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Final Fantasy (video game)

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Final Fantasy
A sword and an axe intersect, with a crystal ball above them both.
Box art for the original NES release in North America
Developer(s)Square
Micro Cabin (MSX2)
TOSE (WSC, PS, GBA, PSP)
Publisher(s)NES
MSX2
Game Boy Advance

PlayStation Portable
Square Enix
Virtual Console
Square Enix
iPhone OS
Square Enix
Designer(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi
Artist(s)Yoshitaka Amano
Writer(s)Akitoshi Kawazu
Kenji Terada
Composer(s)Nobuo Uematsu
SeriesFinal Fantasy
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX2, WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, mobile phones, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console, iPhone OS
Release
December 18, 1987
  • NES
    MSX2
    WonderSwan Color
    PlayStation
    Game Boy Advance
    Mobile phones
    PlayStation Portable
    Virtual Console
Genre(s)Console role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー) is a console role-playing game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed and published in Japan by Square (now Square Enix) in 1987, and published in North America by Nintendo of America in 1990. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series. Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The story follows four youths called the Light Warriors, who each carry one of their world's four elemental orbs which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the orbs, and save their world.

The game received generally positive reviews, and it is regarded as one of the most influential and successful role-playing games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, playing a major role in popularizing the genre. Praise focused on the game's graphics, while criticism targeted the time spent wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise the player's experience level. All versions of Final Fantasy sold a combined total of two million copies worldwide by March 2003.

Gameplay

Final Fantasy has four basic modes of gameplay: an overworld map, town and dungeon maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The overworld map is a scaled-down version of the game's fictional world, which the player uses to direct characters to various locations. The primary means of travel across the overworld is by foot, but a canoe, a ship, and an airship become available as the player progresses. With the exception of some battles in preset locations or with bosses, enemies are randomly encountered on field maps and on the overworld map when traveling by foot, canoe, or ship, and must either be fought or fled from.[1] The player begins the game by choosing four characters to form a party, which lasts for the duration of the game.[2]

The game's plot develops as the player progresses through towns and dungeons. Some town citizens offer helpful information, while others own shops that sell items or equipment. Dungeons appear in areas that include forests, caves, mountains, swamps, underwater caverns and buildings. Dungeons often have treasure chests containing rare items that are not available in most stores. The game's menu screen allows the player to keep track of their experience points and levels, to choose which equipment their characters wield, and to use items and magic. A character's most basic attribute is their level, which can range from one to fifty, and is determined by the character's amount of experience. Gaining a level increases the character's attributes, such as their maximum hit points (HP), which represents a character's remaining health; a character dies when they reach zero HP. Characters gain experience points by winning battles.[1]

Commands to give the character are shown.
The Light Warriors battle Lich, Fiend of Earth

Combat in Final Fantasy is menu-based: the player selects an action from a list of options such as Fight, Magic, and Item. Battles are turn-based and continue until either side flees or is defeated. If the player's party wins, each character gains experience and gold; if it flees, it is returned to the map screen; and if each character in the party dies, the game is over.[1] Final Fantasy was the first game to show the player's characters on the right side of the screen and the enemies on the left side of the screen, as opposed to a first-person view.[3]

Each character has an "occupation", or character class, with different attributes and abilities that are either innate or can be acquired.[2] There are six classes; Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage.[2] Later in the game, each character undergoes a "class change"; their sprite portraits mature, and some classes even gain the ability to use weapons and magic that they previously could not use.[1] Final Fantasy contains a variety of weapons, armor, and items that can be bought or found to make the characters more powerful in combat. Each character has eight inventory slots, with four to hold weapons and four to hold armor. Each character class has restrictions on what weapons and armor it may use. Some weapons and armor are magical; if used during combat, some of these items will cast spells. Other magical artifacts provide protection, such as from certain spells. At shops, the characters can buy items to help themselves recover while they are traveling. Items available include Potions, which heal the characters or removes an ailment like poison or petrification; Tents and Cabins, which can be used on the world map to heal the player and optionally save the game; and Houses, which also recovers the party's magic after saving. Special items may be gained by doing quests.[1]

