Valentino Rossi

At the end of the 2004 season, Valentino Rossi holds 68 Grand Prix victories which make him the most successful rider of the Grand Prix series, surpassing legendary rider Giacomo Agostini by a single second place. This is most likely a result of the merger with Enix, which was well-known for producing sequels and spinoffs associated with the Dragon Quest series. Rossi now lives in London, England. Starting with that game, however, several such sequels emerged, especially the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series of games/movies, all of which continue the story of the game Final Fantasy VII. Rossi wears the #1 reserved for the reigning World Champion on the shoulder of his racing outfit. Until the release of Final Fantasy X-2 the idea of a "direct sequel," that is, a game which picked up directly from the story of a previous game in the series, was unprecedented in the series. He traditionally also incorporates his favorite color (fluorescent yellow) into his leather designs. The original Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II are released in Final Fantasy Origins, and for the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls. Final Fantasy III has not yet officially been released in the US, and never rereleased on any platform in any market, but Square-Enix currently plans to release it for the Nintendo DS.

However in an homage to Barry Sheene (who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number), Rossi has stayed with the now-famous #46 throughout his career. Final Fantasy IV was released in Final Fantasy Chronicles for the PlayStation, while Final Fantasy V and VI were released in Final Fantasy Anthology for PlayStation. Typically, a World Championship winner (and also runner-up and third place) is awarded the #1 sticker for the next season. Later ports include translations of the Japanese games with their original numbering. He is famous for using the number 46 only, the racing number of his father, Graziano. FF3us or FF6j. From September 8 2002 to April 18 2004, he stood on the podium at the end of all 23 races including every race in 2003. To solve this, many fans use the disambiguating suffixes "us" and "j" for American numbering and Japanese numbering respectively, e.g.

These days Rossi rarely crashes and in fact holds the record for the longest streak of consecutive podiums. This has been a source of much confusion, with many American fans continuing to refer to IV and VI by their American numbers. important". Starting with Final Fantasy VII the pretense was dropped, and all subsequent games used their original numbering, leading to an apparent "jump" over 3 games. And in Italy, The Doctor is a name you give to someone for respect, it's very important, The Doctor.. Final Fantasy IV became "II" and VI became "III". Another, as spoken by Graziano himself, "The Doctor because, I dont think there is a particular reason, but it's beautiful, and is important, The Doctor. Originally, Final Fantasy II and III for the Famicom and V for the Super Famicom were not released in America, so Square of America decided to change the numbers of the US releases to hide this fact.

There are two theories as to why Rossi is entitled "The Doctor, one is Rossi adopted the nickname upon having earned a degree, which in Italy entitles one to use the title "Doctor".
. Since his dominance in 500cc and MotoGP, Rossi has used the nickname "The Doctor." This has been attributed to his "cold and clinical dismantling of his opponents" as well as his cool and calm composure in racing compared to his frenetic days in 125cc and 250cc where his performance was erratic and dangerous, resulting in numerous crashes. On the other hand, the single-player Final Fantasy X-2 has attracted negative attention for its status as the first direct sequel to a previous Final Fantasy game, and for its supposed overreliance on fan service. The nickname "Valentinik" was a reference to the Italian Donald Duck superhero, "Paperinik.". A number of diehard fans have accused Final Fantasy XI for neglecting the traditions of the series by switching to a massively multiplayer online format. His next nickname appeared some time around his days racing in the 250cc World Championship. Of the more recent installments in the series, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy X-2 have been most frequently singled out for criticism.

His first prominent nickname was "Rossifumi." Rossi explained the etymology of this nickname as a reference and tribute to fellow rider Norifumi Abe. Fans of these games often argue that the nostalgia factor plays a significant role in many of the negative critical responses to post-Final Fantasy VII installments. Valentino Rossi has had numerous nicknames during his racing career. Nintendo's Legend of Zelda, Konami's Suikoden, and Square Enix's own Dragon Quest franchises are strong competitors of Final Fantasy. Rossi said in the post-race press conference that he understood that Sete was angry but that at the end of the day, "this is racing." Gibernau remained composed and dignified although visibly angry, explaining that he simply wanted to move on to the next race and not get caught up in the feud. More recent installments of the series (following its premiere on the Sony PlayStation in 1997) are especially attacked by critics within the video game community. Rossi offered a handshake to Sete which he accepted. Some cite a lack of interactivity (overuse of full motion video), rigid and often linear story structure, and unoriginality.

