Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls

Final Fantasy on Viagra is the best analogoy to describe Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls. FF:DoS is bigger, longer, and harder then FF 1, and FF 2. This is a GBA game, and it contains the first two FFs plus extra content. FF 1 took me 9 hours to beat, and FF 2 took me 15. Neither is counting the extra content, of which could add a good 4 to 5 hours.

The battle system has been reworked and streamlined, so no longer are you forced to continuously press "right-A" to buy tons of potions. Also, your characters (which shall henceforth be referred to as "peeps") will no longer waste their attacks on killed enemies. That's with FF 1. I will not offer a compare/contrast talk with FF 2, as I have not played it in it's original form. I will say, everything is easier to do, as you just tap "A" and you can heal your peeps quickly instead on reaccessing the menu 10+ different times. You can also run in dungeons, which makes exploring easier. "Heresy!" you may shout. Running doesn’t' take away from the experience, and keeps the dungeons from being more tedious then they could be. That's way better than the classic FF 1, where dungeon-crawling took hours.
All the original music is redone, and they sound GREAT. I love this games sound track, but my favorite is the "Chaos Shrine" song. Once you complete both games (or just FF 2. I'm not sure which condition), you get a "music" option, so you can listen to any track in the game. The graphics are slightly reworked, very similar to what Kirk posted in his FF: Origins review. Nostalgic if you've played the games in their original form, crappy if you haven't. There is also a "save anywhere" feature, which allows you to, well, save anywhere. In dungeons, on the world map, in towns, any and everywhere. That kills the difficulty though. Speaking of difficulty, for some reason the enemies are slightly easier. There is also a bestiary, which keeps track of all the monsters you've defeated. The bestiary is patterned after the Pokemon Pokedex, so you "Gotta kill them all". Bad joke aside, on to the games.

FF1: Almost identical, except all the characters can speak more than one speech box. (in the NES FF1, all the characters spoke only one box. No more). There are a few more fleshed out sequences, and a better character balance. The black belt actually serves a purpose, and in general, there is a better balance between characters. As you play through the quest, you won't notice many differences besides some changed item names, and the like. The big thing is the added content, which here are 4 randomly generated dungeons, accessible after you defeat the corresponding Fiend. For those of you who haven't played the original FF1, there are 4 Fiends you must defeat. The names of the dungeons in order, The EarthGift Shrine, the Hellfire Chasm, the Lifespring Grotto, and the Whisper Wind Cove. Great names, huh? Here's a tip. DO NOT attempt to complete the shrines as soon as you are able. You will get your ass horribly kicked. Instead, wait until the end of the game, and go thru all four for the items. The shrines are 10+ to over 30 floors long, and while some are just floors, others are… more unique. One level is a endless desert, another is a cave of elves, whom you must help. The bosses are cool, and they change every time you enter, and every time you begin the game again (using a "game clear" file.) Entertaining. A problem with the airship though. When you board it, the terrain tilts away from you, so you are viewing the world at an angle. Cool, but when you need to land on a small patch of grass, it's very annoying. This holds true for both games.

FF2: Great as well, there is much more of a story in this one than FF1. Here, you start with 4 people, even though one leaves you very early. You can shape your characters any way you want, as long as you level them up in the way you want. Good, but it's disorienting in the beginning. The quest is fun, but there are long periods of time where you wonder "What do I do now". You can "learn" key terms, then ask people them. Not bad, and it makes the adventure fell more interactive. Your party is 4, but in the beginning, you have 3. During the quest, you get assorted people to fill the fourth slot. However, they die (and leave) your party left and right. The whole adventure is decent, but my main issue is with the dungeon crawling. You just go through floor after floor of enemies until you reach the boss. Over and over again you navigate floors. It's pretty repetitive, and after a while, you just want to quit. Another thing, FF 2 is a game of extremes. Either you utterly destroy your foe, or they utterly destroy you. You either do "10 hits, 1204 damage" or "4 hits, 12 damage.". Very rarely did I have a good, but fair fight with something. Also, if you accidentally wander to the wrong area, you get destroyed by insanely powerful monsters. For extra content, you get another campaign detailing the fate of Josef, Scott, Minwu and Ricard after they die. It's more of the same, but the story here is cool.

Overall, you can't go wrong with this game. Fun, and entertaining. Just beware when you spend too much time playing.

4 star(s) out of 5

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