Ranking Every Final Fantasy Spin-Off Game

Several Final Fantasy games were subject to changes between their Japanese and American/European releases. VII added Ruby and Emerald Weapon and X added the Dark Aeons and a second Sphere Grid, for example. Japanese players usually got to later experience these additions as ‘International Versions’.

By contrast, Japanese players were also the recipients of a number of exclusive enhancements, such as the Final Fantasy XII International Job System (which Westerners didn’t experience until the 2017 release of the Zodiac Age) and Final Fantasy X-2 International And Last Mission (which was the version included in 2014’s X & X-2 HD Remaster). The latter of these came bundled with a new roguelike spin-off game starring Yuna, Rikku and Paine, which wasn’t tied to the rest of X-2 and could be played separately.

Last Mission tasked players with climbing a tower that consisted of eighty procedurally-generated floors, overcoming enemies and traps in their attempt to ascend without having their progress reset. It was incredibly difficult, with the experience not helped by the fact that the game itself offers almost no explanation about how to play or what to do.

As a result of this, Last Mission was either ignored or quickly given up on by anyone that ventured into it, though the presence of six trophies contributing to the X-2 Platinum forced trophy hunters to figure out its nuances. It’s a slog, but one where fun can edge out frustration after endless trial and error.