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"A great game of two origins"

The origin of Final Fantasy starts here on Playstation…….well actually it started on Nintendo, but some don't know that shhhhhh. SquareEnix did a great job with this game, especially for just starting out when they combined companies (which is one of the greatest things to happen in the RPG world). Remaking older games would seem easier but yet again it could be hard at the same time. One reason is because you have to start out on a totally different system, redraw all the characters, and all that good stuff. But it would seem it is worth the time. This game is a combined game with Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II. Both really great games, and with that I shall tell you why.

Graphics 9

For both games the graphics had a major upgrade, compared to the Nintendo. Each of the characters are shown with great detail, they even have art work you can get while going through the game, along with the monsters you come across. The towns have a new look to them also, with each of the npc's with great detail too. The detail they put into the background was really amazing compared to the older one. Being able to tell where the towns are and the game not freezing up on you is a great upgrade. The magic has been well designed too. Some of the stronger magic's glint the entire screen and even some of the older Final Fantasies have better magic than most of the newer ones. Why you ask, because I said so and that's all there is to it.

The monsters are more of a wide variety also, even though you will run into the same enemy just different colors its good to be able to tell which a stronger version is. The land seems to be detailed well too, because they are true colors instead of just random colors the system can handle. They even have really great videos in the beginning of each game, with the characters talking in the FF II beginning that was something even I wasn't ready for. It is just amazing seeing how much the graphics have improved since 87 makes me feel like an old person watching these amazing games grow up too.

Game play 10

A ten you say, well it shouldn't surprise you, because not only do these games have great stories, graphics, all of those good things, without game play it would just seem like a book. For Final Fantasy the battles are like they used to be, you go, they go, you go again, but it is nowhere near as slow as it use to be. But unlike Final Fantasy II, FF has the leveling system, which you should be used to. On the older version you could only get to level 50, but on this one you can reach higher, not that its necessary or anything. Instead of learning magic, or having a weapon to learn magic, in both games you have to buy it from stores they have in each town. They have two different kinds of magic's white, which is the curative magic, and black which is more of an elemental damage magic. While having those stores the magic goes with two different characters, the white and black mage. But wait there is more, there is an additional mage that can learn both magic's, and that mage is titled the red mage. Not only do you have these wonderful magic's to buy but, they have levels too, so as you increase your level in the game you can increase your magic level, to do more damage to enemies you encounter.

Another set of characters is the monk, whom goes against everything, unlike a warrior this type of character can have better attack and defense without having any items equipped to them. The warrior is one of the most basic characters which are one of the best. He can equip any item and still be strong. Along with these is a thief, whom you can have run from enemies. But they have nowhere near the attack of the warrior, all they seem good for is luck and their speed, but with that luck and speed they can help you escape from battles easier. When you advance farther in the game you can have these characters upgrade, which will make there stats go up a large amount. There is a little mini game you can play on a boat which you get later, where you try to get the numbers to go in order they are all mismatched. The name of it is the tile game, and if you are short on money all you have to do is beat the records they have on their little hall of fame thingy and you can get a lot of money in return for beating a simple time limit.

In the beginning of FF II you notice there are four different characters running from their town which has been set on fire, they are the four main characters you see. The first one I will mention is Firion he was orphaned at a young age, he was adopted by the parents of Maria and Leon, and he grew up with them and considers them his real family. Maria is Leon's sister, Leon goes a separate path at the beginning of the game and you are to track him down. The last one is Gus, he was a childhood friend of the three and he tends to use his muscles more than he does his brain, he is one of the strongest of the group, but he isn't very bright. Unlike FF this game has actual characters to fit a story line, which can be a good thing but, if you have a game with no names you get to change it to what you see fit, unlike some of the other FF's that have names for the characters so there is no reason to change there given name.

In FF II as I mentioned earlier there are no levels you just kind of gain more status as you move on with the game. But like FF there is the same kind of magic, you buy it and you can equip it to anybody in this game really. But there are not separate classes in this game so it goes with who gets it first keeps it. They all have their own sort of weapons though. The battling isn't much different than any other FF except you don't get any experience at the end of the battle. But your characters attributes also increase like they would, even though there are no visible mastery points. There are links between the actions taken and the stats raised aren't quite as clear. One thing that both games do share in common and I think should be in most Final Fantasies is that there are memo files you can save, which is like saving the actual game except you can save it wherever you want and you can start your game over from there, but it only stays on your game while it is on. If you reset your Playstation the memo file will be erased which can be a bummer, but oh well.

Sound 10

The sound is really great in this game, it's mostly all the soundtrack but hey as long as you got good music who needs noises from the characters right? The soundtrack on FF is better than of FF II in my opinion, but that is because I have played through FF more than FF II. The best thing about these soundtracks is when you own them and you just listen to them, it reminds you of the areas you where at in the game, and that just shows you how powerful music can be. The voice acting on the FF II video was really good, their voices seemed to match the movement of their lips pretty well, but other than that the rest of the noises where ok. Except for the magic, some of the noises definitely let you know something cool is going to happen. Other than that you just need to go buy the soundtrack it's worth it.

Graphics 9
Game play 10
Sound 10

Overall 10

This is a really great game and if you don't have it I highly suggest that you go out and buy it. It is released for the Playstation so it shouldn't be too hard to find. If you can go and buy the soundtrack along with the game. The game play is one of the key factors to this game and should keep you occupied for a while. So enjoy the game and I hope you enjoyed reading.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04