Final Fantasy 1 game review

Final Fantasy was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1990 in the USA, but was originally released for the Famicom in Japan in 1987. Final Fantasy is a fantasy Role Playing Game (RPG), and it really revolutionized the genre. Along with Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest), Final Fantasy would shape how the world saw video game RPGs. The game mechanics borrow heavily from Dungeons and Dragons, and work in a way that no game really had before it. Though Dragon Warrior was great, it felt more clunky and cumbersome, and did not look as sharp and clean as Final Fantasy did. The game relied on turn based combat, with random encounters, opposed to what gamers were used to seeing in games like Legend of Zelda where the enemies were visible on the screen. This creates more of a D&D esque experience on the gaming console. Also unlike the actual D&D NES games, which were text based point and click games, this one had a beautiful layout and sharp clean colours. I Played this on the NES, not on emulation or on a touched up rereleased version, and I must say that even today after all of these years, this game still looks beautiful, the graphics were cutting edge , the game play is smooth and clean, and this game has amazing replayability. Another thing that this game does exceptionally well, which we also saw done with Dragon Warrior is that is has a great story line, that unfolds as the player advances the game. The game is challenging, I remember as a kid I needed the Game Genie to beat it, and replaying it now for the 7th or 8th time, the game still gives a challenge. I would honestly say that this is one of the best games for the NES. Another great feature of this game is that it had a memory for saving the game and didn't rely on the password method of continuing a game as many games of the time period did. Final Fantasy also spawned one of the post popular video game RPG franchises ever, with games spanning many consoles from the NES though to the Playstation 4, and on nearly console in between. The story of this game is, that you play the 4 warriors of light, you start off by saving the princess of Corneria, and after that you learn that the 5 crystals of power (earth, fire, ice, water, and air) have been darkened by elemental fiends, and you must restore light to the crystals and restore balance to the earth, which is in chaos. Along with way you fight pirates and get rewarded their ship, you help elves and dwarves, you soar through the air on an airship, and paddle the waterways with a canoe that fits in your pocket, and you befriend dragons which bestow upon you a class change for your characters. You also get to make a part of 4 characters to play the game as, you can choose between a fighter, thief, black belt, red mage, white mage, or black mage. For this play through I chose 2 fighters (which I named Sama and Joe), a Thief (which I named Pitz), and a white mage (which I named Suma). This party was a challenge because I limited myself to only healing and restorative magics, which put me at a disadvantage in a few of the battles, but the challenge was also a lot of fun. Would I recommend this game? Yes, absolutely, this is definitely one of my favourite games of all time, as are most of the Final Fantasy series. Definitely get yourself a copy of this great game, which shouldn't be too hard as it is for sale on most of the virtual consoles, (the Playstation network, the NES Classic, the Wii virtual console, there is even cell phone versions, and you can find it on multiple hand held consoles like the Gameboy Advanced as well). If you want to do like I did and own an original copy for the NES, it is a spendy game, cartridge alone going for $30 or more, and if you want to do like I did and get it complete in box with all of the maps and inserts and manuals and everything, don't be surprised to spend upwards of $300, I was fortunate to find mine for $80. But it is a must have for all collectors, and gamers.