Final Fantasy Adventure
2007 Concise Encyclopedia. Related subjects: Computer & Video games
| Final Fantasy Adventure | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Square Co., Ltd. Sunsoft (re-release) |
| Designer(s) | Koichi Ishii (director) Kenji Ito (composer) |
| Release date(s) | JPN June 8, 1991 NA November 1, 1991 EUR 1993 TBA 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy, Mobile phone |
| Media | 2 megabit cartridge |
Final Fantasy Adventure (originally released in Japan as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden (聖剣伝説 ～ファイナルファンタジー外伝～ ?) and later re-released in Europe as Mystic Quest) was the first game to be released in the Seiken Densetsu series. Released in 1991 on the original Game Boy, its gameplay is roughly similar to that of the original Legend of Zelda game, but with the addition of role-playing statistical elements.
The story follows the knight Sumo and the young woman Fuji as they attempt to thwart the Dark Lord of Glaive and his sorcerer assistant Julius from destroying the Tree of Mana and dooming their world. The game was met with generally positive reviews, noting its strong story but faulting its shaky dialogue.
Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to the original Legend of Zelda for the NES; the world is viewed from a top-down camera angle it is divided up into many different squares that can fit on the screen, and the main character can move up, down, left, and right across the screen. The player can interact with individuals within towns by gathering information and buying or selling items and equipment. A variety of enemies can be battled on a field screen to gain experience, GP, or items. Within dungeon areas, a limited number of puzzles may be present and required to solved in order for the player to advance. The player can also save at any location.
In standard role-playing game fare, the main character possesses several statistics including hit points, power, and stamina, which can all increase upon gaining an experience level. Magic spells, which expend the character's MP, can be used to heal oneself or damage enemies. These spells can only be found in certain locations or obtained from other characters at specific plot intervals. In addition, the protagonist has a power gauge that effects his attack strength – the higher the gauge, the stronger his attack will be. The speed at which is fills is directly affected by the character's will level. The gauge will slowly fill up over time but once the main character attacks, the gauge is emptied. When the gauge is completely filled up and the main character attacks with a weapon, he will perform a special attack. This system is used in many other later Seiken Densetsu titles.
One additional, non-controllable character can accompany the main character at any given time in the story and can perform different activities to aid the main character in his quest.
Plot and setting
Setting
Plot
The world is threatened by a "Dark Lord" who conquests for mana to rule supreme over the land. At his side is a mysterious wizard named Julius, who has secret motives. A hero named Sumo, who is a gladiator whose parents were killed by the Darklord, is imprisoned by him and forced to fight daily for the Darklord's personal entertainment. One day, Sumo escapes and by chance overhears the Darklord and Julius in their plans to seize the power of mana. When they discover his escape, they chase and throw him over a waterfall to what they thought was his death.
Having survived the fall, Sumo then saves a mysterious young woman named Fuji from monsters, and attempts to find the magical objects needed to defeat the evil massing against the Mana Tree, the world's source of mana. After defeating Julius and the Darklord, the Mana Tree dies. Fuji sacrifices herself to become the Mana Tree and preserve the world. Sumo then becomes her Gemma knight and guardian.
Development history
The name Seiken Densetsu was trademarked as early as 1987, originally intended to be the name for a massive project under the leadership of Kazuhiko Aoki and released on the Famicom Disk System. The project was scrapped in favour of a game with a similar vein, Final Fantasy. Four years later, Squaresoft developed the Game Boy game under the working title Gemma Knights, and then revived the trademarked name and released the game as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden. Squaresoft later marketed the game in the United States as Final Fantasy Adventure because of the series growing popularity there. It was later released in Europe as Mystic Quest.
Though released as a Final Fantasy gaiden, or spin-off, and having an artistic style that was very similar to that of the official Final Fantasy series, the game is now considered to be the first game of the Seiken Densetsu series, also known as the "Holy Sword Legend", or "Mana" series. It was similar with Final Fantasy down to the menu screens with the thick, shaded borders; some character designs were even recycled from previous Final Fantasy sprites. Also, the game bore many similarities to Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, which led to its western titles, Final Fantasy Adventure and Mystic Quest (which is related to Mystic Quest Legend, the European title of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest).
In 1998, Sunsoft obtained the license for it and re-released it with the other Final Fantasy Legend games, only replacing the title screen. The game later received a 32-bit remake for the Game Boy Advance called Sword of Mana. Finally, revealed during Square Enix's E3 2006 press conference, the game is to receive an updated port for mobile phones under the title Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Adventure. The game is more like the original game due to the limited amount of enhancements in comparison to Sword of Mana, which was a fully enhanced remake.
Reception
Even with its release several years previous, several prominent video game websites still praise the game in retro-reviews. IGN reviewed it in 2000, giving it a 9.0, or "outstanding," noting its strong story but with feeling it had weak dialogue. It was noted for containing many puzzles to be unlocked, and being a type of hybrid RPG. Its limited colour palette on the Gameboy not withstanding, the game was thought to contain "atmosphere and nuance" in its graphics. There is even some polling going on in Japan over whether this game should be released on the Nintendo DS.
Audio
The Seiken Densetsu Original Sound Version was released in Japan alongside the game. Most of the tracks were composed by Kenji Ito, while track 16, "Chocobo Tanjou," is credited to noted Squaresoft composer Nobuo Uematsu. Seiken Densetsu: Omoi wa Shirabe ni Nosete (Let Thoughts Ride On Knowledge), a set of arranged tracks was also released the same year. Both albums were compiled into Final Fantasy Gaiden: Seiken Densetsu Sound Collections, originally released in 1995.