Here’s a first look at Team Ninja’s Final Fantasy spin-off Stranger of Paradise • Eurogamer.net

Back in May, rumours began circulating that Square Enix was collaborating with Nioh developer Team Ninja on an action-focussed Final Fantasy spin-off titled Final Fantasy Origin. Well, it turns out those rumours weren’t far off at all! Square has now officially unveiled Team Ninja’s action-RPG Final Fantasy spin-off, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins.

Stranger of Paradise follows a band of adventurers who, as the trailer repeatedly reminds us, want to kill chaos. Or at least stab it in the face a few times until its head pops off. “Jack and his allies, Ash and Jed, burn with resolve to defeat Chaos as they throw open the gates to the Chaos Shrine,” Square elaborates in its announcement, “Yet doubts remain-are they truly the Warriors of Light the prophecy foretold?”.

May’s rumours suggested the game would slot into the action sub-genre occupied by the likes of Team Ninja’s Nioh games and From Software’s Souls series, albeit with a more accessible focus, and today’s reveal appears to support that. Square is promising “exhilarating, action-packed battles” against iconic Final Fantasy monsters in a “world of dark fantasy”.

“While it is Final Fantasy, it feels different – but there’s no doubt that the blood of Final Fantasy runs through its veins,” explains creative producer Tetsuya Nomura. “We’ve undertaken the challenge of finding this difficult middle ground for this mature and stylish title.”

One area where those earlier rumours got it wrong, however, is platforms. While the game was originally reported to be a console exclusive on PS5 with a PC release to follow, Square has now confirmed Stranger of Paradise will be making its way to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in 2024.

PlayStation 5 owners do get a bit of an exclusive treat, however; a PS5-only trial version of the game will be available to download on the PlayStaton Store from today, 13th June, enabling players to engage in battles “using powerful spells and abilities from a sample of jobs including warrior, dragoon and black mage”. It’ll remain accessible until June 24th, 2024.