TEXT PLAY SIDE GAME: Final Fantasy (NES 1990/PS 2003 [Origins]): Issue #21: Back To The Future, Part One

This will be the first of two potential runs, with my main party.

I may do this bit with the all-monk party as well, even if I pull it off with the main one, just because I've put the time and effort into it.

Now, if you're much familiar with this game, you probably know about the Lute. In the Origins version I'm playing here, I do believe we could have gotten it from Princess Sara in Corneria at any time we wanted, though I'm not sure that was the case in the original version. I think in the NES version, you might have had to get it from her right away when you saved her from Garland at the beginning of the game. Don't quote me on that, though. I never made it nearly this far when I owned the NES version all those years ago. Either way, though, you're gonna need the Lute from Princess Sara to go any further in the game at this point because it's the key to going back in time 2000 years to beat Chaos.

So, let's get going here, shall we?

This part of the game is pretty much an endurance test to see how much a player can stand, how well they've prepared. You've really gotta be careful with your supplies because once you're in this last dungeon, there's no way to leave, there are no shops or inns, and at the point in gaming history that Final Fantasy was originally made, save points were yet to be invented, in part due to technological limitations. It really takes skill, patience, and planning to get through this and actually beat the game.

What I learned going through this is that I'm not entirely sure how people who played this on the NES made it through the game. There were no memo files for sure on the NES, and as far as I know, the only way to reset the thing was with a button on the front of the console. Getting through that version took real skill, real patience, and I'm not sure I could have done it.

I'm going to need those memo files when I finally get around to going through the Temple of Chaos with my all-monk team. I swear, they're all going to get murdered going through this. And I'm playing on easy mode, too. The normal mode is the original version, which is harder.

So, the trip through here. Now that all four crystals are re-lit, it's time to go to the Temple of Fiends and go 2000 years back in time. Once that's done, there's no leaving the temple. The whole dungeon here is eleven floors: three up, eight back down. The three floors up take you to an altar where you've gotta play the Lute that Princess Sara gave us back at the very start of the game. That'll open the passage to the downward route. The first three floors are another route through the floors we just went up. The next four are themed after the four elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Gotta be careful, especially on the last two floors, because Lich and Marilith are only a step away from the stairs to the next level, but Kracken and Tiamat are a fair distance back from the stairs.

On the very bottom floor, we run into Garland again, sitting in a throne room. After explaining that he and the Four Fiends caused a time loop so they could live forever and rule the world, Garland reveals his true form as the demon Chaos. This is the hardest fight I've had in a while. It actually took more than a round or two to get through. I had time to get haste on both my fighter and my monk, which really helped, because my fighter was doing a dozen hits a turn, and my monk was doing a whopping 19 hits per turn.

In a way, I got lucky here, too, because Chaos never did Ice 3 or Quake, which are spells that make my copy of the game lock up for some reason. That means I finally got to beat the original Final Fantasy fair and square, which is something I've been meaning to get to, and have tried on several occasions, over the years. So, it's a good feeling to have finally done that.

Before I do the epilog, I'm going to see if I can get through the Temple of Fiends with my all-monk party, just to see if I can actually do it. It's sort of a challenge mode kind of thing. So, issue #22 of this one will probably be about that. Hopefully, it won't be too terribly long before I can get to that.

Until then, have fun, keep gaming, DFTBA, and most importantly this time of year, STAY SAFE!