Section 4 of 6 - Prev - Next All sections - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
announced that he would like to remake Final Fantasy IV through VI on
the Game Boy Advance, but Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamamuchi told the
press that this was not going to happen.
* 1.22 - How was this newsgroup created, anyway?
alt.games.final-fantasy was basically a happy mistake. The newsgroup
itself was created by some guy under the alias "Tom Servo" (aka "Big
Bob, Lord of Love") back in October 1994, a guy who added new alt groups
without discussing them first. alt.games.final-fantasy was one of the
groups that he created.
Although it was rmgrouped the same day it was created, it still became
fairly distributed among Usenet servers. Later on, another person,
Einexile, re-newgrouped the newsgroup in Febuary 1995. This time, the
newgroup was accepted as legit.
Here's a copy of the message which created this newsgroup, courtesy of
UUNET Communications:
Control: newgroup alt.games.final-fantasy
Newsgroups: alt.config
Path:
uunet!sparky!kwiudl.kwi.com!netcomsv!netcomsv!ix.netcom.com!netcom.com!tomservo
From: tomservo@netcom.com (Tom Servo)
Subject: cmsg newgroup alt.games.final-fantasy
Message-ID:
Sender: tomservo@netcom.com (Tom Servo)
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1]
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 22:28:23 GMT
Approved: tomservo@netcom.com
Lines: 3
Xref: uunet control:1257731
--
"I do not have a beard, but my brother does."
--- Jim Collier
For those of you wondering about the existence of Tom Servo, he's still
alive and posting, just not necessarily in the alt.games.final-fantasy
newsgroup. (He has E-Mailed your humble FAQ author, stating that it was
nice to see alt.games.final-fantasy still running.)
* 1.23 - Where did the name "Final Fantasy" come from?
According to an early 1999 interview in Next Generation magazine, Final
Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi said that the game was named the way
it was because when the game was being developed, it was his last effort
to make a worthwhile fantasy game. Sakaguchi was also involved in the
production of previous Square games, such as Highway Star (aka "Rad
Racer") and 3D World Runner, and wasn't happy with the way either one of
them turned out.
+--------------------------------------------+
|*** Section 2 - The Final Fantasy Series ***|
+--------------------------------------------+
* 2.1 - The Final Fantasy Series (Intro)
There are currently eleven Final Fantasy games - ten plus a variation on
Final Fantasy IV, and eight SaGa games. Eight of the ten FF games were
released in the USA; in the descriptors below it will be mentioned if
the game was released in the USA or not. The first three SaGa games were
released in the USA as "The Final Fantasy Legend," and are vastly
different from the regular Final Fantasy games.
The first three Final Fantasy games were released for the NES, the next
four were released for the SNES, the most recent three were released for
the Sony PlayStation, and all the SaGa/Final Fantasy Legend games were
released for the Nintendo Game Boy. All of the Super NES Final Fantasy
games have been republished for the PlayStation. Future Final Fantasy
games will be on the PlayStation 2.
The odd-numbered Final Fantasy games (I, III, V, VII, and IX) have a
relatively small cast of characters with a very large plot. The cast of
characters generally does not change for the length of the game.
Instead, the characters have various "jobs" which they can perform -
they can be a fighter, mage, thief, ninja, etc. all in one. In FF I, the
characters start out with fixed jobs but get promoted to better jobs
roughly halfway through the game, and in the others, the characters can
learn new jobs as they become available in their various methods.
The even-numbered Final Fantasy games (II, IV, VI, and VIII) have a very
large cast of characters with a plot which revolves around the character
development of each character. The cast of characters changes rapidly
for the length of the game - characters appear, disappear, come back,
and can not be changed for the most part. Each character performs one
single job which they stick to for the duration of the game, with the
exceptions of Cecil and Rydia's "promotions" in FF IV, how all of the
characters can eventually learn to use magic in FF VI, and FF VIII's
"junction" customization system.
Final Fantasy Tactics is a strategy game with a basically infinite cast
of characters. Otherwise, it is the same as the odd-numbered Final
Fantasy games.
