The Final Fantasy Legend, known in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as
Makai Toushi Sa·Ga (
魔界塔士 Sa・Ga?, Warrior in the Tower of the Spirit World ~ Sa·Ga), is a video game released for the
Game BoyThe is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on . In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy" It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line...
in December 1989 by
Square Co.was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix.Squaresoft was also a brand name used by Square between 1992 and 2003. As such, the name is often used to refer to the entire organization, but the Japanese...
, and is both the first game in the
SaGa series and the first
computer role-playing gameA computer role-playing game is a broad video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers. While technically not a separate genre, and sharing the same defining characteristics as console RPGs there are nonetheless general tendencies that make them distinct...
for the system. The game was later translated for worldwide audience in 1990 and released under the
Final Fantasyis a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of science-fantasy console role-playing games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
banner for marketing reasons, and other than the name has no relation to the franchise. Square Enix's first million seller, it was later re-released in the United States in 1998 by
Sunsoftis a Japanese video game development company founded on April 16, 1971 as a division of Sun Corporation, itself a division of Sun Electronics, or Sun Denshi in Japan...
, and an
enhanced remakeA video game remake is an updated re-released version of a previous video game. Typically, a remake shares essentially the same title, gameplay, and story elements of the original game, but also improves on technical aspects such as graphics, sound, and the user interface.-Definition and history:A...
followed for the
Wonderswan ColorThe is a handheld game console designed by Bandai. It was released on December 30, 2000 in Japan, and was a moderate success.The original WonderSwan had only a black and white screen. Although the WonderSwan Color was slightly larger and heavier compared to the original WonderSwan, the color...
and
mobile phoneA mobile phone or mobile is a long-range, electronic device used for mobile telecommunications...
s in 2002 and 2007 respectively in Japan.
Released in the wake of
TetrisTetris was a pack-in title included with the Game Boy at the handheld's release in 1989. It is a portable version of Alexey Pajitnov's Tetris. It was the first game compatible with the Game Boy Game Link Cable, a pack-in accessory that allowed two Game Boys to link together for multiplayer purposes...
s success and after
Final Fantasy IIis a console role-playing game developed and published by Square in 1988 for the Family Computer as a part of the Final Fantasy series...
,
The Final Fantasy Legend operates on a similar turn based system as the latter, in which the game's characters battle monsters and fiends using a variety of weapons, armor, and skills that develop directly due to the player's actions. The game follows the story of four heroes that attempt to scale a tower at the center of the world, which supposedly leads to paradise. The four heroes controlled by the player may be one of three character classes, each with their own unique paths of customization. Though the game has received mixed reception from various publications such as
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
, it has also been described as one of the Game Boy's greatest games, as well as an influential title for later titles.
Gameplay
In
Final Fantasy Legend, the player navigates a character throughout the game world with a party of up to four characters, exploring areas and interacting with
non-player characterA non-player character, often shortened to NPC, is a character that is controlled by the gamemaster in role-playing games. When this definition extends to video games, an NPC in a video game is usually part of the program, and not controlled by a human....
s. Most of the game occurs in towns, castles, caves, and similar areas. To aid exploration on the field screen,
Final Fantasy Legend makes use of various signs within towns. Initially, the player is limited to the World of Continent to explore, and given access to later worlds as they climb the Tower. Players can save their game anytime and anywhere when not in combat to the selected save slot for later playing.
Players can journey between field screen locations via the
world mapIn video games, the term overworld refers to a top-down view or a third-person perspective of the fictional world within the game. The world map often contains varied terrain and a collection of towns and other locations...
, a downsized representation of
Final Fantasy Legends various worlds. Players can freely navigate around the world map screen unless restricted by terrain, such as water or mountains. The goal in each world is to find the entrance to the next level of the Tower. Like other
Final Fantasy related games, travel across the world map screen and hostile areas is occasionally interrupted by
random enemy encountersA random encounter is a feature commonly used in hack and slash role-playing games and computer and video games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
.
Classes
At the beginning of the game, the player must choose a
character classIn role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
, gender, and name for the group's "party leader". There are three available classes:
humans,
mutants (
espers in the Japanese version), and
monsters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Character classes cannot be changed once the game has begun. Afterwards the player may recruit up to three additional party members through a similar process via "Member Guilds" found in various towns. Characters may also be recruited to replace fallen party members, save for the party leader. Higher level party members may be recruited at later towns in the game.
