I don’t think it’s radical or crazy to think that older games are by default not as fun or “good” as more modern ones. The limitations were far greater, and I’d even argue that developers weren’t forced to “stand out” and be creative as they are nowadays. For me, playing older games has more to do with exploring the history and culture surrounding those massive names. Doom, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, etc.
And this is why I played Final Fantasy 1.
From a historic perspective it’s an interesting game, and it’s cool to see where it all started, but I’d lie if I say that my dopamine addicted Instagram brain didn’t want to jump out the window.
It’s extremely simplistic in almost all aspects aside from the music (which Final Fantasy always nails!). But then again, since I wasn’t born in the 80’s or 90’s it’s difficult for me to really value the impact the game might have had during its release, and how different it was for its time. I’ve seen and played so many top down, pixel graphics, fantasy RPG’s that it’s become difficult to truly appreciate the context of the older “forefathers” in the genre. This is not the fault of the game, and it’s not really my fault either, but it’s something that genuinely saddens me. A bit at least.
The game has you and three party members battle against the iconic Final Fantasy monsters in a turn based combat system. Your objective is to find Chaos and kill him, which only the mythical “Warriors of Light” can achieve. That’s you. The graphics are charming – which pixels usually are – and you’re free to “explore” an open world. I put explore in quotation marks because there’s not actually much exploring to do. Again, the game was released in the late 80’s and expecting content akin to anything we have today would be fucking stupid. So I didn’t. But it doesn’t really change the fact that there’s a handful of sidequests and most of the things you find are pretty underwhelming.
I think my conclusion is this; if you really love Final Fantasy as a franchise, I recommend playing the first games purely out of a historical and cultural perspective. It’s not like they’re boring either, just not that interesting through a gameplay lens. But if you’re looking for a unique and interesting JRPG experience I don’t think you’ll find it here. It’s an old game, made for an older generation.
I appreciate it, but I didn’t really have that much fun… 5/10.