Game of the Month #52 (May 2019) - Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy was the first entry in the now widely recognized Final Fantasy franchise, originally developed on the NES by Square.

Last time I played it (PSP port) I've tried to complete the bestiary but that includes fighting all forms of Chronodia, which means going through that randomly generated labyrinth meeting different requirements for about 5-6 times, it's super tedious and if you aren't playing on an emulator, you can't save either. Or I can ignore all that, head for the final boss and call it a day. Knowing myself, I don't see it happening.

I've never really played any of the Final Fantasy games before, but I tried this out on my NES Classic for about an hour a couple of years ago and it was fun, although I had no idea of where to go and what to do equipment wise so I'd probably need a guide or something to figure out the game at least at first. I honestly was holding off on returning to this one until after I play 6 and 7 (not sure when that'll be) as those ones seem more interesting to me, so I'm not sure if I'll play it at all this month, but maybe I'll try it out some more after I finish Chrono Trigger.

Edit: I also vaguely remember trying to play this when I was really young on my Dad's old NES, and usually gave up after a couple minutes due to my short attention span and not knowing what to do. Also I feel like I would have named everyone AAAAA either on accident or due to impatience.

I've never really played any of the Final Fantasy games before, but I tried this out on my NES Classic for about an hour a couple of years ago and it was fun, although I had no idea of where to go and what to do equipment wise so I'd probably need a guide or something to figure out the game at least at first. I honestly was holding off on returning to this one until after I play 6 and 7 (not sure when that'll be) as those ones seem more interesting to me, so I'm not sure if I'll play it at all this month, but maybe I'll try it out some more after I finish Chrono Trigger.

Edit: I also vaguely remember trying to play this when I was really young on my Dad's old NES, and usually gave up after a couple minutes due to my short attention span and not knowing what to do. Also I feel like I would have named everyone AAAAA either on accident or due to impatience.

So basically with a lot of the early Final Fantasy games you learn where to go through talking with people around the towns, and then you sort of just figure out where to go through piecing together the information.

Or just use a guide

I've never really played any of the Final Fantasy games before, but I tried this out on my NES Classic for about an hour a couple of years ago and it was fun, although I had no idea of where to go and what to do equipment wise so I'd probably need a guide or something to figure out the game at least at first. I honestly was holding off on returning to this one until after I play 6 and 7 (not sure when that'll be) as those ones seem more interesting to me, so I'm not sure if I'll play it at all this month, but maybe I'll try it out some more after I finish Chrono Trigger.

Edit: I also vaguely remember trying to play this when I was really young on my Dad's old NES, and usually gave up after a couple minutes due to my short attention span and not knowing what to do. Also I feel like I would have named everyone AAAAA either on accident or due to impatience.

Like KingM said, but you can also just walk everywhere and you will eventually end up going to the right place with a high level party.

So basically with a lot of the early Final Fantasy games you learn where to go through talking with people around the towns, and then you sort of just figure out where to go through piecing together the information.

Or just use a guide

I know when I first started walked straight out of town and then got slaughtered since no one was armed with anything but their fists, but I think I went around town and spoke with the NPCs after that (can't remember for sure though). If I remember correctly I think I'm supposed to head to the cave up north since it was the only notable location besides the town and over world that I remember, its just that I avoided it to explore every inch and grind a little since I almost got slaughtered again after checking it out real quick.

I was mostly thinking using a guide just to figure out how out some of the mechanics and what to do, as I remember being confused about which weapons to give each class, what spells to learn, etc. I personally prefer finding out where to go without a guide most of the time, only using it if I'm at a complete loss. However I don't mind looking up those other kinds of things as much from my experience NES games don't really like to explain that stuff in game a bunch. That said I may actually have the manual that came with the game somewhere so maybe I'll look for that (or just look it up) and see if that helps.

I know when I first started walked straight out of town and then got slaughtered since no one was armed with anything but their fists, but I think I went around town and spoke with the NPCs after that (can't remember for sure though). If I remember correctly I think I'm supposed to head to the cave up north since it was the only notable location besides the town and over world that I remember, its just that I avoided it to explore every inch and grind a little since I almost got slaughtered again after checking it out real quick.

I was mostly thinking using a guide just to figure out how out some of the mechanics and what to do, as I remember being confused about which weapons to give each class, what spells to learn, etc. I personally prefer finding out where to go without a guide most of the time, only using it if I'm at a complete loss. However I don't mind looking up those other kinds of things as much from my experience NES games don't really like to explain that stuff in game a bunch. That said I may actually have the manual that came with the game somewhere so maybe I'll look for that (or just look it up) and see if that helps.

So the start of the first Final Fantasy they give your party no items. You're supposed to go right into the town and the castle area to buy your party equipment. Not advisable to try and go anywhere with nothing equipped

The original FF is the only "long" game I've completed multiple time in my life. I completed the NES version somewhere around 1995, the GBA port around 2005 and the PS1 port around 2015. Both ports were actually very good and very faithful to my original NES experience. I think that the SNES looming ports are perfect for this game. I haven't tried any of the more recent "HD" ports but I can assume they are based on the original GBA port.

