VideoGame An Interesting Bit of History
Final Fantasy I is not what I'd describe as a good game. However, it's not a game that follows the standard rules of JRPG design, as it was made before they were fully established. It feels far more like a game based on a tabletop RPG than other JRPG's, or even games directly based on the rules of one. The combat feels almost identical to that of D&D. Now, like I said, it's not necessarily a good game, the story is an excuse plot and grinding isn't so much a part of the game as the majority of it. But curiosity about the roots of the genre and a certain retro charm kept me playing the game. It's worth noting that the music is great and that the graphical design still holds up. I would also recommend playing the NES version, the GBA remake is more polished but makes it a more conventional JRPG, one not really worth playing.
VideoGame An expectation lowerer
Yes, yes, game that saved Squaresoft, kicked off one of the most game successful franchises ever, blah, blah, blah. That doesn't mean it holds up today. Here's why.
The best thing I can say about this game is that it has really nice graphics for an NES era game. The character sprites are colourful and detailed, and all the weapon types and many spell types have their own individual animations, which I find impressive. The environments looks spectacular, though there's not much to see on the battle screen, sadly.
Gameplay does not fare so well. Though you are allowed a variety of classes (revolutionary as it may be), these classes are terribly unbalanced. The red mage, for example, expensive though he may be, renders black and white mages rather pointless, because red mages are not only much more durable and physically apt, but they can also cherry pick the best spells from both classes. Though there are certain spells he cannot learn, the ones he can are almost always the most useful. Thieves are basically underpowered Fighters, and, until undergoing class upgrade halfway through the game, worthless, unlike the fighter who is useful throughout. And Black Belts are perhaps the most broken of all, able to do massive damage without purchasing anything except the occasional status buff. Other than the classes, there is the atrocious spell charge system, which guarantees you won't be using your precious magic on anything but bosses, and also the large number of obstuctive glitches in this game, even going so far as to have spells that do nothing. Which means that you've wasted your gold irrevocably.
The story is paper thin, which is actually a huge problem. Considering the plot they were able to give Final Fantasy II (regardless of said game's quality), they could have done much more with this game. However, it feels unrewarding to sift through countless random battles for a few featureless player avatars. It doesn't work.
However, I will admit that the music sounds nice, at least. Overall, I couldn't finish the game, but thankfully, the Dawn of Souls remake makes it playable. It doesn't fix the balance issues (entirely) or the plot, but it replaces spell charges with conventional MP, fixes the glitches and as a whole, is presented much nicer as a modern day package. For me, it is the definitive version of FFI.
VideoGame Pixel-Remaster: First Time's the Charm
Despite being old enough to be embarrassed by their hairline when they look in the mirror FF 1 is still a game that holds up, thanks in part to the Pixel Remaster. In addition to the upgraded art and OST there is also auto-battle, a mini-map, and checklist feature.
PLOT: The premise is simple. Make a party of four out of six dudes, travel across the world in a boat and airship, battle random encounters, explore ten or so dungeons, and beat the boss at the end. There's no real plot, only some bizarre twist in the ending text-scroll that's pretty tacked-on.
DIFFICULTY: The first half of the game is positively brutal. First there's a large cave full of poisonous enemies. Then a cavern you have to traverse twice topped off with the first REAL boss. Finally an icy hellhole full of foes that can petrify and instant-kill you. After this point a switch clicks and suddenly you can effortlessly mow down foes in a single turn, with only the final boss mustering any actual challenge.
OBSERVATIONS: One key thing I liked was the element of Sequence Breaking. All of the second-half can be done out of order if you wish.
FF 1 is very different to its progeny but one aspect of the series that has been true from the begining is the uselessness of status-inducing magic. They're about as much help as a cup of warm piss used as a missile.
My one complaint is that this Remaster's character-designs are Truer to the Text than previous editions, so the Black Mage eventually loses their signature hat while the Monk dresses like a 70's porn-star.
CONCLUSION: I got the platinum for this game in just under 11 hours. It's a much smaller and simpler game then it appears, but a charming one all the same. My one recommendation is to keep a map handy as the dungeons can get sprawling. This is also a pretty good adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons as it ripped off the entire bestiary but strongly deviates from the crummy ruleset of the inspiration.