Back to the Basics: Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster

If the only other turn-based role-playing game you’ve tried is Pokemon, and you are looking to diversify, check out this game
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Updated on
3 min read

A couple of years ago, I picked up Final Fantasy VII (remake) with a very limited understanding of what the series was all about. At the time, I thought that it was a very pretty-looking RPG with excellent graphical rendering of the hairstyles of all playable characters. So I am quite grateful that the Pixel Remaster of the original (rather primitive) games are finally out on Apple Arcade and mobile in general. It gives me the opportunity to observe a little more than just its good looks. I’ve come round to the idea that the best RPGs are played on handheld devices. And because of this, and so many other reasons, I think I finally get the hype around this Japanese RPG title. Let me tell you all about it.

All games in the Final Fantasy series have had several remakes, remasters, and updated editions of them over the years. It’s all too confusing. To be perfectly clear, I played a slightly nicer version of the pixelated, first ever FF game that was released way back in the 1980s.

It’s a tale as old as civilisation has existed. Four wandering adventurers with a specific set of skills find themselves commissioned on various quests. A wizard has lost his magic eye. A princess has gone missing. A prince is cursed to sleep forever. And they are all desperate for the assistance of the four adventurers. The game is set in a world with elves, goblins, undead, and every other fantasy character that you can list out from the Dungeons and Dragons players handbook. So, you can imagine the combat possibilities and the trials that await you.

At the beginning of the game, you get to choose your combination of these four characters. As it tends to be with role-playing games, choose them wisely, because you are pretty much stuck with them for the rest of the game. I am quite grateful for having picked the black mage — who’s great at inflicting damage on large groups of enemies. It’s almost impossible to get past the first few battles without a fighter — a reliable swords person with a large tank of health. And of course, you’d need the white mage as well — every good team needs a healer.

It goes without saying, but it is incredibly easy to pick up fundamental videogame concepts and strategies when it is based on a game from the 80s. There’s not many user interface elements that confuse me. There’s just enough on the screen as to not get overwhelmed. And despite all this “simplicity”, it scales very well in terms of difficulty. I was always on my toes. For a game that is over 40 years old, I was also pleasantly impressed with the port to the phone. Combat can be (moderately) hastened, traversal is not too cumbersome, and the music is super crisp.

However, you will have to reckon with some antiquated videogame weirdness — like battles that are still slow to skip. I might be in the minority with this opinion — but I do far prefer the pixel art style to the sensory overload of the more recent 3D “remakes” in the series.

If the only other turn-based role-playing game you’ve tried is Pokemon, and you are looking to diversify — I recommend you start with this one. It’s available across almost all consoles, and recently released for the iOS and Android.

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