Astro Bot’s lack of Final Fantasy cameos just feels wrong

Astro Bot's lack of Final Fantasy representation at launch still feels wrong in a way that's surely much too obvious for Sony to ignore.

Opinion by Lee Brady

Published 22 Sep 2024

After collecting all those Astro Bot trophies and watching the credits roll, I had one lingering question nestled between all my positive thoughts: "Why does Astro Bot not have any Final Fantasy cameos?" It didn't spoil my time playing one of the best PS5 games, but the absence of Cloud Strife in this PlayStation celebration is definitely weird, right?

Lee —

Where is the Final Fantasy love in Astro Bot?

You only need to take a brief glimpse at the full list of Astro Bot PlayStation characters to get why the absence of any and all Final Fantasy references is weird. Had Astro Bot been packed full of first-party PlayStation cameos like God of War's Kratos, Uncharted's Nathan Drake, and Ape Escape's Spike, it would make sense not to expect any Final Fantasy VII characters.

Mascots for days.

If the list had been narrowed down to that lot plus a few surprise cameos from former Sony mascot platformers like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot, then maybe it would be easier to overlook the FF no-show.

However, this game is crammed full of references to third-party characters who have strong ties to all eras of the PlayStation brand. Dante from Devil May Cry, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Kazuya Mishima from Tekken — all of these characters cut their teeth on PlayStation consoles. Some of these franchises are arguably less tethered to PlayStation in the public psyche than Final Fantasy!

True PlayStation representation!

The lack of Final Fantasy gets even weirder when you see all the RPG representation that made it into Astro Bot. Sure, we all love Persona, but can anyone argue that Teddie from Persona 4 has comparable clout as a PlayStation icon to the likes of Cloud and Aerith? Maybe Like a Dragon's Kazuma Kiryu is getting close to that level of recognition these days, but Okami's Amaterasu?

We've got a long roster of PS1 JRPG shout-outs: Alundra, Arc the Lad, The Legend of Dragoon, Wild Arms — even Konami's Suikoden made it into Astro Bot. It's like everyone showed up for a surprise party and forgot to give directions to the birthday boy.

A PlayStation celebration!

Final Fantasy as a brand is older than PlayStation and has never really been exclusively tethered to the platform, but come on. Perhaps it would be easier to look past if the series' mainline support had stayed multiplatform these last few years, but we've just had back-to-back Final Fantasy PS5 exclusives in 2023 (Final Fantasy XVI) and 2024 (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth). So, what gives? Where's all the Square Enix love?

Are Square Enix and Sony breaking up?

Speaking of Square Enix, it's not just Final Fantasy that's missing from these Astro Bot cameos. In Japan, Dragon Quest VII was the second-biggest game to release on PS1 (after FFVII), yet there's no DQ love here. Worldwide, Kingdom Hearts was one of the best-selling PS2 games as well, yet Sora is nowhere to be seen.

The games of Square, Enix, and the combined Square Enix of today are as core to the PlayStation's formative identity as Crash Bandicoot and Metal Gear Solid. So, when there's a big multi-studio crossover party where all the big players are meeting up, it can't help but feel especially weird to see some of the biggest players absent.

From Astro's Playroom.

Saying all that, there's no doubt in my mind that Astro Bot's developer Team Asobi reached out to Square Enix at some point during the game's development. After all, Astro's Playroom — the previous game in the series — features a massive shout out to Final Fantasy VII in the form of the Buster Sword. There's simply no way that Final Fantasy and Square Enix slipped the minds of these developers.

Yet, reluctant as I am to face this possibility, there is a slim chance that Square Enix simply refused Sony's team from including its franchises. It would be a weird, sad thing for the company to have done — particularly given that a reference to Final Fantasy in Astro Bot would be received with nothing but love and excitement. That said, things do seem to be taking a turn in Sony and Square Enix's relationship.

Square Enix are looking beyond PlayStation these days.

