Final Fantasy Gameplay - Character Growth and Classes

Character Growth and Classes

The Final Fantasy series is like many role-playing video games in that it uses a level-up system, where players gain experience points and raise their character's experience level by killing enemies. Players may have difficulty defeating an enemy until they reach a higher experience level, although Final Fantasy VIII reduces the need to level-up by making the enemy's experience level always match that of the player's.

Each character class in a Final Fantasy game has unique abilities which develop as the player's level increases. In some titles, the player can assign a character with a specific class at the start of the game, while others allow characters to combine and learn abilities from a number of classes. In addition to other abilities, a character's class usually determines the types of weapons and armor that they can use. Some of the more traditional classes include the Warrior/Fighter, the Dragoon, the Thief and the different Mages/Wizards. Mage classes have included Black Mages (who use offensive spells), White Mages (who cast healing magic), Red Mages (who use both), Blue Mages (who use enemy spells and attacks cast against them), and Time Mages (who cast spells which speed up or slow down time). More original classes have appeared throughout the series, such as Bards, Scholars, and Summoners. Due to the series' popularity, they have become staples of RPGs since they debuted in Final Fantasy III.

The complexity of the class system varies from game to game. In the original Final Fantasy, the player allocates permanent class selections to the four playable characters at the beginning of the game, and each of the six starting classes can be upgraded to a corresponding advanced class midway through the game.

Characters in Final Fantasy II are molded according to their performance in battle. Final Fantasy III changed the formula by allowing the player to change a character's class, as well as acquire new and advanced classes and combine class abilities.

In Final Fantasy IV, the characters are assigned a job class that reflects their personality in the storyline, and in some cases the character's classes are not explicitly stated; abilities related to the character's class are learned as the character gains experience points. Final Fantasy IV also introduced the concept of characters joining or leaving the party throughout the storyline, which requires players to adjust their battle plans constantly.

In Final Fantasy V, each character can be assigned and re-assigned one of 22 'jobs', gaining attributes in that job as they win battles. Many praised the game for the freedom this system afforded, although some considered the system highly complex, and it has been speculated that this may have been one of the reasons the game was not initially released in North America.

In Final Fantasy VI, characters are locked into specific classes from the start of the game, and each has a signature command, such as "Dance", "Lore" or "Mimic." In Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, characters lack classes, and they all play the same in battle; nevertheless, each character has one or more unique limit breaks, and particular characters statistically support the informal adoption of class roles.

In Final Fantasy IX, characters have predetermined "dormant abilities" similar to Final Fantasy IV; however, the characters in Final Fantasy IX learn abilities by wearing equipment instead of gaining levels. Final Fantasy X introduced the "sphere grid"; characters began at certain areas of the grid, which represent traditional character classes by their statistical bonuses and abilities. Character classes were re-introduced in Final Fantasy X-2 as "dresspheres"; these classes are gradually acquired and can be changed at any point, including battle mode.

The classes that appear in Final Fantasy XI, the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) title in the series, have certain unique implementations that more closely follow MMORPG convention. Notably, in Final Fantasy XI a player can equip a secondary job, called a "subjob", and have half the abilities of that class. Extensive backstories are often given to Final Fantasy XI's job classes to add to the setting's lore.

In Final Fantasy XII, the player can mold characters into anything, without restriction of traditional classes. However, in the game's international version and in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, the growth system is modified to have more clearly defined classes. In Final Fantasy XIII, characters can switch class mid-battle and in the field, utilizing the Paradigm system. In Final Fantasy XIV, player classes vary by what weapon they are wielding (i.e. wielding a sword turns that player into a Gladiator, while wielding knuckles turns the player into a Pugilist etc.). Additionally, abilities learned from other classes may be junctioned onto the player's current class (i.e. a Pugilist may use Red Lotus from the Gladiator class)

In Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, classes are once again chosen by the player from one of the starting jobs; however, characters must meet prerequisites before changing classes.