Final Fantasy (video game)

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Final Fantasy

Developer(s)	Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)	^JPN Square Co., Ltd. ^NA Nintendo of America
Designer(s)	Hironobu Sakaguchi (original concept, game director) Masafumi Miyamoto (game producer) Yoshitaka Amano (character designer) Kenji Terada (scenario writer) Nobuo Uematsu (music) Nasir Gebelli (programmer)
Series	Final Fantasy series
Release date(s)	^JPN December 18, 1987 ^NA July 12, 1990
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System See development history section for remake information.
Media	2 megabit cartridge

Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー, Fainaru Fantajī^?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.) in 1987, and is the inaugural game in Square's flagship Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy has been remade for several different video game consoles and handheld systems. The game has frequently been packaged with its follow-up, Final Fantasy II, in collections such as Final Fantasy I-II, Final Fantasy Origins and Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls.^[1]

The story begins with the appearance of the four youths called the "Light Warriors" who each carry one of their world's elemental orbs which have been darkened by four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces and restore light to the orbs, thus saving the world.

Final Fantasy was one of the most influential and successful role-playing games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and played a major role in popularizing the genre after Dragon Quest.

1 Gameplay
- 1.1 Combat
- 1.2 Customization
2 Plot
3 Musical score
4 Development
5 Reception and legacy
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The following refers to the original Famicom/NES version. For changes in subsequent remakes, see the section on Development.

Gameplay in Final Fantasy is similar to that of many other console role-playing games. The player controls a party of four player characters, called Light Warriors (or "Warriors of Light" in later editions), who explore towns and dungeons as they travel across the world map. The goal of the game is to defeat four major enemies called Elemental Fiends or Fiends of Chaos. Along the way, the player travels to towns where he or she may shop, acquire information, and rest. While traveling, the player encounters monsters which must either be combated or fled from. Winning battles earns the player experience points, which strengthen player characters, and gold (gil in later versions) currency to buy new equipment.

The player begins Final Fantasy by creating the Light Warriors. As is typical of computer role-playing games of the era, player characters are passive participants in the story, with their names and abilities relevant only during battle. Characters are determined by four-character names (more in later editions), certain numerical attributes, and their class. A character's most basic attribute is its level, which is numbered between one and fifty. (The maximum is ninety-nine in later editions.) A character's level is determined by how much experience it has, and higher level characters are more powerful than lower level characters. Gaining a level increases the character's attributes, such as their maximum Hit Points (HP). HP represents a character's remaining health, and when a character reaches zero HP, they die. Additional attributes such as "Strength" govern other aspects of the character.

Each character has a character class, which affects the character's attributes and abilities. There are six classes, three of which are physically oriented and three of which are magically oriented. During the game, the player has the option of completing a quest which changes and upgrades each character to a different and more powerful class. With the exception of this upgrade, character classes cannot be changed once the game has begun.

The "Fighter" ("Warrior" in later editions) uses heavy weapons and armor, and can be upgraded into a "Knight", who is also able to use low-level White Magic spells. The "Black Belt" (or "Monk") is skilled at fighting armorless while empty-handed and upgrades to a "Master." The fast and agile "Thief" can upgrade into a "Ninja", which may use low-level Black Magic spells. Of the three magical classes, the "Red Mage" is a decent fighter and can use a mixture of White and Black Magic. The Red Mage upgrades to a "Red Wizard" who can use more powerful equipment and spells. The "White Mage" can cast defensive and curative spells and upgrades to a "White Wizard," while the "Black Mage" can cast offensive spells and upgrades to a "Black Wizard." Both the Black and White Mages/Wizards are comparatively weak at physical offense compared to the other characters in exchange for their powerful magic.

[edit] Combat

The Light Warriors face off against Lich, Fiend of Earth (NES version shown)

Battles in the game are turn-based. At the beginning of each turn, the player selects an action for each player character, with the options being direct attacks, casting spells, drinking potions, using magical items, or running. Once the player has chosen actions for each player character, the player characters and monsters begin battling. Participants move one at a time in a randomly determined order.

