Final Fantasy Origins - Definition and Overview

Final Fantasy Origins is a Japanese console role-playing video game for the Sony PlayStation from Square Co., Ltd.. It is the re-release of remastered versions (or enhanced remakes) of the Nintendo Family Computer ("Famicom")/Nintendo Entertainment System ("NES") classics Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II on the PlayStation platform. Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II were originally developed for the Famicom and later remade for Bandai WonderSwan Color. The graphics have been enhanced to the quality of the SNES games (Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI).

The PlayStation version of the games were initially released in Japan in 2002 by Square. Each game was either sold seperately, or combined in the form of the Final Fantasy I+II Premium Package, a special edition collection which included both games as well as three collector's figurines. This collection, sans special packaging and figurines, was next released in Europe as Final Fantasy Origins in 2003. The game was translated by Square (by now Square Enix), but was published by Infogrames/Atari. The two games were next combined onto one disc and released in North America, again under the Final Fantasy Origins name, later that year. It was the first time Final Fantasy II had been officially released in North America, and the first time either game had been officially released in Europe.

Music

The soundtracks have been enhanced to Final Fantasy IX quality from their original NES or WonderSwan Color representations. The games have both undergone gameplay streamlining. The Final Fantasy Origins versions of Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II are based on the Bandai WonderSwan Color versions. The remastered soundtrack of Final Fantasy I was arranged by Nobuo Uematsu. The remastered soundtrack of Final Fantasy II was arranged by Tsuyoshi Sekito, the music composer for Brave Fencer Musashi. Percussion was added for the PlayStation versions.

Differences from originals

As for the tomb at Elfein (or Elf Land on the NES version), the tomb reads "Here lies Erdrick" on the American NES version of Final Fantasy I. It reads "May Link rest in peace," on the American Final Fantasy Origins version. It reads "May Erdrick rest in peace," on the PAL Final Fantasy Origins version. (Interestingly, the text referencing Link was not changed in Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn Of Souls, even though that version was made for a Nintendo system.)

While the NES version of Final Fantasy I has only one save slot, the Final Fantasy Origins version has sixteen save slots per memory card. It is unlikely that the NES classic Final Fantasy III will be remade for Sony PlayStation, though a remake for its successor, the Sony PlayStation 2, is still up in the air, and a Nintendo DS remake has been confirmed.

Other versions

Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II were first packaged together in 1994, when both games were combined onto a single Famicom cartridge and released as Final Fantasy I-II. As both games had originally appeared on the Famicom, there were no substantial changes between the originals and the compilation versions.

The PlayStation versions of the game were most similar to the WonderSwan Color remakes that were produced seperately in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Other than minor changes to take advantage of Sony's superior hardware, such as a higher screen resolution which meant that the graphics in the PlayStation version were slightly more detailed, and the remixed soundtracks, the PlayStation versions were basically identical to the earlier WonderSwan versions.

The remakes were later put onto the same cartridge when they were ported to the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (known as Final Fantasy I & II Advance in Japan). The port boasted new dungeons in Final Fantasy I and a new sidestory in Final Fantasy II, and had several gameplay changes to make both games less challenging, but were aesthetically very similar to the WonderSwan/PlayStation remakes.

Screenshots

Final Fantasy I

Final Fantasy II

Packaging artwork

Artwork for other versions of the games (Dawn of Souls, original versions and stand-alone remakes) can be found in the Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II articles.

See also

• Super Mario All Stars
• Enhanced remake
• Final Fantasy series
• Final Fantasy I
• Final Fantasy II