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The Final Fantasy universe (ファイナルファンタジー, Final Fantasy) refers to the Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from the world-famous role-playing game (RPG) franchise owned by Square Enix.

Franchise description[]

Electrical engineering student Hironobu Sakaguchi became a part-time employee at Square shortly after it was founded as a computer game-centric division of a power line construction company named Den-Yu-Sha. He became a full-time employee as the Director of Planning and Development when Square later separated from its parent company, and had intended to create a role-playing video game modelled after the foundations of then-separate company Enix's Dragon Quest. Square were looking to name the game something with the "FF" initials and the original name for the game was Fighting Fantasy, although the presence of a board game series of the same name prevented that, necessitating changing the first word to "Final" later on. Thematically inspired by Western-made role-playing forerunners such as Ultima, Wizardry, and Dungeons & Dragons, the game was later alleged to have received the name "Final Fantasy" because it was anticipated by the company to be its final project under the threat of bankruptcy; for Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy represented not merely Square's potentially last project, but ultimately that of his own if it floundered. The outcome of the release starkly contrasted with expectations, however, as the game's December 1987 release on Nintendo's Famicom sold more than half a million copies. When Dragon Quest later met success with its North American localization as Dragon Warrior, Nintendo of America released a similarly localized version of Final Fantasy in July 1990, to modest success, thanks to ties since Square's contributions of the racing game Rad Racer and its inclusion as a title game in the 1990 Nintendo World Championships.

Though Dragon Quest was among the first to effect a divergence of styles in the role-playing genre that resulted in the formation of what is commonly known as the Japanese role-playing genre, Final Fantasy played a critical role in granting it its initial surge of popularity. However, the Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) style would remain relatively obscure in the public spotlight throughout many years to come, even as many new JRPG properties were introduced both within Square's efforts and outside it, such as a legendary collaboration between Square, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, and manga artist Akira Toriyama that resulted in Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy, under producer Sakaguchi's watchful eye, began to release a continuous succession of numbered sequels - which, in stark contrast to most other video game series, were never traditional sequels or continuations and rarely carried over characters. Much like in Fire Emblem, each of the mainstream Final Fantasy games that were developed and released are self-contained works tied tangentially by shared thematic and design similarities, such as Final Fantasy II and III for the Famicom, and for a while, only some of the games received worldwide localization; Final Fantasy IV for the Super Famicom - which introduced the "Active Time Battle" concept to the series - was released worldwide in 1991 as "Final Fantasy II", and after Final Fantasy V remained a Japan-only Super Famicom release, Final Fantasy VI was released worldwide for Super Nintendo in 1994 as "Final Fantasy III". II was close to receiving a localization for the NES and a version of the game with a working official English translation exists as well as a possible subtitle: "Dark Shadow Over Palakia" (with Palakia being the localized name of the antagonist empire of Palamecia,) though the release fell through due to the Super Nintendo's release. V was almost released overseas as Final Fantasy Extreme due to its revolutionary Job system, but was passed over for Secret of Mana instead and when the time came, was skipped, thus VI received a localization and rename. All of the previous titles would later be rereleased under their original numbers for modern platforms such as the Game Boy Advance, although III did not see an English release of any sort until the 3D remake on the DS in 2008 due to the loss of the original Famicom version's source code.

Though Final Fantasy VI would become critically regarded in its own right as one of the greatest and most landmark JRPGs ever developed, the JRPG genre remained relatively niche in Western markets. As polygon graphics began to take root in the industry's landscape with the release of systems like the Sony PlayStation, Sakaguchi felt that the franchise might be left behind if it did not catch up to the 3D graphics used in other games - but because Nintendo's then-upcoming 3D-based console, the Nintendo 64, was based on cartridges and therefore lacked the memory storage needed for the project's scope, Square ended its relationship with Nintendo and developed Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation. What resulted was the most expensive video game of its time, with a development budget of around $45 million - equivalent to $67 million in 2015. The game's international release - which was consistently titled Final Fantasy VII despite prior installments not having been released outside Japan at the time - was preceded by a heavy marketing campaign.

