Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

"Final Fantasy 1 gets a 9, but Final Fantasy 2 gets a 6"

Final Fantasy 1, as previously stated, is one of my top 5 favorite RPGs ever. Why? If you were to take Pokemon's motto of “Gotta catch em' all” and change it to “Gotta kill em' all,” you'll have this game's basic concept. I'll explain later in the review.

Graphics: Like all GBA RPGs, this game has amazing graphics. Just look at the original Final Fantasy, which featured bland landscapes and trapped the heroes in little boxes during battles. In this game, there are highly detailed environments and the battles have actual backgrounds. There isn't much to say here as it's not like it has FMVs or anything. 9/10

Sound: Nothing quite compares to the harmonic melodies of Nobuo Uemetsu. Even if the music is just a midi, it sounds incredibly orchestral. I was a little disappointed by the fact that there was no Sound Test. 9/10

Length: Remember when I said it was “Gotta kill em' all?” Here's why. In the title screen you can check your bestiary, or for you n00bs, a list of all the monsters (like the Pokedex from Pokemon.) This may make you say “so what? Rock off, Gimpy!” But then it hits you. When you visit the bestiary, there is a percentage count. Kill one or two enemies, you have 1 percent. 154 monsters are 100%. That means all of you hardcore gamers will have to hunt them down. Doesn't sound bad right? You should be able to fight them all on the storyline right? Wrong. First of all, there are four secret dungeons. The first has 5 floors (randomly organized) and 4 bosses, so you have to beat it 4 times. Next is a dungeon with 10 floors, randomly generated, where you'll have to visit twice to take down all the bosses. The next one is just SICK. A 20-floor dungeon, randomly generated, insane puzzles, and one of the hardest bosses ever. Not to mention you have to visit twice! Finally, there is a 40-floor dungeon that you only have to visit once. So lets see, that makes 25 hours for the story, and 10 hours for the side quests. Want another 5 to 10 hours? This is where the bestiary comes in. You see, some of the monsters in this game are very well hidden. There was 3 times where I walked up and down a single floor of a dungeon for 30 minutes finding a monster. No lie. 10/10

Story: Your kidding, right. Here's the entire story. The world is shrouded by darkness, bla bla bla, it's up to four heroes to illuminate the crystals and save the world. What did you honestly expect from an 8bit game? Then again, since Square-Enix remade the entire game, they could have added something… 7/10

Game play: When you first turn on Final Fantasy 1 and start a new file, you get a choice of your characters. First there's the Warrior, who is an exceptional fighter and can use any weapon. Next is the Fighter, who has exceptional strength and uses his hands. Thirdly is the Thief, who has great agility. Next is the Black Mage, who uses damaging spells like fire, ice, and thunder. Fifth is the White Mage, who uses healing spells and status boosts, along with holy spells. Finally is the Red Mage, who uses a combination of white and black mage spells. After naming your characters, you finally start out on the world map. For starters, Final Fantasy is a turn based RPG. This means that when you enter a battle, you will choose which moves your characters will do, and then watch them execute your commands while your enemies attack your characters. The concept is insanely simple and works just like any other turn based RPG. If you have never played a turn based RPG, or a Final Fantasy game, this could take some getting used to, but it shouldn't take long to master the game. At the beginning, the game points you in the direction you should go (figuratively speaking) but not so much that it feels like they're holding your hand. After a little while, though, you will be left with no idea where you are going and will more than likely have to consult a strategy guide. As you progress, you'll level up to level 99, buy spells and weapons and armor, and fight 154 different enemy types. That's pretty much all I can tell you without spoiling anything. 9/10

And then there is Final Fantasy 2. Wow. This game is completely horrible.

Graphics: I have no idea how, but this game has managed to have worse graphics than Final Fantasy 1. The fields look less like fields and more like a bunch of green. The forests don't really look like forests, but more like a bunch of trees standing around each other. Not to mention stuff works really weirdly. 7/10

Sound: Most of the tracks are the exact same as the first game, but once again they aren't as good. Compared to the first game, the battle music is an atrocity, making it a pain to listen to. 7/10

Length: Once again, you have the whole “Gotta kill em' all” concept, wit almost the exact same amount of enemies, though the storyline and secret content take the same amount of time to complete as the first game… 9/10

Story: What on Earth? Apparently, you and two of your friends are trying to find your other friend but your mostly trying to help some resistance group against the empire and all kinds of weird things are happening. There are some things that I guess would be called plot twists, but you probably won't care about them. 6/10

Game play: This game ruins everything that made the first game great. You still buy all the same items and spells, but any character can use them leaving you with no variety. You still fight in turn-based form, but the level up system has been ruined. In this game, using a certain kind of weapon or spell enough levels it up, and getting stat upgrades come from getting hit a painstaking amount of times. There are still four secret dungeons, but the other dungeons are much different than the first game (which is good). The biggest problem is that you will do a TON of backtracking between cities, always fighting the same enemies. I give it a 5/10.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/24/05