Which version?

Which version of FF1 are you the most pleased with playing? To my knowledge, it's been released three times in the United States, as Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Origins, and Final Fantasy: DoS.

I personally prefer the original. The graphics are archaic as hell, and the music is awesome, but due to the lack of technology, is unfaithfully rendered.

But that didn't stop me from playing it in 1991, enjoying the awesomeness of the game, many times over.

It has a certain charm to it, and it seems much more difficult than DoS ( :( MP :( ). The limited space for equipment made the game more challenging, and you had think things out a bit more. You couldn't just keep every treasure you found. There were some that you'd just have to leave behind.And that's okay with me, because it makes for a more interesting game.


EDIT - Can a mod add a poll to this thread if possible? I meant to have the 3 games as poll options, but forgot to add the poll when I submitted the thread!

Ive beaten the Game on my PSX and beat it recently on a ROM on my PSP.
The PSX is better in every aspect, every.

PSX = NES version sans some annoying bugs (FINALLY switching targets) and of course hellah improved graphics and music. DoS is a exercise in how to completely ruin a game's difficulty levels in one sitting. Thankfully FF2 didn't get this treatment for it's GBA incarnation and remained largely unchanged.

I've only played the GBA version. And I felt that version was very enjoyable

I prefer the original. Though some of the updated mechanics in all of the new versions prevent a few unnecessary headaches.

Since I've only played DoS, an NES rom, and the PC Remake by Mihilus, I'd say Mihilus's remake just cause it has switching targets and it's not as easy as DoS.

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Originally Posted by feioncastor

the music is awesome, but due to the lack of technology, is unfaithfully rendered.

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Considering that the music for FFI on the Famicom was the original source, how in the heck do you figure it's unfaithful?

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Originally Posted by Captain Maxx Power

Thankfully FF2 didn't get this treatment for it's GBA incarnation and remained largely unchanged.

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I shudder to think about the untrueness of that statement.

Definitely the PS version. I love the graphics, no more "INEFFECTIVE", and as much as I like the GBA version, the PS version is just all-around better.

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Originally Posted by Torren McHasselhoffgard III

Considering that the music for FFI on the Famicom was the original source, how in the heck do you figure it's unfaithful?

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I'd be willing to bet that when Uematsu heard the tunes in his head he wasn't hearing them as they came out on the game. He probably heard it as a band playing the songs. Replace the archaic beeps and boops with violins, flutes, and so forth. That's probably what Nobuo himself had in mind. Of course, the technology limited what he could do. So he probably had to cut down the songs a lot. He probably had to remove a few ideas from the songs to make them adapt to the technology.

Just listen to how intricate a lot of his newer work is. Like "Dancing Mad" from Final Fantasy VI. You couldn't do that on the NES, and I'm sure even the SNES had to cut back on what Uematsu had thought up.

So transferring music from a greater medium onto an NES game causes it to be unfaithful to how it ought to sound.

Now, I guess the possibility exists that Uematsu did compose it just as we hear it on the NES cartridge. But I doubt it.

At least one of the songs from FFVI was originally composed on the Famicom, possibly others as well.

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Originally Posted by Torren McHasselhoffgard III

At least one of the songs from FFVI was originally composed on the Famicom, possibly others as well.

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Well, sure. "Prologue" and "Final Fantasy" were originally on the Famicom, but listen to the later incarnations of those songs on newer systems. Uematsu was able to do to them what he had wanted to all along, but couldn't because the medium forced him to unfaithfully render them.

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Originally Posted by Torren McHasselhoffgard III

I shudder to think about the untrueness of that statement.

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Yes, for as well all know FFII was also filled with side dungeons full over overpowered equipment that could cast even the strongest spells in the game, thus rendering any learned spells useless.

The GBA FFII version fixed many bugs including Select + Cancel among others. Compared to FFI it's no where near as torn apart. Just because it isn't identical to the NES version doesn't mean it's automatically smurfed.

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Originally Posted by feioncastor

Well, sure. "Prologue" and "Final Fantasy" were originally on the Famicom, but listen to the later incarnations of those songs on newer systems. Uematsu was able to do to them what he had wanted to all along, but couldn't because the medium forced him to unfaithfully render them.

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No I was talking about the song that plays in Owzer's House. It was originally written for FFII, but they could never find a place for it. You'd be suprised how little it's changed.

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Originally Posted by Captain Maxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Power

The GBA FFII version fixed many bugs including Select + Cancel among others. Compared to FFI it's no where near as torn apart. Just because it isn't identical to the NES version doesn't mean it's automatically smurfed.

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Yes but it also introduced a LOT of things. For example, weapon and magic skills increase a LOT faster. They also implemented skill up caps based on the monsters you're fighting. They also introduced stacking items to the game, so now you can carry 99 elixirs. They also completely removed the 2nd blood sword. They also changed the way Ultima works. They also nerfed the difficulty of many monsters, including bosses (despite increasing their HP). Trust me, a LOT was changed about the game.

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Originally Posted by Torren McHasselhoffgard III

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Originally Posted by feioncastor

Well, sure. "Prologue" and "Final Fantasy" were originally on the Famicom, but listen to the later incarnations of those songs on newer systems. Uematsu was able to do to them what he had wanted to all along, but couldn't because the medium forced him to unfaithfully render them.

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No I was talking about the song that plays in Owzer's House. It was originally written for FFII, but they could never find a place for it. You'd be suprised how little it's changed.

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To be fair, a new segment or two was added to that song when it was brought up for FFVI, much like how "Prelude" was updated for FFIV.

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Originally Posted by Torren McHasselhoffgard III

Yes but it also introduced a LOT of things. For example, weapon and magic skills increase a LOT faster. They also implemented skill up caps based on the monsters you're fighting. They also introduced stacking items to the game, so now you can carry 99 elixirs. They also completely removed the 2nd blood sword. They also changed the way Ultima works. They also nerfed the difficulty of many monsters, including bosses (despite increasing their HP). Trust me, a LOT was changed about the game.

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Not to mention stats no longer decrease.

What's with the x's? Anyways, compared to FF1's remake, FF2 got the better part of the deal in my opinion. It's still a relatively difficult game compared to DoS which is just a joke. Of course if you're feeling REALLY hissy about it you could always go play the NES rom.

O and for the record I've been checking Boss HP/other stats against the original version compared to the GBA, and nearly every value is the same. So no, the monsters did not get downgraded.

Probably just perceptual on my part then.

FF for the Gameboy was horrible imo.
The difficulty was lacking and the bonus dungeon with its insanely overpowered items was a joke. That entire bonus dungeon felt so out of place.

I hold the original very dear to me but the PSX Origins version has got to win hands down. It has the best aspects of the NES and Gameboy versions rolled in one. :choc2:

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Originally Posted by Torren McHasselhoffgard III

Probably just perceptual on my part then.

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Perhaps it has something to do with attacks doing upwards of 100 damage when the monsters have 6-50 HP in parts of the game you need to be in.

I like the NES version if only for sentimental reasons. I remember looking forward the game being released, and reading magazine articles about it. It was a pretty sweet game back then, and a huge leap forward after playing Dragon Warrior.

The best edition is without doubt the Origin (PSX) release. IMO.

I would prefer to play it on origins. I've only played it once so far on origins; not much replay value in it, except for trying a new party. I wasn't super-impressed, but the amano art was cool, and the rest of the collections. The CG was cool too, and the graphics were pretty decent, espcially the battle backgrounds.