E-Mail This Article to a Friend Still pretty fantastic Two classic NES adventures are repackaged for the GBA BY AARON SOLOMON
	Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls Published by Nintendo. Developed by Square Enix. For Game Boy Advance. Rated E for Everyone.

"When darkness veils the world, four Warriors of Light shall come…"

For anybody familiar with the Nintendo universe, this quote is as recognizable as that whole "One ring to rule them all" deal from Lord of the Rings. It is, of course, from Final Fantasy, one of the seminal titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System, now appearing on the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy 1 & II: Dawn of Souls.

Let it be known that this is essentially an outsider's review. I was born into an alternative household, where my brothers thrived on Colecovision. By the mid-eighties, while my friends were running on their Power Pads and saving Hyrule, I was playing Rocks, Paper, Scissors in Miracle World with Alex Kidd.

I had always heard of the Final Fantasy series, but frankly, when I see Roman numerals attached to anything other than the Super Bowl or Godfather movies, I get a little suspicious. As the years went on, and the FF series grew and grew, it was clear I had missed the Final Fantasy (air)ship. Those commercials confused me, and I didn’t realize until much later that the clips being shown were from the cutscenes, not the actual game (yes, yes, I’m a fool). My first introduction to the FF world was the not-all-that-bad Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie, which apparently had little to do with the series itself, and only added to my confusion. Fortunately, now I have the option to start from scratch.

Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is not so much a re-release as a renewal of the original two games. The skeletal aspects of the originals remain, with improved fighting and interaction, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to save at any point in the game (and fans of the original will be happy to know that you can now select the quantity of items you want to buy, instead of buying them one at a time).

In FFI, there are six types of characters to choose from, Warrior, Thief, Monk, and the three Wizard classes, Red, White and Black (see? That equals six). For my first journey into Final Fantasy, I chose the three main classes, plus the Red Wizard, who holds the characteristics of both the Black and White Wizards. Being a FF virgin, I felt like this combination was the best way to start. How well acclimated to the FF world you are will obviously determine whom you place in your party. Each class has its own advantages; although as far as I can tell, the only thing the Monk is good for is dying. As Jurgen (my Warrior), Ratso (my Thief), and BigRed (my Wizard) fought their way through the land, poor old Art Monk usually ended up biting it right quick, leaving me with just three party members for most of the time.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to gain experience or Gil, as most monsters you encounter can be beaten pretty easily with the right weapons. There is an option to flee from battle, but not a hold or pause feature, which stresses the importance of party formation (not to sound like a Communist newsreel or anything). The missions in the new FFI echo the previous version’s, featuring the elemental caves and weapons. Shops vending items such as the sleeping bag and cottage, as well as various potions, are usually plentiful and offer reasonable prices – just like Sam’s Club, only thousands of years ago, and more magical. There’s also the chance to find the Canoe, Pirate Ship and Air Ship.

One of the major upgrades, as I have learned via a friend who is not such a NES-tard, happens when you board the AirShip: the screen rotates about 45 degrees, giving the appearance that the ship is actually in the air. Compared with the recent re-issues of Zelda, it's apparent that the graphical upgrades are significant, and not just slapped together for the GBA. Square and Nintendo have gone the Evil Dead 2 route and made a substantially better-looking version of the original.

Final Fantasy II begins as your party is fleeing the kingdom of Flynn, and before you can do anything but rename your characters (you are given no choice as to your original party members) you are dropped into a battle that you cannot win. It seems like a silly way to begin the game, and this type of non-playable exposition hampers the first few stages of the game. You have the option in FFII to rotate your party members in and out as needed, and you do not need antidote to cure poison, which is a nice change from the original. There is also a new "Learn" feature on the Key menu, which allows your characters to, well, learn terms and phrases that will become useful upon their journey. Mostly, however, the changes from FFI to FFII don’t improve upon anything, and actually succeeded in confusing me. Despite the small refresher course at the beginning of the second game, I found it much easier to jump right into FFI.

What sets these games apart from the originals are the bonus Chaos Dungeons in FFI and an all-new storyline, dubbed "Soul of Rebirth," in FFII. There is also a new feature, called "Bestiary," which allows you to view the monsters you have defeated. This comes in handy when determining the best battle strategy in a later fight. One more minor nit (to pick, that is) is in regards to the user-unfriendly map: it can only be accessed by pressing B and Select simultaneously. With the added save option in the Start menu, was it too much to ask to place an accessible map there as well?

Ah, well. Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is a much better translation than the recent Legend of Zelda crossover, and while FFII seems needlessly improved, the whole package is worth a go, even for a NES novice like me.

Score: 7.0 (out of 10)