Final Fantasy VII received widespread critical acclaim that was nonetheless eclipsed by the video game's commercial success and impact on the games industry. Famously referred to by one publication as "quite possibly the greatest game ever made", the game - spread out across three PlayStation discs packaged together - was seen for its time as an unprecedented blend of gameplay, interactive movie elements, and character-driven narrative, the last of which included what was argued to be one of the most infamous character deaths in the medium. On the back of character designer Tetsuya Nomura's now-iconic cast, the game is viewed to have single-handedly vastly expanded the conventional global audience for the JRPG genre, and Final Fantasy itself became one of the most popular video game franchises. The extent to which the game had become a killer app for the PlayStation led protagonist Cloud Strife to become an unofficial mascot for both his series and the console as a whole. Every main-numbered Final Fantasy to follow would receive enormous amounts of attention and sales success as a direct outcome of Final Fantasy VII's own.

Final Fantasy VII's setting introduced a post-industrial science-fiction element to the formerly medieval fantasy-grounded intellectual property, and the involvement of science fiction in a Final Fantasy mythos was expanded with 1999's Final Fantasy VIII. After 2000's Final Fantasy IX deliberately returned to the more traditional fantasy trappings employed in the oldest games, the series' first main-numbered appearance on the PlayStation 2 as Final Fantasy X aesthetically entrenched the series in a distinctive blend of fantasy and technology. The series had also begun to deviate from its turn-based and Active Time Battle-based roots and gradually adapt action-RPG elements in games such as 2006's Final Fantasy XII, 2010's Final Fantasy XIII, and 2016's Final Fantasy XV, as well as release two of its main-numbered games - 2002's Final Fantasy XI and another title released in 2010, Final Fantasy XIV - as MMORPGs. But while every numbered game remains a separate story and setting from the rest, several of them receive their own sequels, spin-offs, and sub-series that utilize their respective settings and casts, namely XIII, XII, X, IV, and most prominently VII.

Final Fantasy's popularity is considerable enough that the otherwise unrelated arcade and Playstation fighting game Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring featured various Final Fantasy VII characters (including Cloud himself) as playable characters, while 2016's Tekken 7 featured Noctis Lucis Caelum of Final Fantasy XV fame as a DLC character.

None of this is to mention a veritable deluge of remakes, reissues, offshoots, spiritually-related works, and involvement in crossovers that began after the turn of the millennium, as if spurred in response to the 2003 merger of Square and Enix into a single entity named Square Enix (which Sakaguchi had resigned from shortly prior). Several games appeared as third-party works on Nintendo hardware as a result of renewed relations between the two publishers, such as the Bravely Default series for the Nintendo 3DS - which constitute a modernized presentation of the original turn-based battle system of the earliest Final Fantasy titles. Meanwhile, each of the formerly-Japan-exclusive main-numbered titles have been released to the rest of the world in some enhanced form or another. Among the more noteworthy Final Fantasy derivatives:

