It's E3 season, and every year leading up to the big event, there's all kinds of leaks about what fans can expect to see at the show. Many of these leaks turn out to be fake, but there's usually at least a handful of leaks that are accurate. This year, a massive E3 2021 leak proved to be right on the money, as did the leaks surrounding a brand new Final Fantasy project that was announced during Square Enix's E3 2021 showcase, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
The leaks made a lot of bold claims about Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, detailing its gameplay style, its story, and how it ties to the overarching Final Fantasy universe. Surprisingly, almost all of the Final Fantasy Origin leaks have turned out to be accurate, though there was one big claim in the leaks that was actually false.
Here are the big leaks that cropped up about Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin prior to its reveal, many of which turned out to be completely true.
Soulslike Final Fantasy
One of the surprising details mentioned in the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin leaks was that the game would apparently be inspired by the Dark Souls series. While the Final Fantasy games have largely been traditional RPGs, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin does indeed appear to be a Soulslike game. This is a rather significant departure from what fans expect from the Final Fantasy franchise, but with Soulslike games all the rage, it could prove to be a gamble that pays off big time for Square Enix.
While Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is seemingly inspired by Dark Souls-style games, there does appear to be one big difference. The leaks claim that Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will have a difficulty level that is more accessible to the mainstream audience, which seemingly translates to it being "easier" than what fans may expect from a Soulslike game. Whether or not that's actually the case remains to be seen, as the topic hasn't really been addressed yet, but fans should find out soon.
A Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin PS5 demo is technically available to download now, but it's not playable in its current state. Once Square Enix fixes the demo and makes it playable, then those on PS5 should be able to play it and that could offer more insight into just how similar it is to the Dark Souls games and if it has a comparable difficulty level to those titles.
Final Fantasy 1 Connection
Besides claiming that Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin would be a Soulslike game, the leaks also pointed to it having a story tied directly to the events of Final Fantasy 1. Leakers categorized Final Fantasy Origin as a spin-off of the original Final Fantasy game, and that appears to be a mostly accurate assessment. With literal decades between the release of the first Final Fantasy and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, though, this new game has little in common with the NES original.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is about a new group of characters getting pulled into the world of the original Final Fantasy, where they take on villain Garland, aka "Chaos." It's quite possible that there are even more connections between Final Fantasy Origin's story and the original Final Fantasy game, though fans will have to standby for more information about the game to be sure.
Final Fantasy Origin is Not PS5 Exclusive
The leakers were correct about Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin being a Souslike game, and they were also right about how it has a connection to the original Final Fantasy. They didn't know about the "Stranger of Paradise" title being in front of Final Fantasy Origin, and they were also wrong about the game being a PlayStation 5 exclusive. While the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin demo is exclusive to PS5, the game itself will not be exclusive to Sony's next-generation platform.
It was confirmed during Square Enix's E3 2021 presentation where the game was revealed that Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will be released on numerous platforms when it launches in 2022. In fact, it will be a cross-gen game, confirmed for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. So not only is it not a PlayStation 5 exclusive game, but it's coming out on nearly every modern core gaming platform besides the Nintendo Switch.
It's possible that there are some PS5-exclusive features or other content in store for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, however. It's not uncommon for games to incentivize players to get them on one platform versus another through things like platform-specific DLC, so fans will have to stay tuned on that front. Regardless, the actual Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin game is not a PS5 exclusive, so those on PC and Xbox can also look forward to its release next year.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin launches in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.