The first Final Fantasy is a novel game to go back to and the modern accessibility features of the Pixel Remaster make it easier than ever to do so, but the game doesn't have too much to offer beyond historical value.
The gameplay is very simplistic and the story is near nonexistant, but it's fun to see how much of what would become the series long-running DNA was already around as of the first game.
The gameplay is very simplistic and the story is near nonexistant, but it's fun to see how much of what would become the series long-running DNA was already around as of the first game.
Despite what the not-so-flattering 5/10 might seem, I actually enjoyed my time with FF1. It's such a simple experience that it's hard to really hate, the score is mostly due to the opposite, there's very little the game does well.
The vast majority of this game will be spent spamming the same attacks against what feels like the same enemies for a dozen hours. There's basically no story to follow, and no gameplay elements outside of the combat, but the combat itself is extremely shallow. Some enemies have elemental weaknesses, but unless you have more than one black magic-capable mage, this won't come into play very often. Plus, since recovering magic can be pretty expensive until about the middle of the game, you will be spamming melee attacks for a VERY long time.
The one point of praise I can give this game is the unique magic system (at least unique to most RPGs). Like DnD, spells work on a charge system rather than drawing on a universal magic resource like other games. This means that once you start to learn different levels of spells, you can spend charges from a level without letting it affect how you treat the other levels. At the same time, having two spells that you use a lot on the same charge level will make you put more thought into how you use your spells in any given situation. If the game had more complex enemies, this system could easily skyrocket the score. Alas, the remaster of a JRPG from the 80s can only do so much for design sensibilities.
The vast majority of this game will be spent spamming the same attacks against what feels like the same enemies for a dozen hours. There's basically no story to follow, and no gameplay elements outside of the combat, but the combat itself is extremely shallow. Some enemies have elemental weaknesses, but unless you have more than one black magic-capable mage, this won't come into play very often. Plus, since recovering magic can be pretty expensive until about the middle of the game, you will be spamming melee attacks for a VERY long time.
The one point of praise I can give this game is the unique magic system (at least unique to most RPGs). Like DnD, spells work on a charge system rather than drawing on a universal magic resource like other games. This means that once you start to learn different levels of spells, you can spend charges from a level without letting it affect how you treat the other levels. At the same time, having two spells that you use a lot on the same charge level will make you put more thought into how you use your spells in any given situation. If the game had more complex enemies, this system could easily skyrocket the score. Alas, the remaster of a JRPG from the 80s can only do so much for design sensibilities.
The mindless grinding is exactly my type of comfort game and this started it all of course I'm very thankful to the Grand Daddy of em all
Vanilla is a necessary flavor for ice cream, for it is a simple flavor that reminds people of simpler times. In the case of RPGs, FF1 is not much different. It's a straightforward relic made back in an era where sound level design was the main focus and the narrative was simple yet unobtrusive. Given how the past couple of years have seen a rise in RPGs with a heavy emphasis on narrative and putting multiple ice cream flavors, FF1's relevance as a game with remains just as important as it did for Square back when it seemed like this was their final product. Sometimes, to appreciate complex RPGs and avant-garde ice cream, you have to take a step back to the era where things began.