Final Fantasy NES - In-depth Class Analysis & Tier List

[@Jerupitus]

Hello friends! This video really took off out of nowhere, and I'm loving all the comments, so let me start with a big thank you to everyone for watching and commenting. It's incredibly cool to me that such an old game is well-balanced enough to still have a diversity of opinions and configurations after all these years, and there are enough combinations to make your party actually feel like it belongs to you. Reading all of your party configurations really makes my day, so keep them coming! Just in case you're interested, I also have a comprehensive walkthrough of Final Fantasy here on the channel. You can check that out here: kzbin.info/aero/PLrxyUnt-gRtEzV0u-xfym4P8PFlqM12hb

[@EveryDooDarnDiddlyDay]

Probably recommendations from UCBVG's recent Final Fantasy guide/playthrough. Thank god that guy doesnt have a stupid cartoon voice like HCB. Cant watch that guy.

[@Glokta4]

Haven't watched your walkthrough yet, but you can reduce the time spent dealing with the sprite by doing the class change immediately after getting Floater. You can do the Castle Ordeal as soon as you get the canoe.

[@aaronp2542]

I thought the video was well done, bullet point presentation thats easy to visualize, and some good thought out analysis on your reasoning that was built on the things spoken about in the beginning. That is something I really like and would love to see more in various games in future vids. Subbed :)

[@Jerupitus]

Thank you!

[@dethaddr]

Wondering if you've ever played the FF Randomizer? I've got a few runs of that myself, some which were pretty impossible to complete on camera due to some pretty hefty bad RNG late game bosses. I think it may be something you'd enjoy that can give some extra life to a game you obviously love, much like me.

[@scwh3181]

My one criticism of this is it's a little endgame focused... you talk about how important the masamune is, but you have it for, what, two battles? Don't get me wrong, it will help against Chaos, but it's hardly worth building a party around. Similarly, I feel black mages are a little underrated for this same reason. Yeah, they greatly fall off in use in the later game, but in early game, the point where the game is generally at its hardest? The fire/ice/lit 2 spells are absolutely monstrous, absolutely destroying enemy groups. White mage is also to some extent, as the ability to resurrect a dead character is super valuable since even if kind of over leveled, virtually any character can due pretty easily in the later game and in places like the last dungeon, it's a long slog with a ton of fights and a single character death will really hurt. Of course even with one, it's quite often the white mage that dies. While the late game does have some challenges, once you reach the mid point you tend to coast through the rest. It's places like the marsh and earth cave that really kill you, though, and anything that will make those long, resource draining dungeons a little easier is worth a lot.

[@Jerupitus]

Great points! I agree with you, but in my defense tier lists inherently lack nuance. You could have meaningfully different tiers with different points of the game in mind, so I made the choice to focus on the totality of resources the game gives you, which may have skewed things towards the endgame as you astutely pointed out. You're right about the Masamune; it reminds me of the Crystalis sword, where you really only get to use it for a very small number of fights before the game ends. Still, I think it's reasonable to consider who will use various uniques when planning a party, even if the answer ends up being suboptimal or no one at all. Thanks for your comment!

[@scwh3181]

@@Jerupitus Appreciate the reply! My main point is that you can't underestimate black magic. Sure, it might not do a whole lot in the late game, but that first time you get fire/lit 2, and can burn through entire groups after slowly slogging through one at a time, with even the fighter missing half their attacks? Suddenly, it becomes a whole new game. It's a real shame that magic doesn't keep scaling up appropriately, though.

[@RoninCatholic]

I'd argue the Red Mage getting FIR2/LIT2 one level later than the Black Mage does is nowhere near as big a deal as the Red Mage being able to wear mail armor and wield swords. Thus, while the Black Mage may be underrated if focused on endgame only, the Red Mage is just vastly superior in the middle and early game overall anyway. That said, Black Mages _look wicked sweet_ so use one by all means!

[@jc.1191]

Ice cave is hardest for me.

[@jc.1191]

@@RoninCatholic Red mage gets the fast spell. It's so overpowered. I've always focused on having one party member that can use it.

[@OilFreak]

This isn't just a tier list, it's a guide on how to play FF1 for the first time (which I'm about to do!) Very helpful!

[@Pgoodso]

A couple things: 1) The speedrun reduces the characters to 3 not just because it speeds up menuing, but because XP is actually divided between living party members. This means that a three or two member party actually gains more xp per character than a 4 member party. 2) One thing to think about with Black Belts is that, while promotion pretty much universally makes every other class better, the Master actually gets WORSE, specifically in the hidden Magic Defense stat, gaining 1 per level instead of 4. So you want your Black Belts to be fairly high level before promotion, because they'll lag behind on defenses. But considering that BBs and Masters scale literally everything about them by level alone, you'll probably do that anyways. A grind to 22 for your BB at the Peninsula of Power or the Northwest Castle trap tiles can pretty much carry you through the rest of the entire game.

[@MrPandarilla]

I got a question and I know this is a dead comment but anyway Does the master still get the damage scaling of the BB? IIRC the BB has damage equal to 2x his level and absorb equal to 1/2 his level; does that persist after promotion or does the master have different scaling?

[@Pgoodso]

​@@MrPandarilla It's indeed the same.

[@Dinobolt1]

So if I make sure that my Black Belt is at least at level 22 before he's promoted I'll be fine?

[@MrPandarilla]

@Dinobolt1 isn't that near the level where a black belt can touch of death the final boss? Either way a black belt at that level doesn't need to fear promotio

[@Pgoodso]

​@@Dinobolt1 Maybe as a rule of thumb. But that last part is less about magic defense, and more about the point where a BB/Master's damage and normal defense gets to the point where it's silly, especially in the early game. And literally NO other stat growth changes on the Master on class change, so that wouldn't affect attack and defense. And it's actually not even that big a deal on the MDEF side, just because of how *much* magic defense a BB gets. Black Belts gain 4 MDEF a level, and Masters gain 1 MDEF a level. Warriors/Knights, for comparison, gain 3 MDEF a level, and everyone else only 2, and no class besides Master changes MDEF gain per level. This means that even if the party class changes at 20, the Master will still have more MDEF than everybody until level 34, where the Knight will start to surpass him, while the other classes will only start to surpass him at level *61*. It's also worth noting that, except in very specific cases, the Ribbon replicates the effects of high magic defense anyways. By end game, because of how much damage non-elemental spells and abilities like Nuke and Nuclear do, a better gauge of surviving magic is simply HP.

[@Chad_Thundercock]

"Four white mages? ... It'll never work"

[@dionelr]

When we were kids, we'd always do fighter, thief, black mage, white mage. Until we found out black belt was cool. Nowadays, I do two fighters, black and white mage. Just my preference. Four white mages is a pretty good challenge. And four fighters is fun to do, only because no exit spell.

[@DKarkarov]

I have beat the og game with about anything you can imagine other than just 4 black mages or 4 white mages. I honestly agree with nothing this guy is saying (other than fighters are the best dps), especially his claim that red mages are good, they are mediocre as crap. Weak black mage, weak white mage, weak fighter. Would rather have any of the three. The best party for the game is actually two fighters a black mage and a white mage, the fighter, black belt, white mage, black mage is a close second. The thief is fine, at end game, with a masamune, but is kinda mediocre prior to that. Even more hilarious his entire analysis assumes you are playing the OG nes version... the version almost no one is playing when they play this game.

[@DKarkarov]

@Kenji Polk Audio uh yeah, but my point is most people aren't playing the original nes version. Nor should they. Other than nostalgia the recent pixel remaster is just upgraded in every way.

