Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
Score: 94% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Square Enix Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: RPG
Graphics & Sound: While not quite on par with some of the more graphically intense games on the GBA, Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls nonetheless looks aesthetically pleasing. The style is completely revised from the NES version, and if you have played the recent Final Fantasy Origins for the PlayStation, then you know what type of graphics to expect as this version is almost identical. However, as this game must fit onto a cartridge, the video cut-scenes from the PlayStation conversion have been “cut,” in favor of traditional 2D-style cut-scenes. Despite this, the 2D-style graphics look cleaner on the Game Boy Advance’s screen than on most TVs, so it makes for a much better fit. The effects for most spells are pretty standard looking -- nothing that will really blow you away. However, this game wasn’t exactly created with extraordinary graphics in mind (I mean hey, it’s a portable after all). The animations have all been upgraded from the NES version as well, and battles now have a look of depth to them, instead of the old look where the characters very well could have been standing on one another’s heads. Overall, I would say that the graphics style is very typical of the more modern 2D RPGs. Perhaps some might call it bland, but I call it tried and true. As far as sound goes, the game music in Dawn of Souls is exemplary. Every track from both original games have been remixed, and the result is a beautiful sound coming from the tiny GBA speaker. If you have headphones (or even a Nintendo DS), I would recommend using that, as the music is even better in stereo, with a better speaker. In-game sound effects have also been improved, adding a bit more to this re-mastery of the two first Final Fantasy games.
Gameplay: The stories in both games included in Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls are complete and engaging. Final Fantasy I in particular has been filled out a bit. The character dialog and story from the NES version was choppy and sparse, but the translation has been treated much better for this conversion (again, if you have the PlayStation Final Fantasy Origins, you have seen this already). As Final Fantasy II has only made an appearance once before in the oft mentioned Origins, that is the only game to compare it to, and again, they are pretty much identical dialogue wise. Dawn of Souls also comes with a bestiary, or a catalog of all the creatures you encounter throughout your journey. This bestiary is quite useful to both the curious, and those who wish to search for enemies that have the best benefits when beaten. Every stat for creatures you have defeated is displayed, along with their strengths and weaknesses. The bestiary also keeps a running total of how many of each creature you have beaten. New to even Final Fantasy Origins are the added dungeons in Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls. I won’t talk about them to spoil it, but suffice to say, both games have been appreciably extended. These extensions aren’t exactly mandatory, but they do allow you to actually adventure and explore if you are a veteran of these two games. With the added dungeons on two games packed into Dawn of Souls, you will be enthralled for many, many hours. One thing that was added that really helps out is a function that shows you if a weapon you wish to buy will improve your character stats. The original Final Fantasy made you sort of hazard a guess as to whether or not you thought a weapon or armor at a store would be more effective, and the only way to be sure was to equip it. Thankfully, those days are gone now.
Difficulty: Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is pretty simple... if you don’t just go rushing into things. With the modernized magic system and new save system, a lot of the challenge of Final Fantasy I & II has been removed, although some of this “challenge” could have been associated with the limitation of the NES cartridges at the time. However, as most modern portable RPGs allow you to save anywhere, anytime, this is quite acceptable. The last thing that’s needed is not being able to save when the battery is running low or when you have to put the game down to focus attention elsewhere (you mean we have to do something besides play games?). I also found the leveling-up to go much quicker, which led to an easier game. In Final Fantasy I for the NES, you were limited to 50 levels, and characters were limited to 999 hit points. At about level 30, some of my characters were already in the 600 hit point range, and I was allowed to move past level 50. The extended levels are welcome, though, because it is one more restraint of the original that is lifted.
Game Mechanics: As mentioned a few times above, Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is heavily modified from its NES counterpart. The spell system was the first thing that caught my eye. Old Final Fantasy used the Dungeons and Dragons-style spell system, where each spell was of a certain level, and you were only allowed to cast a certain number of each level spell per day. The revamped system works exactly like a modern RPG, where you have a pool of “magic points,” and each spell costs a certain amount of those points. This is a much more flexible magic system overall, and a good addition to Dawn of Souls. Menu wise, the NES Final Fantasy games were very simple, which is also true for Dawn of Souls. In some ways, the menu has been streamlined as well, allowing for a much faster adventure through the system. One complaint I have is that these games lack a sleep mode function, which a good many other games have made use of for the GBA. Granted, you are able to save anywhere on the map, but having to boot the system back up and load your game each time you put it down can be a hassle to some people who are frequently on the move. If you have never played Final Fantasy or Final Fantasy II, then go out and get this game today -- I promise you won’t regret buying it. For those people who have played both games before, the prospect of having a portable version of two of the greatest games in history on the same cartridge, all redone with added content, should sound very interesting indeed.
-Z64freak, GameVortex Communications AKA Bret Hall
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