The beginning of a legacy
I've been gaming since I was like 1 year old, so thats a LOT of gaming. Personally, like "TV Killed the Radio Star", I personally believe 3-D killed the video game. My favorite games are on the Atari, NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. Not to say that the neo-gaming age is bad. However they truly do not make games like they used to. Now, graphics are essential. Now, mini games are a huge plus. However back in what I would call the golden age of gaming, we played games for the heart of them. I am now reviewing the game that started it all: Final Fantasy. I am one who played Final Fantasy from the beginning. Anyone who has been playing as long as I have will tell you that this ground breaker is simply THE best Final Fantasy ever. The rest copy off of it in more ways than one. Now, onto the review, if you don't mind.
Originality - 10/10
The first of the series was a VERY original game. It hadn't been done before, at least on a console. Well, technically Dragon Quests release before it made it seem less original, but the fact that Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were developed almost side by side eliminates that small problem. In the end, a very original game. Graphics - 10/10
Believe it or not, this was some of the best graphics of the time. If you think i'm lying, look at other NES games released the same year or earlier Sure, things like Super Mario Brothers 3 have slightly better graphics, but SMB3 was finished at least a full year after Final Fantasy was. Maybe more. The castles are beautiful, the cities are as bustling with NPC activity as they could be. Dungeons look great, as do bosses.
Story - 10/10
People of today would look at Final Fantasy and see...no story. Couldn't be further from the truth. In an age where a Role Playing game was a new thing, this game had the best story out there. Heck, the story is repeated today. The original is THE BEST.
Game play - 10/10
The game play is simply excellent. This started us on the random battle crusade, which is annoying, but not something I can fault an RPG for. While it is annoying that if you attack an enemy and its already dead when your turn comes around, you attack air, it shows the extreme control you seem to have over the characters, which is interesting.
Audio - 10/10
Some of the best audio on the NES hands down. Nobuo certainly has more to work with today, making his music feel better at first, but judging by changes in technology, the music of Final Fantasy today would suck back then and the music back then is a lot better than the music of today. Evidence: See The Black Mages CD. The Final Fantasy Battle song is about 50x better than anything you will hear on todays Final Fantasy.
Re-Playability - 10/10
Okay. You have choice of 6 characters. 4 party member slots. That means 24 different party combinations. That means you can play through the game 24 times and have a difference experience each time. The odd thing is that nothing changes on repeated play throughs, no alternate endings, and yet it is still worth it to play it again just to experience what it is like with different parties and to experiment to see exactly what you can find in the dungeons (This was pre-mini map, guys.)
Difficulty - Easy-ish
While the game is easy now, when it was released, it was hard. Trust me. I was like 5 years old and trying to work myself through a complex game and dying a lot. Once I got to the point that it was too easy, I decided to play around with making different challenges. Some were easy, while one seemed impossible. Feel free to try out your own weird parties to see how hard you can make the game. It is possible to make it harder. Try a solo-white mage game. THAT is truly a challenge and a feat I have only overcome once in 50 attempts.
Overall - 10/10
This is, simply put, the best final fantasy game. Period. Square had ONE shot left to make a good selling game (Hence "Final Fantasy") and they NAILED it. If you've never played this game and you're not a graphics junkie, this is a must play. From its originality, its outstanding graphics (of the time), its great game play, and its excellent music, it stands out from all around it. Well, thats it for this review. I hope it was enjoyable and I hope if you haven't played this game, you'll pick it up and give it a try. I can almost guarantee you will enjoy it. This game and Dragon Quest pioneered the modern RPG. I'll leave you with the final words, and the point, of this review.