25 Things You Didn't Know About Final Fantasy 1 Through 6

25 Things You Didn’t Know About Final Fantasy 1-6

Welcome to MojoPlays, and who gives a damn about relevant topics and games, I’m talking about the 2D Final Fantasy games even if this video gets 200 views. These are 25 Things You Didn’t Know About Final Fantasy 1-6. Let’s go!

Here Lies Link

“Final Fantasy “ (1987)

The original “Final Fantasy” included a surprisingly catty little Easter Egg aimed at some of gaming’s biggest fantasy franchises. In the town of Elfheim, players can find a gravestone near one of the houses that changes depending on which version of the game they’re playing. Some releases read “Here Lies Link,” referencing “The Legend of Zelda,” while others instead say “Here Lies Erdrick,” the legendary hero from “Dragon Quest.” The Japanese versions mostly kept the Link joke, while the original NES English release swapped in Erdrick instead. It’s especially funny because “Final Fantasy” itself was still trying to establish its identity at the time, yet Square was already casually teasing other RPG giants with a fake gravestone joke.

Swan Song

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

It’s hard to imagine now, but back in the 1980s, Square Soft was dangerously close to collapse before the release of the original “Final Fantasy.” Long before becoming the RPG powerhouse now known as Square Enix, the company was struggling financially and desperately needed a hit to survive, just like me, please like this video. According to gaming legend, creator Hironobu Sakaguchi even viewed the project as a “final” attempt at success before potentially leaving the industry altogether, which is where the series supposedly got its name. Thankfully, “Final Fantasy” became a massive success and completely changed the company’s future overnight. Instead of shutting down, Square suddenly found itself with the greatest JRPG series of all time.

King Size

“Final Fantasy IV” (1991)

One of the coolest tiny secrets in “Final Fantasy IV” happens at Fabul Castle right before the Red Wings attack. Normally, players would head to the inn and pay to rest like civilized RPG citizens, but there’s actually a free option hidden away if you explore a little. By climbing to the top of the castle tower, Cecil and the party can straight-up sleep in the King’s bed instead, fully restoring the group without spending any Gil. It’s such a small detail, but discovering it naturally feels weirdly rewarding, especially back in the day when secrets like this spread through playground rumors instead of YouTube guides. So if you’re a fan of this game and didn’t know this, you’re welcome, 35 years later.

King Size

“Final Fantasy IV” (1991)

One of the funniest little censorship moments in older RPG history comes from the American release of “Final Fantasy IV.” In the original Japanese version, when Cecil finally rescues Rosa in the Tower of Zot, the two share a quick kiss after being reunited. Pretty standard romantic payoff stuff. But in the US release, those frames were actually removed so the scene awkwardly became more of a dramatic hug instead. Apparently, two pixelated adults in a committed relationship briefly showing affection was considered dangerously spicy material for American audiences at the time. Cowards.

PS2 Version

“Final Fantasy III” (1990)

During development of the 3D remake of “Final Fantasy III,” the team actually considered releasing the game on the PlayStation 2 before eventually shifting development over to the Nintendo DS after Nintendo approached Square Enix about supporting the handheld. Honestly, it’s hard imagining the remake anywhere else now since the DS version became so iconic in its own weirdly chunky little way. Even stranger, the developers also experimented with the idea of including a versus mode where Luneth and the rest of the party could battle each other. The idea never made it far because the team reportedly felt uncomfortable turning the main cast against one another, which is honestly kind of wholesome. Interestingly, leftover text for unused battle commands still exists in the game files.

Cid

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

One of the biggest traditions in the “Final Fantasy” series is the constant reappearance of certain characters and creatures across almost every game. The most famous example is probably Cid, who appears in every mainline entry… Almost. Did you know the original “Final Fantasy” is the only mainline game that Cid doesn’t appear in? Sometimes he’s a genius engineer, sometimes an airship pilot, and sometimes just an exhausted old man trying to keep the plot from falling apart. In “Final Fantasy”, he’s a wish.

