Was really fun to experience this game with 37 years of RPG hindsight. Above all else, this game feels like someone had a lot of fun playing Dungeons & Dragons with their friends and decided to make a video game about it.

The Pixel Remaster adds a lot of quality-of-life updates that make it much more enjoyable than the original, since the likely audience for this release are now older and have busier lives than they did back when this game first dropped. Having access to bonus features like the original concept art and a music player (original and orchestral OST's) is a nice touch, and getting to see the same pixel graphics but with crystal clarity and smooth framerates is a perfect nostalgia boost.

The story is very aged, as is to be expected of a game nearly 40 years old, but is probably the most straightforward and least-tropey of the early Final Fantasies (lookin' at you, FFIII). Because of this, the game doesn't last as long as you'd expect it to, even when 100%-ing the thing, and you might be surprised to have paid more than $10 on such a quick game if you didn't get it on sale.

Highly recommend this particular version for anyone interested in taking a peek at the origin of many things we've come to take for granted in modern role-playing games.

Reviewed on Apr 07, 2024


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