Gibernau was visibly displeased, making hand gestures on his way across the finish line along with clearly unhappy body language, spitting water in Rossi's direction during post-race celebrations and a terse response in the post-race press conference. Although the franchise is extremely popular, it is not without critics. This rivalry apparently reached a new level in the first round of the 2005 MotoGP World Championship at Jerez where a final-corner collision resulted in a Rossi win and Sete claiming second after a run out onto the gravel. Unlike previous games, battles in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII take place on the world map, with no separate battle screen. Rossi accused Gibernau of reporting the incident and since then the two have rarely spoken to each other, refusing to make eye contact or mention each other in comments unless absolutely necessary. Early details suggest Final Fantasy XII will adopt a similar system. Although it started out innocently enough as fellow riders who respected each other's talents competing for the same championship, Gibernau and Rossi turned their backs on each other at the 2004 Qatar Grand Prix where Rossi's team was penalized for laying down rubber on his grid position to aid in traction along with other teams and was subsequently forced to start from the back of the grid. Final Fantasy XI featured a fully real time combat system similar to that employed by the game EverQuest: when confronted with an enemy, a character would automatically perform basic physical attacks unless otherwise instructed by the player.

Over the past 12 months, Rossi's main rival has become Sete Gibernau. As this ranking was displayed on screen during battle, it was possible to know when a character and/or enemy would move several combat turns in advance, and to plan battles accordingly. Biaggi looks to improve on recent results with a ride with Honda's factory team in 2005. In the CTB system, every creature in battle would be ranked according to speed. Rossi has always considered himself a better rider than Max Biaggi and the Roman has always considered himself far superior to the clown prince. The rivalry has started to die down over recent years due to Vale's consecutive World Championships and Biaggi's struggle to find support and a consistent rhythm with his races. Final Fantasy X abandoned the ATB system in favor of the "Conditional Turn-Based Battle System" (CTB). Although they hadn't even raced against each other until 2000, the rivalry between the two had been growing since the mid-90s. Generally each of these games included both "active" and "wait" modes: when "wait" mode was chosen, then all activity relating to the time gauge would pause whenever the player was using a submenu to choose a magic spell, item, or special attack.

At one time his website didn't even have Max's name; instead a glaring "XXX XXXXXX" was placed wherever his name should have appeared. When a specific character's time gauge was filled, the character could act, which would then reset the timer. Earlier in his career Max Biaggi was, for all intents and purposes, considered Rossi's arch-nemesis. The ATB system was semi-real time, and afforded every creature in combat a time gauge. Valentino Rossi ended up with 304 points to Gibernau's 257, with Max Biaggi 3rd with 217 points. Starting with Final Fantasy IV, and continuing until Final Fantasy IX (and revived in Final Fantasy X-2), the "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system was introduced. It was a painful blow to both Gibernau and Honda; Gibernau, so close to a World Championship, and Honda, starting to become aware of what they had let go. The player would input all battle commands at the beginning of each combat round, which would then be carried out based on the speed rating of each character.

Rossi would continue to rub salt into the wound for both Gibernau and Honda by winning the ultimate race of the season (and the final race Rossi would ride for Honda) at Valencia. Final Fantasy I through Final Fantasy III all featured a traditional turn based battle system. Gibernau and Rossi had become bickering enemies during the course of the season; whereas in previous seasons they had been competitive but friendly rivals, various disputes arose during 2004 which led to their falling apart. Often these special attacks are integrated into the "job system," which has appeared in several games in the series (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X-2). Rossi would go on to claim 8 more GP wins during the season, battling Sete Gibernau ferociously until Rossi eventually closed the door on Sete's hopes in the penultimate race of the season at Phillip Island. Most games in the series (from Final Fantasy III on) feature a variety of "special commands," over and beyond the traditional "Attack," "Defend," "Cast Magic," and "Run" battle commands, such as the ability to steal items from enemies, or performing a leap attack. Rossi shone through to claim first blood in his new team colors and somewhat silenced some of his critics who thought the Yamaha would still play second fiddle to the Honda. Most games in the series utilize an experience level system for character advancement (although Final Fantasy II did not), and a point-based system for casting magical spells (though Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy VIII all featured different approaches).

