Final Fantasy has spawned numerous spin-offs and metaseries.

Several are in fact

, not Final Fantasy games, but were rebranded for North American release. Exampl
es include the SaGa series, rebranded The Final Fantasy Legend, and its two sequ
els, Final Fantasy Legend II and Final Fantasy Legend III.[34] Final Fantasy Adv
enture is another rename, changed from its original Japanese title, Seiken Dense
tsu (lit. Holy Sword Legend). Seiken Densetsu 2 was then re-branded as Secret of
Mana in the US Mana series.[35] Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was specifically dev
eloped for a United States audience, and Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical RPG
that features many references and themes found in the series.[35][36] The spin-
off Chocobo series, Crystal Chronicles series, and Kingdom Hearts series also in
clude multiple Final Fantasy elements.[34][37] In 2003, the Final Fantasy series
' first direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, was released.[38] Final Fantasy XIII w
as originally intended to stand on its own, but the team wanted to explore the w
orld, characters and mythos more, resulting in the development and release of tw
o sequels in 2011 and 2013 respectively, creating the series' first official tri
logy.[28] Dissidia Final Fantasy was released in 2009, a fighting game that feat
ures heroes and villains from the first ten games of the main series.[39] It was
followed by a prequel in 2011.[40] Other spin-offs have taken the form of subse
riesCompilation of Final Fantasy VII, Ivalice Alliance, and Fabula Nova Crystalli
s Final Fantasy.
Square Enix has expanded the Final Fantasy series into various media. Multiple a
nime and computer-generated imagery (CGI) films have been produced that are base
d either on individual Final Fantasy games or on the series as a whole. The firs
t was an original video animation (OVA) titled Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crys
tals, a sequel to Final Fantasy V. The story was set on the same world as the ga
me, although 200 years in the future. It was released as four 30-minute episodes
, first in Japan in 1994 and later in the United States by Urban Vision in 1998.
In 2001, Square Pictures released its first feature film, Final Fantasy: The Sp
irits Within. The film is set on a future Earth invaded by alien life forms.[41]
The Spirits Within was the first animated feature to seriously attempt to portr
ay photorealistic CGI humans, but was considered a box office bomb and garnered
mixed reviews.[41][42][43]
In 2005, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a theatrical CGI film, and Last Ord
er: Final Fantasy VII, a non-canon OAV,[44] were released as part of the Compila
tion of Final Fantasy VII. Advent Children was animated by Visual Works, which h
elp the company create CG sequences for the games:[45] the film, unlike The Spir
its Within, gained mixed to positive reviews from critics[46][47][48] and has be
come a commercial success.[49] Last Order on the other hand was released in Japa
n in a special DVD bundle package with Advent Children. Last Order sold out quic
kly[50] and was positively received by Western critics,[51][52] though fan react
ion was mixed over changes to established story scenes.[53]
A 25-episode anime television series titled Final Fantasy: Unlimited was release
d in 2001 based on the common elements of the Final Fantasy series. It was broad
cast in Japan by TV Tokyo and released in North America by ADV Films.
Other media[edit]
Several video games have either been adapted into or have had spin-offs in the f
orm of manga and novels. The first was the novelization of Final Fantasy II in 1
989, and was followed by a manga adaptation of Final Fantasy III in 1992.[54][55
] The past decade has seen an increase in the number of non-video game adaptatio
ns and spin-offs. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within has been adapted into a nove
l, the spin-off game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles has been adapted into a ma
nga, and Final Fantasy XI has had a novel and manga set in its continuity.[56][5
7][58][59] Seven novellas based on the Final Fantasy VII universe have also been
released. The Final Fantasy: Unlimited story was partially continued in novels
and a manga after the anime series ended.[60]
Two titles, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy: Unlimited, have bee
n adapted into radio dramas.
Although most Final Fantasy installments are independent, many gameplay elements
recur throughout the series.[61][62] Most titles feature recycled names often i
nspired from various cultures' history, languages and mythology, including Asian
, European, and Middle-Eastern.[63] Examples include weapon names like Excalibur
and Masamunederived from Arthurian legend and the Japanese swordsmith Masamune r
espectivelyas well as the spell names Holy, Meteor, and Ultima.[62][63] Beginning
with Final Fantasy IV, the main series adopted its current logo style that feat
ures the same typeface and an emblem designed by Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano
. The emblem relates to a title's respective plot and typically portrays a chara
cter or object in the story. Subsequent remakes of the first three games have re
placed the previous logos with ones similar to the rest of the series.