  • The Mana Series, known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu, was initially the Final Fantasy series' direct predecessor known as a cancelled PC-88 RPG called Seiken Densetsu: The Sacred Sword Legend Excalibur, and grew to be a sibling series as an action adventure real time fighting RPG series in the vein of The Legend of Zelda as Square experienced its breakthrough renaissance. Like Final Fantasy, the Mana series is a fantasy series with an emphasis on spiritual successors and an interconnected mythology, but is always set in its own world known as Fa'Diel. More Norse and world mythology driven, and more fairy tale and late 1980s fantasy movie and anime series inspired than its Dungeons & Dragons inspired counterpart, Mana revolves around the Tree of Mana and the Mana Goddess, who are the creators of Fa'Diel through manifesting the world through the intrinsic spiritual magical energy known as Mana. At the core of its stories, is the divine artifact known as the Sword of Mana, the sword which the Mana Goddess used to help purify and control the world's flow of Mana in her acts of creation, and the conflicts driven by which the forces of good and evil throughout Fa'Diel clash in their quest to seek and claim the Sword of Mana for their purposes.
  • Final Fantasy Tactics, released in 1998 for the PlayStation, was Square's first foray into the strategy RPG genre and is regarded as a cult classic; it saw an enhanced re-release for the PlayStation Portable with the subtitle The War of the Lions. Separately, a duo of more colourful, unconnected titles - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift - were released for the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. All of them take place in a world known as Ivalice, a middle fantasy nation with its own history and legends throughout its vast realm; Tactics takes place in a time akin to the middle ages, where political intrigue and turmoil run rampant amongst its people and tied to the monarchy and its ruling faith, The Church of Glabados, where A2 and the twelfth main installment is said to take place during its Golden Age, regarded as a mythical time of unmatched prosperity, progress, and grandeur. The original Advance game's Ivalice is said to be born of the wishes of the young boy named Mewt Randall, his love of the Final Fantasy series of games, and an ancient mystic relic of Ivalice known as the Grand Grimore, that allows his desires to become true. In terms of recognition by Square, the original game's protagonist, Ramza Beoulve, would be included in the free-to-play mobile games Final Fantasy: Record Keeper and Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius as an obtainable unit, and Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT as a playable character.
  • Final Fantasy Type-0 is an action-RPG that was released only in Japan for the PlayStation Portable in 2011, with a high-definition (HD) remaster later released worldwide early 2015 for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Originally intended to be a part of the Fabula Novus Crystalis series of games that began with its thirteenth main instalment, Type-0 marks its independence and own identity as the Type series, that focuses on gameplay and story elements divergent from the main series. The game itself is centered in the world of Orience and those of the elite magical military group Class Zero of the southern Dominion nation of Rubrum, who face the start of a world war waged by the technological prowess based Milites Empire, who hopes to conquer and seize all of Orience's crystals; in the wake of global turmoil and experiencing first hand of the threat of invasion, Class Zero is tasked as Rubrum's, and eventually, Orience's, only hope from the grasp of tyranny against powers seemingly greater than them.
  • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is an action-RPG that was released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube, and has since spawned its own metaseries with the Crystal Chronicles name, all of which have been exclusive to Nintendo hardware. The world of Crystal Chronicles is of its own universe where four races exist; the farming centered Clavats, the esoteric and magic centered Yukes, the short but stout Liltites, and the crafty but thieving Selkies, where crystals are central to their existence and tales regarding them are the focus of the series.
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy and its sequels, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy and the arcade and PS4 game Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT. The first two are PlayStation Portable titles designed around a combat system resembling a hybridized blend of the three-dimensional fighting and action-RPG genres, while the third game is oriented more to the fighting aspects rather than the RPG aspects. These games are crossovers of the various disparate continuities of the franchise, and make at least one hero and one villain from each of the main-numbered Final Fantasy continuities playable characters. The first two installments detail a long, cyclical war between hero and villain factions led by Cosmos, the goddess of harmony, and Chaos, the god of discord. The third game continues the original plotline with the heroes and villains once more being summoned into a war between two similar deities, Materia and Spiritus. Weary of the war, both sides seek to put a permanent end to the cycles. The new game retains the roster idea of an equal number of heroes and villains per game. Dissidia NT , originall an arcade release, is built on Playstation 4 hardware and thus received a PS4 release later on down the line. The roster included almost every character from the last two editions whilst also adding Y'shtola from XIV, Ace from Type-0, Noctis from the then-recent XV and Ramza from Tactics.
  • Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and its update, Curtain Call, are Nintendo 3DS rhythm titles that similarly cross over the many universes of Final Fantasy, compiling music - both faithfully preserved and remixed - from almost every Final Fantasy title and spin-off.
  • Among the many recurrent monster designs trademarked to the series is the Chocobo, a large, ratite-like bird that is often used as a mount in various Final Fantasy continuities. Square Enix uses it as a mascot for Final Fantasy as a whole, and has released a variety of more child-oriented Chocobo media based on it. There have been Chocobo-themed entries of Chunsoft's Mystery Dungeon series of rogue-like games, and similar games were later made for Pokémon.
  • Kingdom Hearts is an action-RPG series that was conceived as an unorthodox crossover between the general aesthetic of Final Fantasy and the many universes of Disney animated films, with several Final Fantasy characters - such as Cloud Strife - appearing as guests and cameos. Under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, the on-going series has become one of the most storied video game intellectual properties in its own right. The games centre on a vast universe where different worlds manifest as stars and tiny planets suspended away from each other, and a youth by the name of Sora, who wishes to journey beyond his home world of Destiny Islands, ventures into situations related to the legends that speak of how the star like worlds came to be, and to those that wielded the tools of power that caused it: The Keyblade.

