lack of story in ff1

[metal572]

ive noticed the lack of story in ff1 and also if u go on amazon.com and search final fantasy 1 and 2 thn click dawn of souls look at the comments and other people have noticed. but why if it was so lacking did it start such a big series? i mean the story is just isnt like other ff's. i know that this was the first so there is going to be stuff wrong with it but why if it had a lack of story did so many people like it?comments?

[LonePaladin]

There was a lack of story because it was orignally NES game. They didn't have much space at the time for a lot of text so they concentrated on making the game play good. It wasn't really still the SNES era that FF games started having a "good" story since the SNES carts gave devs a lot more space.

[Cain Highwind]

Originally Posted by metal572

also if u go on amazon.com

My question is why you would go to Amazon.com in the first place...

But anyway a LOT of videogames back then weren't as storycentric as they are now. It was about Gameplay back then. The series and videogames in general had to evolve to where it is now.

I wouldn't blame it on space, as FFII had a pretty solid story for its time on par with a newer FF. It was just how videogames were back then, they weren't these grandoise cinematic gameplay experiences they are now. It's like saying "Why didn't movies have color back then?" or "Why don't the special effects of Jason and the Argonauts look as good as CG?"

[postalblowfish7]

Originally Posted by LonePaladin

There was a lack of story because it was orignally NES game. They didn't have much space at the time for a lot of text so they concentrated on making the game play good. It wasn't really still the SNES era that FF games started having a "good" story since the SNES carts gave devs a lot more space.

well... not really. FFIIj has a pretty incredible story - complete with a key word recalling system, a mysidia sub-plot, the destruction of most of the towns in the word, a passage to hell, etc. etc. etc.

FFI didn't have a "strong" story because... well... it was like the 2nd TRUE console RPG ever developed (if you think FFI has a weak story, check out dragon warrior for the NES ). the conventions of rpg story telling hadn't been fully figured out yet, and at the time they thought the townspeople just "talking" about what was going on was enough to keep you cognizant as to what to do next. actually the story is pretty awesome if you play all the way through it. the 2000 year time loop, YOU were that warrior of light, etc.

regardless - FFI is sort of incredible though, as it's the closest to zelda that the series ever got. you're just put in a world, left alone and clueless in front of a massive castle and surrounding towns. eventually you're just given a ship and the world, and it's up to you to find new ports where they require your aid, new lands screaming for a challenger... it's that sort of sandbox exploration, that bliss-filled exuberance of completing one chapter of a game, and being at that point where you have no idea what to do next, then the thrill of finding that town - where the townsfolk are talking about strange beasts and lands yet unknown to you - that is where the power of FFI's story is.

from that angle, i think FFI has a pretty strong story - if you look at it as more of an open-ended world of 8-bit possibilities, rather than the more modern approach of holding your hand through a series of cut scenes. it's one of the reasons i love FFXI so much. i truly feel that FFXI is more like FFI and FFIII than any other final fantasy game since. FFI and FFXI are akin, as they give you the famous starting 6 jobs, and then they give you the world. the rest is for you to sort out.

[LonePaladin]

While FF2 did have more of a story then FF1(which I think was due to either bigger NES carts or better programing techniques), I really didn't consider it deep or incredible. Ground breaking for its time of course, but still nothing compared to the SNES FFs, which I'm sure what the TC is comparing it too. I'm sure if the devs had more space to work with it would have beenn much better. Then again I've only played the PS1 remake with Origins. I never played the original.

[Final Fanatic]

Originally Posted by postalblowfish7

well... not really. FFIIj has a pretty incredible story - complete with a key word recalling system, a mysidia sub-plot, the destruction of most of the towns in the word, a passage to hell, etc. etc. etc.

