Seven thick large paperback books, each with different Japanese writing on the binding, wrapped in plastic, sitting on a shelf in a row
Various Ultimania books at a Books Kinokuniya in San Francisco, California

Dozens of Square Enix companion books have been produced since 1998, when video game developer Square began to produce books that focused on artwork, developer interviews, and background information on the fictional worlds and characters in its games rather than on gameplay details.[1][2] The first series of these books was the Perfect Works series, written and published by Square subsidiary DigiCube. They produced three books between 1998 and 1999 before the line was stopped in favor of the Ultimania (アルティマニア, Arutimania) series, a portmanteau of ultimate and mania.[3] This series of books is written by Studio BentStuff, which had previously written game guides for Square for Final Fantasy VII. They were published by DigiCube until the company was dissolved in 2003. Square merged with video game publisher Enix on April 1, 2003, to form Square Enix,[4] which resumed publication of the companion books.

Both the Perfect Works and Ultimania books have focused primarily on Square and Square Enix's role-playing video game franchises, such as the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series; over half of the more than 75 books are for games related to the Final Fantasy series. Sometimes, multiple books have been written per game or revised editions have been published years afterwards. One of the books, Final Fantasy IX Ultimania Online, was solely published online as part of an experiment by Square Enix with online content delivery; another for Final Fantasy XI was planned, but the idea was abandoned as unsuccessful and all subsequent books have been published traditionally.[5][6]

The books are written and edited by Studio BentStuff. The Ultimania series had sold over 10 million books by July 2007,[7] increasing to over 12 million copies sold as of 2017.[8] The highest selling Square Enix companion books are Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (over 2.2 million copies) and Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania (over 1 million copies).[9] All of the books have been released solely in Japanese, but Dark Horse Books published English translations of the three-volume 2012 Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania as Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive in June 2018.[10]

Perfect Works

Perfect Works titles
Title Game Date ISBN Ref.
Xenogears Perfect Works Xenogears October 10, 1998 ISBN 978-4-9250-7532-9 [11]
SaGa Frontier II Perfect Works SaGa Frontier 2 July 15, 1999 ISBN 978-4-9250-7554-1 [12]
Front Mission 3 Perfect Works Front Mission 3 November 20, 1999 ISBN 978-4-9250-7566-4 [13]

