Total Game Boy
28th November 1999Final Fantasy Legend
Not content with bringing out the eighth outing for the Final Fantasy series on the PlayStation, it seems a whole host of Game Boy titles are necessary too. Final Fantasy Legend is the first of a trilogy, but is by no means any weaker than the following two.
Final Fantasy Legend has only been released on the Game Boy, which means you can have a laugh at all those PlayStation owners with their fancy polygons and full motion video.
Another massive RPG finally arrives on the Game Boy. Us in the West have had to do without RPGs (except the fantastic Zelda: Link's Awakening) for the hand-held for too long. What better way to spend those boring train journey? Running around collecting masses of gold and buying some top monster-slaying weapons!
Final Fantasy Legend is truly a huge game. It's not so much the plotline and actual quest that takes the time, you are likely to spend weeks finding all the hidden sections and bonuses, just like all good RPGs. Unfortunately, it's not without its problems.
All role-playing games are about building your characters to a level where you can get through the next bit of the quest, but in Final Fantasy Legend it takes just a bit too long to make your characters anything but a pack of wimps. There's also a problem with the weapon system, some weapons just don't work against certain sorts of enemies. Imagine the situation: you've just spent three hours saving up enough gold to buy some demon of a sword, first battle and it turns out it only works on a handful of enemies! The worst bit is it doesn't tell you this until you've rolled up your sleeves and squared up to your foe. Chances are you'll be reloading your game and cursing the last three hours of your life.
One of the most appealling aspects of RPGs is the interaction with characters, but in Final Fantasy Legend you are lucky to get more than a handful of words out of people - and practically nothing from non-quest characters. It's a big shame, because the plot is engrossing and the characters believable.
Graphically it's a little on the plain side, with only seven major types of enemy you get thrown by the lack of variety. The music is good though, but the spot effects tend to grate on the ear.
All in all, Final Fantasy Legend will keep you playing for weeks, but you'll only ever play it once.