Pros: Playing Final Fantasy again like it's 1987!
Cons: Outdated stuff might turn some people off.
The bottom line: One Fantasy you know -- the other you don't. Try them both on for size a second time, and get your old school blood boiling again!
You thought the Nintendo Entertainment System was dead and buried with all of its classic line of games, didn't you! You're probably sitting there, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for the next brand spanking new top of the line Halo release to come along and whet your whistle, aren't you! Well, I've got news for you Mr. or Ms. "I think I'm so cool because I'm experiencing games now that look, play, and sound a million times better than how they used to back in their earlier years"...you're right! To an extent anyway...

While it has been possible for years now to relive the magic of old killer titles like The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, Super Mario Bros., or even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles through the process of PC emulation evolution, Squaresoft's been doing the same exact thing...only with a safer and better (sometimes even easier) method. By upgrading and porting their old Super Nintendo Entertainment System Final Fantasy titles (those you might know packaged together as Final Fantasy V and VI in Final Fantasy Anthology, and Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger in Final Fantasy Chronicles) onto the PlayStation hardware, Squaresoft's been able to share with fans their most popular game series yet again in an age where new gamers are leaking in by the droves day after day. It wasn't until recently though that Square wanted to dive even deeper into their history's roots -- the time where their fame commenced...with a series bearing a Final name for them: in the upgraded PlayStation port of Final Fantasy's true start up releases, dubbed Final Fantasy Origins.

Final Fantasy I

In a land where peace and harmony resonate throughout, darkness has crept into the cracks of this now dismal world. Legend has foretold that when evil stirs amongst the people, that a band of four warriors bearing the power of four mysterious crystals would appear as if from nowhere. And it just so happens that time has finally come to pass. Final Fantasy I is your story. You select your warrior classes and their names. Monk, Mage, Thief, or Fighter...your destiny awaits.

The first Final Fantasy game ever invented, as you may or may not know (but probably do know already) is (or was) originally an RPG released on the NES in 1987. Back then RPGs were much different. The battle systems were designed with the basics in mind: with Attack, Magic, Equip, Items, and Flee being the game's only battle system options. Final Fantasy I for the PlayStation is not so much apart from its first appearance over a decade ago, aside from the fact that it comes equipped with a few extras and game tweaks to optimize the PlayStation hardware in mind (even an option that lets you select an Easy or Normal mode of play). Like before in the NES classic, beginning a game is as easy as 1-2-3. Your options are to choose from a class of four different heroes -- or if you want, you can make them all similar. By picking from a Warrior -- masters weaponry tactics, but lacks magic ability; a Thief -- quick, able to handle weapons well, but also cannot chant wizardry; a Monk -- one of mind and body, can attack best without excessive weaponry attachments; a Red Mage -- the all around equal in skills, with the ability to cast white and black magic, as well as charge forth with weaponry tactics; a White Mage -- is limited to white magic, but the best choice when you want a healer type; and finally a Black Mage -- with the force of black magic capabilities, this wizard of sorts offers best offensive blows in the form of sorcery...there's plenty of party flavor to choose from when you can take with you all but two of any kind.

As before and as is now, the battle mechanics are nothing far beyond the limits with your four fighters. While in attack mode, the party each has almost the same method of dealing blows open to them, whether they're drawing out their sword or summoning different and deadly elements to foes. Obtaining magic though is no easy task. Unlike in recent RPGs of today, the magical attributes of the past have to be purchased from their respectful shops in town. With any item in this particular Final Fantasy world priced at impossibly high sums, one of the hardest parts in playing the game is having to level up and level up as often as you can...because without Gil (or money) to buy all of the expensive items (weapons, armors, magic, and even healing items for cases of death or status ailments...some of which amount up to 5,000 in Gil) you're as good as dead.

Finding monsters to obtain experience in the game won't be a problem though, because almost every few steps another random battle will occur. This being one of the biggest annoyances the game has in store. It's not that battling baddies isn't hard, because it isn't. Just select your option on the list, if it's to attack or to make use of a magic spell, and the computer makes all the decisions in whether or not you've landed a hit or a miss. The problem with killing so many enemies though is that it'll happen too much, too often. Luckily Squaresoft has added a run function, making it easier to speed up dungeon or town excavating. Unfortunately, the run feature doesn't appear on the world map, and tracking across it can lead to many repetitive brawls. And sure there's a Flee option listed on the battle screen, but choose it, and you'll have to let the computer wager if it wants to let you run away or not while at the same time the enemy can force itself upon your party from behind.

