50 Vehicles from the Final Fantasy Franchise

Celebrating The Art & Design of Amazing Airships!

Written by Carly Hallman

This Final Fantasy compendium celebrates the art and design of amazing airships and vehicles in this gaming universe, which is now more than three decades old.

Starting as the last project of the young Hironobu Sakaguchi, who was hoping to end his career in video games on a high note, the first Final Fantasy game’s title was meant to reflect the finality of his masterpiece just as he was about to bow out. Square, which is now Square Enix Holdings, an internationally recognized powerhouse of gaming, was struggling to sell their RPGs and nearing bankruptcy in the late 1980s.

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50 Vehicles From the Final Fantasy Franchise

Two Decades of Iconic Video Game Artistry

By Land
Vehicle and Game
Phantom Train, Final Fantasy VI
Hardy-Daytona, Final Fantasy VII
SeeD Personal Carrier Vehicle, Final Fantasy VIII
Galbadia Armored Personnel Carrier, Final Fantasy VIII
Galbadia Soldier Motorcycle, Final Fantasy VIII
Doomtrain, Final Fantasy VIII
Timber train, Final Fantasy VIII
Air Cab, Final Fantasy IX
Quatro, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Remnants of Sephiroth motorcycle, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Fenrir, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Purge train, Final Fantasy XIII
Regalia, Final Fantasy XV
By Air
Vehicle and Game
Sky Warriors Airship, Final Fantasy
Cid’s Airship, Final Fantasy II
Dreadnought, Final Fantasy II
Invincible, Final Fantasy III
Falcon, Final Fantasy IV
Lunar Whale, Final Fantasy IV
Blackjack, Final Fantasy VI
Highwind, Final Fantasy VII
Tiny Bronco, Final Fantasy VII
Balamb Garden, Final Fantasy VIII
Galbadia Garden, Final Fantasy VIII
Ragnorak, Final Fantasy VIII
Hilda Garde I, Final Fantasy IX
Invincible, Final Fantasy IX
Prima Vista, Final Fantasy IX
Fahrenheit, Final Fantasy X
Celsius, Final Fantasy X-2
Shera, Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Dragonfly GL, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Strahl, Final Fantasy XII
Galbana, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
Lindblum, Final Fantasy XIII
Enterprise, Final Fantasy XIV
By Sea
Vehicle and Game
Canoe, Final Fantasy
Magitek Armor Transport Ship, Final Fantasy VI
Cargo Ship, Final Fantasy VII
Junon Underwater Reactor submarine, Final Fantasy VII
SeeD Assault Boat, Final Fantasy VIII
Alexandria Ferry, Final Fantasy IX
Blue Narciss, Final Fantasy IX
Brahne’s Fleet ship, Final Fantasy IX
Altissa Gondola, Final Fantasy XV
Misc.
Vehicle and Game
Chocobo, First appearance Final Fantasy II
Gargant, Final Fantasy IX
Shoopuf, Final Fantasy X and X-2
Cetus, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
Coeurl, Final Fantasy XIV

That’s why the title includes the word ‘final’; but for me, the title ‘Final Fantasy’ reflects my emotional state at the time and the feeling that time had stopped,” Sakaguchi said in the Beyond Final Fantasy DVD extra feature.

But Fainaru Fantaji was a polished work that pulled him and the company out of the financial crisis. It was responsible for dispelling the myth that American kids didn’t like or want RPGs. It’s more than 90 sequels have led to a huge creative universe, with every aspect of the series from the soundtracks to the airships setting the bar for artistic integrity in gaming. Even though Sakaguchi resigned in 2004 to start his own studio, which would later create the perhaps ironically named game for Nintendo The Last Story, the franchise has continued to spread into more consoles and, indeed, more genres, such as MMOs. It’s even resulted in films and TV mini-series.

Fans will debate on which game is the best, and even which Final Fantasy airship or vehicle is the coolest. Is it the Final Fantasy X airship, the Fahrenheit? Is it the Final Fantasy VI phantom train? Or perhaps it’s the Hardy-Daytona owned by the classic character Cloud Strife? Motorcycle options are often ridden by both heroes and villains, but trains and airships are often the best way to get about. They often function as a safe haven for the players between missions. On the other hand, the airship of the game is a massive super-weapon that needs to be taken down, as with the Dreadnought.

The very important gaming franchise has had a lot of love and creativity poured in, in almost every element, including the design of Final Fantasy airships and vehicles. These complicated, beautiful ships and trains tend to help it make it feel like it’s truly a game worthy of the series.

It’s an important aspect, because the thread between the series seems to be purely aesthetic; gameplay, themes, and environmental feel are what pulls the series together, rather than recurring characters (like Link in The Legend of Zelda), recurring settings (as in Halo), or recurring goals (as in Pokémon). There are occasionally recurrent names and plots, but each game is independent. Indeed, most fans believe that the whole of the Final Fantasy series does not, in fact, take place in the same universe. If anything, it’s a closely knit multiverse, as plot elements in the series sometimes affect the whole universe.

These Final Fantasy ship names help paint the picture of the true diversity of the franchise. No matter where or when you are traversing, you’ll likely be doing it with a unique artistic style that’s not quite steampunk and not quite cyberpunk.

Use this collection to explore the breadth of the beauty of the Final Fantasy vehicles, which has gripped players’ imaginations no matter where they go, while they’re taking down Sin or just chocobo racing.


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