Gameboy FF Legends games. Any good? [Archive]

Pedro Lambrini

07-24-2004, 02:40 PM

I only recently found out that Square released FF games on the humble Gameboy. As far as I've found so far there are 3:

FF Legends I, II and (you guessed it!) III

Have any of you played them (silly question!)? Are they any good and are they worth buying? I'm getting into the whole Gameboy thang these days - I was more a Game Gear chappy when I was younger. But since I've been playing my GBA since it's release it's piqued an interest in it's heritage. And it's pretty easy to collect for! :D

Quintracker

07-24-2004, 02:55 PM

They aren't traditional final fantasy games, but fun none-the-less. There was also one called FF Adventure, which is more zelda-esque.

Pedro Lambrini

07-24-2004, 03:18 PM

Not traditional? What are they, Platformers or something like that? You've piqued my interest even more now! FF Adventure? So, that makes 4 games now...better start saving!

Cauterize

07-24-2004, 03:24 PM

i have FF legend II and FF Adventure (Mystic Quest... i think its the same, pal release correct me if im wrong!)
FF Adventure is great, i have it on my N-Gage now using a gameboy emulator n play it on bus journeys... FF Legend is just your typical RPG I guess... good buys i reckon!

davidbrit2

07-24-2004, 03:34 PM

From what I understand, the FF Legends games are all just US localizations of some Japanese RPG series from Sunsoft. I think it's called Seiken Densetsu or something like that.

I hate RPGs, but I didn't hate these any more than any other FF game. Heh. FF Adventure was quite cool, though, for reasons stated above.

Quintracker

07-24-2004, 03:48 PM

If you've played SaGa Frontier on the playstation, final fantasy legends are the ports of the early SaGa games. I think they just slapped Final Fantasy on it for the name recognition.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was on the snes, not gameboy.

RoboticParanoia

07-24-2004, 05:25 PM

And Final Fantasy Adventure is Seiken Denetsu 1 which was recently released as Sword of Mana.

Now they need to release Seiken Denetsu 3. (SD2 was Secret of Mana, for those of you who don't know).

Pedro Lambrini

07-24-2004, 05:36 PM

Excuse my ignorance but does/did Square own Sunsoft, or were they partners or something? Both the FF and Mana franchises are big cash cows and it's quite interesting to see both of these merge on the wee gameboy...it's also interesting that Sword of mana was 'remade' and not FF Adventure.

Quintracker

07-24-2004, 05:52 PM

Jibbajaba

07-24-2004, 06:49 PM

Umm... unless I'm missing something it looks like you've got "Sunsoft" mixed up with "Squaresoft"

He is asking because of this:

From what I understand, the FF Legends games are all just US localizations of some Japanese RPG series from Sunsoft.

Chris

Quintracker

07-24-2004, 06:54 PM

:embarrassed:

ok, smack me for not reading carefully LOL

Crush Crawfish

07-24-2004, 06:56 PM

They're all good games, and I like Final fantasy Adventure the most. It's actually the prequel to secret of mana. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they were developed by square and published by sunsoft in the US.

Chooky

07-24-2004, 07:07 PM

Sunsoft just rereleased the GB Final Fantasies a few years after Squaresoft stopped publishing them. That's the full extent of their involvment.

And to clarify some of the things that were said above:

The Final Fantasy Legends games are actually the first three games in Square's long-running SaGa series. They were renamed in North America for marketing reasons. I've never played any of them so I can't comment on their quality. But I'd be a little wary considering the "quality" of the SaGa games that I have played. :)

Final Fantasy Adventure is the first game in Square's Mana series. It too was retitled in America. Its sequel is the superb Secret of Mana for the SNES. It was totally remade, and was released under its original title Sword of Mana last year on the GBA. Its a pretty decent game, but very crude by today's standards. (It's also kinda glitchy too...) I haven't played the remake but reviews say it was just average.

Hope that helps!

SoulBlazer

07-24-2004, 07:14 PM

I disagree about Sword of Mana. LOVED that game. But I did always like Final Fantasy Adventure for the GB, and this is a very good remake of it.

Yes, they were renamed for name reconiztion. I think the original FFL release dates were 1989, 1991, and 1993.

Seiken Denetsu 1 was Final Fantasy Adventure and now Sword of Mana (for GBA). SD 2 was Secret of Mana for SNES and SD 3 was never released in the States but the ROM HAS been fully translated. It's a fun game, not quite as good as number 2, though.

As for the Final Fantasy Legend games -- yes, they were SaGa games with a few small things added. Originaly released by SquareSoft, and then re-released around 1998 by Sunsoft. (FFA as well). But they did'nt include the poster/map that had been with the original releases, so if you want to collect them, try to find the original.

The games are quite good. Good music, small plots but that's okay, some tough battles. I have remixes of a lot of the music. I think 2 is the best, but they are all worth checking out.

