Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition

"The Definitive Version of Final Fantasy"

RPGs sure have come a long way in the past two decades. Old school RPGs are now becoming a thing of the past. Gone are the days of wandering aimlessly around a huge open world with little direction and grinding your life away. Nowadays RPGs have complex storylines, incredible graphics, and deep character development.

The Final Fantasy series has become synonymous with the term “RPG”, since it was one of the fore bearers which helped to spawn the genre. Twenty years after the creation of the original Final Fantasy game, Square Enix has decided that it's once again time for us to re-live our past and endure another remake of the classic RPG that started the Final Fantasy series. This time it comes in the form of a PSP remake of the classic title “Final Fantasy.”

Square Enix chose to leave the core game untouched and just update a few features of the game, much like it did with the GBA remake. The game now has some improved visuals, some richer music, and a new added dungeon for Final Fantasy enthusiasts. It's still the same old ephemeral experience that we all remember, but it has been brought into a new light with the PSP remake.

I played the GBA remake about eight months ago, so the game was still fresh in my mind and I was really looking forward to the PSP update. Luckily I was not disappointed, and despite having to play the same game again, I was able to adhere to the experience and enjoy the game a second time.

Before any of you run out and buy this game, there are a few things that you should know. First, this is an old school RPG. By “old school” I mean there are turn based, random encounters and the world is fairly open for you to explore and find your objectives. You will not be given too much direction via a story and there will be long periods of fighting battle after battle, either to get to your desired destination, or to level up your characters.

There is also a shortage of extraneous activities in the game. There are a few side quests to partake in, but for the most part, you will be playing the core game. So there won't be a cooking system, mini-games, or an item creation system for you to get lost in. You will pretty much be trying to gather the crystals and stop the end of the world, end of story.

Speaking of the story, it's nothing very in depth. You will play as the four “Warriors of Light”, who have been chosen to re-unite the crystals of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, in order to use their joined power to stop the evil doings of a certain individual.

If this sounds interesting to you, then you may have what it takes to enjoy this timeless classic like I did, and bask in the light of Square's first RPG masterpiece.

Graphics 8/10

The PSP remake of Final Fantasy truly has some unique and vibrant visuals. Everything looks much cleaner than the GBA remake and some of the enemy designs have been tweaked a bit for the better.

The character sprites in battle are now much bigger and more detailed. The backgrounds have also received a bump in graphical quality, but it's not as noticeable as the updates to the characters and enemies.

The spell effects have also been touched up a bit and now have more transparencies and look more distinct. Some of the higher level spells really look impressive and I can honestly say that my eyes got a bit wide the first time I cast Flare on my enemies.

Even with the graphical touch up, it's still a mediocre looking game, but I can't really fault Square for not wanting to mess with the graphics too much, so I would give this a solid 8/10 graphically, for consistency and nostalgia.

Sounds and Music 8/10

The sounds and music of the original and the GBA remake have been faithfully reproduced and now sound much better on the PSP. The music just sounds a bit richer and obviously benefits from the UMD format.

None of the music has been sacrificed; it's all there, just like I remembered it and I'm really glad Square didn't decide to do something stupid like remix the tracks.

After you beat the game, it will unlock a sound test so you can play any of the tracks at your leisure, which is a neat option for Final Fantasy fans.

Story 7/10

The story is cliche by today's standards, but Final Fantasy had a trend setting story for its day. The four “Warriors of Light” are on a quest to find the elemental crystals and help to save the world.

You will get to choose up to four characters for your party. The options are: Warrior, Thief, Monk, Red mage, White mage, and Black Mage. You can pick any combination of these, but you can only have four total. Even though having four tanking Warriors can be tempting, it will benefit you to have an assortment of classes and skills. Each character can get a class promotion by completing a certain quest, which gives them even more abilities than their base class.

Since the characters are rather generic, they won't be talking much. In fact, they won't be talking at all. They will not interact with each other or show emotion. They are just there to get the job done and listen to people for information. More like the four “Proletariats of Light” if you ask me.

The story is rather interesting to follow though. It's simple in execution and doesn't deviate much, but it doesn't really have to. It's a classic tale that has been mirrored through many generations of consoles, and it was ground breaking back in the day.

Gameplay 8/10

The gameplay is mostly standard turn based RPG combat. If you can appreciate this, then Final Fantasy might be a game that you will enjoy. You will be fighting a lot of random encounters, and there are also static encounters which happen when you step on certain squares of the dungeons. Static encounters are usually around treasure chests and often on narrow passages. Be careful, since these static encounters can be triggered more than once.

You will have standard options in battle. White Mages will get healing and buff spells, while Black Mages will get attack spells. You will need to purchase spells from magic shops and the only criteria is that you have enough money and your magic level is high enough.

There are lots of locations to visit and NPCs to talk to, but most NPCs won't say anything interesting. Only a few will point you in the right direction or offer anything useful. Due to this, it can often be discouraging to know what to do next.

There are also some balance issues with the game. The main balance issue I noticed was with the bosses of the dungeons. Due to the frequency of the random battles, you will level quite fast and when you finally get to the boss of the dungeon you will pound the living tar out of him. I didn't really have too much of an issue with it but it's worth noting.

So the gameplay offers nothing new, but again, it's classic gameplay which spawned many ideas and tactics which are employed in today's RPGs.

Longevity and Re-playability 8/10

Aside from the main quest, all four bonus dungeons from the GBA remake are present, and they feature bosses from other Final Fantasy games. This will be quite pleasing to fans of the series. There is also a PSP exclusive dungeon “The Labyrinth of Time” which can keep you busy for a long time since it's quite difficult. There is also a New Game+ feature and a bestiary which you can try to complete.

I was able to cruise through the main quest in about 16 hours with some previous knowledge of the game. If you include the bonus dungeons, this game could last you 20-30 hours if you really wanted to put the time into it.

Conclusion

If you have never played the original Final Fantasy, then this is no doubt the version to get. It has everything that the previous versions have and then some. The improved visuals, sound, and depth really made me enjoy playing this game again. I would recommend this game to any fan of turn based RPGs. Just keep in mind that it's a 20 year old game and has aged a bit over time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/08, Updated 05/14/09

Game Release: Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition (US, 06/26/07)