This is no super fancy schmancy game with hi-tech this and superior that. So, guessing that the controls are any different from its previous offering...you'd be off by at least some. Facing the fact that Final Fantasy I is no longer just an NES RPG anymore, the controls have changed to adapt to the style of how you might normally play the game if it were meant to be used with the PlayStation's controller in mind, even though the play mechanics are relatively unchanged from their first appearance over a decade ago. Through town, outside or dungeon exploring, the single bite sized character is easily enabled to move in only straight forward directions -- up, down, left, or right. Again, it's a shame to see that the player is limited to its running capabilities while marked inside towns or dungeons, where outside he or she is not. In battle sequences, controlling each character is even a breeze. Every action in the game is operated with the X button -- except for running, which comes with a press of the circle button, and opening the character menu screen with triangle. What it all boils down to is that you'll learn to adjust to the game quickly, however retrogressive the play pattern may be.

Fresh gamer minds of today are always looking forward to the new and improved in visual technology. Here, you get both. Having an upgraded makeover to give this classic a little more of a 16-bit edge to it, you'll be glad to know your eyes won't crumble in horror when you take a gander at the adventure now. Now the game looks somewhat more 16-bit rather than a lesser 8 (being a port of the Wonder Swan Color version and all), with its exterior refined for the better. Character sprites are reasonably sharper looking than in the NES first, owning a set of more definable pixels that allows you to interpret each subject more clearly. Looking down upon the world map and its traceable sectors though, it's almost as if nothing has changed. Within the boundaries of dungeons for example, a massive black surrounds what reachable rudimentary rocky looking areas you have. Towns are a little different, with primitively structured pine trees, or houses, or stone walkway to cover its demeanor. But, you can't expect a game this old to look its best in everything.

There was once a point in time when video game characters could only do so much with their body language. This game hails from that time. When your character strolls along inside towns or dungeon floors, the tiny limbs move back and forth expressing motions. Animations in battles are still pretty stiff, except for the fact that friendly or enemy arms can make chopping arm motions when they slice with a weapon while moving left and right to show their turn is up. The great thing about bouts now is that you'll no longer be staring into a pitch black screen with almost no decoration, as a bevy of background portraits like colorful forest or field scenery have been fitted to aid the pretty factor of the many fights you will encounter. Add to that a remix of magic spells (fire, ice, lightning, etc. -- the flashes of light and newly animated effects do good to be brought up to speed in a 16-bit fashion), and you've got yourself one presentation that may not be too pleasing on the eyes, but is sufficient enough to compete with its peers.

Who would have thought that one day Nobuo Uematsu would hail as a legendary composer from his collection of songs that all began in Squaresoft's Final Fantasy template? Initially recognizable from the very start, Final Fantasy veterans will be happy to learn that Final Fantasy Origins includes each of the tracks found in the original Fantasy that gave Nobuo his name into fame. While there aren't actually that many different songs in the game, the ones that are there are still pleasing on the ears from the harmonious town themes, to the up tempo battle music, even to the classic and unforgettable melody that's the icing on the cake injected into the game's loading screen. There aren't really a whole lot of noises to hear either, as the game is quite ancient. The only time you'll ever get to actually listen to anything besides the music is within battles, where there's a whole lot of slashes for sword swings, pounds for mallet hits, or variable effects for the diverse supply of magical arts. What's there is there, not being significantly fantastic...but something so fighting as many fights as you will won't get as boring to the ears as it will to the hands.

Final Fantasy II

There exists a world where peace has resided throughout its corridors...up until one day when the ruler of Palamecia's empire planned on conquering this land for him by summoning demon forces from a place foreign to this realm's own. Destruction of other empires had ensued, causing the deaths to many innocents. It wasn't until the empire of Fynn stood to counter the threat of evil by amassing a rebel force. Eventually Fynn began to break, and those rebels remaining alive have hidden away across the globe...all but a few, however. For a small group of orphans who have grown up together living in Fynn -- Firion, Gus, Maria, and Leon -- the time has arrived for them to group in a last effort to strike back and regain what losses they have overcome from the clutches of evil.

Sound attributes of the second in Fantasy are almost a touch of the same from the first game. Outside of the musical elements and the battle audio, you get nothing. That's not such a bad thing when a game this old can still sound so good in what it delivers. Not a wide variety of song selections can be found, but from the cheeriness of town and map exploring, to the ominous of dungeon and fight rhythms, there are tracks paralleled to the ones found in the previous game. Better ones too. The battle theme for instance is faster, morose. Akin to before the audio is contained within these scuffles, received in forms of audio blurbs when the character swings their arm to attack or when damage is done in good old magic casting fashion.

Visually too you could probably compare Final Fantasy I and II side by side and find little difference in either. Even though there are some. Detail rendered into the character models seem to standout a bit better than in the game's other also as if the second Final Fantasy were redone to the 16-bit limit. Not exceedingly better, just enough to tell what is where -- hair, eyes, arms, legs, or in motionless monsters the tentacles, muscles, fangs, etc. Plus the amounts of sundry townsfolk appear to thrive in bigger numbers. From tree filled towns, to the green and flat lined rocky world map, to the bottoms of cavernous dungeons, each share a similarity to the previous game again, with the detail in each not being remarkably great in this unelaborated 8 to 16-bit-ish updated fantasy -- but again, this game is history reborn.

