FFI Novices

[fire_of_avalon]

So I'm totally going to partake in the FFI challenge that starts TOMORROW. But I've never played this game before in my life and I'm pretty sure this bad boy comes before the era of hour long pre-storyline tutorials. Is there anything a novice should know before starting the game?

Also, the other novices should feel free to use this thread for noob questions that can't be readily found in the forum.

[Bahamut2000X]

Depends which version your playing?

As for some general things to know, Thief's have a special ability that they can almost always run away from a fight.

And if your on the NES version there's no redirection, meaning when your Fighter one shots that poor imp, your 3 other members will stupidly swing at the air and waste a turn making sure said Imp is even more dead.

[fire_of_avalon]

I am playing the NES version, and that's good to know. I pretty much exclusively rely on the redirect function.

[Bahamut2000X]

A the good 'ole classic one.

Then some other good notes to take, you can only learn 3 spells total on any mage, and they can't be removed, so you gotta pick carefully what they learn.

If you use a Black Belt, around level 10 unequip their weapons and they become stronger with bare fisted attacks then any weapon.

That's about the biggest things I can think of at the moment.

Anyone on the NES version I highly suggest checking out Unne's site ('http://ffclassic.com/') since it has the most complete FF I NES info I've ever seen.

Edit: Doh seems likes Unne site is down for maintenance at the moment. Geez and I was just on it yesterday looking up stuff.

[rubah]

if you have a white mage, get her a hammer8)

also, you will die really easily, so spend forever levelling up.

[KentaRawr!]

I remember that certain spells in the NES version never did what they were supposed to. I think the "TEMP" one was one of them. So don't get that one! :monster:

[fire_of_avalon]

Wait, I can only pick THREE spells per mage? That's crazy. Do they become better as I level? Are all the spells available from the get go?

[Bahamut2000X]

You buy spells from shops. I believe there is only one shop that sells each spell. At the start you can only get level 1 spells in Corneria, and as you progress in towns you get access to higher tier spells.

Generally though the best spells you want are healing and nukes. Then everything else is fluff.

[XxSephirothxX]

Unne's site is Final Fantasy Classic (http://ffclassic.net/) not .com. :monster:

[Bahamut2000X]

Odd, my link is working now as well and is .com not .net in the browser.

[XxSephirothxX]

Apparently he owns both. CRAZY

[oddler]

Wait, I can only pick THREE spells per mage? That's crazy. Do they become better as I level? Are all the spells available from the get go?

You can learn 3 spells per magic level, to be exact. There are 8 magic levels and your mages will be able to learn higher level magic after levelling up. So, up to 24 spells total, 3 per magic level. :choc2:

[Denmark]

As oddler said, that's 3 spells per level per mage.

You have to buy all your spells, higher level spells are available in towns you reach later in the game.

Don't buy any level 7 spells in Onrac, they all suck. The level 7 spells available in Gaia are far superior.

LEFEIN HAS A HIDDEN MAGIC SHOP (it's over to the side somewhere), so don't fill up all 3 of your level 8 magic spaces with spells from Gaia.

Remember about the non-redirection and strategize your attacking.

After you get the ship and are hanging around in the Aldi Sea between Coneria, Pravoka, and Elfland, sail up to Coneria when you need to use an Inn; it's 30g vs. 50g in Pravoka and 100g in Elfland. Plus the trip takes virtually no time at all.

The best spells to buy are probably FIRE, LIT, ICE, CURE, HARM, LIFE and their higher level versions. HARM is a great way to take out undead monsters (it's the only thing it's good for, but there are a lot of undead in this game so it's worth picking up). CURE and HEAL are the only spells that can be used both in and out of battle; LIFE and LIF2 can only be ued outside of battle.

There are a number of weapons and armors that can be used as "Item"s in battle and produce special effects when used this way. For example, the Zeus Gauntlet, when used as an "Item", acts as a shot of LIT2.