The SaGa games (I, II, and III) have a single-person cast, and up to
three other party members to compliment this one person. The latter two
games include NPCs which can join the party for a small piece of the
storyline, then come and go as they please. The characters are jobless
and generic, so they can do whatever they want to do. Characters come in
the form of humans (generic characters), mutants (generic characters
with strong spellcasting abilities and four pieces of inventory
representing certain memorized spells), and monsters (who are friendly
to the party and can change into the forms of other monsters). The
latter two games also include robots (generic characters whose abilities
depend on what items you equip them with, and their items are recharged
at inns). SaGa III also has beasts (combinations of humans/mutants &
monsters) and cyborgs (combinations of humans/mutants & robots). Human
and mutant characters can be either male or female - the only difference
other than the character's appearance is the character's starting
statistics which tend to weigh more towards strength for males and
toward agility for females. And weapons have a limited life as well -
all weapons and items can be only used a limited amount of times before
they break and new ones must replace them. (More about the vastly
different Romancing SaGa and SaGa Frontier games in the next section.)
* 2.2 - Final Fantasy Games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
* 2.2.1 - Final Fantasy I (USA: Final Fantasy I)
Playable characters: N/A (characters are created by the player)
NPCs: N/A
It is a dark time for the Kingdom of Coneria. The world had been kept
functioning and intact by four prevailing elemental powers - Earth,
Fire, Water, and Air. But now, fertile valleys are turning into useless
clay, the world's volcanoes are threatening to erupt uncontrollably and
unpredictably, the ancient Sea Shrine has been invaded and once-peaceful
marine life has turned against seagoers, and the Sky Warriors of Lefein
have lost their prize possession - the Sky Castle - to monsters with
control over the skies. It looked like the world was falling apart
uncontrollably, until a wise sage named Lukahn told the King about the
Prophecy of the Light Warriors - in times of terror, four Warriors would
appear, and they alone would set things straight again. Princess Sara
heard about this, and left the castle to find the Light Warriors
(unfortunately, she never returned). One day, though, some time after
the Princess's disappearance, a group of four showed up at the gates of
Coneria Castle, and each one of them held a darkened Orb. You control
the Light Warriors, and you must lead them on a quest to return light to
the Orbs and gain elemental powers back to where they belong. Did I
mention reality's fate depended on you and you alone? Good luck.
Final Fantasy I is the game that started it all. It was vastly different
from any other RPG available for the NES, as well as being one of the
best RPGs in its time. Although this game lacks many things that were
added to future Final Fantasy games - like Chocobos, for instance - it's
still a great game to play over and over again. It's pretty long, too,
for an NES game.
* 2.2.2 - Final Fantasy II (not released in the USA)
Playable characters:
Frionel, Guy, Maria, Lionheart, Minh, Josef, Gordon, Layla, Richard
NPCs:
Cid, Hilda, Nellie, Scott, Paul, Borgan
The evil Paramekia Empire is casting a dark mood over the world. By
military power, it keeps all who oppose it in thrall. However, rebellion
slowly stirs in the city of Altea, where its queen Helen makes a
desperate attempt to fight the Empire. Helen uses the powers of three
wandering youths (Frionel, Guy, and Maria) to aid her in her battle
against the overbearing empire. However, not everything is what it
seems, and the many friends and enemies made throughout the journey
always have surprises up their sleeves.
Final Fantasy II was a great departure for the series; in fact, it's far
more similar to the SaGa games. There were no "levels", but individual
attributes are raised when used in battle. Magic raises levels with use,
and both its MP cost and power goes up when it did. Magic was still
bought in shops, but it could also be found in dungeons. Characters
could equip up to two items to use in battle (but couldn't access
anything else). There was no job system or character classes of any
type; everyone can gain expertise in everything.
