Nintendo
Final Fantasy

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
7.31
7.52
7.78
7.78
Votes: 97
Reviews: 10


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Reviewer: E. Washkewits Date: Nov 3, 2006
First off, I'm a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series. FF1 is by far my favorite. Now I first beat this game at age 7. It took me a long time until I got it. After that I kept playing, I could play with my eyes closed and beat it. Now I've finally played with every group possible. You'd think all white mages would be the toughest, it's actually all thieves. Until they become true light warriors.

Graphics: 8
Well I think I understand these graphics. They had probably the best graphics for what they were shooting for. Any other graphics just wouldn't work in it. The payers look the same it the battle mode. But the bosses looked incredible. Especially for NES.

Sound: 10
I believe this game had the perfect music. Not only can I listen to it all day, especially chaos' temple, but the main thing is how it sets the mood. You feel undefeatable while the music is playing. I was just upset the bosses didn't have separate battle music.

Gameplay: 10
I loved the gameplay in this. You could understand why you had to destroy the bosses, and what they were doing to the earth. Also how Garland planned to live forever. The levels were great to play, and I loved the weapons in the game. Especially how you chose your party depending on how you like to play.

Overall: 10
Like I said, this is my favorite game. So of course it's perfect. I play it all the time and learn something new each time. I worked with a FF1 website for a while until it shutdown. If you like a game where you get weaklings and train them to be masters, incredible enemies, great weapons, great music, and brilliant ideas and fantasies. This game is for you!

 

Reviewer: Giest118 Date: Jun 19, 2006
I'll get right to the point... this game is overrated. The remake(s) were highly enjoyable, but the original is just.... horrible. I can't even begin to imagine how this sold well enough for Square to make other games. But perhaps that's the redeeming feature: It sold so well that Square was motivated to make some GOOD games.

Graphics: 5
5, because for its time, it was probably good. Maybe. To be fair, the only basis for comparison I have is Kirby's Adventure. See, I really dislike half the game's graphics. Monster graphics are about the best you get here. Past that: battle animations, the battle system, overworld map, etc... ew. Just... ew.

Sound: 3
This game had sound? Oh wait, I suppose it did... it had the same exact sound for every single kind of attack, didn't it? Including misses? I've seen what the NES can do, and there is no excuse for this. One redeeming feature is that the battle music is catchy. The remake's battle music is, anyway. The original is, like the rest of itself, bad.

Gameplay: 1
The ineffective message in battle, to signify that your characters are stupid and like to attack corpses. That ruined what little fun this game was. You might say that this gross lack of good coding adds an element of strategy.... but no, it doesn't. It adds another variable for luck to screw you over. You might have your fighter attack one of those big ogres, and, in the same fight, have everyone else attack the smaller enemies. And then the fighter will miss the ogre, despite its horrendous size and immobility. And then you get to watch the MISS message for ten minutes. In fact, even if the fighter did land the hit, you'd watch as it says "2x hit - 78 DMG" for ten minutes. The battle system is BORING. The storyline is BORING. The entire thing is boring.

Overall: 3
Gameplay ruined the entire thing. In fact, this is probably the only game ever to drive me away because the programmers failed at coding. If they could have programmed the battle system to be a bit faster (like, shave ten hours off the length of time that the "MISS" "DMG" and "INEFFECTIVE" messages are there), you'd not only have something ten times more enjoyable, but it would also be ten times less boring.

In conclusion, don't listen to me, for I am the only one to notice these atrocious flaws in the game. You might not notice these flaws, and will enjoy the game. Definitely worth your time, even if it's not worth mine.

 

Reviewer: Joshua Freeland Date: Jun 29, 2003
My Father bought me an NES when I turned 11, this being the first game that I played that did not come with the system. I was sceptical when my dad told me about the way that the game was played, you play these 4 heros that are going off to save the world from monsters that are draining the energy of the worlds natural resources. For an 11 year old used to playing Mario Bros. Its was a lot to swallow. I thought I would hate the game, but it turned out to be the game that cought me on to a style of games that has had me hooked now for over a decade.

Graphics: 9
For its time the graphics were not bad. Simple sprites for everything. I remember being astounded by the flashing effects of powerful spells like FIR2. The tilesets for different castles is really cool, ranging from ruined palaces, undersea cities to fortresses in the sky. Another thing that really cought me was the way that the monsters look. None of them are Animated in the least. In fact I think the most the monsters do is 2 things. #1 They Flash when they attack. #2 Boss monsters fade away by pixels. I would have to say that this is one of those games that you just don't play because it had great graphics.

