Was this game originally named "Fainaru Fantajî" in Japan?

[Peter_20]

I was just wondering if this game was originally named Fainaru Fantajî in Japan from the very beginning?
As far as I know, the correct name should've been something like "Saigo No Kûzô", but the Japanese people use an English name instead...?

(I'm using a computer without Japanese font support right now, by the way)

If it was named "Fainaru Fantajî", then that must mean Hironobu Sakaguchi knew English, because he wanted the title to signify his final fantasies.
Or maybe the words "fainaru" and "fantajî" are already used in Japan?

[Zeromus_X]

It is very common for the Japanese to use English and other foreign words as loanwords. In this case, they are written in katakana, the Japanese syllables for foreign words and for sounds. There are entire dictionaries just for words written in katakana, just to show how much they love foreign words.

And yes, it has been called Final Fantasy since the beginning.

[Wolf Kanno]

The title is written in Katakana (sp?) which is a writing style used for foreign words that have come into the Japanese language.

As for Sakeguchi and the Square team choosing an english title, this is actually a common practice in Japan (and most countries) where they use foreign words for titles to make them sound more exotic.

EDIT: Snap! Zeromus X beat me to it.