Story-wise, this is the first game where characters change: the first
three characters were constant, but the fourth one was variable. The
story was also far deeper than its predecessor, with double-crossings,
comebacks, enemies turned friends and vice versa. The three heroes (the
lanky Frionel, stoic Guy, and noble Maria) were aided by Minh, Altea's
magician; Josef, a heroic martial artist; Gordon, a cowardly prince;
Layla, a high-spirited pirate; Richard, a dragon knight; and Lionheart,
Maria's knightly brother.
One of the more interesting innovations was the Keyword system. When a
keyword was heard in a conversation, it could be learned and said to
someone else to get a different response or advance the story.
Unfortunately, it garnered too many problems and was scrapped. Other
than that, the gameplay is far more refined than the first FF game:
additions like specific places to put armor, ability to save anywhere on
the world map, additions of face graphics and more detailed menus, all
serve as a great stepping-stone to later Final Fantasy games.
* 2.2.3 - Final Fantasy III (not released in the USA)
Playable characters: N/A (characters are created by the player)
NPCs:
Sara, Cid, Desh, Elia, Unne, Dorga
Other Characters:
Allus, Delilah, Gigames, Goldor, Gorn, Taca
Four mystical Crystals protect the four Elements of the world. When an
evil magician named Zande tries to take their power, fate calls upon
four boys to protect them. The Four Warriors are granted special Jobs by
the Crystals they save, for aid in thwarting Zande's plans. The four
will travel from their home on a floating continent, out to a much
larger world. They will use a variety of airships, submarines, sailing
ships, and chocobos to reach their destinations. They will fight dozens
of enemies using over twenty specialized Jobs. And they will discover
that behind Zande lies an even greater fear: the Dark World, ruled by
the Cloud of Darkness, who is just waiting to come out and devour the
real world...
Final Fantasy III was a huge leap forward in innovative gameplay. Jobs
played an integral part in the game, and jobs could be switched at any
time (as long as there were Capacity Points, which were acquired by
winning battles). Jobs were far more versatile, allowing up to three
different commands in battle, and also being able to equip different
armor and use different abilities. Jobs ranged from the physically
powerful Knight, Karateka, and M.Knight, to magicians like the Summoner,
Shaman, and Sage, and novelty jobs like Archer, Geomancer, Bard, and
Scholar. Some physical jobs can cast magic, as well. This made for a
large variety of gameplay, and a huge amount of secret treasure hoards
helped along the way.
The battles and menus were the prototype for the later games; the only
thing missing was the Active Time Battle system, implemented in FF IV.
Overall, FF III was a very enjoyable experience; the soundtrack was
excellent for an NES game, the graphics were solid, the world was large,
and the game was challenging. A fitting legacy to the Final Fantasy
name.
* 2.3 - Final Fantasy Games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
(SNES)
* 2.3.1 - Final Fantasy IV (not released in the USA - for the Super NES,
anyway)
Playable Characters/jobs:
Cecil Harvey [Dark Knight/Paladin]
Kain Highwind [Dragoon]
Rydia [Summoner]
Tellah [Sage]
Gilbert (Edward) Chris von Muir [Bard]
Rosa Farrell [White Wizard]
Yang Fang Leiden [Karate]
Palom [Black Wizard]
Porom [White Wizard]
Cid Pollendina [Engineer]
Edward "Edge" Geraldine [Ninja]
Fuusuuya (FuSoYa) [Lunarian]
NPCs/jobs:
Baigan [Adviser]
Golbez [Black Wizard]
Takashi Tokita [Director]
The world was at peace with itself, and kingdoms governed their land
justly and with little or no quarreling with bordering kingdoms. In one
of the kingdoms, though - Baron - an engineer had finally came up with a
machine that would give mankind its ultimate dream come true - the
ability to fly. These machines, called "airships," would allow for
unrestricted sky travel, and so, Baron became the most powerful kingdom
in the world. A man named Cecil, who was originally trained to be a Dark
Knight, took up the job of creating and commanding a fleet of Airships,
and the people who flew the ships became known as the "Red Wings". One
day, Cecil was commanded by the King of Baron to fly to the town of
Mysidia and take a magic crystal from the town. The Red Wings did so,
but after the mission, Cecil realized what he had done and questioned
the King's authority to use the Red Wings to bully a foreign town. So,
at that, the King stripped Cecil's authority and commanded him to bring
a present to the nearby town of Mist, where humans could call up
monsters to do their bidding. Cecil was not going to do this journey
alone - he would be accompanied with a skilled Royal Dragoon named Kain.
