August 11th - August 18th
Screenshot of Kimahri facing Seymour Natus in Final Fantasy X. At Bevelle, Seymour kills Kinoc and absorbs Pyreflies from him to become this new empowered form, and Kimahri protects the party and tells them to flee, but they turn back to aid him and fight.
The curiosity of this image is that the game was hacked to display properly on a widescreen television, as most televisions today use such proportions. This causes a programming oddity, namely that the models of the other party members can be seen to the right, waiting for the point in the scene they are meant to enter. On a standard television, this would not be visible. This trick of programming, having models "wait" in an unseen location then moving them into place when it is time to use them, is used in many video games, and is one of the obstacles demanding the PlayStation 3 version of the game be remade rather than simply ported.
August 4th - August 11th
Wallpaper for Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection displaying an assortment of the game's races and job classes. The shown characters are, in the top row from left to right; a Galka Warrior wearing the Bone Harness armor, a male Elvaan Paladin wearing the job's Relic Armor Valor Surcoat, and a male Hume wearing the Ebon Harness. Along the bottom row; a Mithra Thief, a Tarutaru Black Mage wearing the Wizard Petasos Artifact Armor, a Tarutaru Dragoon, and a female Hume of an indeterminate mage-class.
The Ultimate Collection includes the base Final Fantasy XI with all expansions and add-ons. The titles's status as an on-line MMO makes it something of a black sheep among the main Final Fantasy series, but it enjoys a devoted fanbase to this day.
July 28th - August 4th
Artwork by Yoshitaka Amano* depicting predominantly who elseGolbez and an array of enemies from Final Fantasy IV. The painting, titled Deva Loka Nightmare, was first shown during the 2008 Deva Loka art exhibition of Amano's artwork across media. The image is taken from the September 2012 issue of the Japanese art magazine Illustration.
July 21st - July 28th
Render of Lightning dressed as a SOLDIER in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. As a pre-order bonus with the game, Lightning will be able to equip a SOLDIER 1st Class uniform, Cloud Strife's Buster Sword, and the "SOLDIER Band" gauntlet. While wearing the outfit Lightning will perform Cloud's signature victory pose, and the Final Fantasy VII version of the Victory Fanfare will play. The outfit is based on the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII design of SOLDIER, where they wear black uniforms in 1st Class instead of the purple outfits shown in Final Fantasy VII, and the Buster Sword uses its Compilation design with blade etchings and a gold handguard.
All SOLDIER members shown in Final Fantasy VII and related media have been male. The reason the organization apparently has no female members is unknown, but this outfit marks the closest instance thus far to a female SOLDIER.
July 14th - July 21st
Artwork by Akihiko Yoshida depicting princess Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca as a young girl with her arms around a Chocobo. The childhood and early adolescence of Princess Ashe are not shown in Final Fantasy XII. However, the manga adaptation based on the game depicts the princess as much more rash and clumsy than how she is ever portrayed as an adult.
July 7th - July 14th
Render of the Magick Pot from Final Fantasy XII. Encountered in the Subterra, they demand Elixirs from the party and attack if not appeased, doing heavy damage and having a high combo rate. They are invincible to damage until appeased, at which point the player can steal the Elixir back if they wish and slay them. The Magick Pot awards 123 License Points when slain and may drop a Megalixir.
The Magick Pot is a reappearance of the Magic Pot enemy type. Near universally the Magic Pot demands an Elixir or requires the player to attack in a certain pattern to earn its favor. Magic Pots are powerful enemies if provoked to anger when the player ignores their requests, but when killed give large rewards, often large amounts of Exp, gil, AP, or rare items.
June 30th - July 7th
A typo on the introduction caption of Cecil Harvey, protagonist of Final Fantasy IV, on the iOS port of of the game, whereupon he was called "load" instead of "lord". Cecil's full title, as revealed on the Nintendo DS remake is Lord Captain of the Red Wings.
Between ports, remakes and sequels, Final Fantasy IV is one of the biggest franchises in all of the series.
June 23rd - June 30th
Concept art of Judge Zargabaath in Final Fantasy XII. Having the dubious honor of having the smallest role of the five Archadian Judges, Zargabaath commands the Alexander, flagship of the 12th fleet. In the final conflict, Zargabaath plans to ram the Sky Fortress Bahamut with the Alexander to save the Royal City of Rabanastre from the falling giant airship. His plans are unneeded however when Balthier and Fran get the ship flying again long enough to pilot the Bahamut away from the city.
