If you could skip one part of this game what would it be?

[Dr Unne]

I haven't played through the game yet, but I would say the levelling up. It would make the game more enjoyable if that was not required due to needing Gil and level to almost every new dungeon. More Gil and level than you got from just walking to the place and do a bit more fighting than you had to.

Leveling is one of the most fun parts of FF1. You actually need to invest time and effort in making your party good. It makes it more worthwhile to finish the game rather than breezing through it.

It also adds an element of strategy that is missing from many games. Where do you fight? What do you spend your money on first? Do you save up to get a Silver Sword or do you spend it all on a cheap Short Sword and hope that it helps you level faster in the meantime? How much money should you devote to Pure potions and Heal potions? Is it worth spending money on Tents or can you struggle back to town and use the Inn each time? Is it worth buying Steel armor from Melmond when you're going to get Ice or Fire armor in a little while anyways? Should you buy FIR3 or go back and fill up your 3rd and 4th level magic slots instead?

It also gets you to really experience the game to its fullest. There are few enemies in FF1 that I haven't fought, and that's because you're forced to fight so much for everything. Other games I often find myself fighting certain enemy types maybe once or twice per game, if at all; I never get to see their enemy skills, I never really get to know the enemies at all.

[Frostwake]

I haven't played through the game yet, but I would say the levelling up. It would make the game more enjoyable if that was not required due to needing Gil and level to almost every new dungeon. More Gil and level than you got from just walking to the place and do a bit more fighting than you had to.

Leveling is one of the most fun parts of FF1. You actually need to invest time and effort in making your party good. It makes it more worthwhile to finish the game rather than breezing through it.

It also adds an element of strategy that is missing from many games. Where do you fight? What do you spend your money on first? Do you save up to get a Silver Sword or do you spend it all on a cheap Short Sword and hope that it helps you level faster in the meantime? How much money should you devote to Pure potions and Heal potions? Is it worth spending money on Tents or can you struggle back to town and use the Inn each time? Is it worth buying Steel armor from Melmond when you're going to get Ice or Fire armor in a little while anyways? Should you buy FIR3 or go back and fill up your 3rd and 4th level magic slots instead?

It also gets you to really experience the game to its fullest. There are few enemies in FF1 that I haven't fought, and that's because you're forced to fight so much for everything. Other games I often find myself fighting certain enemy types maybe once or twice per game, if at all; I never get to see their enemy skills, I never really get to know the enemies at all.

I couldnt have said it better! Its the problem of many latter FFs actually... When you get to the end theres little to no reason to be all powerful, you just dont need it, in this game if you dont youll never make it throught the whole chaos shrine..

As for the topic I have to agree with earth cave.. its just bull, unless you somehow are over leveled and managed to get warp in melmond

[Dr Unne]

As for the topic I have to agree with earth cave.. its just bull, unless you somehow are over leveled and managed to get warp in melmond

I ALWAYS think "Hey, I'll get Warp, then I can avoid those cockatrices!". But Warp is only learnable after class change.

[Martyr]

Of course, you can overlevel ang get EXIT!!!

But if you're way up there at lv. 16-17 in the earth cave...
I don't even know what that would mean.

[Snap Jumper]

Actually, I don't think a visit to Elfheim town is required to complete the game, but it would be crazy to skip it. However, I really wish I could skip Earth Cave/Terra Cavern. Going through the first half three times gets painful, in addition to everything above. But even worse for me, I find the dungeon bland (on Origins at least, I don't have the NES version). There's not much to make it stand out, like the other dungeons. I don't think it has many unique enemies, but it does have Lich, which is the only thing I like in there.

[FFI Fan]

Dr. Unne, you have raised some good points about the Sea Shrine that I have never thought of. That part it is a lot of walking, why couldn't the treasure be more compacted? I would defintely have designed that dungeon a lot differently.
And I really like your point about leveling up and how lots of games don't have that anymore, it makes the game a challenge. However, I think just about everyone would agree that there is too any random battle of seeing the same monsters before the Marsh Cave. Orges, Creeps, Archanidas, and sea mosters, is very tedious and doesn't add so much to the game. You asked where do you fight? Well else is there to fight except around Elf town and it's port. Once your HP is low, head up to Concernia and stay at the INN. Repeat process. Isn't that the most sensible and intelligent method?
So I must ask if it was up to you Dr. Unne, (or anyone) would you have lowered the price of equipment in Elftown or would you keep the prices that high?

[Tabris]

It depends on what you want from a game. As the graphics (at least today) isn't impressive, you need something else to make the game interesting. As FF-I doesn't have a good story either, the challenge and strategy required for leveling up is what makes it interesting, I can agree with that.