Despite the many turns that the Final Fantasy franchise has taken, Final Fantasy VII remains as the franchise's most well-known and popular extension. Years after its introduction, it became the subject of a metaseries of prequels, non-traditional sequels, and other various media collectively titled the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, including a computer-graphic (CG) sequel film titled Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a sequel video game titled Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII based around Vincent Valentine, and two prequel games, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, based around the Turks and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, focusing on Zack Fair. While there has yet to be a proper sequel for this particular continuity, a modernized high-definition remake of the original game was announced Sony's E3 2015 conference to be in development for PlayStation 4 as a timed exclusive. It was later revealed in December at the 2015 PlayStation Experience to possess a real-time combat formula as opposed to the turned based formula of the original PlayStation game. This remake has been one of the most heavily requested for over the course of a decade-and-a-half and Kitase claims that the remake will retain the same level of strategy elements as the original game.

In addition to his recurrent appearances in all of these works, Cloud Strife has made guest appearances in titles outside of Final Fantasy, including an arcade and PlayStation fighter titled Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring and a small subseries of digital board games titled Itadaki Street. To the surprise of many, Cloud was announced as a post-launch downloadable content fighter for the Nintendo crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, despite minimal presence of his own on Nintendo hardware up until that point. As the motto of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was "Everyone Is Here," Cloud also returned for that game as well.

In terms of the scenario of the game itself, Final Fantasy VII initially focuses on the efforts of an eco-terrorist group named AVALANCHE - among whom Cloud is a member - as they struggle to destroy power plants operated by an electric-power mega-corporation that has become much of the planet's de facto government, Shinra, headquartered at the industrialized metropolis of Midgar. With the company having since shifted its focus to a spiritual substance called Mako so as to harvest said substance as modern society's primary source of power and fuel, Cloud and his allies operate under the belief that Shinra is siphoning the life force of the planet itself. But between his encounters with the mysterious flower girl Aerith Gainsborough and the re-emergence of an incredibly dangerous and disturbed figure from Cloud's past - the former elite soldier Sephiroth - Cloud and his allies gradually find themselves taking on a more direct and urgent role as protectors of the planet than they could have anticipated... though he must also surmount formidable psychological obstacles ingrained within his own memories.

