The
original Final Fantasy was released in 1987 by a little company known
as Square, now SquareEnix. The story goes that the game was a last
ditch effort by the studio to make something worthwhile, giving it
the title Final Fantasy to symbolize their struggle; this was their
last chance. After the critical success of FF in Japan it eventually
made its way to the states in 1990. Since then, versions have been
released for dozens of different consoles and systems, including the
PlayStation 1, Game Boy Advance, and PSP.
The
version I played was part of the Dawn of Souls collection for the
Game Boy Advance put out in 2004. It features refined graphics, game
play tweaks both small and large, and four additional dungeons. Even
with these changes, structurally, it is a nearly identical port of
the original.
Examining
FF with contemporary eyes causes many core mechanics that were once
called revolutionary, appear stale and generic in comparison. Only by
adjusting your vision to those of a gamer in the 80's do the traits
that made FF so special come out. The random battles, now a staple of
the JRPG Genre, are addicting. Every few steps you take, with
exception to a handful of areas, triggers a battle in which you and
the enemy take turns trading blows. In order to succeed, you have to
use your enemies weaknesses to do the most damage. This type of
system would later be copied and tweaked by JRPG's for dozens of
years to come.
Although
the battle system was admittedly brilliant for its time, this version
has a few tweaks that work against it, creating a rather dull
experience. The original title was, supposedly, a very brutal
experience that forced you into grinding for both experience and gold
often in order to progress. Boss's also required your full attention
rather than the passive experience Dawn of Souls can be. It takes you
no time to gain levels, stuff your wallets with gold, and access all
the latest equipment available to your party.
Enemies
have been dumbed down to the point that mental participation is
entirely optional. Near an Endgame location I lost about 15 minutes
just wandering around an area and spamming the attack option,
regardless of character class. I wasn't even looking at the screen.
The difficulty turns a game that could be a challenging, active
experience into something dull and lifeless. At least boss's are
there to keep you on your toes from time to time during the 12-15
hour story.
Speaking
of the story, there isn't one, not really. After picking the classes of your four party members and naming them, you’re dropped into the
world to figure it out as you go. Dialogue is of the “Go
here, do this” variety, usually leading you to a dungeon with a
treasure to find. One aspect that I wish SquareEnix would have
changed is the lack of direction. Normally, it's not too difficult to
find out where you need to be, but every now and then you have to
find a specific person in a specific town that you haven't even been
to yet that will then tell you where you need to go.
It's
funny that my favorite part was a twist, turning the entire adventure
on it's head, right at the endgame. I’m not going to spoil it save that, for it’s time,
it’s genius. I have a feeling that, had the devs been able to flesh
out the story for the remake, they could have had something really
special on their hands when reintroducing this title to the world.
Hardcore fans might disapprove, but nothing is ever perfect;
everything can be improved.
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