When Square Enix revealedStranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originat E3 2021, fans were probably either too busy geeking out over a aFinal Fantasy 1-inspired game, or laughing at the absurdity of the trailer itself to notice much else. Now that the dust has settled since then and players have had a chance to play through the PS5 demo of the game, fans are starting to notice somemassive differences between the story of this new game and the originalFinal Fantasy 1. These differences indicate that the story might take a different turn once the full game releases.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originisn’t a remake, so no one is expecting it to adapt the game’s story moment for moment, but these changes are definitely raising eyebrows. The game is more of a reimagination of the original story, while there’s no way to tell exactly where it will go next, small details such as these can give players hints as to what the story might entail. Those that are able to look past the gritty exterior and sheer number of times that Jack says “Chaos” in the trailer will find some interesting comparisons that are worth picking apart.
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Final Fantasy Origin VS Final Fantasy 1 - Three Warriors of Light
This may seem like a minor detail, but the fact that there areonly three Warriors of Light inFinal Fantasy Originis actually a major departure from the original story. The first thing players see after startingFinal Fantasy 1is the prophecy foretold by the Sage Lukahn: “When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come.” Each of these Warriors of Light holds an elemental crystal that is tied to the four elemental crystals found in the world ofFinal Fantasy 1, and all four are required to ultimately save the world.
The fact that there are only three characters here is quite concerning as a result. Although Jed boldly declares Jack, Ash, and himself as “the prophecy’s very own Warriors of Light,” it could be thatthey aren’t the actual Warriors of Lightat all. Alternatively, a fourth character may join the party somewhere down the line. If this isn’t addressed, it’s also possible that the prophecy itself will be changed to omit this detail, but then it remains to be seen how the four crystals will be handled with only three Warriors of Light.
FFO VS FF1 - Garland Hasn’t Kidnapped Princess Sarah
While the introduction ofFinal Fantasy 1reveals that the player’s four party members are the Warriors of Light destined to save the world from darkness, it isn’t entirely clear how they should go about that. Because of this, the player is expected to do what any good RPG hero would and ask around town to see if anyone needs help. As it happens, a former knight of Cornelia namedGarland has kidnapped Princess Sarah and taken her to the Shrine of Chaos. This is the spark that ignites the entire adventure and pushes the Warriors of Light to go to the Shine of Chaos in the first place.
InFinal Fantasy Origin, players don’t have too much background about what happened before the demo and trailer scenes just yet. That said, when the player encounters Garland in the demo, theyhear a flashback of Princess Sarahtalking to them. She describes Garland’s armor, causing Jed to recognize him, but there’s another line of dialogue that only appears in the trailer. Here, Princess Sarah says “There was a knight who left on the same journey as you, but never returned. His name was Garland. If you could, I would be grateful if you looked for him.” This shows that he hasn’t kidnapped Sarah at all yet, and left with the same goal that Jack did.
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FFO VS FF1 - Jack and the Warriors of Light Already Know About Chaos
This leads directly into the next big change, which is thatJack and his fellow Warriors of Light seem to already know about Chaos. Despite being the primary antagonist ofFinal Fantasy 1, it isn’t until the very end that players learn of his existence. There are hints of course, with the Four Fiends that players hunt down sometimes being referred to as the Four Fiends of Chaos and the Shrine of Chaos showing that there are those that worship him, but it’s never explicitly stated that Chaos is an actual being rather than just a force of nature.
InFinal Fantasy Origin,Jack heads to the Shrine of Chaos on his own free will with the explicit goal of killing Chaos. It’s almost as though he knows the story ofFinal Fantasy 1and is trying to get it over with as soon as possible. This would tie in with the fact that Jack is the titular Stranger of Paradise, as he is not from this world.
Final Fantasy Origin VS Final Fantasy 1 - Garland Reveals His Plan Early
Finally, Jack and the Warriors of Light aren’t the only ones talking about Chaos prematurely, as Garland himself reveals his big plan way earlier than inFinal Fantasy 1.After players defeat Garland, it is initially thought that he’s gone for good. The same could be said here, although the characters in this story should be on high alert given his announcement that he is to become Chaos.
Just like the existence of Chaos,Final Fantasy 1players didn’t learn about Garland’s planto become him until the very end of the game. This actually came as something of a twist, as first time players were invariably surprised by Garland’s return and transformation into the demonic god Chaos. Odds are, most players that are familiar with Garland already know that he eventually becomes Chaos, so while it doesn’t necessarily spoil this twist for the player, the change has some interesting implications for where the story is heading. It seems unlikely that things will progress the same as they did inFinal Fantasy 1at this point.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originreleases in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X,
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