[@jackrose6996]

@@DKarkarov Since I've been plying the OG NES version for the past week, I really don't care what most people are playing. I wanted to play the original. I agree that a "fighter, fighter, white mage, black mage" party is pretty hard to beat. It's not what I'm using at the moment, but it definitely works. Chill out with the "nor should they" crap though. Nobody needs you to tell them what they should or shouldn't want to be playing. It just makes you look like a dickhead. Sure, the pixel remasters do change things that make them substantially different from the original in many ways. Not all of the changes are good, especially for someone who genuinely enjoys the old school version. If someone wants to play the original, well, they simply aren't the same.

[@AthelstanKing]

​@@DKarkarovyou really need to relax lol.

[@DKarkarov]

@@AthelstanKing Or perhaps people getting pissy over a comment I made so long ago I literally cant even remember it need to relax? I don't know. Food for thought.

[@ArkThePieKing]

For me personally no party is complete without a Red Mage. It's my all time favorite class in ANY game to the point where the FF1 Red Mage is also my singular tattoo. I've always loved the idea of having the right tool for the job, always being useful even if you're never the best at any one thing, being well-rounded has always resonated with me and as a serial hobby hopper in adulthood I understand why. It's fun to dabble! It's fun to learn new skills and trades even if you never end up mastering those things. So I'll always take a Red Mage any time I play FF1, it's just too much fun for me personally.

[@NelsonBoy2734]

RED MAGE FTW!!!!!

[@kevinfogle7929]

Red mage is a great class. I almost always have at least one. On a whim I made a party with 4 of these.

[@nojkoor1584]

I liked using Fighter, Black Belt, Red Mage, and Black Mage. Gives me access to 2 fast spell users as well as Excalibur, Black Belts extra inventory space, Masamune, Nuke

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

This is the old basic staple. Probably the most common party. I think ycbvg used it for his videos.

[@Argusdubbs]

My go-to party as well. Very balance throughout the game imho.

[@PuglyWont]

I'm partial to a four blackbelt party, because it's fun to see a party go from underpowered to overpowered in the same game. I think the initial party they setup, Fighter, Blackbelt, Thief, Red Mage is the best though. It seemed pretty streamlined, with no major problem areas in the game and you can use a good chunk of the equipment. Can cast Fast twice, and no one has weak attacks.

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

The treasure in dungeon equipment is laid out for optimal equipping of the default party.

[@AuronFAnatic]

That has always been my favourite party comp playing this game. For pretty much the reasons you gave.

[@nostrum6410]

it just makes the first 6 levels a grind

[@zedorda1337]

I am also partial to the full BB group since you can ignore the class upgrade completely or just wait till late game if u must have it.

[@jc.1191]

Thief is cool, but it's a weaker character than red mage or fighter. I only like them over the white and black mages. And because ninjas are cool, lol.

[@donskiver]

I'd love to see a revamped tier list with the dawn of souls remake. Just the fixing of the bugged stats and spells would have been enough to shake things up and move people around, but they also changed the magic system away from the AD&D style, "you have 3 casts of level 3 magic" and moved towards a more forgiving "this spell costs 25 mana, you have 235 mana pool available to you". Plus all of the rebalancing of the classes in light of the stat fixes and magic change. I will say this, fighter walked in S-tier, and he walks out S-tier in my book. Red mage/red wizard probably got nerfed the hardest. He falls behind pretty quickly.

[@Epsilonsama]

The Red Mage got nerfed hard in the releases that use Mana Points and INT fix because the Black Mages and White Mages are much better.

[@AlekTrev006]

I’d love to see you do a similar analysis for Party / Characters, with the GBA / Dawn of Souls remastered versions ! This was great 👍

[@Jerupitus]

Thanks for watching!

[@propheinx2250]

I suspect White Mage would jump to S tier due to some of the bosses being nearly impossible, if not flat out impossible, without one. I don't think Chronodia is beatable without a white mage.

[@veghesther3204]

Even for that I still find the Thief Monk classes and their upgrades to be pure CRAP.

[@Other_Kev]

@@veghesther3204 maybe I was just coming from low expectations after playing the NES version of the thief, but I appreciated the thief in Dawn Of Souls mainly due to the fact that the agility stat had a new function, that it determined the turn order. Having the thief always get their turn before the monsters combined with 99% chance to run from battles was nice for those super long dungeons.

[@sceneitallwithjeffandjon6984]

I have done so many runs in this game. Currently I am about halfway through a playthrough on the NES using a party of fighter, two red mages, and one white mage. I'm really enjoying this party setup, because the red mages are so versatile by being able to fight, use healing magic, and use attack magic. There is still a bit of a challenge, because red mages are definitely a step down and attack power from black belt and fighter, but they look so dang cool that I had to try the "doble rojo."

[@Jerupitus]

The stylishness of the red mage cannot be overstated

[@jc.1191]

Cool. I might try and replace that white mage with a thief. A for fun setup.

[@foodmetaphors]

I've considered doing a RM RM WM BM run, seems like it'd be pretty fun though kinda expensive to learn all those spells

[@Lastjustice]

I went with Fighter/Thief/ Red mage/ Black mage as my party when I played thru FF1. I also played the GBA version, and found this party gets use most of the cool stuff in that version with the extra dungeons. Red mages get the Lightbringer, which is a powerful sword that casts Holy freely. Black mages get a staff that cast flare freely allowing you roast all random encounters with impunity.

[@-Keith-]

My go-to for the NES version is fighter/fighter/black belt/red mage. The lack of spells is only a drawback at the very start of the game, and it's extremely expensive to outfit your characters once you get to elfheim, but the sheer amount of physical damage you can put out from about level 10 and onwards just steamrolls the game. The biggest problem I always had with the white mage / black mage was that once they're out of their limited selection of spells, they're completely useless in melee. Late game equipment helps reduce this weakness with spellcasting items, but you have to put up with their extreme weakness all the way up to that point. And with the NES version, inventory space is extremely limited so having that blackbelt in your party makes it so that you can use all of the spellcasting items while still having ribbons equipped on most of your characters.

[@justmason7672]

I agree that's my go to party. It's the best one.

[@greilthelegendaryhero252]

That's my current party. Only problem is that ice cave can be annoying. So many times I've got insta killed with no warning. Then again, I'm only lvl 12. Life helps a ton cause it just gives you that buffer. If 1 dies, you're still fine. It's difficult to do ice cave deathless.

[@mrtrollnator123]

2 fighters 🤣

[@willlauzon3744]

I enjoy having a fighter, black belt, black mage and white mage. People often skip the black belt because he gets no magic while overlooking the fact that he can rip your head off and shit down your neck in the blink of an eye. Black mages to group kill, white mages to heal and the knight to basically be an HP tank.

[@takigan]

So like the default build, only you swap out the useless Thief for the much better Black Belt. This one's also one of my favorites just because the variety makes it fun to play. But it's also really well balanced throughout every stage of the game. And the fact that the game demands strong attackers more than it demands strong magic casters (magic--especially black magic--just isn't as useful as it should've been in this game) makes it a better option as well. I did my last playthrough using that exact build. The real issue I have with it though is that the White Mage and Black Mage spend most of their time being almost entirely useless in combat for the 1st half of the game (esp. the WM). I'm doing a playthrough right now with F/BB/RM/RM. I've gotta say it is SUPER nice having 4 capable physical attackers on your team throughout the ENTIRE playthrough while at the same time having access to most of the game's useful spells. The nice apart about using TWO Red Mages is that they can compliment each other. Some spell levels have too many good spells to choose from so you can only have 3...but with two reds you can divy them up so you have access to all of them. The drawback is cost/maintenance. Fighters and Red Mages are expensive to outfit...but if you're playing the game optimally (Peninsula of Power) it's not that big of an issue. I beat the Marsh Cave, Earth Cave, Volcano and Ice Cave all under level 20 and all while using less than 20 potions per dungeon (not having to sit in that item shop constantly restocking is a nice advantage of this build as well).

