Final Fantasy's Battle System Is Based On American Football
Posted by Damien McFerran
Who knew?
Square Enix's Hiroyuki Ito has revealed to 1UP the origin of the turn-based battle system in the original Final Fantasy - and it's somewhat unexpected, to say the least.
Driven to create an efficient system for Hironobu Sakaguchi's seminal NES RPG, Ito turned to professional sports for his inspiration.
1UP: So did you create the battle system, or work on balancing it...?
HI: I actually created the battle system, yes.
1UP: What was your inspiration for that?
HI: Basically, there's no one inspiration that I got that battle system from. It was just a logical process, where I thought, "How can I create an efficient battle system for a role-playing game?" That's the answer that I came to. At the root of it all, though, there's a basic kind of system that comes from professional sports...
1UP: Any particular sport that you had in mind?
HI: Yeah, the NFL. Football is probably the closest thing.
Whatever next? Super Mario was influenced by Tiddlywinks? Zelda was inspired by Volleyball? Where does it all end?
[via gonintendo.com, 1up.com]
#1
Linkuini said:
Well, don't that put things into perspective? Never would have thought JRPGs owed anything to football.
#2
Kid_A said:
I pronounce it "Tiddly Winks."
#3
Damo said:
Oops. Fixed!
#4
Metal_Sonic said:
You learn something new every day..
#5
bezerker99 said:
The NFL is so awesome. (I thought the battle system was based on Dragon Quest tbh just like the rest of the game)
#6
edcomics said:
Now I know why I hate turn-based RPGs.
#7
The_Fox said:
That black mage casting the spell in the picture is looking at a 10 yard penalty minimum.
#8
Boo_Buster said:
@The_Fox That is a Personal Foul bro, 15 yard penalty and automatic first down. You can't use Thunder on the Quarterback!
#9
Boo_Buster said:
@edcomics Yeah. Chrono Trigger, the first 9 Final Fantasies, Dragon Quests, Super Mario RPG, ect.... I hate all those game! (not)
#10
darkgamer001 said:
Chrono Trigger is not traditional turn-based though...
#11
bezerker99 said:
False Start....Black Mage....5 yard penalty, repeat 1st down.
#12
retro_player_22 said:
Fun Fact: Super Mario Bros. was actually inspired by Alice in Wonderland, the eating mushroom to grow big, exploring a fantasy world where everything is trying to kill you, and taking down a royal villain.
#13
TheBaconator said:
Well when you look at the statistics and play calling, the NFL looks like one big RPG/RTS game. In fact, Football is becoming more popular worldwide in places like Japan for its focus on a strategic play style and overall appeal.
#14
IAmNotWill said:
Black Mage used Sack! -10 yards!
#15
machomuu said:
So basically...as Final Fantasy fans, doesn't that technically make us jocks? And they said we had no lives.
#16
DkFluttershyGuy said:
So, when is Zanarkand getting a football franchise to join the blitzball Abes? Time to see if Tidus can do the Bo Jackson two-sport superstar thing.
Oh, that black mage is perfectly welcome to use Flare on Tom Brady, Meteor on Ben Rothlesberger, and Ultima on Eli Manning. And we need a summoner to sic Bahamut on Tony Romo.
#17
DkFluttershyGuy said:
Also, there is evidence part of Ocarina of Time is based off of tennis! Link & Ganondorf were playing "hit the lightning ball" Sampras & Agassi-style.
Not too fair that Ganondorf is always on serve, though. Maybe Link would like to serve for a change! 
#18
arrmixer said:
that's actually kool.. it makes perfect sense for me... I usually care more about the stragety of the game than actually play the game itself... awesome...
maybe that's why I like rpgs some much
#19
Void said:
/article
#20
GreenDream said:
WOAH. It all makes sense now! So that's where the convention to have player characters and enemies line up to face each other came from...
#21
RetroBrony91 said:
You learn something new everyday
#22
beatalLiToaD said:
And it all comes full circle with the Inazuma Eleven games, huh.
#23
mattatron said:
White Mage casts cortizone shot. Suh is revived for second half