Which 1987 role-playing game was the first title in Square’s Final Fantasy series?

The 1987 role-playing game that began Square’s Final Fantasy series was Final Fantasy.

Square released Final Fantasy in Japan on December 18, 1987, for the Nintendo Family Computer. Hironobu Sakaguchi directed the project, which used a party of four customizable heroes known as the Warriors of Light. Players traveled across an overworld, explored towns and dungeons, and fought turn-based battles.

The title’s name has a famous origin story: Square was facing financial difficulties, and Sakaguchi viewed the project as a final personal effort. Later accounts and translations have complicated that explanation, so the exact business reasoning is often simplified. The game nevertheless became important enough to support a long-running series.

Final Fantasy is sometimes confused with Final Fantasy VII, the 1997 installment that brought the series major worldwide attention. The original game established the series’ title, core role-playing structure, and recurring motifs.