Final Fantasy

Grade: A

Most anyone who has every played, seen, or heard of a NES knows the legend of Final Fantasy. Heck, even if you have only played a Playstation 2 you know the greatness of Final Fantasy. Well this is the game that spawned the glorious franchise and an excellent start it is. This is a pure RPG. You wander around, battle baddies, level up, find goodies, and solve mysteries. You are the Light Warriors trying to find the orbs which have been stolen and guarded by various bad dudes. What really separates this game from many other RPGs is that not much grinding is necessary. That is, you don’t have to wander in circles attempting to gain levels by beating enemies. There were only a couple of times when I had my glorious heroes fight extra battles to pick up the tiny bit of experience necessary to reach the next level. Also, you don’t need a lot of money. Most of the best items are given to you in dungeons. So basically you are exploring dungeons with battles along the way. The adventure is involved but not overly intricate and your next objective is almost always spelled out for you. However, there are numerous points in the game when you can freely explore areas you have not visited and solve the mysteries in different patterns. Additionally, Final Fantasy takes the drudgery out of exploring by giving you the option of skipping the surface level easy battles if you like. I will not spoil the manner, but it is extremely helpful.

Positives:

One of the best RPGs ever. Great battle system and leveling system.

Glaring Negatives:

There are not any glaring negatives, this is very near perfection.

Graphics and Sound: Good

Each enemy has a picture and the dungeons look nice. The surface world is very attractive as well. The sound is fine. I am not big on NES music but it is not especially irritating.

Gameplay and Controls: Great

The controls are perfect, although there is not much to mess up in an RPG.

Features: Lots

There are tons of different types of characters to choose from. There are also many weapons and spells to choose from.

Fun?: Oh Yeah

If you like RPGs, you will love this game. If you do not like RPGs this is the one to try. The only drawback is, like most RPGs, you need to have a decent amount of time available to beat it.

Challenge: Medium

Without any sort of help the game is fairly difficult. However, the game originally came with a map and also some dungeon maps. Thus, using a faq for some especially tricky parts may be necessary and brings down the challenge. However, if you want a real challenge try using 4 white mages.

Replay: Some

Once you’ve beaten the game you know where everything is. However, since the game is amazing you may feel compelled to create a party with different characters. If you are like some especially obsessed fans you may try to solve the game with all kinds of crazy character combinations. I am not that person though and will probably only beat the game one more time in the distant future.

2 Player: No

Nope, but who cares.

Online Manual?: Yup

TSR has one that also contains the player’s guide that came with the game for more help without resorting to a FAQ. There are many walkthroughs on Gamefaqs that are helpful.

Bottom Line: Definitely

This game started the Final Fantasy craze. Every NES owner should own and beat it. It is fun and then whenever one of your chump buddies is playing Final Fantasy 29 you can say, “Oh yeah this is decent, but I really prefer the first one.”

Reviewer: Agent K

Company: Nintendo

Rarity: Average (C+)

Released: 1990

Expertise: Beat Game

2^nd Opinion – Agent J – A+

The perfect RPG, it runs so much smoother than Dragon Warrior and doesn't force you to battle repeatedly near as much either.

Tips and Tricks

My tips for this game are very general. There are many great faqs full of spoilers. These tips are for the individual not using faqs with spoilers who wants a few helpful tips.

If you are not using a faq make sure you write down nearly everything that each person tells you. Some of their chatter seems meaningless but will be very necessary to remember many days later.

Once you have the money make sure you have 99 heal potions. This can take forever so put on turbo, enter the first city, and then go in the item shop and place a book on the A button. Voila 20 minutes later you have bought 99 potions without manually buying them.

Get the EXIT spell and don’t be afraid to use it. If you’ve gained a bunch of levels and some cool weapons, exit from the dungeon, save, refuel, and then head back in.

Dying costs nearly nothing. You do not lose any stats when you die, so don’t immediately reset if you die. Just head back to town and bring your character back from the dead. This is especially useful later in the game when you have endless amounts of cash.

Search dungeons thoroughly most of the best stuff is found in dungeons and not bought. In fact do not buy the steel armor, just wait until you find better stuff.

Many weapons and armor can be used as items during battle and cast spells. This is very helpful for your healer who cannot attack well. Give him a cool weapon or armor to carry and use it as an item.