The Shrine

So, i bought it and have played 4 or 5 hours so far. The sprites and colors look great and so far the few CG cut scenes are neat, too. I have never bought any of the PS1 remakes or whatever the hell else systems they came out for, so this FF1 replay is pretty new to me. The game is simply a 2D game remade into a cleaner 2D game... nothing all that new. They do a good job of keeping a lot the same, but not everything.

I'm first amazed at how much i remember. So far, i havent had to look up a damn thing, but i am only at the part where you fight the Vampire, right after the dwarves use the TNT to open up the rest of the world, so that might change, especially near the end when i want to get all the kickass weapons and gear.

Anyways, what impresses me the next most is the speed. The random battles arent annoying at all because everything is quick. I think i used to hate random battles on the PS1 and 2 because the loading took forever and the before/after battle dances just took TOO long. The amount of time you can fight and be back on the map walking again is the quickest i have seen in a while. Which is great, because my guys are simply liquidating everything they fight. I think they screwed up the balance in this game a little, to buy everything you want out of a current town you are forced to level up to get the money, and by the time you have the money you are so overpowered for the next dungeon crawl that it is far too easy. Why would they make things so expensive? Do they expect you to not fight around and try and buy it? Who knows.

Small changes that are welcome is the MP system and being able to buy things in bundles like potions. I remember having to rig up my old NES controlled to buy 99 potions by itself while i went and ate lunch or something, lol. Granted, buying 99 potions isnt even needed anymore, though, with now having MP. It feels like my mages have a ton of MP and i can cast shit all the time without having to worry... Another thing i remember, i thought the elf town had all sorts of silver weapons and armor, but in this version it didnt. They must have changed around some of the equipment and placement, which i'm not sure why.

There is supposed to be a new bonus dungeon like in the other remakes, so i look forward to that once my characters are godly. I chose a Fighter, Master, White Mage, Black Mage. Typical setup for a good playthrough.

I've made it through the first two Fiends, have my airship, and have been upgraded via the Rat Tail thing.

The game is progressing nicely and i'm having lots of fun. The more i play, though, the more i realize how hard this game would be without having beaten it before. The clues you get from the town people are so cryptic and short that it would be difficult to know where to go next for a first time player.

A few more extra and differences have popped up. I've found two new caves that are blocked by statues of the fire and water fiends. I just beat the fire guy and they showed a clip of the statue disappearing, so i'm anxious to get back over there and see what is in it. So, in addition to the extra dungeon at the very end, there are more. Hopefully it will be hard, because my guys are still crushing everything, with the exeption of occassionally getting stoned, i havent had anyone die in a battle. One thing that was annoying about the original was the likelyhood of having everyone get stoned, the mages in this version are resistant to just about any status ailment. I dont think i've seen them get confused, paralyzed, or stoned yet, which is nice, but also adds to the easy factor. Having MP is still overpowered, i hardly ever use items.