing a lot of success in Japan, SquareEnix announced via Facebook yesterday that Theatrhythm Final Fantasy would be released in North America, Europe, and PAL territories this summer. A more specific release date has not been announced.


Theatrhythm is a rhythm game for 3DS featuring music and characters from all of the Final Fantasy games. It was the third highest selling game in Japan the week it was released, and has been praised by famous game composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Meanwhile, Japan just ...