PS5

New Characters, Difficulty and Other Detailed Revealed for Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin

Square Enix released a bunch of fascinating information through Gematsu, detailing key systems, new characters, difficulty settings and more.

What is Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin?
With the memory of their struggle buried deep in their hearts…
In this hardcore action RPG, Jack must hazard numerous gauntlets to bring the light of the crystals back to a kingdom conquered by darkness.
Fight your way through excruciating battles with a variety of means to pulverize your enemies. With multiple difficulty options and a wide selection of jobs and weapons available to customize your party, you can choose exactly how you want to play.
Will restoring the crystals’ light usher in peace or a new form of darkness?
…or perhaps something else entirely?
Characters
Jack (voiced by Mocean Melvin in English, Kenjiro Tsuda in Japanese)
“All I care about is seeing Chaos dead. I need to. It’s not a hope or a dream. It’s like a hunger. A thirst.”
Feels a strong sense of duty to defeat Chaos. With no hesitation to kill monsters that stand in his way, he pulverizes them with no mercy.
Ash (voiced by Mark Neely in English, Atsushi Miyauchi in Japanese)
“Better than good. Only Jack can fight like that.”
The rock of the team, supporting the members with his calm and collected nature. He recognizes Jack’s high combat abilities and puts his trust in him.
Jed (voiced by Alejandro Saab in English, Yusuke Suda in Japanese)
“It’s a mercy to forget. Those were your words, Jack.”
Has a kind and happy-go-lucky personality but is just as capable as Ash. Looks up to Jack and admires his powers.
Gematsu Article

Neon (voiced by Alejandra Reynoso in English, Kana Okazaki in Japanese)
“And I count four of us.”
Though the youngest, she has the same level of ability as her comrades to fight through severe battles. Insisting that Chaos doesn’t exist, there are times when she and Jack clash.
Princess Sarah (voiced by Cherami Leigh in English, Yume Miyamoto in Japanese)
“May the crystal’s blessing be with you always.”
The crown princess of Cornelia. An amicable figure who is popular among the citizens of Cornelia, she also interacts with them incognito, such as when playing her lute.
Event Scenes
A girl named Neon joins Jack’s party. Are these four the warriors of light who will save Cornelia as the prophecy foretold..?
Neon’s crystal resonates with the ones Jack and the team hold. However, the crystals they possess are of a black color.
Princess Sarah asks for Jack’s last name, to which he introduces himself as Jack Garland.
Almost like a thirst, they only think about defeating Chaos as they continue to slay one monster after another.
Gematsu Article

Battle Scenes
Experience the Final Fantasy Series’ Most Challenging and Strategic Battles
A story painted by layers of challenging action gameplay. Use various abilities to crush your enemies!
Each boss has its own unique movements. Identifying the enemy’s swift moves and effectively utilizing soul shield and various abilities will carry you through deadly battles.
Various weapons such as greatswords, daggers, and spears determine a character’s job when equipped. Acquire new abilities and jobs through a character enhancement system called the Job Tree.
Choose among a variety of jobs to select two which you can switch between during battle. Using magic spells is also another effective strategy.
Prepare for battle by acquiring and equipping more powerful gear. Collect various weapons from treasure chests or by defeating enemies.
General Control
Normal Attacks
Lock on to an enemy and deliver a normal attack. A Break gauge is displayed above the enemy, which will decrease as damage is inflicted.
Action Abilities
Lock on to an enemy and deliver a normal attack. A Break gauge is displayed above the enemy, which will decrease as damage is inflicted.
Soul Burst
Once the enemy’s Break gauge reaches zero, the enemy enters a “Break” state. Approach the enemy in the Break state and activate a soul burst to deliver a finishing blow. By defeating enemies using soul bursts, your maximum MP increases, and MP is restored.
Guard
Guard against your enemies’ attacks with your weapon.
Dodge
Use the dodge command while guarding to evade attacks.
Gematsu Article

Soul Shield
Consume Break to set up a soul shield. When you take an attack while your soul shield is up, your maximum MP increases, and MP is restored. Activating a normal attack right when taking an enemy attack delivers a deep-dive counter.
Lightbringer
When your max MP is two bars or more, consume two bars’ worth of MP and max MP to activate Lightbringer. Activating Lightbringer makes it easier to finish off enemies with a soul burst and also serves as an effective method to fight back when surrounded by enemies.
Game Systems
Difficulty Options
Players can choose a difficulty mode that matches their playstyle.
Hard – A difficulty for players who are skilled at action games, providing thrilling battles.
Action – A difficulty for players who are accustomed to action games, providing moderately challenging battles.
Story – A difficulty for players who don’t usually play action games, allowing them to enjoy battles and the story. Make it even easier to play by turning on Casual mode.
Gematsu Article

Multiplayer Mode
Play in a group with a maximum of three players through online multiplayer mode! Play through the main story and side missions with your friends. In this mode, equipment and other items will drop for each player to loot individually.
Locations
In this game, players will explore various locales that exist in the world surrounding Cornelia. However, all of these locations seem foreign, with strange scenery and cultural atmospheres that don’t seem to fit into this world.
Chaos Shrine
It is said that a shrine did not originally exist at this location. Perhaps, at a certain point in time, in a distant future in which no one could intervene, an incident happened which triggered the creation of this shrine…
Refrin Wetlands
It is said that in this land exists a material which can cause distortion in the world. By artificially controlling the weather and adding distortion that originally didn’t exist through natural causes, it is said that darkness is created.
Gematsu Article

Product Overview
Standard Physical Edition
Includes:
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin game (disc version)
Standard Digital Edition
Includes:
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin game (digital download)
Digital version in-game bonuses
Digital Deluxe Edition
Includes:
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin game (digital download)
Season Pass: Additional Missions
“Trials of the Dragon King”
“Wanderer of the Rift”
“Different Future”
Digital art book
Digital mini soundtrack
Digital version in-game bonuses
Bonuses for All Digital Versions
Pre-Order Bonuses
Early Access (72 hours) – Game accessible from midnight on March 15, 2022 local time.
“Braveheart” weapon and “Lustrous Shield”
Original PlayStation 4 theme (for customers who pre-order on PlayStation Store)
Early Purchase Bonus
“Rebellion” Weapon – Available to users who purchase the game before 11:59 pm on April 18, 2022 local time.
Gematsu Article

If this sounds tempting, Square Enix recently released a revision to their Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin demo, exclusive to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, which has received much better marks than the original.

Currently Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is set to release on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series and PC Mar. 18, 2022.

Grant Gaines

Hey, my name is Grant and I'm the Managing Editor, main reviewer and cover technology for Infinite Start. I've learned a lot over the years working for a variety of websites and reviewing literally hundreds of titles. I also have a background selling televisions, sound systems and more from my period at Best Buy, to the point where I was in the top 1 percent for sales and became Magnolia certified. I always look forward to sharing new and different information with our readers and hope they do as well. If you would like to contact me, my email is grant period gaines at Infinite Start.