And In the Beginning, There Was Light: Final Fantasy I
The logo that started it all...
The Final Fantasy series have always been defined by the gripping storyline and the many characters residing within the different worlds. The first one did a fine job of establishing such a trait by casting players into a situation that was deeper than the usual “slay the monsters and save the princess” scenario that Dragon Quest offered. In those days, such a style was unheard of and even considered foolhardy to try. Sakaguchi did just that, and the gamers loved it.
The Story
The search for heroes always begins with the need for them; the world is dying and only the arrival of 4 heroes possessing a magical orb each will save the world. According to the prophecy, the Light Warriors start out by awakening the Elf King and purging the land of evil. After which, things start to get interesting when players realise that their entire quest thus far was only a prelude of graver times to come.
The arch nemeses of the heroes, the Four Fiends, are responsible for the dire situation of the world, and controlling them is Chaos – an age-old evil bent on twisting time to achieve dominance. An incarnation of the 4 elements, the Four Fiends send Garland, the evil knight, 2,000 years into the past to recover their strength; there, Garland will merge with the Four Fiends to become Chaos and then send them into the present.
The Light Warriors travelled into the past and managed to defeat Chaos before any of that happens. Time however, remains warped and what happens next is perhaps one of videogames' greatest twists: because of their victory, the Light Warriors effectively erased any records of their journey and players only realise at this point that they have been reliving a legend, and not the present.
Back then, this was cutting-edge technology.
The Heroes Final Fantasy I is the only game in the series that has zero character development. Players do not experience the game through the eyes of a particular character, but rather, take on one of the many roles available. From the basic fighter classes to the wizards, Final Fantasy I also offers other unique roles that soon became synonymous with the series, such as the Red Mage and the Thief.
Since 1 role excels only in a particular field, players need to form a balanced party of 4 characters (read: the 4 heroes) to complement the strengths and weaknesses of one another. Another original mechanic was the concept of class change, otherwise known as “levelling up” in common RPG terms. In this instance, fighters would evolve to knights, mages to wizards and so on, while taking on new skills and abilities.
Series Traditions
What is Final Fantasy without all the traditions? Though each new game brings forth a whole slew of new characters and game play, the series faithfully keeps the traditions that gamers have all come to love…
The Music
Almost all the Final Fantasy titles begin with same piece of music. Called “The Prelude”, the piece is soothing as compared to the short but robust fanfare after every battle. Likewise, the victory song is also found in most titles.
The Logo
The Final Fantasy games all carry a similar trademark logo, albeit the slight difference from title to title. The logo often consists of the text “Final Fantasy”, followed by a roman numeral on a white background. The difference however, is the motif behind the text; from the meteor in VII to the crystal in IX.
The Character Classes
Since Final Fantasy I , every following game brings back the many character classes, or jobs. Be it the chivalrous “knight” or the somewhat dubious “thief”, these classes are clearly here to stay.
The Villains
In true Final Fantasy tradition, the villains often have as much, if not more, character depth than some protagonists. Although Final Fantasy I does not feature much of a personality, the artist does a commendable job of creating characters that look their roles: in this case, the Four Fiends.
Lich, the Fiend of Earth is a zombie skeleton who attacks using earth elemental spells; Fiend of Fire Kary, is a demon clothed in flames while damaging the other party with fire spells; Kraken, very obviously is the Fiend of Water who lashes at the heroes with its many arms; and lastly, Tiamat, the Fiend of Air is a mighty dragon capable of pulverising the warriors with brutal strikes.
Final Fantasy still raises a few brows
System Mechanics
Where mechanics are concerned, Final Fantasy is to RPGs what Mario is to platform games. The “turn-based” battles, where each character takes a turn to execute an action, have become a standard battle system adopted by all later RPGs. The idea of limited magic use – restricted at 1 to 8 casts per battle – to prevent players from abusing its damaging potential was also first introduced in Final Fantasy I.
Release Notes
Due to translation and localisation efforts, Final Fantasy I only reached the American shores when Japan released the third instalment of the series. Despite of being slightly outdated, the sales in the American market and the huge fan database that followed actually exceeded those in Japan, making it a true monument in RPG history.
