The original Final Fantasy (Final Fantasy / FF1 Retrospective)

Final Fantasy is one of the most successful video game series of all time. In this retrospective video essay, I'll explain what the first game in the series, the original Final Fantasy 1 (also known as FF1 or FFI) was like, how it's held up by modern video game design standards, and whether it's still worth playing today.
PS. Welcome to my new channel! This video was originally posted on my old channel on Feb 13th, 2021. It’s reposted here because I’m starting a new channel dedicated to this type of content. I also took the opportunity to make some small updates to the video while I was at it.
#FinalFantasy #JRPG #retrospective
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🎦 My other Final Fantasy retrospectives:
▶ Final Fantasy II - kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3WXY5tpobGKjMk
▶ Final Fantasy III - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZzWdZeemZ6BldE
▶ Final Fantasy IV - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnbZpXt6Zq5jmtE
▶ Final Fantasy V - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ-pZH2tgJZ1qdU
▶ Final Fantasy VI - kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4HZq5Sbrad7hqM
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:40 Background
02:39 The gameplay loop
04:38 The story
12:30 Bitpop blues
15:04 Manual transmission
17:48 Combat
23:06 Character customization
27:44 Game balance
29:31 Grinding
32:42 Shades of Metroidvania
36:04 Quality of Life
40:46 Rewarded behavior
44:53 A flash of brilliance
47:54 Still worth playing?

[@AltercateTV]

Welcome to my new channel! 😍 This video was originally posted on my old channel on 2021-02-13. I think I spent about 100 hours making this video lol. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, I'd be super grateful if you could give the video a like and write a quick comment, as it really helps the video reach more people. And if you want to help a tiny channel grow, consider subscribing!

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

I know you want to give a more balanced second take on this game, but... This game's exhaustive list of bugs and missing features nearly killed a pre-existing love of earlier RPGs. I was convinced entire magic types and elemental weaknesses were a complete waste of time. Because they were. But only in this original version of the game. And since this game's deep toy box was the only thing it had going for it? Whoah, whoah, wait! Magic of Scherezade (despite my misspelling) had better time travel, story, and characters. Don't praise Square for trying. (I was listening to your review in the background.)

[@cgiscript415]

This is the most detailed ff1 video on all KZbin and worths millions views.!!

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you so much! That means a lot to me :)

[@themalgadar7339]

I think Andrew Bluett is the newly crowned king of FF Retrospectives, but this is a top tier video

[@SwordsmanOrion]

Final Fantasy for NES is a super important game in my life. It was thanks to Nintendo Power magazine sending out a full strategy guide for this game one month instead of a regular issue that I got curious about it. I remember being a kid considered himself a video game expert and I just couldn't figure out what kind of game FFI was or how you played it. I had to know, so I asked for the game for my birthday just so I could figure out what type of game it was. It ended up being such an impactful game for me that I would play through the entire game over and over and over multiple times with multiple party combinations. Every one of the issues you bring up is completely true of course, but at the time we didn't really know any different so it wasn't really something I thought to complain about.... other than only being able to buy 1 heal potion at time. THAT I did remember complaining about. After playing through the entire game so many times, there were certain floors of specific dungeons you learned to fear in particular.... like the floor of the Earth Cave with the cockatrices that turn you to stone just by hitting with normal attacks. About the lack of story, at the time it wasn't something I even realized was missing, because games didn't really have much story to begin with. I do remember giving each character of my party their own names and backstories and making the story between them up as I went along. I did this kind of thing pretty often for most NES games, even ones with their own story being more prominent. In fact, something I feel a bit stupid about today, when Final Fantasy II came out for the SNES, I remember being super upset that it pre-named the characters, gave them their own pre-defined classes you can't change, and gave them their own story and dropped them in and took them out of your party through out the game. Today that seems so stupid to be upset about, but FFI was all I knew and I loved it.

[@AltercateTV]

I really wish Final Fantasy had been released in Sweden back in the day so I'd gotten a chance to play it when it was brand new. When I made this video, I took an approach of comparing it to modern JRPG design, which I kind of regret now. If I'd made the video today, I would have focused more on what the game meant at the time! Your comments about making up your own stories for the characters is really interesting, and it's something I explored in my FF3(j) retrospective, and then contrasted in my FF4 retrospective, since, as you say, it was kind of a shift in the series from "make your own story" to predefined stories about specific characters. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the game! I always love to hear about people's own memories of the games. :)

[@michaelsealy1755]

I agree. They were inspired by games like DnD where people created their own backgrounds and the dm progressed the story along. So this and additions of new genre and limited tech. It was good for what it was..at that time in history.

