 Thanks to Super Slayer 4690 on my Patreon page, let's dive back into the confusing world of the Game Boy Final Fantasy games. You see, there were two different series of Final Fantasy games released for the Game Boy in North America, the Final Fantasy Legend games, and Final Fantasy Adventure. The thing is, neither had much to do with Final Fantasy. Evidently, the powers that be just slapped the Final Fantasy name on these games in the hopes of taking advantage of an established, successful brand. Final Fantasy Legend is actually the first Saga game. Final Fantasy Legend 2 is actually Saga 2 and so on. And that series eventually continued on the Super Nintendo as a romancing saga. Final Fantasy Adventure is actually Seiken Densetsu. That's right, this is technically the first Secret of Mana game. But to make things even more confusing, the subtitle in Japan is Final Fantasy Gaiden. So they meant to kind of have it as a loose tie-in to the Final Fantasy series, and in addition to that, it was released as Mystic Quest in Europe, not to be confused with Final Fantasy Mystic Quest for Super Nintendo. Geez man, stick to a singular theme already. So yeah, this game is an action RPG with the same top-down perspective you're likely familiar with from the Zelda Game Boy games. It's got a similar feel to stuff like Link's Awakening, since there's real-time combat and with how the map is laid out, moving from screen to screen. However, this is definitely a Secret of Mana game demonstrated by the sheer amount of weapons you can collect and use, everything from spears, axes, whips, flails, all that good stuff. And of course, there's armor and equipment to manage, as well as magic. You get up to 12 spells to use in this game. The traditional Secret of Mana attack meter is here as well. And you can see it at the very bottom of the screen. Sure, you can hack and slash your enemies like a lunatic, but you're probably better off waiting for a stronger attack every so often by waiting for the meter to recharge. One thing that makes this game stand out today is the point allocation system, so you can assign points to power, stamina, wisdom, or will as you progress. So that helps you design your character a little toward how you like to play. Do you dodge first? Would you rather stick to magic attacks? Or do you go out rambo and take a bunch of damage and just go nuts with attacks? This aspect isn't all that detailed, it is a Game Boy game, but it's reasonably well done here. It's tough to talk about the story. The nuts and bolts of a good story are here, but unfortunately the limitations of the Game Boy rear their ugly heads. You play as a gladiator imprisoned by THE Dark Lord, not to be confused with any other Dark Lord, and he makes you fight monsters for fun. You eventually escape, and on the way you find out the Dark Lord's true plans of controlling the infamous monotree, a massive energy source sustaining all life. After that you run into other characters, help out other prisoners, and visit various towns all while seeking out a knight named the Bogard. That's all well and good, but the problem is the text limitation. There's a lot going on in the story, but just not enough space or enough text to tell it properly, so that kinda sucks. The story does have you meet other characters that have you join your party, but unfortunately that also leads to more flaws, because like Secret of Mana and Seiken Detsu 3, you have to rely on the computer AI to control the other character, if there's not a second player, but unfortunately this game does not support multiplayer. So yeah, the computer AI controls a bit like Twitch plays Pokemon. I mean, what are you doing here? Come on! Another flaw is the menu system. I mean again, they're doing the best they can within the Game Boy's limitations, but the menu here can be slow and cumbersome, unlike the relatively quick immediacy of the ring menu system in later games. Don't be a mistake, and though Final Fantasy Adventure or Seiken Densetsu is still an impressive effort, especially for a Game Boy game, the hit detection is fine, the use of magic is fun, and if you're jonesing for a good action RPG experience, this isn't a bad way to go, and a big part of that is the music, composed for the most part by Kenji Ito, the same person behind the Saga series music, including the awesome Final Fantasy Legend 2, aka Saga 2, which is my pick for the best soundtrack on the Game Boy, and this soundtrack is right up there with it. I do have to say though, if the story means a lot to you, you're probably better off playing the Game Boy Advance remake titled Sword of Mana. That game is obviously much more polished and allows for a lot more space for nuance in the text, so the story is better told. It should be said though that the game reinvents a lot of stuff, like having an extra playable character, and some changes are made to the story as well, but who knows, maybe that's what they wanted all along and they just weren't able to pull it off in the original game? Anyway, that game will have to get its own video someday. I do think Final Fantasy Adventure is worth playing today, especially if you're a big fan of Secret of Mana. It almost plays like a demo version of that game because of the familiar feel and the recognizable enemies like Rabbites and Mush-Booms. Also, if you're a big fan of the original Game Boy, or if you grew up with that system and missed out on it for whatever reason, this is a fun one that's worth visiting or revisiting. This game might be a little too ambitious for its own good on the humble Game Boy, but it's still a solid action role-playing game.