Final Fantasy: My First Console RPG
Written: Feb 07 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: fun to play, good for beginners
Cons: dated, expensive, old, somewhat linear game play
The Bottom Line: This is probably one of the best RPGs out for the original Nintendo. However, unless you're a huge fan of the game already, I wouldn't recommend buying it.
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| kjell1979's Full Review: Final Fantasy for Nintendo |
It's Hard To Beat The Original
Final Fantasy was the first RPG I got for any gaming platform. After just a few minutes of playing, I was hooked. I played this game for hours each day, sacrificing homework and chores (I did that anyway, I just had a new excuse) in order to come one step closer to completing the game. To me this game was like a great book I just couldn't put down. I never knew what awaited me next. After I defeated the final monster, I lent it to my neighbor in order to share with him what I had been obsessing about for so many weeks. Soon he was hooked too. When I eventually got the game back again, I couldn't help but to start a new game, this time with a different party. Eventually, I believe my neighbor sold the game. I've wanted it back ever since.
What is Final Fantasy?
This is the first of many role-playing games (RPGs) that Square Soft created. There is no central premise or theme that encompasses every game in the entire series. The first Final Fantasy that was shipped to America was a toned down version of the Japanese version. Harsh language was substituted for milder, less offensive dialog. The game was also easier than the Japanese version in order to draw a more mainstream crowd. This was a success and many people, including me, were entranced by the series.
Final Fantasy is your typical early 90's role-playing game. You fight randomly occurring monsters through dungeons, caves, land and sea. You collect gold for new weapons, armors and spells. You receive experience for defeating monsters, which in turn increase your level. Along the way, you must complete quests that open up new parts of the world to you and allow the game to progress further.
In the beginning you select 4 members of your party. You can select any combination of the 6 different available classes: Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage. This is a great idea because it allows dozens of different combinations of parties to play with. This is one of the main reasons why I think it has such a high replay value. Anyway, after you select your party, you must assign names to the different members. The unfortunate part is that you are only allowed 4 letters for each name. This is a drawback, however it's a minor one in the long term.
The story is rather weak, however for such an old RPG, it's not that bad. You assume the role of the 4 Light Warriors who are prophesized to bring light back to the 4 orbs. As you progress further into the game, you begin to unravel the mystery of what was keeping the orbs dark, and later what caused them to darken in the first place. Without spoiling the story, I must say that there are ambiguities that probably come from a poortranslation. Although you have a good idea what's going on, the ending is so awkwardly worded and ambiguous that you are left a little empty at the end. You finished the game but you really do not know what's going on. Although I think this is something that was overlooked, I only think it's a minor detraction from the game.
The battle system is pretty good but it has its flaws. The battles are turned based where it randomly assigns the fighting order before the start of each round. You have many options on how to fight your enemy. You can fight them (with a melee weapon), use an offensive or defensive spell, drink a potion to cure poison or recover health, or you can use a piece of your armor or weaponry in battle. The last option is rather unique for its time. Some weapons and armors have special abilities (pretty much the same as a spell only you can use it an unlimited amount of times) that can be used in battle. Using one of these items utilizes these special abilities. This can take a huge burden off the party if you find one of these special items. There are flaws in this battle system. For one, if two of your party members are selected to attack one enemy and the first party member defeats that monster first, then the other party member will still attempt to attack that monster even though it's not there. You get the message "ineffective" when this happens, but it does waste time. Another discrepancy is how the game handles spells in battle versus outside a battle. If you attempt to use a spell in battle that is not meant for battle, it will allow you to cast it, however it won't work and you'll be charged a spell point. However, if you attempt to cast a battle spell outside of battle, it will say you can't do that but not penalized. This is a minor glitch, but I really think this should have gotten cleaned up.
The game progresses at a good rate, but it could be a little better. You level up at just about the right pace as you progress to areas with harder to defeat enemies. There are a few exceptions to this rule though. Towards the beginning, there is a spot where you have to level up about 4 or 5 times before you can progress. This can be somewhat monotonous to fight the same monsters over and over just to make progress. I see this as a major drawback in that it prevents me from playing this game more. It is a good early challenge to RPG veterans though. Luckily this spot is far enough into the game that it doesn't turn people off before they really get started. After this spot the game moves along at a better pace.
The Stats
The graphics are pixels, which are as advanced as you're going to get on an old NES. However, there's nothing special about the graphics even by NES standards. The monsters graphics do not move at all, rather they are just pictures. There are very little graphically pleasing scenes, and no cut scenes. I don't know how much they could have stuffed into that cartridge, but it would have been nice to have a little bit better graphics.
The sound is rather mediocre too. The music, although good at first, gets monotonous after a while. There aren't many different songs and they are all very repetitive. The sounds aren't very inspiring either. I know that there are limitations to the NES, but Ninja Gaiden had some great sound effects (not to mention graphics and cut scenes too).
The controls are good and logical. Responsiveness is rather irrelevant since this is not a button-masher.
The replay value is great. This is what makes you forget about the mediocre graphics and sound. Like I mentioned before, you can play with dozens of different party combinations, each with their own challenges. This is what makes the game great and partially why there are now over a dozen different Final Fantasy games out there.
Conclusion
Square Soft is re-releasing this game on the original Playstation (PSX) bundled with Final Fantasy II, the sequel that only was released in Japan. The name of this re-release is Final Fantasy Origins, and I am counting down the days until it appears in stores (April 8th, 2003). I think that for those of you who haven't played this game or like reading reviews of games that you have played when you were younger, might want to check out this re-release. The graphics, sound, and difficulty are all updated and cut scenes have also been added to both games. The other reason is because the re-release is selling for $40 retail. The old NES Final Fantasy cartridge, whether you buy it off Ebay or from a used game store, will cost you upwards of $20, unless you can get it cheaper at a yard sale or flea market. That's a hefty price for such an old game. However, this is due to the demand for the game. So unless you feel that you must get the old NES cartridge in order to reclaim a piece of your childhood, I'd just skip ahead to this new game that's coming out very shortly (or already came out depending on when you read this).
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kjell1979
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Location: Oxford, Mass
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