Does pixel-remastered Final Fantasy 1 seem easy to anyone else?

[rodimus2316]

I'm still early in the game (crossed the bridge after beating Garland, got the boat, went south, and working my levels around the southern village area), but compared to the original 8-bit NES one, beating enemies and defeating Garland was easy. I recall having to slowly work my way up to certain levels for later take on Garland at the start, which would take awhile. I'd take it by steps, first be able to take out regular enemies just outside the town/castle, then in the woods, then in the cave, but only moving back and forth in front of the opening, then coming back and just opening the chests, then come back again and going directly to Garland and taking him out. Here I got all the chests, and beat Garland, and I don't think I recall my stats being quite as high as in the original game doing that.

Are all the 6 games easy like this?

[Electric Cupcake]

Yes and no. They've tweaked game mechanics a hundred different ways. Veterans of each game are likely to find them pretty easy, and shoehorning in the minimaps and chest checklists to make getting the best gear trivial dumbs things down a fair bit, and there's new bugs like the Dragoon Lancer being able to instantly defeat any undead enemy making the Gil Turtle battle a rather insulting joke.

On the other hand, values like monster fear and status effects were tweaked to be less trivial than they used to be. Now, enemies are much more likely to run away, and in FFII, magical defense is useless, since every stone or stun or poison attack has a 100% chance to work, making things more difficult, and not in a good way. Also, magical stats are now affected by armor uses.

[Blackened Halo]

All PR games were nerfed to be easy.

[Judeo-communism]

FF1 = Easier than NES/Origins, about the same as Dawn/PSP.
FF2 = Slightly harder than Dawn/PSP, but not by much.
FF3 = Much easier than 3D Remake.
FF4 = Absurdly easier than even NA SNES because you level so fast without trying.
FF5 = Haven't played yet
FF6 = Actually quite a bit more challenging than NA SNES, I got three game overs on first Ultros fight without grinding and I never did any grinding on SNES version either. I vaguely remember the GBA version being harder, too.

[SolusEmsu]

FF1PR is easier than the NES version because of all the bug fixes. When half of your stats didn't work and most spells are bugged and your Hit% does not go up with Agi like it should, things seem harder than intended. The PR fixes all of these issues and more, so your characters are a lot stronger than they would have been in the NES version due to all of your stats actually working. This makes it feel easier, even if the enemies are the same strength as before.

FF2PR's auto-status problems were fixed at some point, or my magic resist was working against them. I never noticed the on-hit status effect monsters being a problem. Granted, I was using a combined Evade+Resist set, so I dodged most of the attacks anyway, but even when they did hit, rarely if ever did they actually status me. Magic Defense absolutely helps a lot in this game, since that was fixed. Note that the Evade boosts from weapons and shields are doubled in this version compared to the OG, so you can reach a 99% evade stat *very* easily, even when wearing heavy armor, so the Agi stat and your Evade multiplier are easy to train up. Magic Interference is not new, it is a returning thing from the NES version. I already have 2 other threads on the FF2PR board where I point out how it works.

FF4PR's enemy monster stats are actually higher than the original, 4PR is harder than the original SNES cart I have, and I do not have the EG version. Imps having 19 attack means they actually deal 10+ damage to Cecil and Kain at the start of the game, as opposed to the consistent 1 damage I get on the SNES version. In fact, most enemies in FF4PR are more powerful offensively than on the SNES version, to the point that I experimented with a light-armor dodge setup on Cecil most of the game, and it worked better than the heavier armor.. Seriously, there were many times I expected enemies to hit Cecil for 1 and they would hit for 100+. My guess is that this is because the enemies here would be based on the JP SNES game, not the NA SNES game, for their stats. And the level curve is less noticeable the further you get into the game, as I ended up at around 60 when I hit the endgame, whereas I would typically be 55ish on the older version. That small level difference is not enough to make the endgame noticeably easier, especially since you don't really want to cast Meteo on the final boss anyway.

Those are the 3 I have beaten and gotten the Master achievements for. I know 4 the best because it is the one I have played through the most, being one of my fundamentally favorite games since childhood. FF4PR is more difficult than the NA SNES version, even with the faster level gains, because the enemies are significantly stronger offensively. Those hits add up and force you to heal more often. Which, to be fair, is not that big of a deal, since healing items are generally cheap. Like, it is harder, and to a noticeable degree, but it is still not 'hard' as the older NA SNES version really was just *that* easy.

