Tactics & Advanced Problems in "Final Fantasy"

"Final Fantasy," released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, is known as one of the hardest "Final Fantasy" games. In addition to standard tips that can apply to any role-playing game -- such as always buy the newest armor and weapons when visiting a town -- there are advanced tactics that can help you conquer any obstacle or problem you come up against in the game.

Selecting the Right Party

At the beginning of the game you must create your party, filling four slots with any combination of six classes. The party you choose at the beginning of the game determines how difficult the game is; choosing the wrong combination of classes can increase the difficulty tenfold. A good party choice is a fighter in the first position, due to his high attack, defense and health; he will receive the brunt of the enemies' attacks, shielding the weaker characters. The second choice should include either a black belt or a thief for extra offensive power, though both characters lack in defense. Your third and fourth choices should include a white mage and a black mage, for their healing and damage-dealing magic respectively.

Navigating a Dungeon

In "Final Fantasy," it is important to thoroughly explore each dungeon you enter; many of the best weapons and armor can only be found inside the game's dungeons. Your first attempt at a dungeon should not focus on the boss, but instead on locating every treasure chest. Many treasure chests are off the beaten path to the boss of the dungeon, requiring that you expend your limited magic, so focus on those first. When you are ready to challenge the boss, you should travel the quickest route in the dungeon to the boss and use as little magic as possible when fighting; this allows you to face the boss with the most amount of magic.

Purchasing Spells

A mage can only learn three spells per spell level. However, there are four spells to purchase at most magic shops. Spells cannot be removed once purchased, so choosing the wrong spell could cripple your mage's power later on. Some spells are obvious, such as "Cure" and "Heal" for your white mage or elemental damage spells for your black mage, while others may not be clear due to poor translation. One of these is "Fast," an essential spell that increases the amount of times a character swings his weapon, increasing his attack damage. For your white mage, the spell "Harm" only affects undead creatures; while this may seem to have limited uses, there are many undead creatures in the game making this spell a necessity. In addition, the spell "Inv2" raises your party's evasion, allowing the party's characters to evade enemy attacks and sustain no damage.

Hidden Magic Shop

A hidden magic shop exists in Lufenia, allowing you to buy some of the most powerful magic spells in the game. These are "Nuke," which deals upwards of 400 damage to each enemy, and "Lif2" that allows you to bring a fallen party member back from the dead with full health points. To access this magic shop, stand in the northeast corner of Lufenia; there is a hole in the wall of the town at this location. Walk to the right until you encounter the hidden magic shop. Each spell in this shop costs 60,000 gold; "Lif2" can only be used by a white wizard and "Nuke" can only be used by a black wizard.

Know Your Enemies' Weaknesses

Many of the enemies, especially the bosses, have weaknesses that are not documented in the game. One of these is Tiamat, the fiend of wind, who is weak to the spell "Bane"; there is a chance that he can die instantly when this spell is used on him. The fiend of water, Kraken, is weak to lightning spells such as "Lit3," while the fiend of earth, Lich, is undead and therefore weak to "Harm" spells. While most enemies' weaknesses are their opposing elemental type, Kary, the fiend of fire, is an exception. Despite being the fiend of fire, Kary is not affected much at all by the "Ice" family of spells.

References

• IGN: Final Fantasy