Final Fantasy Goes on Sale

Exactly one month after the MD's release.

Final Fantasy, the first true RPG masterpiece for Sega consoles, has finally been officially placed on the shelves of major game retail stores.

This was another crucial battle in rapidly increasing the number of MD installations.

The outcome of this battle was even better than everyone's most optimistic expectations.

During the first week of the game's release, thanks to the relentless promotional campaign by Sega and Square, almost all the first batch of Mega Drive buyers brought Final Fantasy home without hesitation.

Initial sales figures were impressive, but still within Sega's Marketing Department's expectations.

The real tipping point occurred a week after the release.

Once the first batch of players completed or thoroughly experienced the game, a terrifying tsunami of word-of-mouth swept fiercely upwards from the bottom of the player community.

"Is this for real? The full-screen illustration at the beginning made me think I was watching an animated movie!"

"The music is amazing! Will they release a game soundtrack album? I'd buy it if they did!"

"I can freely change jobs! My white mage no longer has to be a healer forever. Later on, I can change jobs to a red mage, who's both cool and powerful!"

"This is the real adventure! Traveling around the world in an airship, exploring hidden caves and temples, I truly feel like a warrior of light!"

Players who were tired of linear narratives and fixed class systems like Dragon Quest felt like they had discovered a new world.

They never imagined that an RPG could have such free gameplay, such a three-dimensional world, and such an immersive, cinematic narrative.

The peak of this trend was the latest Famitsu rating.

On the white-background, red-letter magazine cover, the rating for Final Fantasy was prominently displayed.

(9/9/9/9)

Total score: 36 points.

Platinum Hall of Fame!

The news sent shockwaves through the entire Japan gaming industry.

After a week of gradual decline, the daily sales curve of Final Fantasy has suddenly risen again, drawing a steeper growth line.

In the conference room of the Sales Department at Sega Headquarters, even the aroma of coffee seemed to carry the scent of victory Sales Department manager had just finished explaining the sales figures and stepped down from the podium when the Marketing Department manager, Masao Suzuki, immediately went up to the podium in front of the projection screen.

He pointed to the steeply rising red curve on the screen.

"Everyone, I won't go into the sales figures in detail; let's look at the specific analysis."

"With the support of Famitsu's Platinum Hall of Fame, our daily sales have surpassed those of the first week!"

In the conference room, the executives who had previously held reservations about the RPG strategy and came from the Arcade Division were still focused on the sales figures reported by the Sales Department. Their eyes were glued to the sales data, their expressions filled with disbelief.

Suzuki switched to the next slide, which showed a sales analysis of the Mega Drive console.

"And here's the crucial point! Over 70% of recent Mega Drive buyers also purchased Final Fantasy!"

"This means that players are choosing to buy our consoles specifically for this game!"

Therefore, we can conclude that in a market like Japan, where core gamers are extremely fond of RPGs, an excellent RPG...

It can effectively boost console sales.

These words were powerful and decisive, completely shattering the last shred of doubt in the conference room.

All eyes instinctively turned to the young man sitting in the main seat, who had remained calm throughout.

Nakayama Takuya.

He tapped the table lightly, and the conference room fell silent instantly.

"Very good."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable power.

"Public relations department, adjust your strategy immediately. Print Famitsu's review and player testimonials on every single character!"

He paused for a moment, his sharp gaze sweeping across the entire room.

But this is just the beginning.

The projection screen switched again, displaying a futuristic sci-fi character design against a backdrop of a vast starry sky.

"The development of Phantasy Star, spearheaded by Mr. Yuji Naka, is nearing completion."

"We must press our advantage and use one top-tier RPG after another to make players realize that buying a Mega Drive and playing RPGs is a perfectly reasonable thing to do."

Meanwhile, in Square's office, the scene was completely different.

The seriousness of the meeting here is nothing but blissful chaos.

In stark contrast to the predicament of not being able to pay salaries six months ago, the office is now filled with the sounds of telephones ringing, fax machines working, and employees excitedly discussing.