List of games in Final Fantasy franchise[]

  • Final Fantasy (1987, NES; 2002, PlayStation)
    • Final Fantasy - Pixel Remaster (2021, PC; 2023, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy II (1988, Famicom; 2002, PlayStation; 2007, PlayStation Portable)
    • Final Fantasy II - Pixel Remaster (2021, PC; 2023, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy III (1990, Famicom)
    • Final Fantasy III (3D remake) (2006, Nintendo DS; 2012, PlayStation Portable; 2014, PC)
    • Final Fantasy III - Pixel Remaster (2021, PC; 2023, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy IV/Final Fantasy II (1991, SNES; 2001, PlayStation)
    • Final Fantasy IV (3D remake) (2008, Nintendo DS; 2014, PC)
    • Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (2008, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Nintendo WiiWare)
    • Final Fantasy IV - Pixel Remaster (2021, PC; 2023, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy V (1992, Super Famicom; 1998, PlayStation)
    • Final Fantasy V: Advance (2006, Game Boy Advance)
    • Final Fantasy V - Pixel Remaster (2021, PC; 2023, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy VI/Final Fantasy III (1994, SNES; 1998, PlayStation)
    • Final Fantasy VI - Pixel Remaster (2022, PC; 2023, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy VII (1997, PlayStation; 2015, PlayStation 4; 2019, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
    • Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020, PlayStation 4)
      • Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade (2021, PlayStation 5, PC)
    • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024, PlayStation 5)
    • untitled finale to the Final Fantasy VII Remake series (TBD)
  • Final Fantasy VIII (1999, PlayStation)
    • Final Fantasy VIII Remastered (2019, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)
  • Final Fantasy IX (2000, PlayStation; 2017, PlayStation 4; 2019, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy X (2001, PlayStation 2)
    • Final Fantasy X-2 (2003, PlayStation 2)
      • Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster (2014, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita; 2015, PlayStation 4; 2019, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy XI (2002, PlayStation 2, PC; 2006, Xbox 360)
  • Final Fantasy XII (2006, PlayStation 2)
    • Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (2007, Nintendo DS)
    • Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (2017, PlayStation 4; 2018, PC; 2019, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy XIII (2009, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
    • Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
    • Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (2013, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
  • Final Fantasy XIV (2010, PC)
    • Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (2013, PlayStation 3, PC; 2014, PlayStation 4; 2021, PlayStation 5)
      • Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV (2015, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC)
      • Stormblood: Final Fantasy XIV (2017, PlayStation 4, PC)
      • Shadowbringers: Final Fantasy XIV (2019, PlayStation 4, PC)
      • Endwalker: Final Fantasy XIV (2021, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC)
      • Dawntrail: Final Fantasy XIV (2024, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC)
  • Final Fantasy XV (2016, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) (formerly known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII)
    • Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition (2018, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
      • Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition (2018, PC)
    • Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition (2018, iOS, Android, PC, PlayStaion 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy XVI (2023, PlayStation 5)

SPIN-OFFS

  • Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (1993, SNES)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics (1997, PlayStation)
    • Final Fantasy Tactics: War of The Lions (2007, PlayStation Portable, iOS)
  • Chocobo Racing (1999, PlayStation)
  • Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) (MOVIE)
  • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (2003, Nintendo GameCube)
    • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition (2020, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (2003, Game Boy Advance)
  • Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- (2004, Mobile)
  • Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) (MOVIE)
    • Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete (2009)
  • Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- (2006, PlayStation 2)
  • Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- (2007, PlayStation Portable)
    • Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (2022, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance A2: Grimoire of The Rift (2007, Nintendo DS)
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008, PlayStation Portable)
  • Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (2011, PlayStation Portable)
  • Final Fantasy Type-0 (2011, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
  • Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (2012, Nintendo 3DS, iOS)
  • Final Fantasy: All The Bravest (2013, iOS)
  • Final Fantasy: Record Keeper (2014, iOS, Android)
  • Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius (2015, iOS, Android)
  • Dissidia Final Fantasy (2015, Arcade)
    • Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (2018, PlayStation 4; 2019, PC)
  • World of Final Fantasy (2016, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita)
    • World of Final Fantasy Maxima (2018, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)
  • Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016) (MOVIE)
  • Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier (2021, iOS, Android)
  • Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC)
  • Chocobo GP (2022, Nintendo Switch)
  • Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line (2022, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
  • Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (2023, iOS, Android) (traditional remakes of the entire Compilation of Final Fantasy VII)

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U[]

The Final Fantasy universe is represented for the first time as DLC in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Character[]

Fighter[]

Cloud Icon SSBWU
  • Cloud: Cloud Strife, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, makes his debut in the Super Smash Bros. series as a downloadable fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. His default designs are taken from the expansive lore of Final Fantasy VII and his attacks generate unique sound effects from his debut title. His attacks primarily revolve around his iconic weapon, the Buster Sword, and references to most of the Limit Breaks he acquired on his quest.

