Editorial: A Long Time Ago In a Kingdom Far, Far Away… — The Influences of ‘Star Wars’ on ‘Final Fantasy’
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — a long time ago, a desperate and eclectic group of heroes set off on a mystical quest to end the reign of a tyrannical empire to prevent the imminent destruction of all they hold near and dear. Oh, and usually crystals of great power are involved at some point or other. To most, this sounds like the overall plot to many an epic tale of sword and sorcery, including the Star Wars saga. This also describes the usual plots of the iconic Final Fantasy role playing game series that for decades now has been spinning tales such as these all while wearing their love for that galaxy far, far away on their pixelated sleeve.
Released near the tail end of 1987 by Square (aka SquareSoft and later Square Enix) a little known Japanese video game developer, for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Final Fantasy was the brainchild of Hironobu Sakaguchi. Taking inspiration from The Legend of Zelda, the Ultima series of computer games, and Dungeons & Dragons, Sakaguchi created an epic, high-fantasy adventure, something that was intended to be the swan song for the struggling developer; and yet, he ended up creating one of the most enduring and revered video game series of all time.
With the 16th game in the main series having just released on the PlayStation 5 and with Ahsoka due to appear on Disney Plus this August, now seems like as good a time as any to explore the connective themes, characters, and threads that the Final Fantasy game franchise shares with George Lucas’s epic space saga.
A Birth By Fire
A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into the development of a game that, at the time, the heads of the company did not have any faith in. This was untested waters for the developer and so the idea of putting in the time and effort to develop something outside of their lane was seemingly not on the cards. Nearly ten years prior to the release of the first Final Fantasy title, a little known, but well respected independent filmmaker faced a similar struggle; pitching something new and risky, his vision for an epic space-opera to various studios in what, at the time, seemed like a futile effort to see the director’s vision realized on the silver screen.
Fast forward to 2023 and both Star Wars and Final Fantasy are franchise powerhouses unlike anything that came before them and has scarcely been reproduced since. While both series have similar plots and character archetypes, and while both franchises have their mainline stories and spinoffs, not to mention similar tales of struggle and woe in their formation, the two seemingly unrelated properties have a whole heck of a lot going on together than you might think. While Star Wars has yet to reference Final Fantasy, it’s obvious that the Final Fantasy games have been influenced by George Lucas’s tales of Jedi and evil Empires for a long time now.
Same Names, Different Faces
Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter, aside from having perfect names for a prog rock band, are also a couple of Rebel pilots who helped to bring down the first Death Star in A New Hope. While Biggs did not live to see the end of the Empire, Wedge went on to become a hero of both the Rebellion and the New Republic. In the worlds of Final Fantasy, Wedge and Biggs are a pair of characters who have popped up time and again, always a different set of characters no matter the overall setting of the game.
Since, unlike Star Wars, the majority of Final Fantasy stories are not interconnected (outside a few specific spin-offs and sequels), each and every time these two characters show up, they make for a fun little Easter egg for those in the know. Sometimes the pair are the bad guys, sometimes they are killed, sometimes they are the good guys, and sometimes they live, but regardless of their station and role within the game’s narrative, they are almost always guards or soldiers of some kind.
In addition to appearing in both mainline and spin-off games, the pair has also appeared in a few Final Fantasy adjacent projects such as the Kingdom Hearts games and Chrono Trigger. Along with these two, players can also spot Piett, another recurring character from both franchises, though not nearly as often as the dynamic duo of Wedge and Biggs* (or Biggs and Wedge depending on how you pick your poison).
*Fun Fact — In the original translations of both Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger, Biggs was mistranslated to Vicks but subsequently fixed in later re-releases of both games.
Empires and Crystals
The creators of the Final Fantasy series have on more than one occasion, called out Star Wars as an influence. From the Gestahlian Empire of Final Fantasy 6 to the lifting of quotes straight from the movies as can be seen in the finale of Final Fantasy 9; the series has never shied away from this influence.
Star Wars has the Galactic Empire, an amalgam of the fascist and colonial movements that swept through Europe in periods past while Final Fantasy has had everything from equally evil empires to greedy corporations, corrupt religions, and tyrannical kingdoms. Regardless of the mask worn by the most nefarious forces in the Final Fantasy games, whether it’s in the form of a scheming sorceress from the future, an undying physical manifestation of a world’s collective sin, or just some scheming royal jerks, the stories of rebellion in the face of overwhelming odds and an oppressive and powerful force echo throughout each game in the series.