Sound: 10
The music is repititious and the sounds are repeated, but they do thier purpose. They do really set a mood to the game. When a character is poisoned in your party it makes the most awful noise when you walk. Stepping into lava gives you a "cringing" ca-chunk sound. The music is well paced to the game itself, it sticks in your head in a way that does not drive you nuts. Well, perhaps the fight music got annoying after a bit.

Gameplay: 10
You really have to hand it to a game that stayed at Nintendo Power's #1 game slot for over 32 months. (I still have the issue) It was a first of its kind to be a game that people enjoyed playing, dispite its quirks. To an 11 year old there were times when I was thouroughly confused as to what I needed to do next. The game dosent really have a backup system for if you forget what you need to do next. One other complaint I had with the game was the combat system's little "Overkill" quirk. Say you have all 4 of your heros dio something to 1 monster of 3. The first hero kills the critter and then the other 3 just start beating on its corpse with no heed to the fact that there are 2 more monsters to deal with.

Overall: 10
By far the best game I ever played on the NES. It has an infinte replay value for me and I still play it to this day. You can also avoid a lot of the downfalls of tyhis game if you get FF Anthologies for the playstation. Same game but with new graphics, enhanced gameplay, improved soundtrack, and best of all.... more than 3 letters to words and names in the combat screen! A true fan just cant beat the Old School version.

Few people know the rumor name "Final Fantasy" stemmed off of the fact that this game was Square's LAST chance for a game. Their business was failing and were planning to close shop after this games release. Modern day gamers who enjoy Square's games have this little gem to thank for the fun they have today.

 

Reviewer: Lacynth Date: Apr 25, 2003
Well, what can be said about Final Fantasy. It set sail more sequels than Helen of Troy sailed ships. That may be a little bit of an overstatement, but you have to think about it. How can someone possibly give this game a bad review, when it was the ground-breaking basis for such great games like FFX and Final Fantasy Tactics. (Hey, I liked FF Tactics. So sue me.)

Graphics: 9
I want you to go back in time when everything was 8-bit graphics. I remember that time. And when the game cartridges didn't have NEAR the memory that our beloved PS2 discs have. So, with lower graphical capabilities, and a supreme lack of memory, the graphics were great. And considering people playing video games then remembered well the graphics of the Atari system....

Sound: 3
Ok, the first time you hear all of the songs, they are kinda catchy. After about twenty hours of gameplay, you hit the mute button, and you still hear the masic playing inside your head. A power drill seems like a good idea at the time, but you calm down, and keep playing the game. When your son walks by humming the battle song, then you want to throw the game away. By the time you get to the end, you've forgotten the music, and you feel it's time to listen to it again. DON'T!!!

Gameplay: 7
After a few hours of fighting the same monsters over and over again, you cease caring about leveling up, and just want to get to the next section of the game. Where you fight the same monsters, but they're different colors. Yeay..... But, you gotta remember, limited memory...

Overall: 8
Overall, it's a classic. You can't really bash a classic. It's the reason we can turn on the PS2 and play blitzball with the Besaid Aurochs. It's the reason there are millions of fans waiting with baited breath for FFX2. How can you say a game like that is a piece of moldy ZomBULL feces? Well.... I'm not gonna do it.

So, anyway, to all of you hardcore Final Fantasy Series Fans, keep playing. I have yet to beat them all, which is sad. But, this one, I have beat. And frankly, a Final Fantasy game just isn't the same without the one phrase that been in every one of them since this very first one. "The End"

 

Reviewer: Braska Spira Date: Aug 24, 2002
Final Fantasy is my favorite video game series. It has a special part of my heart, and SaGa is sitting next to it. Final Fantasy I is the third Final Fantasy game I ever played; Final Fantasy IV is the first one I ever played. I beat the game twice (June 21, 2001, and December 8, 2001). Final Fantasy I is a great game for beginners of the Final Fantasy series.

Graphics: 6
The original graphics of Final Fantasy I are horrible. I gave the graphics a 6 because it is an NES game. They are not on par with today's standards. The treasure chests continue to appear to be closed after they have been opened. The original graphics look better in battle than anywhere else in the original game. Unlike its sequels, the ocean waters are not animated in Final Fantasy I. Also, the ground is untextured. The battle screen has a black background, and it has panes separating between the Light Warriors and the monsters. The original menu screen is not on par with the modern Final Fantasy games, beginning with Final Fantasy IIIj. The sprites look awful. The NES Dragon Warrior games, especially Dragon Warrior I, have graphics even worse. However, Squaresoft recently gave Final Fantasy I a graphical makeover, especially on the battle screen, to benefit from the graphical capabilities of the Wonderswan Color, giving the game the graphical quality of Final Fantasy V. On the Wonderswan Color version, the battle screen has been enhanced to resemble the SNES Final Fantasies.

