Reviews have started to drop for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, the Ninja Games-developed spin-off set in the universe of the first Final Fantasy game, and it has been a bit of a mixed reception so far. The game sits at a respectable score of 72 on MetaCritic at time of writing, but that could go up-and-down as more reviews drop this week, whilst it has seen scores as high as 8.5/10 but also as low as 1/5.
We’ve selected some of the reviews that stood out the most to us – you can check them out down below:
Destructoid – 8.5/10
“It’s a Team Ninja action game first, and an oddball isekai story second. It’s also one of the weirdest games I’ve reviewed in a while because it speaks to me in a lot of ways, but it wears its flaws on its sleeve.”
TheGamer – 8/10
“Stranger of Paradise is violent, dark, and brilliantly captivating. It’s a must-play for Final Fantasy fans. Steeped in sentiment and lovingly crafted homages to our favourite games, it offers a new mystery to unravel and breaks the mould of what you’d expect from the series. You might miss having a wide world to explore, proper side quests, and all the usual trimmings, but there’s a lot to love about Stranger of Paradise that you won’t find in your back catalogue of FF games.”
God is a Geek – 8/10
“Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a decent action RPG, but it’s occasionally weighed down by unnecessary mechanics and inconsistent difficulty.”
Siliconera – 7/10
“Ultimately, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will please those who are willing to buy into the ideas it presents wholesale and is a solid action game. However, despite all of the praises I have to sing for it, it’s obvious that this game was made for a very specific audience in mind and won’t be for everyone.”
Push Square – 6/10
“Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin thinks that it’s Daniel Craig’s James Bond but it’s actually Austin Powers. There’s barely a moment in the game that isn’t stretching credulity, be it the absurd writing, bewildering story, or inane characters. There’s a host of technical issues, too. But somehow, despite everything, it manages to fail upwards and be a pretty good time. Maybe we’ve lost the plot but we liked it.”
Games Radar – 5/10
“There’s a half-decent time to be had bashing your way around Stranger of Paradise’s dungeons, but routine level design, rough edges and messy narrative delivery stop the experience evolving into a compelling adventure. Despite its efforts to create ordered systems, chaos has the final word.”
NME – 1/5
“Stranger of Paradise is mostly just a mess. When the gameplay works, it works surprisingly well, but that wasn’t often enough to make it fun for its entire runtime. It’s hard to make a judgement on the story, mostly because there isn’t much of a narrative, but it’s even more disappointing because I wanted to spend more time with the characters, because they’re far from unlikeable. A grand ode to Final Fantasy it is not, and it fails to appeal to the JRPG lover in me on most counts.”
MORE ABOUT STRANGER OF PARADISE: FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN
With the memory of their struggle buried deep in their hearts.
In this hard-core action RPG, Jack must face numerous challenges to bring the light of the crystals back to Cornelia, a kingdom conquered by darkness.
Features action gameplay where you use a wide variety of action moves to survive furious battles and scatter your foes before you, as well as RPG elements collecting numerous different jobs and weapons to customise and develop your characters. The game can be enjoyed at several difficulty levels.
Will restoring the crystals’ light usher in peace or a new form of darkness?…or perhaps something else entirely?
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is coming to the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC on March 18th 2022 (those who pre-order will be able to get it three days early on March 15th). Find out more on the official website through this link.