[@asimplenameichose151]

This was my first Final Fantasy game (as a kid with a NES). At the time, in the US, for many of us it was like nothing we had ever experienced. I still have fond memories of this one and go back to replay it, despite all the flaws. (There is also a huge romhack scene for this with many interesting options that add even more replay value, quality-of-life adjustments, or challenges)

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for sharing! Do you have a recommendation for the best romhack(s)?

[@asimplenameichose151]

@@AltercateTV I haven't had enough time with most of the rom hacks individually to recommend many of them without reservations. Here are some quick thoughts: Not long ago I completed a run of Grond's Final Fantasy, which I would definitely recommend (there is a pitch correction patch for it that I think is mandatory because of issues with the music in the default GFF patch). Changes are made to classes, magic, and weapons / armor (with details of changes in accompanying text files, don't skip that), along with enemies, graphics and sound, quality-of-life, and a few surprises. It was clearly a long-term labor of love and it is difficult (but satisfying) to complete. In my experience, early game is generally a bit easier, leveling is a bit faster, but late game is quite challenging and unless you are a more capable player than I am - very possible - you will probably need a significant grind to face the final boss rush / Chaos. Offhand, the others I would recommend from incomplete playthroughs (in other words, hacks I plan myself to revisit and hopefully finish) are Final Fantasy ++, Manall's FF1 (both of which are substantial makeovers), and Final Fantasy Restored (much closer to bugfixed vanilla).

[@AltercateTV]

@@asimplenameichose151 Cool! Thanks for the tips :)

[@lutherdrache399]

Your video is fantastic, but it does little justice to judge a late 80's game with today's expectations. When we played it back in the day it broke all molds, at least for us. It was exhilarating to play a game where you had to figure out where to go and what to do every step of the way, and you had may combinations and approaches to defeat bosses, and negotiate challenges.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you for your kind words, and your criticism is very valid. Back when I made this video (originally posted on my old channel a couple of years ago) I hadn’t really figured my format out. If I made the video today I would have focused a lot more on what the game meant at the time!

[@parus6422]

I had a used copies in the early 1990s. So I had no manual. It did take me a long time to beat it. But here, 30 years after, beating it has stayed with me.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for sharing! I really wish they'd released this game in Sweden back in the early '90s. I think I would have loved it. :)

[@ThaetusZain]

Commenting for the alogrythm! I guess I gotta say something valid. I kinda liked how you were never specifically told where to go until you got to the circle of sages. Even though it was quite linnear, it felt more open than later jrpgs because some things you had to figure out. Also prepping for dungeons was a BIG part of the game. I've started up on Godot and I wouldn't mind revisiting some of those old ideas with more modern game design.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks a lot for the support! 😍 Yeah, it really was a very cool game for its time, and there’s still a lot of untapped potential to explore with that style of world and dungeon design imo! What kind of game are you thinking of making?

[@ThaetusZain]

@@AltercateTV right now, I'm just learning. My first real project will be a pixel art rpg thing. Mainly because I made a sprite for fun and built a character I kinda really enjoyed. But also, I'm still new so simple graphics, simple concepts. Though I don't really want to focus on nostalgia with it.

[@AltercateTV]

@@ThaetusZain Sounds like fun! Good luck with your project :)

[@AnarchicArachnid]

So the original name was actually fighting fantasy which they changed due to copyright of a cyoa series by the same name.

[@ThaetusZain]

Fighting fantasy wasn't actually choose your own adventure. It was more like a series of solo rpg modules (advanced fighting fantasy is the system to allow for multiple players and a gm if I recall correctly).

[@Chielite4life]

This channel has been a hidden gem so far. Im loving your retrospectives. Keep it up!

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you so much! :)

[@williamishee9533]

Just relistened to this. The quality still holds up! Love the passion you have for this game. My favorite KZbinr! Keep up the amazing work!

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for all the motivation William! You’re my favorite supporter 😂

[@lassejohanhenden8238]

Very good analysis and video! Just got the nes mini, been playing ff 1 a bit, after seeing this i might go a bit harder 😊

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! :) Hope you enjoy the game!