In the original NES version, it was not possible to select a new enemy to attack once actions had begun; if the character had chosen to attack an enemy who had been defeated earlier in the round, then the attack was ineffective, and the character did nothing. This was changed in later versions.

Battles continue until one side either flees or is defeated. If the party wins, the characters gain experience and gold. If the party flees, they return to the map. If the party dies, the game is over.

[edit] Customization

Final Fantasy contains a variety of weapons and armor; new equipment can make the Light Warriors more powerful in combat. Each Light Warrior has eight inventory slots, with four to hold weapons and four to hold armor. Each character class has restrictions on what weapons and armor it may use. Additionally, some weapons and armor are magical; if used during battle, some of these items will cast spells. Other magical artifacts provide protection, such as from certain dangerous spells.

There are six types of weapons: Swords, Daggers, Axes, Hammers, Staves, and Nunchaku. Warriors may also fight bare-handed, however only the Black Belt/Master may do so effectively. The type of a weapon mainly determines its associated graphics, but also indicates which classes are more likely able to use that weapon. For example, a Black Belt is able to equip nunchaku but cannot equip axes. Each weapon has three statistics: damage, chance to hit bonus, and critical hit chance. Certain weapons are also more effective against monsters of particular types or monsters weak against particular elements. In the original NES version these properties and the critical hit chance were not used due to bugs, but these were fixed for later revisions. While four weapons may be held, only one weapon may be used at a time.

In addition to weapons, there are four types of armor: Armor (Cuirasses, Robes, Bracelets), Helmets, Gauntlets, and Shields. Unlike weapons, a piece of armor's type is very important. A character may wear up to four different pieces of armor at once, but only one of each type. Each armor has two statistics: a damage absorption bonus and an evade penalty. Certain kinds of armor also grant resistance to particular categories of magic.

At shops, the Light Warriors can buy items to help themselves recover while they are traveling. Up to 99 of each item may be carried at one time. Items available include "Potions", which heal player characters or remove an ailment such as poison or stoning; "Tents" and "Cabins", which can be used on the world map to heal the player and optionally save the game; and "Houses", which additionally recover the party's magic after saving. Additional special items may be gained during or at the completion of quests.

Many character classes are able to use magic, which is divided into "white" defensive magic and "black" offensive magic. Spells are classified by a level between one and eight, with, in most cases, higher level spells being more powerful than lower level spells. There are four white magic and four black magic spells of each level. Characters may learn up to three spells of each level by purchasing them at shops in towns. White wizards are capable of learning all white magic spells, and black wizards are capable of learning all black magic spells. Other classes have various restrictions on the spells they can learn. In the original NES version, once a spell has been learned it cannot be forgotten. This was changed in some later revisions.

The original NES version of the game allowed each magic-user "charges" for each level of spells; spells of a given level could only be cast as many times as the user had charges. As a character's level increased, more charges were gained. This system closely resembles the spell-casting system in Dungeons & Dragons. In some later revisions of the game, this system was replaced by MP (Magic Points).

[edit] Plot

Final Fantasy takes place on a fantasy world with three large continents. The elemental powers on this world are determined by the state of four orbs (crystals in later localizations), each governing one of the four classical elements: earth, fire, water, and wind. Details on each location are available at the Final Fantasy locations category at the Final Fantasy Wikia.

Outside the Kingdom of Coneria (NES version shown)

Four hundred years prior to the start of the game, a people known as the Lefeinish, who used the Power of Wind to craft a giant space station (called the Floating Castle (Sky Castle) in the game) and airships, watched their country decline as the Wind Orb went dark. Two hundred years later, violent storms sunk a massive shrine that served as the center of an ocean-based civilization, and the Water Orb went dark. The Earth Orb and the Fire Orb followed, plaguing the earth with raging wildfires, and devastating the agricultural town of Melmond as the plains and vegetation decayed. Some time later, a sage called Lukahn tells of a prophecy that four Light Warriors will come to save the world in a time of darkness.