Cherish the fact that animation has come a long way in the visual market of gaming. For in Final Fantasy II, there isn't a whole lot of it to see. There are a few improvements in the second game's workings however, such as where the first game's torches hanging on the wall can only brighten in sequential order, Final Fantasy II's flames will wiggle around lively. More replicas live in the battle system, where the enemy's or your party members can step forward and backward swinging their arms when they strike with a weapon, crouch when they're ill, or fall down when they die to express their reactions to what incurs in every match. Spell effects are also like before, with exceptional differences like wriggling flames and sleeker light patterns. There's also a host of newly added background windows behind all the action to create a prettier looking landscape for whatever nasty conflict awaits.

Stronger in storyline and probably the most unique of its own RPG brand, Final Fantasy II is the Fantasy that was never before released in America. Never. Ever. As to why Squaresoft never released the second chapter in this role playing series is probably because the experience gaining system is so unlike any other American gamers have dealt with. Final Fantasy I lets players randomly encounter monsters, fight, and absorb awarded points that'll eventually build up the character levels. Final Fantasy II on the other hand broadens every individual's acts of aggression towards the enemy based on their battle performance. If say one of the team members attacks all the time and does nothing more than that, their attacks will grow stronger and their skill in the particular weapon they're holding will sharpen. Or maybe if sets of monster hordes pick on any one of your team members the entire time, and their HP is always decreasing rapidly, their endurance builds up and so does their amount of life. Whatever way you want your characters to grow, the game makes it happen...which is why it's clear to say that this unusual developmental system can be a little disjointed than what you'd find in your average RPG.

Something else that singles out Final Fantasy II from the rest (or did) is its memory scheme. Walking (or running) around towns isn't just about resting up at the inn, purchasing expensive suits of armors, weapons, and items with which to regain your party's healthy status -- now Final Fantasy borrows an element from Wild Arms 3 (or maybe I've got it all backwards). By trading words with certain characters inside town locations, you'll notice that some of the dialogue is colored in red. After a conversation is over and done with, you then have three options available to you, being Memorize, Ask, and Items. Memorize basically stores any red lettered words that can later be used in coalition with Ask. Selecting Ask then opens a bank of learned words to further spark a new set of dialogue with the character that bestows this feature. Lastly, Items is just for the common good of grabbing a special item from your inventory and presenting that item to a special character meant for seeing it.

Playing the second game is exactly like the first -- control-wise and mostly everything-else-wise. When in attack position, you get the same commands of Attack; use a weapon against a single enemy, Magic; summon elemental forces to defeat your foes, Equip; tack on a number of store bought weapons if you have any extras on you, Items; use for means of aiding a character's status ailments or health, and Flee; to run away from it all. Jogging around dungeons or towns can also be performed, which is something that apparently wasn't available in RPGs until the 16-bit era. Somewhat noteworthy when in comparison to Final Fantasy I's endless monster encounters, Final Fantasy II manages to improve upon those incoming annoyances, even if by a little. Not that you won't face some two pairs, or five pairs, or even eight pairs of creatures every few steps, but the enemy flees on its own at times in this one, which makes having not to kill as many savage brutes all the more easier.

Calling this sequel a one of a kind endeavor entails in its equipment screen. Unlike in the Final Fantasy that started it all, this game actually lets every character no matter what title is given to them the ability to thwart others with magic. It's also possible to equip magic as an item, or even to increase attack power by placing two weapons in each hand of the characters (if donning a shield isn't your forte). One of the more refined tastes of this Fantasy, or actually both of Origins' games, is the power to temporarily save the game at any moment's notice outside, inside, or while entrenched in a dungeon. Called the "Memo File," this function is used best while buried in towns or dungeons, since it's impossible to save inside them otherwise. Reset the game though, and you'll lose this acquired experience. Permanently saving the game comes with stepping out onto the world map, where it's only possible when you accept to sleep at an inn in the first game, giving the second game a leg up.

A Fantasy by any other name has never been so everlasting. What was to become of Squaresoft's last triumph became their greatest ever. Final Fantasy I and II are the startup devices for what has been any RPG's best rival in the long run over the last decade -- and these two titles, one that has never been introduced to the American market, is right here and now in Squaresoft's newest compilation pack. Aside from some enhancements in each game, Square has tailored in some original astonishing FMV movies and a boatload of exposable bestiary artworks to make this Fantasy edition complete. Final Fantasy Origins may not be the most accessible RPG to gamers of today who are looking for something a little better sounding, a little nicer on the eyes, and a little easier to play. But for those in the know of wanting to try out one of the most revered RPG franchises ever created from its starting position, you're in for a real retro revival.