Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Reviews
Delivering a cohesive game with addictive gameplay and mechanics, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin brings back classic characters in an honorable way. It is a good choice for fans of the franchise and lovers of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I have to wonder if the gaming audience is quite ready for the kind of metatextual experience that Stranger of Paradise presents. It’s not only a game that doesn’t take itself seriously, but it outright challenges players’ expectations on how games are made and how they should be played. It’s hugely entertaining and as experimental as Final Fantasy at its best, but I do wonder how well something so reflective will click and be remembered as a great in the longer term. I only hope that people realise that the nonsense of Jack, his iPod, and his obsession with Chaos is just the surface of this brilliantly smart, layered thing, and they then take the time to dig into what Stranger of Paradise is really saying as a work of metatextual satire.
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.
I expected Stranger of Paradise to be a game I had lots of qualms in recommending, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I want everyone to fall as deeply in love with it as I have.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Underneath cringeworthy writing and a nonsensical story, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin leverages storied Final Fantasy fanservice with a fast and deep combat system to offer up fans a celebration of the franchise like no other. While the presentation is inconsistent and the equipment system sorely lacks focus, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is great fun from beginning to end.
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.
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 Final Fantasy Origin is an action game in the vein of Nioh that celebrates the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy in a splendid way.
The writing team at Square Enix fed the 1987 Famicom classic Final Fantasy through a wood chipper running on a neural network forced to watch Army of Darkness more times than I did in high school. This game’s scenario popped out and it’s wild, awesome and hilarious.
Final Fantasy: Origins is an orthodox Final Fantasy series game with a benevolent king shell.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Final Fantasy Origin: Stranger of Paradise is a chaotic alternative retelling of the very first Final Fantasy, following story beat by beat until it transforms into something unique in its own way.
Stranger of Paradise was a game that many of us were unsure of when it was initially revealed in E3 2021. However, Team Ninja proved to be capable in terms of interweaving the good parts that made Final Fantasy and the Soulslike genre well-known and loved by many. Not only is the combat the heart and soul of this satisfying Action RPG but it also evokes the right amount of nostalgia and familiarity to fans who have been wanting to experience Final Fantasy in another light, making it a must-play game in 2022!
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's story doesn't come together until the final hours, but when it does it pairs nicely with a solid and engaging action combat system and a strong dose of FF nostalgia.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a decent action RPG, but it's occasionally weighed down by unnecessary mechanics and inconsistent difficulty.
It’s far from the best Final Fantasy game. It certainly isn’t the best action game. But it’s still a fast-paced and enjoyable playthrough.
Narratively speaking, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin would be a badly written JRPG, but luckily Square Enix and Koei Tecmo's latest game is more than anything a very engaging action game that is very faithful to its source. Not perfect by any means but still enjoyable, the Nioh "soulslike" formula applied to the epic of Final Fantasy gives flesh to an interesting action game with a suprisingly deep learning curve and accessibility options that welcome any kind of player to the party.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is basically the best of both worlds with the combination of Square Enix’s RPG elements merging with Team Ninja’s fighting mechanics to create a whole new experience for the series. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is still very much a Final Fantasy game, but it's great to see Square Enix take a risk with this title which has been fantastically executed.
Stranger of Paradise is a peanut butter and chocolate combination of Final Fantasy XV and Nioh. The beauty of it is that you don’t even have to be a fan of Final Fantasy I to enjoy Stranger of Paradise. The story explains everything you need to know and anything you bring into it from previous knowledge is just extra. The combat is just spicy enough that you can feel like a powerhouse, but lets the players somewhat tweak the difficulty to their own desires if they’d rather face a tougher challenge. If this is the way that Square Enix will be remaking the early Final Fantasy games I am entirely in. This iteration takes modernization to the best possible level.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin does a fantastic job on the gameplay department, but fails at almost everything else. The combat is fun, and the class system gives the player an immense amount of freedom to play however they want, but the lackluster graphics and pretty straightforward levels certainly ruin some of its most epic moments.
Review in Spanish | Read full review