The Final Fantasy series first became a mainstream hit with the release of Final Fantasy VII.
The success of Final Fantasy VII happened at around the same time that the Internet was becoming more prominent in homes across the world, which meant that a massive online community of fans was created around the series.
Final Fantasy VII was a huge hit, but the previous games in the series were considered to be cult classics at best when they were first released.
The creation of emulation allowed many players to experience and appreciate these games for the first time. This helped to earn the older games in the series a new fanbase, to say nothing of the Final Fantasy titles which had never received an official English localization and were made available in English for the first time with the aid of fan-made patches.
The Final Fantasy series had an almost mythical quality to it in the old days of the Internet, with fans clamoring to learn more about the games that had just entered their lives.
The problem with this period is that it was the also the beginning of the era of Internet urban legends, which meant that a lot of false information and rumors were created about the games in the Final Fantasy series, many of which still persist to this day.
We are here today to shatter the myths and misconceptions that have built up around the Final Fantasy series over the years - from the original sequel movie that many fans had missed to the truth behind the not-so-final name of the series.
Here are the 20 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Final Fantasy!
Aerith & General Leo Don't Have To Away
The Internet was once brimming with false rumors of being able to revive Aerith in Final Fantasy VII, to the point where it may be the biggest urban legend of gaming of all time, with the possible exception of finding Mew in Pokémon Red & Blue.
Final Fantasy VI also had its fair share of revival rumors, as the demise of General Leo led to numerous fake methods on how to bring him back.
The methods for reviving Aerith and General Leo have been thoroughly debunked by this point, but there are ways to bring them back as playable characters... with the aid of glitches.
The Pop Fiction video series has detailed how to keep Aerith in your party before her demise, which requires swapping the Final Fantasy VII game disc with Saga Frontier, which lets you skip parts of the map.
Pop Fiction also explained how to add General Leo to your party with the aid of the "Airship Glitch" that allows you to acquire the airship at the start of the game.
Final Fantasy VIII Wasn't The Dream Of A Fatally Wounded Squall
One of the most popular fan theories surrounding Final Fantasy VIII is the idea that Squall actually succumbed to the wound he suffered at Edea's hands at the end of the first disc.
The rest of the game is said to be his last dream (or maybe, his final fantasy) as his life slips away.
The reason why this theory is so popular is that it explains a lot of the oddities that crop up in the story of Final Fantasy VIII after Squall's injury.
The theory would also explain the bizarre and creepy ending of the game.
It seems that Final Fantasy VIII was just a game with a weird story, as Yoshinori Kitase confirmed in an interview with Kotaku that Squall is indeed alive and that the wound that Edea inflicted upon him was not fatal.
The Knights Of The Round Did Not Defeat Jenova
In the history of the world of Final Fantasy VII, the extraterrestrial being known as Jenova almost wiped out the Cetra race. It was only due to the actions of a few brave Cetra that Jenova was sealed away and the world was spared from her wrath.
The most powerful summon materia that you can find in Final Fantasy VII contains the power of the Knights of the Round.
These are a group of knights that can destroy almost every enemy in the game in a single hit.
It was once theorized by the Final Fantasy fans that the Knights of the Round were the of the Cetra who defeated Jenova in the past and that their presence still lingered on in the world, in case they were needed once more.
The link between the Cetra and the Knights of the Round was quashed by Yoshinori Kitase.
Kitase stated that the summons in the game lacked any kind of backstory.
Aerith & Zack Weren't A Couple
Final Fantasy VII had a pretty shoddy English translation, which was filled with numerous errors and alterations that changed the original meaning of the text.
There is one aspect of Final Fantasy VII that fans were incorrect about for years, which was due to the poor translation of the dialogue within the game.
This information was discovered by Tim Rogers in his excellent Found In Translation series, where he compares the text of the English and Japanese versions of Final Fantasy VII.
In the English version of Final Fantasy VII, Aerith states that Zack was her first boyfriend. This is an incorrect statement, as she originally said that Zack was the first person she ever liked in a romantic way.
The English version of Final Fantasy VII suggested that Aerith and Zack were actually in a romantic relationship, while the truth is that their affections never had a chance to develop before Zack's demise.