A character's performance in battle is determined by numerical values ("statistics") for categories such as agility or strength. Each statistic has a range of 1-99, and consist of
strength, the effectiveness of physical attacks,
defense, the ability to reduce damage received,
agility, the effectiveness of ranged weapons or skills and at avoiding attacks, and
mana, the effectiveness of magical attacks. In addition, a character's health is measured in
hit points (
HP), consisting of a current HP statistic and a maximum HP statistic, ranging from 0-999. Character statistics are relative to their class. Humans feature higher HP levels, strength, and defense, while mutants are physically weaker, but feature a higher mana statistic. Human and mutant statistics can also be amplified by the types of equipment the character is wearing. Monster-class characters are dependent of its sub-class, and as a result vary greatly.
Humans raise their statistics though items found throughout the game that grant permanent bonuses, such as "STRENGTH" or "HP200". Mutant attributes will simply increase by random increments after battles, and new abilities may be gained (or lost) in the process. Abilities gained differ slightly between male and female mutants, with females having an initial boost to abilities over males. Monsters change in power by consuming "meat" dropped in battles, and depending on the monster the meat is from and the monster's current sub-class, may transform into a stronger or weaker sub-class, or fully recover health.
Equipment and abilities
The basic function of equipment in
SaGa games is to increase character attributes; arming a character with a gold helmet, for example, increases his or her base defense statistic. The amount of equipment that can be placed on any one character at any time depends on their class. humans can hold eight, mutants can hold four, and monsters can equip none. There are five types of armor :
shields,
helmets,
breastplates,
gauntlets, and
shoes. Only one of each may be equipped at any time on one character, and cannot be equipped upon monsters. Weapons, which include swords, hammers, whips, spell books, and guns, can be used only a certain number of times before breaking and becoming unusable, and must be re-purchased in towns in order to become usable again. Shields can be used as items in combat, and will reduce damage dealt to the user by enemy attacks. Most feature a limited number of uses, and the shield will be destroyed when reduced to zero.
In addition, mutants and monsters have various spells/abilities depending on their battle experience or sub-class accordingly. These come in one of four categories:
attack,
non-combative,
healing, and
resistances/weaknesses. When used in combat attack spells/abilities are will damage a target by an elemental type, non-combative spells/abilities inflict status ailments such as "blindness" on a target with different effects for each or give the user some beneficial effect, and healing spells/abilities restore a target's HP, and can be used outside of combat. Certain spells/abilities have additional traits, such as affecting a group of enemies or draining HP from a target. Each spell/ability has a finite number of uses, and once depleted the party must visit an inn in order to recharge the spell/ability. Resistances and weaknesses are abilities active throughout combat, and give the user a resistance or weakness to one or more types of attack, represented by an "O" or "X" next to the type accordingly, or nullify the effect of a status ailment.
Curative items can also be found or purchased in the game through various means, and can be used from a character's inventory or the items sub-menu to restore HP or remove a status ailment in or out of combat. In order to be used during combat, these must be equipped onto a party member, using up one of the character's weapon slots. Each item has a single use, though up to 99 can be carried by any character and/or in the menu.
Combat
Whenever the playable character encounters an enemy, the map changes to the "battle screen". On the battle screen, the enemy appears at the top, above the characters currently in the party; each battle uses a menu-driven turn-based system. At the beginning of each turn, the player selects whether to fight or attempt to run. If the fight option is selected, the player selects an action for each player character from their equipment or skills to attack, defend, use magic, or use equipped items. Once the player has chosen actions for each player character, the player characters and enemy begin battle. Participants move one at a time determined by their agility statistic. In the event the player attempts to run and fails, the player characters skip their turn and the enemy attacks. Combat ends if the party successfully flees, all enemies are defeated, or all player characters are defeated. In the last case, the game ends and must be reloaded from the last save.
Winning battles may award the player money (
GP) and items. Enemy monsters will also occasionally drop meat, that can be consumed by monster-class characters. Mutant classes may "evolve" at this point, randomly gaining either increased statistics or a new random magic spell. Party members that lose HP during combat can have them restored via curative items, spells, inns, or elements of the world such as healing fountains. If a party member is defeated in battle, with the exception of the starting character he or she lose a "heart" and must be resurrected in a town via the building with a large heart-shaped symbol on it. If a defeated character has no remaining hearts, they cannot be revived and their spot in the party can be filled with a new character recruited from a town guild.
