Final Fantasy

The current, editable version of this book is available in Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection, at
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy

Permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify this document under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

History

Background

Wargaming

Final Fantasy is described as one of the seminal games of the electronic Role-Playing (RPG) genre, but the seeds for the genre were sown many years before. Tabletop RPGs, which entail cooperative improvisational storytelling done within complex systems of rules, grew out of the timeless practice of "wargaming" and were a prominent part of youth subculture during the 1970's. Gary Gygax is widely credited with the development of the first tabletop RPG, Dungeons and Dragons, released in 1974, but the ideas for this grew out of the dice-rolling of a clique of wargamers (including Dave Arneson, one of the "unsung heroes" of RPG history) at the University of Minnesota, as well as the gaming conference "GenCon". (Given the roots of RPGs in wargaming, it isn't surprising that, in almost all RPGs, the player characters are warriors, and the combat system is often the most sophisticated part of the game.)

Computerized Gaming

Since the same individuals who flocked to D&D also tended to be the same individuals that pursued interests in the then-fledgling field of personal computing, there would inevitably be attempts to translate D&D-style rules systems into computer programs. This alleviates the sometimes tedious calculations involved in playing RPGs, and potentially allows a single player to engage the computer as a (albeit non-intelligent) Game Master. The first widely recognized development of a computer-based RPG occurred in 1980, when a Texas teenager named Richard "Lord British" Garriott, who had developed fantasy-based computer games as a hobby for several years, arranged for a local computer store to distribute his game "Akalabeth" for the Apple II. MUDs (Multiple-User Dungeons) had existed for several years before that thanks to the availability of modems, and terminal-based games such as dnd (1974) had a strong following at universities. Also, "Rogue", a text-based "dungeon crawl" game that has to date spawned many derivatives, also appeared on Unix machines in 1980. Akalabeth was, unlike the others, graphical (though crudely so) and therefore of singular influence on modern games. (It was also more than successful enough to put Garriott through college.) Garriott would go on to create a more sophisticated game, "Ultima" (1981), which included an action element (players had to obtain a spaceship and shoot down enemy ships), but was still an RPG at heart, as players built up their (single) character, uncovered clues and solved puzzles, and proceeded to the game's final confrontation with the evil wizard Mondain. Also in 1981, three Cornell University students had their dungeon crawl game, Wizardry, published. Wizardry featured first-person graphics as opposed to Ultima's bird's-eye view, and allowed players to control six player characters (PCs).

Both Ultima and Wizardry were highly successful and have spawned numerous sequels and spinoffs (see Bard's Tale, Might and Magic). Many of these early games are completely unplayable to modern gamers, featuring plenty of plot inconsistencies, in-jokes (pop culture references abound in Ultima II), irreverence, and shallow game design. But in their time, they were hugely successful. Ultima established itself as the dominant RPG series in North America, with Richard Garriott (by this point referred to almost exclusively by his nickname of Lord British) creating his own company, Origin, to publish the third game in the Ultima series in 1983. However, it was Wizardry that would cross the Pacific Ocean and establish itself as the dominant RPG series in Japan. In Japan, Wizardry has spawned an anime and numerous spinoffs and sequels that have not been released in North America.

Console Gaming

Meanwhile, the Famicom, which would later make its way to North America in the form of the Nintendo Entertainment System, was enjoying high sales figures and being established as a very lucrative market. Being that the Japanese had taken the lead in the revival of the video game console industry, and given the popularity of Wizardry, it was only a matter of time before a uniquely Japanese, console-based RPG would be released. This came in the form of Dragon Quest, released in 1986 by Enix. Created by game design visionary Yuji Horii on a MSX computer and featuring artwork by Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama, Dragon Quest was so successful that, by Japanese law, new installments in the series can only be released on a Sunday to reduce truancy. Like the Ultima and Wizardry games of earlier years, Dragon Quest is prohibitively crude to modern gamers, but its popularity at the time made the video game industry take notice.

Origin of Final Fantasy

And that's where the story of Final Fantasy begins.