[@robd6837]

Greetings! I am halfway into the video and felt compelled to make a quick note while it was fresh in my mind. Enjoying it so far, btw! The lack of profanity alone is nice. So many KZbinrs nowadays think they're creating a kid free video and, for some reason that I cannot explain, like it is some sort of hidden algorithm formula, feel the need to drop at least 1"GD" as if it is a hidden ritual somewhere to get more views. Anyhow, wanted to make two Notes. One auto targeting verse not Auto Target. It is actually one of the things that make this more challenging because it adds a level of depth and understanding of what each your characters can do and who can stand alone and who needs a buddy system. It also makes acquiring the items that have the built-in Magic Properties so much more rewarding after you have slog through leveling up x amount of levels to get to the first one... I agree with the assessment that the difficulty setting is the character creation screen. However! So many people Overlook the black belt. It is barnone the strongest character in the game! With a little bit of creativity and patience he can one shot the final Boss by himself! My typical lazyman playthrough includes a fighter, black belt, Red Mage, White Mage. After about level three or four, unequip everything from the black belt, Place him in the third slot, and watch the damage start flying! His bare-fisted attack give double hit damage and when you add the level for magic spell fast or haste in newer editions, and temper, the level 3 spell that I'm not hundred percent certain from memory if it work properly in the original release, he becomes an absolute Beast! Once you play an Edition that has a properly functioning temper, you can layer it up to three or four times, maybe more! Along with haste to do catastrophic damage that is unheard of... We are talkin four-digit! As for killing the final boss with the one-hit? I had to be patient on the original cartridge, do a lot of save / leveling up manipulation to get the best stats every level up... and when I was maxed at level 50, it was a one-hit-kill with the above spells from the Red Mage. I forgot to mention that while you always want to have him unequipped, weapon wise, toward the end of the game I equip a ribbon, opal ring and protect ring and it essentially makes him immune to all the magical damage that would hurt him and give him enough defense physically to stand right below the Warrior no problem. But until I get to the class change I always keep him in the third slot as the Red Mage can wear better armor for the first half.

[@AltercateTV]

I agree about auto-targeting, and I think I kind of changed my attitude towards it after playing FF2 and FF3. I brought up some points in defense of this system in the retrospectives I did of those games. I'm glad you liked the video and thanks for sharing your perspective! It's always really cool to hear about the tactics people found while playing the game. Makes me realize just how deep an experience FF1 was for a console game back in 1987 :)

[@MrTonkiee]

Amazing! 🤩 Your videos makes me want to pickup and play theese games!

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you my friend :)

[@iAmSammyJ]

Just found this channel and I’m glad I did. You’ve definitely earned my sub.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you for the kind words! :)

[@techbear1980]

This video is very detailed, illuminating, and helpful. It was a great tool for learning what to do, and what not to do, when making a big videogame. I appreciate your full-throated support of the creative act, too.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you for your kind words, Thomas! I really appreciate that :)

[@r3xdandilion]

This honestly gave me a great creative burst this morning! 😎🤟🏾🌩️

[@thomasham130]

Still way easier than dragon quest 2. I always would do the peninsula of power to low 20's, run the earth cave, get the canoe hit the castle of ordeals, ice cave, class change, than fire cave. Fun thing I didn't see you mention was a number of spells where just broken and some of the items like the bane weapons as well. But fun video, 6 was my all time favourite FF. FF 1 had a lot more story than some of the games the inspired it, looking at you Wizardry.

[@AltercateTV]

Good points! And yeah, this game is a breeze compared to DQ2 for sure 😂

[@aquariansword]

I beat this game as a kid, also a few years ago on the wii. I recommend buying the pixel remaster, it has its differences but still good.

[@AltercateTV]

I reviewed the Pixel Remaster on my old channel and it’s my favorite version of the game!

[@gildor5666]

great video !!!

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! :)

[@aquariansword]

I wish in story section I wish you did a full rundown of the story.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for the feedback! I considered it, but ended up cutting the section to keep the video under an hour. I’m still unsure about what balance to go for here, whether people who watch retrospectives want an in-depth story breakdown or not. So every bit of feedback I get helps a lot :)

[@fardinhasan2947]

Great and very informative video. In my experience of ff1 pixel remaster so many QOL changes were added to make the game more smooth and fun to play but hot take it just ruins some of the more complicated stuff the original had .Anyway I really enjoyed this video and just finished DQ 1 snes remake after watching that retrospective.

[@bamboozled_again]

the not-quality of life part really hurts to see and im mean that with all my heart, im glad we have so much more improved since then, but still we need to improve more...

