Final Fantasy (MSX2) Home Page
Release Data
Developer: Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Microcabin
Release Date: December 1989
System: MSX2
Translation: FCandChill
Genre: JRPG
Players: 1
Description
Final Fantasy is a Japanese RPG that was ported to the MSX2 by Microcabin in 1989. The story follows four anonymous heroes as they restore order to the world, which has fallen to the power of the four elemental fiends.
Players can choose from six classes, then explore a semi-open world filled with towns and dungeons. The six classes and their abilities are as follows:
Fighter – Skilled in melee combat, can use nearly any weapon and wear heavy armor. Has high HP, but little magical ability. Can learn White Magic eventually.
Black Belt – A melee warrior who uses nunchaku and light armor. Lacks magic and has high Hit Points.
Thief – Moderate HP and light armor. Has high evade and learns some Black Magic later in the game.
Black Mage – Low HP and poor melee combat ability. Learns powerful offensive spells.
White Mage – Can use White Magic to heal allies and destroy undead. Poor combat ability.
Red Mage – A versatile class that can use healing and offensive magic as well as fight with melee weapons. Does not excel in any particular field.
Battles are turn based and can randomly occur just about anywhere except for towns. Players can choose to attack with a weapon, cast a spell, use a potion, use an item, or run away every round. Dungeons often feature battles with powerful bosses at their end. Several modes of transportation become available as players explore, which opens up access to new areas.
Weapons and armor can be bought in shops or found in dungeons. Equipment is class locked, so most characters cannot use every weapon or armor. Some pieces of equipment have magical properties such as elemental resistance or the ability to cast spells when used as an item in combat.
Spells must be purchased in towns. The magic system is split into tiers that have charges, which are consumed upon casting a spell. A character can only learn three spells for each tier. Leveling up gives the character access to new tiers and increases the number of charges he or she can expend before resting.
This floppy disk based port features enhanced graphics and sound along with several other minor changes to the game. Players may also notice the removal of the wisdom stat and the Black Belt’s unarmed damage/defense bonus. Some of the music has also been altered and the classes have been rebalanced.
Gallery
Further Reading
Want to learn more about Final Fantasy for the MSX2? Check out these resources.
General Info:
https://www.msx.org/news/translations/en/final-fantasy-msx2-translation
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