Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals, released in Japan as Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー), is an anime OVA based on the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was released in Japan in 1994[1] and distributed by Urban Vision across two volumes in 1997 and 1998 in North America on VHS. Urban Vision has since lost the distribution license and to date the series hasn't been released in any other format, such as Blu-ray, following its initial video release.

Legend of the Crystals takes place 200 years after the events of Final Fantasy V.[2] It is divided into four thirty-minute OVA episodes spanning two VHS tapes.

Plot

The story takes place in the same world as Final Fantasy V, named Planet R, set two hundred years in the future, where three of the four crystals have been stolen.

Reception

In the 1990s, the anime received positive reviews from critics. Shidoshi of GameFan magazine gave it an A rating in May 1998, stating it was one of "the finest anime I've seen in quite" a while. The reviewer ranked it the best anime of the month, above several episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion reviewed that same month.[11] The same year, Charles McCarter of EX praised Legend of the Crystals heavily, noting the similarity to Square's existing characters helped lend credence to the Final Fantasy title. He additionally noted, with exception to the backgrounds, the animation was good, and the dubbed voices for the English version were believable, notably Linally's and Prettz's, and added "Final Fantasy provides a good balance of action, adventure, and just enough humour to make the characters personable".[12]

Retrospective

Retrospectively, the OVA has received a mixed reception.[13] Adam Arnold of Animefringe criticized it as one of several failed attempts to translate Final Fantasy to film, calling it a "lacklustre and drawn-out retelling of Final Fantasy V".[14] Sam Yu of THEM Anime Reviews rated it 1 out of 5 stars and called it "a cruel mockery of all Final Fantasy stands for", citing it as basing the storyline off the "weakest" title in the series, and citing the finale as anticlimactic and the villain disappointing.[15] Ramsey Isler of IGN later described it as notable for being the first sequel to a Final Fantasy title, but noted that it "did not become a favourite addition to the Final Fantasy Legacy", citing its animation as "nothing special" and noting its reliance on comedy over dramatic story telling.[16] Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku called the film "a mess" for its un-Final Fantasy aesthetic and fan service.[17]

Other critics were more positive. GameSpot staff described it as a worthy adaptation of the series, and noted while the animation was "somewhat simple", the story was immersive and praised it for not meandering to include all aspects of the game.[18]

type	ova
director	Rintaro (series director) Naoto Kanda (#2) Tomohiko Ohkuda (#3)
producer	Tetsuo Daitoku Yūji Takae Yojirō Shirakawa
writer	Satoru Akahori
music	Masahiko Sato
studio	Madhouse
first	March 21, 1994
last	July 21, 1994
runtime	30 minutes each
episodes	4
episode list	#Episodes

Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals

Plot

Characters

Production

Episodes

Reception

Retrospective

See also

References

Plot

Characters

Production

Episodes

Related media

Reception

Retrospective

See also

References