Final Playtime: 16.3 Hours

⚠️ Spoilers Ahead! (for a nearly 4 decade old game) This is a full review, so I'll be talking about the story, major twists, and the ending. If you're planning on playing Final Fantasy I for the first time, consider this your heads-up!

Overall Experience

Going into Final Fantasy I, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I'd never played the original before, and while I knew it was the game that started one of the most influential RPG franchises, I wasn't sure how well something from 1987 would hold up today.

To my surprise, I ended up having a really good time with it.

The gameplay is incredibly easy to pick up, and within an hour or two I felt like I had a solid grasp on the battle system and progression. Even though I played the Pixel Remaster, it still feels unmistakably like a late-'80s RPG—and I actually mean that as a compliment. There's a certain charm to seeing the foundation before later games added layers of complexity.

One thing that definitely caught me off guard was how death works. Staying at an inn doesn't revive fallen party members, so I had to make trips to the church and spend Gil to bring people back. Modern RPGs have spoiled me a bit, so that felt really strange at first, but it was also a cool reminder of how different game design used to be.

It was also fun finally meeting Bahamut in the game where he first appeared. Having only known him from Final Fantasy VII and seeing him pop up throughout gaming over the years, it was neat experiencing his original role.

Overall, I had a lot more fun than I expected. Yes, parts of the game absolutely show their age, but I was always curious to see what was around the next corner. As the beginning of one of gaming's most iconic franchises, it still holds up surprisingly well.

Story & World

The story was both simpler and weirder than I expected.

It starts off feeling like a straightforward fantasy adventure: rescue the princess, defeat the bad guy, restore the crystals... pretty standard stuff.

Then out of nowhere the game starts talking about time travel, prophecies, and a giant time loop, and I genuinely had one of those "Wait... what?" moments.

Looking back, I really appreciate how ambitious it was. The idea that Garland creates a time loop where he eventually becomes Chaos is honestly a really cool concept, especially for a game that originally released in 1987. It's easy to forget how groundbreaking that could have felt at the time.

That said, the storytelling itself is definitely a product of its era. Most plot points happen pretty quickly, characters aren't given much development, and the game rarely slows down to let story moments breathe. But I don't think that's really a flaw so much as a reflection of what RPGs were trying to do back then.

Characters

One of my favorite parts of the game was getting to build my own party.

Since I almost always gravitate toward magic users in RPGs, I ended up going with:

1. Black Mage
2. Red Mage
3. Thief
4. Warrior

Around the halfway point, though, I started regretting not bringing a White Mage. The Red Mage is versatile, but there's no replacing a dedicated healer. Some boss fights ended up being tougher simply because I didn't have consistent healing available.

Even so, I don't regret the choice. It forced me to think a little more about resource management and showed me pretty quickly why party composition matters so much in these games.

It's also one of the biggest reasons I think the game does have replay value. I'd be interested to see how differently things play with a White Mage or even a Monk-focused party.

Exploration & Progression

It took me about 16 hours over four days to finish, and honestly, I think that's the perfect length for this game. It never really overstayed its welcome.

By today's standards it's pretty linear, but there's still enough freedom to make exploration worthwhile. I liked stumbling across places I couldn't fully explore yet, knowing I'd eventually come back with a new item or ability.

The Waterfall Cavern is probably the best example. You eventually need the Warp Cube from there to finish the Mirage Tower, but unless you're paying attention to NPC dialogue in Onrac, it's easy to miss why that location matters.

Thankfully, I almost never felt lost. I went into the game expecting NPC dialogue to be important, so I made a point of talking to everyone. Most of the time someone would point me in the right direction or at least hint at where to go next.

The only part that initially felt a little too obscure was getting the Airship. At first, I didn't think finding the Levistone was very intuitive, but looking back, that was more on me than the game. A dwarf tells you about the Levistone, and an elf mentions an Airship buried in the desert. The clues are there—I just either overlooked them or forgot about them by the time they became relevant.

