Final Fantasy Origins

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Final Fantasy Origins

Developer(s)	Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)	Square Co., Ltd. Infogrames / Square Enix U.S.A., Inc.
Series	Final Fantasy series
Release date(s)	October 31, 2002 March 14, 2003 / April 8, 2003
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) OFLC: G8+ ELSPA: 11+
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Media	2x CD-ROM (Japan/Europe) 1x CD-ROM (North America)

Final Fantasy Origins is a game for the PlayStation from Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.). It is the re-release of remastered versions (or enhanced remakes) of the Nintendo Family Computer ("Famicom") / Nintendo Entertainment System ("NES") classics Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II on the PlayStation platform. Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II were originally developed for the Famicom and later remade for Bandai WonderSwan Color. The graphics have been enhanced to the quality of the SNES games (Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI).

The PlayStation version of the games were initially released Japan in 2002 by Square. Each game was either sold separately, or combined in the form of the Final Fantasy I & II Premium Package (ファイナルファンタジーI・II プレミアムパッケージ, Fainaru Fantajī Wan Tsū Puremiamu Pakkēji^?), a special edition collection which included both games as well as three collector's figurines. This collection, sans special packaging and figurines, was next released in Europe as Final Fantasy Origins in 2003. The game was translated by Square (by now Square Enix), but was published by Infogrames / Atari. The two games were next combined onto one disc and released in North America, again under the Final Fantasy Origins name, later that year. It was the first time Final Fantasy II had been officially released in North America, and the first time either game had been officially released in Europe.

1 Audio
2 Differences from originals
3 Other versions
4 External links

[edit] Audio

The soundtracks have been enhanced to Final Fantasy IX quality from their original NES or WonderSwan Color representations. The games have both undergone gameplay streamlining. The Final Fantasy Origins versions of Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II are based on the Bandai WonderSwan Color versions. The upgraded soundtrack for Final Fantasy I was arranged by Nobuo Uematsu, while the upgraded soundtrack for Final Fantasy II was arranged by Tsuyoshi Sekito, the music composer for Brave Fencer Musashi.

[edit] Differences from originals

A CGI cutscene from FFI

Both games have enhanced graphics, remixed soundtracks, added CGI FMV cut scenes, and added content. It also includes art galleries of Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations. This was the first time Final Fantasy II was released in the West.

A random battle in the remake of FFII

As for the tomb at Elfheim (or Elf Land on the NES version), the tomb reads "Here lies Erdrick" on the American NES version of Final Fantasy I, a reference to the Dragon Warrior game. It reads "May Link rest in peace," on the American Final Fantasy Origins and the original Japanese NES version of Final Fantasy I (reference to the hero of the Legend of Zelda series). It reads "May Erdrick rest in peace," on the PAL Final Fantasy Origins version. (Interestingly, the text referencing Link was only slightly changed in Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn Of Souls, even though that version was made for a Nintendo system. In DoS, it reads "Here lies Link.")

While the NES version of Final Fantasy I has only one save slot and the WonderSwan Color version has only eight, the Final Fantasy Origins version has as many save slots as the player has available through PlayStation memory cards.

[edit] Other versions

Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II were first packaged together in 1994, when both games were combined onto a single Famicom cartridge and released as Final Fantasy I-II. As both games had originally appeared on the Famicom, there were no substantial changes between the originals and the compilation versions.

The PlayStation versions of the game were most similar to the WonderSwan Color remakes that were produced separately in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Other than minor changes to take advantage of Sony's superior hardware, such as a higher screen resolution which meant that the graphics in the PlayStation version were slightly more detailed, and the remixed soundtracks, the PlayStation versions were basically identical to the earlier WonderSwan versions.

The remakes were later put onto the same cartridge when they were ported to the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (known as Final Fantasy I & II Advance in Japan). The port featured similar graphics / sound to the Playstation version (though slightly inferior due to the Game Boy Advance's capabilities). The Game Boy Advance version of Final Fantasy I contains four extra dungeons featuring bosses from later Final Fantasy titles, plus a few gameplay tweaks (including an MP system and easier difficulty setting). This version of Final Fantasy II included an extra side-story after finishing the game but the overall gameplay was not altered from the Playstation version.