[@willlauzon3744]

@@takigan the real purpose of the black mage is to clear screens of enemies quicker so you can make a B line for the boss after getting the loot prior. White mage is to keep you all alive while you do that and the fighter and black belt are to kill the boss if you get to him or carry your mage asses out of the dungeon (before teleport).

[@jc.1191]

That's my least used character because I love equipment. I might just try the black belt again. Might be fun.

[@DanielDailey639]

That's a great endgame party and the one I take to level 50 and leave in a save state with all the best equipment. The black belt and to a lesser extent the white mage both scale so hard. And you have Fade + Nuke. Its not as good as the Fighter - FIghter parties for the main portion of the game but it rocks in its own way late.

[@willlauzon3744]

​@@jc.1191trust me. Black Belts are worth it. Especially as a Master after the trials. Give them haste and temper and they are unstoppable. I play the GBA version because it has MP and either not the dnd style spells per day thing which neuters your mages abilities.

[@deathknell609]

Favorite party configurations... Fighter, MOnk, Thief, Red Mage. Alternative.... Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage.

[@grimmespie6920]

Fighter red white black squad ❤ always

[@ChintzySwine]

I loved this game so much and played through so many times that I had to find ways to make it harder. It started with a play through with a red mage and 3 white mages. Then I started a party with a fighter and 3 white mages which I immediately killed off so I solo leveled a fighter. That made for some really long battles but he leveled quickly because he got all the XP. I think I got him to level 99 and he absolutely dominated. Did a solo black belt too and a group of 4 white mages. Good times!

[@givennorton]

It's an 80s game. No ninja, No party.

[@Jerupitus]

I'm not sure I could bring myself to make a party without one

[@MemphiStig]

As a former designated party ninja, I agree. But remember... Just because you don't see a ninja doesn't mean there isn't one.

[@axelmenzel773]

The most brutal party i ever did was 3 fighters and a red mage. Peace of cake

[@chrisdonahue524]

mif you carry the thief with you in the party, he levels up to a ninja later in the game

[@JonMaurer-e8s]

Oh man....seeing that near wipe for a cloth brought back some baaaaaaad memories. This game gave me lots of rage :P

[@shaylasometimes]

Very nice guide. I've always just played with the basic Fighter, Black Belt, Black Mage, White Mage, combo, but this gives me some ideas for some different parties to try out.

[@santiagosalas7088]

I played this as my first final fantasy, being able to make a video like this discussing the good and bad of each class for your run is what makes this game so great to talk about, everyones party is different

[@Other_Kev]

White mage can learn life before the class change, making the earth cave and ice cave a tiny bit easier. Give them the items for casting attack magic in the late game. Very newbie friendly class. :)

[@reidsjaaheim8237]

I loved this game when I found it as a child. The class and party components hooked me from the beginning. Ended up playing the game through for the first time in college. Fighter, Thief, White Mage, and Black Mage was the most fun for me when I beat it the first time. I welcomed the extra difficulty the thief brought. I didn't bring a black belt because finding and equipping new gear to be fun and more important than being strictly powerful. I also didn't bring a red mage because I wanted to see all the spells in the game.

[@BriefKeef]

Playing this for the first time with the pixel remaster collection this is the exact team I'm running lol

[@bherb1204]

Several times I’ve done the 4 black belts. Leo, Raph, Mike, Don. It’s my fantasy damnit, and turtle power is the best…. After you buy 99 potions, one at a time.

[@Jerupitus]

Garland: I will knock you all down! The Light Warriors: Cowabunga it is

[@MobileGamingChronicles]

I love this thorough in depth analysis of all the classes in FF1 NES!

[@jc.1191]

3 fighters and red mage is the strongest party. You can steamroll the game. Use the cheat where there's that 2 space area early in the game to grind giants/etc near the second town. Unequip some purchased equipment for more challenge. Not necessarily the most fun party tho. Two fighters with a black belt and red mage is probably similar.

[@Andycap1001]

I always called that spot: The rabbit ears. You go from fighting Imps and Ogres to ZomBulls and Giants.

[@genemano3921]

I realize the Black Mage is the most iconic FF1 character, but he's far from a must have character. His attack magic is good, but in the NES version, they tend to kill the monsters your physical attackers are targeting. As a Black Wizard, none of the level 8 spells are useful and they're grossly overpriced.

[@Jerupitus]

I agree, the Black Mage certainly is not a must-have, but I do think a FAST caster of some kind is. You're mostly right about level 8 black magic, but I would argue that NUKE is pretty good, given that it's non-elemental so nothing resists it. It's obviously outpaced by physical damage for various reasons, but I think it can reasonably be called useful.

[@shanezell]

Overall a great video, so you know who I am with my opinion I am ShaneZell the current speedrun WR holder of 3/4 catagories in FF1 NES. I feel like mentioning that the black belt is very weak in the early game at similar levels of the thief. The class often takes a lot of grinding to be useful and doesn't take off until level 10+.

[@Jerupitus]

Wow, it's super cool to have an expert like you weigh in, so thank you very much!

[@SamVanDam]

Black Belt is an incredibly strong character. His problem is the existence of the Fighter, as you touched on. As far as best party goes, you have a little bit of flexibility. Basically, if you have a least 2 Fighters, at least 1 Red/Black mage, and you don't use Thief, you'll cruise through the game pretty well. If you don't want any class more than once, Fi/BB/RM/WM is probably the way to go. I haven't tried it yet, but I've been really tempted to do a run with 2 Fighters and 2 Thieves. There's actually 2 Katanas in the game. So, having each of the 4 best swords at once would be fun

[@dethaddr]

DO IT!!!! I know I've done that combo, and it's really fun, especially if you promote.

[@allenyates3469]

I always liked fighter/fighter/red mage/red mage

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

They fast the fighter on bosses. Really a great play.

[@jerryborths6307]

Fighter/Black Belt/Red Mage/White Mage is what I used the first time I played it, and probably still my favorite party.

[@lenk1432]

its so funny that because of all of the bugs, ffnes has a whole different meta

[@BobRob]

Fighter, Black Belt, Red Mage, Red Mage has always been my optimal go to. 2x Red Mages means 2 casters that can cast AoE spells if you get swarmed with stunners or instant kill mobs, you've got 2 casters that can cast Life in case one of the casters gets an unlucky RNG, you've got 2 casters of Fast, and unlike black mage or white mage they can actually deal some damage in the 95% of fights where you are saving your magic spells. At least 1 fighter is obvious, and for the final slot Black Belt deals high single target damage late game and helps mitigate the high Gil cost of the team for having 2 red mages. Early game putting the Black Belt in the back helps deal with his horrible early game, while keeping the 2nd Red Mage near the back and under equipped further helps with your Gil shortages.

