Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is both a new story and the biggest throwback that Square Enix could have possibly put out. They call it a "dark fantasy" version of the original Final Fantasy storyline, but it's also an origin story of the original game's most iconic villain.
Out of all the old FF games to revisit, the original Final Fantasy is an interesting choice. It's fairly standard in terms of fantasy RPG narratives, but it also kick-started the entire series. Since this game goes all the way back to the beginning, it's only natural that there would be things only players of the older games would notice.
8 Jack Garland
One of the standout boss fights and most intimidating characters from the original Final Fantasy is Garland. Stranger Of Paradise adds some depth to a character who was otherwise just your standard, foreboding villain prior. Narratively, it's a bit confusing, because Stranger Of Paradise is marketed as both a reimagining of Final Fantasy's story and an origin story for this character.
It seems like it should probably just be one or the other, but regardless, fans of the original FF will be interested to see what corrupted Garland initially. He didn't have nearly as much edgy dialogue in the original game.
7 Warriors Of Light
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Many early Final Fantasy games followed a similar pattern. A fantasy world is in peril and a group known as the "Warriors Of Light" must collect the Four Crystals Of Light in order to stop whatever massive threat looms over the land. A fairly generic, easily digestible fantasy trope that was mostly phased out after Final Fantasy 5.
In this story, we don't actually see the Warriors Of Light. The characters speculate that they may be the warriors from the prophecy, but ultimately they all perish and Garland becomes corrupted. Opening up the door for the real Warriors Of Light to come in and save the world later.
6 Jobs
The job (or class) system in Stranger Of Paradise makes a lot of nods to the original Final Fantasy. Albeit, Stranger Of Paradise's system is far more complex, with two times the number of jobs that are present in its source material.
Within those jobs, every single base job available for selection at the beginning of Final Fantasy is present by name. All three mages (Black, White, and Red) as well as Knight, Thief, and Monk. Many of the upgraded jobs are available in the game as well, although the Wizard jobs fall under different names.
5 Soundtrack
Of course, it wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game without a reworked version of the iconic prelude playing over the menu screen. It is especially fitting to hear it here, given that the original Final Fantasy is the game that gave us that beautifully arpeggiating tune.
Stranger Of Paradise's version has the well-known melody playing softly underneath waves of haunting strings. There are other tracks in the Stranger Of Paradise OST that rework motifs from Final Fantasy's soundtrack, as well. The Chaos Shrine theme gets a particularly interesting rendition.
4 Marlboros & More
Marlboros made their first appearance in Final Fantasy 2, meaning their appearance in Stranger Of Paradise is technically non-canonical to the game's source material. But they couldn't forego including Marlboros in a Final Fantasy game, they've become a staple of the series since their introduction.
Most of the other iconic Final Fantasy beasts make appearances in the game, as well. Sahagin, Cactuar, Flan, and Tonberry to name a few. Many of the enemies from the original Final Fantasy were ripped straight out of the pages of a tabletop RPG campaign, and following that you'll find things like Lichs and Mindflayers in Stranger Of Paradise.
3 The Four Crystals Of Light
As mentioned earlier in the list, the Four Crystals Of Light, like the Warriors Of Light, were a staple of the old Final Fantasy storylines. Many of the early games' main quests essentially boiled down to "Get all the crystals, so you can save the world".
Stranger Of Paradise is the first game where these crystals make a reappearance in a long time. On the one hand, it's nice to see them again if you've played all the games and yearn for the era with more narrative simplicity. On the other hand, if you're looking for a story with something deeper going on, that's not really present here.
2 The Locations
The locale in Stranger Of Paradise is possibly the most faithful adaptation of the original game's world. Many of Final Fantasy's locations appear here. Of course, it's set in Cornelia, and within that realm, you have Mount Gulg, Chaos Shrine, Cavern Of Earth, The Western Keep, and much more.
One of the original game's strongest assets is its beautifully animated and vibrantly colorful world, and it's amazing to see those places come to life on a massive three-dimensional scale. Although, the game could be greatly improved with some more stylized visuals.
1 Chaos
Garland is the first big bad guy from the original Final Fantasy, and Chaos is the titan at the finish line. For the true hardcore Final Fantasy fans who actually managed to trudge all the way through the first game's archaic mechanics and frustrating difficulty, you had Chaos waiting with immense power at the end of it all.
Their 3D design for the character is remarkably faithful to his original 2D pixilated sprite. It makes for a boss fight that's as tough as it is nostalgic for the truly dedicated fans of the series.
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