Square Enix have provided new details on some of the NPCs you’ll encounter in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin—and they should be very familiar if you’ve played the original game.
Story details are still somewhat scant on this unconventional new title, co-developed by Team Ninja, but the connections to the original Final Fantasy could not be more blatant. In a new blog post, Square Enix introduced new incarnations of several characters met in the original’s first hours, and also elaborated on some gameplay mechanics.
Cornelia’s entire royal family will appear in the new spinoff: the King of Cornelia, Queen Jayne, Princess Sarah, and Princess Mia. Of course, the first segment of Final Fantasy involves rescuing Sarah from Garland and returning her to the king, who builds a bridge enabling the party to move forward. Jayne appears in the game as well, with little to contribute. However Sarah’s younger sister had not been named in any of the game’s many ports, until now.
Unlike their one-dimensional 8-bit counterparts, the royal family of Cornelia in Stranger of Paradise seems to have distinct personalities and characteristics. Mia is said to be a chip off her sister’s block, and has “even been known to confront ministers” at court—ministers like, perhaps, the new character Minister Lagone. This original character is said to share the king’s faith in the prophecies of Lukahn and will keep a record of Jack’s journey, should he save the land.
It will be interesting to see how Jack Garland interacts with Princess Sarah in this pseudo-prequel to the original game. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call suggested that Garland had kidnapped her because she did not reciprocate his romantic feelings for her, while it’s previously been stated that he was simply ransoming her and her lute from the kingdom. If this Jack Garland is to become the Garland who threatens to knock down the Light Warriors and ultimately becomes Chaos, his relationship with the princess could be central to the plot of both games.
Aside from the royal court of Cornelia, we also got a good look at the nefarious pirate Captain Bikke. Like the original game, Jack will meet Bikke in the nearby port town of Pravoka, but it seems he’ll be doing his own dirty work this time instead of sending his lackeys in his place. Strangers of Paradise has given him a massive axe, and it would appear that he’ll be fought as a boss in a cave, where his pirate ship is docked.
The blog post mentions that Bikke is the de facto governor of Provoka. Since the seas can no longer bear his ships out, nor bring in other ships for him to raid, the outlaw has become the port town’s law. I would wager that he might not be enjoying such a prosperous situation by the time Jack is finished with him, however.
If you didn’t get a chance to play either demo for Stranger of Paradise, the post goes on to detail the break gauge and soul shield mechanics, which respectively allow Jack to stagger enemies (a la the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy or Final Fantasy VII Remake) or copy certain abilities from specific enemies (not unlike a Blue Mage).
Will we see the rest of Final Fantasy‘s small but diverse cast recreated in this new spin-off? Will we cross paths with Matoya, Astos, Bahamut, Doctor Unne, or even Cid of the Lufaine? We’ll find out by March 18, 2022, when Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the Epic Game Store.