There has been talk that some Final Fantasy games are going to get ported to the GBA. If so, those will be the first TRUE FF games for a handheld relased in the States. (FF1 remake was WonderSwan in Japan and then on Final Fantasy Orgins for Playstation for the US)

Achika

07-24-2004, 07:44 PM

I agree with SoulBlazer Sword of Mana was wonderful. From my understanding in the original (aka Final Fantasy Adventure) you were only able to play the boy's path. In the SoM remake you were able to play as both the boy and girl and learn both of the stories parts.

SoulBlazer

07-24-2004, 07:48 PM

Yes, that's true. And the game was a MAJOR remake. There's really not much left from the original game. Some of the names, towns, music pieces, and the basic flow of the story. I'd say over 2/3 of the game is new.

kainemaxwell

07-24-2004, 10:47 PM

Back on topic I remember playing the rom versions of FFL2 and 3 back in the day. I enjoyed 2 alot, mainly with its world jumping themes and 3 had a good concept of time traveling but seemed too short.

Blackjax

07-25-2004, 01:28 AM

I'd say FFL2 was a great game...

IF ONLY I COULD BEAT APOLLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeeesh, I only got it when it first came out and still haven't been able to beat him.

Ruffie

07-25-2004, 01:43 AM

I purchased all these games when they came out. I'm not a big fan of Japanese stuff, nor do I know much about what is a translation of what.

That being said, I loved all 4 of these games - Final Fantasy Legend 1-3 and Final Fantasy Adventure. The first Legend, to me, was a milestone. I hadn't had my GameBoy long before I purchased it.

The one thing I wanted most for the GameBoy, however, was an adventure game I could take on the road and save at any time. And Final Fantasy Legend was that game. I don't remember much about the game itself anymore, but it never seemed tedious and it took awhile to beat.

2 and 3 were tougher. Never beat em. Got to the end battle of 2 and never finished it. Final Fantasy Adventure, the Zelda-esque one, came out at exactly the same time as Legend 3, and was a blast. I think I've played it through a few times now, as I did with Link's Awakening.

I still have them all with their boxes and documents in really good shape. A prize part of my collection.

Ruffie

link1110

07-25-2004, 02:49 AM

Apollo's not that hard when you realize that you just have to survive for 13 rounds, even if you do 0 damage to him, so just have everyone heal.

Pedro Lambrini

07-25-2004, 06:18 AM

Wow! Lots of positive things said about these games :-P I actually only expected one or two responses saying something like "Yeah, they're not bad, but they ain't FF VII!" So, now I'm definately on the hunt for them.

I haven't really seen them before 2 days ago and even then they were just loose carts. Are they hard to find boxed - I really am quite interested in the original Sunsoft releases for the maps etc. I think this is going to be a small adventure of my own :D

kainemaxwell

07-25-2004, 10:39 AM

In FFL3, what'd people think of the fact that you could change your 4 party memeers from robot to humans to monsters and back?

kainemaxwell

07-25-2004, 10:40 AM

In FFL3, what'd people think of the fact that you could change your 4 party memeers from robot to humans to monsters and back?

link1110

07-25-2004, 03:34 PM

The original releases say "Square" on them, not Sunsoft. Square published them in the first place, and inclyuded the maps. Sunsoft rereleased them circa 1998 and made you send away for the maps.

Azazel

07-25-2004, 04:11 PM

FF Legend 2 is probably the best of them. Keep in mind it also fairly hard especially if you haven't played a Saga game before. Parts 1 and 3 are alright but not as good as part 2. FF Adventure is also really good.

I have a hard time getting into Sword of Mana. I think they remade it too much if that's possible that it feels like it's a completely different game. Only some chatracters and the story are the same. You have a class system like in SD3. Yea you can play both as the girl or the Boy. I've played a little bit of both quests. Both characters play most of the same areas but some areas like the Airship only the Girl plays as. I tihnk there areas that only the Boy plays as but I'm much further into the Girls adventure than the Guy's Adventure. The Girl also starts out with Heal I believe and it seems much easier of the 2 to play.

Nez

07-25-2004, 04:15 PM

I played FFl:II but I didn't really find anything great about it. Just seemed like a standard rpg romp.

Jorpho

07-25-2004, 05:01 PM

I purchased FFL2 when it was rereleased long ago. I think it was the last Game Boy game I acquired, except maybe Pokemon Yellow.

It's still sitting in the cupboard next to me, and I really should finish it sometime; I made it as far as the Nasty Dungeon. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to restart from the beginning. Near the start of the game, I accidently got rid of my male mutant's Blizzard spell, and I'm thinking it would be substantially useful at that point in the game.