Sound: 10
Because this is a Final Fantasy game, I rated the sound a 10. The legendary Nobuo Uematsu is the king of video game music. The overworld song of Final Fantasy I (GAIA) is the shortest of any Final Fantasy overworld song. When you press the mute button and then in seconds deactivate it, you will hear the song starting over. Final Fantasy I originally had one battle song. For the Wonderswan Color and Playstation versions, it has four battle songs. The music is memorable. I love the music from the other Final Fantasy games, except Final Fantasy IIj, better than in Final Fantasy I.

Gameplay: 3
I have been disappointed about the original gameplay of Final Fantasy I. I am not used to it, because I was introduced to Final Fantasy by Final Fantasy IV. When I need a large quantity of the item HEAL (aka Potion) or the item PURE (aka Antidote), I would have to press the A button so many times, that is, twice the quantity of the item. Also, I hate the tendancy to attack dead enemies, resulting in the ""Ineffective"" message. That is an annoying problem to me. Squaresoft improved the gameplay for the Wonderswan Color remake, getting it to resemble the SNES Final Fantasies. On the Wonderswan Color version, you can use the SOFT during battle; on the NES version, you can't.

Overall: 6
Again Final Fantasy I is a great game for beginners of the Final Fantasy series, but I prefer the other Final Fantasy games except Final Fantasy IIj. The NES version has a simple ending. The WSC version has a longer ending. Final Fantasy I was originally published as an untitled game when it was first released in Japan. Because of the game's success and that it was Squaresoft's last chance to strike that monster, i.e. Dragon Warrior, and to give their best effort, Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to call that game Final Fantasy (written Fainaru Fantaji in katakana). Three years later, Squaresoft found out that North America is hungry for role-playing games. Therefore, Squaresoft decided to have Nintendo to localize Final Fantasy I.

I prefer the WSC versions of Final Fantasy I & IIj over the NES versions. The main reason is gameplay. I am looking forward to the Playstation remake of Final Fantasy I & IIj and their new soundtrack. The music will be enhanced to benefit from the Sony Playstation's audio capabilities. FMV's will also be added. Final Fantasy I is my second worst Final Fantasy game, with Final Fantasy IIj being my worst one. Final Fantasy X is my favorite Final Fantasy game. Therefore, the order of the Final Fantasy games in my preference is: X, VIII, VII, IX, VI, IV, V, IIIj, I, IIj. I love all Final Fantasy games more than other video games. Squaresoft is my favorite video game company. I prefer Squaresoft games over non-Squaresoft games. I am a very kind RPG fan. Therefore, I love Final Fantasy much more than any other video game franchise.

 

Reviewer: Jobob Date: Jun 30, 2002
The Final Fantasy series has been an interesting one overall, however it didn't get that way easily. Final Fantasy was obviosly not the great game that so many people seem to think that it was. Rather it was just a fighting system and a couple of maps attached.

Graphics: 4
Most of the graphics in Final Fantasy are very simple. The characters are small enough that little detail is bothered with. Some of the enemies look the same with just variations on how they were colored. However, graphics wise, the major problem is that the game looked slow. It took time to walk around in a town, which I know was annoying, and I think was unnecessary.

Sound: 5
For low quality midi-s, which is what they had to work with, the sound was not bad. However, by the time I finished the game for the first time, I used the mute button on my TV, it was too repetitive.

I don't think much of sound as a category though... I have never played a game and thought, ""Wow this game is great because of the noises it makes.""

Gameplay: 1
All Final Fantasy games that I have played score a 1 on gameplay. It is always hours of fighting the same monsters over and over again to get to the next area, to do the same thing. To fight something you hit the fight button, or magic. It is always really obvious what to do, and isn't very exciting. However, it can eat up many hours of your valuable time to see the next area, if that is what you are into.

Overall: 3
RPG's need another category: story. They never have any value in the area of gameplay. Graphics never really mean anything to how fun a game is, and they are always long enough that the sound eventually gets annoying. The storyline is the only feature that a RPG really has to offer, and I give it a 3. There is no character development for anyone in the game. There aren't any real twists, it is there to show off their menu based fighting system more than anything.

Final Fantasy was the start of a whole new set of games, some of which are worth playing. However, FF1 is not really in that category. There are people that I would recommend play this game though: if you played it when it came out, it might be worth a look back on. Furthermore, if you are trying to play all of the final fantasy games, it might be worth playing just to claim that. However, for people who might care what this review says (you obviously aren't in either of the two categories just mentioned), I would recommend doing something else with your time.

 

Reviewer: anizaniacs Date: Apr 3, 2002
This is the beginning of a new era, a new era of Final Fantasy. This game is what got me into the rpg genre. It is a classic game with numerous things to do. I can say it has its faults but FF is pretty darn good.