The game begins with the appearance of the four youthful Light Warriors, the heroes of the story, who each carry one of the darkened Orbs. They arrive at Coneria, a powerful kingdom which has just witnessed the kidnapping of its princess, Sara, by a knight named Garland. The Light Warriors travel to the ruined Temple of Fiends in the northwest corner of Coneria, defeat Garland, and return Princess Sara home. The grateful King of Coneria builds a bridge that enables the Light Warriors' passage east to the town of Pravoka. At Pravoka, the Light Warriors liberate the town from a band of pirates, and acquire the pirates' ship for their own use. Though having the ability to travel across the water, the Light Warriors remain trapped within the Aldi Sea, in the center of the southern continent. On the south side of the sea is the kingdom of the elves, where the prince has been put into a cursed sleep by Astos. To the west is a ruined castle, where a king tells you that Astos stole his crown and hid it in the Marsh Cave to the south, though when the Light Warriors retrieve his crown, he reveals himself to be Astos. He has also stolen the witch Matoya's Crystal. With her Crystal back, Matoya provides an herb to awaken the Elf Prince. The Elf Prince gives the Light Warriors a key capable of unlocking any door. The key unlocks a storage room in Coneria Castle which holds TNT. Nerrick, one of the Dwarves of the Cave of Dwarf/Dwarf Village (Mount Deurgar), destroys a small isthmus using the TNT, connecting the sea to the outside world.

After visiting the near-ruined town of Melmond, the Light Warriors go to the Earth Cave (Cavern of Earth) and destroy the Earth fiend, Lich, who is responsible for the earth's decay. The Light Warriors then obtain a canoe and enter Gurgu Volcano (Mt. Gulg) and defeat the Fire fiend, Kary (Marilith). They recover the Floater (Levistone) from the Ice Cave, which allows them to obtain an airship. After proving their courage by retrieving the Rat's Tail from the Castle of Ordeal (Citadel of Trials), the King of the dragons, Bahamut, promotes each light-warrior. Using an air-producing fairy artifact known as Oxyale, the Warriors go to the Sunken Shrine to defeat the Water fiend, Kraken. They also recover a slab with fragments of the Lefeinish language. A linguist named Dr. Unne uses the slab to decode the Lefeinish language, which he teaches to the Light Warriors. Following this, the Light Warriors travel to a small and distant town — the last remaining outpost of the Lefeinish civilization. The Lefeinish give the Light Warriors access to the Floating Castle (Sky Castle) that Tiamat, the Wind fiend, has taken over. With the four fiends defeated and the Orbs restored, the Warriors find that their quest is not yet over: the true enemy waits two thousand years in the past. Travelling to the past, the Warriors discover that the four fiends sent Garland (now the archdemon Chaos) back in time and he sent the fiends to the future to do so, creating a time loop by which he could live forever.^[2] The Light Warriors defeat Chaos, thus ending the paradox. By ending the paradox, however, the Light Warriors have changed the future, to one in which their heroic deeds from their own time remain unknown outside of legend.

[edit] Musical score

Main article: All Sounds of Final Fantasy I·II

Final Fantasy was Nobuo Uematsu's 16th video game score. The score was released on CD together with the score of Final Fantasy II.

A few of the game's tracks became mainstays to the Final Fantasy series: the Prelude, the arpeggio played on the title screen; the Opening Theme, which is played when the party crosses the bridge early in the game and later referred to as the Final Fantasy theme; and the Victory Fanfare, which is played after every victorious battle. The opening motif of the Battle theme has also been reused a number of times in the series.

