Final Fantasy

This is Final Fantasy (J), the WonderSwan port of the 1987 NES classic role-playing game that started the legendary series. Developed by Square and published by Bandai, it launched exclusively in Japan in 2000. The title keeps the same core story of four Warriors of Light battling elemental fiends to restore the darkened crystals, but now runs on a monochrome handheld with some visual and audio adjustments to fit the WonderSwan hardware. If you are familiar with the original NES release, this is essentially that game in a portable form, though the interface and menus are entirely in Japanese, which may pose a challenge for non-Japanese readers.

The player controls a party of four characters, each assigned one of several classes like fighter, black mage, or white mage. You explore a top-down overworld, visit towns to buy equipment and spells, and traverse dungeons where random encounters trigger turn-based battles. Combat uses a classic command menu: fight, magic, item, and run. Gaining experience levels up your characters, unlocking new spells for magic users and increasing stats for everyone. The game follows a linear progression through four main quests tied to the corrupted crystals, leading to a final showdown against the fiends. While the structure mirrors the NES version exactly, the WonderSwan version runs at a lower resolution with simplified sprites and a single-screen perspective during exploration.

For retro gaming enthusiasts, Final Fantasy (J) on WonderSwan is a fascinating piece of the series' history. It was one of the few major third-party RPGs released for Bandai's handheld, and it preserves the original game's challenging difficulty and straightforward storytelling. Because it never left Japan, it remains a collector's item and a curiosity for fans wanting to experience a different take on the first entry. That said, if you cannot read Japanese or prefer a more polished experience, the NES original or later remakes on Game Boy Advance or PlayStation might be easier to recommend. Still, for anyone interested in the evolution of portable RPGs, this WonderSwan version is worth a look if you can find a translation patch or have the patience to navigate menu kanji.