Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 1 by Yoshitaka Amano

Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 1 Reviews

• 
  Jorge Luis

  Ultiman archive es una maravilla para los coleccionistas y fanáticos de Final Fantasy, aquellos que han jugado las primeras 6 entregas podrán disfrutar con este libro sobre el arte y desarrollo que tuvieron.
• 
  Oliver

  The first volume on this trio collects Final Fantasy games 1-6 and is filled with art, character descriptions, maps, and everything connected to the games. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I was a big fan of the early ones but I only have a connection with the sixth entry so a lot of this volume was sort of cool but didn't really speak to me on a deeper level. It was cool so see the series progress though. I loved the design documents section for each game as it included notes and information from the actual development phase. While I am feeling a little lukewarm on this volume, then the next two are filled with games I have a deep connection with so I expect to like them much more.
• 
  Lorenzo

  This first volume of the Final Fantasy Ultimania Archives is an incredible collection of stuff concerning the first six numbered entries in the not-very-aptly named RPG series, and I greatly enjoyed going through the archives to learn more about them. Some of them are my favourites in the series (IV and VI), some of them are my least favourite (III), but all are incredible in some way or another.
  
  This archive, then, is a mix of various things. It has some workings of an encyclopaedia, though the information about the games and their characters don't cut very deep. In this respect it's mostly limited to a synopsis and some short character biographies, complemented by the gorgeous character and concept artwork by Yoshitaka Amano. This is accompanied by even more art, showcasing the world and monsters of the games.
  
  The parts of the book that had me interested the most were the Extra Content sections. These sections went into things like ideas from the early planning stages, storyboards, and sprites. Outside of the upcoming
  FF Dot: The Pixel Art of Final Fantasy, this book probably contains the most Final Fantasy sprites available in an English book. For games with a heavy emphasis on character customisation (and costume-isation!) like Final Fantasy III and V, this is a great thing, and had me poring over the initial designs and their final looks, going back and forth through the different games to compare job class designs between instalments.
  
  Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive volume 1 works great as a book to go through in order, as well as a tome you can pick up and leaf through at random. This works out very well for people who have a deep-rooted interest in the series and those who have a more general interest in the games both, and definitely deserves a spot in the Video Game section of anyone's book collection.
• 
  Sean

  A creative retrospective on the first six Final Fantasy games, spanning the series’ rudimentary debut on the old 8-bit Famicom to its early apex on the SNES. Stuffed full of Yoshitaka Amano originals, everything from quick-and-silly chibi sketches to breathtaking finished masterpieces, it’s an eye-opening document that shows just how much of the old master’s work actually made it into the end result.
  
  The surprising answer: quite a lot! Between the games’ various remasters and re-releases, I’d seen many of the better-known pieces before, but chalked those up as stylish doses of inspiration with only a fleeting influence on the final product. And, while the heroes do bear very little resemblance to those seen in his sweeping, fantastical visualizations, that hardly tells the whole tale. In fact, Amano was also quite deeply involved with designing the random monsters and foils routinely encountered by players, and Squaresoft’s digital artists really pushed the hardware to accurately translate his work to the screen. Very enlightening to see the two presented side-by-side, especially for the goofier monsters that I’d always considered at-odds with Amano’s gracefully ethereal style.
• 
  Thomas

  This was nostalgia for my childhood, teenage years, and early twenties all rolled into one slick package.
  
  I first saw Final Fantasy IV (II) at my cousin's when he was playing it. I didn't care for it, I was much more impressed by Super Star Wars and Super Mario World.
  
  Three years later, I played Chrono Trigger. It blew my mind. I soon got Final Fantasy VI (III) and also managed to get a used copy of IV as a gift next Christmas. I was hooked on RPGs.
  
  This book looks back at the story, systems, and behind the scenes development of the first six Final Fantasy games. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes information, there are design documents that I didn't even know still existed to be scanned in or translated. It was that content that I loved the most in this volume. The artwork by Yoshitaka Amano is stunning as always, but I have a few of his art books so that was not the draw for me here that it is for some other readers.
  