Square began in 1983, a division of the Denyuusha software company. Their Famicom game development efforts began in 1985 with an undistinguished shooter called Teguzar, and in 1986 a game called King's Knight was released. A confusing mix of platform action and RPG, King's Knight's poor sense of game controls destined it for failure. With this lack of success on the Famicom and dwindling finances, Square began to get desperate. They began experimenting with packing 3-D glasses with their games. This can be seen in 3-D Worldrunner, a fiendishly difficult and innovative action game, and Rad Racer, a well-done racing game. Square still faced the prospect of going out of business, and Hironobu Sakaguchi, director of Planning and Development, was faced with one last chance to save the company. Square had experimented with Wizardry-style RPGs before on the Famicom Disk System, and the success of Dragon Quest made the prospect of developing a fantasy RPG game quite appealing. Sakaguchi decided that the (possibly) final project of Square would be a fantasy game, which is the source of the Final Fantasy name (and, presumably, the inherent contradiction in a game with "Final" in the title having numerous sequels). To make a long story short, Final Fantasy was more commercially successful than Sakaguchi predicted.

The original Final Fantasy game would make its way to North America three years later, when Nintendo picked the game up and began marketing it very aggressively. At the time, American NES fans had few RPG options; the first NES RPG was a very poorly done port of Ultima III, followed shortly by the behind-the-times Dragon Quest (released as Dragon Warrior). Outdated at the time it was released, Dragon Warrior was made moderately successful but not a hit, and Nintendo was reduced to giving away copies of the game to sell subscriptions to its magazine, Nintendo Power. Enix came to America to release Dragon Warrior II, but were forced to censor portions of its storyline (due to religious allusions) by Nintendo, and, with a relatively limited marketing campaign, failed to generate significant interest. For the NES, Final Fantasy was the first RPG that was both marketed well and had sufficient depth to capture players' imaginations, leading to it being far and away the most successful RPG in the console's history.

Given this, it is often argued that Final Fantasy has been a more influential RPG series than Dragon Quest. While Dragon Quest has stuck mainly to its Dragon Ball roots in terms of aesthetics, Final Fantasy has shown more eclecticism, which has been reflected in its numerous descendants. The battle system, gameplay mechanics, and plot devices have been copied endlessly. Final Fantasy's most direct ancestor is most likely Ultima III; both broke new ground in allowing players to control multiple PCs and both are relatively nonlinear. Final Fantasy, however, improved on Ultima III by offering a more streamlined battle system and a greater sense of structured questing. Final Fantasy has its weaknesses; the appearance of the Light Warriors to open the game is very poorly explained, there are a few annoying "fetch quests", the game is poorly paced (players spend much more time fighting in repetitive random battles than exploring and developing strategies), and has its fair share of bugs and game design shortcomings (there are supposed to be special weapons that have increased effects on different monsters, but this was not actually implemented). However, at the time these kinds of issues appeared in almost all other RPGs. Moreover, Final Fantasy is different from most other console RPGs in its relative nonlinearity; while most players would defeat Lich first, then Kary, before obtaining the airship and undergoing transformation, there is no reason why players could not also obtain the airship first and take on Kraken or Tiamat directly afterwards.

And Final Fantasy's influence continued, as it has continued into today. When bringing its Romancing SaGa series to the U.S., Square opted to market it under the name Final Fantasy Legend. The first successful RPG for the American Super NES was Final Fantasy IV (released as II), and Final Fantasy VI (released as III in North America) remains the favorite game of numerous RPGers. Square has re-released the original game on PlayStation (under the name Final Fantasy Origins).

To end this with a bad pun, one could say that the success and influence of this game has been beyond any of Hironobu Sakaguchi's final fantasies.

Story

Until 400 years ago, the world benefitted from the governance of the four classical elements (Air, Fire, Earth, and Water) by four glowing orbs. Mankind prospered as civilizations were established on each corner of the earth. The people of Onrac lived in massive palaces in the middle of the ocean, scouring the depths with submarines that enabled its crew to survive underwater. A reclusive nation of scientific-minded individuals lived in the forests of Lefein, using the nearby desert to build towers that reached to the heavens, then castles suspended in the heavens, and teleporters to connect the two, all with the usage of the enigmatic Floater Stone. Melmond preferred to develop a simple farming society on the broad, lush plains of the west, while a group of respected sages made a crescent-shaped lake in the east a center of learning. The seamen of the world gathered in Pravoka to trade, while a peculiar race of elves sang and glided through the forests and marshes of the south. The most powerful nation in the world, Coneria was centrally located on a peninsula overlooking the vast inland sea. The people of Coneria believed they were descended from men who had, thousands of years before, destroyed a great evil in the now-ruined nearby temple. It was never clear what the origin of the legends were, however, and over time they became the material of fairy tales.

