History YMMV / FinalFantasyI

* GoodBadTranslation: In the English translation, when the party confronts Garland at the Chaos Shrine, his attempt to threaten the party sounds more silly than intimidating: [[MemeticMutation "I, Garland, will knock you all down!"]] It's so infamous that, after the UsefulNotes/PlayStation port removed it, the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance port added it ''back'', and it's been around for all releases since — up to and including the versions released on smartphones and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. And curiously, it's actually not an inaccurate translation.[[note]]The original word is usually translated as "defeat", but "to kick about" or "to knock over" are also apt translations. Given the translation was done in-house in Japan at Square and likely by a non-native English speaker, they probably didn't realize that this translation, while ''technically'' accurate, sounds very silly to Western audiences.[[/note]]

* ItsEasySoItSucks: The GBA and PSP remakes. The charge system was replaced with the traditional Mana Points experience is gained faster, Phoenix Downs are added, you can save almost anywhere, and attacks now redirect to another enemy if the target is killed by someone else in the same turn. You can carry enough Potions to where you never have to start a fight while weakened. You can always revive with items. It's a far cry from the NES version where dragging the Levistone out of the Ice Cave with two survivors was [[MarathonLevel high stakes drama!]]

* EvilIsSexy: Marilith/Kary. She's also Creepy Sexy, since she's a giant snake woman.

** Starting with the [=PlayStation=] remake, the name on the grave changed to [[VideoGame/TheLegendofZelda Link]] as a TakeThat against Nintendo, whose relationship with Square had been rocky ever since Final Fantasy VII was made for the [=PlayStation=] rather than the Nintendo 64 over the issue of cartridges. However, when Nintendo and Square Enix started to reconcile, and Dawn of Souls was ported to the Game Boy Advance, the Link reference was kept. Nintendo was apparently able to keep a sense of humor regarding the reference.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Anyone who tells you ''Final Fantasy'' only started to skew towards sci-fi after ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII VII]]'' has never played this game. The Flying Fortress, a late-game dungeon, is a giant satellite floating in space and is populated with mechanical enemies, including the infamous [[DemonicSpiders Warmech]].

** The Thief can't steal, and several of their stats in the original were buggy, leaving them with basically nothing but below-average combat skills and the unreliable ability to run away (which they will need to). After the class change comes along, they get a lot better, but even then, a Knight is tougher and does more damage, and a Red Wizard is on par in damage and has much more magic. A [[SelfImposedChallenge solo run]] with a Thief is considered the hardest of any class by a good margin. They got several buffs in the remakes, but even then, they're considered one of the more expendable characters.
** The Intelligence stat is bugged in the NES and [=PlayStation=] versions, preventing spells from [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards scaling damage with level]]. As a result, Black Mage is far less powerful than sword-fighters. Black Mage is also worthless compared to the generalist Red Mage, since the latter has physical prowess to complement its magic and is less of a SquishyWizard. The remakes would greatly improve Black Mage, fortunately, both by improving its stats and by fixing several bugs that made it weaker than intended.

* ThatOneAchievement: "Field Researcher - Professional" in ''Pixel Remaster'' requires you to complete the entire bestiary. This means you'll likely have to go out of you way to find Warmech.

** It's hard to find a guide which doesn't recommend a Warrior. Their high physical stats and the wealth of gear available to them make the class invaluable, plus they're also the ''only'' class that can wield the powerful Excalibur.

** It's possible to land the airship directly on top of the caravan instead of fighting across the desert. The caravan was the only "unlandable" spot that could actually be landed on with the airship. However, we can't be sure this "bug" was intentional or not.

** The Intelligence stat is bugged in the NES and [=PlayStation=] versions, preventing spells from [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards scaling damage with level]]. As a result, Black Mage is far less powerful than sword-fighters. Black Mage is also worthless compared to the generalist Red Mage, since the latter has physical prowess to complement its magic. The remakes would greatly improve Black Mage, fortunately, both by improving its stats and by fixing several bugs that made it weaker than intended.

* NotSoCheapImitation: This game was basically made as a video game SpiritualSuccessor to ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''...and ended up spawning a massive video game franchise of its own.
* 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.

** Chaos can cause an instant loss of hope with Curaja, which fully heals him. If you've already lost a couple party members, you might as well reload your save. Chaos has won. (Chaos has multiple insta-kill attacks, including one which can target multiple party members.)

** The ''Pixel Remaster'' version removed two easy ways to earn exp and gil. While they kept the 15-Puzzle, they ''also'' removed the rewards you get from playing it, thereby getting rid of the primary reason to play the mini-game in the first place. They also nixed the Peninsula of Power, meaning that expedited LevelGrinding you wanted to do? Well, that's too damn bad.

* SelfImposedChallenge: Quite possibly the TropeCodifier. Players like to mix it up with solo parties, or giving more than one slot to a certain class. The most famous example of all is completing this game with a party of four White Mages. Although this arguably isn't as difficult as playing with a party of four Thieves. [[SoloCharacterRun Or one.]]

