Final Fantasy, an epic RPG. If you love RPGs to death and you love FF series, you'll love this. This is an FF1 Review.
You can't introduce something like Final Fantasy, it just is. To try to explain the series would take this review entirely different direction, and I might as well name it something else. To simplify it to a fault, Final Fantasy is the most famous RPG series in the world. As anyone that has played more than racing, sports, and guitar hero games have heard of Final Fantasy. It is the foundation of which all other RPGs are built off of (although we all stand on the shoulders of giants, so there maybe something before it, just not as epic).
But before I go any further, if you're not a big fan of RPGs, stop here. Final Fantasy 1 (FF1) is all the basics of RPGs. If you have a hard time enjoying menu screens to get you attack, you'll be wasting your time reading this.
For everyone else, please keep reading, especially if you are a Final Fantasy fan. I currently own 1-6, JUST pick up 7 for the PSP (download, $9.99, awesome), and have had 12 for a while. I plan on playing through every Final Fantasy but XI.
FF1 is a story about prophesied heroes coming to save the world, and really that's it. This game is not meant for its story line (it was back then), it isn't meant for its unique game play. It's suppose to be nostalgic. You have 4 players that you start out with right away, and 6 classes. These classes are Warrior, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, Monk. This is it, and unless you utterly hate walkthroughs I suggest you do your research.
You're goal is to defeat Chaos, the evil being trying to destroy your current world. To do this you need 4 crystals which demons have. Now go and defeat them! That is really. You'll find equipment in the field to be better then what you can buy (some of it absolutely rocks) along with your armor, and you'll be buying your spells. White and Black, that's it, but the graphics are updated for the GBA and the effects are nice and pretty. If you don't enjoy them then you're not going to have much fun with this game.
Eventually though, if you read walkthroughs, the majority of your encounters will be the same strategy. If you don't run from any battles, and you battle often (yet not to a point of grinding) you'll find yourself with a lot of money, buying plenty of potions and such and you'll be able to recover from any tough encounter you come across.
I knew what I was getting into when I started this (since I want to play the entire series in my life time) and a lot of the time I was catching up on episodes of Lost while watching this. I can't see how anyone can give 100% attention to what's going on in the game. While boss fights are fun, everything else is pathetic. There is very little strategy changes and the characters that I set myself up with ended up making the game harder (I went Warrior, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage) and yet still wiped the floor with everyone I encountered…..until I got to the chaos dungeons. Those were tougher, but nothing I couldn't handle.
But again, if you are a big FF fan, you'll be fine, so long as you have a movie in or watching TV to pass the times you are walking around.
One gripe I really had with this is no defense choice. I hate it so much that I think it is such a vital element that not having is a flaw. Defense helps, plain and simple, especially if you have tougher boss fights. Thankfully the newest version of FF1 for the PSP has this if you can't live without it.
A short review yes, but not a long game by any means. Probably a total of 20 hours if you want to do everything, a lot more then that if you want to complete your monster information thing, something like a pokedex. But why do that when you have pokemon?
For casual gamers: 5.0 Avoid this game, you'll be very bored with it. Unless you find yourself enjoying many of the rpgs you come across, you won't want this.
For RPG enthusiasts 7.5: Wanna know where it all began? You'll find some of it here!
Hardcore Gamers 7.5: Just another game to put on your shelf, but nice to have it next to the other FF games you collect.
Overall:
Graphics: 7, updated but nothing special. If you love Final Fantasy's down to every magic visual possible, then you'll like this.
Sound: 6, There is nothing memorable in the game, so really that's both a curse and a blessing. You won't remember anything cool, but you also won't remember anything annoying! A win in my book.
Story: 4, there's a story, but I find more in a Where's Waldo? Book
Gameplay: 7.9, why not eight? Because it's a fundamental RPG, so it has what you like, but nothing you haven't seen before, but what were you expecting?
Overall for me 7.5 (not based on an average)
Random note: Freaking A the hard cider here in Milwaukee sucks. I miss Hornbys…….
I'm on a mission to find my favorite WI beer.