Final Fantasy Final Fantasy , also known as Final Fantasy I or the Original Final Fantasy in collections and common languages , is a role - playing game developed and published by Square Co . , Ltd . for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was released in 1987 , and it is the inaugural game in Square ' s flagship " Final Fantasy " series . " Final Fantasy " was Nobuo Uematsu ' s sixteenth work of video game music composition . Since the original creation of Hironobu Sakaguchi , " Final Fantasy " has subsequently been remade for several different video game consoles and handheld systems , including the MSX2 computers ( converted and released by Microcabin ) and the Bandai WonderSwan Color . It has also seen versions produced for two Japanese mobile phone service providers : the NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i series ( as Final Fantasy I ) and the CDMA 1X WIN - compatible W21x series of mobile phones from au / KDDI ( as Final Fantasy EZ ) and has also been made available with the American mobile companies , Sprint and U . S . Cellular , and the Canadian mobile company , Rogers . The game has frequently been packaged with the next game in the series , " Final Fantasy II " . Compilations of the two games have been released for the Famicom , the PlayStation , and Game Boy Advance . Most recently , the game was released on as an Xbox Live title . The two have also been released separately for iOS . Gameplay . " Final Fantasy " begins by asking the player to select the character classes and names of each Light Warrior ( the player characters ) . Like most computer role - playing games of that era , the player characters are passive participants in the story . Because of this , the player ' s choice of character class will only affect the Light Warriors ' abilities in battle . The character types are : Gameplay is similar to that of many other console role - playing games . The player wanders around a world map , randomly encountering monsters which must be either dispatched in battle or fled from . Emerging victorious in battle earns the player Gil , which can be used to buy weapons , armor , curative items , and magic spells . Victory also grants experience , which accumulate until players achieve certain milestones ( " experience level s " ) at which characters gain greater capacity for strength , damage resistance ( known as Hit Points , or HP ) , and spell casting . The player can enter town s on the world map to be safe from random attacks , restore HP and spell charges , acquire information by talking to villagers , and shop . Battle is turn - based , i . e . players select the desired actions for their PCs ( Fight , Cast Spell , Run , etc . ) , and when finished the PCs execute their actions while monsters retaliate depending on their Agility . Every version of " Final Fantasy " also has a secret minigame , 15 Puzzle , that can be played out on the sea . Synopsis . Setting . " Final Fantasy " takes place in an unnamed fantasy world with three large continents . The world ' s elemental powers are determined by the state of four glowing crystals ( " orbs " in the original North American localization ) , each governing one of the four classical elements : earth , fire , water , and wind . Story . About four centuries ago , a group of people known as the Lufenian used the wind crystal ' s power to craft a giant aerial station ( " Flying Fortress " ) and airship s , and watched their country decline as the wind crystal went dark . Tiamat , the fiend of wind , waged a battle against them , taking over their flying fortress and the Mirage Tower . A Lufenian called Cid hid an airship on the south continent . About two centuries ago , Kraken , the fiend of water , used violent storms to sink the water shrine that served as the center of an ocean - based civilization to use it as his personal hideout and to darken the water crystal . Shortly before the start of the game , Lich , the fiend of earth , darkens the earth crystal and plagues Melmond as the plains and vegetation decay . At an unspecified point , a sage called Lukahn tells of a prophecy that four Warriors of Light will save the world in a time of darkness . Marilith , the fiend of fire , awakens two centuries early as a response to the Warriors of Light ' s appearance and darkens the crystal of fire . The four Warriors of Light appear , each carrying a darkened crystal , one of each element . They arrive at Cornelia , a powerful kingdom that has witnessed the kidnapping of its princess , Sarah , by a rogue knight named Garland who wants to conquer the kingdom . The Warriors of Light travel to the ruined Chaos Shrine in the corner of Cornelia , defeat Garland , and return Princess Sarah home . The grateful King of Cornelia rebuilds the drawbridge , enabling the Warriors of Light passage east of the country . Traveling east , the Warriors of Light learn a dark elf wizard named Astos has been terrorizing the area surrounding the southern continent ' s inland sea , Elfheim , stealing a crystal the witch Matoya needs for sight , putting the prince of the elves into a coma , and stealing the crown of a minor western king . As they travel , they liberate the town of Pravoka from a band of pirates and acquire the pirates ' ship for their use . The Warriors of Light travel across the water , but remain trapped within the Aldean Sea , in the center of a large continent . A large rock blocks the only exit from the sea . There is a group of dwarves in Mount Duergar trying