Also, I liked this game since it's a fairly simple and straightforward RPG with simple battle mechanics and basic equipment stats. Even tho I love RPGs, I tend to not play the ones I own because I'm always afraid they will be too complicated. FF is one of the few early RPGs that is easy to understand and where the story leads you where you need to go. Also, grinding is not a big issue in this game and your party should be strong enough if you play the game in a "normal" way. NPCs give clear information and the quests are interesting. The layout of the caves and dungeons are actually not bad. It's not like the firsts DQ games where everything is so cryptic where you can't find anything without a guide.

I won't be playing this game this month, but I can't wait to read what people have to say about their experience.

Also, the Ice Cave is the best place to grind, just saying!

So the start of the first Final Fantasy they give your party no items. You're supposed to go right into the town and the castle area to buy your party equipment. Not advisable to try and go anywhere with nothing equipped

Yeah I definitely found that out the hard way. I remember I did get some weapons and armor after that, although I didn’t know who should have what do I just gave them something I hoped might fit their class.

Yeah I definitely found that out the hard way. I remember I did get some weapons and armor after that, although I didn’t know who should have what do I just gave them something I hoped might fit their class.

I am playing the Playstation version which more than likely has some quality of life improvements over the NES version which I believe you are playing. For instance, when buying armor and weapons at the shop, it shows which of your characters can and cannot equip them

Off the top of my head

Warriors: Swords, axes, shields, sabers, any armor really

Thief: Sabers, daggers, light-medium armor

White Mages: Hammers, staffs, daggers (maybe), light armor

Black Mages: Daggers, staffs, light armor

Red Mages: Sabers, Swords, Daggers, light-medum armor

I am probably wrong in some aspects, but you could also just google the job specific wiki page somewhere and get something more accurate if you are so inclined to.

Also a balanced starting party would be something like Warrior, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, which when playing the PlayStation version is what it recommends as the default party, but you're also free to experiment if you are so inclined to so such

Thieves are the worst class I think. I beat it with 4 thieves as a challenge but had to reach max level and get extremely lucky in the final dungeon. Some of the early fights you're doing 1 damage to bosses unless you get a crit.

Just finished this on NES a little while ago. It's actually surprisingly playable, but as a word of warning to anyone wanting to experience it on NES: it's broken. As in, stuff doesn't work as intended kind of broken. Some of the spells do nothing (and at least one helps the enemies), weapon statuses don't work and there's a small bug when using Cottage/House to save your game. It actually saves your progress before restoring your MP, so if you stop playing, you'll find that your MP hasn't recovered at all when you come back.

There are helpful bugs too, such as intelligence doing nothing, so Red Mages are as good at casting spells as White or Black Mages. Also, kind of helpful is the critical hit bug, which makes end game weapons deal critical damage way often than they should. As a downside though, at the beginning of the game, you almost never get critical hits because of the same bug.

I ended up choosing Fighter/Thief/Red/White as my starting party, because that worked very well in the GBA remake. Unfortunately that didn't work nearly as well on NES, because some of the more useful spells don't work in this version.

So, the game is playable on NES and can be somewhat fun too. However, it lacks all kinds of quality of life improvements from later games (and later remakes), so it can be tedious to play. Especially since inventory and healing options are limited and everything is very expensive.

This is the first game for the GotM that I actually feel like I can join in on. What is the best version to give this game a go in peoples opinions?

I'm all for playing the original on the NES but for a first time playthrough of this title would it be better to play a more modernised version and if so which version... there are so many remakes now!

This is the first game for the GotM that I actually feel like I can join in on. What is the best version to give this game a go in peoples opinions?

I'm all for playing the original on the NES but for a first time playthrough of this title would it be better to play a more modernised version and if so which version... there are so many remakes now!

In my opinion, both the GBA and PS1 ports are excellent (I completed both of them). They are very faithful to the original game while bringing some quality of life improvements and some bugs fixed as well as some mild tweaks here and there. Also, the 16 bit graphics and music upgrade are a good fit for the game. Also, the PS1 loading times aren't too bad.

I haven't tried the more modern "HD" ports to mobile devices, they look like they are the same ports but with better visuals and touch controls. I don't think it's worth playing the original NES version since the ports are good and accurate.

Status report:

This is my 3rd playthrough of the game. Fighter is OP. Thief sucks. Limited magic uses blows. Only having potions sucks. This game is a slow and tedious slog of a game and I now hate it.

2 crystals restored, and level 21

Party: Fighter, Thief, Black Mage, White Mage

I played the gba version, my team is standard (one of each) and they are around lvl 30 now. But I feel like this has not aged well at all. I don't feel like playing anymore tbh, too many random encounters, no character development, no humor, no interesting story, not visually impressive, fighters and thief can only attack. So fcking dull. Im going to retire it, I feel like I've experienced most of what this game has to offer.

I played the gba version, my team is standard (one of each) and they are around lvl 30 now. But I feel like this has not aged well at all. I don't feel like playing anymore tbh, too many random encounters, no character development, no humor, no interesting story, not visually impressive, fighters and thief can only attack. So fcking dull. Im going to retire it, I feel like I've experienced most of what this game has to offer.

