Final Fantasy Origins (FF1, PS1)

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Alucard1191
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Joined: November 16th, 2016, 12:55 pm

Final Fantasy Origins (FF1, PS1)

Postby Alucard1191 » December 25th, 2017, 12:18 am

As of last night, I have completed the first game of Final Fantasy Origins for the Playstation. So how was the experience?

Overall, I'd say very positive.

For those that are unaware, Final Fantasy Origins is a remake of Final Fantasy 1 and 2 for the original Playstation. It was 1 of a 3 part series of remakes for the system, and is probably the best one of them as it is entirely original. (By that I mean you could not experience these versions by owning the NES equivalents. Whereas the other remakes, Final Fantasy Chronicles and Final Fantasy Anthology, you could for the most part have the SNES versions and that was that.)

The game is very basic, make a party of 4 from 6 possible classes, and go forth to vanquish evil. The game is relatively short for an RPG, being able to be beaten in under 30 hours, and as it has multiple classes it has replay value as well. So how did this game do overall?

Graphics) C: The graphics look midline SNES in quality. On par with Final Fantasy II (or IV in Japan) with graphics, but definitely not as good as Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan) or Chrono Trigger. But comparing them to the original 8 bit release is night and day. They are completely upgraded compared to the original NES version. I do think they could have done better with it though overall with the conversion, the later SNES games, like Mario RPG, Final Fantasy III, and Chrono Trigger look much better than this PS game.

Audio) C: The Audio is remade/remixed versions of the original songs. I recognized just about all of them as I played though it this time, and once the novelty of it all wore off, it was pretty annoying. The sound effects are just passable, certainly higher quality than the original NES, but nothing overly impressive either.

Load Times) A+: The game does 1 load at the beginning of the game, and that is it! It runs perfectly after that, which for a PS game is exceptional. This is unique for a playstation game, which often have annoying load times inbetween screens. If the game does load, it does it so fast as to be not noticeable from a cartridge.

Replay-ability) A: The fact that there are 6 classes, and you can make your party, gives the game fantastic replay value. It also is pretty short for a final fantasy game, being able to be beaten anywhere from 25 to 35 hours, making playing the game again with a different party not a very daunting task. If there was a hard mode I'd bump this up to A+.

Difficulty Level) B: The game has a normal mode and an easy mode, and some sites say the international version has an unlockable hard mode. (Though the Final Fantasy Wiki page says nothing of this, so I don't know if that is actually true.) Easy mode is probably more akin to the traditional Final Fantasy game. It reduces exp requirements, costs of items and spells, and increases stat gains when leveling. Normal mode is honestly pretty hardcore though. Until you learn the game it is PLENTY hard. Items are expensive, and most level ups aren't all that impressive. Equipment and spells really matter, and you'll learn fast to always have 99 potions on you. There are no save points to camp in the dungeons, though the new version has a "Memo" option, that saves the game temporarily in case you die. Once you learn the game, the difficulty level is set by what party you choose to play more than anything. If there was an unlockable hard mode I'd had given this an A+

Overall) B+: This is a game that is greater than the sum of its parts. Nothing about it is honestly exceptional, but it keeps you coming back and wanting to try different character combinations. It is pretty easy to figure out where to go, and while the game requires a lot of grinding, the battles don't take that long, their simple and rather fun. If this game had a few more modernizations, like a hard mode and maybe some class tweaks, I'd have given this an A.

To beat the game I used the 8 bit theater party, which is Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, and Black Mage. I completed the game in 35 hours, and was level 46 when I finally beat chaos. My first playthrough 10+ years ago was Fighter, Black Belt, White Mage, and Black Mage, and I beat the game with that party in 26 hours at level 35... so that was quite a difficulty difference between the two parties.

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Retro STrife
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Re: Final Fantasy Origins (FF1, PS1)

Postby Retro STrife » December 26th, 2017, 9:13 am

Thanks for this review. I'm a big fan of the FF series, having played and beat FF 4 through 10, and 12 too. I've always planned to go back and play FF 1, just to experience the original, but haven't gotten there yet.

I've wavered about the best way to play it. Part of me wants to try the NES game, so that I'm experiencing its original form. The other part of me considers playing a remake (like FF Origins), since I'll probably enjoy an updated version more. Have you (or anyone else here) played multiple versions of FF1 and have any advice on which one to play? I own Origins, and I own the NES version, so it's just a matter of deciding which to play.

Also, have you tried FF 2 on that disc? Due to time constraints, I don't think I'll ever get around to playing FF 2 or 3, but I'm curious what other people think of them.

Alucard1191
Posts: 476
Joined: November 16th, 2016, 12:55 pm

Re: Final Fantasy Origins (FF1, PS1)

Postby Alucard1191 » December 26th, 2017, 12:19 pm

To answer both of your questions, if you only have time to play 1, I would probably go with the PS1 version just for the convenience factor. The Memo file option which lets you save in dungeons is really useful, and there are other things like if you tell someone to attack a group of monsters and they are all dead by the time that person is up, on the NES version they will attack AIR doing nothing, whereas on the PS1 version they'll move on and attack the next group of monsters. These 2 things alone greatly reduce the difficulty, which on the NES version is genuinely tough.

As for FF2, I've started on it, only a little over an hour in. It is very different. You don't level up, you just gain stats as you go. Also it has a weapon skill system where your weapon skills increase over time and use. It is definitely more complicated and it also is a lot less forgiving and more confusing so far than the first game. I've encountered numerous creatures just out on the world map that kill me in one hit, and I have so far NEVER been able to successfully run from a fight. So far it definitely hasn't gripped me like the first one, but it is completely different in its approach, so it probably will once I figure the game out a little better.


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