On one day 400 years ago, all of this changed. A tentacled monster, the Kraken, attacked Onrac and sunk its palaces, forcing a handful of survivors to try to adapt to life on land. A dragon, Tiamat, drove the Lefeinish out of their Sky Caslte and reprogrammed its security systems, which included a virtually indestructible walking tank called WarMech, to defend himself. The Water and Air orbs darkened, causing their natural balance to be upset and causing unpredictable storms and winds across the earth. With sea-based trade at the mercy of the elements, piracy ruled the waves, especially in the great inland sea.

200 years later, the two other orbs went dark. The undead, guided by their leader Lich, took up residence near Melmond as the formerly lush plains turned to rock and marsh, while a powerful eight-armed knight named Kary was seen near Crescent Lake near a giant volcano. With fire on the horizon, the chief sage of Crescent Lake, Lukahn, looked to the sky and foretold the coming of four Light Warriors who would bring light to the orbs.

As the story begins, Coneria is faced with its brilliant but erratic knight, Garland, who kidnaps Princess Sara and heads to the abandoned Temple of Fiends. Shortly thereafter, four children appear outside the city walls of Coneria, each holding a dark orb.

Gameplay

Character Creation

To start the game, you must choose a name for each of four characters, and their character class. The available character classes are Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, and Red, White or Black Mage. These classes will determine the way the rest of the game goes, and you can't change the basic makeup of your party afterwards, so you are advised to choose carefully. Popular parties include Fighter/Black Belt/White Mage/Black Mage, and Fighter/Black Belt/Thief/Red Mage.

Getting Around

Moving your character around the world map is fairly self-explanatory. The Final Fantasy landscape consists of plains, grasslands, forests, swamps, deserts, oceans, ports, rivers, and mountains. Oceans can only be traversed by ship, and ships may only be "parked" at ports, which are usually located near towns. So, make sure you remember where you "park" your ship when you get one. Rivers may only be traversed by canoe; however, the Light Warriors are apparently able to carry the canoe with them, so it is automatically activated when you reach a river. (Rivers are shown as being the stagnant-looking narrow waterways cutting through land.) Mountains may not be traversed at all. With an airship, you can fly over anything, but can only land on plains and grasslands.

Occasionally you will reach points of interest such as towns, castles, and caves. When you step onto one of these, the game "zooms in" and you control the Light Warriors inside the point of interest. Here, you will often find people that will yield some information when you "talk" to them. Sometimes the information is useless, other times vitally important to the story. You will also occasionally find treasure chests. In towns, you will find several different kinds of shops that will exchange goods and services for money. These include item stores (sell curative and utilitarian items), White Magic stores (sell magic usable by White Mages, Knights, and Red Mages), Black Magic stores (sell magic usable by Black Mages, Ninjas, and Red Mages), weapon stores, armor stores, clinics (can revive slain allies), and inns (restores living Light Warriors to full status, and saves the game).

When wandering throughout the world map, you will occasionally fight in "random encounters". The enemies you face in these encounters depend on the area of the world you are currently travelling in and the terrain. Oceans have their own set of enemies and rivers have their own set. There are no random encounters while riding on the airship. Random encounters also occur while exploring hostile points of interest such as caves. However, sometimes in these points of interest battles are preprogrammed (usually directly in front of key items). The combat system that you must negotiate when dealing with random encounters is explained below.

Subscreen

On the subscreen you can view data relating to the Light Warriors and perform miscellaneous actions. These actions are:

Item: Use items such as cure potions, tents, or story-related items.
Weapon: Equip each Light Warrior with one (or no) weapon. Not all warriors can use all weapons; this depends on the class of the warrior. Weapons include daggers, swords, hammers, nunchuks, and staves.
Armor: Equip each Light Warrior with armor. A Light Warrior may be equipped with one armor, bracelet, or shirt, one shield, one helmet, and one pair of gauntlets/gloves. Again, this depends on the character class.
Status: View the attributes of each Light Warrior in greater detail. These attributes are explained in greater detail elsewhere. Also shows the number of experience points needed to advance to the next level. Light Warriors gain experience points from winning battles; upon reaching certain milestones (levels), they are granted higher attributes, more HP, and (possibly) more MP.
Magic: If your characters have magic-using capabilities, you can use them here assuming you have the requisite level of spell charges. Outside of battle, this includes mostly curative spells.

