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The Final Fantasy Legend
A Game Boy classic with a borrowed name and a big legacy
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PRESS START
An Introduction To Today’s Game
The Final Fantasy Legend. Of all the games I could have picked weeks ago, it had to be this one.
I'm sitting at a window bar in my hotel lounge, watching planes climb into the Calgary sky one by one, each of them heading somewhere that isn't here. Tomorrow, one of them will be mine. My time in Canada, cold, wonderful, strange Canada, is coming to an end, and somehow it feels right to spend my last night with a hot chocolate, a plate of complimentary snacks, and a Game Boy RPG glowing on my Anbernic SP.
Final Fantasy. Even typing those two words feels like something. Iconic doesn't quite cover it. The series has been woven into my life in ways I never planned, XIV played no small role in me moving here in the first place, and for the past several months my editing work for a Twitch streamer has kept me deep in the world of FFVII and its sprawling remakes. That rabbit hole led me further than I expected: from the 16 mainline entries all the way out to the fringes, the spinoffs, the oddities, well over 100 titles carrying that name in one form or another.
I still love this series, even when it frustrates me. XV and XVI didn't quite land for me. Dawntrail very nearly broke my heart. And yet here I am, unable to quit.
Which brings me to The Final Fantasy Legend, a game that borrowed the name almost by accident. Square slapped it on the Western release out of fear that a game called Makai Toushi SaGa wouldn't move copies off shelves. They weren't wrong, probably. It's not really Final Fantasy at all. It's the beginning of the SaGa series, wearing a borrowed coat.
But that name still pulled me in. It always does.
So let's raise a mug of hot chocolate to one last night in this country, fire up one last RPG, and see what hides behind a famous name.
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BEHIND THE PIXELS
Let’s Dive Into The Game
The Final Fantasy Legend is a turn-based RPG for the original Game Boy. You build a party of up to four characters and climb a massive tower that connects several distinct worlds, each with its own theme, enemies, and story. The goal is to reach the top, where paradise supposedly waits. It does not go the way you expect.
What makes this game unusual, even by the standards of 1989, is how much freedom it gives you from the start. Before your adventure begins, you choose your party members from three character types: Humans, Mutants, and Monsters.
Humans grow stronger by purchasing stat upgrades at shops. Mutants gain random abilities and stat boosts after each battle. Monsters eat meat dropped by defeated enemies to transform into stronger creatures entirely.
The worlds themselves range from a medieval fantasy land to an underwater kingdom, a civilization built in the sky, and a post-apocalyptic future city. Each area comes with its own vehicle for exploration, including a floating island, an airship, and, in one memorable stretch, a motorbike you use to outrun a monster tearing the futuristic world apart. The variety keeps things interesting even when the game tests your patience.
Combat is straightforward, with four options each turn: Fight, Magic, Item, and Run. The wrinkle is the weapon system. Every weapon has a limited number of uses before it breaks and disappears.
A Glass Sword might give you 50 swings. A bow might last 30. Managing your party's inventory, making sure everyone has a backup weapon ready, becomes a constant and sometimes stressful juggling act.
Visually, the game is modest even by early Game Boy standards. Enemy sprites are recycled between worlds with new names attached, and there is no animation during battles. The soundtrack, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, is the clear high point. The music holds up well, carrying a quiet sense of adventure that fits the game's portable design.
The Final Fantasy Legend was built to be played in short bursts, on a train or during a lunch break. That philosophy comes through in every design choice, for better and for worse.
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WHERE TO PLAY
The game is part of the Collection of Saga: Final Fantasy Legend for the Nintendo Switch.
Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)
Loose: $23
Complete: $105
New/Sealed: $530
GAME INFORMATION
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Cover Art
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RETRO HARDWARE
Reading about retro games is great, but playing them is the real goal. This new Retro Hardware section is about easy, affordable ways to get those classics running without the headache.
ANBERNIC RG35XX SP
The ANBERNIC RG35XX SP is basically the Game Boy Advance SP’s cooler, slightly more capable cousin who grew up and learned new tricks. It keeps that satisfying flip design (yes, snapping it shut still feels dramatic), but now it plays a massive library of retro classics from NES and SNES to PlayStation.
It’s small enough to toss in a bag, tough enough to survive daily life, and powerful enough to lose an entire afternoon to “just one more run.” The bright 3.5” screen looks crisp, the buttons feel great, and the clamshell design protects the screen when you close it, like a tiny vault for your childhood.
Perfect for travel, couch gaming, or pretending you’re not hiding from the world for a few minutes.
Flip open. Power on. Regress responsibly.
Some links in this section are affiliate links. If you buy through MECHDIY, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
GAME OVER
Why You Should Play This
So why play The Final Fantasy Legend today? Partly for the history. This is Square's first handheld game, the first Game Boy RPG ever made, and the title that launched the SaGa series. That is not a small resume.
But there is also something genuinely interesting here for players willing to meet it on its own terms. The world variety is creative, the character systems are unlike most RPGs of the era, and the game moves quickly once you find your footing. The 2020 Collection of SaGa release on Nintendo Switch adds a fast-forward mode that makes the grinding much less painful, and it includes all three Game Boy entries for the price of a decent lunch.
This is not a game for everyone, and it will not pretend to be. But if you have ever been curious about where the SaGa series began, or what a Game Boy RPG designed for airplane flights looked like in 1989, The Final Fantasy Legend is a strange and worthwhile detour.
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