Stage Hazards[]

Stage[]

Midgar Icon SSBWU
  • Midgar: The iconic cyberpunk conurbation on the planet Gaia, of which is depicted in Super Smash Bros. at the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, just after the completion of AVALANCHE's first bombing operation. One of the several Mako Reactors and the main Shinra Electric Power Company structure can be seen in the background. The layout of this stage is identical to those of Battlefield and Dream Land (64), however, there are the omnipresent summons from the Final Fantasy series that appear as stage hazards, each with their own abilities which directly impact the stage, and, likewise in Final Fantasy, can only be called upon by Summon Materia.

Music[]

  • Let the Battles Begin!
  • Fight On!
  • Victory! Final Fantasy Series

Trophies[]

Both Versions[]

  • Cloud
  • Cloud (Alt.)

Wii U Version[]

  • Omnislash

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]

Characters[]

Fighters[]

Stage Hazards[]

Spirits[]

  • Cloud
  • Cloud (Advent Children)
  • Sephiroth
  • Tifa
  • Barret
  • Aerith
  • Red XIII
  • Cait Sith
  • Cid
  • Yuffie
  • Vincent
  • Rufus Shinra and the Turks
  • Bahamut Zero
  • Chocobo and Moogle
  • Shiva
  • Ifrit

Stage[]

Music[]

  • Let the Battles Begin!
  • Fight On!
  • Opening Bombing Mission
  • Those who Fight (AC Version)
  • Those who Fight Further (AC Version)
  • Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY VII
  • Aerith's Theme
  • Cosmo Canyon
  • JENOVA
  • One-Winged Angel
  • Advent: One-Winged Angel

Media with elements from or in the Super Smash Bros. series[]

Final Fantasy II[]

Chocobos appear as downloadable content headgear. The Leviathan appears on the Midgar stage.

Final Fantasy III[]

Odin, Ramuh, and Ifrit appear on the Midgar stage.

Final Fantasy VII[]

Cloud Strife appears as a playable downloadable content character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U alongside Midgar, an area from Final Fantasy VII, followed by Sephiroth (alongside his shirtless variant as alternate costume) and the Northern Cave area in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Bahamut Zero, which appears on the aforementioned stage, along with the designs used for Leviathan, Ramuh, and Odin, also originate from this game. Additionally, the songs Let the Battles Begin!, Fight On!, Opening - Bombing Mission and the game's version of the series' victory theme are used in Cloud's reveal trailer.

Nibelheim incident area scene where Sephiroth is infamously known, is used as his personal victory area scene, instead of the usual Smash-circle victory area scene.

Ehrgeiz[]

A PlayStation fighting game based on Tobal duology, featuring Final Fantasy VII characters Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth, Vincent and Yuffie debuted in fighting game scene as guest characters.

This game is indirectly the first Final Fantasy-related game to have the characters voiced.

It alongside Tobal have some references from Bandai Namco’s Tekken, and Akira Toriyama’s series on the latter (such as Shueisha’s Dragon Ball).

Final Fantasy VIII[]

Ifrit's design used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U comes from its appearance here.