  Definitely worth a read if you want a trip down memory lane, or want to know more about video game history.
• 
  Adriana

  A great encyclopedia of the first six Final Fantasy games and all the little elements that make them unique and fascinating.
  The best part of the book is that it includes production notes and guides and just general production pieces that I'd never seen before. It really does give an ultimate view of the elements and work that goes into creating the games.
  My one gripe would be that it doesn't really have a lot of art. I know that it's not an art book, but when you have Yoshitaka Amano and all the amazing illustrators that have worked with Square over the years doing pieces for your games, you HAVE to share them.
• 
  Bill

  The first six video games in the "Final Fantasy" series have been remade, revised, and re-released many times over the years, and this wonderful visual guide explores the art, design, characters, and memorable elements of each game. I was particularly interested in seeing the concept art for the characters and monsters, and the design documents at the end of each section show the thought that went into these games -- including elements left out or changed. Interesting from a game design perspective, I would imagine this is much less interesting volume to someone who hasn't played at least a few of the games before.
• 
  Brian

  This is a must read for any fan of Final Fantasy, in particular the classic game. The book covers the first 6 games in the Final Fantasy series in depth. Each section includes character character, bios of the main and secondary characters, artwork for the monsters, memorable lines and moments and some extra content. The book is just a breathtaking display of the amazing artwork that goes into the games. I gave this 5 star for the overall quality; I have to admit that I really love Final Fantasys 4 and 6 the best so those sections were my favorite but all of the games received equal love.
• 
  Lexi

  This book was sitting on my cart at work so it took me a long time to get through. Anywho, this was a fabulous treasure trove of the concept art and original scenarios behind Final Fantasy games I-VI. I haven't played III or IV yet, so I glossed over those sections to avoid spoilers. It was fun revisiting games I hadn't played in a while (I & II) and also getting a more in-depth look at some that I finished recently (V & VI). For example, I didn't realise that Relm was supposed to be Shadow's kid! Consider my mind blown!
• 
  Brandy

  Very cool book for someone who grew up with these games (back when IV was FF2 and VI was FF3...) and enjoyed seeing some of the rarer artwork and assets. My one complaint, however, is that it's a massive coffee-table tome, heavy, and hard to support comfortably to read. Even given that size, especially given the sheer amount of information crammed in, even someone only in their late 30's has a verrrrry hard time reading some of the tinier details, like the recreated pages of scenario planning notes... :< Need a reallllly good magnifying glass...
• 
  Steve Davala

  Very cool. I've never played the original 6 games, I started off in 96 with FF7 (and now I'm playing the remake!)
  Thought I'd go back in time and read about some of the characters, locations, stories, etc.
  Very interesting. Some convoluted storylines, creative characters, fun villains...
  
  But seeing original concept art for characters, as well as sprite models for them all, and maps, and wow there's a lot.
  
  Makes me wish I had taken the video game creation path a long time ago!
• 
  David Garrett jr

  I grew up on RPGs for the Super Nintendo. I knew of Final Fantasy but it wasn’t until my cousin invited me over and we played FFVII all summer. It is still my favorite game of all time. Since then I’ve played a d beaten all of these ones that I could find before it. This is a fun book to learn more about each game’s story, characters and behind the scenes stuff as well. This is definitely a fun companion book to fans kf the series.
• 
  Raymond

  The main draw here is the vast collection of artwork and design from Final Fantasy I-VI put out in such a large and luxurious tome. As information goes there is nothing new to learn if you're familiar with the games from before. I expected to find more interviews and behind the scenes insights on the development of these games.
• 
  Reichen

  As a Final Fantasy fan, especially the first six titles, this Ultimania is a must have for me! From Amano works to game develop, this book has it all (I especially love the "behind-the-scenes" parts). I got some chuckles on the memorable pages on each series. This is translated and written by a fan for a fan. Definitely will buy the next second volumes
• 
  Nicole Westen

  This made me want to play the original games. I really didn't know much about the earlier games, considering the first two Final Fantasy games I was exposed to, once I was old enough to be interested, were X and X-2. What's nice, though, is that all the early games are re-released as downloads.
• 
  Travis

  This volume was such a cool trip into Final Fantasy history. These games are classics and the content of this book brought many aspects of the game's origins to light. Great book for fans of the franchise.
• 
  Stacey Chancellor

  As a long time Final Fantasy fan, I adored this.
• 
  Joe

  While not spoiler-free, it keeps enough of the stories of each game as nebulous as possible while remaining as good a jog down one of the dorkiest chapters of my life I can remember.
• 
  Galen Wilson

  A bit disappointed. Beautiful artwork but the text offers no insight at all; it is pure member berries.
• 
  Heidi

  Very thorough. Brought back so many good memories!
• 
  Jordan Hughes

  Phenomenal artwork.
• 
  Brenda Lower

  Loved seeing all the inspirational art for these games. Fantastically beautiful book!