With the traditional first race of the season at Suzuka off the list due to safety considerations, the 2004 season started at Welkom in South Africa. As such, Final Fantasy uses a menu-driven, turn-based battle system. The 2004 season would give Rossi the ability to show everyone, especially his critics what he was made of and provide him with an opportunity to prove that it was his talent rather than his bike that won him his championships. Final Fantasy borrowed many gameplay elements from its primary rival, the Dragon Quest franchise. The RC211V was a superior machine in almost every aspect although it was guaranteed that the gap would shrink with the defection of Rossi and Jeremy Burgess. The games often feature various minigames with their own graphical engines. His fiercest critics claimed that on an inferior machine (the YZF-M1), Rossi would not be able to recreate his World Championship wins of the previous years, especially with increased development of the RC211V and the likes of Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau on Hondas. The games typically have several types of screens, or modes of interaction, broadly categorized as:.

Vale's move to Yamaha would be a baptism of fire.
. Ultimately, Rossi signed a two-year contract with rivals Yamaha reportedly worth in excess of USD$12 million; a price no other manufacturer, even Honda, was willing to pay. Final Fantasy X-2 utilized the same game engine as Final Fantasy X, and was aesthetically not much different. This proved to be the truth with Ducati's lacklustre performance in the 2003 season, which had actually been worse than their inaugural year in MotoGP in 2002. Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to use voice overs to any degree. Critics say that compared to the other manufacturers, Ducati had a significant way to go before being competitive even with Rossi at the helm. Final Fantasy X was released on the PlayStation 2, and made use of the more powerful hardware to render certain cutscenes in real-time, rather than displayed in pre-rendered video.

Ducati did indeed try to seduce Rossi into riding their MotoGP bike, the Desmosedici, but for numerous reasons Rossi passed the offer up. Final Fantasy IX returned briefly to the more stylized design of earlier games in the series, but maintained most of the graphical techniques utilized in the previous two games in the series. Mid-season rumors pointed towards a possible move to Ducati, which sent the Italian press into a frenzy; the concept of the great Italian on the great Italian bike seemed too good to be true. The full motion video sequences utilized a display technique wherein video would play in the background while the polygon characters would be composited on top. Partnered with increased skepticism that the reason for his success was the dominance of the RC211V rather than Rossi's talent, it was inevitable that Honda and Rossi would part. Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. To Honda's credit, they offered him a significant and lucrative contract but ultimately it wasn't enough to keep Rossi where he felt he no longer belonged. As the only real user-interaction outside of battle was menu-driven, the developers saw no need for fully 3D-rendered overhead graphics.

His tenure at Honda had effectively run its course; he had provided Honda with a 500cc World Championship as well as consecutive MotoGP World Championships, he had helped perfect the RC211V into a formidable, almost unstoppable racing machine and considering Honda's reluctance to pay top dollar to secure his services in 2004, seemed to have overstayed his welcome. Released shortly after Final Fantasy VII, the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, once again utilized sprites for the characters. His contract with Honda was up at the end of the year and there were rumors that Rossi had become somewhat disillusioned with his ride at Honda. However, Final Fantasy VII's FMVs often lacked consistency, with characters appearing tiny and very indistinct in one scene, and extremely detailed in the next. There were even rumors that he would attempt a career in rally cars after he had competed in a Peugeot 206 WRC rally car at the 2002 Rally of Great Britain. Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to use full motion video sequences, part of the reason why the game spanned a full three CD-ROMs. Most suspected that he would succeed in his bid to claim a third consecutive title and wondered where the amazingly talented Italian would go in the future. The characters and entire game world were now 3-dimensional, with fully pre-rendered backgrounds.