Setting
The Final Fantasy Legend takes place on several worlds centered around a large tower, built by the
CreatorA creator deity is a deity in a creation myth responsible for the creation of the world .In monotheism, the single God is necessarily also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
in ancient times (God in the Japanese version) to link the worlds together. There are four unique major worlds that make up different layers of the tower: the World of Continent at the base, the World of Ocean on the 5th floor, the World of Sky on the 10th, and the World of Ruins on the 16th. Between the different levels of the tower time does not flow at a constant pace, resulting in some worlds being more technologically advanced than others. Monsters of various kinds come forth from the tower into each world, and though many are hostile some of them are friendly to humans and are willing to coexist with them. In addition an offshoot of the human race named mutants also exist in each world, magically attuned descendants of a union between humans and the World of Continent's older races.
The World of Continent is a large land mass ruled by three kings that each carry a piece of equipment to open the tower's entrance, in constant war with each other for
world dominationWorld domination, world conquest, global conquest, or global domination may refer to:- Politics :* Hegemony, predominant influence exercised by one nation over others...
. The World of Ocean consists of a variety of small islands surrounded by water, each connected by small caves. Because of pirates roaming the sea of this world, travel by ship impossible. The World of Sky consists of large land masses suspended in clouds, and is ruled by a powerful dictator from his flying castle. The World of Ruins is a technologically advanced
cityscapeA cityscape is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and...
, reduced to a post-apocalyptic
wastelandA scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
by constant monster attacks.
Plot
Standing in front of the tower, the hero and party learn that they cannot climb it to paradise without first unsealing the door at its base. In the base world, three kings named Armor, Sword, and Shield fight for dominance using a piece of legendary equipment corresponding to their names. Visiting King Armor, the party learns that he is in love with a girl who returns his feelings, but cannot marry him due to a bandit who holds her village hostage out of his own desire for her, whom they defeat and the king gives them his armor in gratitude. King Sword attacks the heroes, who vanquish him and take the sword. Lastly, King Shield is murdered by his own
stewardThe term Steward may refer to:* Arch-Steward, a seneschal, prince elector of the Holy Roman Empire* Steward, a flight attendant* Wine steward, a sommelier* Butler, the steward of a household* Steward , a servant who manages property...
, and after a short fight, the party recovers his shield. Restoring the items on a statue of a great hero, they receive the Black Sphere, but are attacked by
Gen-buGenbu can refer to:* Black Tortoise, a Chinese constellation symbol* Genbu , a fictional character in the series YuYu Hakusho* Genbu , a fictional character in the series Fushigi Yūgi...
, the Black Tortoise and the first of four fiends controlled by
Ashura-In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asura are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes referred to as demons or sinful. They were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa. The views of Asuras in Hinduism vary due to the many deities who were Asuras then later became known as Devas...
. They vanquish him, and use the power of the Sphere to enter the tower.
After climbing the tower they come to another door and find a second world, surrounded by large bodies of water. By navigating some caves, they find a floating island which allows them to travel around the world by air. Locating an old man, Ryu-O, and solving his riddle the party obtains the Airseed, allowing them to breath underwater and enter the undersea palace. They encounter the second fiend
Sei-ryuSeiryu, Seiryū, or Seiryuu can refer to:* Azure Dragon, a Chinese constellation symbol* Seiryu , a fictional character in the series YuYu Hakusho...
, the Azure Dragon, and after defeating him recover half of the second sphere. Upon returning to the Ryu-O, he reveals himself to be the guardian of the other half of the sphere, and the two halves form the Blue Sphere.
Using the Blue Sphere to continue up the tower, the party comes to a world of clouds, dominated by
Byak-koByakko can refer to:* White Tiger, a Chinese constellation symbol* Byakko , a fictional character in the series YuYu Hakusho* Byakko , a fictional character in the series Fushigi Yūgi...
, the
White TigerThe White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West , and is known as Byakko in Japan and Baekho in Korea...
and an army of thugs. They learn that an underground resistance movement was recently wiped out by Byak-ko, with the exception of the two daughters of its leader, Millie and Jeanne. The party joins Byak-ko's gang temporarily to find the girls, and attempt to defend them until Millie betrays Jeanne and the party is captured. Breaking free, they confront the fiend, who attempts to kill Millie, but Jeanne takes the blow and the party engages the fiend. Defeating him they recover the White Sphere and continue their journey.
The fourth world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where
Su-ZakuSuzaku may refer to:* Suzaku, the Japanese name for the Chinese Vermilion Bird , bird guardian of the South*Emperor Suzaku, emperor of Japan*SUZAK Inc., also known as Suzaku, a video game developer* Suzaku Avenue, one of the ancient main streets eg...
