History VideoGame / FinalFantasyI

* FifteenPuzzle: A hidden minigame, accessible only after -- and while -- you GetOnTheBoat. In the original NES version, you only got 100 gil a pop for completing it, no matter how long it took you to complete. In remakes of the game, however, you can [[DiscOneNuke build up obscene amounts of Gil early in the game by playing repeatedly and stock up on valuable healing items]]. The Pixel Remaster version however removed the ability to earn Gil and you only receive a [[=PlayStation=] trophy / Steam Achievement.

Originally released in 1987 on the Famicom (1990 for the NES version), 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. 2023 will see the ''Pixel Remaster'' version brought to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

* FifteenPuzzle: A hidden minigame, accessible only after -- and while -- you GetOnTheBoat. In the original NES version, you only got 100 gil a pop for completing it, no matter how long it took you to complete. In remakes of the game, however, you can [[DiscOneNuke build up obscene amounts of Gil early in the game by playing repeatedly and stock up on valuable healing items]].

* AIRoulette: Averted in the NES version. While the chance of using a physical attack, a spell (if the monster has them), or a special (if the monster has them) is random, the order they use their abilities are not. Each spellcasting enemy has a list of spells, and it always uses them in the same order, starting from the beginning if they cast all the spells on the list. The same goes for special abilities, which are on a separate list and kept track of separately from spells if the monster has both. %%I'm not sure whether any of the other versions do it this way, but FF1 for NES is very well-documented.

* AntiFrustrationFeature: ''Dawn of Souls'' lets you save anywhere, which is very helpful in a portable game.

* ChallengeRun: According to [[https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/final-fantasy-switch/ the Nintendo eShop]] and [[https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10002339 the PlayStation Store]], the Switch and [=PS4=] versions of the ''Pixel Remaster'' provide the option to turn experience off alongside options for increasing experience, giving players a built-in option for making the game harder.

* ChallengeRun: The Switch and [=PS4=] versions of the ''Pixel Remaster'' provide the option to turn experience off alongside options for increasing experience, giving players a built-in option for making the game harder.

''Final Fantasy'' [[BreakthroughHit saved Square from bankruptcy]]. The legend goes that Sakaguchi chose the name knowing [[ItWillNeverCatchOn the project would likely fail]] and that he and [=SquareSoft=] would retire from the video game business; little did he know that his [[GallowsHumor gallow's joke]] would become the longest-running oxymoron in gaming nomenclature. However, according to Sakaguchi, the team wanted something which could be [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal abbreviated using the Roman alphabet]]. They were also set on something which could be condensed into four-syllables; ''Final Fantasy'' (pronounced “efu efu” in Japanese) fit both criteria. Though, “Final” wasn’t the team’s first choice: it was supposed to be ''Fighting Fantasy''. However, they had to nix that title when they discovered that there was already a board game called ''Fighting Fantasy'', which is based on [[Literature/FightingFantasy a series of British adventure books.]]

* FifteenPuzzle: A hidden minigame, accessible only after -- and while -- you GetOnTheBoat. In the original NES version, you only got 100 gil a pop for completing it, no matter how long it took you to complete. In remakes of the game, however, you can [[DiscOneNuke build up obscene amounts of Gil early in the game by playing repeatedly and stock up on valuable healing items]].

* ObviousBeta: The list of features that work as intended is much shorter than the list of features what are bugged in some way, and always to the player's disadvantage. You will be relying on raw damage from your swords (which are also bugged) and fists for most of the game, since Intelligence does not increase spell potency as intended.

* BoringButPractical: Low-level Black Magic spells Haste (FAST), Temper (TMPR/Steel), and Saber (SABR). Haste, a Level 2 spell doubles the number of physical hits you can perform in a turn, Temper (Level 4) increases your attack power, and Saber (Level 7) increases your attack power and accuracy. On their own, not that significant. But: 1. Hits function as an attack multiplier, making it a core component of physical damage. 2. Temper and Saber are both stackable, meaning repeat casts will increase attack power and accuracy (the latter of which determines the base number of hits you do). Combine this with a physical attacker, and you will be extremely powerful. It's not uncommon to see attackers deliver four digits in damage late game through a combination of these spells.

** Ironically, despite all the bugged and unfinished coding, the game actually ''averts'' true sequence breaking. There are many checks made for key items at points you can never get to without having obtained them. For example, Sarda will not give you the earth rod if you don't have the ruby, even though getting to him requires feeding said ruby to the ogre. He even has a unique textbox for such an occasion which the player can never see without hacking. You also can't start the Castle of Ordeals without the crown, even though getting there requires the canoe, which can only be obtained after a series of item trades that ''begins'' with the crown.

* BrutalBonusLevel: The Labyrinth of Time, added in the PSP version, is a giant maze filled with the strongest monsters in the game and puzzles that you have to solve under a time limit (and how much time you have depends on which commands you choose to sacrifice — dashing, fleeing battles, use of items, etc.). To make things worse, you can't save or use Exit, and running out of time increases the random encounter rate and gives Cronodia (the strongest bonus boss in the game, fought at the last floor) a power boost with each failure.

* {{Bishonen}}: [[AmbiguousGender If male]], the White Wizard is the [[LongHairedPrettyBoy long haired type]]. While later releases have made the White Mage and White Wizard's designs progressively more feminine, that hardly disqualifies male White Wizard characters in those versions.

The NES version of the game was available on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole and the PS1 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.

* AcronymAndAbbreviationOverload: The original NES version has this ''en masse'' due to [[CharacterNameLimits space restrictions]]. The PS1 version had way less space restrictions, but some things were still abbreviated. By the time of the GBA remake, there was enough space to display the full names for everything.