In Final Fantasy IV, players control Cecil, and guide Cecil through a
series of plot twists and sub-quests which send Cecil out on a mission
to save the world from a fiend named Golbez and the strange power
controlling Golbez's actions.
Compared to other Final Fantasy Games, Final Fantasy IV was quite long
and detailed - Cecil would be separated and rejoined with Kain many
times in the story and meet other allies like Rosa, a wizard with magic
healing powers; Edge, an ambidextrous ninja; and Tellah, a sage with
strong magical powers. Cecil wasn't assisted just by humans, however, as
this game had many forests which are homes to chocobo birds which could
give the party rides or recover their MP or even store items for them.
As Cecil made progress in exploring his world, two more worlds would
open themselves up for exploration. This is a timeless classic and a
favorite to many Final Fantasy fans.
The most notable addition to Final Fantasy IV, though, was a "real-time"
battle system in which warriors prepare themselves for battle based on
their agility level, and when they receive a command, they take out
orders immediately. There is no time to waste in battles in this game,
since when the party's getting ready to attack or when no orders are
being given, the monsters will be attacking you based on their agility
levels. Then, there are surprise attacks where the monsters will strike
first, pre-emptive attacks where the party has a chance to strike first,
and the dreaded back attack.
* 2.3.2 - Final Fantasy IV Easytype (USA: Final Fantasy II)
This is a version of Final Fantasy IV that was released exclusively for
American customers, but Square Co. Ltd also brought it out in Japan.
It's the same as FF IV, except that some of the more trivial and
nonimportant sub-plots and items were taken out of the game, and the
enemies toned down and special battle tactics removed.
Here's a quick summary of the changes in the Easytype version:
- The only battle tactics which survived in this game were the ones
which were absolutely essential for the characters to have, like Fight,
Item, Magic for magic users, Jump for Kain, Kick for Yang, etc.
- Prince Gilbert's name was changed to "Edward". A few other characters
have slightly different names, like Cain became "Kain," Fuusuuya became
"FuSoYa," etc. Because the letters L and R are monophones in the
Japanese language, Palom and Porom could have been called "Parom" and
"Polom," and it wouldn't have made a serious difference.
- The enemies have different names. Enemies also attack less often. All
enemies, including bosses, are much weaker & easier to defeat.
- Items that cure every condition in the original game are extremely
rare, and instead, the party had to carry different items to cure
different conditions (as in the SaGa games). These items were
consolidated into an easily available heal-all item in the Easytype
version.
- All character development & detail was taken out of the game, except
for that of Cecil's, who is the only "important" character to develop.
They still removed some of Cecil's background, though - the original
game hints to the player that Cecil and Rosa had been sleeping together
for a long time.
- The Programmer's Room that was hiding in the pub/cafe in the Dwarf
Castle in the original game was removed from the Easytype game.
- One of Rydia's calls, Cockatrice, has disappeared; as well as two of
the white magic spells Rosa could cast, Protect ("Armor") and Shell.
- The Beginner's School only appears in Baron in the original game. In
the Easytype game, the Beginner's Schools are located almost everywhere.
The USA version is also different from the Japanese game in several
ways:
- The original game had a strip dancer in Baron. While the Easytype
version still has this strip dancer, the dancer keeps her clothes on in
the American version.
- The "Cecil and Rosa kissing" sprite was edited so that they only
embrace, but do not kiss.
- The scythe that's above Rosa's head in the Tower of Zot was replaced
with a large, blunt instrument. (Apparently, killing people with scythes
was questionable, but killing people with bowling balls was not.)
