Friday 2nd November 2012 will be a day I shall never forget.

Since 1987 Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft/Square) have been developing one of the most amazing RPG series in my opinion which have featured stunning graphics and animation even for the times of 8 bit entertainment systems. Many fans over the years, myself included, have enjoyed the stories of love, treachery, sacrifice, death, strength and hope. These stories really had you feeling involved and were accompanied by some deep and very fitting music scores.

My journey started like many others with Final Fantasy VII. I was unfamiliar at the time with past iterations of the game at the time though had been hinted they were great games. From the moment I saw Midgar in the opening scene and the dramatic music started my jaw dropped and I was forever hooked into the world of Final Fantasy.

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Being one of 4 similarly aged siblings we rarely received games for our older games systems and RPG’s were definitely low on the agenda when parents decided on what to get that all could play. I had to even go to a friends house to play The Adventure of Link on gold cartridge on the NES as my games only included the likes of Mario Bros 1 & 3, World Soccer, Battletoads, Duck Hunt, Bionic Commando, Darkwing Duck to name a few which were in their own right awesome.

Also being based in Europe we never saw the release of Final Fantasy games until 1997 with Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation. Since then I have gone forwards and backwards with the series (currently replaying Final Fantasy VI and III) and love every moment of it.

So to tell you a little about myself with regards to my love of Final Fantasy, my favourite game in the series is Final Fantasy IX. The reason for this is because of my love for the world and its vast array of character races which are not all too human. It really puts you in a fantasy world which is almost pulled from a story book. There is also a lot of great mini games from finding Stiltzkin the moogle, posting mail via mognet, Chocobo hot & cold to name a few.

I really struggle to work out what I would consider my second favourite in the series. It would likely tie between Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy VII where it all really began for me. Final Fantasy XI holds a special place in my heart as I have made many friends in the world of Vana'diel, shared many great times and memories and learned a lot of things from people I have met along the way. I subscribed to Final Fantasy XI back in October 2004 and still subscribe and enter the world, though am a lot less acive then I used to be. I subscribe to Final Fantasy XIV too and have been with that since testing the Alpha but have not yet invested as much time in it as I have XI.

That’s my journey, now to the point of the article, what I did that Friday that was so amazing it has inspired me to write this…

Distant Worlds, a compilation of Final Fantasy tracks reimagined and performed with a full orchestra and choir and conducted by the legend that is Arnie Roth for those of you who don’t already know, was announced back in the summer to be touring with dates in the UK during November. Now seeing as I shamefully missed out when they toured last year I was quick to snap up tickets for the event, giving myself a front seat in the arena.

They were announced to be performing in the legendary Royal Albert Hall, which is renowned for it’s high quality music and arts performances including the BBC proms. This was definitely an opportunity not to be missed.

Around 3 weeks before the show, Square Enix Europe put out a competition to win tickets to an exclusive Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event. No cost in entering, just a case of logging in to my Square Enix member account, checking the details and hitting a button to submit my entry.

With excitement already building for Distant Worlds and with MCM Expo just kicking off for the weekend, I get an email in from Square Enix with the words "Congratulations! You have won!“ on it. Cold chill and excitement builds even further, put me on a major high for MCM weekend. Only problem was I could take a guest, but who would it be?

After asking friends and a bit of public appeal on Twitter, I found my guest though had to let some who were interested down, but I believe I made the right choice knowing my friend was also a big fan of the Final Fantasy series and music and was attending the Distant Worlds concert in the evening.

The time had arrived. It was Friday 2nd November, I was dressed up (as I could attend such a venue in everyday clothes) all prepped and ready to go.

Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event

The event run by Square Enix Europe to celebrate 25 great years of Final Fantasy was held at the Royal Albert Hall and we were greeted in the lobby with some awesome event themed lanyards and were interviewed by members of the SqEnix team on camera (not sure where or when the footage will be featured). Questions revolved around where we started in the Final Fantasy series, favourite games, characters, music score etc.