, the Vermilion Bird, roams the surface defended by an impenetrable forcefield. The party retreats to an abandoned subway for refuge, and meets Sayaka, who advises them of the nearest town. There the party is confronted by the leader of a biker gang, So-Cho, but his sister Sayaka intervenes and the two groups agree to work together to defeat Su-Zaku. As they gather the needed parts for a device to deactivate the forcefield, So-Cho sacrifices his life to guide the party through an atomic power plant, the town is ambushed by beasts, and Su-Zaku kidnaps Sayaka. After defeating Su-Zaku, the party earns the Red Sphere and travels on.
Climbing the tower, the party discovers the remains of a family that attempted to reach Paradise but failed, and a library suggesting Ashura is controlled by someone else. At the top, they encounter him guarding the final door, offering them each one of the worlds to control, but they refuse and defeat him. Before they can pass through the door, a trap drops them to the bottom floor. Encountering the allies they made along their journey, they decide to rescale the tower. As they climb stairs that wrap outside of the tower, they encounter each of the fiends revived and defeat them. At the top, they find the
CreatorA creator deity is a deity in a creation myth responsible for the creation of the world .In monotheism, the single God is necessarily also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
, and learn that the fiends and the tower itself are actually part of a game created by him to see heroes defeat evil, and that in succeeding they would be granted a wish as a reward. Angry at being used they reject the reward and challenge the Creator, who insists that because he created everything he was allowed to use them as he saw fit. They then attack the Creator, and after defeating him the heroes discover a door leading to an unknown location. After considering going through it, they decide to instead return to their own world.
Development
The first installment of the SaGa series in Japan and first Game Boy game by Square, it was conceived by Nobuyuki Hoshino, and developed under director
Akitoshi Kawazuis a Japanese game producer who was born in Kumamoto Prefecture. He studied ceramics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Kawazu joined Square in 1985. He is the creator of the SaGa and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series of console role-playing games and is now an executive producer at...
, two years after
Final Fantasyis a console role-playing game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed and published in Japan by Square in 1987, and published in North America by Nintendo of America in 1990. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series...
was released. Noting the success of
TetrisTetris was a pack-in title included with the Game Boy at the handheld's release in 1989. It is a portable version of Alexey Pajitnov's Tetris. It was the first game compatible with the Game Boy Game Link Cable, a pack-in accessory that allowed two Game Boys to link together for multiplayer purposes...
on the Game Boy and the popularity of the Game Boy itself, then-Square president
Masafumi Miyamotowas the founder of Square in 1983. Initially, he was the president of the company. In 1992, he left the company to pursue other interests, and Tetsuo Mizuno replaced him as president of Square. On departure, he still owned 50% of his company....
requested a development team create a game for the system. Kawazu, partnered with
Kōichi Ishiiis a video game designer perhaps best known for creating the Mana series . He joined Square in 1987, where he has directed or produced every game released in the Mana series...
, decided that instead of creating a game similar to
Tetris that they would create one they felt consumers desired: a role-playing game.
The concept behind the game was to develop a title that could be completed in six to eight hours, based upon the amount of time an airplane flight between Narita,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Honolulu,
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
takes.
Final Fantasy Legend was designed to be difficult and have advanced gameplay, described by Kawazu as the main difference between the
SaGa and
Final Fantasy series. During development, he took a direct hand in shaping
Final Fantasy Legend's scenario development, working alongside Ishii,
Takashi Tokitais a Japanese video game developer working for Square Enix. He joined Square in 1985 at the same time as Akitoshi Kawazu and Nasir Gebelli. He is well known for writing the story for Parasite Eve and also Final Fantasy IV. He is also well known as the director of Parasite Eve and Chrono Trigger...
, and
Hiroyuki Itōis a Japanese game director and game designer. He is most known for his work on Square Enix's role-playing game series Final Fantasy.-Career:...
, who were all involved in other Square projects at the time. Ishii and Itō additionally developed the game's world layout and
geographyGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, with
Ryōko Tanakais a female Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She works for the company Pro Fit.-Anime:*_Summer as Kasumi Suda*3000 Leagues in Search of Mother*Agent Aika as Blue B; White Delmo S*Battle Athletes Victory*Chūka Ichiban...
designing the background graphics. Concept art for characters was developed by Tokita, who also handled the in-game
spritesIn computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene....
.
