Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

I bought Dawn of Souls yesterday as an early Christmas present for myself and I have to say that I am surprised at the level of detail in the graphics. They are definitely on par with the PSX version.

The magic points system is a little irritating for anyone who's only played FF1. Even when I tried on FFIV, it never sank in for me. Personally, I felt that it was one of the things that made the original unique, and instead they are making the original more mainstream with the rest of the series. That's my only pet peave at the moment with the game.

I'm only at the Earth Cave, so I'll see how it goes from here.


12/7/04: Last night I was able to beat FF1 on GBA. These are some of my thoughts:

1. Leveling went a little too quickly for my tastes. I couldn't finish a chapter of the story without gaining at least two levels. It seemed ridiculous being level five before reaching Pravoka.

2. I noticed that the black belt was toned down...slightly. Even at the higher levels, he hit for just slightly more damage than a knight with Excalibur.

3. I don't know why Square keeps adding hitpoints to the bosses but keeps the rest of the enemies at the same amount. It doesn't make them any harder; it just makes the fight longer.

4. The new shrines do add an extra feature to the game. I would suggest buying the guide if you plan on venturing into any of the four shrines just for the maps since you cannot cast your white wizard's Teleport Spell.

These are just some of my thoughts. Overall, I do like the game and will play it again (it is Final Fantasy I after all).

I'm surprised I haven't posted here before, considering my love of the original FF...Anyway, I'll probably buy a GBA in the new year to get the slew of games coming out for it. Dawn of Souls is just another reason to get it. It's pathetic how many times I've played that game, but I just can't get enough of it. *laughs*

After defeating Rubicante in the last level of the Hellfire Chasm (found on the swampy island of the Dragon Caves), I found a fourth Ribbon in the chest next to his spiked area. It's finally possible to have four characters with Ribbons!!! The pretend overworld in that chasm is also pretty cool; just BE SURE TO GET THE LEVISTONE BEFORE ENTERING. Otherwise you might be stuck in the dungeon . Good times!


Edit: Of course you will have the Levistone...you can't get to the Dragon Caves without the airship.

So, does anyone know if the Ice Cavern is still as hard as ever? 'Cause if it is, I'm looking forward to it. *smiles*

[Bunny]

I'm not sure what to think about this game.

I beat Final Fantasy I last Saturday(3 days after I got it) with a Master, Warrior, Black Wizard, and White Wizard. All of them were level 75(despite the fact that they didn't need to be). All of my characters had 999 of something, hell, I think my White Mage had 999 on HP/MP. Oh yeah, they changed the magic system making them game a whole lotta easy. I liked it.. but.. eh.. it went by too fast. I was about level 50 before even fighting the Third Fiend.

I haven't played the second one yet.. well, I started but haven't done much.

So the first game is probably a 7.5-8/10, simply because of the difficulty or lack thereof. Second one is to be determined.

Dragonsoul, I'm going to have to go along with Bunny on this one. The Ice Cave isn't much harder, but the likelihood of the dark wizards casting Firaga has increased since the original NES version. If your characters are questionable when you enter the cave, prepare to lose one or two to their fire attack. Other than that, keep an eye out for the White Dragons and their ice-based attacks.

I recently brought the group I won with up to level 99 and am still looking for the Death Machine and Iron Gollem. The chances of running into these elusive enemies has become a lot less likely. Good luck completing your beastiary.

Good Times

cookiemonbc: Thanks for the reply. I'm always looking for a challenge and I find that FF1 can usually provide it. I'm curious, though, what's the Death Machine? Have they renamed WarMech?

Yes, I'm afraid they did rename our old, trusty friend. Personally, I wish they had kept the older name because it's been around (for the American audience) for well over ten years. In addition, they doubled its hitpoints and gave it the ability to regenerate 100 hp's each round. This is the only instance in the game (except for the extra dungeons and Chaos) where the fight is actually somewhat harder. Unfortunately, its infrequent appearance does not make it as valuable a tool for gaining levels as it was in the "original" NES version. Then again, it's all very similar to the PSX version, except that it's almost impossible to find the SOB.

Well just to tell ever one that I beat both one and two. I won't spoil anything in case you haven't beat it. Now I'm working on mastering both of them. That should be fun. Well pm me if you need help on it.

~sephy~

I'm just Starting FF1 of the the Dawn of Souls duo, and I'm unsure on which character class to choose. Are there any classes you don't encounter later? Which is most useful?

igot it real good and the bestiary is a nie feature

There is a decent discussion in the FF teams thread in the FF 1-3 section of the forums (which you are currently in). I would suggest a mix of two fighters and two mages for starting the game. My Fighter, Monk, White Mage, and Black Mage group is currently sitting at level 99, defeated three of the extra dungeons, and beaten the game three times as well (82% beastiary, and still no Death Machine/Warmech). You have to keep the same group throughout the game, so you really don't encounter much in the way of other classes in the game. Each class is special, and, if you read the thread, it really depends on your personality and attack style which class is the most effective.

cookiemonbc: They did change the name?! *fumes* Death Machine sounds so grandiose...Warmech sounds dangerous. Oh, well, thanks for letting me know...

Last night I was able to finish the last of the extra dungeons in the game. I think that forty floors is a little excessive, especially with random sequencing and start points. As of right now, I have 95% of the beastiary completed (yes, i found the Warmech-yes i refuse to call it a death machine). Unfortunately, I have to go through the last dungeon again to complete the last nine or ten enemies for my beastiary. Not only that, i'm also at level 99 and have encountered large groups of some of those enemies only to have ALL of them RUN. That is really annoying. oh well, another two days in the Whisperwind Cove should knock them out as well.


Final Score: 8.5

I love the extra items (2 judgment staves and 1 lightbringer...soon to have two) but some of the caverns are ridiculously long. I could handle 20 floors, but forty was just a bit too much...granted only 35 involve actual fighting.

Trying to solve the dwarves' problems in the last dungeon was annoying because i couldn't understand what they were asking for. It's like reading a transcript of a two-year-old's conversation.

I did like the opportunity that Dark Bahamut offers to kill a bunch of dragons to open the door. I like to kill all but a few before checking in with Bahamut and then talking to the three or so left. It seems that it doesn't matter whether your a Dark or normal Bahamut, you'll always be followed by a bunch of losers and ninnies.


That's enough for now...we'll see how the hunt goes.

I haven't spent much time on FF2...then again, i never do.

Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls is awsome, it is sooo much easier to level up then on the orignal version of the game. The Graphics are soo much better to. I think the only really annoying thing I have with the game is the fact that once you go down to the bottome of one of the added dungeons and kill one of the 4 bosses, it takes you back outside.