[edit] Development

Cover box for original Famicom release in Japan

Final Fantasy was developed during Square's brush with bankruptcy in 1987. In a display of gallows humor, director Hironobu Sakaguchi declared that his "final" game would be a "fantasy" role-playing game, hence the title.^[3] Far from being Square's final game, however, Final Fantasy proved to be a major success in Japan, not only saving Square from bankruptcy, but presenting them with the second most popular role-playing game franchise in the country (after Enix's Dragon Quest).^{[citation needed]} The characters and title logo were designed by Yoshitaka Amano. The scenario was co-written by Akitoshi Kawazu and veteran writer Kenji Terada.^[4] Iranian-American game programmer Nasir Gebelli, who was living in Japan at the time, worked as the programmer for this game. Among the other developers were Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii, and Kazuko Shibuya. The game was developed by Square's A-Team. Following the successful North American localization of Dragon Quest (as Dragon Warrior), Nintendo of America translated Final Fantasy into English and published it in North America in 1990.^{[citation needed]} The North American version of Final Fantasy met with modest success, due partly to Nintendo's aggressive marketing tactics.^{[citation needed]} No version of the game was marketed in the PAL region until Final Fantasy Origins in 2003.^[5]

Final Fantasy has been remade several times for several different platforms. While all of these remakes retain the same basic story and battle mechanics, various tweaks have been made in a variety of different areas, including graphics, sound, and specific gameplay elements.

[edit] North American localization

The 1990 North American localization of Final Fantasy by Nintendo of America was essentially identical to the original Japanese game, but technical limitations and the censorship policies of Nintendo of America (which was used before the founding of the ESRB and its rating system), resulted in a few minor changes to certain elements. For example, the original game program provided only four character spaces for magic spell names, meaning that a lot of original Japanese spell names had to be abbreviated to fit into the space requirements for the English version.^[6] These changes include "Flare" being reduced to "NUKE", "Thunder" being reduced to "LIT" and "Degeon" being reduced to "ZAP!" Also, there were censorship issues, since Nintendo of America policy prohibited games from featuring any overt Judeo-Christian imagery or reference to death. As such, some content was modified so that, for instance, "HOLY" became "FADE", and churches became clinics which no longer featured crosses, but had heart symbols instead.^[7]

[edit] MSX 2

MSX 2 remake

Publisher(s)	Microcabin
Release date(s)	^JPN December 1989
Media	3.5" Floppy Disk

The MSX2 computer standard was roughly analogous, in terms of technical capabilities, to the NES, and as a result, the MSX2 version of Final Fantasy is probably the closest to the original Famicom version. However, while the Famicom was designed to operate exclusively as a gaming console, the MSX2 was intended to be used more generally as a personal computer. In practice, this meant that the game was subtly altered to take advantage of certain features offered by the MSX2 and not by the Famicom, and vice versa.

The MSX2 version featured a larger palette and more vibrant colors

Due to its release on floppy diskette, the MSX2 version of the game had access to almost three times as much storage space as the Famicom version (720 KB vs. 256 KB), but suffered from a variety of problems not present in Nintendo's cartridge media, including noticeable loading times. There were also relatively minor graphical upgrades. In general, the MSX2 version sports an ostensibly improved color palette which adds a degree of vibrancy to character and background graphics. In addition, the world map seems to have been moved slightly, meaning that the placement of monster "areas" on the world map is slightly different, and that monsters appear in different places than in the Famicom version.^[7]

Further, game data could not be saved onto the original program diskette, so it was necessary to provide a blank floppy diskette to save one's progress. For some reason, it was possible to store only one saved game on any given disk at one time, although it was possible to have multiple diskettes for multiple saved games.^{[citation needed]} As an upgrade, the MSX2 featured more sound channels than the Famicom, and as such many music tracks and sound effects were altered or improved for the port.^[7] Also, some dungeon music was swapped.^[7] Finally, in the Famicom version, the strength of a Black Belt would increase with his experience levels, meaning that very soon the player would reach a point where a Black Belt could do more damage without any weapons than he could with weapons. In the MSX2 version, this is not the case: Black Belt strength does not increase nearly as quickly, and as such he cannot operate effectively as a barehanded fighter. Also, a few (though not all) items available at stores have had their costs changed.^[7]