Indeed, FFL2 is one of the hardest RPGs I have played, mostly because pretty much every item (weapon, shield, spellbooks, etc) has a limited number of uses. You can recharge items if you have a Robot in your party, but unless you leave it equipped on the robot, you can only get 1/4 of its uses back.

But still, it's pretty good fun. The number of different party arrangements gives the game considerable replay value, which I understand is one of the great drawbacks to FFL3 (where parties were fixed).

Achika

07-25-2004, 07:29 PM

The Manimal

07-25-2004, 08:19 PM

The original releases say "Square" on them, not Sunsoft. Square published them in the first place, and inclyuded the maps. Sunsoft rereleased them circa 1998 and made you send away for the maps.

The FFL's that Gamestop sold in 2000 all included the maps in them.

That's what I thought...too. I remember seeing these, but actually forgot to buy them altogether. Ended up picking up I and III from two different GameStop's in 2003, as both the 'last copy', smashed box bullcrap. They were $14.99. Do these count as new or used? haha I could not find FFL II, which was a shame because I did not want the original (I wanted a the reissue with a newer battery). This didn't work, ended up going through eBay and getting the original (doh!), and didn't pay enough attention to realize it was missing the map :( Box, manual, game, case. No map. :(

SoulBlazer

07-25-2004, 08:59 PM

I bought all four games when Sunsoft re-released them in 1998 and they did NOT have the poster/mao with them that the original releases by Square did. I never knew you could send in for them, though. :hmm: Nothing was said in the instructions or with the game that you could do that.

I wish Square would make a TRUE FF game for the GBA. Heck, they can make games as big as N64 games for the handheld now, and it would sell like wild. FFT Advance was a good game but not really a traditional RPG.

Azazel

07-25-2004, 10:24 PM

The Saga games are definity not for everyone.

I don't think it's worth playing the game again to get the blizzard spell again. I've beaten it a few times and don't remember needing or using the spell at the end of the game. I think you get 50% of the uses back and not 25% if I remember right. Plus a lot of the skills the Mutant gets is really random which can be good and bad depending on how you look at it.

Jorpho

07-26-2004, 12:35 PM

The Blizzard spell is the one that affects all enemies, actually. (And you can't get it back if you accidently erase it, confound it!)

Azazel

07-26-2004, 01:04 PM

Weren't there some spells that are just as good that you could get towards the end of the game?

calthaer

07-26-2004, 01:10 PM

I know that Seiken Densetsu 3 was never released for the SNES in the US, but what was the Legend of Mana game released for the PS1?

SoulBlazer

07-26-2004, 04:41 PM

That was a new game -- SD 4, if you like. :)

Azazel

07-27-2004, 12:42 AM

That game doesn't deserve to be part of the Seiken Densetsu series. :angry:

Pedro Lambrini

07-27-2004, 06:01 AM

That game doesn't deserve to be part of the Seiken Densetsu series. :angry:

I've never heard of that one either not being a Playstation fan, not that I'm a Sony basher! I found a lot of games series continued on that machine were really crappy, like Prince of Persia. Although Castlevania SOTN was pretty groovy.

KJN

07-27-2004, 07:35 AM

One reason you should try to get a relese with the map is that it makes shopping easier since the backside have descriptions of all the items and weapons. Like other old rpg's you dont see the weapons strengths, etc when you shop.

BTW the original titles for the first three saga games are Makaitoushi SaGa, SaGa 2 Hihou Densetsu and Jikuuno Hasha SaGa 3. Oh and there is also a WonderSwan remake of the first one.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was on the snes, not gameboy.
Yes but FF Adventure on gameboy was called Mystic Quest (no FF in the name) in europe.
http://retrogaming.gamezone.de/screenshots/gameboy/MysticQuest/screenshot1.jpg

SoulBlazer

07-27-2004, 08:00 AM

I never knew that!

So:

Japan: SD 1 (GB)
North America: Final Fantasy Adventure
Europe: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

And:

Japan: Final Fantasy USA (SNES)
North America: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Europe: ? (Not released?)

Pedro Lambrini

07-27-2004, 08:35 AM

As far as I'm aware there is a Final Fantasy game on PAL SNES called Mystic Quest - Is this the smae game as the GB one or, again, is it something different? This is really interesting, 'you learn something new everyday' as my old Granny used to say!

KJN

07-27-2004, 08:50 AM

Japan: SD 1 (GB)
North America: Final Fantasy Adventure
Europe: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Just Mystic Quest for the gameboy game. There is no mention of "Final Fantasy" in the game, on the box or in the manual. Maybee it's because Square hadn't released any Final Fantasy games in europe at that time so they couldn't build on the name.

Actually I dont know when / if Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on SNES (which should be the same game as the US SNES game) was released in europe and which countries actually got it. Scandinavia missed out on the SNES game that's for sure (just like Lufia 2 and Terranigma and those are games that was released in other parts of Europe).