While much of the fandom’s focus is on the approachingFinal Fantasy 16right now, other things are happening in various parts of the franchise.Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunionrecently came out, paving the way forFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthto potentially release a year later.Theatrhythm Final Bar LineandDissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omniaare busy celebrating the franchise as a whole, and soon enough console ports of theFinal Fantasy Pixel Remasterswill launch to elevate the older titles in particular. Plenty of entries have their particular anniversaries in March, includingFinal Fantasy 10-2andStranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. If any part ofFinal Fantasystrikes one’s fancy, then there’s likely an event tied to it.
Of these,Final Fantasy Originstands out as it’s celebrating its very first anniversary on July 05, 2025. This Team Ninja-developed Soulslike stands at odds with the rest of the franchise as an action-RPG reimagining ofFinal Fantasy 1, despite devoting time to referencing otherFinal Fantasygames through its environments. In terms of actual celebrations,Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originis finally coming to Steam on April 6 after spending a year exclusive to the Epic Games Store. This and its universal price drop may not seem like much, but a potential future forStranger of Paradiseis not what many had in mind when the game first launched.
RELATED:7 Things Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Adds To The First Game’s Lore
Stranger of Paradise Started Off On The Wrong Foot
From the beginning, it seemed likeStranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originwas set up to fail. Rumors of aFinal Fantasy 1remake precededStranger of Paradise’s E3 2021 reveal, but it wasn’t as faithful as fans expected. The tone wasmuch darker than the NESFF1, and came off as immature to Western audiences. Protagonist Jack Garland was meant to embody the brutality and feeling of anger forming the game’s core motifs, but reminded many of the edgy, macho writing that had become synonymous with certain music and games from the early 2000s. Combined with the surrounding Square Enix conference being lackluster,Stranger of Paradisefailed to make a good first impression.
Things got better as people saw more of the game, but there was still a lot of apprehension. Demos came out revealing technical issues that were never fully solved, and Team Ninja’sNiohseries whichStranger of Paradisedrew fromstood as a more polished alternative. Some were drawn in by the gameplay and cheesy writing, however, and the game picked up a decent fanbase at launch. Sadly, even that was marred by some issues. Online multiplayer, especially on PC, was unstable for some players, impeding the sometimes-preferable experience of playingStranger of Paradisewith friends.
DLC Was Stranger of Paradise’s Greatest Strength and Weakness
Still, through the merit of its cathartic action combat, many play styles, and endearingly melodramatic writing, aStranger of Paradisestrode confidently towards its DLC. Team Ninja has received muchpraise for its support of bothNiohtitles, so fans expected much of the same. Indeed, the three DLC episodesFinal Fantasy Originreceived have been worth it for hardcore players, but bizarrely exclusive towards anyone else. Unlike howNiohsimply added more content to its endgame as well as new difficulties,Stranger of Paradisesequestered its DLC inside new difficulty levels. Gear requirements forced players to play much of the base game on Hard or Chaos just to stand a chance.
Those who preferred experiencing the game with easier settings were burned by this, and the season pass likely lost sales as a result. It didn’t help that the expansions made heavy use of experimental content, often at the expense of traditional new levels.Nioh’s criticized generic environments still hosted multiple main missions per DLC, giving it an edge over theStranger of Paradiseexpansions' lack of regular stages.
Despite what that implies, these expansions weren’t low effort, but still required a lot of battles against old foes in familiar spaces. Experiencing story content required engagement with alternate modes and superbosses, though at least an easier Extra Mode was available to help less skilled players progress. Nothing was poorly made, andFFO’s new quality of life options, Jobs, and mechanics were all great, butStranger of Paradiseemphasized its niche nature far more than some fans wanted.
RELATED:8 Hilarious Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Memes Only True Fans Understand
Stranger of Paradise May Have Outlived Its Problems
Now in 2023,Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originhas released all of its planned DLC, and will soon launch on the most popular PC storefront at a reduced price.If this is it forFinal Fantasy Origins, it’s a decent send-off, but still leaves the game with outstanding flaws. Some are hopeful for improvements in the game’s Steam release, but given how other Koei Tecmo-developed PC ports have been, that’s not a guarantee.
Despite that, some players have stuck withFFOthrough thick and thin. People are still theorizing optimal builds, charting speedrun paths, and improving their runs in harder content. The shock of the DLC format has died down, and strategies to make it more accessible have been developed.Stranger of Paradisehas enough fundamental strengthsto keep some people coming back for more.
At this point, the game can only grow over time. Good word of mouth should continue to carry the game, and as more of Team Ninja’s Soulslikes see success likeWo Long: Fallen Dynasty, some of that attention should trickle down toFFO. The easily-memed nature ofStranger of Paradiseand its protagonist Jack will also help the game attract new players, especially as it represents styles of writing that some older gamers may be nostalgic for. If nothing else, thepossible tease at aDissidia Final Fantasyprojectduring the final DLC could retroactively turn heads if it happens. Although it had a rocky start,Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originlooks to have a bright future.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S with a Steam version coming on April 6.