[edit] WonderSwan Color

WonderSwan Color remake
Release date(s)	^JPN December 9, 2000
Media	32 megabit cartridge

Many more changes were introduced for the WonderSwan Color (WSC) remake of the game. The 8-bit graphics of the original Famicom game were completely redrawn for the WSC version, bringing the game roughly on-par with 16-bit era graphics (between Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI). The color palette was much larger and battle scenes now featured full background images.

Character sprites, or two-dimensional pre-rendered figures, were also redesigned to look more like characters from the Super Famicom Final Fantasy games, especially as they upgraded in class. In the Famicom version, shops and inns had no interior map: once a character entered the building, they were greeted with a menu-based purchase screen. In the WSC version this was changed to more closely resemble other games in the series, where each building had an interior, along with a shop counter where the transaction screen could be accessed. Similarly, the battle screen was redesigned, with all textual information moved down to a blue window stretched across the bottom of the screen in an arrangement similar to that utilized in Final Fantasy II through Final Fantasy VII. As a further update, short cutscenes using the internal game engine were added to expand the story of the game somewhat. One such cutscene involved the construction of the bridge by the army of Cornelia.

Dark Elf Astos rains death down upon our heroes (WonderSwan Color version shown)

Also of significance is that the original Famicom version of the game did not have the ability to display more than one window of text during a conversation, which meant that all conversations with non-player characters were strictly limited in length. The WSC version removes this restriction. In the original version of the game, any attempt to attack a monster that had been killed by a previous character's attack would result in an "ineffective" attack. The WSC version introduced an option wherein the attack would be redirected to another monster rather than fail. Similarly, a "dash" option had been introduced: holding down a specific button while walking around in a town or dungeon map would cause the character to move around at twice their normal pace. Both of these options can be turned on and off via the game's configuration screen.

As in the original version, every magic using character has successive "spell levels". Each character has only three available slots per spell level, but is given the option of choosing from four spells. Once that choice had been made in the original version, there was no way to "unlearn" spells to free up a space for the unchosen fourth spell. In the WSC version, this has been changed so that it is possible to delete spells once purchased. In the original Famicom version, the cartridge could only store one set of game data at a time, and every time a new save was made, the previous one was overwritten. The WSC version provides up to eight distinct slots for saved game data. There is also a "quick save" feature introduced which allows the player to save his or her progress at any time (except during battles). This will exit the game, however, and as soon as the game is resumed, any quick save data is lost.

Another change from the original version involves items; only items specifically assigned to a character could be used during battle. In the WSC, this has been changed so that there is a party-wide "pool" of items which can be accessed at any time by all characters. Certain status healing items (such as "Potion" and "Soft") can now be used during battle. Further, in the original game not only did each character have their own armor and weapon inventory, each was fixed to storing only 4 of each category per character. This meant that as opposed to the first game, one could now actually equip all 5 different armor types, as well as collect every single armor and weapon in the game without needing to drop or sell anything. A number of magic spells that didn't work properly in the original were also now "fixed" to work as originally intended. The status ailment "silence" no longer prevents items from being used. In addition to remixing the soundtrack, composer Nobuo Uematsu has composed several new tracks, including a new "boss battle" theme. Because many of the above changes make the game simpler than before, the hit points of certain monsters, and almost all boss monsters, have been substantially increased (doubled, in some cases) in order to better balance the gameplay.

