Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 3

Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive #3

by Square Enix

The journey through the creation of the groundbreaking video games continues with this volume, featuring hundreds of pieces of concept art, design notes, and creator retrospectives from the original team behind the making of Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy XIV.

Art, commentary, and lore from a transformative era in the indispensable role-playing franchise, collected in a beautifully printed 300-plus-page hardcover. Foray into one of gaming's most iconic properties, exploring beautiful art and incisive commentary behind five of the most memorable entries in the Final Fantasy saga.

Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 3 authentically translates original Japanese source material to present unparalleled access for a Western audience. This incredible tome is a must-have addition to any Final Fantasy enthusiast's collection.

Genres: Art, Video Games, Reference, Fantasy, Games, Gaming

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 11, 2019

About the author

Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社スクウェア・エニックス・ホールディングス) TYO: 9684 is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series. Its headquarters are located in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Reviews

[Ben Truong · Rating 5 out of 5]

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Final Fantasy (2012), Square Enix in conjecture with Dark Horse had released the Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive, a three-volume set, chronicling all the main titles of Final Fantasy to date (Final Fantasy I–XIV). It has finally been translated into English with the third volume collecting the last five games covers in the series (Final Fantasy X–XIV).

Full Disclosure: I am a tremendous aficionado of the Final Fantasy series since when it made it across the shores to North America in 1990. I have been a major fan ever since and each successive Final Fantasy was an instabuy for me – it even determined which console I would buy would eventually buy so I could play the game. Therefore, this review would have that fanboy bias, but just because it is severely biased, it does not mean that the review is not true.

Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive, Volume 3 is a collection of original concept art, process pieces, and notes from the original artists and designers chronicling the last five installments in such a timeless and beloved franchised. It has an overview of the plot for each series archived with useful character bios and other lore that is essential to Final Fantasy – in short, it is an excellent reference book for any Final Fantasy fanatic.

All in all, Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive, Volume 3 is a beautiful tome of art, lore, and history that is the wonderful franchise of Final Fantasy.

[Jared Delcamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as the prior two.

[Persy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cool to look at for sure, but not my favorite art book. There isn’t any behind the scenes commentary, it’s mostly just character stills (which are gorgeous) with little blurbs about them and small sections devoted to scenery and such. Pretty, but as a die hard Final Fantasy fan I don’t think it necessarily added anything to my being.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the current final installment of the Final Fantasy beautifully made guide. My three stars is not for the presentation, this is a BEAUTIFUL book with wonderful artwork and tons of information. It contains Final Fantasy 10, a game I enjoy, Final Fantasy 11, an MMORPG I've never played, Final Fantasy 12, a game I like, 13, a game I never finished and 14, a game I also never have played. So thus, I can't give this too high of a rating.

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

FFVIX only got a total of 12 pages! Would have been a five star if they had taken the time to showcase the colossal amount of art that exists for Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI. The no love for the online games results in the no love for the book.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 1 out of 5]

"And I've been telling Yuna—'Let's go to Zanarkand together!' 'Let's beat Sin!' I told her all the things...we could...we could...and all along the whole time, I didn't know anything! But Yuna, she'd…just smile."

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

12 pages of FFXIV...it just seems lazy. Everything else is amazing