Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 155 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 119 out of 155
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 155
  3. Negative: 26 out of 155

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  1. AgooNoct
    Mar 30, 2022
    10
    Jack's story was incredible; the final 2 hours of this game made me cry a lot. The gameplay is top-notch, and while the game does have performance issues and a clunky beginning, the core concept, narrative and essence of the game really shine through.
    Jack did it his way. I'm going to remember his story for the rest of my life
  2. barbabranca
    Dec 6, 2022
    10
    This game is incredible! Bring together the best of Nioh and Final Fantasy. If you have a friend to play together is 2x fun. Runs smooth on pc and i like the graphics too. For me one of the best action rpg game.
  3. Dubeau
    Nov 9, 2022
    5
    Stranger of Paradise - Final Fantasy Origin is kind of bland. The story is generic and has too many cut scenes, and very little interactions. Some bits of humour, but the story feels very dry. The combat is fun and works like a MMORPG. The graphics are a mixed bag. However on PC, there are noticeable slow downs, and some frozen moments (caused by loading). The loot system is tedious. TheStranger of Paradise - Final Fantasy Origin is kind of bland. The story is generic and has too many cut scenes, and very little interactions. Some bits of humour, but the story feels very dry. The combat is fun and works like a MMORPG. The graphics are a mixed bag. However on PC, there are noticeable slow downs, and some frozen moments (caused by loading). The loot system is tedious. The upgrade system is for jobs, but only for one character (what??). The interface is horrible and dull. There is no explorations and towns. You talk to folks via the main map, in the menu. How lazy is that! The smithy dismantle items, but you accumulated so much loot, that it is a painful process just to empty the inventory and upgrade items. You can setup combos, but you get fed up really fast of this interface. At least the voice overs are decent, not that the animations for it, are always good. I give it 48%. I played 7-10 hours of this, but the interface and the boring factor just killed it for me. In the days of open world RPG, this feels like 10 years backward.… Expand
  4. diabetus12
    Apr 3, 2022
    8
    The kind of midshelf game we have been missing for the last 10 years but missing the midshelf price tag.

    My processor is getting up in age so I turned a lot of settings down to help it run better and the game still stays visually consistent and has a nice sense of style and consistency within its world. The story is very dumb, and thats a compliment. The line delivery is very    The kind of midshelf game we have been missing for the last 10 years but missing the midshelf price tag.

    My processor is getting up in age so I turned a lot of settings down to help it run better and the game still stays visually consistent and has a nice sense of style and consistency within its world.

    The story is very dumb, and thats a compliment. The line delivery is very straight making the dialogue hit a different kind of funny, like an old pop corn flick. Dont take it too seriously and its a good time. Along side the story is the mission structure, the openings to missions are kept very brief letting you get into the combat right away.

    The combat is nothing groundbreaking but for what it is it is very solid. Heavy weapons feel like you are hitting with their weight and the skills you unlock for each are useful, stratifying, and keep combat engaging by testing your ability to understand when best to use them.

    There are so many classes and it feels like the game was made with this in mind. Leveling a class is fairly quick letting you play around with one and letting you have chance to decide how you feel about before moving on to the next class as many classes are tied to leveling up a different class first.

    The biggest draw back is that the inventory system is incredibly bare bones, too much loot per level for how little difference there can be.

    The music is also very enjoyable if not a little out of place in some of the menus.