[@Morgil27]

14:49 "National Anthem of JRPGs" I'm pretty sure the recent Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony would disagree 😛

[@AltercateTV]

Lol fair enough, I do agree that the Dragon Quest Overture March is the most deserving of that title :)

[@AnarchicArachnid]

Garland & Four fiend cycle: As garland dies, the 4 fiends at the present moment send his body back in time, WHEN HE ARRIVES 2000 years ago the process has already made him strong enough that he is able to MAKE the 4 fiends and then send them forward to just before the game begins as he reigns as chaos 2000 years before . He's created a stable time loop. you however as the warriors of light break that loop in YOUR NEW TIMELINE leaving the original timeline to languish under the effects of the four fiends and carry on without you. it's like how Ocarnia of time has Link at the end stop Ganondorf as a child. this has only been more complicated by the Dissida bs where it's like "THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT IS ACTUAL A CLONE OF THE LUFENIAN'S VERSION OF CID" & recently Jack Garland's crusade to destroy the Lufenians by raising the warriors of light, who didn't exist before he made this plan, by becoming chaos to train them.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for the summary! I feel like my mind is going to explode when I try to wrap my head around this plot lol

[@liomanwhy]

The first Final Fantasy is maybe my favorite in the series (maybe cuz it's the only one I've played LOL). I played the GBA port, and I heard it's an easy mode of the game. I'm gonna try the PSP version to find out if it's any harder! Also, while I watched your vid I couldn't help but think of ProJared's review of the game, because things you complained about he praised (for example, not being able to redirect your hits if the mob is dead, or slow info showing in battles). It's fascinating, how people can think differently about the same thing! Anyway, I like your video, I'm gonna go and watch the rest of the retrospective.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for the support! I think the lack of auto targeting is definitely a matter of personal preference. I appreciate the design more after playing through the other NES Final Fantasies, and I think it really does add a layer of strategy to the game. But honestly it’s just something I don’t have the patience for anymore. 😂

[@liomanwhy]

@@AltercateTV completely understandable! Especially since there're so many random encounters, you can't help but just press A over and over... but you can't cuz it's NES Final Fantasy!

[@AltercateTV]

@@liomanwhy Haha yeah exactly! If the game didn't have so many battles, I wouldn't mind the design so much :)

[@alaharon1233]

The PSP version is just as easy. I recommend the PS1 version on normal mode for the best FFI experience

[@petergreene4428]

I played this as a kid, loved it but found it very hard as a 5th grader. I never beat it then, but revisited it as an adult and enjoyed it despite the bizarre story twist and the endless grinding. I think it’s a lot like a basic dnd game in many, many ways.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for sharing! I definitely think they managed to capture a lot of what was possible to translate from D&D into a video game at the time.

[@phillipalleva-cox3903]

The Pixel remaster really makes the game more enjoyable while staying true to the original.

[@cr-nd8qh]

Good video

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks!

[@SilortheBlade]

I recall replaying this on my psp 15 or so years ago while on a plane. I was trying to remember how to get the airship and I suddenly couldn't look it up online. So I had to back track and talk to every NPC until I figured it out. Really took me back to how obtuse RPGs could be back in the day.

[@AegisKHAOS]

Well, after watching the FF4 and FF6 retrospectives/love letters, I knew ot was a matter of time I watched this one. :p As a wee kid back then, I preferred playing platformers and action games like Contra, Golden Axe, or Super Mario Bros, even though I absolutely sucked at them. Seriously, people who complain about Souls games being hard have no clue what true pain was, like playing the original SF1. :P Anyways, the point being that I thought turned based RPGs were boring and even back then I thought the story merely existed. As such, I just watched my friend play it for a while. The longer I watched him play, however, the more interested I got. Eventually I tried it for myself, and finally understood why it was fun. I played like a brainlet and simply picked the characters I want in order to grab the most damaging weapons like the Exaclibur and tried to bully through everything. Either way, I credit FF for making me appreciate JRPGs. And, yes, game manuals were very important back in the day, as there was no in-game tutorials to begin with. Admittedly, though, I miss those. Games like FF had works of art for manuals, plus I find them less intrusive than some of the pop up tutorials you see in some modern games. I love the game, but Elden Ring made me annoyed with its tutorials till I figured out how to turn them off. Ok, done with the nostalgia. Thanks for making me feel a little more older.

[@AltercateTV]

I’m so bummed the original Final Fantasy wasn’t released in Sweden. I think I would have loved it!

[@AegisKHAOS]

@@AltercateTV Considering the fact you still kept playing to the end and came to the conclusion you had made, I am happy you still managed to play it despite modern gripes.

[@glorbojibbins2485]

Alright ill subscribe... This time...

[@jeremycline9542]

Was Phantasy Star influenced by FF1 or both games looked to Dragon Quest for inspo?