The Tidus & Yuna Laughing Scene Was Meant To Be Awkward
Final Fantasy X represented a huge technological shift for the series, as the power of the PlayStation 2 removed a lot of the barriers that were limiting the scope of the series up until that point, including allowing the use of voice acting.
The English dub of Final Fantasy X has had a mixed response, especially as the most infamous scene in the game involves Tidus and Yuna forcing a laugh in an awkward manner.
The terrible laughing moment has caused many fans to blame either the localizers of the script or the English voice actors of the game for the scene.
James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Tidus) has clarified in a video on his YouTube channel that the scene was meant to be awkward and it was the same in the original Japanese version of the game.
Final Fantasy X had a few ropey moments in its English dub, but the laughing scene wasn't one of them.
Setzer Didn't The Party Out Of Kindness
The original Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, and Final Fantasy VII all suffered from issues with their English translation.
This was due to a lack of time and resources, as localizing the games for the western market was never a huge priority for Squaresoft. The quality of the English localizations didn't improve until Final Fantasy VIII.
The original English translation of Final Fantasy VI (known as Final Fantasy III in America) had an error that changed the motivation of one of the characters in the game.
Setzer was originally presented as ing the party against the Empire, even though he was earning money due to their presence, which made him seem more heroic than he actually was.
It turns out that the Empire was actually costing Setzer money and that his ing the party was influenced by self-interest rather than heroism.
Final Fantasy X-2 Wasn't The First Sequel In The Series
The games in the Final Fantasy series were once meant to be totally disconnected from each other, save for shared elements and references to earlier titles.
It has often been said that Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to receive a sequel, with Final Fantasy X-2 showing the world of Spira without the shadow of Sin hanging over its people.
Yuna was finally free from her destiny as a summoner and could live any kind of life that she wanted.
Final Fantasy X-2 wasn't actually the first sequel in the series - that title goes to Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystal, which was an OVA that acted as a sequel to Final Fantasy V.
Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystal is set two-hundred years after the events of Final Fantasy V.
The movie follows Linaly, who is one of the descendants of Bartz Kla, as she has to protect the world from a new threat.
Dark Matter Doesn't Have A Purpose
There is a tendency among RPG players to save all of their finite healing items for the moment when they are needed the most, which sometimes means that they are stockpiled for the final boss.
If it's possible to steal an item from the final boss, then you may as well use it straight away, as there isn't anything else you can use it on.
In Final Fantasy IV, it's possible for Edge to steal some Dark Matter from Zeromus during the final battle in the game. Though it's possible to use the Dark Matter, it has no effect in-game.
Fans had speculated for years that the Dark Matter had some kind of effect on Zeromus' stats or made him more susceptible to damage, but these theories were incorrect.
The Dark Matter was finally given a use in the 3D remakes of Final Fantasy IV, as it allows you to access the battle against Proto-Babil.
The Famous "You Spoony Bard!" Line Wasn't Covering Up An Expletive
The most infamous poorly translated line in the Final Fantasy series belongs to the one uttered by Tellah during his battle with Edward in Final Fantasy IV.
Tellah blames Edward for the demise of his daughter, which prompts him to yell the immortal insult "You spoony bard!" at poor Edward.
The term "spoony" is an archaic term for someone who is sentimental or foolish, so it's presence in the game is unusual.
This led to fans spreading false rumors about how the "spoony bard" insult was used to cover up a swear word-filled rant against Edward and that the original dialogue was far ruder than what made it into the game.
The truth of the matter is that, while Tellah was incredibly angry in the original Japanese version of the game, he never went on some kind of South Park-style tirade against Edward.
Gogo Is Not Daryl
Gogo is one of the most enigmatic characters in Final Fantasy VI. The first time we saw Gogo was when he acted as a secret boss in Final Fantasy V who needed to be defeated in order to unlock the Mime job.
He would return as a playable character in Final Fantasy VI, where he possessed the ability to use the Mime command in battle.
This allowed him to copy the moves of another party member for free.
There have been numerous theories over who Gogo really is, with the most prominent one being that he is Daryl, who crashed her airship in a remote location.
This led many fans to believe that she may have lost her memories and taken on a new identity.
Yoshinori Kitase debunked this theory in an interview with Kotaku and stated that Gogo's true identity had never been fleshed out.