There was much speculation during the second half of the 2003 season about Rossi's plans for the future. 1997 saw the release of Final Fantasy VII for the Sony PlayStation and not Nintendo 64 as originally anticipated. After being given a 10-second penalty for overtaking during a yellow flag due to a crash by Ducati rider Troy Bayliss, 1st-place Rossi proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field, eventually finishing more than 15 seconds ahead; more than enough to cancel out the penalty and win the race. This would continue to get more advanced in Final Fantasy VI, and the trend would continue to make the games much more erudite. The Australian GP at Phillip Island in 2003 is considered to be one of Rossi's greatest career moments due to the unique circumstances in which he claimed victory. Finally, in Final Fantasy V, the games began to use kanji. It was more of the same in 2003 for Rossi's rivals; Rossi claimed 9 pole positions as well as 9 GP wins to his third consecutive World Championship. Much of the dialogue was simply clumps of text, making it especially hard for older gamers and foreigners learning Japanese.

Rossi won an astounding 8 of the first 9 races of the season, eventually claiming 11 victories in total. The text of the Japanese language versions of early Final Fantasy games was comprised purely of kana. 2002 was the inaugural year for the MotoGP bikes and with all riders experiencing the same teething problems getting used to the new bikes (or dealing with the inferior 500cc bikes), it was all Rossi needed to grasp the Championship with two hands from the very first race and never let go of it. These games utilized updated graphics and effects, as well as higher quality music and sound than in previous games, but were otherwise similar to their predecessors in basic design. Honda outfitted their factory riders with the RC211V, a liquid-cooled V5 four-stroke with traditionally odd aerodynamic aesthetics but phenomenal speed. The same basic system was used in the next three games, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI, for the Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). The two-stroke 500cc were rapidly being replaced by four-stroke 989cc engines, allowing the factories to provide their riders with staggeringly fast motorbikes. On the main world screen, small sprite representations of the leading party member were displayed because of graphical limitations, while in battle screens, more detailed, full versions of all characters would appear in a side view perspective.

2001 had turned out to be the swansong for the 500cc World Championship; the 500cc giving way to the newly created MotoGP class. Final Fantasy began on the Nintendo Family Computer ("Famicom," known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) as Final Fantasy I in 1987, and was joined by two sequels, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III, over the next three years. It would be the final 500cc season not just for Rossi but for everyone.
. Rossi stormed home to an overwhelming World Championship in 2001, winning 11 races, including the first three and the final four of the season. The battle sequences that end in victory for the player in the first ten installments of the series would be accompanied by a victory fanfare that used the same nine-note sequence to begin the fanfare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of music relating to the Final Fantasy series. Vale finished 2nd to American Kenny Roberts Jr, with Max Biaggi finishing in 3rd place. The Prelude is actually based off of Bach's piece by the same name.

It would take nine races before Rossi would win on the Honda, but like his previous seasons in 125 and 250, it was inevitable that 2000 would be a warm-up to a dominant second season. The games often open with a piece called Prelude, which was a simple arpeggio theme in the early parts, with further melody parts added in latter installments. Rossi proceeded to showcase the NSR500's strengths, constantly using his analytical mind to refine it even further. While the music in games offers wide variety, there are some frequently reused themes. The media naturally escalated things, printing any juicy gossip they heard, be it alleged or real. The Final Fantasy soundtracks have also joined the catalogue of the iTunes Music Store. Although the two had never raced against each other, an intense rivalry had developed due to Rossi's arrogant yet loveable nature and Biaggi's proud, king-of-the-hill persona. Music from Final Fantasy was first performed outside of Japan as a part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Germany.

It would also be the first time Rossi would be racing against fierce rival, Max Biaggi. The next performance was February 19, 2005 in Rosemont, Illinois by the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, and currently, as of 2005, the "Dear Friends" concert is on tour in the US. Rossi was rewarded in 2000 for his 250cc World Championship by being given a ride with Honda in what was then the ultimate class in World Championship motorcycle racing, 500cc. Jeremy Burgess, part of Honda Racing's brains trust, had shown him the NSR500 and was convinced that the pairing of it with Rossi would bring nothing but success. That concert was a three-day sell out. 1999 would bring him the championship though, collecting 5 pole positions and 9 World Championship wins along the way. An orchestral Final Fantasy music concert in the United States was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 10, 2004. Again, he found himself learning the ways of his new bike in the first season, concluding the 1998 250cc season in 2nd place, losing the championship by only three points. Many video game and MIDI world wide web sites offer renditions of Final Fantasy musical pieces.

