Legend has it that in 1986 Squaresoft was in trouble, after releasing a string of mediocre titles that met with equally mediocre sales they were pinning all their hopes on one last ditch game, one they dubbed their 'final fantasy', to be released in 1987 in Japan. True or not, Final Fantasy was an undeniable hit for the company, one that has successfully withstood the test of time.
Final Fantasy in Retrospect
Facing impending closure or not Square was clearly set on creating a hit with Final Fantasy, shamelessly copying their successful RPG forebears. With genre cues taken from the previous year's hit Dragon Quest (itself taking cues from PC RPGs such as Ultima) and monster designs/character classes borrowed liberally from Dungeons & Dragons.
However Final Fantasy is no cheap rip-off resting solely on aspects stolen from other games, instead it uses these aspects as a base to be built upon. Dragon Quest used a one character battle party, a first person battle perspective, and in the original Japanese release sprites were only capable of facing south no matter what direction they were actually traveling in. Its story consisted of a simple save the princess, kill the bad guy, win the game formula.
Final Fantasy improved upon all these aspects, with a 4 person battle party, the ability to see all your characters at once in a side-view battle perspective, and a greatly expanded story. Almost as if the developers were attempting to distance Final Fantasy from the earlier game, this one begins with your heroes being charged with the rescue of a princess, a quest that is over not ten minutes later.
Final Fantasy Prelude - Classic Elements
The first game in the series introduced many elements that would recur throughout. The character classes of White/Black/Red Mage, Thief, Black Belt, and Fighter would all appear in various incarnations in every game of the series to date. The crystals, or "orbs" in the original NES game, play a big part in many series entires, and the airship method of transport has been unavoidable.
Perhaps most importantly, the iconic themes by Nobuo Uematsu "Prologue" and "Prelude" have appeared consistently in remixed forms in every main series entry. These musical pieces have set a tone for the overall series from day one, and are truly impressive as having originated from the NES' meagre sound chip.
Lasting Appeal - Origins and Beyond
From Japan-only releases on cellphones and the Wonderswan Colour to international ones on the PlayStation, Gameboy Advance, PSP and Wiiware Final Fantasy 1 is one of the most remade games available. Each release is slightly different, and usually enhanced only superficially from the previous ones. The PlayStation version ("Origins") uses the updated graphics of the Wonderswan release, and adds some unfortunate CD loads times.
The GBA version, subtitled Dawn of Souls, introduces a new bonus dungeon to be played after the main game, and again slightly changes the graphics for the new smaller screen. The PSP release uses the script from Dawn of Souls, but again entirely overhauls the graphics and adds a second bonus dungeon. Each of these updates feature faster level and monetary gains than the original, unforgiving NES release.
The Wiiware release is interesting in that it is in fact a straight re-release of the original NES game, with none of the enhancements introduced since the game's debut in 1987. However, this is not at all an unwelcome release for gamers as the original game is still heavily played by hardcore series enthusiasts unhappy with the easier modern versions.
Having dissected every aspect of the original game, there are those who set challenges for themselves to see how quickly it can be completed, how low a level they can defeat the final boss at, and how few characters they can employ in doing so.
After twenty two years, people still can't get enough Final Fantasy.
Adam Dalton-Wyatt - I am a degreed library technician who is now working on acquiring a film degree. I've been published in my university newspaper, and run a ...
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