Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

"Remember the good ol' days?"

Throughout history, one thing is certain. Final Fantasy is never "final" and will probably be here until doomsday. That said, I still believe some of the best work was in the original 6 games, peaking at the last one in the 16-bit era, Final Fantasy 6.

However, I have always kept the original within my Nintendo, and even today I play that old NES classic. When I picked up Dawn of Souls, the first thing I did was turn on my NES and play the two almost simultaneously.

Final Fantasy 1 - Story
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Much has changed from the game we saw for the NES. There is now a much better, yet still "8-bit " story. It was excusable back in the days of NES, where having a large story could take up more space than the tiles and sprites. Since this is a remake, not a new game, I will allow the story to slip from my rating.

Final Fantasy 2 - Story
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Very different from the original, Final Fantasy 2 revolved around specific characters, and had an extremely linear feel to it. This did make a more movie-like effect, making it feel like you were playing through a story, rather than playing around one. I do wish we could have seen a little more added, but I am glad they did not try to remake the plot of this game.

Graphics
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I never imagined that I would see the day where the original Final Fantasy games were made with 16-bit styled graphics. Generally remakes have tended to just "clean up" a few things, and this is nothing like that. Every tile, every sprite, every static image, has been entirely remade. Spells now have very visual effects on the battlefields, which are now actual fields, rather than boxes that show you in one box, and your enemy in another.

There is no mistake that there was a lot of effort put into keeping this game feel like the classic, but look more modern. Both Final Fantasy games look very crisp and clean.

Sound/Music
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Both games have an overwhelming amount of detail in their music. The detail is very easy to hear from the moment you turn on the game. The battle music is fast and exciting. The overworld map is epic and adventurous. The caves and dungeons are eerie. Even the towns just feel like...towns.

Sound also sounds much more like the 16-bit Final Fantasy games. Though not up to par with Final Fantasy 6, these could easily be compared to Final Fantasy 4. The spells make the cracks, booms, and rings like you would imagine. You can hear your weapon swings differ between the weapon used. Everything merges together to create a fluid world, where even the sound effects seem as though they were part of the music.

Gameplay - Final Fantasy 1
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There were some very big changes to Final Fantasy 1, and unfortunately, they aren't all good. The original game let you use spells of each level a certain number of times. They replaced that with the more modern MP system, which made the game much easier as you advanced. Rather than working with 9 casts of something, you ended up with 50 or more. This was even more noticeable due to the fact that this is basically the "Easy Mode" of the game. Leveling is much faster, and peaks at 99 now.

However, there is still some challenge offered in the other extra feature. After defeating each boss, you will open a special cave which showcases many favorites from the newer Final Fantasy games. These offer a little more challenge to offset the ease of leveling in the game. Other than this, the game remains fairly unchanged.

Gameplay - Final Fantasy 2
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Final Fantasy 2 is a very unique game, mainly in it's advancement system. Rather than having levels and experience, with characters defined in roles, you make their role. Actions determine your stat gains, and this system is much more "realistic." I love this system, though other RPG fans feel very different about it.

The core game is almost unchanged, and plays exactly like the original FF2. The only addition is the Soul of Rebirth, which takes you through an almost different game, using other characters than the ones in FF2. This adds a lot of replay value after you beat the game, as you have what is basically a new game to play.

Overall
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I must say that this was well worth the wait. I can't express how great the original games were, and how happy I am to see them on a portable. Though the games are slightly changed, they are still very true to the originals. I would recommend this to any RPG fan, and to ANY fan of the Final Fantasy series.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/05