- Lots of dialogue was censored, especially references to death. The
characters talk about sacrificing themselves, but they put in a very
subtle way, and do not mention the word "die" or "death" or even "kill"
once.
- The "Tower of Prayers" is the "Tower of Wishes" in the USA version.
Because of this, the Mysidians do not pray, they only wish for things to
come true.
- The "H'na Hon" or "pornography book" is (not mysteriously) missing
from the USA version.
- Other phrases that are "questionable" (in Nintendo's book, apparently)
were censored. For instance, "the color of blood" became "the color of
rubies".
- In the Japanese version of the game, Cecil and Kain were sent on a
mission to take a bomb to the area around Mist in order to slay some
monsters, not fully knowing its true intentions. In the USA version, the
bomb became a "Package" which Cecil and Kain were required to deliver to
Mist.
* 2.3.3 - Final Fantasy V (not released in the USA - for the Super NES,
anyway)
Playable characters:
Butz (Bartz) Klauzer, Lenna (Reina) Tycoon, Galuf Baldesion, "Faris,"
Kururu (Krile) Baldesion
NPCs: N/A
The game opens when the main character, Butz, is out riding with his
chocobo, Boko. A huge meteorite slams to the earth, not far from him.
When he rides over to investigate, he finds a young woman and an older
man. The man has lost his memory, but can remember enough to call
himself Galuf. The girl identifies herself as Lenna, princess of Tycoon.
Satisfied that they are all right, Butz lets them leave, only to chase
back after them when the road they travel starts to crumble beneath them
and they are attacked by goblins. Eventually, he rescues them and they
set off to find a way back to Tycoon, only to find themselves captured
by pirates as they explore a watery cave.
The pirate leader, Faris, spares them when he finds that he has a
pendant exactly like the one Lenna was wearing. He agrees to take them
to the Temple of Wind, since there is no wind to be found. At the Temple
of Wind, they find that the crystal of wind has been shattered.
Concerned about the remaining three crystals - water, fire, and earth,
the party of four - Butz, Galuf, Lenna, and Faris (who later turns out
to be a she) chase after the remaining three crystals, only to arrive
just in time to see each one shatter. After the shattering of the last
crystal, Galuf's granddaughter, Kururu, comes out of the meteorite that
heralded the destruction of the last crystal, and offers to take him
home.
Butz, Lenna, and Faris, with the help of the inventor genius Cid (who
created a ship powered by - and later not powered by--the crystal of
fire) and his grandson Mid, find a way to power their own journey after
Galuf, who they want to help out in the quest that brought him to their
world. Arriving on Galuf's world, they find him pitched in a battle
against ExDeath, a tree into which all of the evil forces in that world
had been summoned. With the help of Galuf and his friends Zeza and
Kelgar, they continue an assault on ExDeath. Butz learns of the true
origin of his father, Dorgan - who was born on this world, and left for
Butz's world to watch over the crystals, which kept ExDeath sealed away.
ExDeath had once been defeated by the four Warriors of the Dawn - Galuf,
Zeza, Kelgar, and Dorgan - and sealed away by the crystals, but he found
a way to shatter them and escape, wreaking havoc on Galuf's and Butz's
world. Now, each of the remaining Warriors of the Dawn (Dorgan died in
Butz's world of natural causes, perhaps precipitating ExDeath's move on
the crystals) must sacrifice his life in order to help the four heroes
of this generation - the Light Warriors - defeat ExDeath for once and
for all. Zeza sacrifices himself in the depths of a Barrier Tower, one
of four generating an impenetrable barrier around ExDeath's castle.
Galuf is slain in a battle with ExDeath himself, trying to regain the
power of the crystals of this world. One of the crystals is shattered,
but your party manages to regain control of the other three when Galuf
uses his last strength to force ExDeath to retreat. Kururu takes Galuf's
place in your party, gaining his knowledge and experience from the will
of the crystals that resided in him and moved into her with his death.
