Final Fantasy

1987 saw the launch of Final Fantasy for the Famicon Disk System (named the NES in the west). Inspired by Enix's Dragon Quest RPGs, it was designed to revive the flagging hopes of a near-bankrupt Square, but few could have dreamed it would spawn such success.

Square went on to release a further five smash hit Final Fantasy titles in Japan on the Famicon and Super Famicon (the SNES to us), two of which made it to North America. Each was an original tale, with familiar visual and gameplay themes retaining series integrity.

It was 1997's Final Fantasy VII, though, that proved Square's breakthrough game in Europe. Reinventing the RPG with compelling storytelling, amazing 3D visuals, sublime GCI and revolutionary gameplay, it went on to smash sales records and helped establish Sony's PlayStation as gaming's number one brand.

Over a decade, five fully-fledged follow-ups, and countless spin-offs later, and Final Fantasy is the flagship franchise of gaming behemoth Square Enix. Criss-crossing genres, platforms and entertainment types including films, figures, novels, manga and more, Final Fantasy is a true multimedia icon, and the fourth highest-grossing games series ever ­ with Final Fantasy XIII amongst the most hotly anticipated titles on the PS3 release schedule.