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Short version:

• You should *definitely* play this game - the attention to detail here is wonderful, the graphics are amazing, and I don't believe it's possible to go back to the original NES game and enjoy it when this is around!

• You should bring at least one Time Mage with you (my caveat/warning), and this goes double if you plan to play the "extension" pack World of Chaos (see my review there).

Longer version: I've been meaning to play this one for quite a while - finally got around to it over the holiday and it was well worth the wait. I actually played through it twice (hence my caveats below). Highlights:

• the revised character sprites are awesome, both pre and post class change.

• the revisions to all of the towns, etc. are just *stunning*.

• the repositioning of certain shops and level grinding locations are natural - they feel way better than the original

• the way the rat tail castle plays out is very creative (and looks to have influenced World of Chaos a bit, or maybe vice versa)

• Oh man, the enemies are just fantastic. Cribbed from various games (mainly FFIV it looks like), but I wanted to get into more fights just to see them more. If FFI had been released like this its graphics would have blown away lots of *action* games, let alone RPGs.

• The "Save" item is a welcome bonus

• I'm a huge fan of how the classes have been revised/split, and I think the Time Mage/Sage class is an awesome addition

All of that said and with this being a "must play" on my part I want to elaborate on those last two points...

I'm not sure about the design choice of the Time Mage/Sage being the *only* class to have the ability to exit a dungeon fast. My first play through of the game was with the "standard" Fighter/Moogle/White Mage/Black Mage party. It was a bit of a rude surprise to find out roughly around Melmond or so that all of the "convenience" spells were locked to only one classes usage, and that being a class I didn't take.

Definitely in the later game this is a *massive* problem if you want to level grind and then leave a dungeon, because you have to walk all the way back out of the dungeon unless you happened to bring a Time Mage with you. Want to use the very last battle prior to Chaos to power level your characters? Well, good luck because you can't actually get out of the dungeon without retracing *all* of your steps for literally 20 mins! =) It's even worse if you are missing a Time Mage/Sage when port your save to World of Chaos, which I go into in my review there.

Related to this: I'd sooner have some sort of object that allows for a quick dungeon exit than I would have a "Save" object. Seems that if we're able to add an object like that, we could definitely add one that gives you the quick exit. This also doesn't force the user to decide between quality of life choices and their party makeup (effectively without Time Mage/Sage, you lose a *LOT* in my opinion).

Again though - wow! What a game, a super great experience and even the fact I played through it twice (considering what a slog the original FF1 is) is a testament to how well done Grond's work is. Just mindblowing.

Grond makes solid hacks and everyone should play them. (My review should stop here but it won't.)

FF++ creates a whole new experience. You feel like you are playing a SNES game with advancements in the battle and job systems. The difficulty has been raised.

All in all, this is a GREAT FF1 hack with tremendous replay value. Two thumbs WAY up!

The hack is a great re-do of Final Fantasy, but it's just that, a re-do. There is no new story and while there are a few new maps, there are no major changes to the navigation or the original game's sequence of events. I didn't notice any dialogue or text changes, other than names of monsters, items, spells, equip, et cetera. However, the creator clearly has a great understanding of the game mechanics! The battles are difficult enough to make the player pay attention and use tactics to survive, and the bosses are appropriately difficult. I didn't feel like I spent much time grinding, either. I'd say it's more challenging than the original and great for an experienced player. Don't expect to burn through every boss without dying on the first try. Useless spells from the original have been removed, and deciding when to change class is important. If you're considering a second run through FF with a challenging party, I'd recommend playing this hack instead.