    As is this would be a perfect $40 game but I still thoroughly enjoy it at the $60 it cost, and a friend makes all the silly dialogue more enjoyable. All in all a nice break from classic Final Fantasy form while revisiting old ground    … Expand
  5. LastResource
    Jan 14, 2023
    10
    worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this spin off game in the series.
  6. signas
    Jan 28, 2023
    10
    An incredible prequel to the very first final fantasy, with great gameplay and an even more amazing story. At hard difficulty the gameplay is like a mix between final fantasy xv, sekiro, ps2 era god of war, and devil may cry, which makes killing monsters super super fun. It's so good that even though it borrows elements from those games it still feels like its own thing. When talking aboutAn incredible prequel to the very first final fantasy, with great gameplay and an even more amazing story. At hard difficulty the gameplay is like a mix between final fantasy xv, sekiro, ps2 era god of war, and devil may cry, which makes killing monsters super super fun. It's so good that even though it borrows elements from those games it still feels like its own thing. When talking about stories Final fantasy NEVER disappoints and this one is not the exception. It's a roller coaster of emotions from beginning to end, especially at the end. If you're a final fantasy fan this one is a must.… Expand
  7. Running_P0ppy
    Apr 10, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game talks about chaos and there is this guy that wants to kill it, without actually realizing chaos isn't a physical being, and thus, you can't kill it.
    100/10 would raccomend    … Expand
  8. Zer0TheHer0
    Jan 7, 2023
    0
    Game is good until you get to endgame. If you want access to the DLCs it forces you to play and farm at the hardest difficulty which is WAY overtuned. Completely unfair and unfun battles. I am a big fan of souls games and completed all of them up to at least NG+++, every one of them. I have no problems with punishing gameplay. But SoP is bad on tuning difficulty and forcing you to play atGame is good until you get to endgame. If you want access to the DLCs it forces you to play and farm at the hardest difficulty which is WAY overtuned. Completely unfair and unfun battles. I am a big fan of souls games and completed all of them up to at least NG+++, every one of them. I have no problems with punishing gameplay. But SoP is bad on tuning difficulty and forcing you to play at higher diff for the DLCs is just plain disrespectful.… Expand
  9. lcja
    Apr 25, 2022
    10
    Thanks to a friend recommending it to me otherwise I wouldn't check out this game, just find out that it's just a very good action game and tons of fun!
  10. winterstorme
    Mar 19, 2022
    2
    The gameplay is fun, but the graphics are unacceptable. This is coming from someone who loved Nioh 2 and was looking forward to Team Ninja's next game.

    Releasing a game in this state is going too far. Devs need to stop.
  11. eri41205
    Apr 4, 2022
    2
    Combat & equipment are really cool.
    PC port is fairly poor.
    Color and brightness makes my eyes so uncomfortable.
    Jack is wack.
    Story is wack.
    Map is wack.
    OST is meh.
  12. remibyou
    Mar 22, 2022
    2
    It has a lot of potential, fun enough combat, lots of player expression, a very fun story, but it's outright unfinished. The uncompressed/unoptimized geometry across every model in the game creates unacceptable performance issues that ruin all the positives I just listed. In a genre that demands quick reactions and nuanced responses, an inconsistent frame rate or a downscaled resolutionIt has a lot of potential, fun enough combat, lots of player expression, a very fun story, but it's outright unfinished. The uncompressed/unoptimized geometry across every model in the game creates unacceptable performance issues that ruin all the positives I just listed. In a genre that demands quick reactions and nuanced responses, an inconsistent frame rate or a downscaled resolution (due to incompetent development) makes these interactions inconsistent at absolute best to downright impossible. It's a massive shame, and I would advise against anyone blowing a full $60 unless if Square Enix cares enough to fix these problems.… Expand
  13. oculocu
    Apr 17, 2022
    7
    The game is really fun and the gameplay is good... But... The performance is horrible.

    The story is f*ing cool... No bull* it's pretty straightforward, it seems to me that the English dub is the "Funny mode" but in Japanese it's quite good. Graphics are nice, it's not shi* or perfection... Just ok. But when you execute the first monster the fps drops from a locked 60 fps to 40~50    The game is really fun and the gameplay is good... But... The performance is horrible.

    The story is f*ing cool... No bull* it's pretty straightforward, it seems to me that the English dub is the "Funny mode" but in Japanese it's quite good.
    Graphics are nice, it's not shi* or perfection... Just ok.
    But when you execute the first monster the fps drops from a locked 60 fps to 40~50 until the particles stop (Monsters explode in every execution) and this continues until the last encounter... How a game "ok looking" can have Such a severe problem with fps drops amid combat?

    This game is very good but suffers from all the technical problems... This game should cost around $40 as it is. But Square thinks This is a $70 game, R$300 in Brazil, which is even more absurd for a PC game.    … Expand
  14. Grimm0
    Mar 20, 2022
    0
    feels really unfinished, don't stain ps2 reptation by saying this is ps2 game. the combat is nioh copy-paste everything else is garbage. however, nioh combat is **** amazing. some funny moment is appreciated but the fact square Enix released an unfinished game and locked behind Epic game's **** store says it all. avoid it all costs.
  15. supercriticguy
    Mar 19, 2022
    4
    “Chaos” is the perfect word to describe STRANGER OF PARADISE. I was excited to play this game but it has left me disappointed despite my low expectations. I was expecting an operable, middling game that I could just have fun with. What I got was an experience that very clearly had not been effectively playtested.