Audio
The game's soundtrack was composed by
Nobuo Uematsuis a Japanese video game composer and musician, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is regarded as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
and consists of sixteen tracks. Uematsu stated the music was only comprised of three notes, but that the Game Boy was a system he would like to make something for. He also pointed out while the game's music could be made of better quality, the emphasis was on enjoying the game, and not solely its appearance or sound. The Game Boy's sound hardware was different than the
Famicom'sThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
, with new
stereoSTEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to pull respectively further ahead of and fall gradually behind the earth...
and waveforms and only three
notesNatural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery is an experimental surgical technique whereby "scarless" abdominal operations can be performed with an endoscope passed through a natural orifice then through an internal incision in the stomach, vagina, bladder or colon, thus avoiding any external...
; as a result, Uematsu struggled with deciding how to work with these, developing new waveforms for the music in the process despite Kawazu's desire to have the music be in the same vein as Square's preceding
Final Fantasy titles. In an interview, Uematsu stated that he would enjoy creating more music for the Game Boy.
Several songs from the game have been reused for later titles or appeared on compilation
soundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized...
s, such as the game's "Battle" theme. The introductory music, titled "Prologue", was reused and
remixA remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. This name is also used for any alterations of medias other than a song ....
ed as the opening for the next two
SaGa games, while "Heartful Tears" (also known as "Wipe Your Tears Away") would become a staple for later
SaGa titles, used in five of the games and arranged differently each time. Fifteen of the tracks were later included in the 1991 two-disc
All Sounds of SaGa soundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized...
, which encompassed the Game Boy
SaGa series, and was re-released by Square Enix in December 2004 as
SaGa Zenkyoku Shu. The final track of the set, "Journey's End", is an arranged version of six of
Final Fantasy Legend's tracks via a
synthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument that is capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies...
combined into one by Uematsu. In the
liner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes....
for
All Sounds of Saga, Uematsu states he enjoys listening to the track while remembering scenes from the game. The track was later played by the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra in the
Press Start 2008 -Symphony of Games- concert as part of the "When Nobuo Uematsu Was Young" medley.
Versions and re-releases
The game was released in Japan in December 1989 as
Makai Toushi Sa·Ga and included along with the game's instruction manual a map for the four major worlds in the game; a revised version followed shortly after. In September 1990 it was translated by Square and released in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, with new artwork and renamed
The Final Fantasy Legend in order to tie into the popularity of the
Final Fantasy brand. Some parts of the game was modified, such as the removal of the game's credits and increasing the number of times certain weapons could be used. In addition, parts of the game's text were changed or removed, such as the omission of Ryu-O's additional riddles and the dead family's patriarch's self-sacrifice, the addition of a hint regarding Ashura's true nature, and alterations to the Creator's dialogue to make him less sinister. In 1998, Sunsoft acquired the license to the Game Boy "
Final Fantasy" games, re-releasing them in North America the same year. Despite advertising the game as being compatible with Nintendo's
Game Boy ColorThe is Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27 1998 in UK. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than the Game Boy Pocket. As with the original Game...
handheld, the re-released version featured no enhancements.
In September 2001 Square announced a re-release of
The Final Fantasy Legend for
Bandaiis a Japanese toy making company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third largest producer of toys. Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs....
's
WonderSwan ColorThe is a handheld game console designed by Bandai. It was released on December 30, 2000 in Japan, and was a moderate success.The original WonderSwan had only a black and white screen. Although the WonderSwan Color was slightly larger and heavier compared to the original WonderSwan, the color...
unit, and in March 2002 a Japan-exclusive port was released under the Japanese title. The concept art and graphics were redrawn by
Toshiyuki ItahanaToshiyuki Itahana is a game director and character designer for Square Enix. He is best known for his super-deformed art style, first introduced in Final Fantasy IX...
, and cutscenes were added. Players could also now see in advance what a monster would transform into before eating meat left behind after battle. The port also included the option to play through the original Game Boy version intact on the handheld. Other changes an additions were made, such as item usage tweaks, monster names, a
bestiaryA bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson...
, and a feature added that allowed players to automatically target an enemy with an attack during combat.
As of January 30, 2007, Square Enix had renewed their trademark on the Japanese name for the game, and at Square Enix's 2007 Tokyo Game Show in September a
mobile phoneA mobile phone or mobile is a long-range, electronic device used for mobile telecommunications...
port of the Wonderswan version of the game was made available for play. In 2008, the game was released for download later that year for Japanese
i-modeNTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a wireless internet service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocol or WAP, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail and the packet-switched network that delivers the data...
, EZweb compatible phones, and Yahoo! Mobile compatible phones. The port removed the bestiary mode and original Game Boy version of the game, additionally condensing some of the in-game cutscenes. Chinese language support was added to the title, and new shops featuring new equipment for players to use were scattered through the game.
