If there’s one thing that can be said about the Final Fantasy universe, it’s that it’s big. For those who don’t know, each Final Fantasy game takes place in a separate universe- the thing that ties each game together, however, are certain gameplay elements, creatures, and fantastic music. The games in the series have spinoffs, sequels, movies, manga- the list goes on and on. Sometimes, however, a fantasy goes forgotten. In 2006, Final Fantasy XII came out- a game that didn’t reach the popularity of VI, VII, or X, but a brilliant game nonetheless. Final Fantasy XII was one of the best received games in the series, and with good reason: besides being one of the most gorgeous PS2 games, FFXII featured a revamped combat system, doing away with random battles rather like it’s predecessor FFXI, and it came with a glut of new features. Besides this, however, was a marvelous story with likeable protagonists and, of course, a gorgeous soundtrack. It’s the sixth game to receive a perfect score from Famitsu. In spite of selling about three million less units than Final Fantasy X, FFXII managed to spawn a spinoff for the Nintendo DS: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (which, in my opinion, is excellent training for learning to micromanage DotA heroes- but that’s another story). Another spinoff was in the works some time in 2008; That game was codenamed Fortress, and it was set in Ivalice, the same world as Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. Fortress was going to be an action role-playing game (ARPG) for the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Under development by Swedish studio GRIN, the studio responsible for Bionic Commando Rearmed and a couple of Ghost Recon games, Fortress was going to be their magnum opus. Embedded below is some tech demo footage of the game- it’s among the few assets available. From the footage, it’s clear to see that Fortress would be very different from other Final Fantasy games- the third person combat doesn’t seem to take place in a separate mode, but in the main world- quite a departure from the combat system of old. The Swedish studio responsible for the game decided to draw upon it’s own Nordic heritage for the game’s art direction and story; invaders from the sea would be the game’s antagonists, and their appearance was inspired by the Vikings. The images in the gallery above are from the portfolio of Björn Albihn, one of the artists for Fortress- on his website, he describes the creatures he brought to life in greater detail. “The giants carried several weapons such as huge stone axes and gigantic chain weapons,” says Albihn. “One of the more unique weapons designed was this club that had living and burning creatures attached to it. The creatures shrieks out and burns everything around it when the club is swung.” The sea monster boss was going to be rather interesting to fight- it was to be covered in seaweed, and players would have to climb...