Short Thoughts on Final Fantasy Adventure for the Game Boy
| 1998 (NA re-release) | Action Adventure RPG |
Final Fantasy Adventure, one of the first Game Boy titles I ever played, was a revelation to my nine-year-old self. Set in a world overrun by monsters and ruled by a tyrannical Dark Lord, you play as a lowly gladiator-slave who gets wrapped up in a quest with a mysterious girl and the magical pendant she carries. Fairly typical hero stuff. But even now, just as in the late 90s, Final Fantasy Adventure captured me with its versatile gameplay, atmosphere, and soundtrack.
Wandering through treacherous landscapes, you fight monsters, solve puzzles, collect weapons, learn magic, and grow stronger. The real-time, one-button combat closely resembles the older Zelda games, but if that was all, then I wouldn’t be writing this. Final Fantasy Adventure is a damn fun game. The combat mechanics are tight and well executed. Players have a wide range of choices, from weapons (swords, axes, spears, whips, flails!) to armor, items, and magic, which allows for specialization in any direction. And there are any number of ways to defeat your enemies and overcome the environment. This gives the game a refreshing sense of freedom, impressive for its time.
To great benefit, this pure and refreshing gameplay is not bogged down by heavy worldbuilding. The land of Final Fantasy Adventure is raw, spartan, barely understood and never explained. As a child I loved that sense of mystery, especially the joy of studying the fold-out map that was packaged in the box. Wild terrain vastly overwhelms the few human settlements, including feudal cities with names like Ish, Menos, and Jadd. Exploring every forest, cave, mountain, and desert, while piecing together what mythos they can is the player’s directive. And it’s a solitary journey too; companions join you on rare occasion, but their eventual departures make the world feel even more stark and enigmatic.
This tone of minimalism and solitude distinguishes Final Fantasy Adventure from the numerous action adventure titles on Game Boy and after. The classic good vs. evil story is told sparingly, with heart, and the player is allowed to focus on their own feats of bravery, wit, and skill, while jamming to the excellent soundtrack by Kenji Ito. Even in 8-bit quality, the music of Final Fantasy Adventure is moving and dynamic. The soundtrack was later arranged for orchestra in the mid-90s with wonderful results (it sounds reminiscent of a Joe Hisaishi / Studio Ghibli score).
Final Fantasy Adventure achieves a rare synthesis of an enormous world, simple narrative, and remarkably moving atmosphere in a handheld format. The ambition of its development shines through in every feature. And when I look back at this game, it’s clear how it has left a mark on my preferences for games, film, and literature today.