To take another example: FF-X is a fairly easy game, and the second time I played through it, all the bosses were a breeze. So what makes the game interesting to me isn't the challenge of the bosses, but the graphics, battle system and the (to me) very interesting storyline. Of course, FF-X graphic will also grow old, and then it's up to the battle system and storyline to make it interesting.

[Martyr]

FF1 Fan

The equipment in Elftown isn't very expensive compared to Melmond.

You get ther around lv. 4, and it usually takes lv. 8, a long way away, before you can tackle the March Cave.

So after raising up those exponentially longer 4 levels, you'll have enough gold to balance out Elfland Prices of Copper Bracelets, spells, and/or a silver sword.

But the silver sword is something that lasts until the Gurgu Volcano, so it's an extroardinary deal, even at 4000.
The Copper Bracelets aren't incredibl useful on your fighters, and Iron Armor is in the Marsh cave... So if I want to save money, I find it more profitable to make an extra grand and buy another Lv.3 spell instead of bracelets.
And the uber expensive lv. 4 spells, if you actually pay attention, are too high level to use during most of your time in Elfland. I think you get 1 at level 8, and the only spells worth having are Fast, Ice2, and Pure or Aice (maybe. white lv 4 kinda sucks)

So, unless you're rushing through the game at low levels, Elfland shouldn't be too expensive, but, instead, tight and evenly priced. If I go to the Marsh Cave at lv 8, I have a Silver Sword, 3 Lv. 3 spells (Lit, Fire, Cure), 1, maybe 2 Copper Bracelets, I'll get Iron Armor in the Cave, and I'll have enough cash for Ice2 after the Wizards, which will help me murder Astos.

Cheap!

Melmond is kinda expensive, but after buying either Fire3 or Harm 3, I guess you can afford to get the airship and raiding treasure chests to buy the massively expensive magic and whatnot that comes later.

Maxing out on lv. 8 mgic, if you don't use your cash wisely, probably can take you longer than necessary.
But, of course, anything more than Nuke and Life2 is more than necessary, so what the heck?

[FF1BlackMage14]

Can I say now that I actually wouldn't change anything about the game? I mean, I talked about the CUBE and crap, but really I think that none of the game should be deleted, not even the leveling (since I actually spend little time on that anyway) and that it is all part of the awesome plot.
And, Tabris, not to offend, but I wholeheartedly disagree. This game has the best (and my favourite) story of any game. And this is coming from someone who grew up watching Hitchcock.

[Tabris]

No worries, why should I be offended by someone disagreeing with me? I personally believe the storyline is the weakest one in any FF I've played (I've always read that FF-I is the only FF that doesn't even have a storyline!). So it's interesting to hear someone who actually love it.

[Fireblade13]

As far as elfland items go my main things is getting the poison cure as 3MP vs. an antidote is important to me but I played the uber easy DoS. (Does anyone have the def. of UBER)

[Dr Unne]

However, I think just about everyone would agree that there is too any random battle of seeing the same monsters before the Marsh Cave. Orges, Creeps, Archanidas, and sea mosters, is very tedious and doesn't add so much to the game.

Dunno, I always thought that part was fun. I can see how people would think it's not though.

So I must ask if it was up to you Dr. Unne, (or anyone) would you have lowered the price of equipment in Elftown or would you keep the prices that high?

Silver sword is overpowered for that part of the game anyways. You don't actually need to buy it. There are sensible alternatives at less than 1/4 the price. I think it's nice to have the option of getting it early and I think it's good that you have to work for it if you want it. Same with level 4 magic. You don't actually need any of it before going into the Marsh Cave.

[qq=Tabris]As the graphics (at least today) isn't impressive, you need something else to make the game interesting.[/qq]

I think the FF1 remakes look amazing, personally. There is no real replacement for well-drawn sprites.

[qq=Tabris]I personally believe the storyline is the weakest one in any FF I've played (I've always read that FF-I is the only FF that doesn't even have a storyline!). So it's interesting to hear someone who actually love it.[/qq]

It doesn't really have a story, nope. The scraps it does have (elemental crystals, saving the world etc.) have been reused in nearly every FF afterwards though.

There is something to be said for leaving things open-ended. Personally I have all kinds of stories I've imagined in the FF1 world over the years. The game feels more "mine" than any other game, possibly for this reason. You see what you want to see rather than what the game developers give you. Would we have 8-bit Theater if FF1 had a real, defined storyline?

[ReloadPsi]

The part with the (SPOILER)Vampire in the Earth Cave.

I just thinks it's so dumb to have to go in half-way through the cave only to come out and then go back to complete it.

I was about to say Marsh Cave until I read this.

And hey, at least all the leveling outside Elfland is 100% optional.