The reason you played the first game

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Did you pick up the original Final Fantasy because it was a rite of passage to see how the series started, or did you get it because you genuinely just wanted another fun RPG to play, Final Fantasy or otherwise?

I think it can be a mix of both. Not only was I excited to see how it all started, but I also just wanted to play a fun game.

[Wolf Kanno]

I played it because it was a Final Fantasy and I'm a bit of a completionist. I did enjoy it pretty well for it's own sake, and I still feel the game is pretty charming.

[Fynn]

I got it because Dawn of Souls looked like a really cool addition to my GBA collection, and the fact that it was part of the series was really just an added bonus.

[theundeadhero]

A friend brought it over because he was stuck in the temple of fiends. I one-shot it for him, then borrowed the game for my own play through. It wasn't my first rpg, but it was my first FF.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I got it because I like final fantasy and wanted to play through a version of each numbered entry game. When I sat down to play it was just because I felt like playing a good rpg on my gba. It was a fun time.

[Bubba]

After FFVII quickly became my all-time favourite game, I needed to see where it all began.

Whilst obviously lacking in story, it was a well-balanced gem of a game. I thoroughly enjoyed it :-)

[Jarvio]

I'm playing it right now, original NES version, for the first time, and if it carries on like this then it is going straight to the bottom of my list.

Yes it was the first, but I don't see that as a reason as that I have to like it. This game is too unfair, unreasonable, unforgiving, annoying, and the battles take forever. I've just acquired the mystic key - does this game ever speed up, or is it a constant struggle all the way through?

[Fynn]

Welcome to the NES era

[Jarvio]

Welcome to the NES era

I've actually beaten FFIII, but that was the DS version. I liked it, but I imagine it's NES counterpart is different

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

This game is too unfair, unreasonable, unforgiving, annoying, and the battles take forever. I've just acquired the mystic key - does this game ever speed up, or is it a constant struggle all the way through?

Later versions of the game (PS1, GBA, etc) are either easier or have an easier mode. Something like that.

From what I understand, the original NES versions of Final Fantasy games tend to be harder than their ports for one reason or another.

[Jarvio]

This game is too unfair, unreasonable, unforgiving, annoying, and the battles take forever. I've just acquired the mystic key - does this game ever speed up, or is it a constant struggle all the way through?

Later versions of the game (PS1, GBA, etc) are either easier or have an easier mode. Something like that.

From what I understand, the original NES versions of Final Fantasy games tend to be harder than their ports for one reason or another.

Yeah I assumed so. It was tempting to just play a remake of it instead, but I opted for the original, because it's the first ever, so I fancied a history lesson. Now I've come this far I must proceed lol. I may not be far in the game, but I've put loads of hours into it regarding leveling etc, and that dark elf boss was still hard!

The only other FF left for me to do after this one will be FF II, but I won't be doing the NES version of that, as the version I own is a remake from the ps store downloaded onto my psp.

[Kibbs Kibbard]

After my brother and I played VI, eventually VII was announced and we played it. After that we wondered about the rest, in the NA release VI was labeled III so we wondered what happened to the others at the time. We soon discovered why it was so and found some older games. When we found FF I we brought it home and played the shit out of it. So for me, it was a brotherly bond kind of thing, we occasionally still talk to one another about games and new releases when we find the time.

[ReloadPsi]

Curiosity, and to see if it had as good a boss theme as 7, the only one I'd played at the time.

You can imagine how disappointed I was. Enjoyed the game itself though.

[FFNut]

I told the story before but I will tell it again.

I was allowed to rent a game from the local video rental store and after 20 minutes of trying to choose a title I chose Ice Hockey. Took it up to the counter to pay for the rental and when I got home to plug in ice hockey I noticed the original FF was in the case instead. My dad wasn’t going back to return it so I plugged it in and fell in love.

[Spuuky]

Because I could only play Dragon Warrior so many times, and wanted something similar and that seemed like the best bet.

[Jiro]

I came to the party much later than most, but I was curious to establish a frame of reference for the changes in the series. It's nice to know what the starting point is.

[Obsidian]

K-Mart had it on clearance when I was 9 years old and I thought the box cover was cool, and I recalled hearing it mentioned in Game Players magazine.

[Vermachtnis]

I was at the rental place and was looking for something to play when I saw it. I already played Mystic Quest and II(IV) so I picked it up. I never made it passed Marsh Cave.

[Rez09]

Reason, hm . . . probably because of the box art. I was fairly young and really bad about using game cases to determine what I wanted, though I have to admit it worked out pretty well here.

[Omni-Odin]

Final Fantasy came out the year I was born and I never owned an NES, so I actually started out with VII and X. Because of how much I loved those games, I got into a mode where I wanted to play all of them. I still have never played it on the NES or even an emulated version of it, but I did get it in the Origins collection after having already played VII-X. Bought it at my Blockbuster, which had a bunch of used PS games for sale. I kept buying one game at a time every time I had the money.

[Lord Golbez]

Initially it was just a rental. Who knows what led me to want to play it? I certainly don't remember. Maybe I wanted another RPG after Dragon Warrior. Maybe I didn't even know it was an RPG and just liked the box art. Either way, I didn't get much past Bikke the pirate. It was very hard too, because I don't think I knew I had to equip stuff (I think I just assumed having it in each character's inventory was equipping it). Also, we didn't really get the one save file thing at first so my brother and I were overwriting the save until we realized that. Later on I completed the game after my love of the series was solidified through later entries. In that case, I was probably more motivated to just finish the game that started the series.

[Loony BoB]

I like FF games and I wanted to check out the original. It was alright!

[Sarisa]

My GBA was the first game system I ever owned, and FFV was my first game in the franchise. I thought they were all connected to each other so I was quite surprised to find out that IV wasn't a prequel to V but rather it's own separate story. I liked the franchise enough and Dawn of Souls was the obvious next step considering the system I had (bonus points for it being newer than Origins) . Once we got a PS2 I lost interest in my GBA so I never did get around to finishing VI, and instead spent my time on X, XII, and IX. Probably not the recommended play order, but it worked well enough for me at the time.