    The game’s most immediate problem is its graphical performance. It    “Chaos” is the perfect word to describe STRANGER OF PARADISE. I was excited to play this game but it has left me disappointed despite my low expectations. I was expecting an operable, middling game that I could just have fun with. What I got was an experience that very clearly had not been effectively playtested.

    The game’s most immediate problem is its graphical performance. It looks like a PS3 game but somehow consumes an extreme (and unnecessary) amount of processing power. This is because of its inefficient mystery engine, which is so bad that the game’s developers refused to name it (in interviews). As is widely reported, the engine struggles to render PS3-era billowing cloak physics and basic ambient occlusion even on the best hardware. Close-ups of single NPCs are rendered so inefficiently that the game literally enters slow-motion, causing animations to fall seconds behind voice acting. That this wasn’t caught during the quality assurance phase (if there was one) is embarrassing for Square-Enix.

    The combat, as intended, is reminiscent of NIOH and DARK SOULS. It shares their tightness; the controls are responsive and mechanical timing is on-point. However, the gameplay is permanently marred by a deluge of convoluted menus and excess of combat mechanics. Starting up the game you will be assaulted by tutorial after tutorial after tutorial… after tutorial after tutorial, explaining every facet of the combat before you are able to learn or remember any of it. Less is more, and it’s clear that the developers don’t understand that.

    The characters are, uh, there. There was no attempt to write any compelling dialogue or story. Jack, the main character, is needlessly irate at all times. The character animations/gestures during cutscenes are great and add a lot where the dialogue does not. I did appreciate the brevity of the cutscenes; they are never drawn out and quickly usher the player forward to the action. STRANGER wants its characters to be as lackadaisical and cool as DEVIL MAY CRY’s, but fails.

    With some patches to fix the unacceptably severe framerate issues, STRANGER OF PARADISE will be fast-paced fun, if uninspired. In its current state, though, the game seems to be the result of developmental chaos.    … Expand
  16. Caen
    Mar 20, 2022
    7
    Before I start: I run a 9900K with a RTX 3070, 32GB DDR4 ram, your mileage may vary.

    I was very wary about this game, as I've never played a "Soulslike" or Nioh, Sekiro and so forth, this is a brand new genre for me, and I have always loved Final Fantasy, even from FF1. This game pays homage to a bunch of previous titles and delves into more of the lore of FF1. The combat in this    Before I start: I run a 9900K with a RTX 3070, 32GB DDR4 ram, your mileage may vary.

    I was very wary about this game, as I've never played a "Soulslike" or Nioh, Sekiro and so forth, this is a brand new genre for me, and I have always loved Final Fantasy, even from FF1. This game pays homage to a bunch of previous titles and delves into more of the lore of FF1.

    The combat in this game really hard carries it, as there are a lot of disappointing aspects to it.

    Here's my Pros and Cons:

    + Jack is a wild and refreshing character.
    + Combat, and most of the jobs are really fun to engage with. There's a flavor for everyone.
    + There are some really sweet twists in this game.
    + The last act and ending are actually awesome.
    + A lot of great monster designs.
    + Boss encounters are fantastically done.
    - Killing blow animations look incredible.

    -Shadows make this game far too dark even with everything else cranked up, you can turn them off--but still things look off in terms of color. On an OLED tv I got lost very easily a LOT.
    -As others have mentioned, there is slowdown / frame drops pending where/what is going on.
    -The graphics look woefully outdated and generic, I didn't like the gear cosmetics either.
    -The writing really needed more polish and refinement. A lot more.
    -The amount of loot dropping is borderline unbearable, constantly cleaning out your inventory isn't fun.
    -I wasn't crazy about the music, but there were some good tracks.
    -The level design was awful in general.
    - Main story was somewhat short. I clocked 16 hours front to back.
    - EGS Exclusive for PC (As I write this.)