The thank-you notes from players poured in like snowflakes, almost filling an entire table.

Producer Sakaguchi Hironobu is carefully opening a letter. On the letter is a child's drawing of four warriors of light in childish handwriting.

The letter read, "Thank you, Mr. Sakaguchi. This is the best game I've ever played."

Sakaguchi Hironobu's eyes felt slightly warm.

The despair of burning one's bridges and gambling everything that I felt back then has transformed into the purest sense of accomplishment at this moment.

"Sakaguchi!"

President Miyamoto Masashi rushed over excitedly and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"The cassette tape factory just called back! The first batch of expedited production will be ready to ship the day after tomorrow!"

His smile was as bright as a blooming Sunflower.

"We don't have to wait months, at the mercy of Nintendo, for orders of tens of thousands of cartridges like we used to!"

"Sega's policy is fantastic! We can decide our own production quantities and meet market demand immediately!"

These words drew cheers from the surrounding developers.

They had long been fed up with the humiliation of being strangled by Nintendo's unfair terms and conditions.

Now, they finally understand what "autonomy" means.

Miyamoto Masashi gestured for everyone to quiet down, then leaned close to Sakaguchi's ear and spoke in a tone that was both encouraging and suggestive:

"The board is very satisfied with the results."

"They want us to start the Final Fantasy 1 project as soon as possible."

Sakaguchi Hironobu's smile froze almost imperceptibly for a moment after hearing those words.

He glanced at the well-worn Famitsu on the table, looking at the four big words "Platinum Hall of Fame" on it, and then at the excited expressions on the faces of his colleagues around him.

Amidst immense joy, an unprecedented pressure quietly surged into my heart like a tide.

The freedom and innovation of the previous work have been regarded as a benchmark.

How can a sequel surpass it?

Outside a game retail store in Akihabara.

A huge promotional poster for Final Fantasy was displayed in the most prominent position, and the Crystal Tower glittered in the setting sun.

But beneath the poster, the shelves were completely empty.

A handwritten sign hung there, the handwriting messy but eye-catching. "Final Fantasy Sold Out! Pre-orders accepted, next batch expected in three days!"

This situation of "cards being hard to come by" has not dampened players' enthusiasm; on the contrary, it has acted as a catalyst, keeping the topic of the game buzzing.

This phenomenon, dubbed the "FF Whirlwind," naturally also swept into the camps of its competitors.

Kyoto, Nintendo Headquarters.

A detailed report on the market performance of Final Fantasy lies quietly on Genyo Takeda's desk.

The report not only contained astonishing sales figures and a glaring 36-point score from Famitsu, but also a line of key information that was specially highlighted.

Square expects to replenish its stock within three days after the initial batch sells out.

Three days?

This number served as a wake-up call for him.

As the person in charge of overall production, he knew very well that in Nintendo's cartridge production and sales system, it would take at least half a month from placing an order to scheduling production and shipping a cartridge.

This is determined by Nintendo's royalty system, a scepter used to control all third-party developers, but now it has become Sega's lever to pry open its throne.

What made him even more uneasy was a rumor that had just come from Tokyo.

It is said that several established RPG developers who originally only developed games for the Famicom have privately contacted Sega.

The inquiry concerned the details of the MD development kit.

This rumor, which is both true and false, is like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating unpredictable ripples in Nintendo's third-party camp.

A storm is brewing.

At the heart of this storm, a lengthy article of over 10,000 words, written by a veteran game critic, was published in a mainstream game magazine.

The article provides an in-depth analysis of the success of Final Fantasy.

"It revolutionized our understanding of RPGs. 'Job freedom' gave players unprecedented enjoyment in character development; 'three-dimensional exploration' meant the world was no longer a flat map; and 'cinematic storytelling' elevated the narrative power of video games to a whole new level."

"When Nobuo Uematsu's epic score begins, we know that a new era of fantasy has arrived."

This article, revered by countless players, is considered the definitive source of knowledge, and serves as the final crowning achievement for Final Fantasy's status as a "masterpiece."