Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

"A warm embrace for new player and old schoolers alike"

Looking at these games is almost an apple and oranges deal. Final Fantasy I kept Square Soft afloat and started an award winning series, made RPG's a popular genre, and probably created more D&D dorks than anything, save The Lord of The Rings trilogy. On the other hand, Final Fantasy II is like the redheaded stepchild of the series. Square tried to be experimental, and ended up with a game that is shoved into the back of the closet not to be seen again.

Both of these games have been made better, though.

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FFI

Gameplay - 8/10 - The controls are as perfect as they ever have been. If you've played one other RPG, you will instantly know how to play.

The port also does away with the D&D-esque magic system and allows you to go off of the more video game traditional MP base for spells. This is more inviting to new gamers, however the difficulty curve nearly goes out the window from this alone.

Instead of having to ration and plan when you will use high level spells, your characters can swing them around for as long as they would like, often decimating what should have been a hard boss.

On the same vein, gil is easy to come across in this time around as well. After visiting Provoka and gaining the ability to buy Ethers like candy, you'll never have to worry about dying or using a tent again.

However, most gamers will probably be turned on by the lessened difficulty curve and be able to enjoy the experience. Negative points in nostalgia, but positive points all around in play.

Story - 7/10 - The story, though fairly basic, is good. Standard save-the-world fare, but hey, this was an NES title. I had to appreciate the fact that the characters actually talked more and went further into the plot without dragging it down.

The heroes, thankfully, have stayed mute.

Graphics/Sound - 9/10 - I was impressed by the facelift given. All the monsters and characters stay true to their NES

counter parts, however they now have a much cleaner and vibrant look to them. Small things jumped out at me like the fact that buildings had a '3d' look to them when flying, the map looking almost hand drawn, new spell looks, etc.

Sound is obviously above par. Square has never disappointed in the music or sound effects department. Some gamers may be turned off to the fact that there is only around the area of 10 tunes in the game, but will not become fully annoyed with the songs.

Play Time/Replayability - 8/10 - Playtime is where I mainly marked this game down at. It took me WEEKS about six months ago to max my characters levels, get the best stuff, and wholly tear apart this game. This time around, for the actual storyline portion of the game, it only took me 12 hrs.

On the flip side of the coin, all of the new areas, items, and completing a bestiary will keep power levelers and perfectionists entertained long after the quest is over. There is also a new game + option to help out with getting every monster you can.

Overall (FFI) - 9/10 - This game has always been a gem in any collection of RPG's, and to have not played it is almost a sin. Those who always shied away from the low-tech graphics and the difficulty will be welcomed with opened arms to play this great title. It's the perfect kick back on a Sunday afternoon game that you can easily put down and pick up again now with the save-anywhere feature.

Old school fans will be mostly happy with this port, but keep in mind that it IS easier and some of the names have been changed. Don't fret though; these changes are overshadowed by other praiseworthy additions.

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FFII

Gameplay - 5/10 - Final Fantasy IIj suffers the most here, having an alien experience system that never quite works itself to being familiar or helpful. The idea is good - if you use a weapon, shield, or spell you will become more proficient with it. Similarly, if you get hit hard, cast spells often, swing a sword around, etc. the governing stat will rise.

The idea falls flat shortly after that when you find that you cannot gauge easily what 'level' you would need to be. Fighter only characters will be all right, but spell casters are touchy and difficult.

With a character in the back and casting spells, they become useless quickly when their MP runs out and you don't have an Ether because they cost FAR to much in the beginning of the game. It's normal to expect a magic user to not do much damage, but early in a mini-quest, your mage will be sitting in the back ranks doing nothing and hardly raising ranks in ANYTHING.

Worst yet, if a monster hits the spell caster, they WILL be dropped. With potions expensive and gil sparse, you may be faced with the sticky situation of not being able to kill a monster or running out of HP before getting back to town. Spell casters are unavoidable since there are plenty of monsters that soak up physical damage and will only be killed by magic attacks, and one of the three main characters is naturally going to lean more to spells anyway.

Having a Red Mage like character doesn't work to well either. They become ineffectual in battle almost immediately. With low ranks in spells, they don't do enough damage or heal enough to make them worth the effort. Also, they generally don't hit hard enough to do any amount of impressive damage either. The remaining two main characters do NOT do well with spells either. One of them can cast the occasional small white magic spell, but the other was made to be a tank, making it more difficult to have a balance of characters.

It's just a mess. There is a point late in the game where the player starts to have a party that doesn't get killed every time a monster sneezes at your mage, but it's mostly due to the secondary character traveling with you, making it easy to base the party off of them, and then hurting you later when they leave. Many players will be turned off from this alone. Long leveling times are suggested early in the game if you truly want to be able to enjoy this title.

Final note, the game is slightly harder because the age old glitch to gain easy levels was removed.

Story - 9/10 - The story is actually fairly thought out and shows that it was a predecessor to FFVI. Your characters can talk this time around and are a part of a rich story for this gaming time frame. It disappoints that the gameplay was so
shot considering the script is good.

Also, the keyword ability that the game has works well. You drop a name or phrase to the right person, they tell you some information. Once in a great while, you may be stuck running around to everyone trying to guess who needs a keyword, but generally the characters have the "My sprite is different, talk to me," look.

If you stick with the game long enough to get past the bad experience system, the story line will reward you.

Graphics/Sounds - 7/10 - The graphics are good, all things considered. The character's portraits are similar to the Amano Artwork and the interiors are beautiful. In contrast, the overworld is stark, lacking the detail that the GBA could obviously pull off. The distinct impression is left that the team who ported this took concentrated less on this game than they did on FFI.

Again, the music and sound effects for this game are great, but slightly lacking. The music doesn't have the same sort of obvious care that was soaked into FFI, and it shows a little in sounding almost more akin to the tinny NES music than a more sophisticated GBA.

Play Time/Replayability - 7/10 - With the game being slightly "fixed" now, it feels better and isn't as painful to get through. Gamers who are used to almost any other Final Fantasy may end up being turned off completely to this,

especially if you have played FFVII and on. The new areas and bestiary are worth note as replay, just like with FFI, but I personally didn't care as much to go through this title again after I beat it this time.

OVERALL (FFII) - 6/10 - I have never been overly fond of this game. However, being handheld, professionally translated, given a makeover, and some of the rough edges smoothed out makes it playable, and even enjoyable to the patient player. I wouldn't feel to bad though if you aren't as zealous of beating this game as FFI.

This game gives a great vantage point to see how far this series really has come, and you can also see similar ideas from this game in play in newer titles (e.g. Morrowind).

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OVERALL FFI/FFII - 8/10 - Final Fantasy I alone would have been worth the 29.99 to pick this game up. Unlike the other "Classic Nintendo" games that have been put out recently, this one shows some great effort in polishing itself up. Also, it's refreshing to see a more polished version of Final Fantasy II come my way, though I still hold the same love/hate relationship with it. I am disappointed to see that Final Fantasy III was left out again in this version, but it is a heartbreak I can get over.

This IS a 'buy' title, however buy it on the GBA and not on the PSX. Due to these games being cart initially, the GBA version loads faster and doesn't suffer from the same slow downs the PSX version had, the graphics feel more "right" on it, and the GBA SP has a more NES controller feel to it.

No self respecting RPG fan could overlook owing this title.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/04