Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Crystal Challenge: Final Fantasy I


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.

As a whole, there are just as many parts that I like as there are that I don't. This is probably going to be the case with the first few titles in the series before it finally hits its stride. What this title has going for it is the fact that when it came out, it did revolutionize the RPG. Now it’s place is as a reminder of where it came from with hints of where it was going. It wouldn't take long for the potential that the devs showed for narrative to pay off. I would recommend the Dawn of Souls version to newcomers to FF and the JRPG genre, if only for the history lesson that it provides. In today’s market it’s not amazing, it’s not bad, it’s just okay.  

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