5 WTF Moments From The Final Fantasy Series

Final Fantasy is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time and has been hugely influential within the industry, inspiring an entire generation of role-playing games across a wide range of consoles. Despite its popularity though, the series has always divided fans. For every player who dresses up as a moogle in their parents' basement indoors, there's another who balks at the turn-based gameplay and bizarre anime-inspired characters. Whether you love Final Fantasy or not though, it's hard to deny that the series has had its fair share of hilarious WTF moments over its twenty-seven years. Some of these could be attributed to cultural differences between the East and the West, but that excuse only takes us so far. Some of the more extreme moments in the franchise seem like they would be considered freaky to even the Japanese gamers that Final Fantasy is primarily aimed at. With the release of Final Fantasy XV on the horizon, now is a good time to look back at the franchise as a whole and celebrate the wackiest, most bizarre WTF moments that the developers have ever devised. There were plenty to choose from, but the following moments in particular remained in our minds the most long after we were done playing the games. 5) Random Slutty Dancing Girls (FFIV) Final Fantasy is known for sprawling, epic storylines that literally span the entire world, following the journey of the central characters as they battle the forces of evil. Along the way though, the group inevitably stops off in a handful of small towns to stock up on supplies, buy marginally better weapons and magically heal by sleeping at the local inn. The developers need to find a way to make each of these random stops unique and interesting enough to maintain interest in between the larger-scale events, so sometimes quirky characters make the occasional appearance. Final Fantasy IV takes this to a whole new level though, randomly throwing in slutty dancing girls who perform for the protagonist Cecil at regular intervals and pop up out of nowhere. Each dance has literally no bearing on the story in any way, but the devs still felt it necessary to include them. The first time you come across one of these characters is a WTF moment which is surpassed only by the second or third time they appear. Where the hell do they keep coming from? Misogynist perversion, or a a funny distraction? You decide! 4) Catching Frogs (FFIX) Many of the more unusual characters in Final Fantasy are also cute in their own unique way. For example, Little Vivi from Final Fantasy IX may not have any facial features, but his small stature and lack of speech make him rather endearing somehow... and then there's Quina Quen. Quite simply put, Quina is one of the freakiest characters ever conjured up by the Final Fantasy design team. The large white creature has no apparent gender and is easily identified by its ginormous red tongue and poor language skills. To top it all off, s/he wears a pink apron and a chef's hat at all times. After Quina joins the party, it quickly becomes apparent that this thing is more interested in trying different cuisines than saving the world. While the rest of the team use swords and daggers to battle their various enemies, Quina uses forks as weapons. As if this wasn't odd enough, the extent of Quina's strangeness doesn't really sink in until the player encounters s/he's mini-game challenge: catching frogs. By visiting certain marshes and grabbing as many amphibians as possible, Quina collects special items and can eventually acquire his/her ultimate weapon by finding 99 frogs and defeating his/her mentor, Quale. Twenty-five minutes or so of constant frog catching eventually nets you the Gastro Fork, a prized possession among the Qu race. Is it worth it? Check out the clip below and judge for yourself. 3) Tidus And Yuna Laugh Like Deranged Serial Killers (FFX) As the first Final Fantasy released on PS2, FFX hit a number of milestones for the franchise. The PS2 exclusive was the first Final Fantasy to feature linear progression, 3D environments and was even the first to produce a direct sequel that featured the same characters occupying the same world. However, one of the most significant changes that FFX brought to the franchise is the addition of voice acting, which helped bring the character's personalities to life. Most critics at the time of FFX's release reported that the acting was a success overall, although one scene in particular has since become renowned for some of the worst voice acting ever heard in a game. Yep, you guessed it! We're talking about the scene where Yuna reveals to Tidus that she learned to practice smiling when feeling sad. To make her feel better, Tidus attempts a fake smile and and laughs out loud, before eventually losing it completely and cackling like a child high on crack on Christmas morning. Yuna tells him to stop at first, but eventually joins in, maniacally laughing alongside Tidus. The premise of the scene is actually rather sweet, as the pair take a moment to let loose and be happy with one another, briefly ignoring the severity of their overall situation. Unfortunately, horrendous voice acting transforms this lovely cut-scene into a WTF moment almost unrivaled in the franchise. Almost... 2. Deadly Green Hermits (Multiple Titles) The worlds contained within each Final Fantasy are host to a huge number of strange, unusual creatures, some of which pop up in more than one title, but aside from the cute Moogles, the ones that stand out the most are the Tonberries. First appearing in Final Fantasy V, the Tonberry has since become an enemy to dread, despite not being featured as one of the game's main bosses. In fact, the Tonberries may look creepy as hell, but they don't look particularly deadly compared to the other creatures who inhabit the Final Fantasy titles. To underestimate them is the players downfall though, as the Tonberry is one of the most dangerous enemies in the entire franchise. With a lantern in hand, the Tonberry will gradually move nearer and nearer to your party until they suddenly pull out a knife and casually stab one of your team members, knocking off huge amounts of health in one quick attack. What makes the little critters so damn shocking is the callous way they slowly creep towards you and then just pull out a knife with no emotion on their face. The first time this happens to you is a bizarre experience which shocks and outrages in equal measure. Whoever first designed the Tonberries is one messed up son of a bitch. 1. Cloud's Shenanigans In The Honeybee Inn (FFVII) The number one spot on this list belongs to a scene taken from what many consider to be the best Final Fantasy game ever released. The critical and commercial success of FFVII helped popularize role-playing games in the West and due to numerous re-releases on different platforms, the game has since become the best selling installment of the entire franchise. Winning numerous game of the year awards at the time of its release, FFVII is still held in high regard for its innovative gameplay and powerful storyline, which reduced a number of gamers to tears after the death of one of its principal characters. Aside from that pivotal moment, one scene that shocked players more than any other is the Honeybee Inn sequence, where Cloud had to dress up as a woman to infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion and rescue his companion, Tifa. This unusual instance of cross-dressing alone would warrant a place on this list, but something far more disturbing happens as Cloud gathers the materials needed to transform into a woman. Players who explored every area of this brothel eventually stumbled across a 'group room' where a number of semi-naked men surround Cloud upon entry. The groups leader, Mukki, steps forward and asks if Cloud would like to bathe... with the entire group! If the player agrees, Cloud then proceeds to bathe with the numerous men and at one point almost disappears under the water with them. Some fans have since argued that Cloud was violated, while others think that whatever happened in that group room was consensual. The developers were either being incredibly progressive for the time by making Cloud a bisexual protagonist or they were doing the exact opposite by portraying this homoerotic moment as one of violence and non-consensual sex. Either way, Cloud's 'experience' in the Honeybee Inn is one that stuck in our minds long after the game had ended. WTF indeed... Can you think of any more WTF moments from the Final Fantasy franchise? Are you looking forward to Final Fantasy XV? And what the hell happened in the Honeybee Inn? Sound off in the comments section below.