Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Reviews
To my delight, I had an impressive amount of fun with Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin. Thankfully, its awesome stage designs and intricate character customization component ended up shining brighter than the humdrum story and disappointing visuals.
Push through the desire to cringe in its face and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin delights with gauche earnestness and one of the most rewarding action combat loops on the market.
"Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin" is the first action RPG in the Final Fantasy series which aims for an action with great difficulty. While the attempt looked good, the results were utterly disgraceful. The game is covered with excessive lighting effects, half-hearted storylines and failed to motivate players to grow their skills. Sadly, 'action' became the only good merit of this game.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin might be as dumb as Limp Bizkit’s lyrics, but damn if it isn’t as fun as Wes Borland’s riffs.
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is a remarkable game with an excellent combat system that serves to cover up some of the shortcomings in the title. Who knows what he is going to, I doubt he will end up disappointed. Of course, the game could have been much more.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Self-aware humor permeates throughout 'Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, 'and by and large, it works really, really well. Any fears I had about 'Stranger of Paradise' were dispelled after a dozen or so hours with its phenomenal combat system, strange but genuine story, and a surprising commitment to celebrating everything Final Fantasy — all through the eyes of an angry edgelord named Jack.
All things considered, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is a good spin-off. It feels different enough to stand out, without it being so different to throw fans off. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite check every box. Combat could be a little better, gameplay a bit deeper, story a little less goofy and so forth but it’s a good first attempt. One that is worth giving a go if you enjoy either experience.
Underneath all of these issues, it is a great game with a lot of heart. But it is unfortunately held back by lackluster presentation of what could be an interesting story and the accumulation of the general lack of quality of life issues.
There’s not much by the way of emotional connection to this game. It’s old-fashioned, cliched in its storytelling and I found myself constantly hitting the skip button to get to the actual fighting.
You could do worse than with Square Enix's brave new venture into Soulslike territory that's roughly 20 hours or less depending on your skill level. I personally would love to see Team Ninja continue on with this take on Final Fantasy, but with better level design and a less banal plot thread that's a bit more accessible to non-fans.
All leading to an ending that long-time fans will appreciate but newcomers will leave confused. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a mixed bag of highs and lows that collide together for an average adventure.
From pure gameplay standpoint, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is one of the best action/rpgs ever which gives the players so many options to experiment with almost infinite number of builds and possibilities. Plot-wise and the use of music also feels like a love letter to not only the first Final Fantasy but the whole history of this franchise so it is very unfortunate that the game’s outdated visuals may turn off some of the audience from even trying it.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Team Ninja nails the gameplay. Killing classic Final Fantasy monsters has never been more fun than it is as Jack Garland. If you can dive into Stranger of Paradise knowing that you’re in for a chaotic mess with a solid gameplay foundation, you’re in for a good time.
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin offers a counterintuitive experience that has terrible presentation and an unintentionally hilarious narrative. It’s slightly saved by a fairly enjoyable combat and job system. Take both of those away, and this game will feel more like a parody of the legendary franchise.
While some may be put off by the game’s approach to storytelling, and the unfortunate graphical situation, the sum of all of Stranger of Paradise’s parts outweighs its issues. The game is about an amnesiac edgelord who wants to kill Chaos. The game is about discovering what friendship truly entails, and how far someone would go to protect what they love. The game is about forgiveness, and overthrowing the shackles placed unjustly by those in power. The game is about punching the ever-loving crap out of a Cactuar, grabbing it by its legs, and exploding it in a finely-pasted mist while your friends cheer you on.
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
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
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.
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
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