The Square Enix’s E3 2021 showcase was one of the least sizzling shows, but not the worst. They did show off a couple of neat games like the Guardians of the Galaxy video game, Babylon’s Fall, and Life is Strange: True Colors. Yet, none of those are worth discussing about, unlike another game they announced. That game being Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, but not in the way Square Enix intended.

The Stranger of Paradise reveal trailer has been receiving a middling reception. Looking at the trailer’s likes to dislike ration, it’s split pretty close to each other. The comment section is a gold mine of viewers mocking the game’s writing. Mostly mocking the character’s obsession with Chaos.

So, the game’s writing turned it into a meme on the internet, but it keeps going downhill. Another aspect that being mocked is the main character’s design. Square Enix is known for their fun, iconic creative character designs like Cloud Strife. However, that isn’t the case here with Stranger of Paradise. The main character’s design is just him wearing a polo shirt and jeans…. riveting. Sure the trailer shows him wearing other clothes, but those aren’t much better.

What’s troubling me and others the most about this is that Nomura designed him. Nomura is famously known for designing Cloud Strife and Sora.  So, many are wondering why the lack of an appealing design reared its ugly head? Did Square Enix tell Nomura to keep the character uninspiring or he had nothing for the character?

Stranger of Paradise Is The Shadow The Hedgehog Of Final Fantasy

Square Enix is quite known for their experimentation with the Final Fantasy series. Some have a darker or lighter tone, gameplay being drastically changed, or entirely different setting and themes. However, I don’t think anyone was asking for one that’s emanating the same tone of Shadow the Hedgehog. Grumbling serious protagonist, lack of vibrant colors, and the characters are radiating with edginess. Stranger of Paradise is overly serious that is comes back around to being an unintentional parody.

With the uninspiring world and characters design, this only draws more attention to the game’s lackluster graphics. If you were stop and closely examine the game, you will notice some areas look rough. You could convince someone that it’s a late PS3 game and they would most likely believe you.

Despite all of that, Stranger of Paradise could win the audience over with its demo release. Keyword being “could,” because recent reports state it’s unplayable. Not that the demo is overly bugging or anything; it’s that it won’t boot up.

Only one word can some this up – embarrassing. 

Audiences are already on the offense with this game but this adds gasoline to a raging fire. This is a terrible first impression. Honestly, many people are expecting this to be another brown stain on the beloved franchise. Which you can’t blame them for what is being presented here. The game is still in early development, so there could be a chance of bouncing back from this.

What do you guys think of this? You excited for this “bold” interpretation or anticipating for a giant train wreck? Tell us below!