to remove the rock , but they find themselves unable to proceed without Nitro Powder . The Nitro Powder is contained in a locked room in Castle Cornelia , the only key to which is held by the sleeping elven prince . They retrieve the stolen crown , only to find the minor king was actually Astos . After defeating Astos , the Warriors of Light recover Matoya ' s crystal and return it to the witch , who makes them an herb ( Jolt Tonic in later releases ) to awaken the elven prince . The prince gives the warriors the Mystic Key , with which they travel to Castle Cornelia and retrieve the Nitro Powder , which they take to the dwarves to help them finish the canal . With the rock cleared , the Warriors of Light proceed into the greater world . Sailing to Melmond , the Warriors of Light seek out and destroy the Fiend of Earth , the Lich , who is responsible for the earth ' s rotting . The Warriors of Light enter the volcano Mount Gulg and defeat the Fiend of Fire , Marilith , who was awakened two hundred years prematurely by the defeat of Lich . The Warriors acquire an airship and visit the Cardia Islands to meet with the dragon king Bahamut who gives them the task of surviving the Citadel of Trials and getting a Rat ' s Tail as proof of their deeds . When they return he upgrades their job classes . The Warriors defeat the Fiend of Water , the Kraken , in an underwater palace near Onrac , and Tiamat , the Fiend of Wind , in the Flying Fortress . The four Fiends defeated , and the crystals restored , the Warriors find their quest is not yet over : The power of the four restored crystals is still being absorbed by an unknown entity through a time portal located in the Chaos Shrine . Once they travel 2 , 000 years into the past , the Warriors of Light meet the four arch - fiends newly created by Chaos and defeat them , before Chaos can send the arch - fiends into the future to bring Garland back to the past shortly before he would die during the fight with the Warriors of Light , and darken the crystals to steal their energy . Chaos turns out to be Garland who was not killed , but brought back into the past by the four fiends and empowered by the energy stolen from the four crystals to become Chaos . Garland originally created the time loop to live forever . The Warriors of Light , upon defeating Chaos , return to their own time . Having broken the time loop , peace returned to the world . While all of the people are unaware the entire ordeal having taken place , and though the Warriors themselves do not recall their adventure either , order has been restored and the darkness has been vanquished . Themes . The game lays out the foundation for future installments by introducing the Warriors of Light who are chosen by the Crystals to save the world . True to its name , fantasy elements are highly present , wanting to show a fantastical world which players would traverse through and explore . The NES version includes some futuristic settings in the latter parts of the game , which were toned down in redesigns when the game was ported to other platforms with enhanced graphics . However , since its inception the series has been a mix of futuristic and medieval elements , such as the hardest enemy of the original " Final Fantasy " being a robot ( Warmech ) . " Final Fantasy " derives a lot of influence from the " Dungeons & Dragons " in regard to world building , jobs and stats , as well as monster designs . The story entails the theme of the triumph of good against evil , beginning with the common telling of heroes embarking to save a princess . Afterward the warriors are told their journey has only just begun . Such deconstruction and rebuilding of a trope at a time where similar games — like " Dragon Warrior " , " Legend of Zelda " , and " Hydlide " — shared many of the same tale , but whose quests ended upon the rescue of the princess and slaying of the antagonist , desired to show there being more than the completion of the quest , not just in gameplay , but in the reward of story as the game progresses . Development . " Final Fantasy " was developed after Square Co . ' s initial games were not entirely successful . Square Co . ' s president and producer / director Hironobu Sakaguchi declared that his next game would be a fantasy RPG . He wanted the name to abbreviate to " FF " and thus " Final Fantasy " was born . Far from being his final game , however , " Final Fantasy " was a success in Japan , presenting them with the second most popular RPG franchise in the country ( after Enix ' s " Dragon Quest " ) . When " Dragon Quest " came out , it proved that RPGs could sell in Japan . Sakaguchi had wanted to make an RPG long before that , but couldn ' t get permission from the company , because they were not sure it would sell . With " Dragon Quest " proving that a game like that could be successful , Square were able to start the project for " Final Fantasy " . The development started with just four people . The battle system was designed by Hiroyuki Itō , who had never played an RPG of any kind before developing for " Final Fantasy " . Itō used professional sports as inspiration , specifically American football , with parties lining up on each side of the screen , each side with a strategy . Akitoshi Kawazu also worked with the battle system and has said he wanted to make it as close to " " role playing game as he could . There were certain precepts to a " Dungeons & Dragons " type of environment , such as zombies always being weak against fire , or monsters