[edit] PlayStation

PlayStation remake

Release date(s)	^JP October 31, 2002 ^EUR March 14, 2003 ^US April 8, 2003
Media	CD-ROM

Main article: Final Fantasy Origins

Released both individually (in Japan only) and alongside its follow-up, Final Fantasy II in a collection entitled Final Fantasy Origins (or Final Fantasy I+II Premium Collection in Japan), the PlayStation port of Final Fantasy by TOSE was based on WonderSwan Color version. Most of the changes instituted in that version of the game remain in this version. However, there are a few differences. Although the graphics are basically the same as in the WSC version, the higher screen resolution of the PlayStation means that most have been improved to some degree, with more detail.^{[citation needed]} Tsuyoshi Sekito also remixed the soundtrack to Final Fantasy IX quality to utilize the audio capabilities of the Sony PlayStation and also composed a few new tracks like the ones used in the opening movies.^[8]

In the Japanese language version, the script has been changed to include kanji.^[7] The English language translation, too, has been completely rewritten, and is, in most cases, much closer to the Japanese than the original English NES version was.^{[citation needed]} Character and magic name lengths have been increased from four to six characters, as well. Saved game data takes up one block on the PlayStation memory card, which means that up to fifteen games can be saved onto each memory card, a major improvement. The "quick save" feature of the WonderSwan Color version has been excised, but in its place a "memo save" feature has been introduced where game data can be temporarily saved to the PlayStation's random access memory (RAM). This data remains until the system is turned off, or its power supply is otherwise interrupted. The game is now bookended by two full-motion, prerendered video cutscenes. An "omake" (or bonus) section has also been made available. It includes a bestiary, an art gallery, and an item collection that are unlocked as the player progresses through the game.^[9] Also, a new "easy mode" could be chosen at the beginning of the game wherein shop prices are lower, experience is gained more quickly, and stats increase more rapidly.^[7]

[edit] Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

Publisher(s)	^JPN Square Enix ^NA / ^EU Nintendo
Release date(s)	^JPN July 29, 2004 ^NA November 29, 2004 ^EU December 3, 2004
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone) USK: Free for all OFLC: G8+ PEGI: 3+
Media	128 megabit cartridge

Main article: Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

Another fairly extensive list of changes accompanies the Game Boy Advance release of Final Fantasy as part of Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls.

The difficulty level of the Game Boy Advance version most closely resembles the "easy mode" of the Final Fantasy Origins. Unlike that version, however, there is no option to switch back to the original difficulty level. Similarly, the redirection of "ineffective" hits, which had been optional since it was introduced in the WSC version, is now mandatory. Graphics are more or less identical to the WSC version, although the GBA has a slightly higher screen resolution than the WSC, and certain sequences (such as flying around on the airship) look better on the GBA than on the WSC.^{[citation needed]}

A battle against a Soul of Chaos boss in the GBA version. This one is Shinryuu from Final Fantasy V

The "spell level"-based magic system is dropped from this version in favor of magic point-based system used in more recent Final Fantasy games.^[10] Although spells are still classified at certain levels for some purposes (characters can still only be equipped with three of the four available spells of any given level, for instance), every spell is now assigned a point value. When cast, that value is subtracted from a total number of magic points that apply to all spells known by a character. Many new items have been introduced. Healing items are now much easier to procure, and less expensive, as well. The party starts the game with 500 gil instead of 400 gil as in previous versions.

The omake artwork gallery and item collection present in the PlayStation version have been omitted, but the bestiary gallery remains and operates more or less exactly as it did previously. Certain classes have been modified: the Thief and Monk have become more powerful, whereas the Red Mage has become less so. Stat growth has been altered, and Intelligence now affects the strength of weapon-based magic spells. The game can now be saved at any time, anywhere (again, except during battles).^[11] There are three available save game slots, however there is no way of clearing or deleting their contents.^{[citation needed]} Because the changes introduced in this version make the game less challenging, many monsters and boss monsters have had their hit points increased once again.^{[citation needed]} Four new optional dungeons have been introduced, one corresponding to each Fiend, and becoming available after that Fiend is defeated. These dungeons are especially challenging and feature items and monsters not found anywhere else in the game. At the end of each dungeon there are a variety of boss monsters from Final Fantasy III through Final Fantasy VI. Finally, during character creation, the player can choose to have the game randomly assign a name to each character.