Displayed for each Light Warrior are HP and MP, compared with their maximum. HP (Hit Points) is the amount of damage a warrior can withstand before dying. It can be restored by using Heal Potions or curative spells and items, and can be restored completely by visiting an Inn.

MP (Magic Points) is a little more complicated. There are eight levels of spells, Level 1 being the weakest spells and Level 8 being the strongest. A Light Warrior, assuming he has the capacity to do so by his character class, can learn spells by buying them from a magic store. A Light Warrior may learn no more than three spells for each level; a total of 24 spells, and spells cannot be removed or sold. A Light Warrior also has a certain number of MPs for each spell level. These MPs are not interchangable between spell levels, and they are not rechargable except by staying at an Inn. For example, if a Light Warrior has 3 spell charges for Level 1 and 1 spell charge for Level 2, he may cast three Level 1 spells and one level 2 spell. He may not cast two Level 2 spells before staying at an Inn under any circumstances, until his experience level increases.

Party Order

You may change the marching order of your party. The character at the front of the line will tend to take more damage from non-magical attacks. Therefore, your leader should be the warrior with the strongest armor and highest HP value.

Combat

In combat, you are presented with your party on one side and your enemies on the other. One by one, each Light Warrior steps forth and awaits your orders. (Sometimes, the Light Warriors may be surprised by an enemy, in which case the enemy gets a free round of attacks.) Your choices are:

Fight: Attack a specific enemy using the equipped weapon
Magic: Use magic spells, either to attack an enemy or enemies, cure party members, increase the attributes of party members, or decrease the attributes of opponents.
Drink: Use Cure, Pure, or Soft potions on any party member.
Item: Some weapons and armor have special effects when used in battle.
Run: Attempt to flee the battle. Based on an individual warrior's Luck attribute; however, if one warrior successfully flees, all warriors flee.

After the warriors receive their orders, they carry them out one by one while the enemy also attacks using its own set of orders. If one side is incapacitated, the other side gets free rounds of attacks until this is no longer true; if one side is killed or turned to stone, the battle is over. If that one side happens to be the Light Warriors, the game is over.

Trivia

< Final Fantasy

The game borrows very heavily from the tabletop game First Edition Dungeons and Dragons. The list of monsters to fight is nearly identical to the bestiary from that game. The possible character classes are similar (Fighter = Fighter, Black Belt = Monk, Thief = Thief, White Wizard = Cleric, Black Wizard = Magic-User). The magic system is similar, with many analogous spells and the same level-based spell charge system.

In the 1990 NES release, you could obtain a world map by pressing B and Select at the same time. This is a hint given to you early on in Matoya's Cave; take what the brooms have to say and spell it backwards.

The Nintendo Power strategy guide for this game stated that certain weapons did additional damage to certain enemies (Coral Sword vs. water enemies, for example). This is not true in actual gameplay. It is not clear whether Nintendo/Square intended to actually implement this and forgot, or whether the Nintendo Power information was completely fabricated. (Note this only applies to the original NES version; these weapons perform their intended effects in subsequent versions of the game)

Along the same lines, there are certain spells that do nothing at all! These include the Black Magic spells TMPR, SABR, and LOCK. LOK2, a supposedly more powerful version of LOCK, in fact does the opposite of what it was intended to do--it makes the enemies harder rather than easier to hit. (These bugs apply only to the original NES version; these spells perform their intended effects in subsequent versions of the game (Wonderswan Color and Game Boy Advance)

Nintendo Power ran a contest in which the object was to obtain a photograph of a battle screen on which WarMech was shown. WarMech is an enemy that appears randomly and very rarely along the long bridge leading to Tiamat in the Sky Castle. He is very difficult to defeat and can't be escaped. It is believed that WarMech started the tradition of placing very difficult but optional enemies towards the end of a Final Fantasy game.

Fire, earth, air and water are the Classical Elements, which were believed by the ancient Greeks to be the constituents of the universe. However, the concept of classical elements likely began earlier. A fifth element, "aether" was added to describe stellar objects. The Hindus also had the same concept of classical elements.

Likely a programming glitch, there is an invisible woman in Coneria Castle.

Arylon the Dancer, the price of the Power Staff, and the tombstone of Erdrick are intended to be answers to questions in a sort of "scavenger hunt" contest by Nintendo Power that appeared shortly after Final Fantasy came out in the U.S.

