History VideoGame / FinalFantasyI

-->-- The opening [[note]]as re-translated for ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy''[[/note]]

The NES version of the game was available on the Platform/{{Wii}} Platform/VirtualConsole and the PSX version on Platform/PlayStation3 Platform/PlaystationNetwork (which can also be played on the PSP) worldwide. The NES Classic in North America and Europe also included it (Japan got ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', instead), as did the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/WiiU Virtual Consoles in Japan.

* LevelMapDisplay: Pressing a combination of buttons[[note]]B and Select on Nintendo hardware, Circle and Select on UsefulNotes/PlayStation systems[[/note]] on the OverworldNotToScale displays a zoomed-out version.

* TheStoryThatNeverWas: [[spoiler:This happens after the Light Warriors end the cycle of Garland going back in time and becoming Chaos. The Light Warriors are returned to the present, but it is stated that the Light Warriors' deeds at least live on in legend, and their own memories. In the remakes, they have no memory of the whole game even happening. Yes, that's your reward for completing the game: the story being erased from the canon.]]

* TruerToTheText: The ''Pixel Remaster'' is closer to the NES version in terms of content, lacking the new bosses and dungeons added to the Game Boy Advance and [=PlayStation=] Portable versions, and reverting back to the spell charge system for magic. The only things that were kept that were not in the original NES version are the opening sequence from the [=WonderSwan=] port, new dialogue that references Cid and the new BattleThemeMusic for bosses, the Fiends, and the final boss.

** There is only one battle theme in the entire game, unlike later games. No matter whether you're fighting {{Random Encounter}}s, a MiniBoss, one of the Four Fiends, or even the FinalBoss, it's the same battle theme every time. However, many of the remakes of this game add proper boss themes to be more in line with later games.

** There is a key item called the Rosetta Stone (or Slab in the NES version) that is necessary for progression. It can be found on the topmost floor of the Sunken Shrine, the dungeon where you fight the Fiend of Water. However, there doesn't appear to be a path leading to the room with the Rosetta Stone in a chest; looking at a map doesn't reveal the path either. The player is simply expected to know or realize that this particular map has a path along the top that loops like a maze in''VideoGame/PacMan'', despite there not being a single other map in the game up to that point that behaves this way. At least the map with the Stone has no random encounters...

** The battle interface has a noticably more complex design, with 8 windows: One to show enemy sprites, one to show your party's sprites, one to show enemy names, one to show the list of commands, and one box for each of the four party members. Later games simplify this down to two windows at the bottom, with both player party's and enemy party's sprites all on one plane.

* TruerToTheText: The ''Pixel Remaster'' is closer to the NES version in terms of content, lacking the new bosses and dungeons added to the Game Boy Advance and [=PlayStation=] Portable versions, and reverting back to the spell charge system for magic. The only thing that was kept that was not in the original NES versions is the new dialouge that references Cid and the new BattleThemeMusic for bosses, the Fiends, and the final boss.

* DropTheHammer: Hammers are the best offensive weapons aside from the Masamune that a White Mage can use. However, due to their weight, they're very inaccurate.

* HeroesPreferSwords: Largely because there's not much choice, once you reach late-game. Black Mages can use [[DeviousDaggers daggers]], White Mages can [[DropTheHammer hammers]], both can use [[MagicStaff staves]], a Warrior can wield axes, and Black Belts can use [[ExoticWeaponSupremacy nunchaku]]. To top it off, the InfinityPlusOneSword is, well, a sword, and can be used by any class.

* NeverSayDie: There's Garland's famous line, "I, Garland, will knock you all down!", but the game does say your party members are "slain" at 0 HP, and on TotalPartyKill, you "perished"; apparently NOA of the time was fine with this. Meanwhile, the Death spells have also been affected, and not just in the NES version; in the original, Death was renamed "RUB", as in "to rub someone out" and was themed as them being erased from existence; similarly, the spell to grant immunity to instant death was "ARUB". An improved variation of Death, flat-out known as Kill, was renamed "XXXX". The UsefulNotes/PlayStation game, despite having more lenient translation policies, translated Death and Kill as "Reaper" (named after the Grim Reaper-like creature the spell summons) and "Doom". The former examples ''may'' have had as much to do with spell name size (KILL would have fit, but DETH would've looked awkward) and taking a little creative inspiration from the ''D&D'' spell list itself, but the ''Origins'' names are simply a mystery.

...[[ExcusePlot and that's pretty much it]]. It was almost entirely DungeonCrawling, lifted whole-cloth from the first edition of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Your party go from town-to-town in order to save them from [[AdventureTowns local threats and such]]. However, the plot had more complexities than the usual [[UsefulNotes/The8bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames 8-bit fare]]: The party learns of "Four Fiends of Chaos" who are sucking the Crystals dry, [[MrExposition receive wisdom]] from the Circle of Sages, uncover a LostWorld populated by people who were driven from [[FloatingContinent their home in the skies]], and [[TimeTravel travel through time]].

* ViewerNameConfusion: The original NES release used different translations for many characters' names, due mainly to space restrictions. The recent re-releases have changed them back, and you can generally tell how old a ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' fan is by whether they talk about "Monks" or "Black Belts".

The first entry into the now [[SleeperHit lip-smackingly popular]] ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, released on the Famicom[=/=]UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in 1987 in Japan and 1990 in North America.

After the initial Famicom release, it was first ported to the UsefulNotes/MSX2 in Japan in '89. A remastered version for the UsefulNotes/WonderSwan Color was released in Japan in 2000; the [=WonderSwan=] version was the basis for the 2002 UsefulNotes/PlayStation port as a part of the CompilationRerelease ''Final Fantasy Origins'', and later the 2004 UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance port. Like ''Origins'', the GBA version (''Dawn of Souls'') was bundled with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', but it added four new {{Bonus Dungeon}}s. For the 20th anniversary of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was again remastered for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and the Japanese UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS [=eShop=]. There are also versions of the game for mobile phones. In 2021, this game was remastered as a part of the ''Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster'' series, which was released on PC via Steam and mobile devices. In 2023 the ''Pixel Remaster'' version was also released for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 with a few changes that take into account feedback from the Steam and mobile versions.

The NES version of the game was available on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole and the PSX version on UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork (which can also be played on the PSP) worldwide. The NES Classic in North America and Europe also included it (Japan got ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', instead), as did the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/WiiU Virtual Consoles in Japan.