Was the Final Fantasy franchise influenced by Dungeons and Dragons?

simple Guardian, you're looking at this one-sided... they put out the game with 2 expectations, like everyone else that takes a chance on a new product, first expectation was that it would fail and they would exit the video game development industry as a company, second if it succeeded (which it did) then they would continue on their chosen career paths with the company SquareSoft... like i said earlier it was a make it or break it gamble that happened to work out for them...

From my understanding, Final Fantasy was thought to be Squares final game. They gathered up all their best talent, and fully intended to go out with a bang, to leave behind something memeroable before they faded away. This was their dream as a company, what they believed at the time to be their final act. Hence the name Final Fantasy. They made this game with no intention of it saving the company, as even the biggest hits of the time sales wouldn't have been enough to do so, so it didnt' even seem like a realistic option.

However, Final Fantasy exceeded all expectations, and became such a massive hit, it actually allowed the company to flourish.

I might be wrong on some points, but I do recall this being the case.

Okay, putting it like that makes more sense than before. Either that or I'm just too tired to care about this anymore.

How old is Dungeons and Dragons?

Apparently, 35 years old. Originated in 1974 (when the first box set was released). Source.

The genius of GrOgre is sui generis.

1974... That means that Final Fantasy didn't arrive until 13 years later in 1987.

Yes! Maybe not directly, but ALL RPG's are influenced by D&D heavily, either directly or indirectly.

And I highly recommend D&D to everyone who loves RPG's.

I've began to take interest in video games Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, and I like how you can choose your "alignment" in life. Perhaps a future FF and D&D crossover?

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

FF and DQ were both influenced by the western computer RPG's like Ultima, which were in turn influenced by D&D..

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>>> yep, thats pretty much the genesis of all the popular RPGs we are playing today..

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Originally Posted by Elly

if i remember correctly the Star Wars referances didn't begin untill FFIII

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The entire plot of FFII was lifted from Episode IV

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

FF and DQ were both influenced by the western computer RPG's like Ultima, which were in turn influenced by D&D.

The whole concept of being able to go out and fight monsters in you own fantasy campaign like in the books you read was itself a dream which D&D brought to life, so the entire genre really owes it to that.

I also recall hearing as well that a lot of the foes were directly taken from the Monster Manual.


Lastly, I think the story about it being their last game/game to save the company has been largely exaggerated over the years, and that Square really wasn't doing all that bad, at least in comparison to other developers who indeed went on to survive those early famicom/msx days. I know that's not the consensus today, but I'm just saying what I've gathered from reading about it over the years.

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How many Western RPGs are there? And a lot of D&D enemies were copied into FF?

I tried playing D&D a few times and was bored to tears. Yuck.

Gimme a FF game over that crap any day.

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Originally Posted by arcanedude34

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Originally Posted by Elly

if i remember correctly the Star Wars referances didn't begin untill FFIII

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The entire plot of FFII was lifted from Episode IV

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I made a thread on that theory once.

Yes, and some of the monster names are homages to it :)