Magic is a common ability in the game, and several character classes use it. Spells are divided into two groups: White, which is defensive and healing, and Black, which is debilitating and destructive. Magic can be bought from White and Black magic shops and assigned to characters whose occupation allows them to use it. Spells are classified by a level between one and eight, with four White and four Black spells per level. Each character may learn only three spells per level. White and Black Mages can potentially learn all of their respective spells, while other classes cannot use most high-level magic.[1]

Plot

Final Fantasy takes place in a fantasy world with three large continents. The elemental powers on this world are determined by the state of four orbs, each governing one of the four classical elements: earth, fire, water, and wind. The world of Final Fantasy is inhabited by numerous races, including Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Mermaids, Dragons, and Robots. Each non-Human race has one "town" in the game, although individuals are sometimes found in Human towns or other areas as well. Four hundred years prior to the start of the game, the Lefeinish people, who used the Power of Wind to craft airships and a giant space station (called the Floating Castle in the game), watched their country decline as the Wind Orb went dark. Two hundred years later, violent storms sank a massive shrine that served as the center of an ocean-based civilization, and the Water Orb went dark. The Earth Orb and the Fire Orb followed, plaguing the earth with raging wildfires, and devastating the agricultural town of Melmond as the plains and vegetation decayed. Some time later, the sage Lukahn tells of a prophecy that four Light Warriors will come to save the world in a time of darkness.

The game begins with the appearance of the four youthful Light Warriors, the heroes of the story, who each carry one of the darkened Orbs. Initially, the Light Warriors have access to the Kingdom of Coneria and the ruined Temple of Fiends. After the Warriors rescue Princess Sara from the evil knight Garland, the King of Coneria builds a bridge that enables the Light Warriors' passage east to the town of Pravoka. There the Light Warriors liberate the town from Bikke and his band of pirates, and acquire the pirates' ship for their own use. The Warriors now embark on a chain of delivery quests on the shores of the Aldi Sea. First they retrieve a stolen crown from the Marsh Cave for a king in a ruined castle, who turns out to be the dark elf Astos. Defeating him gains them the Crystal, which they return to the witch Matoya in exchange for a herb needed to awaken the Elf Prince cursed by Astos. The Elf Prince gives the Light Warriors a key capable of unlocking any door. The key unlocks a storage room in Coneria Castle which holds TNT. Nerrick, one of the Dwarves of the Cave of Dwarf/Dwarf Village, destroys a small isthmus using the TNT, connecting the Aldi Sea to the outside world.[3]

A virtual, grassy island with the character in the center surrounded by trees
Outside the Kingdom of Coneria

After visiting the near-ruined town of Melmond, the Light Warriors go to the Earth Cave to defeat a vampire and retrieve the Star Ruby, which gains passage to Sage Sarda's cave. With Sarda's Rod, the Warriors venture deeper into the Earth Cave and destroy the Earth Fiend, Lich. The Light Warriors then obtain a canoe and enter Gurgu Volcano and defeat the Fire Fiend, Kary. The Floater from the nearby Ice Cave allows them to raise an airship to reach the northern continents. After they prove their courage by retrieving the Rat's Tail from the Castle of Ordeal, the King of the Dragons, Bahamut, promotes each Light Warrior. Using an air-producing fairy artifact known as Oxyale, the Warriors defeat the Water Fiend, Kraken, in the Sunken Shrine. They also recover a Slab, which allows a linguist named Dr. Unne to teach the Lefeinish language. The Lefeinish give the Light Warriors access to the Floating Castle that Tiamat, the Wind Fiend, has taken over.[3] With the four Fiends defeated and the Orbs restored, a portal to 2000 years in the past opens in the Temple of Fiends. There the Warriors discover that the four Fiends sent Garland (now the archdemon Chaos) back in time and he sent the Fiends to the future to do so, creating a time loop by which he could live forever.[4] The Light Warriors defeat Chaos, thus ending the paradox, and return home. By ending the paradox, however, the Light Warriors have changed the future to one where their heroic deeds from their own time remain unknown outside of legend.[3]

Development

A man sitting in a chair and speaking in a microphone
Hironobu Sakaguchi thought Final Fantasy would be his final game

