Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Reviews
Yes, you will walk away with the Chaos meme stuck in your head, and it will probably be the most memorable thing about any of the characters here, but at least there’s something that will stick. Regardless, Stranger of Paradise puts forward a Final Fantasy game that presents less of the regular formula, yet a mixture of great action-adventure, soulslike, role-playing that will entice you to come back again, and again.
The finale of the campaign is undoubtedly one of the high points. A couple of near-end frantic and action packed segments reveal more twists and revelations than a rerun of a Jerry Springer episode. After the credits roll in Stranger of Paradise, you are treated to a fun endgame that has the potential to be entertaining, and even better, the game’s co-op feature allows you to buddy up with 2 of your pals for some friendly monster slaying. The problem is though, that getting to the finale may well prove too difficult for some. Not because of the game’s actual difficulty, but because of the string of huge issues that litter the game. The graphics, the characters, the dialogue, the inconsistency amongst levels and boss design. You could literally spin a roulette wheel with all of these things on it, and whichever one the needle lands on has the potential to make this game very tough to play through. Given the pedigree of both Final Fantasy and Team Ninja as developers, it is incredibly disappointing that this game fell so short of expectations. The combat is super fun throughout, and the story concludes very cleverly, but these things are dwarfed in comparison to all of the issues Stranger of Paradise presents us with.
Answering our title question, if Strangers of Paradise deserves to have Final Fantasy in the title, our answer is adamant: it does not. There was no relevant care in several factors to even be a game that can be enjoyed. The story doesn't have a logical plot, the game-play becomes repetitive and especially the graphic aspect is a blunt (sorry for the repetition of the term)... Chaos. We sincerely hope that Final Fantasy XVI will erase this spinoff from memory, with the certainty that until then the name of Square Enix does not bring us the joy it once did.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin feels like a wasted opportunity, with an intriguing base idea but a lackluster plot, bad characterization and a disappointing technical production. It's partly saved by a satisfying - although not original - gameplay and a surprising ending.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I won’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed by Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. It had the potential to tell a fantastic story, and it absolutely failed to tell it well. The game itself still managed to charm and entertain me however, even if it meant accepting that it would never coalesce into the great game I thought it could be.
Square Enix and Team Ninja's latest experiment is a diamond in the rough that you have to sort through depending on which aspects you consider most important in a video game. The anachronistic technical aspect, the confusing visual style, and above all the terrible level of writing will risk alienating players looking for a "classic" Final Fantasy. If you can disengage from expectations and not place too much importance on the story, you might even find its overt tamarazzine hilarious. Within these rough edges, however, pulses a solid action RPG with a technical and layered battle system that, despite its flaws, pleasantly dragged us through hours of challenging and damn fun combat, especially against bosses. If you've never played a soulslike before, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin might be the best way to take your first step into a genre of games with a higher than average level of challenge, but even if you've grown up on bread and Estus you'd do well not to take it lightly. More than ever, we recommend trying out the online demo before deciding whether or not to buy it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is an action game in the vein of Nioh that celebrates the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy in a splendid way.
Strangers of Paradise is a game that feels a lot like an experiment, and it wasn’t exactly a failure. If I could give the production team at Square Enix some advice, it would be that their storytellers should return to their roots, and their gameplay developers should keep the new ideas coming.
Final Fantasy's first attempt at making a Souls-like game delivers on fun gameplay and a flawed but satisfying origin story on Final Fantasy I's Garland. Long-time fans of the series will enjoy the nods to their favorite games while hunting down Chaos.
Stranger of Paradise is a game that will mainly interest the fan. The game doesn't have a very strong storyline and can feel very monotonous after a while. Also, the game doesn't look very nice. Fortunately, the cool combat system makes up for a lot. This certainly doesn't make the game great, but it does work as it should and plays very nicely. A disappointment that may still please you.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise: FF Origin is a surprisingly fun game that has very competent systems and features that work together to bring a good technical action RPG. Anchored by a deep job system and excellent combat with precise controls, hunting down Chaos can be quite fun if you let it. Despite its ridiculous premise and story, the game can easily attract both fans and newcomers to the Final Fantasy franchise and action RPG titles in general. There is a possibility that some players may feel overwhelmed with its many systems, but seeing it through is rewarding enough.
Stranger of Paradise, despite its poor story presentation, manages to be a great spinoff for the Final Fantasy series, with gameplay beyond my expectations. It's time to destroy the Chaos! Wherever it is!
Review in Turkish | Read full review
I honestly don’t know whether you’ll dig Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. It can be weird, funny, and janky, but tremendously fun, exciting, and even moving all at the same time. Final Fantasy fans will get the most out of it, as they’re more likely to look past the dated presentation and seemingly nonsensical early plot, but if you stick through it, I think you’ll be surprised at how much goofy and honest fun Stranger of Paradise can be.
As much as I want to love this game as a whole, the story lets it down. That being said, the combat and build up to the various boss fights were unarguably brilliant.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a brainless character action game that somewhat retells the events of the original Final Fantasy in a fashion that’s very Team Ninja, read: really silly.
This game tries to do a lot. It re-tells the story of the very first Final Fantasy, but is also an Origin story. It tries to pay homage to 35 years of FF games, but also provide a new experience. It wants to be a Souls game, but without the Souls difficulty, a hacker-slasher and a loot game. Against a backdrop of sub-par graphics, some choices work, some don't. The combat is pretty good, while the graphics, level design and story let down. This entry to the Final Fantasy multiverse won't be for the ages.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a great addition to the list of numerous titles and genres already presented by the franchise over 35 years of history. The game unites mythology and gameplay in a strange way, but it works. It lives up to the reputation of Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo Games when it comes to action, delivering a product that has the responsibility to honor the franchise. Yes, it is unlike anything that has been done with the franchise and has its reasons for being a Final Fantasy game that only has its name on the cover. However, in the end, the game is audacious and it's able to leave the franchise's comfort zone.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
On top of the surprisingly stellar story that takes a bit to move into place, Strangers of Paradise is just entertaining from start to finish. Jack grumbling about memories and wanting to kill Chaos offers plenty of meme potential and the core action is always satisfying. It also delivers on its subtitle as this is a meaningful Final Fantasy origin story that adds a lot of significance to its least plot-heavy game.
Mixed feelings with this prequel to the Final Fantasy saga which seems to be not well polished and unfinished. The narrative and the poor technical level (low res textures, flaw animations and strange shadows) does not help to create an inmersive atmosphere. Only the combat part seems to be enjoyable with different combos that allows different strategies to face our enemies.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise is at its best a mediocre game that becomes boring and tiresome in many cases. It's a bad moment for Team Ninja that reminds me of Ninja Gaiden's 3. The only satisfying thing in this game is its gameplay which is inspired clearly from the Nioh franchise. If Team Ninja had more time in its hands to perfect it maybe we'd have a much refined game but it's not the case for this one.
Review in Greek | Read full review