Interest
Square Never Intended Final Fantasy To Be 'Final'
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
There are many theories on how Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise got its name. Despite the implications in its title, the series has extended well beyond one game. Final Fantasy XV is heading to PlayStation 4, with mini-franchises based on Final Fantasy IV VII, X, and XII further pushing the total number.
Fans speculated the title was based on the financial stakes if the original game failed or that game director and producer Hironobu Sakaguchi threatened to leave the gaming world all together if Final Fantasy wasn't a success.
Sakaguchi put those rumors to rest during his keynote speech at Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University. The franchise's title had more to do with marketing and the crew had a few criteria to meet when naming the game. The title needed to be easily abbreviated using the Roman alphabet and that abbreviation needed to be four-syllables. Short and sweet. Using the word "Fantasy" was an obvious choice, given the game's genre.
After initially considering Fighting Fantasy but finding out the name was already in use, they chose "Final." The abbreviation "FF" (efu efu in Japanese) fit the four syllable requirement.
According to Sakaguchi, "Really, anything that started with an F would have been fine for the title."
[Via Rocket News 24]
