For some, this is the definitive version of a classic RPG. Veterans and purists might not need apply, however.
This game is the title that launched Square's revival, and was so popular its spawned a dozen sequels and nearly as many sister games. Play any of the other games, and you can look back at this one and see how it all began.
Final Fantasy is a retro console RPG at its purest. The plot is as simple as you'd expect an 8-bit era game to be. Four light warriors emerge just as the world teeters on the brink of death, and set off on a quest to restore light to the crystals and otherwise slay monsters. You generate your party of four heroes by choosing from a pool of six classes, and then set off with little fanfare.
You then go do what RPG players have come to expect. You wander around until someone asks you for help, and you march off into the monster-infested wilderness to save the day. Dispatching monsters yields gold to buy new equipment, spells and use of town facilities, as well as experience points which cause your characters to raise in level. Combat happens in the wilderness and dungeons at random, and when accosted you dispatch foes with weapons and spells in turn-based fashion. There's dungeons to explore and magic items to find, too.
And that's about it. This game is near two decades old now, so advances in plot and complexity enjoyed by newer RPGs are strikingly absent here. That doesn't stop this title from reaping the benefits of nostalgic fun along the way, though. This game is a classic for good reason... its still fun to this day.
What might trouble most people looking at this game is this: this wasn't your first opportunity to experience this landmark game, nor second or third. Very likely, if you are a fan of RPGs in the first place, you have already played this game in one form or another. Those who enjoyed the NES classic might be put off by a lot of the game's changes, especially the decreased difficulty and switch from spell levels to magic points. They've added extra dungeons too, and while fun, they weren't in the original and provide new equipment that makes the main quest even easier than before. The game's dialog has been re-translated, and some of the original's notable quirks altered, fixed or removed. Purists might enjoy playing to see the changes, but at the same time might be put off by them.
If you've played any of the previous remakes, most notably the Dawn of Souls compilation for GBA, this game has little to offer you. Above DoS the PSP version offers high-resolution sprites and one new dungeon, but that's about it. They even recycled the same opening movies! The changes between DoS and PSP can be counted on one hand... and one of those is the complete removal of Final Fantasy II, which you have to buy separately for PSP. Ugh...
The game can be challenging if you're ill-prepared, but it certainly moves faster and is a bit easier than the original. Unlike Origins for PSX, there is no option to revert the game to "classic" mode, so you're stuck with the updates, like them or not. The extra dungeons and final dungeon are still particularly punishing though, at the very least it still FEELS like you're playing FF.
That being said, the graphics update is nice. The sprites look beautiful, as do all the other landscape and general bric-a-brac. The enemies still aren't animated, and are still drawn in a style such that they resemble their NES counterparts. You might not recognize them all by name (as a lot of names of things have been changed) but they're certainly all there. The sound is ok, but the game sounds just as good as the previous remakes did (they're probably identical as far as I can tell).
The Verdict:
Well then, who should buy Final Fantasy for PSP? Honestly, I can only recommend it to a few people. Die-hard FFI fans who want to see what's changed, or RPG diehards in general looking for an excuse to play the game again might certainly pick it up. I have a particular fondness for the game, and will probably play it through several times, just like I did every other iteration.
To others... eh? I probably wouldn't bother. SE is charging $30 for essentially half of what they offered for the same price years ago. Of all the versions of Final Fantasy 1 you could possibly play, I would choose this one last. It's nice of them to celebrate the anniversary of landmark and truly-awesome classic game, but the effort just seems so half-hearted. Honestly, they really don't deserve to charge full-price for this, to take even more of your money for the same game AGAIN. There. I said it.
But maybe you've never played the game before, and don't have a PSX or a Game Boy or heaven forbid a pocketbook thick enough to buy a second-hand NES cart or wonderswan. This game is really something special, and even though they tried to piss me off with a weak effort at a celebration piece, I still am addicted. This game was great, and buy association this UMD is fun too. Get it if you see it dirt cheap someday, or if you really wanna see what an old classic's up to nowadays. Curse you Square!
+The classic RPG returns, again
+Sprites look better than ever
+New dungeon(s) to try
+They tried as hard as they could to make me hate this classic game and failed
-99% similar to the last remake
-Costs $30 for just the one game
-Stripped-down retro style will turn off those hungry for true depth or plot
-No option to return the game to original NES difficulty/style