The long-awaited Magic: The Gathering — FINAL FANTASY set will soon release on June 13! In anticipation of this exciting event, we're introducing some of the cards in the set – sixteen articles for sixteen mainline games in the series!
The elements we showcase here range from iconic characters to defining moments—aspects that encompass the essence of the FINAL FANTASY franchise.
For our eighth showcase, we’d like to show you two cards from FINAL FANTASY VIII.
As you can see, the cards in this article certainly have a unique vibe!
“PuPu UFO” features a certain mysterious saucer that can be encountered multiple times in the game. Its pilot is a cute little blue alien only known by the name PuPu. Its reason for visiting the planet is unknown.
Second up is “Jumbo Cactuar!” Cactuars are cactus-like monsters and a staple in the FINAL FANTASY franchise. The jumbo cactuar, of course, is a mega-sized version of this critter! The typical cactuar uses a move called 1,000 Needles, which deals a static 1,000 points of damage, but the jumbo-sized cactuar has ten times the amount of spines—and ten times the amount of pain!
We took a different approach to which cards we wanted to introduce from FINAL FANTASY VIII—after all, the game has some intriguing monsters to go with its characters, settings, and moments. Delve into the world of FINAL FANTASY and encounter these foes for yourself!
We’ve received some additional comments on them from Magic: The Gathering’s very own Principle Narrative Game Designer: Dillon Deveney!
PuPu UFO
FINAL FANTASY VIII has such imagination, we really had the pleasure of diving deep into this title to find some winning ideas. The FINAL FANTASY series balances epic and stalwart plots against hilarious and whimsical designs. Yamashita-san on SQUARE ENIX’s side sent us thousands of images to use as reference for this project, and I remember scrolling through the archive and stumbled upon the PuPu and had this "Oh! Yeah!" moment. These little guys are so fun and it was such a charming encounter, we thought they would be a nice little surprise to see in the set. And, for fans unfamiliar with FINAL FANTASY VIII, it really makes you ask, "What's going on in this game? I gotta check it out!"
Jumbo Cactuar
Such a funny character! Whimsical designs like the Jumbo Cactuar always get the team excited and I am looking forward to seeing this guy in many games to come. We show the Jumbo Cactuar using its famous 10,000 Needles attack against Irving! Even in the big creature cards, we tried to work in other game elements, characters, or moments to harken back to the player's first time facing off against iconic enemies like the Jumbo Cactuar.
Magic: The Gathering — FINAL FANTASY will be available for purchase on June 13. Until then, why not come (re-)familiarize yourself with the world of FINAL FANTASY? If you simply can’t wait, be among the first to play with the collaboration cards via prerelease at authorized retailers come Friday, June 6!
FINAL FANTASY VIII
In a world in which the ancient power of the sorceress lives on, people cower in fear of Sorceress Adel and the troops of Esthar, a nation advanced in both technology and magic. However, the great nation abruptly falls silent and closes its borders. The long-fought Sorceress War comes to an end, and peace is restored to the world.
But that was seventeen years ago, and now there is a new threat―the military nation of Galbadia has allied with Sorceress Edea for world domination. Squall, a member of Balamb Garden's mercenary force SeeD, together with his friends and Rinoa, a member of a resistance group, are shipped off to war, unaware of their fated task to save the world.
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