** SavingTheWorld plots in [=RPGs=] are dime-a-dozen these days, so by today's standards, this game's plot is pretty rote. but back in 1987, it was such a huge deal that what seemed to be a SaveThePrincess plot a la its contemporary ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' turned out to be much more.

** SavingTheWorld plots in [=RPGs=] are a dime-a-dozen these days, but back in 1987, it was such a huge deal that what seemed to be a SaveThePrincess plot a la its contemporary ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' turned out to be much more.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: At the time of release, this game boasted being able to show your characters animated in battle. This was actually a selling point that they put on the sales flier, since other [=RPGs=] at the time had battles in first person view.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: It's hard to find a guide which doesn't recommend a Warrior. Their high physical stats and the wealth of gear available to them make the class invaluable, plus they're also the ''only'' class that can wield the powerful Excalibur.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Most of the classes look too androgynous to be generally seen as male, especially the White Mage. The Monk is the exception due to his bare chest. The Fighter/Knight is also ''usually'' thought of as male, mostly thanks to that sprite being outright taken or cribbed for male characters in later ''FF'' titles (done outright for Firion in ''[[[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII FF2]]''[='s=] NES version, and both [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Cecil]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Bartz]] take obvious visual cues from the Fighter.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Most of the classes look too androgynous to be generally seen as male, especially the White Mage. The Monk is the exception due to his bare chest. The Fighter/Knight is also ''usually'' thought of as male, mostly thanks to that sprite being outright taken or cribbed for male characters in later ''FF'' titles (done outright for Firion in ''FF2''[='s=] NES version, and both [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Cecil]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Bartz]] take obvious visual cues from the Fighter.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Most of the classes look too androgynous to be generally seen as male, especially the White Mage. The Monk is the exception due to his bare chest.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The Thief was horribly underpowered in the NES version, so ''Origins'' gave it a much-needed stat buff. They have 73 base Evasion compared to their former 58, and also traded 4 points of Intelligence for 5 Agility.
** ''Dawn of Souls'' really boosted the Black Mage's value, seeing as their progression is more substantial than that of Red Mage. Red Mage's Intelligence is too low to take out large groups really until sometime after class changing. Red Mage gains new spell levels a lot slower, meaning you'll often reach a new area and find yourself unable to learn the magic for sale. Their lack of MP doesn't help, either. You can blast your way through the first half of the game thanks in no small part to Black Mage casting spells at will. They do fizzle out toward the end, though.
** The ''Pixel Remaster'' version kept many of the changes that previous versions added, while also adding the ability to quick save inside of dungeons, making the final dungeon gauntlet to Chaos much less of a slog. It also brought ''back'' the Vancian Spell Charge system to make it closer to the [=NES=] original while also adding MP restoring and revival items to further balance it out.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** The Thief can't steal, and several of their stats in the original were buggy, leaving them with basically nothing but below-average combat skills and the unreliable ability to run away (which they will need to). After the class change comes along, they get a lot better, but even then, a Knight is tougher and does more damage, and a Red Wizard is on par in damage and has much more magic. A [[SelfImposedChallenge solo run]] with a Thief is considered the hardest of any class by a good margin. They got several buffs in the remakes, but even then, they're considered one of the more expendable characters.
** The Intelligence stat is bugged in the NES and [=PlayStation=] versions, preventing spells from [[LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards scaling damage with level]]. As a result, Black Mage is far less powerful than sword-fighters. Black Mage is also worthless compared to the generalist Red Mage, since the latter has physical prowess to compliment its magic.
** The Master (later Black Belt) in the NES version is a mixture of this trope. On one hand, they get a really good bonus with bare-handed physical attacks, often one-shotting the final boss. On the other, promoting them ''actually'' [[PowerUpLetdown makes their magic defense stat worse]] due to their magic defense growths were swapped with the Monk. Later releases fix this bug and make the Black Belt a very dangerous class on promotion.

* ShockingMoments: The reveal that the "floating castle" you can get to from the Mirage Tower is, in fact, a ''space station''. Not as shocking in the remakes, which re-design the dungeon to be a mundane (relative to the game's setting) castle floating "just" a few dozen miles in the sky.

* ItWasHisSled: Chaos is the evil will of Garland merged with the Four Fiends. This was a major plot twist back in the 8-bit era.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: It's hard to find a guide which doesn't recommend a Warrior, due to their high physical stats and the wealth of gear available to them (they're also the ''only'' class that can wield Excalibur).

** [[{{Mummy}} Mummies and King Mummies]] can put your party members to Sleep.

** The Citadel of Trials is full of Rakshasa, Horned Devil, and Medusa encounters.
** The Cavern of Ice. Dark Wizards, ''more'' Piscodemons, and ''more'' Cockatrice encounters. This dungeon is hard regardless of which characters you choose.

* GuideDangIt: 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...

* SpiritualAdaptation: It's basically a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign with the game itself as the GM and the plot of ''Film/TheDarkCrystal.''[[note]]Square has explicitly cited that movie as an inspiration for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', but the "restore the Crystals" theme can also clearly be seen in this game and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''[[/note]]