FFI didn't have a "strong" story because... well... it was like the 2nd TRUE console RPG ever developed (if you think FFI has a weak story, check out dragon warrior for the NES ). the conventions of rpg story telling hadn't been fully figured out yet, and at the time they thought the townspeople just "talking" about what was going on was enough to keep you cognizant as to what to do next. actually the story is pretty awesome if you play all the way through it. the 2000 year time loop, YOU were that warrior of light, etc.

regardless - FFI is sort of incredible though, as it's the closest to zelda that the series ever got. you're just put in a world, left alone and clueless in front of a massive castle and surrounding towns. eventually you're just given a ship and the world, and it's up to you to find new ports where they require your aid, new lands screaming for a challenger... it's that sort of sandbox exploration, that bliss-filled exuberance of completing one chapter of a game, and being at that point where you have no idea what to do next, then the thrill of finding that town - where the townsfolk are talking about strange beasts and lands yet unknown to you - that is where the power of FFI's story is.

from that angle, i think FFI has a pretty strong story - if you look at it as more of an open-ended world of 8-bit possibilities, rather than the more modern approach of holding your hand through a series of cut scenes. it's one of the reasons i love FFXI so much. i truly feel that FFXI is more like FFI and FFIII than any other final fantasy game since. FFI and FFXI are akin, as they give you the famous starting 6 jobs, and then they give you the world. the rest is for you to sort out.

Yes, this is true, I mean, it had a good story, just not told the way we, gamers of today are used to.
Travelling 2000 years to the past using the power of the four elements is something, and was that kind of plot that made people like it, and old square making FFII, cause FFI was such a sucess.
Be grateful that the game was made the way it was, f it wasn't for this game, u wouldn't have FF right now

[postalblowfish7]

Originally Posted by LonePaladin

While FF2 did have more of a story then FF1(which I think was due to either bigger NES carts or better programing techniques), I really didn't consider it deep or incredible. Ground breaking for its time of course, but still nothing compared to the SNES FFs, which I'm sure what the TC is comparing it too. I'm sure if the devs had more space to work with it would have beenn much better. Then again I've only played the PS1 remake with Origins. I never played the original.

FFIIj has an incredibly broke leveling system - but the story is strong enough for me to call it my favorite final fantasy game. yes, the story is pretty simple - but i think it's extremely powerful. It's really not too different from a sort of Star Wars scenario, rebels vs. the evil empire etc... but think about it - all the characters that you have in your party that bite the dust,

Spoiler: and not to mention the ending sequence where their ghosts appear in the Phin throne room :'''(

i dunno - obviously it's not a story as coherent as, say, FFVII or FFXII - however it was an important step in that direction. if you get a chance (and have a whole lot of patience for mindless grinding) then i suggest you play the NES version. on emulation or hacked cart or whatever you need to do - i don't know, somehow with 8-bit graphics and sound the story didn't seem sort of lame and dated like it does in the remakes. i also think FFIIj has one of the strongest and most distinct final fantasy soundtracks. the rebellion's theme, the dark march of the empire...

the point is, when i finished FFI (on my NES), i shed a few tears - the first of the series has a beautiful and eloquent ending. when i beat FFIII, i watered up for a seconded, but mostly i was filled with joy as if a great burden had been removed from my heart. but when i beat FFIIj on my NES - i wept.

Spoiler: when all the ghosts appeared as small transparent 8-bit figures in the throne room, and they all left one by one, minwu being the last

, tears were streaming down my face as i dropped the NES controller on the floor. i was wholly affected by the story, the struggle of the rebellion,

Spoiler: the deaths of all those that worked so hard to fight against the emperor, and the destruction of all the towns.

hehe, but maybe i'm just a little odd about things like that...

[LonePaladin]

Don't get me wrong I actually enjoyed FF2 more then most people did. But I see your point perhaps I worded my opinion the wrong way. I was trying to say that FF2 wasn't able to have as much dialog to push the story along as well as the FF games on SNES and up did, which is what I think the topic creator was asking about. I'm not saying FF2 had a bad story line I thought it was pretty good in fact. I thought FF1's story was pretty neat too. I do confess that I haven't beat FF2 got to the last boss actually I really need to go back and beat it >_<

[Final Fanatic]

I've learned not to judge games for their graphics, and when i finished FFI and IV, I was happy cause they didn't had beautifull graphics, but they actually had a good enough story to keep me attached to the game.
I felt involved with the characters, feeling what the would feel.
This is something that FF does quite well, even in its origins, in the NES.

[LonePaladin]

Yeah same here, I started with the 3D FFs, FF8 to be exact, then I played 7 and 9, then I went back and played the 2D ones and loved them. Heck I even apprecaite the graphics from the SNES games, imo 16 bit sprites age better then PS1 generation graphics. Imo FF1-9 have better music then the modern FFs too.

[sabin106]

most NES games at that time didn't have much of a storyline like games do nowadays, but in 2 the storyline evloved