10 Video Games That Are Painfully Behind The Times

Chocobo GP isn’t 2022’s only perplexingly vintage Final Fantasy trek, as there’s also the mundane and comically clichéd Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins.

Ostensibly a prequel to the original Final Fantasy that’s set in a variant world, Team Ninja’s action-centric RPG has as much in common with the older Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry catalog as it does Square Enix’s flagship franchise.

While that’s not inherently bad, the end result certainly is (at least in a few respects).

For one thing, main man Jack lacks the nuance and emotional backbone of the best Final Fantasy leads, choosing instead to fuse hackneyed action hero machismo with adolescent emo vibes. Likewise, his companions are essentially equally lifeless and generic, and the main villain is named Chaos. CHAOS.

Need we say more?

Consequently, Stranger of Paradise tells a disappointingly – if amusingly – trivial and inept tale. It’s frequently incoherent and purposeless, relying on cutscenes and found objects to do the heavy lifting (which they don’t). Just as the heroes are mystified by their quest, the audience is significantly disinterested in it.

Lastly, the graphics and framerate aren’t up to par, so even its superficial campiness is too rough to enjoy.