Informing The Future

“Final Fantasy III” (1990)

“Final Fantasy III” ended up being a surprisingly important turning point for Square developers Koichi Ishii and Hiromichi Tanaka. After working on the game, neither would properly return to the mainline “Final Fantasy” series until “Final Fantasy XI” many years later. In between, both became heavily tied to the “Secret of Mana” series, which explains why there are some fascinating creative connections between the franchises. In fact, the real-time combat system that eventually defined “Secret of Mana” was originally pitched for “Final Fantasy IV.” Tanaka actually worked on early versions of the project before the combat ideas were rejected, though he still retained a credit on the final game. By the time “Final Fantasy XI” entered development, Ishii and Tanaka essentially used it to pursue the version of “Final Fantasy” they had always envisioned, finally supported by technology advanced enough to properly realize those ideas.

Not Very Ultima

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

One of the funniest stories in “Final Fantasy” history involves the Ultima spell in “Final Fantasy II.” Originally, Ultima was meant to be an incredibly difficult spell to obtain and one of the strongest attacks in the game. Unfortunately, a bug caused it to be hilariously weak instead, meaning players would go through an absurd amount of effort only to unlock what was basically magical disappointment. According to the series creator, when the issue was discovered during testing, the programmer responsible refused to fix it. His explanation was somehow even funnier than the bug itself. He argued that an ancient legendary spell from a forgotten age realistically wouldn’t compare to modern magic techniques, and that struggling to obtain something only for it to be useless was “just like real life.” Sakaguchi was reportedly so annoyed he tried fixing the bug himself, only to discover the programmer had encrypted the source code. So Ultima stayed terrible. Honestly, that level of stubbornness almost deserves respect.

Cleansing Fire

“Final Fantasy” Series (1987-)

A lot of people point to “Final Fantasy” as proof that personal experiences can heavily shape storytelling, especially when it comes to series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. It’s widely known that the death of Sakaguchi’s mother deeply affected him and influenced the emotional themes found throughout the franchise. Fans have also noticed a recurring pattern beginning around “Final Fantasy IV,” where many entries feature burning villages, destroyed homes, or traumatic fire-related scenes tied to the loss of a parent, especially mothers. While not every example is directly identical, the imagery appears often enough that players have connected it back to Sakaguchi’s own experiences and the grief that informed many of the series’ emotional moments.

Releasing When?“Final Fantasy” (1987)

Nowadays, huge games usually launch worldwide at the same time, but back in the 1980s things moved painfully slower. The original “Final Fantasy” first released in Japan in December 1987, and only after becoming a major success there, did Nintendo of America decide to localize it for Western audiences. American players finally got the game in 1990, meaning they had to wait roughly three years while Japanese fans were already playing “Final Fantasy III”. As rough as that sounds, European players had it even worse. PAL regions didn’t receive an official release of the original game until 2003 through “Final Fantasy Origins” on the PlayStation, a collection containing the first two entries. Btw, I’m PAL goddammit.

Music Legend

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

Music has always been one of the biggest reasons the “Final Fantasy” series feels connected despite every game taking place in a different world with different characters. Even when the settings, combat systems, and stories completely change, certain melodies instantly remind players they’re still inside the same franchise. A huge reason for that is composer Nobuo Uematsu, whose work became inseparable from “Final Fantasy” itself. Starting with the original game, Uematsu created themes that would later evolve into iconic recurring musical motifs across the series. One of the most famous examples is the opening theme from the first “Final Fantasy,” which wasn’t even intended to become the franchise’s main musical identity at the time. Over the years, though, it naturally evolved into the series’ signature theme, the signature theme you’ll probably remember most from “Final Fantasy VII”.

Secret Minigame

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

The original “Final Fantasy” secretly contains a hidden sliding puzzle minigame, which is one of those bizarre little discoveries that made old RPGs feel magical. While sailing around the world map on the ship, players can unlock it by holding A and repeatedly tapping B until the puzzle suddenly appears. The minigame itself is simple: arrange numbered tiles from lowest to highest like a classic sliding block puzzle. Completing it rewards the player with a small amount of Gil, though honestly the real reward is just the satisfaction of uncovering something the game never tells you exists. Even cooler, programmer Nasir Gebelli secretly snuck it into the game himself. Without permission! What a rebel.

Phantom Chest

“Final Fantasy VI” (1994)

One of the stranger little quirks in “Final Fantasy VI” involves a pair of invisible treasure chests hidden inside one of the later Phantom Train cars. The weird part is that while both hidden chests technically exist in the SNES and PlayStation versions, only one of them can actually be opened properly. Players can collect the Tent without much issue, but the second invisible chest containing a Fairy Ring is basically impossible to access because the game never lets the player character properly face it. In other words, the item is sitting there forever, completely unobtainable thanks to awkward positioning. Thanks a lot, train!