The death of two of his friends in a car accident also seemed to take a toll on Vale psychologically. launched an America Online radio station dedicated to music from the Final Fantasy series, initially carrying complete tracks from Final Fantasy XI in addition to samplings from Final Fantasy VII through Final Fantasy X. Valentino considered 1998 the toughest year of his career, due to the persistent pressure to perform that he felt from Aprilia, the media and effectively everyone around him. On November 17, 2003, Square Enix U.S.A. But even with a fast bike and experienced championship-winning teammates, Rossi struggled in his first season in 250cc. Final Fantasy soundtracks and sheet music are increasingly popular amongst non-Japanese Final Fantasy fans and have even been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. By 1998, the Aprilia RS250 was reaching its pinnacle and had a formidable team of riders in Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi and Tetsuya Harada. Other composers who have contributed to the series include Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano.

Rossi treated it as a learning process and refined his skills enough to comfortably wrap up the 125cc World Championship in the following 1997 season, winning 11 of the 15 races. Uematsu is also involved with the rock group The Black Mages, which has released two albums of arranged Final Fantasy tunes. By the end of the season, he had found himself in 9th position, plagued with somewhat inconsistent performances yet showing stunning speed. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, the American synchronized swimming duo consisting of Alison Bartosik and Anna Kozlova were awarded the bronze medal for their performance to music from Final Fantasy VIII. In August he won his first World Championship Grand Prix at Brno in the Czech Republic on an AGV Aprilia RS125R. His music has played a large part in the popularity of the Final Fantasy franchise abroad. The 1996 World Championship season brought little success in the way of GP wins, Vale collecting more crashes than anything else, failing to finish five of the season's races. Nobuo Uematsu was the chief music composer of the Final Fantasy series until his resignation from Square Enix in November 2004.

At first he found himself on a Sandroni in the 1994 Italian championship and continued to ride it through the 1995 European and Italian championships. Square Enix continues to outsource story and scenario work to Nojima and Stellavista. In 1994, Aprilia by the way of Sandroni had found themselves a new young talent in Valentino Rossi and proceeded to use him to improve their RS125R and in turn allowed Vale to learn how to handle the fast new pace of 125cc racing. He partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. Although his first season in the Italian Sport Production Championship was varied, he found himself consistently improving his skills, leading to a pole position at the season's final race in Misano where he ultimately would finish on the podium. By the second year, Rossi had been provided a factory Mito by Cagiva team manager Claudio Lusuardi and cruised to the Italian title. In October 2003, Kazushige Nojima, the series' principle scenario writer, resigned from Square Enix to form his own company, Stellavista. Vale ended up finishing 9th that race weekend. Akihiko Yoshida, who served as character designer for the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as the Square-produced Vagrant Story, has been announced as the designer of the upcoming Final Fantasy XII.

It was an amusing yet trying moment for Vale who was trying to decide whether motorcycles were really for him. Following Amano's departure, he was replaced with Tetsuya Nomura, who continued to work with the series through Final Fantasy X, with the exception of Final Fantasy IX, where character design was handled by Shukou Murase, Toshiyuki Itahana and Shin Nagasawa. The repair gave Vale an opportunity to correct his first-corner mistake only to find himself crash it into the second corner. Artistic design, including character and monster design work, was handled by renowned Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano from Final Fantasy I through Final Fantasy VI. The bike was repaired so as Vale could have another attempt. Some key objects and concepts that have appeared in more than one Final Fantasy game include:. 1993 brought with it a Cagiva Mito 125cc motorcycle for Rossi, which in turn brought a first-corner crash no more than a hundred meters out from pit lane. From the strong influence of history, literature, religion and mythology on the story to the frequent reappearance of certain monsters and items, these shared elements provide a unifying framework to the series.