Ultimania

Ultimania titles
Title Game Date ISBN Ref.
Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania Final Fantasy VIII March 31, 1999 ISBN 978-4-9250-7549-7 [14]
SaGa Frontier II Ultimania SaGa Frontier 2 June 18, 1999 ISBN 978-4-9250-7553-4 [15]
Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana Ultimania Legend of Mana September 30, 1999 ISBN 978-4-9250-7564-0 [16]
Chrono Cross Ultimania Chrono Cross January 27, 2000 ISBN 978-4-9250-7573-2 [17]
Vagrant Story Ultimania Vagrant Story April 13, 2000 ISBN 978-4-9250-7575-6 [18]
Final Fantasy IX Online Ultimania Final Fantasy IX December 29, 2000 Internet-only [5]
Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania Final Fantasy X September 14, 2001 ISBN 978-4-8878-7010-9 [19]
Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania Final Fantasy X September 14, 2001 ISBN 978-4-8878-7011-6 [20]
Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy X January 31, 2002 ISBN 978-4-8878-7021-5 [21]
Final Fantasy IX Ultimania Final Fantasy IX February 28, 2002 ISBN 978-4-8878-7025-3 [22]
Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Kingdom Hearts June 13, 2002 ISBN 978-4-8878-7042-0 [23]
Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Revised Edition Kingdom Hearts January 9, 2003 ISBN 978-4-8878-7090-1 [24]
Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Final Fantasy X-2 May 31, 2003 ISBN 978-4-8878-7126-7 [25]
Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy X-2 February 13, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1161-3 [26]
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles World Ultimania Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles March 19, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1162-0 [27]
Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Final Fantasy X-2 April 16, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1205-4 [26]
Final Fantasy X-2 International+Last Mission Ultimania Final Fantasy X-2 International+Last Mission April 16, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1163-7 [26]
Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania Final Fantasy X May 28, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1215-3 [26]
Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania Final Fantasy X May 28, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1216-0 [26]
Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy X May 28, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1214-6 [26]
Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania Final Fantasy VIII June 25, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1243-6 [26]
Final Fantasy IX Ultimania Final Fantasy IX June 25, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1244-3 [26]
Chrono Cross Ultimania Chrono Cross July 30, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1249-8 [26]
Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana Legend of Mana July 30, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1250-4 [16]
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Ultimania Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories December 17, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1344-0 [26]
Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Revised Edition Kingdom Hearts December 17, 2004 ISBN 978-4-7575-1349-5 [26]
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Ultimania Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song July 15, 2005 ISBN 978-4-7575-1487-4 [26]
Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy VII September 9, 2005 ISBN 978-4-7575-1520-8 [26]
Kingdom Hearts Series Ultimania α ~Introduction of Kingdom Hearts II~ Kingdom Hearts December 9, 2005 ISBN 978-4-7575-1597-0 [26]
Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania Kingdom Hearts II February 23, 2006 ISBN 978-4-7575-1621-2 [26]
Final Fantasy XII Scenario Ultimania Final Fantasy XII June 16, 2006 ISBN 978-4-7575-1696-0 [26]
Final Fantasy XII Battle Ultimania Final Fantasy XII June 16, 2006 ISBN 978-4-7575-1697-7 [26]
SaGa Frontier II Ultimania SaGa Frontier 2 July 20, 2006 ISBN 978-4-7575-1733-2 [26]
Vagrant Story Ultimania Vagrant Story July 20, 2006 ISBN 978-4-7575-1734-9 [26]
Final Fantasy XII Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy XII November 24, 2006 ISBN 978-4-7575-1821-6 [26]
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ May 2, 2007 ISBN 978-4-7575-2013-4 [26]
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Ultimania Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings June 14, 2007 ISBN 978-4-7575-2024-0 [26]
Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System Ultimania Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System September 6, 2007 ISBN 978-4-7575-2100-1 [26]
Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Final Fantasy VII September 13, 2007 Part of the Final Fantasy VII Potion box set [28]
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII October 18, 2007 ISBN 978-4-7575-2126-1 [26]
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 1: Character Final Fantasy series January 31, 2008 ISBN 978-4-7575-2206-0 [26]
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 2: Scenario Final Fantasy series April 10, 2008 ISBN 978-4-7575-2251-0 [26]
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 3: Battle Final Fantasy series June 19, 2008 ISBN 978-4-7575-2320-3 [26]
Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania α Dissidia Final Fantasy December 4, 2008 ISBN 978-4-7575-2466-8 [29]
Chrono Trigger Ultimania Chrono Trigger January 20, 2009 ISBN 978-4-7575-2469-9 [26]
Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania Dissidia Final Fantasy January 29, 2009 ISBN 978-4-7575-2488-0 [26]
Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition Final Fantasy VII April 16, 2009 ISBN 978-4-7575-2560-3 [26]
Final Fantasy XI Story Ultimania Ver.090409 Final Fantasy XI June 11, 2009 ISBN 978-4-7575-2507-8 [26]
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days June 25, 2009 ISBN 978-4-7575-2578-8 [26]
Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania Final Fantasy XIII January 28, 2010 ISBN 978-4-7575-2775-1 [26]
Final Fantasy XIII Battle Ultimania Final Fantasy XIII January 28, 2010 ISBN 978-4-7575-2776-8 [26]
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Ultimania Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep March 25, 2010 ISBN 978-4-7575-2788-1 [26]
Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy XIII September 30, 2010 ISBN 978-4-7575-2958-8 [26]
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Ultimania Kingdom Hearts Re:coded November 4, 2010 ISBN 978-4-7575-3050-8 [26]
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Ultimania Action Side Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy March 10, 2011 ISBN 978-4-7575-3161-1 [30]
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Ultimania RPG Side Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy March 31, 2011 ISBN 978-4-7575-3162-8 [31]
Final Fantasy Type-0 Ultimania Final Fantasy Type-0 November 30, 2011 ISBN 978-4-7575-3432-2 [26]
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Scenario Ultimania Final Fantasy XIII-2 January 31, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3496-4 [26]
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Battle Ultimania Final Fantasy XIII-2 January 31, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3497-1 [26]
Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Ultimania Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance May 1, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3615-9 [26]
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Ω Final Fantasy XIII-2 June 21, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3619-7 [26]
Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania Volume 1 Final Fantasy series December 18, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3769-9 [26]
Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania Volume 2 Final Fantasy series December 18, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3770-5 [26]
Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania Volume 3 Final Fantasy series December 18, 2012 ISBN 978-4-7575-3771-2 [26]
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII December 19, 2013 ISBN 978-4-7575-4158-0 [26]
Final Fantasy X HD Remaster Ultimania Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster December 26, 2013 ISBN 978-4-7575-4159-7 [26]
Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster Ultimania Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster January 30, 2014 ISBN 978-4-7575-4160-3 [26]
Kingdom Hearts Series Memorial Ultimania Kingdom Hearts series October 2, 2014 ISBN 978-4-7575-4384-3 [26]
Biohazard Revelations 2 Ultimania Resident Evil: Revelations 2 March 26, 2015 ISBN 978-4-7575-4600-4 [26]
Final Fantasy XV Ultimania - Scenario Side- Final Fantasy XV December 28, 2016 ISBN 978-4-7575-5214-2 [26]
Final Fantasy XV Ultimania - Battle + Map Side - Final Fantasy XV December 28, 2016 ISBN 978-4-7575-5215-9 [26]
Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age Ultimania Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age July 13, 2017 ISBN 978-4-7575-5339-2 [26]
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Ultimania Dissidia Final Fantasy NT January 11, 2018 ISBN 978-4-7575-5615-7 [26]
Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space World Ultimania Another Eden July 31, 2018 ISBN 978-4-7575-5800-7 [26]
Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania Kingdom Hearts III February 28, 2019 ISBN 978-4-7575-6001-7 [26]
Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania Final Fantasy VII Remake April 28, 2020 ISBN 978-4-7575-6586-9 [26]
Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania Final Fantasy VII Remake October 29, 2020 ISBN 978-4-7575-6869-3 [32]
Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania Plus Final Fantasy VII Remake July 25, 2021 ISBN 978-4-7575-7347-5 [33]

