Episode 7: Final Fantasy—Wash Your Damn Face! (Playstation)

Final Fantasy Origins: Final Fantasy 1

Platform: Playstation

Japanese Release Date: October 31, 2002

North American Release Date: April 8, 2003

Difficulty: Moderate

Amazon Price: Final Fantasy Origins Disc: $14.50

PSN Digital Download Price: $9.99.

Podcast: Download, iTunes, PodOmatic

One podcast episode, two reviews!
Lightning's Review of the NES Version

Terra’s Review

Your mother let you out of the house in that outfit? You go right home and change into something less stupid, young man!

The Good

• Updates that make the game run smoother, such as menu options that describe what an item is and allow the player to buy more than one item at a time.
• Graphics that keep the old school charm of the original but also add in a few more colors and more detailed background for the battle screens.
• Getting to choose the make up the party, which can greatly affect game play—try an all white mage party if you really want a challenge!
• Updated, 32 bit version of the music the Final Fantasy games are famous for. Be sure to listen for Derelict Keep!

The Bad

• The World Map seemed slightly larger than in the NES version, which could make getting from one place to another tedious—especially before the airship shows up.
• Being ambushed by nine monsters, when you only have four party members, and the monsters all get to first, and stun/petrify/insta-kill the entire party before the player can give any commands.
• The storyline involves Time Travel and will make your head hurt when you try to figure it out

The Ugly

• The opening CGI movie of a random knight fighting a random dragon:

Or perhaps…THE BEGINNING? (Of a huge money maker!)

The lowdown:  The remake keeps a lot of the charm of the original NES version while polishing the game up slightly. I’m particularly a fan of the updated menus, which are easier to navigate than the originals were.  The language for the script is more flowery and the graphics more colorful, but the game’s story is unchanged and the core and heart of the game have been kept intact. Recommended for people who want an old-school type experience or to play the game that launched one of the world’s biggest RPG franchises, but don’t want the frustration of buying one Heal potion at a time.

Music Credits:

RPG Roundup Theme Song: "Video Game Theme," J. Arthur Keenes Band. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack

Final Fantasy Playstation Soundtrack