I beat the NES game Final Fantasy I (1987) yesterday. The final boss is an entity named "Chaos," a horrible monster and a long boss battle. I had never beat Final Fantasy before. My first video game RPG was Final Fantasy II (the U.S. version), and I didn't play that until 1992, when I was nine. I had to borrow Final Fantasy II from my friend, and I never had enough time to beat it (he always wanted it back). By the time I finally got Final Fantasy I, it seemed antique to me. It was during the late 16-bit era when I purchased FF1 from a toy store in 1995. They were clearance selling their 8-bit video game stock. The version of FF1 purchased was a re-release and it included this awesome strategy guide, a full map of the world, and some other material, I think a poster. I couldn't get into the game then. There were subtle differences to the gameplay that my impatient twelve-year-old mind couldn't handle. For example, if you chose to have one of your warriors attack a monster, and that monster died before your warrior had a chance to attack, then your warrior would attack empty air and you would get an "ineffective" message. This was the source of so much frustration for me then. Of all the elements associated with that game that I remember, the thing I recall most clearly was the print map that came with the game. It's beautiful. At the very top of the map are these suggestive lines: "Here is the map of the entire Final Fantasy overworld. Surrounding the map is a list of most of the places you will journey to."
