Final Fantasy Origins

"Why don't we be honest, folks?"

Final Fantasy is a very important series in the videogame world. Not just that, it has also played a big role in my life, for I have played and loved almost every game that has those two F words in it. Way back when many of you were just little sperm cells, Squaresoft began this project, which they assumed would be a one time thing. The original Final Fantasy was a huge success, making its many sequels inevitable. With Final Fantasy Origins, Squaresoft bring us not just the original Final Fantasy, but its first sequel as well (appropriately named Final Fantasy II... WITH roman numerals, biotch!). Now of course these two games are where the Final Fantasy games originated from, and of course they are therefore very special, but does that mean that, by today's standards, they can keep up with other current RPGs? Sure, they're classics, but come on people, they're from almost two decades ago!

Part 1: Final Fantasy

STORY:
The story in the original was where many of FF's sequels got their stories (and greatly improved upon it). You control four people who have no personalities at all, no speech, and no depth whatsoever. They are pretty much robots who are told what to do by some important people like kings and chiefs and all that good stuff. And then they do it, and get another mission. The main plot is them four searching for the four crystals to -GASP- save the world. Yes, I know that this is from the NES days so the story isn't unbelievable. But this is the new millennium, people, so I'm reviewing by the present's standards.
STORY: 4/10

GRAPHICS:
NES's graphics compared to PS1's are crap. Thankfully, Squaresoft improved them for this system. This still doesn't mean they're necessarily good compared to any other current PS1 games, but at least they did the best they could.
GRAPHICS: 5/10

SOUND:
Similar to the graphics, the music has been improved as well. I actually loved the music in this remake for the most part. Very nice.

The sound effects are better too, but... they're quite SNES-ish. That's not too bad though, it's not like they'll bother you or anything.
SOUND: 8/10

GAMEPLAY:
This game isn't old-school, it's just old. That said, the game will play old too. Basically all you do is go from town to dungeon to town to... CAVE! To town, to dungeon. Few, good thing those caves are there for a little change of pace. In town you can buy stuff to aid you on your journey or you can chat with the residents. In dungeons you will walk a couple steps and then get into a fight with a monster over and over and over and over again. There are treasures in the dungeons too. Oh goody. Oh! And at the end, there is a boss! This is the original game that brought this whole RPG concept into the world.

You will choose what classes you want your characters to be at the start. There are warriors, white/black mages, thiefs, and monks. Each has its own special traits. ...Warriors are the best though, since you just want to kill stuff as quickly as possible. Black mages, monks and thieves are worthless compared to the other two.

Squaresoft changed the battle system a bit from the NES version. Thankfully, characters don't waste a turn if you had them target a dead enemy, and will attack anyone remaining. Still, though battles may have been fun back then, now they're tedious and frustrating. You get into battle SO often, even more than, say, the Breath of Fire games for SNES. It makes it too difficult too, because by the time you're at the boss you'll be too worn out. No fun. To help a little, a "memo" save was also added, in case you die in battle. You can restart from any point if you have a memo save.

Well, at least you can dash now.
GAMEPLAY: 3.5/10

Part 2: Final Fantasy II

STORY:
Like the original, the four heroes/crystals are back. Luckily the characters have much more depth to them this time, which helped Square realize the importance of character development for its future. Still not amazing, but better.
STORY: 7/10

GRAPHICS:
Pretty much the same as Final Fantasy. They're improved, but nothing actually up to par.
GRAPHICS: 5/10

SOUND:
Again, I thought the music was precious in this remake as well. The sound effects are no different from the original though, so they're not too spectacular.
SOUND: 8/10

GAMEPLAY:
A lot of the original's improvements were made with the sequel too. Better targeting system, a dash button, and the memo are most obvious. Another thing that was very nice was the inventory's increase in size. Before you would be throwing away things you didn't want to throw away, but now you have twice as much room, which is nice.

The town-dungeon-town-dungeon concept is still here, though. It's not fun playing this game. Even more so than the original. This is because the ways your characters become stronger. To gain attack strength, they must attack, to gain higher defence, they must get hit, etc. It's completely random how much which character will improve, and it makes this game one of the worst Final Fantasys anyone will play. The fact that you encounter an enemy every goddamn second step you take doesn't help either. GOD this game was frustrating as hell! I can't believe I actually hate a Final Fantasy! Even back then... who could've enjoyed this game? Terrible.
GAMEPLAY: 2/10

Part 3: Both games as a whole

LASTING APPEAL:
Despite its endless frustration, Squaresoft provided us with many an extra, such as art galleries, different difficulty levels, and bestiaries which give all information about monsters you've fought. The games alone will last you a long time too if you can handle them the entire time. If you're devoted to Final Fantasy, then pick this up. You probably won't have fun, but it'll last you pretty long.
LASTING APPEAL: 7.5/10

OVERALL:
I realize that these games are classics and that they were amazing back in the day. Don't get me wrong, I love the original FF (not the sequel), but this is just a re-release in the new millennium with bigger dogs who have bigger bites. They're just not as good as many of today's games. Be honest, be real. These games just aren't so great in this day and age.
OVERALL: 5/10

Thanks for reading =)

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/06