[@bluedistortions]

Sounds like good reasoning

[@blockygamesstudio3467]

Hey, found this video and being an FF1 speedrunner I figured I'd give my cents. It is very obvious for every playthrough that Fighters are far and away the best class and only viable melee class. Red Wizards are fairly effective with the right swords, but the most dangerous parts of the game involve melee attacks from enemies - thinking Wizards in Marsh or Earth Cave - taking out a key player. Red Wizards are the best mages - every spell you would want is Red Mage or Red Wizard learnable, and the high level magic is either not worth it or available by items like Bane Sword. For a casual party, 3 Fighters and a Red Mage is the easiest play. Even though there isn't a good third sword, the third Fighter contributes the most for the same reasons the second Fighter is almost necessary unless you want the game to be harder. It would also be the preferred party for "safe" speedruns. Astos is possible with the right spells with a single level 6 Red Mage, and casually you will have FIR2 and enough ICE charges to win. Without FIR2 (necessary for some speedruns since you won't be able to get it before Astos or have to use a route that returns to Elfland before Astos), the strategy is dicey but involves ALIT to allow extra rounds of the Fighters swinging Short Swords or Scimitars. While this cuts into an ICE charge, the extra rounds of damage from surviving LIT2 means you are far more likely to survive the battle. Alternatively, MUTE is a roughly 20% change to shut down Astos' spells, and that wins the battle if you're not in speedrun strats. The Black Mage is sometimes preferred for speedrun strategies, but having done the routes, it does not save that much time for the extra difficulty, and forces routes that are less than ideal - would want to buy LIT2 before leaving to Marsh which means taking fights that are less than the best, and Black Mage cannot melee at a time where you can (on the right route) have a lot of battles worth fighting, and takes a lot of damage with no good armor. After the canal, the Red Mage has good swords that can score 2hits, making them almost as effective as Fighters at melee damage and with swords that have good critical rates. This is really useful for Wizards, Earth Elementals, and many tougher mid-game enemies. For example, the typical grind strategy involves fighting Agamas, which a single Fighter and Red Mage can often one-round, but Fighter+Black Mage cannot. This makes it a lot easier to climb levels, making up for the typical Agama grind going to 15 for RW instead of 12 for BW, and you would have both up for Kary (and you will have FAST). Casually, the Black Mage offers very little that a Red Mage doesn't at reasonable level. WARP doesn't come in until class change, BANE is iffy for the time it is received. The biggest advantage is tier 3 is online at level 5, which is what makes Wizards a lot quicker so long as Black Mage isn't totalled. You can get a Level 6 Red Mage in speedrun strategies if you wish for it, but I found it took more time than a route which has no paralysis and less poisoning, due to the fights you must take to get LIT2 before Marsh. White Mages don't have anything to recommend them unless you want a challenge. Their biggest asset is pre-promotion LIFE, which casual runs really want for Ice Cave. In speedruns, the worst fights are avoided due to scripted random encounters, but normally the only thing to survive that place's worst encounters is the ability to raise characters, and you cannot promote before that cave. The Black Belt is incapable for any speedrun strategy due to requiring what are mid-game levels to do any sort of damage, and they only do appreciable damage near the time your endgame levels were attained with Fighter. It takes way too long to reach a level 32 Black Belt which can shatter fiends. Casually, Black Belts are hilarious. Thief is only useful for one thing - running away early. Black Mage is the only other class with better Luck, and this affects early run rates if they're in the optimal second slot. Thief can also run most of the time in the lead. This makes it easier to speed through the early fights which are not desirable. While a lot of casual runs like two mages, mages are expensive and force gold grinding or choices that you wouldn't want to make, where a third Fighter is cheap, meatshields, and can make Lich a lot easier. If not for Astos, there is little reason to use two mages when one is enough. It is also helpful for third Fighter to have many of the game's resists without a Ribbon, leaving only Earth and Time vulnerabilities - so dodge CRACK and it's good for many hits against Chaos, and Defense Sword does decent chip damage as Red/Black Wizard is using FAST and healing / using spells. (There is not a good fourth sword that isn't out of the way or just not good enough to do better than FIR2/Zeus Gauntlet most of the time.)

[@Jerupitus]

Interesting stuff, I appreciate your insight!

[@SpongesonicPictures]

I personally tend to use the Fighter, Red Mage, Black Mage, and White Mage combo. It takes a bit of grinding in the early game to get them all equipped, but it lets the Fighter, Black Mage, and White Mage fit into their respective roles, while having the Red Mage as back-up to fit into whatever role I need at the time.

[@andrewneedham3281]

One of my faves: Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage. Always a classic!

[@Imperatrix.Ekaterina]

I always preferred Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage.

[@Jerupitus]

That sounds expensive, but very good

[@Dakitty]

Classic, but you put mage instead of belt at the end there. =3

[@Imperatrix.Ekaterina]

@@Dakitty I acknowledge that black belts can be good, but I don't find them very fun because they are so dirt simple. They are pretty much just attacking things, with no spells or equipment, and at least for most of the game they have very low defense, so they can't even tank like the similarly-simple fighter can.

[@RedWizard0]

That is my go-to party 99% of the time. Although I sometimes use Red Mage, Red Mage, Red Mage, and Red Mage.

[@sirbradfordofhousejones]

Loved this video. Been on an old school FF marathon kick lately and was fascinated when this popped up. I’ve beaten the game probably 6-8 times and have not once used a red mage. Looks like I’ve got another run on the horizon to try that out!

[@chriskroutil1518]

In spite of the Luck bug, the thief does in fact have an advantage with running, at least during the first half of the game before other characters luck catch up with his-- as long as he's in the first two rows. Also, besides the knight, the ninja is the only class that can use armor stronger than the Opal Bracer.

[@Jerupitus]

You're absolutely correct! I think if I was making this video today, I would've gone a little more in depth on precisely what you've said here. As it is, I did oversimplify it a bit, so thank you for your comment, and thanks for watching!

[@chriskroutil1518]

@@Jerupitus The Ninja's luck bonus does not cap off entirely by mid game, however. At this point, the other character sharing the top 2 rows will be able to run as often as the ninja; however, if the ninja is in the very top row, his luck will then actually factor into your First Strike priority. In most situations, having more absorb will be the priority, yet there are conceivable situations in which you would prioritize First Strike Priority.

[@thegreen8172]

Fighter, Fighter, Black Belt, Red mage was the smoothest playthrough ive ever had. You only have to equip three characters, you have 4 heavy hitters, all thr important magic, and even a mule. BB seema slept on, with fast puts out more damage than a knight.

[@JonMaurer-e8s]

I just started playing the remix and boy howdy things have changed. The thief is actually good, the black mage's spells hit like a truck due to int working, and the red mage has taken a hit in that department due to the exact same reason. He's also taken a hit in healing due to the same reason, though that's not quite as important right now.

[@InfiniteClouds]

Excellent video. Extremely thorough with no b.s. and love seeing the analysis based on the OG version!

[@daviddalrymple2284]

I find the early-to-mid-level grinding in the original FF isn't too tedious (thanks to the peninsula of power). It's the endgame grinding that gets really hair-pulling. So I agree that focusing on endgame party composition is probably the best choice.

[@werewolf4925]

My favorite party composition is Red Mage, Black Belt, Fighter and White Mage., but never thought about the objectively best combinations. Now I see I wasn't doing that badly. Also, love this sort of content, hope to see more like this for games like FF3 and FF5.

[@broznar1019]

Fighter, BB, Rmage Bmage : BB becomes a death machine at high levels, Rmage gets the masamune, 2 fast casters. My favorite setup with variety

[@cap594]

My Build: -Fighter -Black Belt -Red Mage -White mage/ black mage (It can be anyone depending on what the player wants, however I recommend the black mage since in the late stages of the game the white mage can become obsolete and if you have money you can replace the healing properties with items although another alternative is to take 2 red mage but I prefer different characters because I like them and that's it xD)

[@johncashen3834]

The thief can run from any battle on first try if placed in 2nd position. Except from battles where it’s not possible, such as wizards. The Ninja is the best class for the 2nd position. Knight Ninja White Wizard Black Wizard best party. If you have a 2nd copy play Knight Ninja Master Red Wizard

[@pokekiller787x]

4:25 that is hilarious lmfao I had the thief as one of my classes in my first playthrough and yeah he's the worst by far. thankfully he became somewhat useful once I upgraded him to the Ninja class.