Final Fantasy X[]

The first ever mainline series’ game to have both characters fully voiced in dual audios (English and Japanese) and have a followup took place in the same game universe.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children[]

Cloud's outfit and weapon the Fusion Swords from the CGI movie appear as an alternative costume. Cloud and Sephiroth's Japanese voice actors from Advent Children, Takahiro Sakurai and Toshiyuki Morikawa, would voice their respective characters in all regions in Super Smash Bros. series, due to union-related issues on unable to get their respective English voice actors Steve Burton and George Newbern to reprise their roles.

Cloud’s new Omnislash from this movie, act as a Final Smash for this movie’s outfit in a recent patch of Ultimate onwards since Sephiroth’s playable inclusion. Sephiroth’s boss song from this movie not only as his battle theme, but also act as his victory theme, based on his defeat by Cloud.

This is marks Final Fantasy the first and only third-party series to have non-video game references, just like Pokemon series.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-[]

Cloud's alternate SOLDIER costumes base their colours off the uniforms of SOLDIERs in this game, as well as reference the main protagonist Zack Fair.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy[]

Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth are one of the playable characters in Final Fantasy's very own 3D-arena fighting game series crossover.

Cloud's default SOLDIER costume takes some elements from the design used for his default costume from this game, including the more realistic proportions and loosely fastened boots and dual-layered pauldron, as well as the redesigned SOLDIER logo on his belt. Cloud and Sephiroth's shield stance, dash, and double jump, as well as their respective abilities, such as Cloud’s wall jump and Sephiroth’s wing, may come from this game. Many of Cloud and Sephiroth's quotes are directly taken from this game aside Advent Children movie.

In the Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT storyline however, his Advent Children costume is his main costume, rather than his original SOLDIER costume, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate trailer of Sephiroth applied a same thing to Cloud. In the same game, Sephiroth’s Safer form features right arm and legs alongside the newly enhanced Masamune sword.

Trivia[]

  • Final Fantasy and Mega Man are the only third-party universes that originated on a Nintendo system. They both debuted on the NES with Final Fantasy debuting one day after Mega Man.
  • Final Fantasy and Earthbound are the only universes to not feature characters that debuted in the first installment of their series.
  • With the inclusion of Sephiroth in the Fighter Pass 2 of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Final Fantasy is the first third party franchise in the series to feature a second playable character that's not an Echo Fighter.
  • Super Smash Bros. would feature three prominent Final Fantasy staff members:
    • Nobuo Uematsu, well known for composing much of Final Fantasy's music, composed Brawl's Main Theme.
    • Kazushige Nojima, who was the main scenario writer of many Final Fantasy games, wrote the storyboard for The Subspace Emissary.
    • Tetsuya Nomura, who was the character designer for Cloud and many other Final Fantasy characters after, illustrated Cloud's character poster.
OtherSymbolMiscellaneous third-party universes
Characters Boss Rathalos
Assist Trophies Akira Yuki  · Bomberman  · Rathalos  · Shovel Knight
Mii Fighter Costumes Akira Yuki  · Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad  · Arthur  · Bomberman  · Cuphead  · Dante  · Doom Slayer  · Dragonborn  · Felyne  · Gil  · Goemon  · Iori Yagami  · Jacky Bryant  · Lloyd Irving  · Monster Hunter  · Nakoruru  · Rabbids  · Ryo Sakazaki  · Sans  · Shantae  · Travis Touchdown  · Vault Boy
Background characters Athena Asamiya  · Chang Koehan & Choi Bounge  · Goro Daimon  · Iori Yagami  · King  · Kyo Kusanagi  · Ralf Jones & Clark Still  · Ryo Sakazaki  · Yuri Sakazaki
Enemies Pooka  · Bacura
Items Boss Galaga  · Special Flag
Music Lists List of Music (Namco games)  · List of Music (SNK games)  · List of Music (Monster Hunter / Undertale / Cuphead / Shantae)
Songs "MEGALOVANIA"  · "Psycho Soldier Theme"
Collectibles Trophies 3DS Trophies  · Wii U Trophies
Spirits List of spirits (Others)
Universe List of minor universes
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