Hiya folks! So after playing through Theatrhythm Final Fantasy I was hit with an epiphany. I've played all the Final Fantasy games, sure, but I haven't actually completed very many of them at all. I figured I might as well remedy this AND write about my experiences with each game! That way I can obtain super-rad nerd cred for beating all the Final Fantasy games and you all can learn stuff about each one (do they stand the test of time, are the stories good, etc) and/or laugh at my misery as I get burnt out by around FFIII.
So let's get this
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If I was playing the NES version, it would of come out of this box.[/caption]Game: Final Fantasy
Released: December 17, 1987 (JP) July 12, 1990 (NA)
Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Version I Played: Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Edition (PSP)
Good 'ol FF1, the first in the franchise and honestly, a personal favorite of mine. Remember in the open when I said I hadn't completed very many Final Fantasy games? Well, FF1 is one that I actually have. Still though, I can't begin this series without starting with the game that started it all, right? Plus, it was some time ago when I did (on the GBA re-release Dawn of Souls) back in 2004-- so I figured it wouldn't hurt to go back. I know some of you are probably already in a huff over the fact that I'm not playing the original NES version, but I'll do that for one of the later games, ok? (Probably FFIII, since the remakes of that are actually a lot different than the original version) Here's my some of the stats from my playthrough.
Party Selected: Fighter, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage
Level at Endgame: All characters level 50 (which oddly enough is the original version's level cap)
Time Elapsed: 12:49 of my life surrendered to the Final Fantasy gods.
As you can see, I went with the standard party (no fancy "all fighter" or like "all white mage" parties) because I actually wanted to finish the game sometime this decade. Final Fantasy 1 doesn't have a per-determined party of characters with personality or back-story like most other games in the series. Instead you are given five class types to play the blank slate "Warriors of Light". You might think this would hurt the game story-wise, as the main characters literally have no dialog, but I really don't think so. The story is certainly substantial enough (although a lot less gripping than like, FF6) and I think it makes the game better in the gameplay department, by giving you ownership over these characters and their assigned jobs. It adds replay value too, because you can try to play through the game as a different configuration of characters-- which can totally throw the game's difficulty way up or way down. It definitely makes things more interesting from a gameplay standpoint, but then of course without designer created characters we would have the stable of lovable (and hate-able(and love to hate-able)) heroes of all the other FF's in the series, so it's kind of a trade-off.
So what is the story of Final Fantasy 1? Well, it starts with the tale of a kidnapped princess, which is generally enough for most NES games (and literally every Mario game ever), but goes on from there to become a massive quest to defeat the four fiends and relight the four crystals, one for each element (fire, water, earth, and wind), with plenty of twists and additional treasures to collect along the way. The cast of NPC side characters is a little sparse, as most characters just exist to give you sometimes vague hints on where to go next, or the next item in a series of item trades. Still though, this game has a kind of epic-ness in its simplicity, like the Beowulf of video games. You know the Light Warriors are good and just and that Chaos and the Four Fiends are ultimate evil incarnate. The tasks you complete seem all that more epic in their simplicity, and your party seems all that more awesome in their unrelenting desire to complete them and do the right thing. You don't have though moments where the heroes fall back on their goals or question their quest. The Light Warriors are all in at all times. There's no Squall "whatever" moments. At least that's how I read them, and why the heck not, that's why they're blank slates. There's just something awesomely compelling, in and odd way, and totally refreshing about the game's narrative simplicity.Gameplay is Final Fantasy distilled down to its purest form. Just turn based battles with no fancy systems or bells and whistles. The strategy is still there though, just in a purer form with less distractions and convoluted systems. You'll be sussing out your enemies elemental weaknesses and buffing your heroes with your white mage's spells. It feels good to go back to basics once and awhile. The game does have some flaws though. The random encounter rate came be obnoxiously high at times, sometimes interrupting you every 2 steps with a battle, and the game can be a little too vague with its hints on where to go next, leaving you wandering the map for your next destination. This will inevitably lead to you getting into more battles than you are supposed too, which will over-level your party (like I did mine) and make a lot of the early boss fights a complete cakewalk. I beat the first fiend (the Lich) in only like 4 turns.
You might be wondering, "In this day and age, 25 years later, is Final Fantasy 1 still fun and worth my time"? I give it a very emphatic yes. I had a great time guiding the four Warriors of Light on their quest, as dated as it may be, and it was even my second time doing so! Do I suggest the PSP version that played through? No, not really. It's a little slower (especially if it's running from a UMD) and it feels like they adjusted the difficulty a little too far to the easy side. The final battle with Chaos was way too simple. He never healed himself in my game, which is something he did a lot in other versions, which made beating him feel like an incredible triumph. In this version he seemed to go down just as easily as all the other fiends, which is kind of a let down. I'd recommend the GBA version for a fuller experience, plus you get the second game along with it! You can pick it up for like $15 bucks on eBay, and I'd totally recommend it! (And if you need a GBA to play it on, you can pick one of those up for between $20 to $40 depending on the model you get. The GBA has a really strong game library too, so don't let that hold you back)So that's one game down, 13 to go. So far I'm feeling pretty good about this! FF1 is still fun and I enjoyed the time I spent with it. I'm excited for Final Fantasy II because it's one of the games in the series I have the least experience with and it has a battle system that's significantly different than any other game in the series.
See you next time, after I've adventured my way through the second Final Fantasy!
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