[@akuji330]

When I played FF1 on the NES Mini my main strategy was spamming Magic items. Weapons hit harder but they can only hit one enemy at a time while magic hits every enemy, not to mention that in the NES version the enemies doesn't have that much HP to begin with so a Black, white and red mage can kill all the mobs in one turn. I probably think this way because all of my deaths happened because of large group of monsters.

[@DavidEdwards9801]

My favorite group has always been the Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage combination. Yes, it's VERY expensive to completely outfit, but it's not too difficult to grab the most useful spells early before filling out the less useful ones later. As far as using all the items, I would swap out the Red Mage for the Thief and give the Masmune to my White Wizard for a strong offense.

[@NelsonBoy2734]

Fighter, thief, RM, WM and FTR, THIEF, RM and black belt are my favorite combos. I dont like to double up the classes, but 2 fighters is pretty win. I have also done ftr, rm, wm, bm but i leave a lot of armor on the table when i do that. Loved the video.

[@emailjwr]

F/F/BB/RM is supreme. I also like F/BB/BB/RM bc of how fun it is watching 2 monks at the end of the game just pulverizing everything with ease.

[@Jikkuryuu]

Main thing a Red mage is missing out on with level 8 spells is level 8 _slots._ LIFE is the same tier as FIR3 and CUR3. Having a level 8 slot to burn on healing would be _great_ since FADE and NUKE have such wide ranges that ICE3 deals comparable damage. Similarly, the endgame White mage is essentially extra potion slots. 9 CUREs is almost a 10% increase in (menu) healing available in ToF. The dungeons themselves are enemies in FF1, gobbling up your resources while you try to plunder them.

[@robinthrush9672]

I always need a Black Mage. Just too iconic to not have him.

[@Marinanor]

Two Red Mages, One White Mage, One Black Mage is my perfect party. Red Mages can use third tier magic, capable of overwhelming enemies with elemental weaknesses, The White Mage is obvious, he's a healer, and the Black Mage can learn Nuke.

[@AxelAlexK]

My favorite was F/F/RM/BB. T I always got annoyed when I had party members who had bad physical attacks. And I didn't like taking a bunch of damage so having 2 fighters was my preference. I just started the pixel remaster however, going F/BB/WM/BB, mostly so I could try out every black and white spell.

[@globaltrance092]

I love Fighter, Thief, Wh. Mage, Bl. Mage. It's the most fun party to me, and seems to have a nice balance. The Bl. Belt is boring, and the Red Mage becomes sort of lackluster in the latter part of the game. Another party I had a lot of fun with is Red Mage, Wh. Mage, Bl. Mage, Bl. Mage. Very magic heavy. It can be challenging, but you will literally be blasting your way through a good portion of the game. I remember having to be around level 32 to continue more comfortably in the final temple. Challenging, but very fun, and you get to sell all those swords and armor you find. Just make sure to pick up the RUSE spell for the Wh. Mage in the second slot!

[@CosmicCosmo1]

You end up really missing heal 2/3. The paltry melee damage the red mage puts out there end game isn't worth the huge decrease in survivability in the final dungeon where dragons and bosses are spamming high level spells that hit all party members. White mage is slow but you're not going to wipe if you bring one along

[@nicholasm.9274]

Very insightful, thanks. I think I'm gonna run Fighter, BB, Red Mage and not sure for the fourth

[@Jerupitus]

I'd go with another Fast caster so you can get Fast up on your Fighter and Black Belt in one round, so either another Red or a Black mage would work well

[@MidnightWonko]

My favorite party configuration is Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage. While it admittedly struggles in the beginning of the game, it ramps up like crazy around the middle! Masters simply MELT things with their bare fists at the end of the game!

[@hezakiya5637]

Great game and I have seen speed runners times back then we had to rely on Nintendo power magazines to see where we was going what our next event random bosses or monsters and limitations on how many game files you have now days you got internet players guide video guides walk-through and save states load states rewind fast turbo and playing on various game devices smart phones tablets nes classic super Nintendo classic etc... I was a grinder back in the day I wanted to get my characters all to level 99 to take on any random encounters and your channel is awesome #EPIC & #LEGENDARY I am glad and honored to have subscribed to you

[@jedgrahek1426]

I'm a bit of a contrarian, so even as a child I always played with a party of Fighter, BB, Thief, White Mage. Maybe F, BB, WM, BM once to check out all the magic. I was always happy to have the Ninja as like this special reward that I knew not many other players ever experienced : )

[@Jerupitus]

I like your style! Thanks for watching

[@bigtimetimmyjim6486]

"Different bugs in the game" *shows fight against spiders*

[@justmason7672]

I've played and beat this game 100 times. From my first party of F T RM WM. I've found over the 30 + years the Best Party I find is Fight Fight BlackBelt RedMage. I'd say three fighters, but the equipment issue is raised. The black belt solves this by having a great melee character. The only draw back is the BB is a little weak at the start. But the red mage makes up for it. The party can survive long dungeon crawls and grind on the 2nd last level of the Temple of Fiends.

[@aenema22]

For my first playthrough I chose Fighter, Thief, Red Mage Black Belt. I've warmed up to my Blackbelt a lot and I'm even appreciating the Thief. My Red Mage does decent physical damage but I'm very let down by his spell casting, save for the essentials like Fast. Definitely looking forward to the class change, especially for my lowly Thief!

[@DanielDailey639]

one of my favs that I haven't seen in the comments yet is: Fighter, Black Belt, White Mage, Red Mage. Early on the red mage goes in the 2nd slot and tanks with chain armor, then he's a black mage that can melee for a long time. As he falls off late, you have a black belt coming online to one shot stuff. The fighter tanks and does reliable melee all game long and the white mage is mostly there to revive people in the ice cave and other places; by lategame she scales into big heals.

[@pokekiller787x]

17:35 oh damn, that actually was my party for my first playthrough I finished recently!🤣

[@ryanschrafel9576]

I highly recommend playing with two fighters, a red mage and a white mage. With this party, you have three strong melee attackers, two with excellent defense. After the class upgrade, they'll all have access to healing magic and most black magic. The only drawbacks I can think of is a limited selection of black magic before the class upgrade, and the amount of grinding needed to afford the best equipment for the first three party members early in the game.

[@Prodmullefc]

Yeah the ninja is almost as good as the thief is bad imo. The last time I played I tried using a party I never used before (fighter, thief, b belt, r mage) and by the end the Ninja was one of my better characters. Of course he didn't get the same kind of power as the knight or the 8+ hits launching master, but I was surprised how actually good he was. It was also a fun little challenge and reward sort of thing since you have to slog through with the theif for so long. I certainly agree with your placements on the tier.

[@MemphiStig]

I've been playing this basically since it was released. Just a great game. A bit grindy of course, but bitd it really was the closest thing to D&D. iirc, my first party was the standard quartet (fighter, thief, white, black), but I've tried many other combos. I like to name my characters after band members. So like the Beatles or Gorillaz or Sistar or whatever. On the whole, I'd say your analysis agrees with what all my non-analyzed experience has taught me. Some are more powerful early, some weaker, and some the same thruout. But every class has something to offer, so they're all worth playing at least one time thru.

[@hylianfelldragon1308]

I'm a young gen z wipper snapper so I'm mainly playing the Pixel Remaster version of FF1. Have the bugs mentioned in the beginning of the video ever been fixed in the Pixel Remaster?

[@Jerupitus]

I'm not an expert on any of the other versions but I do believe that the bugs I mentioned are not present in the pixel remaster.