Do the class change sidequest on the Cardia Islands/Castle of Ordeal. All your Light Warriors become more powerful, your mages turn into wizards and can use all spells (except Red Wizards, but they're special), and Fighter and Thief turn into Knight and Ninja and can use low level White (Knight, up to level 3) and Black (Ninja, up to level 4) magic.

You only get a certain number of shots of spells of a given level at a time. Ration your spells carefully. The only way to restore these is to stay at an Inn or use a HOUSE (but beware with the house, the magic regenerates AFTER it saves your game, so it's wise to use a TENT afterwards to save your full magic. Tents are cheap.).

I'm sure there's a lot more, but this is all I can think of for now. Hope it's not confusing at all :D

[Freya]

See I don't need a thread for my noob questions. I can just ask rob and he'll tell me.

[Martyr]

If you're playing the NES with a Fighter or RM, it is worth it to buy that 4000 G Silver Sword.

If you have a BM, keep in mind that Wizards are susceptible to LIT.

FAST is the best spell in the game.

Use Unne's site (or experiment, hell, that's what I did) to find out which items have magical properties (if it isn't obvious), because unlimited lv. 3 magic spells can be pretty freaking useful.

Also, don't nbother trying to keep a BB alive through Kraken or Warmech or Chaos. Let him die. It's just part of the way things are.

Oh, and use a tent to save your game outside Astos' Castle.

Restart if you hit Wizards in the Ice Cave or Gas Dragons in the ToF.

Finally, as I'm sure you all know, don't sell your Ribbons for that coveted 1 G.

[Bahamut2000X]

Pro Rings are your friends. Especially for all those 1 hit death mobs. :(

[Martyr]

Pro Rings are your friends. Especially for all those 1 hit death mobs. :(

They don't save you from a Sorceror, do they?

I mean, it doesn't matter. They're standard anyway, being the best type of their armor class in the game.

[Bahamut2000X]

They do. They stop all one shot death attacks I do believe. I remember that's why when I went back through the Ice Cave later to fight a few Eye boss fights for cash/exp, I wasn't running away from them.

[Levian]

The stats when you get a level up, are they calculated based on your actions in battle or are they given for each level? Ex: will my Intelligence go up if I use a lot of magic?

In case there's any differences between the games I should probably mention that I'm playing on the GBA!

[fire_of_avalon]

Can I just buy swords for everyone?

[Denmark]

Lev: In the NES version definitely, certain stats go up depending on level, not actions. I'd hope it's like that on the other versions too (because I personally prefer that method of leveling ^_^).

foa: Only certain classes can use certain weapons. Fighter, Thief, and RM can use the largest number of weapons. Once Fighter gets class changed to Knight, he can use damn near every weapon in the game, and Thief's evolved form Ninja can use most of them. Your White and Black Mages, on the other hand, can't fight with swords, so your best weapons for them are Hammers for White Mages and Daggers for Black Mages. Black Belts should probably use the Wooden Nunchuck or something until their levels get high enough that you can unequip him and he can just fight barehanded.

The class restrictions also apply for armor. Bracelets are the best (and at times, only) armor for Mages, and yes they count as armor (as opposed to something you'd naturally think of as body armor, such as the Chain Armor). You can equip an Armor, a Helmet (the Ribbon, which you definitely want to equip once you find them (only 3 in the game though), falls into this category), a Gauntlet (most of the Gauntlets are only available to non-mages), and a Shield (same as for Gauntlet, though possibly the Buckler (available in Crescent Lake) is equippable by Mages? I forget).

I use too many parentheses. :D

[Levian]

Lev: In the NES version definitely, certain stats go up depending on level, not actions. I'd hope it's like that on the other versions too (because I personally prefer that method of leveling ^_^).


Okay, yeah that's what I thought. I'm pretty sure it's the same for GBA too then.

One thing that's quite annoying with FF1 GBA is that the music changes way too often. It changes when you enter a shop and when you open the menu. >;o and it sucks because when you go out of the shop again the town music starts all over again and basically you just end up hearing the beginning of each song over and over and over again. Not to mention that the shop music is highly annoying! Oh well, I'm enjoying everything else.