made of fire being weak against ice , in short , certain things being weak against certain other things , and strong against yet other things . Up until that point , Japanese RPGs were ignoring these kinds of relationships . Kawazu found this irritating and wanted to incorporate those precepts of western RPGs into " Final Fantasy " . The majority of the game ' s bestiary is taken from the first edition of " Dungeons & Dragons " , including the Mindflayer and the Ochu . The original magic system is inspired by " Dungeons & Dragons " as well , with a " Vancian " spells - per - day system , and with many spells and their effects , and even " spell levels " mapping directly to counterparts in the " Dungeons & Dragons " spell list . Kawazu feels that the fun in an RPG begins by creating a character , and he didn ' t feel the need to have a suggested party at the beginning . Kawazu wanted players to have an option to be all Black Mages or all Warriors if they wanted . In those days it was customary not to think too deeply on these things , and the imbalance a free party creation could have was never really thought of ; the idea was to let people figure things out for themselves . The game was programmed by Nasir Gebelli , and it was the first time he had programmed anything like an RPG . The company initially forecast the game to sell around 200 , 000 copies , but Sakaguchi was upset with that number , and demanded at least half a million . The company still put the limit at 200 , 000 , so when the the first pack came from the production facility , Sakaguchi took every single ROM to every publication out there at that time , and did his own PR with the game . Following the successful North American localization of " Dragon Quest " ( as " Dragon Warrior " ) , Nintendo of America translated " Final Fantasy " into English and published it in North America in 1990 . The North American version of " Final Fantasy " was met with modest success , due partly to Nintendo ' s aggressive marketing tactics . No version of the game was marketed in Europe or Australia until 2003 ' s " Final Fantasy Origins " . " Final Fantasy " , along with the original " Dragon Quest " , proved to be one of the most influential early console role - playing games , and played a major role in legitimizing and popularizing the genre . Graphically and musically , it was a more polished effort than many of its contemporaries . Many modern critics point out that the game is poorly paced by contemporary standards , and involves much more wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise experience and money , than it does exploring and solving puzzles . However , this was a common trait for role - playing games of this era , and one that , in some respects , would remain in place until the mid - 1990s . Another critique of the original release is that , in some senses , it barely works ; certain stats don ' t influence combat , certain status effects are nonfunctional , and some elemental weaknesses don ' t apply . None of these render the game " unplayable " , however , and many were not confirmed or even noticed until years after the fact . " Final Fantasy " has been remade several times for several different platforms . While the remakes retain the basic story and battle mechanics , various tweaks have been made in different areas , including graphics , sound , and specific gameplay elements . What follows is a brief description of certain characteristics unique to each remake . Releases . Family Computer version to MSX2 version . The MSX2 computer standard was roughly analogous , in terms of technical capabilities , to the Famicom , and so , as a result , the MSX2 version is probably the closest to the original Famicom version . However , while the Famicom was designed to operate exclusively as a gaming console , the MSX2 was intended to be used more generally as a personal computer . In practice , this meant that the game was subtly altered to take advantage of certain features offered by the MSX2 and not by the Famicom , and vice versa . Family Computer version to Nintendo Entertainment System version . The 1990 North American localization was essentially identical to the original Japanese game . But technical limitations , and the censorship policies of Nintendo of America , resulted in a few minor changes to certain elements . Family Computer version to WonderSwan Color version . Many more changes were introduced for the WonderSwan Color remake : WonderSwan Color version to " Final Fantasy Origins " . The PlayStation remake was released alongside its sequel , " Final Fantasy II " , in a collection titled " Final Fantasy Origins " ( or " Final Fantasy I + II Premium Collection " in Japan ) . Both of these games were based on the WonderSwan Color remake , and most of the changes instituted in that version remain . However , there are a few differences : " Final Fantasy Origins " to " " . Another fairly extensive list of changes accompanies the Game Boy Advance release as part of " Final Fantasy I & II : Dawn of Souls " . Among them are : " Final Fantasy " Mobile . Namco released a mobile port worldwide as a Java game . Gameplay is based on the NES release , but with a few noticeable differences : Sound effects are absent , but the player may choose to turn background music off and on . BGMs consist simple MIDI arrangements with no looping points , and there are no boss themes , save for the battle with Chaos . The graphics are a compromise between the GBA and NES versions , having detailed sprites , but retaining more generic map and dungeon tiles similar to those used in the NES release . Hi - Potions , Phoenix Downs , and other items introduced in the GBA version are not present . The player must make do with standard Potions , Antidotes , Gold Needles , Sleeping Bags , Tents and Cottages . No hidden extras are featured in this port . Clearing the game only displays the ending sequence , with no option to save and begin a New Game Plus file . Namco ' s version is typically priced around $ 4 . 