[@AmyraCarter]

14:00 Are you a masochist? Do you play *_Project Brutality_* on the hardest possible difficulty? This is your setup then. Or four Clerics. 15:50 My average party: Monk/Cleric/Magus/Fighter This was an interesting analysis; I had forgotten about the bugs and how bad they actually were. Oof. Big oof. Anyway, like I mentioned, I typically go with a *Monk/Cleric/Magus/Fighter* setup, because the Monk is one of those slam dancing badasses that can deal mounds of hurt not unlike a *_Revenant's rocket to the face_* (lolz DooM references), the Cleric has a wide range of useful spells for both healing and prevention of damage/ailments (yeah I go with 'Cleric' rather than 'White Mage' because magic is magic and *_color coding spells is weird yo),_* the Magus' spell repository, whilst incomplete (some spells the the Cleric learns should also be available to the Magus and vice versa because the spells belong to *_Alteration Sorcery_* and thus would be 'grey' (or whatever)), is still very good, and by that, I mean...hot damn, a spell named 'NUKE', for Mercy's sake...then, the Fighter...indeed, the equipment hoarder, the one that can utilize just about anything, a *Jack/Jane/Jimmy of All Trades and Master of None,* who can deal a similar mound of hurt, right behind the Monk (and later help the Cleric with healing).

[@internetsurferxxx2678]

Keep it true fantasy, Fighter, Thief, White mage, black mage. The thief gives you first strikes and helps stop the surprise attacks, fighter can deal it and take it, and you got all your healing and black magic.

[@stevel935]

My party of choice is Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage Fighter - Takes all the hits so the rest of the party can survive. Thief - Running ability is essential to surviving the early dungeons where you also have to make it back outside in one piece. Ninja is awesome. Red Mage - The game was nice enough to give them Life1 and Exit making the White Mage replaceable by a class with more offensive kick Black Mage - Gets Fire3 early making the Vampire and Lich a joke. Also can damage the last boss with Nuke. Amount of spell charges are efficient to wreck monster packs on dungeon treks.

[@olympusgolemoflight7198]

While I normally play the GBA version, my party I used for the PR was Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, and White Mage. I got Double Healers, a lot of melee (I got Ninja right when the Red Mage was falling off), and all teh Black Magic you actually need.

[@CoachKB50]

My favorite party as a kid was BB, BB, RM, BM. I tended to over level in the hall of giants by killing off the mages and just going to town with the BB.

[@mylesfromreality6376]

Great vid! Personally my go-to is Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage and either a Black Belt or Black mage depending on my mood.

[@aaronp2542]

Iirc you can put the Masamune on anyone. So I put it on the white mage so he has something to do in most fights. I don't see that as a waste since what else can you do on most random fights. That being said I go the most expensive route because I want it all. Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, and Black Mage

[@Jerupitus]

Embrace the grind!

[@matthewmussler5621]

Fighter: Need a tank Black Belt: Why worry about end-game equipment optimization, when he doesn't need any of it? Red Mage: If I'm going to visit the peninsula of power, then I need somebody to cast Fire2. Black Mage: Honestly, the 4th character could likely be whatever, but having access to more Fire2 at the Peninsula of Power would be great. Back when I did my FF1 playthrough, I actually had a White Mage. The only important thing I remember the character doing was spamming item magic (anybody can do that).

[@Jerupitus]

That seems like a very solid setup. The white mage is one I go back and forth on quite a bit. Life is a valuable spell, but it doesn't work in combat so its utility is limited. Harm is good, but Fire is better. Buff magic is decent, but Fast is a black magic spell. Probably the best argument for the White Mage is Heal2, which heals as much as Heal3 in combat, making it absurdly good at keeping everyone alive, and the money you can save by using Cure magic early on is helpful too. I think it's a class that exemplifies the surprisingly good balance that ff1 offers, in that it's useful enough to have a White Mage, but you can also do without one.

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

Most common party in all the listed suggestions. Ycbvg used it in his howto video.

[@DRACFAN18]

Watched my dad play this as a kid. Spent a whole day grinding to buy his 3 Fighter plus Red Mage party silver swords immediately, then steamrolled the rest of the game. Good memories

[@lordlouie3550]

As a veteran player of FF1 in its NES incarnation, I enjoyed this video. Wasn’t aware CUR4 removed statuses. Also worth noting, HEL2 only acts like HEL3 when used outside of battle.

[@Jerupitus]

Thanks for watching! One thing though, HEL2 acts like HEL3 in battle, not outside. Source: guides.gamercorner.net & my own testing. I'm sure that's what you meant to say but I want to make sure that correct information is out there.

[@lordlouie3550]

@@Jerupitus It’s all well and good.

[@Lonewolfz24]

FF is one of my all time favorite games, and for the gear to be used at the end, I end up playing with the party of fighter, thief, thief, red mage. This allows the use of all the best gear and protections available. The game provides the best gear for the fighter with Excalibur. Both ninja get a Katina, one fire armor, ice shield, and ice armor, fire shield, each with healing helm, and one Zeus, one power gauntlet. And the red mage can wear Opel, ribbon, cape and the masamune. Makes all the char hit like a truck, and you have 3 fast spells per turn Max.

[@Jerupitus]

I like your style! Thanks for watching.

[@RoninCatholic]

My first ever party was a Fighter named Wolf, a Black Belt named Dan, a White Mage named Zera, and a Red Mage named Foxi. It was a very solid party, and the characters were pre-existing fantasy heroes of mine I had before ever touching a Final Fantasy (Wolf, Dan, and Zera beginning as Dragon Warrior-inspired heroes more in line with the Dragon Quest 2 luminary trio; Dan as the non-mage warrior, Wolf as the paladin/armamentalist, and Zera as the mage; Foxi began as a Digimon OC named Foximon mostly following Patamon's archetype from the Digimon Adventure anime of being slow to evolve and burning himself out quickly while advanced but being extremely potent during those brief durations, with a little bit of Callumon of Digimon Tamers' trait of enabling the powers of others). As a challenge, I have one party consisting of a Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, and Black Mage based on the cast of 8-bit Theatre. And it is a challenge having a Thief in there and relying on a Red Mage as the sole source of white magic for the party! I'm still stuck in Elfland as this party, I believe, mostly because I have many other games to play (and develop). I did my best to nickname them after insults they've hurled at each other (CHUK for the Fighter because Black Mage calls him "chuckles" once, PRNC for Thief because of a spoiler for the ancient webcomic, DEB for the Red Mage because Thief gaslit him into becoming a crossdresser and him liking the name Deborah for himself, and SPRK for the Black Mage because Thief called him "Sparky" when initially trying to mug him near the start of the comic). My general party configurations of preference: Fighter, Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage Fighter, Red Mage, Red Mage, White Mage Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, White Mage Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage If the game's going to favor the red and white palette so strongly, I guess I should too. The Thief to Ninja is even coded to further affirm this: He goes from one of the worst performing classes possible in a blue and brown palette to a decent but imperfect secondary Fighter in red and white. It's arguable that the Black Belt is almost as bad as the Thief or worse than the Thief overall. Black Mages actually just lag behind Red Mages even worse in remakes where more of the spellcasting items are included and characters no longer have personal inventories. Dawn of Souls in particular gives you access to things like the Judgement Staff and Ragnarok Sword casting --NUKE-- Flare (talk about a total naming downgrade!) and the Lightbringer Sword giving the Red Mage not only a free attack spell stronger than any he can cast himself, but also just a good offensive DPS option for late game in general. Their higher Intelligence growth may make these items more powerful in the Black Mages' hands, but the fact that their best spells can now be replicated for free by a reusable item makes them even more of a joke, and swapping spell level charges for standard MP boosts White Mages considerably (and White Mages have the second-fastest Intelligence growth, thus making them roughly equal contenders for activating those spellcasting items on their turns offensively). Also did you know that the Black Belt gets faster Intelligence growth in Dawn of Souls than a Red Mage does? Just further reinforces the "use your Black Belt to activate spellcasting items" archetype even without the person by person inventory system. In terms of aesthetics, I have a strong bias in favor of the color blue. I think the White Mage is the worst-looking class in terms of visual appeal, the Thief's Elvis hair and elf ears putting him way near the top, and the Black Mage's darkened out face with piercing glowing eyes has a charm that cannot be dismissed. Red Mage's cloak and Fighter's pauldrons and spiky hair put them fighting neck and neck behind the Black Belt, which I do think looks really cool. Of course in the NES original, the advanced forms of the classes, while more imposing looking, tend to lose out on the features that made them iconic; the Black Wizard loses his hat and shadowed face, the Master loses his belt, the Ninja covers up his blue hair and elf ears. The Knight and Red Wizard stay roughly the same but more mature looking, and the White Wizard IMO is the only one to get a true aesthetic upgrade from advancing; the remakes were generally right to keep the same chibi proportions on the advanced classes, but I think the thief and ninja just look vastly worse in green (especially with the thief no longer being an elf). So my heavily biased aesthetic tier list for the classes S Tier - Thief, Black Mage A Tier - Black Belt, Red Mage, Fighter, Red Wizard, Knight B Tier - White Wizard, Master C Tier - Ninja, Black Wizard D Tier - Thief (Remakes), Ninja (Remakes) One of the hardest possible parties would be to play my top four aesthetic choices and never have them change class for the sake of maintaining their appearance. Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, Black Mage. It would be hard 70% from the lack of a Fighter/Knight and 15% from lacking the class change to give the moderate boosts to the Red and Black wizards, and 15% from lacking the much needed boost to turn the Thief into a Ninja.