[@AltercateTV]

Good question! Something really interesting is that Phantasy Star was actually released just two days (!) after the original Final Fantasy in December of 1987. So the two games share a very similar history in that regard. It's important to note that while Final Fantasy probably wouldn't have been made without Dragon Quest leading the way, FF had the same inspirations as DQ - namely, Ultima and Wizardry. So basically, Hironobu Sakaguchi really wanted to make his own RPG, and when Horii and Nakamura's Dragon Quest project ended up being massively successful, he saw his opportunity to get his own console RPG done. I don't know enough about the development of Phantasy Star to say (I hope to dig into it in the future), but I'd imagine that it, like Final Fantasy, was greatly inspired at least by Dragon Quest's *success*, if not by its gameplay.

[@crono_8398]

Did the pixel remaster address any of these issues?

[@AltercateTV]

Yep! There's still no story to speak of, but the Pixel Remaster is a very pleasant way to enjoy Final Fantasy 1. The GBA and PSP versions are also really good, plus they have extra content that the Pixel Remaster doesn't have.

[@budakbaongsiah]

2:22 has been debunked for a long, long time. Square was doing fine financially, FF being a failure is not going to brought it down. It was Sakaguchi that was a bit tired being unable his big break in the industry.

[@AltercateTV]

Eh, I wouldn't say it's been debunked. More like it's unclear how bad the situation really was. I agree that the specific name "Final Fantasy" didn't have anything to do with the company's finances, so you've got a point there, but Uematsu has said the company was about to go bankrupt in an interview: web.archive.org/web/20220513023707/www.wired.com/2009/07/final-fantasy/ Sakaguchi has said different things at different times, and often expresses himself in kind of cryptic ways, like this one: "I can't really confirm how authentic it is if Square really was on the brink of bankruptcy but what I can say with regards to Final Fantasy, the reason why it is called Final Fantasy was something more personal to me." www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-interview-final-fantasy-creator-hironobu-sakaguchis-fantasian-apple-arcade-exclusive At the end of the day, unless someone digs up the company's financial statements for 1986-87, I doubt we'll ever know for sure 🤣

[@Morgil27]

I feel like FF1 is a perfectly okay game... as long as you're playing one of the many remakes. The original NES version was just way too glitchy and broken. Nothing worked the way they should. Also, I'm totally stealing the word Miltard.

[@dakotacarman7940]

comment

[@MrDarchangelomni]

NO STORY?!? You did not do this correrctly, in order to experience this game you have to play it as all 8/16 bit Adventure/RPG games were meant to be experienced. You left out 75% of the game, because you left out your part of the game system. At least I never saw it in the video, you mention the manual but never elaborate that these games were meant to be played by doing real life activities to track in game story. In those days memory size was small and cost was huge, so 50% of The game was given to you in the form of a "Game Manual" a hard copy guide, that you carried with you everywhere after buying the game. You also left out your Notebook! - 15% of the game and story came from noting anything that seemed relevant, and comparing current game changes to past notes. You did not show us your graph paper maps?!? 10% of the game was exploration No "REAL" Rpg Master would ever live his/her quest, without making his/her own maps and providing labels and map notes. Lastly, it seems you played alone, these games were meant to be played in a community form, you would take your manual, notes, maps... To Wherever your friends were usually at school, and you would play the game in a sharing sandbox mode, discussing theories, things to try, and SECRETS... and we used our minds to display the graphics... No wonder you incorrectly believed this game lacked a story, all you have done is examine the bootstrap that loaded the real game. In those days games were part of our real life, we didn't go into a game world, we simply made the game part of the world. This is one of the reasons I believe past games hold up so much better than modern games... because in the past you were part of the game, not a player inside it. I still remember the first journey ARTR (Arthur), MDMR (Mad Martigan),WILO (Willow), and MRLN (Merlin)... had in the world of Final Fantasy. I experienced everything that happened to them how worried, scared, frustrated and ultimately determined they were and I shared their ultimate triumph. Their story is as complete as any of the games RPG games I have since adventured with them in, with the exception of Final Fantasy III (6) which is the ultimate Final Fantasy game.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for sharing this! You're absolutely right, and your comment is a brilliant portrayal of what is often lost from the context when examining these classic RPGs. To be honest, I'm not very happy with this video now that it's been three years since I made it (the original version was posted on my old channel). My recent Dragon Quest video is a lot more faithful to the original experience, and I hope to someday remake the Final Fantasy video in the same spirit.

[@MrDarchangelomni]

@@AltercateTV thank you for the video suggestion, I will watch...I am Tomdryck heir of Erdryck, I never turn away friendly suggestions.