RETROSPECTIVE: FINAL FANTASY Originally Released: December 18 1987 Available On: NES, MSX, WonderSwan Color, PS1, GBA, Mobile (iOS, Windows, Android), PSP, PSN (PS3, Vita), Wii
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verything the Final Fantasy series has achieved can be put into perspective with the statement of one simple fact: the first title in the series was developed by a team of just seven people. Much of the creation of the original FF has already been covered in the opening pages of this magazine. It’s unlikely that the tiny crew slaving away on the title had any idea of what they were creating, even with the group listening to the rallying cry of FF’s ambitious father Hironobu Sakaguchi. Gameplay systems from the brilliant minds of Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawauzu and Koichi Ishii backed up Sakaguchi’s vision with quality game design to match. The delicate balance between story and gameplay would later be said to define FF. Limited system memory meant limited space for the story, created by Sakaguchi and written by freelance anime writer Keiji Terada. The game instead goes bare -bones, telling a surprisingly compelling story through optional c o nve r s a t i o n s i n t h e game’s towns and through a few very specific major mandatory story beats. Those mandatory beats are special; to this day there’s still something incredibly memorable about the moment you raise your airship for the first time, the atmosphere before facing down each of the four fiends of the elements or the moment that Bahamut, King of Dragons, promotes the classes of your characters. Moments like this define the game and set the tone for the series; they’re the 1987 equivalent of the spectacle-driven CG sequences that the series would later become known for. These punch-the-air moments put wind in your sails and give you the desire to slog through another set of battles to get to the next awesome moment.
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Key Staff: Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshitaka Amano, Nasir Gebelli, Nobuo Uematsu, Kenji Terada, Hiromichi Tanaka Article by: Alex Donaldson
That previously mentioned visit to Bahamut is also a nod to greater gameplay. Here it gives the relatively sim p le c lasses a boost, opening up new equipment and offering new levels of depth in their customization for the final stretch of the game.
“It’s probably fair to say that Final Fantasy is timeless.” It’s a minor thing by modern standards, but it speaks volumes of the ambition the team had towards implementing the more intricate system design that Final Fantasy would later have from the very beginning. It’s also a rare moment that an RPG this young ties character abilities to a major story event. It’s true that large parts of FF’s DNA was ripped from its inspiration, Dragon Quest, but turn-based random battle encounters are only the tip of the iceberg of this incredible game. As it turns 25 it still finds itself being consistently upgraded and rereleased, most recently for iOS and Windows Phone devices. Each time it sells to both old fans and new audiences enthralled by its brilliant simplicity alike. Time can be a cruel master - but FF’s maiden voyage fares better than most. Based on that - and the legacy left in its wake - it’s probably fair to say that Final Fantasy is timeless. Alex Donaldson [@APZonerunner] is the Co-owner of RPGSite.net & UFFSite.net.