** Inverted in the NES/[=MSX2=]/WSC/PS1/Pixel Remaster versions of the game. For the price of learning the PURE/Esuna spell, you can buy 53 PURE potions/antidotes, which is more than you're likely to ever need. Given the mechanics of the NES/[=MSX2=] version of the game, however, the 53 PURE potions take about ten minutes to purchase and the PURE spell takes just a couple of seconds; besides, most level 4 White spells are otherwise useless, anyway. The SOFT/Stona spell and Soft potions/gold needles are the same way, with spell points being better spent on other spells.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The Warrior of Light depicted on the Famicom cover is based on Amano's old concept art for the Knight, and doesn't look much like any of the main characters or possible jobs (ironically except for Garland). He does tend to serve as an unofficial mascot for the game, though, and shows up in the opening cutscene of the PS1 version and as the main repenstive of the game in spin offs.

The NES version of the game is available on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole and 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.

* AcronymAndAbbreviationOverload: The original NES version has this ''en masse'' due to [[CharacterNameLimits space restrictions]]. The PSX version had way less space restrictions, but some things were still abbreviated. By the time of the GBA remake, there was enough space to display the full names for everything.

** Inverted in the NES/[=MSX2=]/WSC/PSX/Pixel Remaster versions of the game. For the price of learning the PURE/Esuna spell, you can buy 53 PURE potions/antidotes, which is more than you're likely to ever need. Given the mechanics of the NES/[=MSX2=] version of the game, however, the 53 PURE potions take about ten minutes to purchase and the PURE spell takes just a couple of seconds; besides, most level 4 White spells are otherwise useless, anyway. The SOFT/Stona spell and Soft potions/gold needles are the same way, with spell points being better spent on other spells.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The Warrior of Light depicted on the Famicom cover is based on Amano's old concept art for the Knight, and doesn't look much like any of the main characters or possible jobs (ironically except for Garland). He does tend to serve as an unofficial mascot for the game, though, and shows up in the opening cutscene of the PSX version and as the main repenstive of the game in spin offs.

** There is only one battle theme in the entire game. 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.

** For [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Chaos Shrine in the past]], a lower-key variant of the Chaos Shrine theme is used.

* DarkReprise: In the NES version, the Cornelia Castle theme blares inside the Western Keep and the Citadel of Trials. ''Origins'' replaces it with a hauntingly sad rendition.

** The sequel/prequel ''Dissidia'' has [[AllThereInTheManual reports]] that seem to reword the mention of the "four warriors of light" to mention a single warrior, implying a revised ''Final Fantasy I'' continuity. However, in some of those same reports in ''012'', it mentions three warriors who couldn't survive the purification process and perished in that world (similar to how [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Kain]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Vaan]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Tifa]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Yuna]], [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Laguna]], and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]]]] did), which meant Shinryu would have teleported them out of the cycle. It's also known that the Warrior of Light came after all three of them, and that each warrior only entered as another perished.
** In the original version, the Floating Castle (AKA Flying Fortress) is an orbital space station, referred to as a castle in-game because the characters don't have any other vocabulary to describe it. This is why you can see the stars out the windows and it's full of robots and other high-tech trappings. The remakes changed it into a literal castle floating in the sky, instead, making the robots a case of TheArtifact.

* CanonIdentifier: The four {{Featureless Protagonist}}s who make up your party are generally called the Light Warriors. The individual characters are simply known by their class. ''Dissidia'' represents them with a single CompositeCharacter known as "Warrior of Light", who can't remember his own name because of the events of the original game.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The Warrior of Light depicted on the Famicom cover is based on Amano's old concept art for the Knight, and doesn't look much like any of the main characters or possible jobs (ironically except for Garland). He does tend to serve as an unofficial mascot for the game, though, and shows up in the opening cutscene of the PSX version.

** AMUT (Vox) cures your characters of Silence. Four enemies (Eye, Phantom, Wizard Vampire, and Grey Naga) have the Mute spell. For Eyes and Phantoms, it's the sixth or seventh spell in the spell cycle, and the odds of your party surviving to see it are remote. For the other two, it's not their first spell, and at the point in the game where you run into them, the odds of any enemy surviving the 2-4 rounds necessary to reach the second spell in its spell cycle are slim. So this item cures a status effect you'll almost never get. In the remakes a few enemies now know Silence. However, they're few and far between, you have the Gauntlets (which cast [=Bolt2=]/Thundara for free and aren't blocked by Silence) by the time you encounter any of them, and Silence disappears after the battle, so the spell is still fairly useless.

* LawyerFriendlyCameo: The bestiary of ''Final Fantasy'' was essentially the same as that of ''D&D 1E''. Several monsters were renamed in the NES release to prevent any possible lawsuit with Creator/{{TSR}}, then-owners of ''D&D''. Most prominently, Fiend of Fire Marilith, based on a high-ranking demon in D&D, became Kary (though she went by her original name in re-releases). Similarly, the {{Oculothorax}}es (Beholders) were changed to the Eye and the Phantom (renamed Evil Evil and Death Eye in re-releases).

Originally released in 1987 on the Famicom (1990 for the NES version), 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. 2023 will see the ''Pixel Remaster'' version brought to UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and UsefulNotes/PlayStation4.

Originally released in 1987 on the Famicom (1990 for the NES version), 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.

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

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

The plot goes as follows: A series of elemental catastrophes have been threatening to plunge everything into darkness. Four mysterious Warriors of Light take it upon themselves to save the world by [[GottaCatchThemAll bringing the power back to four magical crystals]] (or "Orbs" in the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] translation).

* 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 [[AnAxeToGrind 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.

* 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 staves, a Warrior can wield [[AnAxeToGrind 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.