The modern Final Fantasy era began 25 years ago, with one fan-favorite game
Final Fantasy’s modern era began 25 years ago with the launch of Final Fantasy 10 on PlayStation 2, representing a significant evolution for the storied franchise. The game arrived just one year after Final Fantasy 9, which served as a nostalgic capstone to the original PlayStation generation.
Final Fantasy 9, released in Japan in July 2000, functioned as a deliberate love letter to the series’ legacy, featuring classic elements such as magical crystals and iconic black mages. The game marked director Hironobu Sakaguchi’s final project with Square before his departure to establish Mistwalker, representing a symbolic transition point for the franchise.
With Final Fantasy 10, Square embraced a more ambitious and experimental approach. The game introduced protagonist Tidus, a famous blitzball player whose homeland of Zanarkand is destroyed by the catastrophic entity known as Sin. This entry marked a turning point in the franchise’s development philosophy, establishing experimentation as an increasingly routine design principle in subsequent Final Fantasy titles.