Review: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

destructoid.com:

When I first heard about Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, I was that person in the back of the room who was floored. While people were rioting about the strange cast and making memes out of how many times the main character said the word “chaos” (it was around 5,000), I was thinking about all of the joy I got out of Team Ninja’s recent Nioh-fueled resurgence. Team Ninja ruled the action roost along with Capcom at one point, and it’s great to see them back in the conversation.

I’d count Stranger of Paradise as helping push that aforementioned resurgence, but I have no doubt that some may disagree. Let’s talk about it.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) Developer: Koei Tecmo Games, Team Ninja Publisher: Square Enix Released: March 18, 2022 MSRP: $59.99

It’s easiest to start with the whirlwind of story and concepts this game puts forth all at once. So Stranger of Paradise is kind of a re-telling of the original Final Fantasy, but with an action-first focus. The job system is intact, and it’s linked to frame-perfect dodging, blocking, and lots of other staple action mechanics. The “re-telling” is a roller coaster. It plays fast and loose with some source material, oscillating between elevating it and truncating it. It’s hard to really elaborate without talking spoilers, but like any game Nomura touches, there are conversations to be had at some point.

The gist is that protagonist Jack Garland and his band of heroes (at first, the stoic Jed and the quippy Ash) are tasked by the king to purge crystals of darkness and are potentially looking to take out “Chaos” — an evil which may or may not exist. Jack is obsessed with defeating chaos, and like many huffy