    Do I recommend it? I think if you are curious, or picked up the demo on PS4/5/Xbox and enjoyed it, you'll probably enjoy the rest of the game. I'd probably wait for a sale before diving in, but patches / mods / DLC could really help this game out a lot. If you have never played this genre before like I did, you may very well enjoy it.    … Expand
  17. StardustHunterZ
    Mar 23, 2022
    0
    This game is basically unplayable.
    Horrible Pc Port and must be fixed immediately!!!
  18. jin44jim
    Mar 27, 2022
    0
    Anyone saying the combat is amazing is not a ff fan. This is a game made for ff fans not dark souls fans. FF fans don't like combat systems like this we like our rpg feel of the game not action base. Fanboys of dark souls are a big problem with this game as well saying the combat is good but they fail to realize this isn't their francize. This isn't dark souls. This is our game. TheyAnyone saying the combat is amazing is not a ff fan. This is a game made for ff fans not dark souls fans. FF fans don't like combat systems like this we like our rpg feel of the game not action base. Fanboys of dark souls are a big problem with this game as well saying the combat is good but they fail to realize this isn't their francize. This isn't dark souls. This is our game. They defend it being a dark souls game with their fighting mechanics as a excuse to (get good) but it is so hypocritical because if this was their series of games they would be pissed if the game turned into a ff like game. Lets see how they would feel if we turned elden ring into a ff game. I feel like I gave this review a good score for how I feel and others true ff fan would feel. It is a bad review because this is a ff game and not dark souls. It could of been great if they focused more on the performance and rpg and made it into a ff game and not dark souls.… Expand
  19. NateC3561
    Mar 24, 2022
    0
    This is quite possibly one of the worst games I have played in years. The story is stupid, the combat is terrible, the level design is just a bland hallway simulator. It's a beat em up that fails at even doing something as simple as that well.

    The ally AI is so utterly terrible. Seriously watch them, they wont attack the enemy hardly ever and instead they will either stare at the    This is quite possibly one of the worst games I have played in years. The story is stupid, the combat is terrible, the level design is just a bland hallway simulator. It's a beat em up that fails at even doing something as simple as that well.

    The ally AI is so utterly terrible. Seriously watch them, they wont attack the enemy hardly ever and instead they will either stare at the monster or boss or run and buff themselves endlessly pretending they are doing something. This creates a problem because every monster and boss will literally just focus fire you as the player and of course for no reason whatsoever if you are knocked out, it is game over. This problem is removed (and highlighted) if you manage to play online which them makes everything crazy easy. Of course this is assuming you can play online considering 19 times out of 20 you will get an error trying to connect to a game.

    The only thing I can assume is that Team Ninja did not want to make this game so they put as little effort into it as possible.    … Expand
  20. Kengo19
    Apr 8, 2022
    2
    Im a huge FF fan as well as a Dark Souls fan. I thought this game would be a match made in heaven, how wrong I was. While I did enjoy the combat and job system a bit the horrible graphics, frame rate, and glitchy cut sense are just not acceptable for a game released in 2022. I don't know if other systems are any better but the PC port is not worth your money.
  21. churros
    Jun 16, 2022
    7
    Pros:
    + combat system variety
    + controls great

    Cons:
    - terrible pc port
    - bad level design
    - bland scenarios
    - bland music
    - non-sense story
    - too many systems
  22. PlodofWar
    Oct 1, 2022
    9
    This is a really fun game. The combat is varied and engaging, it meshes very well with the job system and pretty much all jobs are viable and offer their own unique playstyle options. I like it much more than the FF7 remake. There are a bunch of great references to other FF games, the graphics look pretty good in 4k besides some weird blurring and occasional stuttering on a 3080. The storyThis is a really fun game. The combat is varied and engaging, it meshes very well with the job system and pretty much all jobs are viable and offer their own unique playstyle options. I like it much more than the FF7 remake. There are a bunch of great references to other FF games, the graphics look pretty good in 4k besides some weird blurring and occasional stuttering on a 3080. The story is actually pretty good and I really enjoyed the music, they kept a lot of a it in line with the classic FF theme.

    Only real negatives in my book are Epic Games Store exclusive, max carry of 500 items, and some weird graphical artifacts. Overall really fun game that is pretty well done.    … Expand
  23. ogretactic
    Jan 5, 2023
    2
    It's a shame Metacritic is a ruin that's become totally unreliable with all the fake likes, EVERY TIME, it's going to become meaningless if they don't do something about it. Stranger in Paradise is one of the worth S-E game have ever played. The Art Direction and design is the poorest I've ever seen from the company, while the gameplay is on par with other Team Ninja game, it is theIt's a shame Metacritic is a ruin that's become totally unreliable with all the fake likes, EVERY TIME, it's going to become meaningless if they don't do something about it. Stranger in Paradise is one of the worth S-E game have ever played. The Art Direction and design is the poorest I've ever seen from the company, while the gameplay is on par with other Team Ninja game, it is the blandest, most mediocre experience I've played in a while.… Expand
  24. Pmstz
    Feb 5, 2023
    6
    Average/OK game

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  25. Roflan105
    Feb 5, 2023
    10
    У игры низкий бюджет, это чувствуется, но геймплейно она лучше того, что есть в главной линейке игр Final Fantasy. Хорошая хардкорная боевка и возможность собирать разные билды, в то время как 15 и ремейк 7 финалки супер казуальные, в которых интересно драться только с ультимативными боссами.

