Final Fantasy I & II arrives (Day 1 and 2)

Finally the challenge begins. Yesterday Final Fantasy I & II arrived in a neat little yellow package from USPS, and like a little boy, I was thrilled. After some chores and errands I got the day to play it on my new Gameboy DS, and damn did I feel nostalgic. I was so into it that I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday. The sounds and colors blew me away. Although I had the Wonderswan Color editions of Final Fantasy I & II, the new NDS ones are much better. The back-lit screen makes it a lot easier to see.

At first glance I noticed that the names of items and spells changed. I still remember when they named magic "Fire 1" and "Ice 2". But now they're following the new translations from beyond Final Fantasy 8 (Firaga, Curas, etc). The backgrounds received a nice upgrade, and the animation on the battlescreen is complimentary to FF4.

Anyways, let's talk about my quest so far. I started my party off with the default pickings: Warrior, Thief, White Mage, and Black Mage. This is the most common party and easiest to play. Since I'm going for speed, I want some insurance for my winnings. Plus I heard about the new dungeons at the "End Game" where it's supposed to super challenging, and I wanted to be able to do those without difficulty.

The first few quests were easy. I realize that leveling up is a lot more easier now than the original game. I guess they nerf'ed the game down a bit, and definitely gold is easier to come by. By the time I reached Melmund I had enough to buy the Knight's armor (which is supposed to be 45,000 in the original game). I also remembered the importance of getting a Silver Sword (now Mithril) early in the game from Crescent Lake, so I walked there early (before beating the Earth Cave). For the most part, my Thief has been the hardest hitter because he can do 8 hits regularly with his Wyrm sword. A quick summary:

1. Cornelia - defeated Garland (Lv. 4)
2. Provoka - defeated Bikke and the pirates (Lv. 6)
3. Elfheim - defeated Astos (Lv. 13)
4. Melmund - defeated Lich (Lv. 26, yes there was a great leap here).
5. Crescent Lake - defeated Maralith (Kary?) (Lv. 34).

• Game Time: 7 hrs 14 mins
• Total Time: 7hrs 14 mins
• Days: 2 of 80 days.

My fears now are the soul dungeons, as I tried to do the Earthgift dungeon at level 26 and got my"ass handed to me". I'll definitely have to wait till most of the required quests are done to do them.