5/5 ★ – valhallaVANDAL's review of FINAL FANTASY.

There are few experiences as formative for me as the original FINAL FANTASY, and I'm still amazed at how quickly the game and its elements come back to be after the years its been since I sat down to play it. I can remember the specific order I preferred to tackle everything in; the pleasure of hitting the class change BEFORE heading to the volcano; that Mariith's name was originally "Kary." The Pixel Remaster returned to me the pleasure of the days I spent playing the NES version in the early 1990's, and I'm so glad its finally on the Nintendo Switch. Still, it's not the exact same experience. Gone are the days of long grinding outside of Elfheim against Ogres and Creeps to save up for level 4 magic and the Silver Sword, to be well-prepared before heading to the Marsh Cave and to Astos. There are actually fewer items overall--mythril arrives earlier, and stays longer. Spells are cheaper and easier to bank. Most things have been rebalanced for smoothness and playability, and that's not a bad thing. It's just that when you've internalized every enemy's weakness, and can recall pages from the Nintendo Power Strategy Guide even after 30 years, there's very little challenge here. Still, to play is the pleasure, and I'm so pleased to have an updated version on my Nintendo Switch that I can return to at leisure.