Final Fantasy (I & II) GBA
This is my new daytime game. The reason I’m making a distinction between daytime and nighttime games is because the other title I’m playing is Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow on the DS and I only get access to the DS when I can prise it from Debbie’s clutching grip of doom. At least until she’s over her Meteos addiction.
Anyway, I’m currently playing Final Fantasy I on the GBA during the day. I never actually meant to, it’s just that I stuck the cart in and switched on, just to see how it looked, and that arpeggio started. So I can’t be blamed, really.
Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were originally released on the NES and then remade a few years ago for the WonderSwan. This cart is a port of the WonderSwan remakes, so the games have an almost SNESish look to them. I’ve only played for an hour or so so far, but initial impressions are that this is going to be a life destroyer.
Ok, so the sweeping storylines and pre-rendered cutscenes are missing, but the games have obviously been tweaked to make them more accessible to the generation that discovered Final Fantasy via X and X-2.
The interface itself is very close to FFVII, with a few notable differences. For starters, there are a couple of features that every other Final Fantasy game has just got wrong, while the humble handheld versions has spot on. When you’re in a shop, if you position the cursor over an item of armour, clothing, weaponry or magic, a symbol will appear next to any characters who can use the item to indicate whether it’s an upgrade, downgrade, or no change. Similarly, when working in the inventory, you can see the stat effects the item will have before equipping it. This sounds pretty obvious, but having it all there on the one interface makes things so much easier.
So – initial impressions – its Final Fantasy! But with pokemon graphics! In yer hands!
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