It's a game from 1987 after all. Of course it's "old" by today's standards. I think it's way better than the eariler Dragon Quest games though.

I actually finished this again a week ago. I recommend the PSP version personally its the best looking and best sounding and it includes most, if not all of the content from the GBA version and perhaps some more.

Unless you have specific reasons to play the NES version (like speedrunning) I would not play that version if only because it doesn't auto switch your queued attacks if the enemy dies. So if your first character kills an enemy, and the next three have targeted the same one, they all waste a turn which frankly, makes the game much harder/more frustrating.

It's a game from 1987 after all. Of course it's "old" by today's standards. I think it's way better than the eariler Dragon Quest games though.

Yeah that's probably true but I don't have any nostalgia for this game and it is just a lesser experience compared to playing DQ XI, which is very traditional in how it plays. You basically do the same thing in DQ11 as in the first Final Fantasy: party of four traveling the middleages going from city to city, turn based combat, leveling up, upgrading your gear, finding treasures, killing bosses to save people. But its modernized: no random encounters, characters with personality, more engaging combat, crafting system, timetravel, voice acting, interesting plot, looks great with the Akira Toriyama design etc. Fuck Final Fantasy 1, Dragon Quest XI is better

Well there are 30 years of development between the two.

Such an odd comparison.

Well there are 30 years of development between the two.

Such an odd comparison.

I think its okay to compare. Tetris on the NES is almost as good as Tetris on the Switch. Tetris is a timeless classic, but FF1 is not.

Yowie Wowie I hate this game more and more

Yeah that's probably true but I don't have any nostalgia for this game and it is just a lesser experience compared to playing DQ XI, which is very traditional in how it plays. You basically do the same thing in DQ11 as in the first Final Fantasy: party of four traveling the middleages going from city to city, turn based combat, leveling up, upgrading your gear, finding treasures, killing bosses to save people. But its modernized: no random encounters, characters with personality, more engaging combat, crafting system, timetravel, voice acting, interesting plot, looks great with the Akira Toriyama design etc. Fuck Final Fantasy 1, Dragon Quest XI is better

Comparing FF1 to DQXI is ridiculous........

Alright lets compare Final Fantasy X to Dragon Quest I and well see which game is better.

Why don't you compare Apple to Apples buddy. Comparing Final Fantasy I and Dragon Warrior I makes complete sense, same genre of game, same system and both made in the late 80s

If you want to compare Dragon Quest XI to any Final Fantasy game it would be FF15, I mean seriously you thought there would be decent voice acting on top of that long ass list of other things in FF1? It was one of the first RPG's ever made for home consoles, not a well polished game made for your modern PS4. Never disrespect a game like that either, "Fuck Final Fantasy 1, Dragon Quest XI is better." just because you don't like the game doesn't mean other people don't love it. Plus you sound like a fucking idiot with your ridiculous comparison.

Please add a little more thought before you write and knock games buddy. I am also not even going to get into that stupid Tetris post.

I also will not be partaking in FF1 this month, since I already have a long list of FF games to playthrough (X, V, VI). Plus I already beat this game many years ago on my PS1 and oh my god I wish you all luck haha.

Comparing FF1 to DQXI is ridiculous........

Alright lets compare Final Fantasy X to Dragon Quest I and well see which game is better.

Why don't you compare Apple to Apples buddy. Comparing Final Fantasy I and Dragon Warrior I makes complete sense, same genre of game, same system and both made in the late 80s

If you want to compare Dragon Quest XI to any Final Fantasy game it would be FF15, I mean seriously you thought there would be decent voice acting on top of that long ass list of other things in FF1? It was one of the first RPG's ever made for home consoles, not a well polished game made for your modern PS4. Never disrespect a game like that either, "Fuck Final Fantasy 1, Dragon Quest XI is better." just because you don't like the game doesn't mean other people don't love it. Plus you sound like a fucking idiot with your ridiculous comparison.

Please add a little more thought before you write and knock games buddy. I am also not even going to get into that stupid Tetris post.

I also will not be partaking in FF1 this month, since I already have a long list of FF games to playthrough (X, V, VI). Plus I already beat this game many years ago on my PS1 and oh my god I wish you all luck haha.

I'd have much more fun playing Contra, Castlevania 2, Zelda 2, Mega Man, Metal Gear, Kid Icarus, Punch Out! etc from 1987 than Final Fantasy or any other JRPG from that time. Games where you need some skill and not just grind. A JRPG without a story is so fckn dull and is more fun to play in 100x speed on an emulator, just because you get done with the tedium quicker. I can compare Mega Man 2 with Mega Man 11 and I prefer Mega Man 2. I dont think anyones favorite FF game is the first one, because its a dated dull ass game.

Best version of this game is the ps1 version on normal difficulty. The later versions remove all difficulty like easy mode and completely change the magic system and are basically another game and are super boring. The earlier versions are buggy and don't have the improvements of the ps1 version. Best to play the ps1 version via psn or some other emulator.