Since its announcement during E3 2021, Team Ninja’s Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy origin was a hotbed for shitposts and memes. These memes mainly contain contextless scenes of the protagonist Jack Garland music tastes good and his unbridled obsession with Kill Chaos.
Before starting the third demo of the game, I was under the impression that Stranger of ParadiseThe awkward dialogue and tone of was an internet exaggeration and that the actual game, as seen in this latest demo, would be more muted. I was wrong. The same bizarre tone is in full effect and Stranger of Paradise develops the funniest final fantasy game I’ve ever played.
The plot of Stranger of Paradise picks up on the very first one from 1987 final fantasy Play with the world in, ahem, chaos after the four elemental crystals that keep it balanced fall into darkness. A prophecy in the kingdom of Cornelia predicts four warriors of light who will save the world from darkness, and Jack Garland, who was drawn from another world, may be one of them. Stranger of Paradise‘s premise seems like standard fantasy, but when you play it you’ll notice how the game veers into absurd tonal shifts between scenes, up to and including a sitcom-like dynamic in Jack’s Party.
The demo’s opening scenes sum it up perfectly Stranger of Paradisehis bizarre tone. the opening film begins in a dark castle bathed in the light of a thunderstorm as a legion of guards are gutted by a towering knight, who then kidnaps a princess. The demo then jumps into the beginning of a boss fight between Jack’s group and a multi-headed dragon set in some kind of factory.
Everything so far very grimdark high fantasy, but then a pre-combat tutorial cutscene hit me with this tonal whiplash. The scene begins with Jack walking across a seemingly endless prairie, accompanied by an in-game rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” exit trailer. The scene’s music selection, which felt like a YouTube fanedit had somehow made its way onto my screen, left me flabbergasted, especially given the foreboding opening cinematic just before. But far from putting me out of the game, this fueled my desire to find out what other cringe shit is out there Stranger of Paradise has in stock.
Another major source of those delicious chills is the interactions between Jack and his party. When first introduced, Jed, Jack, and Ash give each other stiff grunts before displaying their crystals, essentially cool, vibrating rocks, like schoolchildren. After discovering that they’re all on the same mission to fix the crystals and kill Chaos, they engage in a stupid three-way punch and become instant best friends.
Regarding personalities each acts as the lighthearted prankster of the party while I watch ash than that of the team Barrettnot just because he’s black, but because he’s a thug with a heart of gold. neonHe serves as an opponent, who completes the party early in the game. Jack, a man of few words and lots of grunts, reminds me of RE6-era Chris Redfield, with his bulky, awkward presence and stilted lines. Replace Chris’ alcoholism with a fever of killing chaos and the two are essentially twins.
Jack really, really can’t let go of the chaos thing. Every time he opens his mouth, nine times out of ten, to express how thirsty he is to kill Chaos. Before the group embarks on their journey, Jack goes so far as to compare his quest to defeat Chaos to an insatiable hunger or thirst. His party, on the other hand, either ignores him completely, plays with his endless tirades like a drunk they don’t want to upset, or questions whether their supposed mission is even possible.
At one point, Jack calls saying no bullshit, leading to the infamous cutscene where he storms out of the castle and numetal music blares from his phone. Now that you’ve played the game, the scene is even funnier because it switches to the party walking out of the castle’s entrance while Jack is still playing the same song, implying he’s all the way back to the entrance ignored one of the longest levels of the demo.
When someone tentatively says, “Yeah, we’re still busy fixing those crystals or whatever, but you need to calm down with all that messy stuff,” does Jack back down? Absolutely not. His reply is equivalent to a toddler saying “nuh-uh,” expressing my amusement at his antics, which turned into unironic pity. This guy needs more than killing chaos, he needs a therapist.
Don’t give you the wrong impression, between the wild storytelling there is real gameplay and I’m loving it so far. Combat has a good flow, as you’d expect from Team Ninja, and some fun skills keep it airy. Jack has a charged form called Lightbringer that makes clearing out a crowd of enemies a breeze. A mechanic called Soul Burst allows you to regain MP from stunned enemies and turn them into red geodes before they explode with a satisfying bang. Soul Shields require careful timing, knocking back enemies and letting you keep whining on them. Projectile reflections are also included. This robust moveset, along with a cavalcade of easily swappable weapons and jobs, got my mind racing with party build opportunities to experiment with.
While I’m on the fence, ob Stranger of Paradise‘s humor is entirely intentional, I walked away feeling a lot more compelled to watch the last game. While its real-time combat system effectively scratched my itch for crisp skill-based combat, it was overshadowed by my desire to find out if Jack’s belief in (and killing?) Chaos will ever come to fruition. That’s partly due to a need for some sort of closure after listening to every damn conversation he babbles on about this unique topic, but also a burning curiosity about what this madman will do if he’s proven right. I believe in you, Jack, even if you listen to Limp Bizkit.
Stranger of Paradise Slated for release on March 18th on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC via the Epic Games Store.