Erdrick is the hero of legend in Dragon Warrior, explaining how his tombstone showed up in another Nintendo-produced game. In the Japanese and Dawn of Souls versions, Link (of Legend of Zelda) was the name on the tombstone.

The humor website Seanbaby.com named the AMUT spell one of the "Most Useless Powerups in Video Game History", along with such classics as the Feather from Milon's Secret Castle and the Cloak of Invisibility from Wizards & Warriors. Contrary to what is implied by the article, there are enemies that use the MUTE spell in the game, but they are so rare as to make an anti-MUTE spell useless.

Classes

Final Fantasy uses a class system in which the player chooses the classes of the four heroes at the beginning of the game. These classes cannot be changed after this (except for promoting them by completing the Castle of Ordeal quest). There are six classes to choose from.

Original Class		Upgraded Class
Fighter		Knight
Thief		Ninja
Black Belt		Master
Red Mage		Red Wizard
White Mage		White Wizard
Black Mage		Black Wizard

Strength

Strength is the statistic that measures a warrior's physical power. Higher Strength ratings allow a hero to do more damage with physical attacks. Fighters and Black Belts rely primarily on their Strength attributes, as do Knights and Masters. Black Mages and Black Wizards are extremely weak, with abysmal Strength scores.

Agility

The Agility score of a hero is the level of physical dexterity that character has. High Agility scores make it easier for the warrior to dodge enemy attacks as well as increasing the character's ability to accurately hit his foe. Thieves, Ninja, Black Mages, and Black Wizards all have relatively high Agility scores.

Intelligence

Intelligence is the statistic that determines the effectiveness of magical attacks. All forms of mages and wizards have high Intelligence scores, with the Black Mage and Black Wizard possessing exceptionally great quantities of Intelligence. The Fighter and, to a lesser extent the Knight, has a terrible score.

It is widely believed that, due to a design mistake, Intelligence score has no actual effect on gameplay.

Vitality

The statistic Vitality is a measure of how much damage a hero can take before being slain. It is necessary to have a high Vitality score for any warrior who intends on engaging foes in hand-to-hand combat. Fighters, Knights, Black Belts, and Masters tend to be extremely tough, and the White Mage and White Wizard are also fairly resistant to enemy assaults. The Black Mage and Black Wizard have low Vitality scores and are thus more likely to be killed quickly in a melee.

Luck

Luck is an attribute that comes into play when no other statistic applies. The most important function of Luck is the ability to run away from a difficult fight; it is no surprise that the Thief has exceptionally high Luck scores. Often, the Thief is included in a party simply for his ability to escape to safety.

Being able to run away from battles is extremely useful in the game's final challenge, the marathon Temple of Fiends.

Weapons

Weapons are the primary means of doing damage to foes. Each hero is able to carry up to four weapons at any time, but may only have one equipped.

Axes

Axes are large, bulky weapons that use brute force to slam through enemies. Axes typically have a large, sharp blade attached to a wooden rod. They are commonly wielded with one hand, requiring an amount of strength exhibited only by Fighters, Knights, and Ninja. They are among the most powerful weapons, though are highly inaccurate and tend to be slow.

Daggers

Daggers are bladed weapons similar to but smaller than swords. Daggers are typically intended for piercing and stabbing attacks. They are among the most accurate weapons, though often lag behind others in damage capability. Nearly all daggers may be used by all character classes except White Mages or White Wizards, who are unable to use any edged weapons due to religious inhibitions.

Hammers

Hammers are large weapons that can be swung with great force in attempts to bludgeon foes. Because they are extremely simple to use and do not violate religious prohibitions against the use of edged weapons, hammers are usually the weapons of choice for White Mages and White Wizards. They are usually powerful if a solid blow can be achieved, but are notorious for their inaccuracy. It is rumored that the god Thor used a hammer that was ensorcelled to be more accurate than normal.

Nunchaku

Nunchaku (the word is both singular and plural) are exotic weapons that are commonly used by the Eastern monks known as Black Belts. The nunchaku is basically two wooden sticks or iron rods attached together by a short rope or chain. The difficulty in using such a weapon without the wielder hurting himself is so great that few are able to master it. A small sect of Ninja has been rumored to have learned the secret of the nunchaku from the Black Belts.

Iron Nunchaku
Wooden Nunchaku (Nunchaku)

Staves

The Staff (plural Staves) is often simply a tall stick and serves as a status symbol for the mages of the world. However, staves are often enchanted with magical powers or increased strength. Some are iron-shod, while others seem to have magical energy concentrated at their striking ends. In any case, the staff is almost always wielded by a spell caster who has no need of weaponry to cause destruction.