Final Fantasy was developed during Square's brush with bankruptcy in 1987, and in a display of gallows humor, director Hironobu Sakaguchi declared that his "final" game would be a "fantasy" role-playing game; hence the title.[5] When Sakaguchi was asked what type of game he wanted to make, he replied "I don't think I have what it takes to make a good action game. I think I'm better at telling a story." Sakaguchi's concept was a game with a large world map to explore and an engaging story.[3] Sakaguchi took an in-development ROM of the game to Japanese magazine Family Computer, but it would not review it. Video game magazine Famitsu, however, gave the game extensive coverage. The development team was composed of seven people, while the other team at Square had about twenty. Sakaguchi stated that if the game did not sell, he would quit making video games and return to college to make up a year. Only 200,000 copies were to be shipped, but Sakaguchi pleaded with the company to make 400,000 to help spawn a sequel, and it agreed.[6]

Sakaguchi's boss had never heard about role-playing games before Final Fantasy. Sakaguchi's project was greenlighted because Sakaguchi told his oss it would be a fun game. The world and locations were created first, to fit the cartridge limitations, and the story was created second. The story was based on the concept of the four classical elements. Sakaguchi's use of events and music was largely inspired by James Cameron's hit movie The Terminator.[1]

The game's characters and title logo were designed by Yoshitaka Amano. The scenario was written by Akitoshi Kawazu and freelance writer Kenji Terada. Iranian-American freelance programmer Nasir Gebelli, who was living in Japan at the time, worked as the programmer for the game. Among the other developers were Hiromichi Tanaka, Kōichi Ishii, and Kazuko Shibuya. Following the successful North American localization of Dragon Quest, Nintendo of America translated Final Fantasy into English and published it in North America in 1990. The North American version of Final Fantasy was met with modest success, partly due to Nintendo's then-aggressive marketing tactics. No version of the game was marketed in the PAL region until Final Fantasy Origins in 2003.[5]

The music for Final Fantasy was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, and was his 16th video game music composition.[3] The soundtrack album was released together with the score of Final Fantasy II in 1989.[7] Some of the game's tracks became mainstays to the Final Fantasy series: the "Prelude", the arpeggio played on the title screen; the "Opening Theme", which is played when the party crosses the bridge early in the game and later referred to as the Final Fantasy theme; and the "Victory Fanfare", which is played after every victorious battle. The opening motif of the battle theme has also been reused a number of times in the series.[3]

Versions and re-releases

See also: Final Fantasy I and II compilations
A virtual battle between monsters, with one party on the left and the other on the right.
The WonderSwan Color version was one of the first expansive remakes of the game

Final Fantasy has been remade several times for different platforms, and has frequently been packaged with Final Fantasy II in various collections.[3] While all of these remakes retain the same basic story and battle mechanics, various tweaks have been made in different areas, including graphics, sound, and specific gameplay elements. The game was first re-released for the MSX2 system and was published by Micro Cabin in Japan in June 1989.[8] It had access to almost three times as much storage space as the Famicom version, but suffered from problems not present in Nintendo's cartridge media, including noticeable loading times. There were also minor graphical upgrades, improved music tracks and sound effects. In 1994, Final Fantasy I•II, a compilation of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II, was launched for the Famicom.[9] This version was only released in Japan and had very few graphical updates. The WonderSwan Color remake was released in Japan on December 9, 2000,[10] and featured many new graphical changes. The 8-bit graphics of the original Famicom game were updated, battle scenes incorporated full background images, and character and enemy sprites were re-drawn to look more like the ones from the Super Famicom Final Fantasy games.[11]

In Japan, Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were re-released both separately and as a combined game for the PlayStation. The collection was released in Japan in 2002 as Final Fantasy I & II Premium Package and in PAL and North America in 2003 as Final Fantasy Origins. This version was similar to the WonderSwan Color remake,[12] and featured several changes, such as more detailed graphics, a remixed soundtrack, added full motion video sequences, and art galleries of Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations.[13] Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is, like Final Fantasy Origins, a port of the first two games in the series for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. The Final Fantasy version incorporates various new elements, including four additional dungeons, an updated bestiary, and a few gameplay tweaks.[14]

