by Anthony Chatfield

Created on: February 14, 2007   Last Updated: March 29, 2011

Final Fantasy is a series of games that stretch back to the mid 80s and the last ditch effort by a dying software company known as Squaresoft to salvage its stock. Since then it's become the most recognizable name in video gaming. With it comes a whole array of terms and names that don't necessarily make sense to the lay person. For those of you whose boyfriends, children, or siblings sit and play into the wee hours of the morning something you can't possibly understand, I introduce to you a one shot cures all guide to understanding Final Fantasy. This is the A-Z Guide to Final Fantasy.

Airships

Ah yes, the airship. It's been a tradition throughout the history of Final Fantasy of taking to the skies for transportation with giant, amazingly detailed airships, usually as a way to navigate the ridiculously large maps that make the game entirely too tedious if you have to walk everywhere. The role of the airship is always different, but count on it to show up and make your journey easier and a little more stylish.

Biggs and Wedge

Recurring characters always make playing a game series fun because you get to be in on a joke that no one else gets unless they've played along with you. Biggs and Wedge (affectionately named for two Star Wars X-Wing pilots) are just two among many recurring characters in the series. The most famous of these is Cid, the often times engineer who will pop up and help out with a busted airship or even join in the fight when you need him.

Chocobo

These big yellow birds are your ground transport more often than not. They pop up in almost every final fantasy game and often play a big role in goofy mini games. They're so popular that they've gotten their own game outings in quirky titles like Chocobo Dungeon and Chocobo Racing.

Draw

Among many variations in the series, the draw system was a simpler way of operating magic in Final Fantasy VIII. The series often takes its game elements and thinks of new and interesting ways to mix them up. Most games tend towards the more traditional magic system of spells and magic points where you have a set amount of MP that depletes every time you use a spell.

Espers (summons)

The summons are one of the many things that you'll see in every game of the series. These giant, mythical forces are often found in ruin somewhere where you'll be forced to fight them for dominance afterwards they'll become your servants or helpers or however they want to describe themselves. They're big and powerful and can usually deal

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