Swords

Swords are among the most common weapons in the world. They are typically longer than daggers. Most swords are two-edged and used for slashing attacks rather than piercing ones. However, the term "sword" is a fairly loose one and covers everything from the standard short sword to the exotic katana and the holy masamune. The sheer variety of these weapons ensures that there is one for almost any occasion.

Armor

Body armor is perhaps the most common form of protection against the attacks of foes. Body armor typically covers at least the torso of a hero, though some forms can cover much more to provide better protection. As an alternative to standard body armor, enchanted shirts or bracelets can be worn. Each adventurer may carry up to four pieces of armor (including helmets, shields, and gauntlets as well) but may only equip one piece of body armor.

Shirts

Cloth

Bracelets

Copper Bracelet (Copper Armlet)

Armor

Wooden Armor (Leather Armor)
Chain Mail
Iron Armor (Steel Plate)

Helmets

Helmets are considered by many heroes to be necessary to survival when adventuring, as they protect the warrior's head from attacks. Most characters cannot wear stronger helmets than the Cap, though Fighters and Ninja have access to three helmets and the Knight to five. Each adventurer may carry up to four pieces of armor (beware, this includes armor, shields, and gauntlets as well) but may only equip one helmet.

Headgear

Cap (Leather Cap)

Helmets

Wooden Helmet (Helmet)

Heavy Helmets

In Final Fantasy Origins, Helmet refers specifically to the Wooden Helmet.

Shields

Shields are large metal sheets worn on the left hand of a warrior. The shield is used to fend off enemy attacks. Many warriors owe their lives to their shields, as the shield takes many hits that otherwise could kill the hero using it. An adventurer may carry one shield.

Capes

Shields

Iron Shield
Wooden Shield (Leather Shield)

Knight Shields

In Final Fantasy Origins, Shield is also the name of the spell Fog.

Gauntlets

Gauntlets are armored gloves worn by warriors to protect their hands in battle. Each adventurer may carry up to four pieces of armor (beware, this includes armor, helmets, and shields as well) but may only equip one piece of body armor.

Gloves

Gloves (Leather Gloves)

Gauntlets

Items

There are very few usable items in Final Fantasy. They are:

Heal Potion (Potion)
Pure Potion (Antidote)
Soft Potion (Gold Needle)
Tent (Sleeping Bag)
Cabin (Tent)
House (Cottage)

Note also that some quest items need to be used in the proper location in order to have their effect. Also, some equipped items can be used during battle.

Key Items

Key Items are items that are essential to moving the storyline forward. Occasionally, the quest items must be used, similar to regular items, but more often it is only necessary for the Light Warriors to possess the quest item.

Ship
Crown
Crystal
Herb
Key
TNT
Rod
Lute
Canoe
Floater (Levistone)
Tail
Bottle
Oxyale
Slab
Chime
Cube
Adamant (Adamantium)

White Magic

White Magic is primarily concerned with healing and restoration. Spells that directly affect the caster's foes are extremely rare. There are a number of spells that do attempt to destroy undead, however.

White Magic is cast by White Mages, White Wizards, Red Mages, Red Wizards, and Knights.

Level 1

Cure
Harm (Dia)
Fog (Shield)
Ruse (Blink)

Level 2

Lamp
Mute (Silence)
AntiLit (NulBolt)
Invisibility

Level 3

Cure2
Harm2 (Dia2)
AntiFire (NulFire)
Heal

Level 4

Pure (Esuna)
Fear
AntiIce (NulIce)
AntiMute (Vox)

Black Magic

Black Magic is primarily concerned with damage and destruction. Spells that directly affect the caster or his allies are extremely rare.

Black Magic is cast by Black Mages, Black Wizards, Red Mages, Red Wizards, and Ninjas.

Level 1

Fire
Lightning (Bolt)
Sleep
Lock (Focus)

Level 2

Ice
Dark (Fog)
Temper (Steel)
Slow

Level 3

Fire2
Hold (Bind)
Lightning2 (Bolt2)
Lock2 (Focus2)

Level 4

Sleep2
Fast (Haste)
Confuse (Muddle)
Ice2

Enemy Abilities

Some enemies have special attacks named enemy abilities in addition to or instead of physical attacks or the ability to cast White Magic and Black Magic.

