Final Fantasy (MSX)...anyone know anything about it?

[mb7241]

I heard some time ago that Final Fantasy was released on the MSX in Japan way back in the day. I was kinda wondering if anyone knew anything about it with regards to rarity, where I might find one, how similar is it to the Famicom version, etc....anyone?

[davidleeroth]

I saw one in Pelikonepeijaiset happening last year and all I got was this lousy photo (http://www.students.tut.fi/~tiainen2/CIMG0614.JPG). If I remember right, the game belongs to "Kennedy" who knows pretty much all things MSX. You can contact him via this page (http://www.retroland.net/english.html).

[mb7241]

Yes, that is the game :) . And thanks for the link, though the site seems to be a bit difficult for me to navigate (I don't speak or understand Finnish too well)...

[davidleeroth]

Now that I think of it, the game might've belonged to a guy named "Stt". His page is here (http://www.damage.fi/stt/msx.html). They're friends and I might've gotten their collections mixed up in the meeting. I'm sure both of them will help you with your questions.

[Lord Contaminous]

Dude that is interesting!

If there's some pictures or live videos of MSX FF1 in action, it'd be a thrill!

[Jagasian]

As far as I know, several franchises started out on the MSX. Notable examples are Metal Gear and Castlevania.

[Lord Contaminous]

Google searched for some screenshots, comparing Famicom/NES to the MSX version.

The MSX version of the title screen (as you cross the bridge after defeating Garland) looks wayyy much better than the NES version.

http://blake.prohosting.com/coleco/msx/shots.html

[Jagasian]

Google searched for some screenshots, comparing Famicom/NES to the MSX version.

The MSX version of the title screen (as you cross the bridge after defeating Garland) looks wayyy much better than the NES version.

http://blake.prohosting.com/coleco/msx/shots.html

So the NES version came first. Also, apparently the NES version was higher resolution and therefore included more on the screen at the same time. The only apparent advantage was that the MSX version had better art in some places, and possibly better colors. Does the MSX support more on screen colors than the NES?

[Lord Contaminous]

I posted about MSX FF1 on Neo Geo.com, and someone who has it made a nice long comment on it.


FF1 for MSX is definitely real though, but one of the reasons you may not have heard of it is that it's not obvious how to actually get the game started, leading people (or at least me) to believe that the ROM was bad or fake. First of all, having the game disk isn't enough. You also need the user disk to save. Most importantly though, if you just start the game up without knowing what to do you get an error message. Not just any error message, a cryptic error message in Japanese that, depending on what kind of MSX you're running it on, may show up as gibberish. Even though I was able read the important part, I didn't put it together on my own. I eventually found the answer after searching Usenet archives. You have to hold the Control key (left Control Key in most emulators) while it's loading. It has to do with the game only wanting there to be one disk drive, which apparently frees up some RAM.

The MSX version of FF1 came out after the Famicom version, but before the NES release, so the graphics are still unedited. (In other words, the Clinic is a Church, the Eye is a Beholder, Medusa is topless, and the Master/Super Monk has wild, unkempt hair.) Although the graphics are not edited for content, they do have more colors to add depth and shading. The best way I can describe it is that it's like FF1 would look on the SMS. Also, the MSX isn't so good at smooth scrolling so when you walk around it's really jerky. The sound (in most cases) and music are better than the NES, but they switched a couple of songs for some reason.

[mb7241]

^^ Hm...most interesting. Anywhere where I could find one, though? I saw one on eBay a couple years ago, but it went for a bit more than I could afford at the time...

[blue lander]

As far as I know, several franchises started out on the MSX. Notable examples are Metal Gear and Castlevania.

Castlevania didn't start on the MSX, it started on the Famicom. The MSX version of Vampire Killer came out a few months after the Famicom one did. Apparently they were in development concurrently, though.