Though his artwork depicts his weapons, a double-weapon that splits apart into two separate weapons as with all the Judge Magisters, Zargabaath is never seen in combat in the game. In the Zodiac versions, Zargabaath joins the other four Judges as the final enemies of Trial Mode, fought at Trial 100.
June 16th - June 23rd
The concept art of Adel's Tomb, from Final Fantasy VIII. The Sorceress Adel, tyrant of Esthar, had grown too powerful for any man or army to destroy. The only way to defeat her and rid the country of her rule was to contain her, indefinitely, in suspended animation. Luring the Sorceress into what later became known as the Sorceress Memorial under the pretense of capturing Ellone, the resistance, led by Laguna Loire, snapped the trap and captured Adel. The container was launched into space and brought to rest in orbit around the planet.
The ordeal, however, was not without side effects: The Sorceress remained conscious even from within her prison, and her influence caused the worldwide radio interference, which rendered most wireless technology useless for the next 17 years, up to the events of the game.
June 9th - June 16th
Promotional artwork for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, by Kazuya Takahashi. Several of the jobs and races in the game are depicted: Hyur, Lalafell, Miqo'te, Roegadyn and Elezen. In Latin, the word "excelsior" means "loftier" or "higher", often taken in the sense of "ever upward!" - a fitting motto, given the game's troubled history. The release of Final Fantasy XIV was met with widespread negative feedback, prompting Square Enix to issue an apology and replace the development team. A Realm Reborn is the title of the relaunched version, sharing the original's world and lore, but rebuilding the game itself entirely. It is currently in the Beta phase of testing, with a full release anticipated later this year.
June 2nd - June 9th
CG artwork of Emperor Mateus and the forces of Palamecia in Final Fantasy II. Final Fantasy Origins was released for Playstation in 2002/2003, and had FMV sequences for Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II included. The FMV for Final Fantasy II depicts the Palamecian army laying siege to Fynn, as Firion, Maria and Guy flee the city. As Maria trips and the Palamecians catch up with them, Leon defends Maria from them and strikes down two soldiers with Firion's aid, and the four escape to the forest outside of town.
In the game's somewhat infamous opening, the player is immediately thrust into battle with four Black Knights, high-level enemies much too difficult for the party to defeat. The player is intended to lose - the party is Knocked Out and revived by Minwu and Princess Hilda at Altair, the new base of the rebels, but Leon is missing from the group. The three request Hilda allow them to join the fight against the empire, and the game proper begins soon after.
May 26th - June 2nd
Yoshitaka Amano artwork of Tidus and Yuna for Final Fantasy X. The art depicts Tidus and Yuna on a sprout of water, water being a recurring symbolism in Final Fantasy X - the game's iconic FMV of The Sending depicts Yuna dancing on a column of water. Tidus holds an Amano rendition of the Brotherhood, his signature weapon, and in the background a Chocobo and Moogle can be seen. Curiously, in the final product Moogles do not appear except as dolls and costumes, and do not seem to exist in Spira.
This artwork, in tandem with another Amano art of Tidus, served as the conceptual basis for Tidus's design in Dissidia Final Fantasy, which took cues from Amano's drawings of most characters for their Dissidia appearances.
May 19th - May 26th
A collection of rather uncommon enemies found at Whirlwind Maze, also referred to as "The Crater", from Final Fantasy VII. From left to right, the Killbin, the Ironite, the Gremlin, and the Sculpture. Even though some of them appear in other games in the series, none of them make an appearance under the guise they take in Final Fantasy VII. Despite their colourful design, these enemies are some of the strongest random encounters in the game.
May 12th - May 19th
Concept art of Zidane Tribal's Trance form in Final Fantasy IX by Hideo Minaba. Trance is the game's Limit Break system, a Trance gauge filling up as they are damaged. When the gauge is filled the user physically transforms in manner and their unique skills are enhanced. For Zidane, his Skills become Dyne abilities, powerful attacks of pure energy. It is explained in-game that Trance is achieved when one experiences a surge of powerful emotions, and thus some plot events cause party members to enter Trance automatically.
As revealed in the Final Fantasy IX Ultimania, Trance was the reason that Garland intended for Zidane to replace Kuja. Kuja was created at his current age and never underwent the emotional maturity that the baby Zidane would experience as he grew, and thus he cannot enter Trance like Zidane can. Near the end of the game Kuja bypasses this inability by absorbing Gaian souls from the Invincible, and the greedy and power-hungry soul of Queen Brahne provides the emotional surge Kuja needs to enter a Trance of his own.
