Final Fantasy NES - Strategy Guide

Hironobu Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy is the legendary role-playing game that saved Square Co. from bankruptcy and defined the JRPG genre. Controlling the four Light Warriors, players embark on an epic quest to restore light to the four elemental crystals (Earth, Fire, Water, Wind) and break a 2000-year time loop. This manual lists the character classes, spell structures, and overall quest walkthrough.

1. Character Class Selection

At the start of the game, you choose a party of four characters. Class choices are permanent:

• Fighter (Knight): High health and defense. Can equip almost all swords and heavy armor. Upgrades to Knight, gaining low-level White Magic.
• Thief (Ninja): High agility and hit rate. Upgrades to Ninja, unlocking the ability to use powerful weapons and Black Magic.
• Black Belt (Master): Master of martial arts. He fights best bare-handed (without weapons) and unarmored once his level reaches double digits. Upgrades to Master.
• White Mage (White Wizard): Dedicated healer. Essential for curing status effects and restoring party health. Upgrades to White Wizard.
• Black Mage (Black Wizard): Elemental damage dealer. Uses Fire, Ice, and Lightning spells to wipe out groups of enemies. Upgrades to Black Wizard.
• Red Mage (Red Wizard): Jack of all trades. Can use moderate physical weapons, as well as low-to-mid-tier White and Black magic. Upgrades to Red Wizard.

2. Magic Tier System

Unlike modern RPGs that use a unified Mana Pool (MP), Final Fantasy NES uses a **Spell Charge System** (similar to Dungeons & Dragons). Spells are divided into 8 levels, and characters have a limited number of charges per level. Spells must be purchased in magic shops:

• Level 1 Spells: **CURE** (Restores HP), **HARM** (Damages undead), **FIRE** (Fire damage), **SLEP** (Puts enemies to sleep).
• Level 3 Spells: **CUR2** (Medium heal), **FIR2** (Group fire damage), **LIT2** (Group lightning damage).
• Level 8 Spells: **LIF2** (Revives with full HP), **FADE** (Massive holy damage), **NUKE** (Strongest elemental explosion spell).

3. The Main Quest Walkthrough

1. The Rescue (Garland): Rescue Princess Sara from Garland at the Chaos Shrine to build the bridge.
2. The Pirate Ship: Defeat the pirates in Pravoka to get the Ship.
3. The Earth Crystal: Navigate the Cavern of Earth, defeat the Vampire to get the Star Ruby, and conquer the Lich to restore the Earth Crystal.
4. Class Promotion: Present the Rat Tail (found in the Castle of Ordeals) to Bahamut the Dragon King to upgrade your classes.
5. The Airship: Find the Levistone in the Ice Cavern to unlock the Airship, allowing global travel.
6. The Elemental Crystals: Defeat Kary (Fire), Kraken (Water), and Tiamat (Wind) to restore the remaining crystals.
7. The Temple of Fiends (2000 Years Ago): Use the restored crystals at the Chaos Shrine to travel back in time, navigate the final dungeon, and defeat Chaos to win the game!