Many of these powerful organizations also have their own version of Darth Vader or even Stormtroopers, waves of faceless fodder players can cut their teeth on early in their adventures or intimidating enforcers that come in the form of tough-as-nails boss fights. The Judges in Final Fantasy 12 are the powerful, armor-clad centurions of the land, decked out from head to toe in dark, heavy armor, capes, and facemasks that muffle the wearer’s voice and make these men and women appear larger than life.
While the concept of the Force may be exclusive to Star Wars, Final Fantasy has always relied on magic as the source for mysticism and powerful abilities in their games. But, similar to the Jedi, magic in Final Fantasy has strong ties to crystals. While the kyber crystal contained within the hilt of a Jedi’s lightsaber gives the iconic weapon its look and feel, the crystals of Final Fantasy have served many purposes over many games. Some of the games don’t even involve these incredible totems of power but, more often than not, they are a crucial component to the tale at hand.
At one point in Final Fantasy 6, a game often regarded as the pinnacle of the series in overall quality and storytelling, and also one of the most blatant Star Wars retellings the games have ever done, one of the many main characters sneaks into a prison in a disguise and engages with another character in a nearly word-for-word exchange about said character being too short for a guard. Final Fantasy 6 also has its own version of Han Solo, Obi-Wan, and even Luke. Then there is Final Fantasy 12, a game that is almost a beat for beat retelling of the original Star Wars trilogy and includes its own version of Han and Chewy, Leia, Obi-Wan, Vader, and Luke — and none of it is just coincidence.
Brass, Strings, Woodwinds and Concept Art
One other aspect of the Final Fantasy franchise draws clear parallels to Star Wars and it comes in the form of musical scoring. While he is now retired from composing for the games, famed Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu has long been regarded as the John Williams of the world of video game compositions. Uematsu’s scores are as deeply nuanced and memorable as any piece composed by the maestro of movies. His scores are as iconic now as when they were first heard by players. Tracks such as ‘One-Winged Angel’ from Final Fantasy 7 are as melodically memorable as the ‘Imperial March’. Even the ‘Final Fantasy Prelude’ theme is nearly as recognizable to gamers and non-gamers alike as the Star Wars theme.
Just as George Lucas struggled to get Star Wars into the right place by hiring a brilliant composer to breath a melodic life to his film and a concept artist to illustrate his vision, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi also employed his own Ralph McQuarrie to provide concept art to sell his world of knights and dragons. While McQuarrie, a conceptual designer by trade, helped to establish the retro-future and lived-in world of a galaxy far, far away, Yoshitaka Amano’s sweeping character designs helped to imbue the tiny, pixelated characters of the video game world with a depth and insight that was still decades from being fully realized through a humble 8-bit game cartridge. Heavily inspired by the artwork seen in Japanese woodblock prints and Western comics, Amano’s style is instantly recognizable and has a voice all its own – a voice that like McQuarrie’s beckons viewers into the worlds they have built in ink and paper.
Pop Goes the Culture
Star Wars and Final Fantasy are clearly cut from the same, if not incredibly similar cloths and both are pop culture juggernauts. While Star Wars may be more well known worldwide than Final Fantasy, there is still a steadily growing fanbase for the RPG series that continues to blossom from the bevy of remakes and remasters of the older games along with new releases. As Star Wars continues to roll out more content across television, comics, books, and video games, the worlds of the two grow steadily closer together. So popular are these two franchises, that rumors are already swirling that the next game in the Kingdom Hearts series (games that mix Final Fantasy with some of Disney’s most iconic animated and live-action properties) will visit the galactic struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. Maybe, if the rumors turn out to be true, this could be for many casual gamers another strong introduction to the worlds of Final Fantasy, baked in Star Wars references and all.
With nine mainline films, three new movies in the works, and plenty of still expanding content to be watched and played and read, Star Wars is uniquely poised to continue its never-ending pop-culture dominance. At the same time, with sixteen mainline games available, multiple spin-offs and sequels, and numerous remakes and remasters to be played, Final Fantasy is a juggernaut unto the world of video games, eeking out just a little more space in the cultural zeitgeist along with the franchise that has informed, influenced, and inspired it.
Born and raised in sunny Southern California, Colin grew up an avid fan of Star Wars, Disneyland, and so many more pop-culture staples. After spending some time as a character at a well-known theme park, he spent some time attending college in the UK. Colin now lives with his wife and dog just down the road from the Happiest Place on Earth and divides his time between family, friends, gaming, and writing horror stories and think pieces on cinema.