With Valentino growing both in size and talent, it became abundantly clear that a proper motorcycle was required to further his progress. Though each Final Fantasy story is independent, many themes and elements of gameplay recur throughout the series. Through 1992 and 1993, Valentino continued to learn the ins and outs of minimoto racing, steadily racking up win after win. In a way, the Final Fantasy franchise has been a creative showcase for Square's developers, and many elements originally introduced in the series have made their way into Square's other titles, most notably two of its other major franchises, SaGa and Seiken Densetsu. However the high financial burden of racing karts led to the decision to race minimoto exclusively. Many elements and themes would recur throughout the series, but there would be no direct sequels until the release of Final Fantasy X-2 in 2003. Both Valentino and Graziano had started looking at moving him into the Italian 100cc series as well as the corresponding European series which most likely would have pushed him into the direction of Formula 1. This unusual approach to sequels has continued throughout the series, with each Final Fantasy game introducing a new world, and a new system of gameplay.

Although minimoto was for fun, he continued to race karts and finished 5th at the national kart championships in Parma. Following the success of the first game, Square quickly began work on a sequel. Unlike a typical sequel, Final Fantasy II featured entirely different characters, with a setting and story bearing only thematic similarities to its predecessor. The minimoto had now become his weapon of choice and before the end of 1991, he had won 16 regional races. Far from being Square's last hurrah, however, Final Fantasy I reversed Square's lagging fortunes, and became Square's flagship franchise. But before they had finished engraving his name on the trophy a new craze had taken over. Recognizing that the project could very well turn out to be Square's last game, the project was entitled Final Fantasy. 1990 brought Valentino the regional kart championship. At approximately the same time, Square designer Hironobu Sakaguchi began work on an ambitious new fantasy role playing game for the cartridge-based Famicom, inspired in part by Enix's popular Dragon Quest (also known as Dragon Warrior).

Graziano attempted to forge documents in an attempt to get Valentino's junior kart licence one year before he was legally allowed (he was 9 at the time), but ultimately failed. By 1987, declining interest in the FDS had placed Square on the verge of declaring bankruptcy. Although Valentino showed interest in such things as his guitar and playing football, his interest in school and study waned. Shrugging off his mother's attempt to get him to attend soccer school, he found more interest in the gravel pits and various motorcycle GPs. first entered the Japanese video game industry in the mid 1980s, developing a variety of simple RPGs for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System (FDS), a disk-based peripheral for the Family Computer (Famicom, known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System). However, the Rossi family trait of perpetually wanting to go faster prompted a redesign; Graziano replaced the 60cc motor with a 100cc national kart motor for his then 5-year-old son. Square Co., Ltd. Fuelled by Rossi's mother Stefania's concern for her son's safety, Graziano purchased a go-kart as substitute for the bike. As of early 2005, eleven games have been released as part of the main series, as well as several more spinoffs and related titles.

Rossi's first racing love was actually go-karts. It is Square Enix's most successful franchise, having sold over 60 million units worldwide to date. Son of Graziano Rossi a former motorcycle racer, he first jumped on a bike at the age of two and his astounding career progressed in leaps and bounds. Future installments will also appear on the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. Born on the 16th February, 1979 in Urbino, Italy, Valentino grew up surrounded by racing. The first installment of the series premiered in Japan in 1987, and Final Fantasy games have subsequently been localized for markets in North America, Europe and Australia, on nearly every modern video game console, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, the MSX2, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sony PlayStation, the WonderSwan Color, the PlayStation 2, IBM PC compatible, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and several different models of mobile phone.
. It may be the most widely distributed "game series" of all time, including both standard console games and portable games, a massive multiplayer online game, games for mobile phones, a computer-generated movie, two anime series, and an upcoming direct-to-DVD movie.

. Final Fantasy (Japanese: ファイナルファンタジー Fainaru Fantajii) is a popular series of role playing games produced by Square Enix (originally Square Co., Ltd.).
. Part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series.
. Cell-based OAV serving as a prequel to Final Fantasy VII from Zack's point of view. He is the reigning World Champion. Last Order: Final Fantasy VII — forthcoming