[edit] Mobile phones

A battle with Lich, as depicted in the NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i enhanced remake

In 2004, Square Enix released a version of Final Fantasy for two Japanese mobile phone networks. A version for NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i series phones was launched on 1 March 2004 under the title Final Fantasy i. A subsequent version for the CDMA 1X WIN-compatible W21x series was released on 19 August 2004 as Final Fantasy EZ. Another version, simply titled Final Fantasy, was also released for SoftBank Yahoo! Keitai phones on 3 July 2006.^[12] Graphically, the games are superior to the original 8-bit game, but not as advanced as many of the more recent console and handheld ports. Square Enix plans to release this version of the game for North American mobile phones sometime in 2006.^[13]

[edit] Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition

A battle against Gilgamesh in the PSP version.

For the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy Square-Enix is planning to remake Final Fantasy I and II for the PSP with brand new high resolution 2D graphics, and featuring the FMV from the Origins and the bonus dungeons from Dawn of Souls. It will also contain an all new dungeon, as well as an Amano Art Gallery. The gallery uses the PSP's naturally high resolution to display high quality art by Yoshitaka Amano, with new pieces of art being unlocked as you progress through the game. The new dungeon, titled Labyrinth of Time (時の迷宮, Ji no Meikyū^?), is a dungeon with a time limit, in which the player's HP constantly decreases as time passes. The player will be able to exchange healing items in order to extend to the time limit, allowing them to delve deeper into the dungeon.^[14][1]

[edit] Reception and legacy

Final Fantasy, along with the original Dragon Quest, proved to be one of the most influential early console role-playing games, and played a major role in legitimizing and popularizing the genre. According to one reviewer, Final Fantasy's storyline, which dealt with elaborate myths and time travel, had a deeper and more engaging story than the original Dragon Quest.^[15]

Bahamut, the Dragon King, who would become a recurring character in the Final Fantasy series, first appeared in Final Fantasy.

Many modern critics point out that the game is poorly paced by contemporary standards, and involves much more time wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise their experience levels and money than it does exploring and solving puzzles,^{[citation needed]} while other reviewers find the level-building and exploration portions of the game as the most enduringly fun ones.^[16] In March 2006, Final Fantasy appeared in the Famitsu magazine's Top 100 games list, where readers voted it the 63rd best game of all time.^[17] Two of its modern sequels, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII, were voted the top two positions on the list respectively. In 2005, GameFAQs users made a similar list, which ranked Final Fantasy at 76th ^[18]

The version of Final Fantasy in the Final Fantasy Origins compilation was generally well received, though it lacks many of the innovations found in later Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy IV,^[19] and some commented that the additional content like improved graphics did not significantly improve the overall game experience.^[20]

The theme song that plays when the player characters first cross the bridge from Coneria is a recurring song throughout the entire series. It has been found in 1990's Final Fantasy III when the party leaves their home town and in 1991's Final Fantasy IV when Cecil and Kain begin their journey. It is featured in the epilogue of Final Fantasy IV, the ending theme of 1992's Final Fantasy V and the ending theme of 1994's Final Fantasy VI as the last three minutes of "Balance is Restored", part of the ending theme in 1997's Final Fantasy VII, and in the very end of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children as the movement immediately preceding the song Calling. It is included in the three-movement ending credits theme in 1999's Final Fantasy VIII and is found in the song "Skies of Alexandria" from Final Fantasy IX. The theme was absent from both 2001's Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XI, but returned in 2006's Final Fantasy XII as the game's intro music.

Final Fantasy was also the basis for an episode of a video game-themed cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master entitled The Fractured Fantasy of Captain N. ^[21] 8-Bit Theater, a sprite-based webcomic parodying the game, has become very popular in the gaming community.