Reception and legacy
The Final Fantasy Legend is Square's first game to sell over a million copies, with the Game Boy version alone having shipped 1.37 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2003, 1.15 million of which were shipped in Japan. The game was quickly followed by two sequels for the Game Boy, with later games under the
SaGa franchise released on other video game consoles. The one-eyed monster featured on the Japanese box art would appear in the sequel as a character named "Teacher", and later became the series'
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
. Outside of Square,
Game Freakis a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games....
founder
Satoshi Tajiriis a Japanese video game designer best known as the creator of Pokémon and the founder of GameFreak.-Education and childhood:As a young boy, Satoshi lived in Machida, a suburb of Tokyo and loved to collect bugs. In the late 1970s, the forests and fields that Satoshi loved as a child were paved over...
cited the game as an influence behind the
Pokémon series on the Game Boy, stating it gave him the idea that the system could handle more than action games.
Since its release the game has received mixed reception, with an aggregate review score of 50.63% on GameRankings.
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
called
Final Fantasy Legend a "compelling RPG with a complex gameplay system and a solid soundtrack", though complained about the game's difficulty and described its graphics as appearing "dated". German gaming magazine
Power Play gave the game a score of 78%, but praised it for showing potential for the Game Boy and it's role as the first role-playing game on the title.
AllgameAllgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
praised the title on its merits as a role-playing game, but complained about its high difficulty and a lack of a sense of direction.
1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by UGO Entertainment, a division of Hearst Corporation, following the acquisition of the 1UP Network from Ziff Davis Media...
's Retronauts described its gameplay as a successor to
Final Fantasy IIis a console role-playing game developed and published by Square in 1988 for the Family Computer as a part of the Final Fantasy series...
s, noting that the randomness of the mutant and monster character classes made the game very difficult, and was not properly refined until the game's sequel.
Other sources and publications have reacted to the game more favorably. Author Jeff Rovin praised the title heavily in the book
How to Win at Game Boy Games, noting the manual as thorough and adding while not as complex as The Legend of Zelda, the game was a "masterful achievement for the Game Boy unit, and a superlative game of [its] kind". In September 1997,
Nintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #240 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US....
ranked the game 70th on their list of the "Top 100" games to appear on a Nintendo system, stating that the game "stayed true to the Square Soft tradition".
GameDailyis a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 with the name Gigex, the site was acquired by AOL on August 16, 2006. The site offers articles on different video game topics, with a lot of lists where games are ranked....
named it alongside the related Game Boy
Final Fantasy titles as definitive games for the system, describing it as providing "hours of role-playing excitement, whether you were waiting in a dentist's office or on the way to Grandma's house." The sentiment was shared by gaming magazines
Electronic Gaming Monthly and
Pocket Games, the latter of which ranked the titles together 8th out of the Top 50 games for the Game Boy.
The difficulty and significance of the game's final boss, the Creator, has been mentioned by several sources.
GameProGamePro is an American video game magazine published monthly. The magazine was first established in Redwood City, California in 1989 by Pat Ferrell, his sister-in-law Leeanne McDermott, and the husband-wife design team of Michael and Lynne Kavish....
named him one of the "47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time", placing him 37th on the list and adding "You gotta wonder... how many hit points did the developers give God?"
1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by UGO Entertainment, a division of Hearst Corporation, following the acquisition of the 1UP Network from Ziff Davis Media...
described the battle briefly as "epic", noting it as part of a recurring theme of Japanese role-playing games featuring characters banding together to kill God. Comedian Jackie Kashian referenced the Creator on
Comedy Central PresentsComedy Central Presents is a TV series featured on Comedy Central. Each episode features a 30-minute stand-up comedy set by a different comedian. The show first debuted on December 1 1998.-DVDs:...
, describing the game's final battle as "the worst premise ever of any video game", though stated that regardless she continued trying for eight months to defeat the boss.
In February 1990, Futabasha Publishers Ltd. released a book titled
Makai Toushi Sa・Ga―Boukenshatachi no Rekuiemu? (Requiem of their Adventures). Written by Misa Ikeda, the 287 page book was part of Futabasha's Game Boy Adventure series for children, and detailed a hero's trek to the top of the tower to reach Paradise. In October 1992, the game was one of four titles featured by
Game Player's magazine on a video tape named
Game Player's Gametape for Game Boy Games, which demonstrated the game and offered a tutorial for playing it.
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