99 , or 4€ and it is 600 KB large . " Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Edition " . In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the first " Final Fantasy " game ' s release , Square announced another remake , this time for the PlayStation Portable . The soundtrack is borrowed from " Final Fantasy Origins " . The script is nearly identical to the GBA version aside from the Labyrinth of Time . This version of " Final Fantasy " was later released for the Nintendo 3DS with the addition of Stereoscopic 3D . The known changes and features are : " Final Fantasy " for smartphones . The port of the original and second " Final Fantasies " to the iOS is available in Apple ' s App Store for $ 8 . 99 / £5 . 50 . Both games have graphics similar to the " Anniversary Edition " and their special dungeons . With a single purchase , both the English and Japanese language versions of the games are made available ( through the phone ' s system language ) . Gameplay from the original " Final Fantasy " remains the same as in the PlayStation Portable port , while the " Final Fantasy II " iOS version adds new gameplay elements , mainly the implementation of touch controls . However , the Window Color option has been removed , and the Art Gallery can no longer be featured on any smartphone versions . The music quality of both games is also slightly worse in comparison to the Official Soundtrack version ( which is fully preserved on the PSP Anniversary editions , quality - wise ) . The Apple iOS version includes a " quick save " that allows the player to save the party ' s current location either on the overworld map or in dungeon mode when the application gracefully exits . This means that when gameplay is interrupted by returning to the home screen , receiving a phone call , or putting the device in sleep mode and subsequently syncing the device ( which resets the device ' s current status ) , the game will resume in the same location when " Resume " is selected at the opening screen . However , if the player chooses to open a save file or new game , the data is deleted . This version has several bugs . The worst is quite damning ; instead of a random value within a range , HP and MP go up by either the minimum or maximum possible value when leveling up . The minimum value appears to be picked > 15x as often as the max value . A port of the iOS version to Microsoft ' s platform was made available on the Windows Phone Marketplace in Japan on 4 June 2012 , and America and Europe on 13 June 2012 . Features unique to this version include Xbox Live Achievements . As with apps for the platform , a demo of the Windows Phone version is available . The main difference from the full version is that upon reaching the drawbridge and watching the introduction to the game proper , gameplay is halted and a message appears , stating " This concludes the Demo . Buy the Full Game to play on ! " . Touching the screen here returns the player to the title screen . Another feature of the demo version is an option in the title screen menu which offers a direct link to the app listing in the WP Marketplace , where they can purchase the full version . Should the player elect to do so , they can then immediately continue the game from where the demo ends . " Final Fantasy " was made available on the Google Play store 27 July 2012 . It is similar to the iOS and Windows Phone 7 version , both of which are based on the PlayStation Portable remake , but does not include any of the bonus dungeons which were not in the original game . " Final Fantasy " on Android is available for $ 6 . 99 / £4 . 44 in the Google Play store and runs on Android 2 . 1 - compatible devices and up . Manga . In December 30 , 1989 , the manga by Yuu Kaimeiji , called " Final Fantasy " after the game , was issued as a " Takarajima COMIC " by JICC and Publication Administration . The Warriors of Light are Puffy , the protagonist Red Mage that meets DB - 6 in the back of the cave of Onrac near waterfall ; Fritz , the young Black Belt ( both are manga exclusive characters ) ; Matoya , the Witch ; and Bahamut , the King of Dragons . DB - 6 is a robot who 400 years ago fell off a floating castle and is entrusted with a warp cube . The robot accompanies the party to the end , unlike the original game , where it breaks and passes the warp cube to the heroes . It also features Sarah , Bikke and Garland . Novelization . As part of its " Final Fantasy " 25th anniversary celebration , Square Enix released a novelization of the first three " Final Fantasy " games . The novelization titled " Novel Final Fantasy I , II , III Memory of Heroes " was released Fall 2012 . Production credits . Original Famicom version . While not credited in - game , the following individuals are also known to have worked on the game : Allusions . " Final Fantasy " took a lot of influence from " Dungeons & Dragons " , having numerous references to it . Later versions also make references to other " Final Fantasy " games .