[@Jerupitus]

Great read. Thanks for sharing!

[@costby1105]

It's be interesting to see a Dawn of Souls tier list given changes buff and nerfs classes received in there. Thieves do the most melee damage at the start of the GBA version and probably the PSP and 3DS versions in part due to slightly higher strength than their NES counterparts but they also start with two hits. Also in the bonus dungeon Healaga become really valuable as almost all the bosses have much higher HP and thus boss battle become longer.

[@reloadpsi]

White mages are essential in the latter versions of this game because you are otherwise not winning that war of attrition brought about by the bosses' increased HP, barring insane luck. The fact that INT now does something also means they are even stronger at using the spellcasting items too, so you can rather easily get away with just bringing along two (or even three) melee characters, a red mage, and a white mage. The red mage WAS indirectly nerfed by the INT fix in said later releases of course, but it's still got more survivability than the black mage and doesn't spend a lot of its time hitting for single digits with a little knife. To this day my favourite party in just about any version of the game is fighter, black belt, red mage, white mage.

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

If you pay attention to stats growth, and the level cap raised to 99, just a black mage casting fast on his cat claw with a functioning unbugged saber spell ripped through bosses without any issue. Even with more hp, bosses are a joke in dawn of souls once any class is fully leveled if you were not asleep at the wheel with their level ups. 4 red mages can be enduring dungeon completionists with now 4 sets of top gear for them and massive amounts of in-between encounter healing spell slots because damn they get so many spell slots now. Strangely, black belts come to suck except against magic users, because everyone can do what they do almost and they have no healing.

[@costby1105]

@@KCUFyoufordoxingme ​ @feh meh Resetting for stat is kinda of overkill as it is only a 1 in 8 chance on a weak level up, and I'd assume most people aren't going to be max level when doing the bonus dungeons which also give. The two endgame save files I have personally are Level 76 and 65 respectively. In my higher level save file My master is out damaging my Higher Strength, Ultima Weapon Equiped Paladin by almost double on Omega. Masters eventually get the highest damage per turn period somewhere in the 50s or 60s which isn't that high in the GBA version. The main issue with master is that they are glass cannons and cannot take two party wide spells in a row from the later bonus bosses.

[@muqali4203]

Best party i ever had... Ninja x 2 Bl Belt x2 Was super difficult to get them off the ground tho. Also required some abuse of the heal items. Anything with 2 fighters is probably going to make the game easier at every stage tho.

[@Viktir123]

I had fun with Fighter (crazy weapons and armor), Ninja (can use nice weapons to hit hard and cast fast on melees), Red Mage (some white and black magic for heals and fast and can use nice weapons), and black belt (cheap to outfit and punches lips off when fasted)

[@OneRealOG]

As a kid id bring a theft just cuz he would be a ninja later, didn't care about stats then only liked looking cool

[@luke-i1w]

I'm the type of player who doesn't mind grinding a bit, so I always go for max damage at higher levels, which gives me 2 fighters, a black belt, and a red mage. Pluses: -The higher level master causes more damage than a Masamune equipped knight because he hits 10+ times (20+ with Fast) a round and his crit rate is his level x2. He can one shot Chaos for sure and War Machines if you're really lucky. -You utilize 3 of the 4 best weapons in the game (Masamune, Excalibur, and Sun Sword) -You have the red mage for group black spells for max damage in the mid game. -Tons of HP for all characters. -Every fight is simple, assuming you don't get unlucky and have an "enemy strike first" scenario of 4 Chimeras or 4 Frost Dragons that do 4 Blazes or 4 Frosts on you right away then they all get to attack again in the second round before you (which happens to me more than it should it seems). Minuses: This admittedly takes a lot of work to get to, so there is a higher than normal amount of grinding involved. (My favorite spots to make this quick are the Image fight at the Northwest Castle treasure room and the Giants in Earth Cave.) For those wanting to be challenged, this party is not for you, because assuming you get all of the equipment at each town, you will start to steamroll around Gurgu Volcano Only one member can cast Fast (use it on your Master and then this doesn't really matter on single enemy fights). Healing can be an issue if you run into one of those unlucky fights too many times in the final dungeon due to the 99 heal potion limit. You can switch out a fighter for another red mage if you want to have 2 Fast casters and to make some of the dungeons with multiple enemies easier (looking at you Ice Cave), but its personal preference at that point. Both parties will rage on 99% of the encounters in the game.

[@vladdraculLV]

Fighter, Red Mage, White Mage and Black Mage would be a good party? This party is very reminiscent of the Dragon Quest II party, as there is a fighter there, a do-it-all who is good at both combat and spells, and a specialist in spells, but low physical stats.

[@AngeloSantelliMusic]

I’m thinking of doing a play through of Black belt, thief, red mage, black mage. Not as a challenge, just for fun. Not having a fighter I think will make it unnecessarily difficult however. Probably red mage in front with a shield. What do you think? Thanks for the in depth vid

[@Jerupitus]

While not having a Fighter would make the early game difficult, I think that setup would still make for a fun challenge. The question of who to have in the top slot is interesting, where, as you said, early you'd probably want the Red Mage, and then late it's between the Master and Ninja, with the Master having a huge amount of HP and decent absorb, and the Ninja having generally better absorb but less HP. You also won't be able to use Xcalber, but the Master will more than make up for it. Either way, nonstandard parties are a big part of what gives Final Fantasy such great replayability, and the best way to find out if it'll be fun is to give it a try!

[@kirin347]

I grind 4 silver swords for Fi Fi RM RM, and have played it 3 times. It's a great party.

[@Jerupitus]

That takes some serious dedication! I imagine the Wizards guarding the Crown are terrified of you haha

[@kirin347]

@@Jerupitus Once you get the 4 silver swords you immediately warp straight to Chaos. Just kidding, but only slightly.

