Final Fantasy Origins

Final Fantasy Origins is a role-playing game for the 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 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 separately, 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 upgraded soundtrack for Final Fantasy I was arranged by Nobuo Uematsu, while the upgraded soundtrack for Final Fantasy II was arranged by Tsuyoshi Sekito, the music composer for Brave Fencer Musashi.

Differences from originals

Both games have enhanced graphics, remixed soundtracks, added CGI FMV cut scenes, and added content. It also includes art galleries of Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations. This was the first time Final Fantasy II was released in the West.

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, a reference to the Dragon Warrior game. 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 and the WonderSwan Color version has only eight, the Final Fantasy Origins version has as many save slots as the player has available through PlayStation memory cards.

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 separately 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 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 and be closer to the SNES Final Fantasy games, but were aesthetically very similar to the WonderSwan/PlayStation remakes.

Screenshots

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy II

External links

Official site

Final Fantasy I & II: Premium Package