    Если бы этой игре дали бюджет, как фф 16, то я уверен, она бы ее укатала без проблем.    У игры низкий бюджет, это чувствуется, но геймплейно она лучше того, что есть в главной линейке игр Final Fantasy. Хорошая хардкорная боевка и возможность собирать разные билды, в то время как 15 и ремейк 7 финалки супер казуальные, в которых интересно драться только с ультимативными боссами.

    Если бы этой игре дали бюджет, как фф 16, то я уверен, она бы ее укатала без проблем.
  26. delaware80
    Sep 13, 2022
    7
    + Great story telling
    + Fantastic combat system
    + Amazing soundtrack
    + Nice graphics

    BIG WEAKNESS: Poorly worked out level design: there is no mini map and therefore it is easy to loose your level target. Beside the boss fights the level design is very monotonous.
  27. KinimodYunmi
    May 1, 2023
    8
    Das Spiel macht Spaß und die Story ist schon echt gut.

    Es sieht zwar nach einem deutlich älterem Spiel aus, das macht aber gar nicht, da das Gameplay wirklich Laune macht. Die Story- und Nebenmissionen, selbst wenn man welche vergisst und die Storymissionen dafür nochmal abläuft, sind in ca 20 Stunden erledigt. Das ist dann doch recht kurz und der Endgamekontent macht mir zumindest    Das Spiel macht Spaß und die Story ist schon echt gut.

    Es sieht zwar nach einem deutlich älterem Spiel aus, das macht aber gar nicht, da das Gameplay wirklich Laune macht. Die Story- und Nebenmissionen, selbst wenn man welche vergisst und die Storymissionen dafür nochmal abläuft, sind in ca 20 Stunden erledigt. Das ist dann doch recht kurz und der Endgamekontent macht mir zumindest keinen Spaß. Man kann nur die Level nochmal spielen, hat man vorher auf einem der ersten beiden Schwierigkeitsgrade gespielt, bringt es auch nichts die letzte Mission auf dem 3. Grad - Schwer zu machen, da deine Stufe an deiner Ausrüstung liegt. Nach der Story schaltet man den 4. Grad - Chaos frei und auf dem ist es echt nach kurzer Zeit einfach viel zu hart.

    Das Frage, ob sich der Season Pass oder DLC lohnt konnte ich mir selbst noch nicht beantworten.
    15 € und dann komme ich ab der 2. Mission vielleicht schon gar nicht weiter oder habe nicht mal die benötigte Ausrüstung um das 1. Level starten zu können?    … Expand
  28. juniortiger
    May 17, 2023
    10
    You need check game out one the best game and lot action game and excellent graphic and good music and good daY

Awards & Rankings

80
#80 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 23, 2024
    80
    Do you like fast action games? Go for it. Do you like Final Fantasy? Go for it, but be patient. Do you enjoy JRPG-style co-op action? Don't hesitate. It has its flaws, but within the FF family of spin-offs, it's one of the best games across platforms. [Issue#327]
  2. The Mako Reactor
    May 15, 2023
    80
    A year later, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin on PC is a great game held back by technical issues. The game itself has excellent combat, variety, brilliant music, and a lot of heart. Stranger of Paradise and Theatrhythm Final Bar Line are my current favorite Final Fantasy spin-off games, and I hope to see the former improve through potential updates on PC.
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  3. Hey Poor Player
    May 3, 2023
    70
    There’s no denying that Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin has its unintentionally awkward moments when it comes to the story, but at its core it’s a solid experience from both a gameplay standpoint and in terms of how it links back to the entire Final Fantasy universe. In fact, fans of the franchise will certainly be blindsided by nostalgia when it comes to music and settings, so I encourage newcomers to the series to try a few of the mainline entries first if they want to get the most out of this one. As for me, I found myself enjoying Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin in the same way that I enjoyed Final Fantasy X-2: preferring combat to story. Simply put, as long as you set your expectations accordingly, you’ll have a good time.
    Read full review
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