“I only know one thing: I want to kill Chaos,” your man Jack says. “I need to. It’s not a hope or a dream, it’s like a hunger, a thirst.” Then he sets about grunting, shouting, and stabbing. Squeenix say it’s set in a “dark fantasy world” with “an array of iconic monsters from the Final Fantasy series” as well as classic jobs like warrior, dragoon, and black mage. No idea what to make of it from the trailer, but Team Ninja do make good stabbing games so I am interested. Team Ninja previously worked with Squeenix on the Dissidia Final Fantasy subseries but this sure is a surprise. And I say with affection: Jack looks like a fella Capcom would have in a Resident Evil or Devil May Cry game, or Sony would have leading a surrogate daughter figure through harrowing situations that will test them both and draw them together yet inevitably reach a tragic climax. Squeenix released a demo alongside the announcement, available until June 24th, but only for PlayStation 5. Booo. “While it is Final Fantasy, it feels different—but there’s no doubt that the blood of Final Fantasy runs through its veins,” creative producer Tetsuya Nomura said. “We’ve undertaken the challenge of finding this difficult middle ground for this mature and stylish title. We need a little time until we’re able to complete it, and while the battle system is a bloody one, it does link to the story, so I hope you’ll use this opportunity to give it a try.” A few more devs gab about its origins in a blog post, which include a desire to make a series of Final Fantasy games about “the story of an angry man”. Stranger Of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is due to launch in 2022 on PC, PlayStations, and Xboxes.
