In 1987, where it all began, Square was just a year old and (as revealed in an interview with Uematsu) on the brink of bankruptcy. Final Fantasy became their final chance at a hit. And a hit it became. Looking back now, the first installment in the now expansive series of 16 mainline games (plus countless spin-offs) could be considered a fan-made game with the most generic story imaginable. Four nameless heroes (at least we can name them) arrive in the kingdom of Cornelia without any backstory, and their immediate task is to rescue a princess. So far, so fantasy cliché. But then, as expected, they must also liberate four corrupted crystals. Sound pretty mundane. But Final Fantasy captivates players with its charming world, delightful characters, vibrant towns, and beautiful monster sprites. Gameplay-wise, there are a few hiccups along the way, such as progress being hindered because you didn't speak to a particular NPC who tells you where to go next in the vast game world. It's totally possbible to forget these seemingly trivial bits of information especially after a few hours of gameplay. However, this happens only once or twice, and a quick Google search gets you back on track. In regular battles, tactic is rarely required, and you can simply hammer away with your group. The Pixel Remaster Edition even offers an auto-battle function. However, this feature doesn't prioritize the most sensible actions, like healing a character on the brink of death. Instead, it mindlessly repeats the previous inputs. It can be frustrating, as you might have just resurrected someone with a phoenix feather or healed a character, only to find the auto-battle wasting another feather on a living member or healing someone unnecessarily with already full HP. It requires careful attention, but it's manageable. There is another quality of live enhancement letting us toggle random encounters. In the menu, you can even alter the amount of received XP, Gil, damage and more. Another unusual aspect, perhaps an artefact of its time, is that staying at inns only restores HP and MP. If you have a fallen comrade, you must revive them at a small chapel. Statuses, like poison, are not cured at inns either. Nearly every town features these two locations, as well as shops for items, weapons, and armour. You can also find a black mage and a white mage in each town. They offer spells to characters of the same class, as well as to the red mage, and teach magic akin to the spell slot system of Dungeons & Dragons. Rather than having a mana pool, our mages can cast a certain number of spells per level. For example, they can cast eight level 1 spells, seven level 2 spells, and so on. This brings a nice tactical component to the more challenging boss battles. Do we use the last spell slot for a level 5 buff or save it for a potential resurrection? In addition to these three mage classes, we can freely choose warriors, thieves, and monks to form our team, providing freedom in team composition. However, this choice must be made at the beginning and cannot be altered later. Due to the frequent random battles, acquiring in-game currency Gil is never an issue. Despite battles being relatively easy, boss fights require a bit more strategy, utilizing magic the enemy is weak against, continuous healing, and the occasional resurrection when an attack unexpectedly deals double the heroes' HP. The final boss, in particular, almost demands some grinding. Success against this boss relies more on luck than skill, as it's nearly impossible to heal or revive your team when the boss casts powerful spells four times in a row, damaging the entire team. Frustration can definitely build up here. However, the gratifying feeling upon reaching the end credits and reading the concluding story of our four heroes makes it all worthwhile. The journey leading up to the boss is also delightful and charming. The Pixel Remaster version, which takes inspiration from the PS1 remake, is filled with small animations like victory dances after defeating a horde of enemies or when an item is equipped. This attention to detail is evident throughout, making Final Fantasy an enjoyable 8-hour adventure for fans even to this day.