Square Enix released a version of Final Fantasy for two Japanese mobile phone networks in 2004; a version for NTT docomo FOMA 900i series was launched in March under the title Final Fantasy i,[15] and a subsequent release for CDMA 1X WIN-compatible phones was launched in August.[16] Another titular version was released for SoftBank Yahoo! Keitai phones on July 3, 2006.[17] Graphically, the games are superior to the original 8-bit game, but not as advanced as many of the more recent console and handheld ports. Square Enix planned to release this version of the game for North American mobile phones sometime in 2006,[18] but it has yet to be released. For the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy, Square Enix remade Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II for the PlayStation Portable.[19] The games were released in Japan and North America in 2007,[20] and in PAL territories in 2008.[21] The PSP version features higher-resolution 2D graphics, full motion video sequences, a remixed soundtrack, and a new dungeon as well as the bonus dungeons from Dawn of Souls. The script is the same as in the Dawn of Souls version, aside from the new dungeon.[22]

On March 25, 2009, Square Enix announced that the original NES version of Final Fantasy will appear on the Wii's Virtual Console service.[23] It was downloadable in Japan on May 26, 2009[24] and in North America on October 5, 2009.[25]

On January 20, 2010, Square Enix announced that an enhanced version with upgraded visuals and touchscreen controls would be available for the iPhone OS platform.[26]

Reception and legacy

Final Fantasy has been well-received by critics and commercially successful; the original release sold 400,000 copies.[6] As of March 31, 2003, the game, including all re-releases at the time, had shipped 1.99 million copies worldwide, with 1.21 million of those copies being shipped in Japan and 780,000 abroad.[27] As of November 19, 2007, the PlayStation Portable version has shipped 140,000 copies.[28] In March 2006, Final Fantasy appeared in the Japanese magazine Famitsu's Top 100 games list, where readers voted it the 63rd best game of all time.[29] GameFAQs users made a similar list in 2005, which ranked Final Fantasy at 76th.[30] It was rated the 49th best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.[31]

Final Fantasy was one of the most influential early console role-playing games, and played a major role in legitimizing and popularizing the genre.[32] According to IGN's Matt Casamassina, Final Fantasy's storyline had a deeper and more engaging story than the original Dragon Quest (known as Dragon Warrior in North America).[33] Many modern critics have pointed out that the game is poorly paced by contemporary standards, and involves much more time wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise their experience levels and money than it does exploring and solving puzzles. Other reviewers find the level-building and exploration portions of the game as the most amusing ones.[13] The game is also considered by many as the weakest and most difficult installment of the series.[11]

The subsequent versions of Final Fantasy have garnered mostly favorable reviews from the media. Peer Schneider of IGN enjoyed the WonderSwan Color version, praising its graphical improvements, especially the environments, characters, and monsters.[11] Final Fantasy Origins was generally well-received; GamePro said the music was "fantastic", and that the graphics had a "suitably retro cuteness to them".[34] Reviews for Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls were generally positive, with Jeremy Dunham of IGN giving particular praise to the improved English translation, saying it was better than any previous version of the game.[35] The PlayStation Portable version was not as critically successful as the previous releases; GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd cited the visuals as its strongest enhancement, but stated that the additional random enemy encounters and updated graphics did not add much value.[36]

The theme song that plays when the player characters first cross the bridge from Coneria has become the recurring theme music of the series, and has been featured in most numbered Final Fantasy titles except Final Fantasy II. Final Fantasy was also the basis for the series finale of a video game-themed cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master entitled The Fractured Fantasy of Captain N.[37] 8-Bit Theater, a sprite-based webcomic created by Brian Clevinger parodying the game, has become very popular in the gaming community since it started in March 2001.[38]

Warrior of Light, based on Yoshitaka Amano's design of the lead character, and Garland are the respective hero and villain representing Final Fantasy in Dissidia: Final Fantasy. Warrior of Light is voiced by Toshihiko Seki in the Japanese version and Grant George in the English version, while Garland is voiced by Kenji Utsumi in the Japanese version and Christopher Sabat in the English version.[39] Garland's future self, Chaos, is present in the game and is voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the Japanese version and Keith David in the English version.[citation needed]