Kelgar uses the last of his strength, giving it to Kururu to break the
trapping illusions of ExDeath's castle when you go to storm it. In the
final battle with ExDeath, though, the three remaining crystals are
shattered, and the events which follow show the true link between
Galuf's and Butz's worlds, and pave the way to the final defeat of
ExDeath.
In Final Fantasy V, unlike in I and IV, character classes aren't fixed.
From the fragments of each of the crystals, your characters obtain
"jobs" - character classes ranging from the familiar Knight, White Mage,
and Red Mage, to the slightly more exotic but still recognizable Caller,
Dragoon (Dragon Knight), and Ninja, to totally new classes like the
Elementalist (Wind/Water Mage), the Monk, the Magic Sword Knight, and
the Blue Mage (which class is revisited in Final Fantasy VI in the form
of Strago). Characters may switch between these jobs any time they are
not in battle, but as they stay in a job and earn experience in it, they
learn abilities in these jobs. Each character, in addition to his job,
can use one ability learned from any class. Some of these abilities
duplicate powers the class has naturally - casting white magic, using a
harp as a weapon, and summoning the elements - to new abilities that can
assist your character even while he plays the class s/he learned it
from: summoning woodland creatures, raising your hit points by up to
30%, and paralyzing enemies. Success comes from making suitable mixes of
both primary jobs and secondary abilities, making sure that you have
ample ability to attack while simultaneously being able to defend and
heal yourself.
* 2.3.4 - Final Fantasy USA (USA: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest)
Basically, there is Benjamin, a boy who was raised by an old man of his
village. One day, while he is with a man on the top of a hill, a great
earthquake starts, and they are attacked by a monster; and it's a very
strange thing, because monsters have never been seen anywhere for a long
time... Benjamin kills the beast, and returns to his town only to start
a journey that will bring him all across the world, until the final
battle with a powerful being called the "Dark King".
There are many differences from this and the other Final Fantasy games;
the world is divided in four parts (and everyone is related to an
Element) linked by a giant Tower, but the tower's doors were sealed
long, long ago, to separate the four regions; in every region there is a
large dungeon (ie the Ice Pyramid, Lava Dome, and Pazuzu's Tower) which
holds a boss monster that controls that land.
Another difference: during the game, some of your actions will modify
the very shape of the world: you start in the Earth region, that is
becoming more and more dry and ill, and you will restore it to
fertility; the Water region is freezing, and you must restore warm to
it, and then open a hole with a powerful bomb in a sealed waterfall that
once used to fill a great lake in Wind's region, and now is sealed; the
Fire region is being shook up by powerful earthquakes (you'll see them
on the world map !) that you will stop, and in the Wind region you will
stop the strong wind that is going to destroy the city. During the whole
game, your party will be composed only by two characters: you and
another, that will often change. The last (and biggest) difference from
other games is there are no battles on the world map, but only in the
locations, and the monsters are visible, and a battle can be started
only by going into them; and, when killed, they will disappear.
* 2.3.5 - Final Fantasy VI (USA: Final Fantasy III)
Playable characters/jobs:
Tina (Terra) Branford [Magitek Knight]
Locke Cole [Thief/Treasure Hunter]
Mog [Moogle]
Edgar Roni Figaro [Engineer]
Mashe (Sabin) Rene Figaro [Karate]
"Shadow" [Ninja]
Celes Chere [Magitek Knight]
Cayenne (Cyan) Garamonde [Samurai]
Gau [Wild Boy]
Setzer Gabrielli [Gambler]
Stragus (Strago) Magus [Blue Mage]
Relm Arrowny [Artist]
Secret Character #1 [Snowman/Sasquatch]
Secret Character #2 [Mime]
NPCs/jobs:
Biggs (Vicks) [Magitek Knight]
Wedge [Magitek Knight]
Bannon [?]
(no name) [Ghost]
Leo [General]
One thousand years ago, humans infused with magical powers granted to
them from three goddesses called the "Magi," destroyed their world in
the War of the Magi. The Magi, realizing what they had done, stopped the
war by turning themselves into statues and hiding in a specially
enclosed part of the world. The magical creatures they created, the
Espers, became sick of the evil that they saw in the human world, and
went to live with the Magi statues. The War of the Magi ended, magic
disappeared, and civilization as a whole was set back a thousand years.