Graphics: 8
As you have to remember, 8 bit processors aren't much graphics. But, it had an improvement in the graphics sector. Especially compared to Dragon Warrior. Dragon Warrior has one long continuous forest, land, etc. while Final Fantasy has generic shapes in its overworld.

Sound: 5
The reason I gave it a 5 was because of one reason, and one reason alone, because it has only 1 battle song. It has other songs but the battle songs are what I concentrate on the most. If they aren't good then I imagine that the rest aren't. Final Fantasy was a disappointment as song wise but other ways it wasn't

Gameplay: 9
It has fun fights, boat scenes, everything you would want in an RPG. This was the actual beginning of a new series, remember that. Sometimes it gets annoying to lose every so often. And the fact that it has only 1 save slot plus it doesn't have magic points, it has magic numbers from 1-9. Those are the only faults in Final Fantasy 1. Because you would have 3 spells per magic level and each magic spell cast would cost one of those numbers.

Overall: 9
It was a great start to the FF series. Wonderful for all gamers. Sometimes I wish that it would have been better. It is good as it is now. It does tend to get boring once in a while. Just take a rest for a while then continue.

If you are getting angry at losing a lot, just quietly turn off your system and take a break for a while, then continue. Don't slam the game around like a hockey puck.

 

Reviewer: Brad Guerrie Date: Jun 30, 2001
This game is a serious classic, in the truest sence of the word. I remember the first time I played it back in 1992, this was state of the art. This is one of the first RPGs for home console system to feature a truly unique class system, each class actually has distinct strengths and weaknesses. The story is somewhat difficult to follow at first, but after about 30 minutes anybody could catch on. The only flaw with the original game was that it lacked a solid backup memory. There was only one save slot, and to really experience the game, you should play the start a few times to find a balanced group you'll have a good time with. Of all the NES role playing games, this one is by far among the greatest, not to mention starting a whole series of games in the series. If you're looking for the begenning, this is it!

 

Reviewer: Vegeta Z Date: Jun 18, 2001
Oh, here we go, my fingers still have not recovered from the last review.....

This game is a Classic

Plot: Well, the plot in this game is pretty simple, but it works. You have your objectives straight from the beginning.

Graphics: The reason I gave this games graphics a 9 is because you have to remember, it's for NES. This game has nice colorful graphics, and the weapon detail is great!

Sound: Okay, the sound in this game is pretty good, the only thing about it that really gets annoying is late at night, you are playing, then, it makes that all to familiar noise of entering a battle.

Gameplay: This games gameplay is........simple, it works. This is an RPG, you move around on the overworld and dungeon maps, and in battle, you move a finger.

Replay Value: Hmm, this game sucks the second time around. It gets terribly repetitive. Just wait a while, and this game will get it's fun back.

Overall: This is a great game. It is what introduced me to RPG's. When I first played it, I said to myself, ""This game sucks, I should sell it""

GLAD I DIDN'T!!! After playing it a little more, I realized what a mistake that would have been!

 

Reviewer: Gawain Date: Jun 15, 2001
Aaahhh, Final Fantasy. The game that established my love of the role playing genre, and the origin of the series that helped bring RPG's into the mainstream in the US. You'll have to forgive me if the following review is a little biased or filled with nostalgic blather.

Whether you've played this classic or not, if you've played any console role playing games, you've felt its influence. This game established many themes that remain in Final Fantasy games to this day. The games that followed were prettier and had deeper plots (or sometimes just filler), but when I first played this game at the young age of ten, it seemed to instil this sense of adventure that no other game provided me with before. When I first made it through the Castle of Ordeals and my warriors' classes were upgraded, I felt I had really accomplished something. Ok, I'm blathering. Let me see if I can be objective enough to give you an adequate review.

Alright. As far as the graphics and sound go, they did their job in this game, but not much more. When it came out, the monster pictures in battle didn't look bad, but they didn't do anything, either. The graphics were better than the competition (Dragon Warrior), with mountains and forests that melded into a unit, as opposed to having one mountain or forest stamp and repeating it over a large space. It makes a difference in how the overworld map looks, believe me. The opening theme stuck with you, and the music was always pretty appropriate with its environment, although nothing that blew you away.

The gameplay was also an improvement over the Dragon Warrior series. No menus to go through just to talk with people or search chests, and the character screens were big and easy to look at. Not that this was something really great and innovative, but something that DW developers should have though about a little first.

Although you may be thinking how a game can be so spectacular if it's not so groundbreaking in its look, sound, or interface, I (and every other FF fan) will tell you, this is one game that became greater than the sum of its parts. And it is because of that greatness that this game remains so much fun to play even now. If you're looking to play a stripped-down old school rpg without all the extra mess, This is the game to play.