Gaze

Locations

Locations:

Coneria (Cornelia)
Crescent Lake
Elfland (Elfheim)
Gurgu Volcano (Gulg Volcano)
Matoya's Cave
Melmond
North Bridge
Northwest Castle
Pravoka (Pravoca)
Temple of Fiends (Temple of Chaos)

Characters

Characters in Final Fantasy, listed alphabetically.

Arylon
Astos
Bikke
Chaos
Four Fiends
- Lich
- Kary
- Kraken
- Tiamat
Garland
Jane, Queen of Coneria (Queen Jayne)
King of Coneria
Light Warriors
Lukahn (Lukin)
Matoya
Pirates
Prince of Elfland
Sara, Princess of Coneria (Princess Sarah)

Inns

Inns are places in which heroes are able to rest and recover from their adventures. Any adventurer who stays at an inn will heal all of his wounds as well as getting a good night's sleep. Magical powers will also be fully restored. The game can be saved after staying at an Inn.

Later in the game, after obtaining the airship, it is best to save money by visiting the inn at Coneria.

Inn Locations and Prices:

City	Price
Coneria	30 G
Pravoka	50 G
Elfland	100 G

Healer

Healers are locations at which fallen heroes may be revived. If a hero's health drops to 0, that hero will die. There are two ways of reviving the dead hero: a powerful mage can use a Life spell or the party can visit a healer.

Healer Locations and Prices:

City		Price
Coneria		40 G
Pravoka		80 G
Elfland		200 G

Weapon Shops

Weapon stores are the business portion of a blacksmith's operation. The weapons that the smith creates are sold to adventurers for their use in destroying monsters and villains. Each smith has different abilities, and so the availability of weapons in each weapon store will depend on its location.

The weapon stores and their wares are:

Coneria
- Wooden Staff (Staff)
- Small Dagger (Knife)
- Wooden Nunchaku (Nunchaku)
- Rapier
- Iron Hammer (Hammer)
Pravoka
- Iron Hammer (Hammer)
- Short Sword (Broadsword)
- Hand Axe (Battle Axe)
- Scimitar
Elfland
- Iron Nunchaku
- Large Dagger (Dagger)
- Iron Staff (Crosier)
- Silver Sword (Mythril Sword)
- Sabre (Saber)

Armor Shops

Armor stores are where armorers sell their wares. Some basic armor stores provide only the simplest of chest protection, while others have been known to sell complete suits of mail, helmets, shields, and gauntlets.

The armor stores and their wares are:

Coneria
- Cloth
- Wooden Armor (Leather Armor)
- Chain Mail
Pravoka
- Wooden Armor (Leather Armor)
- Chain Mail
- Iron Armor (Steel Plate)
- Wooden Shield (Leather Shield)
- Gloves (Leather Gauntlets)
Elfland
- Cap (Leather Cap)
- Iron Armor (Steel Plate)
- Iron Shield
- Copper Bracelet (Copper Armlet)
- Wooden Helmet (Helmet)

Item Shops

Item stores are convenient locations for heroes to stock up on restorative items that can assist them in surviving the trials of the wilderness. Some of the item stores have very limited selections, while others will sell nearly all of the items.

The item stores and their wares are:

Coneria
- Heal Potion (Potion)
- Pure Potion (Antidote)
- Tent (Sleeping Bag)
Pravoka
- Heal Potion (Potion)
- Pure Potion (Antidote)
- Tent (Sleeping Bag)
- Cabin (Tent)
Elfland
- Heal Potion (Potion)
- Pure Potion (Antidote)
- Cabin (Tent)
- House (Cottage)
- Soft Potion (Gold Needle)

White Mystic

White Mystics are locations where spells, specifically White Magic spells, are sold. This is the only way for magicians to learn new spells. White Mages, White Wizards, Red Mages, Red Wizards, and Knights are all able to use the services of the White Mystics.

The locations of the White Mystics and the spells that each sells are:

Coneria
- Cure
- Harm (Dia)
- Fog
- Ruse
Pravoka
- Lamp
- Mute (Silence)
- AntiLit (NulBolt)
- Invisibility
Elfland (first store)
- Cure2
- Harm2 (Dia2)
- AntiFire (NulFire)
- Heal
Elfland (second store)
- Pure (Esuna)
- Fear
- AntiIce (NulIce)
- AntiMute (Vox)

Black Mystic

Black Mystics are locations where spells, specifically Black Magic spells, are sold. This is the only way for magicians to learn new spells. Black Mages, Black Wizards, Red Mages, Red Wizards, and Ninja are all able to use the services of the Black Mystics.