[@elip5200]

Totally overpowered, yet I use it every time.

[@carlosfigueredo5682]

Fighter, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, the 8-bit theater party is actually fun and good overall in the end.

[@kartavianmacrath7219]

You know, I never use the Thief... I also have been known to do some... we'll say mind numbing grinding. I love the black belt and master. Unarmed attacks from a decent level master can one-shot bosses if all the dice roll high so to speak. I seriously never knew the thief had a purpose, I remember reading about them helping run, if that is the case, I have no need for cowards... You have taught me there was apparently this spell named fast, but since I stopped buying spells that did not sound like a damage dealer when they became more expensive than weapons, I am not surprised I have never used it. Great video, my combo is usually Fighter, B Belt, Red Mage, White Mage. All the higher level black magic spells seemed like a waste to me, which may be why I have trouble with status effect stuff now?

[@Jerupitus]

I mostly agree that the higher level black magic spells aren't great, due in no small part to the entire power word idea (spells only working when an enemy has

[@kartavianmacrath7219]

@@Jerupitus I completely agree with you. I will have to try a thief at least once, I have even played through with all b mages and all w mages at least once, if you want a money nightmare and not use any of the good equipment... please don't... But you may be right, running away from wolves sounds like a better use of the time.

[@MrVariant]

Yeah vid called thief catch-22 (you wouldn't run if you did more damage) which ff3 is a vast improvement as you can change away from a thief if you don't need to retreat (final dungeon good lord even with the remake having heal points and no capacity points bs to weaken transition of jobs) nor open locked doors though it steals crap compared to ff5/ff tactics (which you break with speed buffs/disable or Balthier). Red mage can't hurt undead (dia fka harm 7:00 thanks) and runs out of spells twice as fast but people love it for some weird reason. I see it useless like the thief. Also sleep on all enemies with more black mage charges is far better than not one shotting with the red mage. Let alone more opportunities to cast fast/haste. Monk sucks at low levels but outshines the fighter in all but magic defense after level 16 when unequipping. White mage is always God. But if you wanna count potions and crap out with red mage (I think later versions fixed INT bug to do less damage but it explains why it's liked in OG FF), go for it lol. Feels weird I disagree with most other comments and vid but can be entertained.

[@subtledemisefox]

Are there any unofficial patches that fix the variable bugs? I guess there are tons of remakes of the game but just wondering about the original NES rom

[@Jerupitus]

Someone here mentioned the FF1 Conservative Bug Fixes ROM hack, which sounds very interesting to me. From the description page: "There are other comprehensive bugfix patches out there, but they also make aesthetic changes. This one fixes the bugs while preserving more of the nostalgia. This patch fixes 18 simple bugs. It also addresses 3 issues that are more debatable and open to interpretation. Namely, the wonky scheme for Magic Defense increases on level up, the poor shuffle algorithm for determining turn order, and what to do about the unused Intelligence stat. Finally, it makes 5 convenience fixes (respond rate default, no more party re-sorting when poisoned, multi-item buying, multi-item using, and displaying Magic Defense on the character sheet)."

[@MrWolfstar8]

I played through with 4 fighters. I was completely OP at every stage of the game.

[@drachefly]

Yeah, you don't need 4 silver swords! 3/4 short swords and 3/4 iron armor will get you through marsh cave (find the fourth of each in the cave). Get a silver sword for Astos and once you have the key you get plenty of good stuff for free. They don't need to be max kitted out to be a powerhouse! Only deficiency of pure FFFF is lack of LIFE, FAST, EXIT, and FIR2. So FFFR beats FFFF, IMO.

[@bbj9643]

I always use fighter for all the cool weapons, black belt for damage, white mage for heals and black mage for anything with physical resistance.

[@brianjohnson5272]

17:15 can't use the masamune? I'm confused. Back in the 90s our master used masamune to devastating effect. 10 hits 1214 damage (critical). It is the only sword any class can use.

[@Jerupitus]

I realize that anyone can use the Masamune, but I was too brief in making a few points about it. The Master's damage is equal to his level x2, so any time beyond level 28 (and quite possibly before) the Master will deal less damage with it equipped. So while you can equip it on him, it's generally inadvisable to do so.

[@redmageviewer]

My favorite party combo is Fighter, Black Belt, Red Mage, and White Mage. I dont have to grind with this party since I've played the game 20+ times by now. I just know what to grab and where. But the pixel remaster really messed that up for me with swapping a lot of the early game chests. And there's pretty much no grinding needed for that version too. I used the fighter, thief, white and black mages party in that and had a really good time with it.

[@agentmith]

Have you tried a bugfixed version of the game? I’m wondering how you would view the Thief when stats work appropriately. Since you spoke about bugs, I’m surprised you also didn’t mention the BB/Ma bug with his offense/defense stats being incorrect, and consequently game breakingly powerful, until you actively view his stats menu. It goes back to being bugged after level up IIRC. My favorite party was always Fi Th Wm Bm as the Ninja gets FAST and the Katana, the 3rd best weapon in the game. Stick the Masamune on the WW and you have 3 competent fighters with all spellcasting bases covered including NUKE and FADE, Lif2 etc, and 2 FAST casters. Fi Rm Wm Bm is solid but you lose the Wm using the Masamune. I think if I were to play it again I’d do the 8-bit-theater party, Fi Th Rm Bm and go all offense, relying heavily on the 2 Heal staves and potions.

[@Jerupitus]

To answer your question, I have not tried any other version of this game because I love the original and I don't believe it should be modernized. While bugfixes are certainly intriguing, I don't think they would change the tier list in a significant way. The White Mage and Thief would be slightly better, and the Red Mage slightly worse, but ultimately I believe the tiers would remain the same, albeit closer together. You are correct about the Black Belt with regard to his character-specific absorb bug, and he even has another where his Magic Defense growth becomes worse after the class change. It's certainly possible I should have mentioned these bugs, but my reasoning for omitting them was that they aren't essential when it comes to understanding general game concepts, like the relative strength of physical damage compared to magic damage. Still, I do wish I had spent more time discussing the Black Belt, as he has proven to be the most controversial class if my comment section is any indication. The first party you mentioned is my go-to as well, though the 8-bit theater party does sound like an absolute blast to play. Thank you for your comment, and thanks for watching!

[@AthelstanKing]

I actually like the MP system in ff1. I found myself using black mages alot more because i could actually cast all my spells until i was done. Was cool saving the more powerful spells for when i was in trouble too, but not worrying about the weaker spells consuming the same pool of MP.

[@Jay_76]

It should be noted that, Heal 2 is only as powerful as Heal 3 in battle. Outside of battle, Heal 2 works like it was originally intended.

[@Jerupitus]

That's true, it's a really powerful spell in combat, and one of the very few bugs that actually works in your favor

[@MisterNinten]

Had to leave a like and comment do to the recommendation Gods. I did a playthrough last year with a Warrior, Thief, Black Belt, and White Mage. Had to a bit of grinding early game through the marsh cave, but once I hit the 1st orb everything was getting easier and my black belt was close to one shotting everything like the Warrior. The class change helped a lot as the Ninja started getting better equipment and the fast spell helped melt down bosses in like 2 rounds. Even Warmech wasn't very difficult, apart from it hitting like a freight train. I did have the issue of having to throw things away near the end of the game, but the last half of the journey wasn't that difficult, compared to the first half.

[@Jerupitus]

Thanks for sharing! Everyone mentioning the Black Belt really has me interested in trying one out. If the game had achievements, I think one of them would definitely be killing a Fiend in one shot.