Summary
Final Fantasyis one of Square Enix’s biggest franchises. It began in 1987 in Japan and would eventually hit the West in 1990. There are sixteen core titles along with dozens of spinoffs and direct sequels. There are also card games, books, action figures, and more.
For as big as theFinal Fantasyfranchiseis, it is lacking in anime though. Altogether there is only one full season of an anime along with a movie and a collection of smaller OVAs and ads. It’s slim pickings for anime fans, but let’s rank them all out for the sake of the franchise’s history. Maybe one day Square Enix will greenlight an anime series based on one of the core titles likeFinal Fantasy 9which feels like the most adventurous and light-hearted of the bunch.
6On The Way To A Smile: Episode - Denzel
A Prequel To Advent Children
Final Fantasy 7: Advent Childrenwas a big deal because it was the first direct adaptation of a video game in the series. This was an era wherein Square Enix greenlit a lot of projects from games to books.On The Way To A Smile, for example, was a collection of stories detailing what they were doing in the aftermath ofFinal Fantasy 7like Tifa. Another character who got a chapter was Denzel, a new orphan who appeared in the movie.
On The Way To A Smile: Episode - Denzelwas an anime adaptation of his chapter in the book. It’s not the most exciting chapter for fans since they didn’t have a close tie with him from the original game and not much happens in his day-to-day life. It doesn’t answer a lot of questions either but the animation is nice to say one thing positive. The anime was later packaged with the movie on Blu-ray.
5Last Order: Final Fantasy 7
The Fall Of Sephiroth And Zack
Last Order: Final Fantasy 7was also an addition to home copies ofFinal Fantasy 7: Advent Children. It took place during the Nibelheim mission right before Sephiroth went berserk and killed the entire town. It’s a short one-episode OVA that gives fans a closer look at what went down between Zack, Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth. It was a nice addition to the DVD at the time since the only way players could experience this backstory was inFinal Fantasy 7.
However, since then,Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7has been released and Zackgot more time to be developed. In that prequel, players got a chance to experience this backstory in greater detail for the first time. Plus it shone a brighter light on Zack who didn’t get much in the original game. Overall,Last Order: Final Fantasy 7looks good but there are better ways to experience this story now.
4Brotherhood: Final Fantasy 15
How The Heroes First Bonded
Brotherhood: Final Fantasy 15was one of many tie-ins that were announced during a big reveal event forFinal Fantasy 15.It was also here that Square Enix announced the CG movie,Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy 15. The idea ofBrotherhood: Final Fantasy 15was that it was going to be free to stream on YouTube and include backstories of the four main boys ofFinal Fantasy 15: Noctis, Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis.
There is a bit of action in these short OVAs, but all of the episodes mostly fill out relationships like how Prompto lost a lot of weight in grade school to look better in high school. There were additional episodes released later to add more information on Noctis’ betrothed, Lunafreya, andFinal Fantasy 15’ssecret main villain, Arryn. Of the few episodes out there, Prompto’s feels like the best one but overall it’s just an okay slice-of-life series of shorts.
3Final Fantasy: Legend Of The Crystals
A Great Looking OVA In Need Of An HD Update
Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystalswas released in many forms between Japan and North America. Most notably, it was released in the West on two VHS tapes that contained two episodes although in most cases online, it has been strung together into a movie. That was three years after Japan too, so it took a while. That’s the only real way to watch it now, through Internet fan dumps. It has never been released on DVD or Blu-ray to give it an update which is a shame because the animation is top-notch for a 90s OVA series.
The story is set200 years afterFinal Fantasy 5and follows Prettz, a big talking swordsman, and Linaly, a timid Summoner, trying to protect the last remaining Crystal of Wind. Besides referencing the heroes from the game, most of the story is self-contained except for the appearance of Mid. It doesn’t quite feel like a Final Fantasy adaptation on any level, especially since Chocobos look like big skinless buzzards, but on its own, it is a good OVA.
2Final Fantasy 14: Choose Your Life
Three Commercials With Stunning Animation
Final Fantasy 14: Choose Your Lifeis one of the most bizarre anime adaptations yet. It was a series of commercials in Japan for theShadowbringersexpansion ofFinal Fantasy 14. The first one shows a male jumping into his online game and seemingly being sucked inside like an Isekai. In the second ad, it happens to a female as well.
The ad campaign ends with the third commercial wherein these two meet, fall in love, and get married. While the total length of the anime is less than two minutes, it does have a nice story arc. Plus it has a lot of great highlights for things to do including Mahjong, hanging out at the beach, and racing Chocobo. It may be wild to nominate an ad campaign so highly, but these three commercials have excellent artwork and are just a joy to watch for longtimeFinal Fantasy 14fans.
1Final Fantasy: Unlimited
The Only Fully Fledged Anime Adaptation
Final Fantasy: Unlimitedis the only full-length season of aFinal Fantasy-based anime on the market. While it doesn’t adhere to any of the games, it does pull enough in to seem like a good adaptation. It isa straight-up Isekaiinvolving two twins, Ai and Yu, who travel to a new world called Wonderland.
There they meet Lisa, a martial artist, and a mystery stranger, Kaze, who has a golden gun. Together they try to take down an Empire that is draining Wonderland of its resources. Kaze is the main draw as his design is cool plus he has great Summon animations using his gun. It’s weird and a bit ethereal at times to be sure, but it is a fun romp with plenty of references from Summons to Chocobos to Moogles.
