Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

The developers behind Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin talk combat, jobs, and going all-out action

STRANGER OF PARADISE: FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN

FORMAT PS5, PS4 /

ETA 18 MAR /

PUB SQUARE ENIX

DEV TEAM NINJA /

PLAYERS 1-3

The Bomb hurls an orb of Fire our way. Hitting , we activate Soul Shield to absorb the power. Brushing off the attack gives us a window to leap forward with a twirl of our daggers and stagger the enemy, then take the orb into our hands with a finishing move, turning it into crystal and smashing it into pieces. Without breaking stride we use the Fire from the Bomb to set a nearby Goblin alight. Then we do it all over again.

You may have seen jokes about Stranger Of Paradise going around online, but don’t let those fool you – it’s a joy to play. Okay, the story might be a little melodramatic (though tongue-in-cheek) but we’ve spent several hours with some early PS5 builds of the game, and in action it’s as satisfying as anything Team Ninja has made before. As the studio was responsible for both Ninja Gaiden and Nioh, two of the best action series around (we gave the recent Nioh 2 a well-deserved 9/10), that’s no surprise, and our fingers are itching to get more involved. What other Final Fantasy game has you on the edge of your seat parrying aggressively into enemy attacks, exchanging lightning-fast blows?

LEVEL UP

Some of the classic areas that are getting a Stranger makeover

01. FLYING FORTRESS