Formula 1

“Final Fantasy IV” (1991)

One of the most important mechanics in “Final Fantasy” history, the Active Time Battle system, was inspired by something surprisingly mundane: Formula 1 racing. According to “Final Fantasy IV” designer Takashi Tokita, the battle designer came up with the idea after watching faster cars repeatedly lap slower ones during a race. They realized that the same concept could work in an RPG by allowing quicker characters to act more often during combat instead of waiting for strict turn order. That idea became the legendary ATB system introduced in “Final Fantasy IV.”

Western RPG Influence

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

“Final Fantasy” is often treated as the definitive Japanese RPG franchise, which is funny considering it borrowed heavily from Western RPGs in the first place. While many people associate the series with inventing JRPG conventions, games like “Dragon Quest” actually came first in Japan. On top of that, “Final Fantasy” itself drew major inspiration from Western tabletop and computer RPGs. Elemental weaknesses, for example, were far less common in Japanese RPGs at the time. The series also adopted the idea of letting players freely choose party classes at the start, giving the game a level of customization heavily inspired by Western RPG design. You’re welcome, Japan. Thanks for everything else gaming related.

Bugs

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

As beloved as the original “Final Fantasy” is today, the NES version was absolutely overflowing with bugs and broken mechanics. Several spells straight-up did not function properly, meaning players could spend valuable Gil on magic that literally accomplished nothing. One particularly funny example is a spell designed to lower enemy evasion that accidentally increases it instead, basically buffing the monsters you were trying to weaken. Things got even messier with weapons, because many elemental effects and status-inflicting properties simply failed to work as intended. In other words, players spent years unknowingly carrying around gear that looked cool but secretly did almost nothing special.

Cut Character

“Final Fantasy VI” (1994)

“Final Fantasy VI” already has one of the biggest and most memorable casts in the entire franchise, with several characters being completely missable if players didn’t carefully explore the world. Despite the huge roster, the developers still managed to give almost everyone unique combat abilities and personalities, which honestly feels like wizardry considering how many party members the game contains. Surprisingly, though, the cast was almost one bigger. According to development interviews translated by Shmuplations, Square originally planned a character named Angela during production. She reportedly fought using a whip and had a playful personality, even jokingly flirting with Cyan throughout the story. It’s never been fully explained why Angela was removed before release, but I like to imagine they were saving whips for Quistis.

Final Fantasy Dive

“Final Fantasy V” (1992)

“Final Fantasy V” is famous for its massive Job system, giving players tons of different classes to experiment with and mix together. Even with the huge variety already included, the developers apparently had even more ideas planned during development. One of the strangest unused concepts was a Diver job, revealed through interviews later translated by Shmuplations. The class would have specialized in underwater combat, using harpoons as weapons and gaining stat boosts while fighting in water environments. Honestly, it sounds weirdly cool, especially since environmental bonuses were not a common mechanic for the series at the time. Despite that, the job was cut fairly early in development. The team seemingly wasn’t too attached to it either, since the Diver never returned in later versions like “Final Fantasy V Advance,” which added several entirely new jobs instead.

Finishing The Mind Flayer

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

The original “Final Fantasy” borrowed heavily from tabletop RPGs, especially “Dungeons & Dragons.” You can see it everywhere in the game’s design, from the four-person party structure to the classic character classes that closely resemble D&D archetypes like Fighters, Thieves, Clerics, and Mages. Even creatures like Bahamut and Tiamat were pulled directly from fantasy concepts popularized through tabletop gaming. The game also used the old “Vancian” magic system, where spells had limited uses before players needed to rest and recover them. One monster, however, ended up being a little too close to official D&D material. The Evil Eye enemy originally resembled the Beholder, one of Dungeons & Dragons’ few copyrighted monsters. Because of that, the design had to be altered for the American release to avoid legal trouble.

Manga Fantasy

“Final Fantasy III” (1991)

A lot of newer fans forget just how confusing the numbering for “Final Fantasy” used to be outside Japan. Because several games skipped Western releases entirely, North America ended up getting “Final Fantasy IV” as “Final Fantasy II,” and “Final Fantasy VI” as “Final Fantasy III.” Square finally abandoned the mess once “Final Fantasy VII” launched worldwide in 1997. Ironically, the real “Final Fantasy III” remained Japan-exclusive for years until its Nintendo DS remake finally released internationally in 2006. One of the strangest things tied to the game, though, is its manga adaptation. Since it wasn’t restricted by Nintendo’s censorship standards, the manga became dramatically darker and more adult-oriented, featuring graphic violence, body horror, and surprisingly heavy mature content compared to the relatively lighthearted NES game.