References

  1. ^ "Final Fantasy X Ultimania Guide". IGN. 2001-08-20. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2009-04-01). "Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Book Getting Revision". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  3. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999-03-31). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube. p. 3. ISBN 978-4-925075-49-7.
  4. ^ "Consolidated Financial Results for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2004" (PDF). Square Enix. 2004-11-18. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  5. ^ a b Ultimania シリーズ［6］ [Ultimania Series [6]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  6. ^ "Final Fantasy XI Playtest". IGN. 2002-04-05. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  7. ^ アルティマニアシリーズの累計発行部数が1,000万部を突破！ [The cumulative circulation of the Ultimania series has exceeded 10 million!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2007-12-29. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  8. ^ "会社情報" [Company Information]. Studio BentStuff (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  9. ^ "会社沿革" [Company History]. Studio BentStuff (in Japanese). 15 June 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  10. ^ "NYCC 2017: Summon the Superlative Final Fantasy Reading Experience!". Dark Horse Comics. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  11. ^ Xenogears Perfect Works the Real thing―スクウェア公式ゼノギアス設定資料集 [ペーパーバック] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  12. ^ スクウェア公式 サガフロンティア2設定資料集 [大型本] [Square Official Saga Frontier 2 Setting Documents Collection [Large Book]] (in Japanese). 1999-07-15. ISBN 978-4-925075-54-1.
  13. ^ Front Mission 3 Perfect Works―スクウェア公式フロントミッションサード設定資料集 [大型本] [Front Mission 3 Perfect Works―Square Official Front Mission Third Setting Document Collection [Large Book]] (in Japanese). 1999-11-20. ISBN 978-4-925075-66-4.
  14. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［1］ [Ultimania Series [1]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  15. ^ =Ultimania シリーズ［2］ [Ultimania Series [2]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  16. ^ a b Ultimania シリーズ［3］ [Ultimania Series [3]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  17. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［4］ [Ultimania Series [4]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  18. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［5］ [Ultimania Series [5]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  19. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［7］ [Ultimania Series [7]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  20. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［8］ [Ultimania Series [8]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  21. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［9］ [Ultimania Series [9]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  22. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［10］ [Ultimania Series [10]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  23. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［11］ [Ultimania Series [11]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  24. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［12］ [Ultimania Series [12]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  25. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［13］ [Ultimania Series [13]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be "アルティマニアシリーズ 公式ページ | Square Enix Game Books Online" [Ultimania series official page | Square Enix Game Books Online] (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2020-10-03. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  27. ^ Ultimania シリーズ［15］ [Ultimania Series [15]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  28. ^ 大判でフルカラー208ページの豪華仕様！「ファイナルファンタジーVII 10thアニバーサリー アルティマニア」 [Large format, full-color, 208-page luxurious specification! "Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania"] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2007-07-31. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  29. ^ 「ディシディア ファイナルファンタジー アルティマニアα」大判サイズで12月4日に発売！ ["Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania α" will be released on December 4 in large format!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  30. ^ 「ディシディア デュオデシム ファイナルファンタジーアルティマニア -アクションSIDE-」3月10日発売！ ["Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy Ultimania -Action SIDE-" will be released on March 10!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2011-03-02. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  31. ^ 「ディシディア デュオデシム ファイナルファンタジーアルティマニア -RPG SIDE-」DLCコード付きで3月31日発売！ ["Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy Ultimania -RPG SIDE-" Released with DLC code on March 31st!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2011-03-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  32. ^ ファイナルファンタジーVII リメイク マテリアル アルティマニア [Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  33. ^ ファイナルファンタジーVII リメイク マテリアル アルティマニア プラス [Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania Plus]. Square Enix Game Books Store (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved 2022-04-17.

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