Final Fantasy: Building The Perfect Sequel (1 Feature From Each Game)

The term ‘New Game Plus’ actually has its origins in a Square game, that being the 1995 masterpiece Chrono Trigger, which was made by a ‘dream team’ of developers and contributors from the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series.

The concept of starting a new game with elements of the completed one (such as items and stats) being retained goes back further, but the term Square coined has stuck in the games industry since.

After Chrono Trigger, they didn’t see fit to include it in a Final Fantasy release until 2003’s X-2, the first sequel to a main series title. It was the perfect game to implement such a feature into, given how X-2 had an astronomical amount of missable elements that players likely required a second chance to obtain or view unless they were meticulously following a guide.

The fact that the game also had a handful of irreversible decisions (notably the choice to give the Awesome Sphere to the Youth League or New Yevon factions) also meant that the alternative choice could be made in each playthrough to satisfy curiosity.

X-2 also implemented a percentage completion system, letting players know when they had hit 100% and achieved everything available to them. A huge part of games like Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series, it is hugely rewarding to see a screen acknowledging the achievement.

New Game Plus was patched into XV, and should hopefully be in every main game going forwards. Rightfully so.