Final Fantasy

Just finished Journey for what must be the 10th time since I bought it on Tuesday. Even when I finished it under roughly two hours I knew it was one of my favorite games I've ever played.

I don't know how they constantly do it, but thatgamecompany has done it again. No game has managed to make me feel a gamut of emotions in two hours as easily as Journey since their last game, Flower. If you have a PS3, do yourself and everyone you know a favor and buy all their games: flOw, Flower and Journey. You won't be disappointed.

Now onto the start of one of my favorite franchises:

I've always loved how simple Final Fantasy's logos tend to be.

Final Fantasy is definitely a unique beast. It's a franchise that invokes a slew of emotions to a great many people, ranging from fond memories coated in rose-tinted nostalgia to livid fits of blind fury at all it stands for. While I absolutely adore this series, I'm not fanatical enough to claim they're all amazing games and that you're stupid for not agreeing with my opinion; rather, I will defend each title's merits and, despite what I may say and how I bash certain aspects of these titles, I do enjoy them all for various reasons.

Assuming you're new to gaming and/or never learned about the Final Fantasy series, lemme give you a quick crash course, simply to get certain expositionary aspects out of the way.

Final Fantasy started as a latch-ditch effort for Hironobu Sakaguchi, president of developer Square after they hit on hard times finding a hit with their first titles. His intent was to retire from the industry after creating a final fantasy role-playing game. Obviously, the game was a success, spawning a diverse and extremely successful brand that became the second most popular RPG series in Japan to then-rival Enix's Dragon Warrior/Quest series.

When it comes to sequels, the series is known for constantly changing and innovating upon itself based on what vision a particular title is aiming for. Numbered installments in the main series always take place in different worlds and settings, each with new characters and histories and mechanics. While similar themes and aspects frequently recur throughout the franchise (Gil as currency, having Chocobos and Moogles as the series' most famous mascots, crystals, etc.), each main game is a stand alone product and is not dependant on the other games in the series aside from the rare direct sequel.

Gotta love early grinding on worthless pushover baddies.

Now that that's out of the way, may I point out that while you will see polls and articles trying to determine the "best" installment of the series, particularly the numbered titles, there is no humanly possible way to determine this because each game is distinctly different in tone and feel; so much so that such lists come down to personal preference and more often than not leads to flame wars and quite lively arguments. Quite often a fan of one of the original seven titles will be at odds with another fan who prefers the latter seven. I will obviously rank them according to my own personal tastes, and I'm fine with not being popular with everyone based on my rankings. The big bullet point of this paragraph -and this part is very important and distinguishes me from most online fans- is that I like ALL the main titles for their strengths. The only exception is regarding XI and XIV which are the two massive multiplayer online titles that I have played very little of and don't plan on owning, simply because I can't bring myself to pay monthly for them. Thus, I have no opinion and will not and cannot rank XI and XIV. (Though most can agree XIV was rushed about a year or two ahead of schedule. Talk about a major flub.)

Now, onto the original Final Fantasy! For the record, I own and have experienced the GBA remake and compilation Dawn of Souls the most. As mush as I can appreciate how archaic the original NES version is, I prefer the Game Boy Advance remake and beyond. I enjoy the modern translations simply for series continuity and I frankly prefer the additions the newer remakes have made over the original. So nyeh!

The boss fight that started it all.

Being a product of the 80's, FF really shows its age on its sleeve. Compared to the later entries, FF is mostly inspired by D&D and has less of a distinct identity than later titles and more aligned with Western RPG mentalities, such as the prominent inclusion of Dwarfs and Elves as races. Players begin by classing four nameless Warriors of Light to one of any combination of six distinct classes: Warrior, Monk, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, and Red Mage. Each Warrior of Light hold one of four darkened crystals in their possession, each corresponding to one of the four elements that are out of balance in World A. Contrary to the name, World B is not explored in Final Fantasy proper. In fact, the only way we know the name of this previously-unnamed world is from Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, where that game's overworld, World B, is shown to be a copy of Final Fantasy's overworld, known as World A. The more you know!

Classic Jobs: Red Mage, Warrior, Black Mage and White Mage.

Each of the four elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Wind are out of control and standing in the way of restoring balance to the darkened crystals are the Four Fiends, who are content with the state of the decaying world. Final Fantasy begins with a simple 'save the damsel in distress from a disgraced knight' plot that sets up the Warriors of Light destiny to travel across World A in an attempt to revive the four crystals to bring balance back to the world and solve the underlying paradox at the heart of the chaos (wink wink!).