Chaos, the final boss of the game, is referenced in Ivalice-set titles Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift as a summonable entity (known as an "Esper" in the former and a "Scion" in the latter) of the same name.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Final Fantasy Explorer's Handbook (instruction manual). Square Co. 1989. NES-FF-USA.
  2. ^ a b c Final Fantasy Explorer's Handbook (instruction manual). Square Co. 1989. p. 80. NES-FF-USA.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Final Fantasy Retrospective: Part I". GameTrailers. 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  4. ^ Square Co (1990-07-12). Final Fantasy (Nintendo Entertainment System). Nintendo of America. Garland: Remember me, Garland? Your puny lot thought it had defeated me. But, the Four FIENDS sent me back 2000 years into the past. / From here I sent the Four FIENDS to the future. The FIENDS will send me back to here, and the Time-Loop will go on. / After 2000 years, I will be forgotten, and the Time-Loop will close. I will live forever, and you shall meet doom!!
  5. ^ a b Berardini, César A. (2006-04-26). "An Introduction to Square-Enix". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  6. ^ a b Fear, Ed (2007-12-13). "Sakaguchi discusses the development of Final Fantasy". Develop. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  7. ^ Schweitzer, Ben; Gann, Patrick. "All Sounds of Final Fantasy I - II". RPGFan. Retrieved 2008-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Final Fantasy Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  9. ^ "Final Fantasy I & II [pre-owned]". Play-Asia. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  10. ^ "Final Fantasy Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  11. ^ a b c Schneider, Peer (2001-02-12). "Final Fantasy (Import)". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  12. ^ Shoemaker, Brad (2003-04-08). "Final Fantasy Origins Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  13. ^ a b Dunham, Jeremy (2003-04-15). "Final Fantasy Origins Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  14. ^ "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls Developer Interview". GameSpot. 2004-11-29. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  15. ^ Tsukioka, Aki (2004-02-24). "Square Enix to Launch DoCoMo Sites for World-Famous Game Titles". Japan Corporate News Network. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  16. ^ "KDDI Announces Three New CDMA 1X WIN Models". KDDI. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  17. ^ "ファイナルファンタジー for MOBILE" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  18. ^ "Square Enix to Showcase All Encompassing Line-up at E3 2006". Square Enix. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  19. ^ Lumb, Jonathan (2007-01-17). "Final Fantasy Remakes Coming to PSP". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  20. ^ "Square Enix ships remastered edition of Final Fantasy to retail". Square Enix. 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  21. ^ "Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition for PSP". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  22. ^ Masae, Nakamura (2007-04-23). "Final Fantasy Preview". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  23. ^ "Square Enix Announces New Downloadble Titles for Nintendo's Wii" (Press release). Square Enix. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
  24. ^ "VC ファイナルファンタジー". Nintendo. Retrieved 5 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "Discover New Worlds, Hidden Words and the First Final Fantasy". Nintendo of America. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  26. ^ Buchanan, Levi (2010-01-20). "Final Fantasy I & II Coming to iPhone". IGN. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  27. ^ "Titles of game software with worldwide shipments exceeding 1 million copies" (PDF). Square Enix. p. 27. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  28. ^ "FY2007 First-Half Period Results Briefing Session" (PDF). Square Enix. 2007-11-19. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  29. ^ Edge Staff (2006-03-03). "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100". Edge. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  30. ^ "Fall 2005: 10-Year Anniversary Contest - The 10 Best Games Ever". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  31. ^ Michaud, Pete (2006). "NP Top 200". Nintendo Power. 199: 42–43. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  32. ^ "Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy I)". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  33. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2005-07-19). "State of the RPG: GameCube". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  34. ^ Fox, Fennec (2003-04-07). "Final Fantasy Origins". GamePro. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  35. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (2004-11-30). "Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  36. ^ VanOrd, Kevin (2007-06-25). "Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  37. ^ "Final Fantasy Retrospective - Part X". GameTrailers. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  38. ^ Maragos, Nich (2005-11-07). "Will Strip For Games: Gaming Comics Online". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  39. ^ Niizumi, Hirohiko (2008-08-06). "Dissidia: Final Fantasy Hands-On". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
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