Final Fantasy 1 (Origins Version)

I've not played a Final Fantasy game until very recently, the last one I played before my replay of FF1 was XIII when it launched on the PS3.  Hopefully you are aware that I'm doing a stream of every Final Fantasy I own, so it seemed like a good idea to do little mini reviews as I beat them.

Final Fantasy Origins was a 2 disc box that contained both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy 2 that came out in 2003 for the PS1.  They were basically graphic face lifts for the original NES titles of the same name but they contained a couple of extras like bestiary's and maps and whatnot.

So recently I beat the Origins version of Final Fantasy and I had forgotten just how tough this game really was.  It's so much different from any other Final Fantasy that if you are a modern series veteran you might find that you get your ass kicked by this one a bit.

The plot is really simple, it's about 4 dudes with gems trying to save the world.  There is some shit about time travel but in a game this old it sort of just feels like fluff, especially when its so thin on the ground.  Still, the primitive story telling doesn't prevent the game itself from being fun, and if you're the kind of person like me who complains about modern Final Fantasy being way way too easy, then FF1 is where you want to be.

This game is fucking TOUGH, especially in the early stages.  Your party at the start of the game are extremely weak and quite frankly, ill prepared for what faces them in the early dungeons.  You'll often find yourself in situations where you have to explore a dungeon a bit, work out what to do, flee, recover and come back.  Luckily the dungeons aren't very long so it doesn't feel like too much of a chore but if you're expecting to go in there and just win first time then you have another thing coming.

Once you level up a bit and get yourself some gear and magic though, things become quite easy.  You eventually hit the point where you can just one shot everything and most fights can be solved by just mashing attack after a while.  That is until the final dungeon appears!  The final area consists of a massive dungeon with a boss gauntlet in it that doesn't allow for any between fight recovery.  This is made extra hard by the game using a magic system that involves charges rather than MP, and charges can't be recovered in a dungeon so resource management is vital.  Once you do beat it though, it does feel like you actually accomplished something which is more than most modern Final Fantasy games.

I'm sure with all the remakes and whatnot, most people have played Final Fantasy by now, but if you haven't do go back and give it a go.  If my description makes it sound a bit difficult for you, then there is an easy mode in the Origins version and the Game Boy Advance version has more classic things like mana for spells and I think it has phoenix downs too, which is something the original didn't have.

Soon I'll be streaming Final Fantasy 2 and I'm not really looking foward to it because if my memory is right, it's a steaming pile of shit.  Tune in for that on www.twitch.tv/taurinensis