I am currently going through FF3PR and honestly it seems pretty easy, the Scholar being able to deal 4000+ damage to enemies with an elemental weakness using items that I can farm with Thieves is pretty hilarious for the fire and water crystal areas.

[Electric Cupcake]

I stand corrected. They did fix the FFII status effects.

No more party wipes from a Coeurl ambush. But it's still too easy, and they still cut off the entire last third of the story, where the real challenge is.
Restore Soul of Rebirth, dammit!

[Electric Cupcake]

I just did a FFII playthrough going all the way through with just knives, staves and cuirass, and grinding useful spells up to lvl 6 minimum.

Final boss only got off a single attack, which missed, before ending him. I want the satisfying challenge of the second campaign!

Also, the only serious grinding I did was to get a couple Osmose and Drain spells and level them.

[SolusEmsu]

Funny thing about the FF2 final boss, if you level up Dispel to around level 10 or higher and have at least 70+ Spirit stat, you can successfully hit with it. It isn't guaranteed, but I generally hit within 3-4 attempts. And if it hits even once, the Emperor's resistances to Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Body, and Mind all get put to neutral. Dispel does not negate absorbs, though, so he still absorbs Matter and Death. But, without resistance to Body and Mind, you can then hit him with statuses such as Blind, Slow, Curse, and Fog. He then becomes unable to cast any spells, have half attack and defense, will have reduced number of attacks, and half accuracy. Turning the final boss into a crippled mute is kinda funny.

FF2 is as hard or as easy as you want to make it, honestly. Rank 10 Blizzard one-shots the Iron Giant at 99 Int. it's just silly. All of them can of course be made easier with grinding, but 2 is by far the one where grinding helps the most, the power level possible is just silly.
With rank 16 in all weapons, and 10 in all spells except Cure at 16, my Ultima routinely hit for over 6000 damage, in a game where only 2 enemies have more than 5000hp, and both of those are bosses in the final dungeon.

[Electric Cupcake]

Originally posted by SolusEmsu:

Funny thing about the FF2 final boss, if you level up Dispel to around level 10 or higher and have at least 70+ Spirit stat, you can successfully hit with it. It isn't guaranteed, but I generally hit within 3-4 attempts. And if it hits even once, the Emperor's resistances to Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Body, and Mind all get put to neutral. Dispel does not negate absorbs, though, so he still absorbs Matter and Death. But, without resistance to Body and Mind, you can then hit him with statuses such as Blind, Slow, Curse, and Fog. He then becomes unable to cast any spells, have half attack and defense, will have reduced number of attacks, and half accuracy. Turning the final boss into a crippled mute is kinda funny.

FF2 is as hard or as easy as you want to make it, honestly. Rank 10 Blizzard one-shots the Iron Giant at 99 Int. it's just silly. All of them can of course be made easier with grinding, but 2 is by far the one where grinding helps the most, the power level possible is just silly.
With rank 16 in all weapons, and 10 in all spells except Curse at 16, my Ultima routinely hit for over 6000 damage, in a game where only 2 enemies have more than 5000hp, and both of those are bosses in the final dungeon.

The first time I face the Light Emperor in Soul of Rebirth, the party was underleveled, and I had missed the ultimate weapons hidden in the palace, so I couldn't damage him, but I got a lucky hit in with the ancient sword and cursed him, so he couldn't damage me, either. That was a long, awkward affair.

[SolusEmsu]

Funnily enough, I do not even remember fighting the Light Emperor in Soul of Rebirth the one time I got to the end of it. I remember Ultima Weapon kicking my ass the first time I tried him because I did so as soon as I got to the village, but the Light Emperor was so weak by the time I got to him that I do not even remember fighting him. I know I did, because I have the bestiary entry saying I defeated 1. But I do not remember the fight, at all, it made zero impression upon my memory. Such is the difference made by grinding in FF2's system. hahaha~ The same enemy can be a huge drag or a complete non-affair.

[Dex]

It's easier right up until the final fight and then you'll get stomped if you aren't level 50+ and abusing giant gloves/temper/haste.