8 Classic Final Fantasy Worlds That Deserve a Comeback

Summary

• Midgar from Final Fantasy 7 offers perfect aesthetics and narrative depth for future franchise entries.
• Gran Pulse from Final Fantasy 13 is a world of vast potential for new stories beyond Lightning's.
• Gaia from Final Fantasy 9 is a rich medieval fantasy world that deserves exploration for fresh narratives.

Final Fantasy is known for reinventing its worlds with each main entry, creating universes rich in mythology, memorable characters, and unforgettable landscapes. Across decades, several settings have stood out for narrative depth and unique aesthetics, winning fans’ hearts and even serving as the stage for different franchise games, offering views of the world unlike anything players had seen before.

Thus, among the best Final Fantasy worlds that deserve to return, be it in direct sequels, spin-offs, or even modern reimaginings, are the iconic settings crafted by Square Enix. Whether to tell a new story or to feature characters already familiar to fans, each universe still has the potential to host fresh narratives in future games from the developer.

8 Midgar

The City From Final Fantasy 7 Is One Of The Most Iconic In JRPGs

Final Fantasy 7 is iconic in several ways, and one element that drives the JRPG’s popularity is Midgar, one of the most striking regions ever built for a video game. A game centered solely on the city has already been partly explored, with the first chapter of the remakes expanding it beyond the original version, revealing more of the sector divisions and the oppression Shinra inflicts, especially in the lower levels.

In that sense, Midgar offers aesthetics and content perfect for future franchise entries, providing a stage for stories the Final Fantasy 7 universe still needs to tell, especially examining how corporations such as Shinra interact with the populace. Reusing familiar characters is unnecessary; instead, the goal should be to craft something new and make full use of the city’s environment.

7 Gran Pulse

A Wild World With Potential For New Stories

Even though Final Fantasy 13 split player opinion, the game’s universe stands out for its vast, mysterious, and almost unexplored setting, particularly the area known as Gran Pulse. Wild flora and fauna, traces of ancient civilizations, and a sense of freedom contrast sharply with Cocoon’s controlled life, delivering narrative potential that the franchise has still barely tapped.

The enormity of Gran Pulse hints at other cultures, stories, and conflicts beyond those experienced by Lightning and her party during the games. Revisiting this section of the map, setting aside Cocoon’s floating continent, would be an excellent way to introduce a fresh tone to the Final Fantasy 13 universe, whose strongest assets include its setting.

6 Gaia

One Of The Best Medieval Fantasy Settings In The Entire Series

Among Final Fantasy settings deeply inspired by classic medieval fantasy, Gaia stands out as one of the franchise’s richest and most complex worlds, a realm whose detailed geography and layered societies continue to impress longtime fans. Each continent has its own climate, ecosystem, and culture, heightening immersion and underscoring the setting’s remarkable variety for players seeking depth.

This diversity means the setting has much left to explore in future projects, whether spin-offs or side stories that expand its original universe, while naturally blending magic, traditional kingdoms, and steampunk technology into a cohesive whole. Because the narrative already tackles profound themes such as destiny and the cycle of life, revisiting Gaia would be an excellent chance to enrich the franchise’s legacy with fresh stories and perspectives, all grounded in its compelling mythology.

5 The World Of Balance/Ruin

It Is One Of The Best Final Fantasy Worlds

Few Final Fantasy settings undergo changes as dramatic as those in Final Fantasy 6, with shifts that go beyond aesthetics. In its opening acts, players traverse the World of Balance/Ruin, where magic is returning and resistance to the Gestahlian Empire sets the tone, and a fragile harmony between hope and conflict lays a rich foundation for the narrative.

In the game’s latter half the setting becomes the World of Ruin, a devastated version of the planet created by Kefka’s rise to power. A spin-off or new installment revisiting this universe could track the destruction’s impact and reconstruction efforts, and the potential for fresh stories, or the return of iconic characters, makes the world one of the franchise’s most promising backdrops.

4 Spira

One Of The Franchise’s Most Distinct Settings

Final Fantasy 10 marked one of the franchise’s greatest generational leaps, pairing enhanced 3D visuals with even more impressive environments, and the whole of Spira, inspired by South Pacific and Japanese cultures, stands among the series’ most distinctive settings, a quality visible in the JRPG’s architecture. The game’s varied biomes, along with the presence of multiple races, therefore make this world one of the most compelling backdrops for new entries.

After the events of Final Fantasy 10 and its sequel, Spira appears to enter a phase of social and ideological reconstruction, giving future games room to explore new conflicts while establishing a complex background. This transitional period could make Spira one of the franchise’s best worlds for fresh narratives, especially to examine society’s evolving relationship with religion.

3 Valisthea

Square Enix Built One Of The Best Medieval-Fantasy Settings

Although geopolitical themes recur in many JRPGs, including previous Final Fantasy titles, Valisthea remains one of the most compelling settings Square Enix has created for the series, offering players outstanding world-building. The dynamic among the rival nations, the tensions over resources, and the subtle diplomacy shaping their interactions all function brilliantly, leaving countless avenues open for deeper exploration.

Moreover, Valisthea’s visual identity, blending classical medieval architecture with a world where magic is in decline and Mothercrystals dominate the landscape, grounds the setting without diminishing its allure. A return to Valisthea in a future Final Fantasy title could delve into the fading Eikons, the shifting power balance, and the lives of ordinary people, perfectly expanding the existing lore while enriching it with fresh conflicts and discoveries.

2 The Earth

Plots Beyond Ultimecia Remain To Explore In This Universe

Final Fantasy 8, like several other franchise settings, lacks a proper world name, yet even after Ultimecia’s defeat, the stage remains full of narrative opportunities for developers to explore. For instance, SeeD was created to combat sorceresses, and in-game files indicate that other sorceresses may still exist, as could unforeseen side effects from the use of Guardian Forces.

Consequently, this setting offers multiple angles for new stories, and the world could also expand into unfamiliar regions, introducing nations beyond Galbadia and Esthar, charting unexplored continents, and thoroughly fleshing out Final Fantasy 8’s nuanced geopolitical landscape. Addressing the military use of magic, chronicling the societal impact of Para-Magic, and highlighting varied cultural identities would provide outstanding avenues to present The Earth in this post-Ultimecia era.

1 Ivalice

One Of The Most Classic Final Fantasy Universes

Among all the settings Square Enix has developed for its games, few compare with Ivalice, which also counts as one of the finest Final Fantasy worlds. Where most franchise entries feature isolated memorable locales, such as Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, Ivalice is remembered as a cohesive whole, in large part because it appears across multiple series installments.

Whether in Final Fantasy 12, Final Fantasy Tactics, or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the world has undergone various reinterpretations and remains one of the franchise’s most engaging universes, hosting narratives that range from political intrigue to fairy-tale adventures. This versatility means Ivalice truly deserves a place in future series entries, given the vast storytelling potential it still holds.