While the plot may seem simple by today's RPG standards, it was quite a revelation back in '87. Compared to other RPGs of the time, Final Fantasy boasted high production values and a defined plot to give purpose to the required grinding. The series is known for raising the bar on presentation in terms of graphics and musical scores, something the series continues to champion to this day. One can't really argue the main installments are showcases for the systems they grace. The NES version definitely looked nice by 8-bit standards and introduced the now-standard battle screen with both opposing forces staring each other down on two sides of the screen instead of a first-person angle. Small detail, but big impact.

Dawn of Souls is the version I own,
SNES graphics and all.

In fact, what Final Fantasy always possessed despite being a really polished D&D clone was its charm. There was a certain quirkiness to the small sprites that ran around the world and how they battled. When near death they fell to their knees in pain, lying motionless when KO'd. Such small details would become a staple of Eastern-developed games and I definitely appreciate the small touches that I don't often see from Western-developed titles.

The original's graphics hold up pretty well for an '87 RPG, with its classic chibi characters on the overworld screens and slightly more detailed foes in battle scenes. They're obviously spruced up in later remakes comparable to the next generation's Super NES main games, Final Fantasy IV-VI. The music is classic Nobuo Uematsu, otherwise known as the Japanese John Williams. His score is just as iconic and memorable as it was twenty five years ago, a testament to the man's undeniable skill. Presentation is, as always, sublime in any Final Fantasy title.

Mechanically, the battle and experience systems are basic and work fine for what they are. You battle enemies, defeat them to gain experience, you level up after certain thresholds and your stats get boosted. Combat is turn-based (something I don't mind and was a technological necessity back in '87) and is serviceable. What I don't care for -and this is true for practically every RPG before the mid-90's- is that  you're basically forced to grind to keep up with enemies, particularly bosses.

The plot will continuously tell you to go to Point A when Point A's monsters will beat you within an inch of your life unless you grind for a bit at Point C where the baddies aren't nearly as deadly. An hour later and you'll finally be able to enter Point A, which will lead you to Point B where the Boss still has a significant chance of ripping your party's faces off if you're not careful. It's a very archaic design that I'm typically not a big fan of, and I am not one here. Make grinding addicting via the combat system, a sense of significant progress, whatever you can, and I won't mind grinding as long as I'm having fun. Pokémon is a good example of an RPG that I can grind for hours and not notice until Hour 10.

The first fight that started it all: now in HD!

Some details and mechanics operate differently depending on which version of Final Fantasy you're playing. The original game suffered from aspects that can accurately be described as frustrating; aspects that many modern gamers take for granted today, such as on-screen damage and lack of now-classic Magic Points. Not only did the game's programming only allow for limited space for localization -for instance, four slots for spell names, resulting in classic spells Meteor and Death being renamed NUKE and RUB- spells did not use MP. Players familiar with Final Fantasy III are familiar with how Final Fantasy handles. Instead of casting spells for a specific amount out of a total poll of magic, spells could only be used a set number of times and can be replenished only at a church or through level up.

Other small details are of much smaller significance. Most modern editions past the WonderSwan contain a version of the game that is considered "EZ Mode", though I personally still find it difficult in the end- and post-game battles. Each edition has upgraded the 8-bit graphics to more 16- and 32-bit styles graphics, with the PSP and iOS editions sporting HD remasters. The addition of visible Hit Point changes, standard MP, loss of 'ineffective hits' and the redirecting of attacks (fans of the first two cult-favorite Golden Sun games know the frustration of a wasted hit, since they too did not auto-direct attacks aimed at foes defeated early enough in the turn) and a more fleshed out narrative to more accurately point the player in the right direction (old games were vague back in the day, guys) make Final Fantasy a much more approachable game for our modern sensibilities. All versions past Dawn of Souls even provide fan service in the form of extra post-game boss fights, also made popular by the series, by transversing four newly added dungeons based around the four elements, each containing bosses from Final Fantasy III-VI. The 20th Anniversary editions even include a fifth dungeon with the game's toughest Superboss in a dungeon that cannot be saved in. I can only imagine.

A memorable beginning for an ever-evolving
series.

While these now-standard additions are a welcome addition, the game is still unapologetically 80's in its mindset and execution. Final Fantasy is the definition of abare-bones RPG experience, but done with more care than its brethren, and for that I can appreciate how far we've come due to Square's excellent start. It's also a nice reminder of where Final Fantasy started and how different it's made itself while still respecting its past, though this first installment is harder to distinguish than its numerous sequels. A solid game, though recommended for players looking for an old-school challenge or those interested in the series's beginning. Game Boy Advance, PSP and iOS versions are recommended.

Main Series
1. Final Fantasy

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While my Dawn of Souls includes Final Fantasy II, I'll cover that in around a month. Gotta cool myself off from the experience that is FFII.

Until then, ciao!