The locations of the Black Mystics and the spells that each sells are:

Coneria
- Fire
- Sleep
- Lock (Focus)
- Lightning (Bolt)
Pravoka
- Ice
- Dark (Fog)
- Temper (Steel)
- Slow
Elfland (first store)
- Fire2
- Hold (Bind)
- Lightning2 (Bolt2)
- Lock2 (Focus2)
Elfland (second store)
- Sleep2
- Fast (Haste)
- Confuse (Muddle)
- Ice2

Enemies

Monsters are listed in alphabetical order, with their alternate names (from Final Fantasy Origins) in parentheses. Bold enemies are unique and are also covered as characters.

Arachnid (Tarantula)
Asp (Cobra)
Bone (Skeleton)
Creep (Gigas Worm)
Garland
Geist (Ghast)
Ghoul (Ghoul)
Gray Imp (Goblin Guard)
Gray Wolf (Warg Wolf)
Green Ogre (Ogre Chieftain)
Iguana (Lizard)
Imp (Goblin)
Kyzoku (Privateer)
Mad Pony (Crazy Horse)
Odd Eye (Goggler)
Ogre
Pirate
Red Sahagin (Sahagin Chief)
Sahagin
Scorpion
Shark
Spider (Black Widow)
Werewolf
Wolf
Zombie

Status Effects

There are a number of adverse status effects in Final Fantasy:

Coneria Walkthrough

In Coneria Castle, you learn that Garland has kidnapped Princess Sara and the King is looking for the Light Warriors. Before heading to the Temple of Fiends where the Princess is held, you need to build up your Light Warriors. Go to Coneria Town just outside the castle. You begin with 400 gold, so you should have enough money to buy the following weapons/armor combinations for each Warrior:

Fighter: Rapier/Chain
Thief: Rapier/Wooden
Black Belt: Nunchuks/Wooden
Red Mage: Rapier/Chain
White Mage: Hammer/Cloth
Black Mage: Dagger/Cloth

Next comes level-building. Leave town, step outside the gates, and walk around. Most of the enemies you'll fight are Imps, who are easily dispatched. Grey Imps are slightly stronger, but still not much of a challenge. Wolves and their large packs will present a little more resistance. Mad Ponies are the toughest here, and may require you to run away the first couple of times. Build your characters up to Level 2 or 3, and use the gold obtained from your battles to buy a few Heal Potions in Coneria. You may also want to buy a Tent for resting up outside the Temple, but it's doubtful you'll need it. If you have spellcasters, focus on getting CURE and RUSE for your White Magic while considering HARM for later, and FIRE and SLEP for the Black, while keeping LIT in the back of your head for later.

Once you can beat Mad Ponies without too much trouble, head northwest to the Temple of Fiends. Buy a few Pure Potions first.

Temple of Fiends Walkthrough

The Temple of Fiends isn't very big, but there still exists the potential for some dangerous random encounters. Bones and Spiders are easy to get rid of. If you did buy HARM at Coneria, use it on the Ghouls. Grey Wolves and Werewolves are where the most trouble lies; both have lots of HP (around 70) and the Werewolf can poison you. You'll probably be inclined to run away, but if you're feeling brave, try SLEP on the wolves.

There's one optional destination here: the treasure room in the lower left. You'll pick up a Cabin, Heal Potion, and a Cap. The other rooms are locked for the time being. This is your call; the Cabin will be useful on the upcoming long hike to Pravoka, the other two items you can take or leave.

The reason you made this trip, of course, is the battle against Garland. Just march straight up to the center of the temple and take him on. Despite his cool hat, Garland is only a little worse than the strongest random monsters you've dealt with so far. He has around 100 HP and a moderately powerful attack. SLEP sometimes works on him, but you shouldn't need it. FIRE takes a lot out of him, and RUSE is very useful since it makes Garland miss on his attacks quite often. Just fight and heal as necessary and he'll go down.

Talk to Sara after the battle, and get warped back to Coneria. Talk to the king, and he'll build the bridge to the northeast that will enable you passage to the greater world. Buy some tents, pick up anything you intended to get but didn't, then start what will be a pretty long hike to the eastern town of Pravoka.