May 5th - May 12th
Render of Magitek Armor in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Magitek Armor, based directly on its Yoshitaka Amano concept art, will be made available to players as a mount in the final product, set to be re-released this summer. Other aspects about the armor are currently unknown.
In the promotional video revealing Magitek Armor's inclusion, Square Enix recreated the opening scenes of Final Fantasy VI, depicting two armored soldiers and a character with green hair, representing Biggs, Wedge and Terra, crossing a snowy mountain in three suits of Magitek Armor. A remix of Terra's Theme provides the background music.
April 28th - May 5th
Artwork of Sara Altney and the Djinn from Yuukyuu no Kaze Densetsu: Final Fantasy III Yori. Roughly translated as Legend of the Eternal Wind: Final Fantasy III, the manga is an adaptation of Final Fantasy III starring four named protagonists; Muuchi, Doug, J. Bowie, and the sole female, Melfi. The manga considerably predates the DS release of the game which introduced Luneth, Arc, Ingus and Refia, and also follows a different plot, omitting the Cloud of Darkness in favor of an unnamed demon, and though it is depicted with the Guardians of the Dark Crystals accompanying it, they do not appear to be unique entities.
In the game, the Djinn curses the village of Kazus and Castle Sasune, turning the villagers into ghosts. The only way to break the curse is with a Mythril Ring, which can banish the Djinn. Sara possesses such a ring, and the Warriors of Light meet her in the Sealed Cave where she has gone to find the Djinn. Unfortunately the Djinn has been infused with the power of darkness and is immune to the ring's power, forcing the Warriors of Light to fight him, and afterwards the weakened Djinn is banished. In the DS version, after the Djinn's defeat the Wind Crystal teleports the party to the Crystal Chamber in the Altar Cave and grants them their first jobs.
April 21st - April 28th
Product of genetic engineering, battle-hardened Magitek Knight with a spirit as pure as snow.
Imperial General Celes Chere, from Final Fantasy VI. When the player first meets Celes, she has been branded a traitor for an unspecified reason, which is never revealed. Celes joins the Returners and contributes to their effort up until her apparent betrayal and rejoining the Empire.
The second half of the game begins with her as the leading character. Believing to be the last person left alive, she attempts to commit suicide by jumping off of a cliff into the ocean, yet she survives and later discovers proof that others may have survived the cataclysm.
Celes' in-game sprite greatly differs from her conceptual artwork: the former depicts her wearing a white cape and green leotards. Her musical theme, simply called "Celes", shares the central melody of one of the most notable pieces in the series, the Aria di Mezzo Carattere.
April 14th - April 21st
Scene from the Final Fantasy XII manga where Gabranth scars Basch across the eye. The player is never shown or told in the game how Basch received the scar. The manga reveals that the night Gabranth impersonated Basch at Nalbina Fortress and assassinated King Raminas, the two encountered each other as Basch tried to race to Raminas's side to protect him. Gabranth's fighting style being of Landis alerted Basch to the impostor's identity, but he was defeated.
The Final Fantasy XII manga expands on many events mentioned but unseen in the game, including how Ashe and Rasler met prior to their marriage, and has given an alternate account of the game's events thus far, such as Judge Ghis confronting Vaan, Balthier and Fran in the Garamsythe Waterway the night of the resistance's attack on the palace.
April 7th - April 14th
Artwork of Agnès Oblige from Bravely Default. She is the guardian of the Wind Crystal, and at the beginning of the game sets out to purify it. She comes across Tiz Arrior and joins him in his search, the two eventually allying with Edea Lee and Ringabel to form the Warriors of Light of the game. The art serves as the cover for the game's soundtrack, and depicts Agnes's default attire.
The fairy hovering above Agnes is Airy, a fairy that accompanies the party and provides advice to them throughout the game.
March 31st - April 7th
Screenshot of Yuna massaging Leblanc in Final Fantasy X-2. When Yuna disguises herself as one of LeBlanc's guards to sneak around Chateau Leblanc, she is caught and must give Leblanc a massage to keep her cover. The player moves a white cursor to one of nine squares, the color of the emblem reflecting how high the "satisfaction meter" increases. The color of the emblems also helps the player find the red emblem, yellow emblems are next to it, green are diagonal from it, and blue emblems are nowhere near it. The red emblem is worth 5 points, and clears the board when selected, while yellow emblems are worth 2 points, green 1, and blue worth none. The player has 15 turns to get Leblanc's satisfaction meter to 32 points to succeed. Leblanc also cries out to let the player know how well their efforts are going.