The storyline in Final Fantasy Adventure is toned down from the melodramatic soap operas of the usual Square RPGs to a more mythological and Zelda-esque level of Boy hungers for adventure, Boy leaves home for adventure, and Boy becomes a hero. In this case, a young gladiator escapes from his captors and roams to land before finally learning of his real destiny. The character development, like Zelda, is put purely on the shoulders of the gamers themselves. The game in its entirety can be classified as one big adventure, an adventure set on developing a gamer's understanding of the game world, learning from past mistakes and applying the knowledge on future challenges. Puzzles and dungeons in the games are designed to challenge the gamer's intellect and I mention puzzles because, unlike most RPGs where dungeons are more like navigating a long obstacle course fraught with monsters, the puzzle element in Final Fantasy Adventure is much stronger.
Dungeons become mazes and hidden entrances and false walls abound.
Over world exploration is also key in the game. Monsters don't attack randomly, but rather appear as moving sprites on screen. Essentially, two players playing the game may end up with two characters with different strengths. There is also an innovative hex map system that shows gamers their general location. Another plus is the ability to save anywhere in the game and the game will know exactly where a gamer last left off.