The days of Final Fantasy PS5 exclusivity have almost certainly come to an end after disappointing sales for both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Square Enix also seems to be presently removing all of its franchises from Sony's PS Plus Extra platform, starting with Final Fantasy, then Star Ocean, and now moving onto Dragon Quest.

It seems perhaps a little immature to imagine companies with as storied a history together as Sony and Square Enix struggling to support one another in the year 2024, but perhaps something broke down during those last two PS5 exclusive launches. Would that be enough to stop Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest from showing up in Astro Bot, where fans would feel nothing but good vibes from the crossover? It's not impossible.

Granted, call me a delusional optimist, but I just have to believe there's something a bit more positive at play here.

Lee —

Why I'm still hoping for Astro Bot Final Fantasy DLC

News broke shortly after Astro Bot's launch that a bunch more franchises not featured in the game yet have been spotted in the credits. As you can see in this X post, we've got a lot of Ubisoft love — Assassin's Creed, Beyond Good and Evil, and Rayman are seemingly on the way. Plus, there's the PS1 game Croc, Team17's Worms, Stellar Blade, and Rise of the Ronin all on the list.

Tragically, Final Fantasy doesn't make an appearance on this list either. It's enough to drive a fan mad — I mean, I adore Rayman and Croc, but if these fools count as PS1 icons and Cloud Strife doesn't, then I think we might just need to retire the concept of PlayStation as a "brand."

via X.

That said, rather than being discouraged, I find a glimmer of hope in these surprise cameo reveals tucked away in the credits. It confirms that Team Asobi have still got plenty of Astro Bot DLC updates left to hit us with, and there's really no reason to presume that the cameos teased by these credits represent the full list of characters potentially on the way.

Thus, I give you my gambit. Here, in an exercise in complete speculation that may prove to be completely incorrect, I have to say what my heart feels: I want to believe that Astro Bot is getting some substantial Final Fantasy-themed DLC in the future.

It doesn't have to be quite as substantial as this.

Sure, all the "evidence" we have suggests Square Enix simply wanted nothing to do with the project, and maybe that's simply the case. However, given Astro Bot has been in the work for years, and the fractures between Sony and Square Enix feel quite recent, I have to toss my speculative hat into the ring and say "maybe Final Fantasy isn't in Astro Bot right now because it's getting something extra special."

Characters like Rayman and Croc are almost certainly going to find themselves attached the to upcoming Speed Run Astro Bot stages touted to launch sometime before the end of the year. However, perhaps whatever Team Asobi has got cooking for Final Fantasy takes a little more effort — enough to warrant a delay in the credits just in case it doesn't come together anytime soon.

Maybe we'll see Final Fantasy in there someday.

I'm not going to go full delusional on you and say Final Fantasy deserves a stage as playful with its lore as the God of War or Uncharted stages in Astro Bot — the ones packed full of references to the games. However, a few regular bonus stages with hidden characters like FFVII's Cloud, FFVIII's Squall, FFX's Tidus, FFXIII's Lightning, and FFXVI's Clive sounds perfectly reasonable and plentiful to me.

Throw in a second stage with a few Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts nods, maybe something for Square Enix's back catalog like Xenogears or Parasite Eve, and I think we're all good!

If LittleBigPlanet can get FFVII, why not Astro Bot?

It might be wishful thinking, but until Team Asobi's Nicholas Doucet comes out and says it's really not going to happen, I think we're all entitled to a little shared delusion. If Astro Bot is a celebration of all things PlayStation, then Final Fantasy deserves its rightful spot in the room. So, until the party's over, there's plenty of time to keep on dreaming.

Of course, none of this would be worth entertaining at all if Astro Bot had just been a half-decent timewaster. Instead, it's one of the best PS5 platformers — and just one of the best platforming games — ever designed. So, definitely check it out, and then let me know how weird it feels to not have Final Fantasy in there down in the comments below.

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Written by Lee Brady

Staff Writer Lee keeps one eye on the future (Astro Bot), one eye on the past (PS1, PS2, and PS3 games), and his secret third eye on junk he really likes (Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic). A PlayStation fan for over 25 years, he loves replaying classic games via PS Plus.