So it isn't really a complaint. If anything, it feels like one of those classic NES RPG moments where paying attention to NPC dialogue really mattered. If you missed something or couldn't remember what someone told you an hour or two earlier, that was probably the point where you'd pull out your Nintendo Power strategy guide.

Difficulty

For the most part, I didn't find the game particularly difficult.

About halfway through my playthrough, I turned on a couple of the Pixel Remaster boost options, mainly to cut down on the grinding rather than make the game easier. Even with those enabled, I never felt like they completely removed the challenge. Most bosses were capable of taking down one or two party members, but I was usually able to recover and finish the fight without too much trouble.

Then I met Chaos.

Chaos was easily the biggest difficulty spike in the game and the only boss that completely wiped my party. After cruising through most of the adventure, it was actually nice to hit a fight that forced me to stop, rethink my strategy, and prepare a little better. It made finally defeating him feel that much more satisfying.

The "Final Fantasy" DNA

This was probably my favorite part of playing the game.

It was really cool seeing the series figure out what Final Fantasy would eventually become. You can tell Square didn't have decades of history to build on yet, but so many of the franchise's defining ideas are already here.

The Crystals, The Warriors of Light, Bahamut, Gil, The Four Fiends Class promotions, and Airships. Even little things like spell names and enemy designs all have their roots in this first game.

Some of these ideas are still a little rough around the edges, but that's part of what made the experience so enjoyable for me. Playing the original gave me a much greater appreciation for just how much of the series' identity was established from the very beginning. It almost feels like looking at the blueprint for one of gaming's most iconic RPG franchises.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack honestly surprised me.

Even after almost 40 years, these songs are still incredibly memorable. The Pixel Remaster arrangements do a fantastic job of modernizing the music while still preserving the charm of the original compositions. There were several tracks that stuck with me long after I finished the areas they played in.

My favorite tracks were:

1. The Airship
2. Sunken Shrine
3. Chaos Shrine
4. Flying Fortress
5. Menu Theme

There were quite a few moments where I found myself just standing still for a minute to let the music play before moving on. I think that's one of the biggest compliments I can give a game's soundtrack.

Even while writing this review, I had the soundtrack playing in the background. It's become one of those OSTs that's great to throw on while writing, reading, or just relaxing, and I can definitely see myself coming back to it long after finishing the game.

Replayability

Personally, I don't see myself replaying Final Fantasy I anytime soon.

That said, I definitely understand why people do. Building a completely different party would change the experience quite a bit, and I'd especially be interested in trying a White Mage or Monk next time around.

It's not a game I'd revisit often, but I could absolutely see myself coming back years down the road.

Final Thoughts

I came away enjoying Final Fantasy I far more than I expected.

Sure, parts of it feel dated, and some mechanics can be a little cryptic by modern standards. But underneath all of that is a genuinely fun RPG that's easy to appreciate, especially when you remember this was the game that started everything.

Watching the story evolve from a simple "save the princess" adventure into a tale involving elemental fiends, time travel, and Chaos was a lot of fun, even if the storytelling itself is fairly basic.

More than anything, this game made me excited to continue through the series. It's one thing to know how influential Final Fantasy became, but it's another thing entirely to experience where it all started. Now I'm really looking forward to seeing how each game builds on the ideas introduced here.

Rating: 7.5/10

A simple but genuinely enjoyable RPG that still holds up thanks to its charm, memorable music, and the fascinating glimpse it gives into the origins of one of gaming's greatest RPG franchises.

Next Up: Final Fantasy II (Pixel Remaster)

I've heard Final Fantasy II is one of the more divisive games in the series, mainly because of its unique progression system where your stats improve based on how you play instead of traditional leveling. I've seen people either love it or hate it, so I'm really interested to see where I land.

I'm going into it with an open mind and trying to experience each game for what it is rather than comparing it to the modern entries. It'll be interesting to see how Square built on the foundation laid by the first game and how the series started evolving from here.

I'll be back with another review once the credits roll.

Image Credit: Promotional artwork © Square Enix. Image used for discussion/review purposes. All rights belong to Square Enix.

