Final Fantasy
Review by Sky Render

Tagline: The original, but definitely not the greatest.

Graphics - 6/10 (GBA: 8/10)

 The original FF1's graphics were... not very impressive, even in their time.  The tilesets used were very tiny, sprites were practically monochrome to save on memory use, and battle scenes were very sparse.  The GBA remake fixes this up nicely, bringing the game into the 16-bit era's visual style.  However, even updating the visuals can't fix one of FF1's major problems: that the areas are just plain bland on the whole.  This is mostly the fault of the design techniques of the time, but there was no reason they couldn't make the environs more interesting for the updated version.

Sound and Music - 7/10 (GBA: 9/10)

 FF1's music was pretty impressive for its time, particularly since it didn't use a custom chip to generate the music (as a few NES games did).  The songs were few in number, but usually pretty good.  The GBA version masterfully updated the songs, making them sound even better than most 16-bit FF's sported, which is quite a feat on the GBA.

Gameplay - 6/10 (GBA: 7/10)

 Well, it was pretty nifty at the time, but FF1's gameplay engine hasn't aged very well.  The highly limited MP system, coupled with the near-random nature of turn order and enemy damage, make it a very frustrating experience most of the time.  The GBA version attempted to remedy some of these issues by adding in a standard MP system instead of the tiered MP the original sported, with some level of success.  But they also made the game far easier than was necessary, to the point that you would have to try in order to have a difficult go of it.  Regardless, improvement is improvement, and the GBA version has that over the original in the form of its greater level of accessibility to non-hardcore RPG players.  In both versions, the encounter rate is ridiculously high, so be prepared for many fights.

Story - 4/10 (GBA: 4/10)

 To be fair, FF1 was made when games didn't really have deep stories, so the lack of story depth is somewhat excusable in that regard.  Just the same, what story it does have is presented in a very amatuerish fashion, and the main plot line concerning a time loop is like a gigantic plot hole that won't go away.

Replay Value - 7/10 (GBA: 7/10)

 The fact that you can play the game with any party combo you desire adds some serious replay value to this game.  One downside to FF1's system is that you cannot change classes, thus if you pick a bad party combo, you're stuck with it for all time.  Still, the GBA version makes it so that no party combo is particularly "bad", just harder to work with in some cases.

Overall - 6/10 (GBA: 7/10)

 While it lacks the polish and quality of later Final Fantasy games, the original still is a playable game (particularly in GBA form).  It's not a title you'd pick up for the engrossing story, because the story is far from that, but it is a nifty little distraction for a boring day when you have nothing better to do.


Pros:
+ Exceptional control over gameplay difficulty with class system
+ GBA version sports excellent visuals and audio
+ Lots of replay value

Cons:
- Sub-par and underdeveloped story
- NES version's graphics leave something to be desired
- NES version is very difficult; GBA version is very very easy

Target Audience: The NES version definitely appeals to more hardcore RPG players, while the GBA version appeals to more casual RPGamers who enjoy turn-based battle systems.

Buy or Rent? If you're particularly fond of turn-based games, and don't mind the lack of story, buy away.  Otherwise, rent first.