Shortly after the interview we were guided to a very swanky looking bar area and treated to cookies and coffee (or tea for those tea lovers)

which was the chance to meet up with a few friends who also won as well as meet up with some other fans of the series and music including a rather awesome chocobo cosplayer with a very convincing "Kweh!”.

After a bit of indulging, we were directed upstairs to one of the upper floors and into the rather intimate Elgar room which had seats, a piano, keyboard and percussion all on stage ready for select members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra to perform an exclusive set to the 100 or so guests in the room.

The first chill to pour down my back was when Nobuo Uematsu entered the room and walked straight past where we were seated, along with Arnie Roth and Masashi Hamauzu. Nobuo-san was sitting 2 rows in front of me, so close I could almost smell his hair (in a non-stalker kind of way) and I could see him bobbing away as the music pieces were performed.

I was so in awe at the whole performance I cannot remember the total order in which the songs were played, however one track that was truly amazing and stood out was Dark World from Final Fantasy VI which was the only piece of the day in which Nobuo Uematsu played on keyboards while Arnie Roth took to the violin. Such an amazing experience with a nice little chocobo medley at the end of it all. I don’t even think I could put a price to what I witnessed or say words that could really do it the justice it deserves.

The only one thing that annoyed me during the performance was some idiot recording the whole thing on his iPhone despite the attendees all being told explicitly before that photography and recording was strictly forbidden during the performance. It really does bug me when people show no respect, especially when given an opportunity to attend such an exclusive one-off experience.

Following the mini performance, with my legs now feeling like jelly and really struggling to contain my excitement (thinking about it now still gives me anxiety shakes), we were directed back downstairs to where the day had begun and were treated to drinks (non-alcoholic), buffet, and plenty of Eton Mess.

In the room opposite from the bar area was a mini art gallery featuring some really amazing pieces of Final Fantasy art spanning the series including an oil painting from Final Fantasy XIII-3: Lightning Returns which hadn’t even dried. You can see some of the amazing pieces here:

As well as the canvas art pieces there was also a few boards displaying the concept art for each of the Final Fantasy installments from I through to XIII. There were also playable versions of the Final Fantasy games on Playstation 2 and 3 consoles to help relive those nostalgic moments. I didn’t want to start playing them though as I knew I would get hooked and time was a limiting factor of the day.

After a couple of drinks, snacks and gawking at amazing images, Nobuo Uematsu, Arnie Roth and Masashi Hamauzu set themselves up in the bar area close to where some Final Fantasy merch was being sold and were doing some signings. Luckily I thought ahead and brought my Final Fantasy VII soundtrack for Nobuo-san to add a squiggle to as well as picking up one of the stock prints for all 3 autographs.

It was such an honour to meet these amazing guys especially the one who created some of the music that will forever be embedded in my mind and accompanied by the visions of the scenes and emotions I experienced throughout out my journeys within the Final Fantasy series. I could barely speak and was shaking as I became star-struck meeting someone I have so much respect for. I became a little more comfortable once getting to Roth though.

Catching breath after many “squee’s” and religiously examining my signed pieces, i moved back into the art/buffet room and got chatting to some of the SqEnix employees including a very interesting Final Fantasy chat with an employee from the German offices.

No event would be without a goodie bag right? Well not only were the bags themselves awesome and branded with the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary logo, but they contained a few rather cool items. Inside was a very cute little 25th Anniversary Chocobo plush toy holding a birthday cake, some of the special high quality 25th Anniversary playing cards with a different image on the face each card, and a 25th Anniversary logo t-shirt.

Before they headed off I managed to get back into the signing room to capture a quick snap with Nobuo Uematsu this time with a little more confidence to talk and not just drool and babble.

And so ended the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event with huge thanks to Square Enix Europe for hosting such a spectacular and amazing opportunity for myself and all other guests in attendance.

Next was food and a few drinks to pass the time before the big concert…