Final Fantasy II (Pixel Remaster) - Review

Final Playtime: 14 Hours

⚠️ Spoilers Ahead! This is a full review, so I’ll be talking about the story, gameplay, and the ending. If you’re planning on playing Final Fantasy II for the first time, consider this your heads-up!

Overall Experience

After finishing Final Fantasy I, I was really curious to see how much the series would evolve after just one sequel, and Final Fantasy II honestly surprised me more than I expected.

Instead of building directly on FF1, Square completely reworked how progression works. Stats, weapon proficiency, and magic all improve based on usage rather than levels, which was a bold experiment for the time. You can already see how much they were willing to shake things up this early in the series.

I definitely respect the ambition here. Not everything lands, and there are moments where the design can be frustrating, but I appreciate that they didn’t just play it safe. Even when the execution is messy, you can see ideas that would later evolve into core Final Fantasy systems.

That said, I never disliked my time with it, but there were enough friction points that I don’t think I’ll be revisiting it anytime soon (if ever). Still, I’m glad I played it just as a snapshot of how quickly the series was willing to experiment.

First Impressions

Right from the start, I liked how the game immediately leans into tutorials through NPCs explaining mechanics. Since FF2 completely changes progression, that helped ease me in a lot more than I expected.

The opening also doesn’t waste time. You’re quickly thrown into the conflict with the Empire, and the story has a much clearer direction compared to FF1 almost immediately.

Scott’s death… I get what it was going for, but it happens so suddenly that I actually laughed out loud. It completely caught me off guard.

I also didn’t expect Minwu to join right away, and getting the canoe so early made the world feel like it opened up way faster than I was expecting.

Story & Characters

Compared to FF1, this is a massive step up in almost every way.

Instead of a blank slate party, you follow Firion, Maria, and Guy throughout the entire journey, with rotating guest members who tie into different parts of the story. That alone makes everything feel more grounded and personal.

The narrative focuses on an ongoing war against the Palamecian Empire, and it actually feels like the world is changing as you progress. Towns fall, kingdoms get conquered, and the conflict escalates in a way that gives real weight to what you’re doing.

Maria’s connection to Leon gives the story its emotional backbone, even if I figured out pretty early that he was the Dark Knight. The reveal didn’t hit me, but I still liked how his arc played out and how it tied into the larger conflict.

The supporting cast also helps a lot. Characters like Hilda, Minwu, Josef, Gordon, Leila, Ricard, and Cid make the world feel way more alive than FF1 ever did. Even if some of them don’t stick around long, they add personality and context to each part of the journey.

Ricard, especially, ended up being my favorite. As the last Dragoon, he has one of the coolest moments in the game, and I really wish he had more time to shine.

The game also isn’t afraid to kill off important characters, which fits the tone of the war, but most of those moments didn’t land emotionally for me because the characters aren’t around long enough to build real attachment. They matter to the story more than they matter to the player experience.

Leon joining permanently at the very end also felt a bit too late. By that point, I didn’t really feel like leveling him up, so he mostly just sat on the sidelines during the finale.

Even so, the story itself kept me engaged the whole way through, especially the ending. The Emperor coming back after the final battle and the descent into Pandaemonium was way more over-the-top than I expected, but it worked. It turned the finale into something a little more memorable than FF1’s ending.

Overall, this is a huge improvement narratively. The world feels more active, the characters give the story weight, and the war-driven structure keeps things moving in a way FF1 never really attempted.

Gameplay & Progression

This is easily the most experimental part of FF2.

Instead of traditional leveling, everything improves through use—weapon skills, magic levels, and even stats depending on what happens in battle.

Conceptually, it’s really interesting, but the execution is uneven. Once you understand how it works, it’s easy to accidentally over-level certain things or break the difficulty curve. On the other hand, spell leveling especially becomes repetitive, and I often found myself using abilities just to “grind progress” rather than because I actually needed them.

There’s also a sense that the system rewards grinding in a way that feels a bit unintuitive compared to standard RPG progression. I respect what it’s trying to do, but it never fully clicked for me.

