Final Fantasy Creators Reveal The True Origins of the Franchise’s Name

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but when trying to attract audiences, a catchy title can help any piece of media stand out in a crowd. For many games, simply going with the name of the title’s protagonist is the safest bet. Just ask Sonic and Mario. But some game titles are a little more unorthodox, which usually inspires fans to search for their origins. Sometimes that search results in urban legends that take on a life of their own. Well, when it comes to the origins of the name “Final Fantasy,” though, that series creators have finally decided to set the record straight.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy and the launch of the Pixel Remaster collection (as well as the 60th birthday of the franchise’s creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi), Square Enix conducted an interview that dives into the origins of the series. For that interview, Sakaguchi reunites with longtime Final Fantasy alums Kazuko Shibuya and Yoshinori Kitase to drink champagne and answer burning questions about the franchise. In the process, the trio shed a little light on the long-rumored origins of Final Fantasy‘s name.

Legend has it that developer Squaresoft was on its last legs and decided to put all of its efforts and resources into one last major project: a fantasy role-playing title. What would the game be called? Well, since Squaresoft developers went into the project under the assumption that it could very well be the studio’s final title, why not call it “Final Fantasy?” For years, that’s been the most popular version of the story of how one of gaming’s most famous role-playing franchises got its iconic name. It’s a story worthy of the incredible narratives that have since come to define the series itself. The only trouble is that it’s not exactly true.