Final Fantasy Origins

"Old school senses tingling!"

Old school gamers will be happy to play this game. I know I was! I'm one of the lucky people who can honestly say that the original Final Fantasy was the first Final Fantasy they ever played, way back when it first came out in all of its NES gaming goodness. Final Fantasy Origins combines Final Fantasy with the never before released in America Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy is the story of 4 young heroes known as the light warriors, who set out on a journey to restore the power to the 4 Crystals of the Elements (originally they were 4 orbs, but they’re now crystals) and rid the world of evil. Final Fantasy II is the story of 4 people fighting to save the world from an evil emperor. Both games have lackluster plot lines by today’s standards, but you have to keep in mind when these games were originally made.

Graphics wise, both games have gotten a huge boost. In fact, they look nothing like their original pieces. They look 16 bit like, like the SNES Final Fantasy games did. The graphics are nothing spectacular, but they're a definite improvement. The game has added neat looking cut scenes as well. The battles are much nicer looking, like something out of FFIV or FFVI. They also seem to be faster and smoother. The number of hits you score appear above the attacker's head, and white or green numbers representing damage or healing respectively will pop out of the recipient, ala the newer Final Fantasy games. The characters themselves look differently then they did in the original. Unfortunately, Black Wizards no longer have Mohawks, they now just look slightly different from black mages.

The music is mostly remastered versions of the original music. I'm not complaining, since I liked most of the old school music. It lets the games keep their nostalgia. The sound effects have been cleaned up a bit. You’ll still hear a lot of the same old slashing noises, but they sound a lot better and more varied now.

A lot of things that made people mad have been fixed as well, such as ''ineffective'' attacks. Now, if an enemy someone has targeted dies before they attack, they hit something else rather then swinging at air. A lot of the dialog has been cleaned up. No more will Garland yell his famous battle cry, ''I Garland will knock you all down!'' A lot of the names have been changed as well. This includes places, items, and enemies. There are also new features such as art work, bestiaries, and treasure lists. A smaller yet nice new feature for Final Fantasy is the ability to have your character names be 6 characters rather then 4 characters long. That doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it makes a difference!

On a sad note, the invisible man of Corneria Castle seems to have been removed. RIP Invisible Man, you were one of the first and coolest glitches in video gaming history. I for one will miss you. You may not have ever said anything all that useful, but you were still a neat little trick to impress friends with.

All in all, this is a game that old school gamers will love to play. If you loved these games before, you’ll love them again. If you’ve never played Final Fantasy II, as few people in America have, then that’s yet another reason to pick this game up. If you've never played the original Final Fantasy, then shame on you. This is your chance to play it, don't pass on it! This game should only be about $30, so it's affordable and fun. All in all this is a solid title!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/03, Updated 04/18/03