Final Fantasy: The Phoenix Prophecies

(Goddamn this is a sexy title screen!)

Phoenix Prophecies is a well-crafted, interesting game that is in no way affiliated with the Final Fantasy series. Find out why..

Early in Square's career, the company realized that the Final Fantasy series was one of their most lucrative properties. Of course, this meant that they slapped the name Final Fantasy on everything, including games that had nothing to do with the FF mythos. Well, following in that tradition comes Final Fantasy: The Phoenix Prophecies. This fully-playable demo recounts the story of Nickel, an assassin from an advanced world who is sent to kill the emperor of a medieval empire. The story does well to avoid any painful cliches, and the dialogue is well-written. It provides an all-around immersive experience.

The gameplay in the demo showcases many interesting things. Even those that are not fully usable are at least complete, so the player can see where the game will go once it's finished. This is a major bonus. The on-screen fighting is executed quite well, and made challenging by the enemy skills encountered. The biggest drawback here is that there is no on-screen indication of the character's status, so if Nickel is blind the only way to tell is by trying (and failing) to attack an enemy.

There is also a very advanced stealth system and custom menu that are worth mentioning. I'm sure that they will be put to more use in later installments.

The graphics are, simply put, breathtaking. The chipsets(I gave him) are used extraordinarily well, and there is absolutely nothing out of place. The maps, while compact, are filled with fantastic details. The sound also comes into play here, as Nickel's footsteps make noise on certain surfaces. Wonderful job!

The music, however, is a little lackluster. It's all appropriate, but many of the longer tracks are simply not enjoyable to listen to. One interesting thing is that the bulk of the Squaresoft music is used in very limited areas. This really helps to keep players in the game, instead of reminding them of Secret of Mana.

All in all, The Phoenix Prophecies is a wonderfully crafted game. The biggest drawback is the fact that the Madriel felt the need to tack Final Fantasy onto the title(Though what a title screen!). The game has absolutely nothing to do with the series and features completely different play options. The only things that resemble Final Fantasy are the item and skill names, which makes the creator seem uninspired or lazy in those departments. A little creativity in those areas would make this title worthy of mainstream success.