Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a new action RPG, developed by Team Ninja in collaboration with Tetsuya Nomura (Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts), brings a bold, new vision to the Final Fantasy series that will appeal to existing Final Fantasy fans and new players alike.

Join Jack and his allies as they throw open the gates to the Chaos Shrine and step into a world of dark fantasy and exhilarating battles to discover if they are truly the Warriors of Light the prophecy foretold. In this hard-core action RPG, Jack must hazard numerous gauntlets to bring the light of the crystals back to a kingdom conquered by darkness.

Fight your way through excruciating battles with a variety of means to pulverize your enemies. With multiple difficulty options and a wide selection of jobs and weapons available to customize your party, you can choose exactly how you want to play.

Will restoring the crystals' light usher in peace or a new form of darkness?

..or perhaps something else entirely?

Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's story is painted by layers of challenging action gameplay. Use various abilities to crush your enemies! Each boss has its own unique movements. Identifying the enemy’s swift moves and effectively utilizing soul shield and various abilities will carry you through deadly battles. Various weapons such as greatswords, daggers, and spears determine a character’s job when equipped. Acquire new abilities and jobs through a character enhancement system called the Job Tree. Choose among a variety of jobs to select two which you can switch between during battle. Using magic spells is also another effective strategy. Prepare for battle by acquiring and equipping more powerful gear. Collect various weapons from treasure chests or by defeating enemies.

Story

The story of Final Fantasy Origin focuses on Jack and his fight to return light to the crystals of Cornelia - a land overrun by darkness. Will restoring the crystals' light usher in peace or a new form of darkness... or perhaps something else entirely?

The King of Cornelia reveals the Prophecy of Lukahn to Jack and his friends, in which the Warriors of Light are mentioned. He believes the four of them could be those fabled warriors and places fresh hopes on them to banish the darkness that clouds the crystals.

In this image, we see Sarah playing the lute, while she observes the comings and goings outside. Her sister Mia listens on enthralled. Incidentally, the song Sarah’s playing is the FINAL FANTASY prelude!

After crossing the northern bridge to Pravoka, Jack and his companions encounter this intimidating chap: Captain Bikke.

Locations

Pravoka is just one of the fascinating you’ll visit in Final Fantasy Origin. Let’s take a closer look at it.

After crossing over the northern bridge to the continent, you will find the port town of Pravoka. The people of the town are looking for crystals with aid from the king of Cornelia.

After making your way through the caves, you’ll encounter a pirate ship moored in the Pravoka Seagrot.

Characters

Speaking of pirates, this seems like a good point to properly introduce some of the characters that Jack - and by extension you - will encounter on your journey.

Captain Bikke: Captain Bikke is a pirate captain who rules the town of Pravoka in place of a governor. Unfortunately for him, with the oceans now wreathed in darkness, the piracy business has all but dried up. The ships that he would normally target - and the treasures they carry - no longer venture out.In battle he swings a two-handed axe with wild abandon.

King of Cornelia: The ruler of Cornelia sees something special in Jack’s burning desire to stop Chaos and pins all his hopes on him.

Queen Jayne: Queen Jayne is the mother of princesses Sarah and Mia. Calm and grounded, she always puts her daughters and the people of Cornelia first.

Mia: Just like her older sister Sarah, Mia has a strong concern for the citizens of Cornelia. At times, she’s even been known to confront ministers.

Minister Lagone: A shrewd man who tirelessly seeks someone who matches the prophecies of Lukahn. He decides to record the journeys of Jack and his comrades for posterity.

Combat

This next set of screenshots focus on combat and one of its key features - the break gauge. This appears as a yellow bar above enemies and wearing it down should be a priority in combat.

Combos and abilities will reduce the enemy’s break gauge, shown as a yellow bar above an enemy. Once the gauge is depleted, you can unleash a powerful Soul Burst to crystallize them and take them out in a single blow!

It’s not just enemies that have a break gauge - Jack does too, shown above in the bottom-center of the screen.

Jack’s break gauge depletes when he guards against attacks or uses Soul Shield. The gauge will recover over time, but Jack will be staggered if it ever reaches zero. So be careful!

What is the Soul Shield, you may be wondering? If you use the Soul Shield to block an ability with a purple name, you can capture and store the enemy’s attack to use as an instant ability back at them!

If you use Soul Shield, you may discover all kinds of interesting and unexpected strategies for battle. Here’s an example: if you capture the Fire ability from a Bomb and cast it back at it three times, it’ll self-destruct. It’s always satisfying when an enemy is hoisted by its own petard!

The quest to lift the darkness is not an easy one - the world of Final Fantasy Origin is full of dangers that can leave Jack bloodied and bruised. That’s what makes these cubes such a welcome site - touching one will heal your HP and MP and restock your potions.

Be careful, though! Using a cube will also resurrect all the monsters in a dungeon. At least if you’re wiped out, you’ll start at the last cube you touched.

Characters/Voice Actors:

• Jack (voiced byMocean Melvin) Feels a strong sense of duty to defeat Chaos. With no hesitation to kill monsters that stand in his way, he pulverizes them with no mercy.
• Ash (voiced byMark Neely) The rock of the team, supporting the members with his calm and collected nature. He recognizes Jack’s high combat abilities and puts his trust in him.
• Jed (voiced byAlejandro Saab) Has a kind and happy-go-lucky personality but is just as capable as Ash. Looks up to Jack and admires his powers.
• Neon (voiced by Alejandra Reynoso) Though the youngest, she has the same level of ability as her comrades to fight through severe battles. Insisting that Chaos doesn’t exist, there are times when she and Jack clash.
• Princess Sarah (voiced by Cherami Leigh) The crown princess of Cornelia. An amicable figure who is popular among the citizens of Cornelia, she also interacts with them incognito, such as when playing her lute.

The Digital Deluxe Edition of Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin includes a digital artbook, digital mini soundtrack and a DLC Season Pass, which will include the additional missions; ‘Trials of the Dragon King, ‘Wanderer of the Rift’ and ‘Different Future’. Those who purchase the PS5 or PS4 physical or digital Standard Edition owners can purchase a Digital Deluxe Edition upgrade at launch, which will provide the above Digital Deluxe Edition bonuses.

Players who purchase Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin for the PS4 can download a free PS5 console enhancement update that includes all the next-gen visual and gameplay enhancements at no extra cost when playing on a PS5 console. Xbox customers who purchase the physical or digital editions of the game will be eligible to leverage Smart Delivery, meaning they can play their editions across any Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles. The system will automatically select the optimal version of the game for the console being used.

Customers who pre-order the Digital Standard and Digital Deluxe Editions of Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will receive 72-hour early access to the full game, as well as in-game items—the “Braveheart” weapon and the Lustrous Shield—and an original PS4 theme for PlayStation store purchasers. These customers will also receive the early purchase incentive: the “Rebellion” weapon.

Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will be available as a physical and digital edition on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC (digital only on the Epic Games Store) on March 18, 2022.