Centaur

“Final Fantasy V” (1992)

Most fantasy games go with fairly predictable final villains like dragons, demons, or evil sorcerers. “Final Fantasy V,” meanwhile, decided players should save reality from a giant evil tree floating through space. Exdeath’s backstory is honestly one of the weirdest in the franchise. After the dark warlock Enuo was defeated, his soul and the souls of countless evil monsters were sealed inside a massive tree. Over time, all those spirits fused together and eventually created Exdeath, who broke free and decided the logical next step was destroying existence itself. Even funnier, concept art reveals Exdeath was originally planned to look more like a centaur monster before the developers shifted to the iconic tree design instead. The exact reason was never confirmed, though technical limitations on SNES hardware may have played a role in the change.

The Name

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

One of the biggest myths surrounding “Final Fantasy” is the idea that the series got its name because Square was on the verge of bankruptcy and this was supposedly their “final” attempt at making a successful game. It’s a great story, but according to series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, it’s not actually true. Speaking on the official “Final Fantasy” YouTube channel, Sakaguchi explained that the team originally wanted to call the game “Fighting Fantasy.” The problem was that the name was already trademarked by the British “Fighting Fantasy” choose-your-own-adventure books created by the founders of Games Workshop, the company behind “Warhammer.” Since they still wanted something abbreviated as “FF,” the team landed on “Final Fantasy” instead. Ironically, the fake origin story became almost as legendary as the franchise itself.

Japanese Exclusive Boss

“Final Fantasy IV” (1991)

When “Final Fantasy IV” was released in North America as “Final Fantasy II,” it arrived with reduced difficulty, removed content, and censorship changes to fit Nintendo’s guidelines at the time. Japan later received an even easier version called “Final Fantasy IV Easy Type,” which adjusted the game further to make it less brutal for players. One of the strangest differences involved Zeromus, the game’s final boss. In “Easy Type,” Zeromus had a completely different design compared to the standard release. Instead of the familiar monstrous form, the boss resembled a skeletal centaur fused with a mysterious woman attached to its body, making the whole thing look incredibly bizarre even by “Final Fantasy” standards. According to The Cutting Room Floor, this unused-looking design didn’t disappear forever either, eventually returning as a separate villain in later ports that added bonus post-game content.

Potential Dark Endings

“Final Fantasy” Series (1987-)

“Final Fantasy IV” remains incredibly popular in Japan, second only to “Final Fantasy VII” in many fan polls, which explains why Square Enix has rereleased it so many times and even gave it a direct sequel with “Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.” That sequel goes surprisingly cosmic with its main villain, The Creator, a godlike being who travels through space using a moon-sized spaceship. The Creator reveals that his ancient race seeded planets with magical crystals to accelerate the evolution of intelligent life. If a civilization proved disappointing, they would reclaim the crystals and wipe the planet out entirely. Essentially, he’s a fantasy RPG version of a cosmic science experiment supervisor who became extremely judgmental. The creepiest detail comes when players explore his moon and discover crystals from worlds guarded by bosses from “Final Fantasy I” through “VI,” heavily implying those games’ worlds were also destroyed by his species. It sucks to think that the FF6 gang survived Kefka’s world ending antics, only to be world ended anyway.

Lost English Version

“Final Fantasy II” (1988)

When the original “Final Fantasy” finally released in America in 1990, it became successful enough that Square and Nintendo actually began working on an English localization of “Final Fantasy II” for the NES. The game was far enough along that it even appeared in magazines like “Nintendo Power” under the subtitle “Dark Shadow Over Palakia.” The problem was timing. By that point, the Super Nintendo was about to launch, and Nintendo wanted a clean break into the new console generation instead of continuing to localize older NES RPGs. As a result, the English version of “Final Fantasy II” was cancelled entirely. Years later, though, a prototype of the localization leaked online, revealing a nearly complete translation. Unfortunately, the script was still extremely rough, with dialogue so awkwardly translated it often drifted into near-“Engrish” territory. A term I’m quoting, I promise I’m not racist.