Final Fantasy: There's an App for That

RyanDJ

September 16, 2010

M

obile Gaming lets you live a classic tale at convenient times.

I was one of the Final Fantasy converts when 7 came out. I began diligently following the series at that time. Friends offered earlier games in the series, and I wholeheartedly accepted them. I have struggled with Final Fantasy 1, though.

final (4K) It's not like I haven't tried. Final Fantasy is probably my most re-bought game of all time. A friend lent me a copy of it for the original NES in 2001. I got tired of dragging out my old Nintendo and convincing the cartridge to work, when there were a ton of PS2 games I was pounding through at the time. I then started picking up the retro collections of Final Fantasy released on PS1. This is when I got to play through 6 and Chrono Trigger (which was in the collection). Still I ignored number 1. One day I dusted off that collection and tried again. The loading times for an old 8-bit game were atrocious! A game that could very well be put in its entirety on the memory of a modern system had to load over and over at each random battle. Again, I failed. I got through the first dungeon, but other games slowly caught my eye.

I felt as if when it came out on Wii's Virtual Console, it would finally be my time to wage a war against the darkness with the Four Warriors of Light, but the "Toy Box" failed me. I remember Nintendo's leaders saying that they wanted the Wii to be like a box you could reach into and pick whatever you wanted to play (the channels). And just like a kid who ignored He-Man because he loved his Real Ghostbusters toys, I'd quickly go to my other games. I think I've played it once on Wii.

Recently I picked up a PSP. Thought: "Hey, there's a copy of FF1 on this system!" What have I done since then? Let's see...picked up Crisis Core, Tactics, and a myriad of other non-FF titles. I've downloaded MGS1, and have played that rigorously. It's amazing how pick-up-and-play a game can be when you can slide the machine into sleep mode! Unfortunately, I still had yet to get the PSP edition.

My big beefs with the game come from being spoiled in modern gaming. I loathe graphics for graphics sake, but I still appreciate a clean graphics setup. The load times on CD based versions were terrible for such a simple game. Also, the lack of save points and ruthlessness of item conservation (especially at the beginning) always turned me off.

Now, until recently, I've been living in the Dark Ages of Cellular Phones. I've had a RAZR V3M since they were released up until a few weeks ago. We got new plans, new phones, and I'm browsing along on what I can do (oooOOOOooo...Internet on PHONE...) and I see Games...Final Fantasy?!?!?!?!??? I succumb to the urge to buy Final Fantasy 1 for my 6th attempt.

How pleased I am! Touchscreen controls offer all you need: up, down, left, right, interact, menu, map. Another issue I have had is resolved: Saving. There's an option to have it autosave after every scene. It appears to be one of the more modern translations, perhaps off of the PS1 iteration of the game with cleaner, easy to see graphics. The battles load fast, the music is HIGHLY reminiscent of the previous attempts I've made, and overall it is a well put-together port.

I think this is exactly what I needed. No matter what you have to say about the series, this game was the launchpad for a major gaming revolution, one that I am proud to be a part of. My phone is always on me, unlike other portable gaming systems. I can just pop it open while waiting for my wife to try on clothes at the store and get in a few random battles without worrying about the next save point. I can use the touchscreen controls or flip my phone open and use the keypad.

phone (4K) My only problems with this game are very small. First, I cannot understand why they don't allow you to use your keypad to input names, but I guess that you only do that at the very first. You have to use up, down, left, and right to enter the names of your party members. Also, there's the option of "Music, SFX, or None" for audio. Why not "Music AND SFX"? These two small problems are more than overshadowed by the mere existence of this game.

So for a seasoned FF player who's never played #1, who should I start my first party with? It's time for me to finally take down Garland and the forces of Chaos. Drop recommendations in the comments, and I'll take the most popular vote. Just let me answer this call first...