One thousand years later, when humanity finally began to recover from
the devastating war, a man named "Gestahl" was trying to unite the
entire world under a new legion which he was to rule. This new legion,
the Empire, slowly began to take over more and more of the world. His
three military commanders; Leo, Kefka, and Celes; would see to that.
The Empire has also been trying to revive the forces of magic, starting
by invading the Espers' World & capturing some Espers. They also found a
girl named Tina (Terra), who is said to have been born with mysterious
magical powers, and was given a "slave crown," so that she could be
totally controlled by the Empire.
One day, the mining community of Narshe discovered a frozen Esper,
probably left over from the War of the Magi days. Once the Empire had
heard about this, they sent a recon group out to find this Esper. This
recon group consisted of officers Vicks, Wedge, and Tina (Terra). But
her real mission had yet to come...
Final Fantasy VI, although not as challenging as its predecessor, had a
number of improvements over Final Fantasy IV. The sheer amount of
character depth and plot changes make a long and challenging game fold
out to you instead of the player knowing everything just by the
beginning of the game. Final Fantasy VI also has the largest party size
- there are no class changes like there was in Final Fantasy V, so every
character has his/her own personal strong points and skills to build on.
There are also two secret characters in this game for players to find.
The geographical features again contribute to the game's story, as
different modes of transportation are needed to get to several different
scenarios; like rafting down river rapids, taking ferry boats, and even
submerging a castle under desert sands in order to get around a mountain
range.
The major new addition to this game are mainly new ways of using the
Super Nintendo's Mode 7 effects - Chocobo and Airship rides are no
longer over a flat map, but are now 2.5-dimensional and are really cool
to watch.
* 2.4 - Final Fantasy Games for the Nintendo Game Boy (DMG)
* 2.4.1 - Final Fantasy Gaiden: Seiken Densetsu (USA: Final Fantasy
Adventure)
All life in the world springs forth from a waterfall which flows from
the base of a tree known as the Tree of Mana. The waters from this tree
are the essence of life itself, and not only create life, but purify
those living in the world. In turn, the goodness in the world supports
and strengthens the Mana Tree. However, this idyllic relationship is
very unstable. The Mana Tree dependance on the will of all those who
live in the world means that should the beauty and peace of the world be
tainted with evil, the tree will suffer. Given a great enough evil, the
tree will begin spewing forth waters that no longer strengthen peace in
the world, but rather breed evil in the minds of the inhabitants of the
world. This generation of evil will spiral in until the world is
completely consumed by it. Anyone who managed to gain control of this
tree could effectively rule the world with near limitless power. Thus,
the tree was to be protected - the shrine that surrounded it was
considered sacred and no man dared tread on its hallowed grounds.
However, long ago, the Emperor of a land known as Vandole entered the
shrine and began to use the power of the Mana Tree to enhance his evil
and enslave the people of his kingdom. However, his attempt to rule the
world was thwarted by the Gemma Knights, the guardians of the Mana Tree,
and the Mana Family, the Tree's keepers. Following the battle, the Mana
Family feared that the tree could once again be used for evil purposes,
and therefore decided to seal the shrine with a magical pendant. Many
years later, another corrupt ruler turned his eyes toward the Mana Tree.
Dark Lord, ruler of the Empire of Glaive, wishes to use the tree for his
own evil purposes. He is assisted by a sorcerer named Julius, who knows
a suspicious amount of information about the nature of the Tree and the
Pendant that was used to seal the shrine. Some people of this world are
unfortunate enough to be captured and forced to fight evil monsters for
the entertainment of Dark Lord, as well as the increase amount of evil
in the world. These people fight over and over until they die. The hero
is one of these people, and was originally captured after sneaking into
Dark Lord's castle to find out what he and Julius were up to. After a
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