That said, I did like the keyword system (Ask / Learn / Key Items). Learning keywords from NPCs and reusing them in conversations was a clever way to make dialogue more interactive. It made NPCs feel more important instead of just one-and-done interactions.

The downside is that it made me constantly second-guess whether I had missed something, so I’d often double back through towns just to be safe. Still, I like the idea behind it, even if I wouldn’t want it in every Final Fantasy game.

Exploration & Dungeon Design

Exploration feels pretty similar to FF1.

The world feels larger, and unlocking new travel methods like the canoe, ships, and airship gives a steady sense of progression. Each one meaningfully expands how you move through the world, which I really liked once again.

Unfortunately, the dungeon design drags that momentum down.

There are a lot of empty rooms and dead ends that exist purely to waste time. Early on it’s manageable, but later it starts to seriously hurt pacing. By the end, I wasn’t excited to explore dungeons anymore—I was just bracing for filler paths before getting to anything important.

That ended up being one of my biggest frustrations with the entire game.

Music

The soundtrack is solid overall, but only a few tracks really stood out to me.

The dungeon theme was easily the highlight—really atmospheric and memorable, and it stuck with me long after playing.

The Chocobo Forest theme was another great moment. Seeing that series staple appear here for the first time in my Pixel Remaster run was genuinely cool.

I was a bit surprised there wasn’t unique music for the airship or boat, though. Those felt like missed opportunities for more memorable travel themes.

Bosses & Difficulty

Most early bosses weren’t too tough, but Hill Gigas was the first real wake-up call that forced me to actually slow down and think instead of brute forcing everything.

Seeing Behemoth for the first time in the Coliseum was also a great moment—especially since my first exposure to it was Monster Hunter: World, so it was cool finally seeing its origins.

The Emperor ended up being a really satisfying final boss. I wiped a couple times before adjusting my strategy, and it felt good to finally win through preparation instead of just raw damage.

…Then I learned about the Blood Sword afterward.

Even so, I still think it was one of the stronger final fights so far in the series. It actually felt like a proper climax.

Difficulty overall sits slightly above FF1, but mostly because of systems and dungeon structure rather than raw enemy strength. Once things click, the game becomes pretty manageable.

The “Final Fantasy” DNA

One of my favorite parts of these early games is seeing where so many series staples come from.

FF2 introduces things like Chocobos, Cid (which seems to be an ongoing joke as we'll see later on), Dragoons, and Behemoths—ideas that would go on to define the franchise later on.

Even when the gameplay experiments don’t fully land, moments like this are what make the Pixel Remaster journey so interesting. You really get to see the foundation of what Final Fantasy becomes.

Replayability

I don’t really see myself replaying FF2.

I respect what it’s doing, but the progression system and dungeon design make it harder to return to than FF1. It’s more of a “glad I experienced it once” kind of game for me.

Final Thoughts

Final Fantasy II deserves a lot of credit for taking risks.

Instead of iterating safely on FF1, Square experimented with almost everything—progression, storytelling, structure, and party design. Some of those experiments clearly shaped the direction of the series going forward.

Not all of them worked for me. The progression system never fully clicked, spell leveling got tedious, and dungeon design was easily the weakest part of the experience.

But I still respect it a lot for what it tried to do. It feels like an important stepping stone in the series’ identity, even if it’s a messy one.

Overall Rating: 6.4/10

I respect Final Fantasy II more than I would say I enjoyed it.

I’m glad I played it, even if I don’t see myself returning. It’s an important chapter in the series’ evolution, and it’s fascinating seeing how quickly Final Fantasy started experimenting right after the first game.

Next Up: Final Fantasy III (Pixel Remaster)

With the first two games done, it’s time for FF3.

From what I’ve heard, this is where the job system really starts to take shape, and I’m excited to see how that changes things. One of the best parts of this journey so far has been watching each game try something new, even when it doesn’t fully land.

Hopefully FF3 keeps that momentum going.

I'll be back with another review once the credits roll.

Image Credit: Promotional artwork © Square Enix. Image used for discussion/review purposes. All rights belong to Square Enix.