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This page is to answer the frequently asked questions about FF1, other FF games, and the site. So here goes...


Final Fantasy I questions:
Q: When do I reach the class change? At what level do I change classes?

A: The class change doesn't just happen at a specific level, and you can do it at any level. (Just make sure to do it before level 43 if you want your Knights and Ninjas to get all their spell points.) You can do it any time after you get the airship. You need to get the Tail from the Castle of Ordeal, and bring it to Bahamut in the Cardia Islands / Dragon Caves.


Q: I can't find the T Rex / Tyrannosaur. My friend / a FAQ / my rabbi / your mom / Jesus says it can only be found at [insert location here] / the best place to find it is [insert location here], but I walked around there for hours and never fought one. Where is it? Where is the best place to find it?

A: The T Rex can be found anywhere within the map I have here. See the Enemy Mapping squares 2-6, 2-7, 3-6, and 3-7. (The MSX/WSC/PSX/GBA remakes may differ slightly from this map, but not by much.) It is no more or less likely in one spot than another. You just need to keep trying. I believe the GBA version has a low encounter rate on desert terrain, so the best places to look are where I've indicated in red. On the NES version the T Rex will appear 4 times in a cycle of 256 battles. In the remakes it should appear randomly at the same rate (4/256 or 1/64 or 1.5625%). That can take a really damn long time. Just... keep... looking.


Q: What about WarMech / Death Machine, Ooze / Ochre Jelly, and Iron Golem? Where are they?

A: The Iron Golem can only be found on the Wind floor of the Temple of Fiends (Chaos Temple) in the Past. Like the T Rex, it is in the rarest enemy slot, so you'll have to walk around a long time to find it. Ooze / Ochre Jelly is a little easier to find. It's the rarest encounter on the 3rd and 4th floors in the Earth Cave (Terra Cavern) and the second rarest encounter on the 5th floor. It's just easy to miss since you spend so little time there. WarMech is only found on the top floor of the Sky Castle (Flying Fortress). On the American NES version WarMech is the second rarest encounter (3/64), but on every other version it's the rarest encounter.


Q: Why does my Black Belt / Monk suck? I've heard he's supposed to deal the most damage, but I haven't found a new weapon since ElfLand/Elfheim.

A: TAKE THE FRICKIN' WEAPONS OFF!!! The Monk fights better without weapons once your level gets high enough. (In the GBA version you can forget about weapons at level 1 in most cases.) This applies to armor too, but depending on what armor you have (like Ribbons) you may or may not want to take advantage of it. Check out the Bugs page for some problems associated with the Monk.


Q: Why can't my Black/Red Mage learn Warp/Teleport? Why can't my White/Red Mage learn Exit/Warp2? Why can't my Red Mage learn LIT3/Bolt3/Thundaga?

A: Warp can only be learned by Black & Red WIZARDS. Exit can only be learned by White & Red WIZARDS. You have to get the class change before you can learn those spells. Although LIT3 can be learned by Black Mages, Red Mages need to be promoted to Wizards to learn it.


Q: I'm playing FF Origins on my PS2 and I can't save. What's wrong?

A: You need a PS1 memory card to save PS1 games. Yes, they do fit in a PS2. You can copy PS1 saves to and from a PS2 card for backup, but games can only save and load from a PS1 card.


Q: Do Temper/Haste/Nul spells stack?

A: Haste/FAST doesn't stack. Temper/Steel does stack. The Nul spells do stack with each other, but not themselves. In other words, you can cast NulBlaze, NulShock, and NulFrost together, but casting NulBlaze over and over doesn't do any good. Also, armor with elemental resistance makes these spells obsolete. If everyone is wearing a Ribbon, you never need to cast them again.


Q: My Red Wizard gets level 8 spell points, but I can't learn any spells. What's the deal?

A: Well, I don't really know. Maybe they originally intended the Red Wizard to have level 8 spells but took them out at the last minute. Maybe they used an algorithm to determine spell points and didn't bother taking level 8 out of it.


Q: Why don't I get as much experience as the chart says?

A: You do. It's just divided by the number of party members alive at the end of the battle.


Q: Gaia only has 6 level 8 spells. Where are the other two?

A: Those last 2 spells are in Lefein. They're really good so keep slots open for them. The shop is hidden though. Go to the top right corner of town and you'll find a break in the wall. Keep heading right and you'll find the shop. See the Lefein page or the maps section to see what I mean.


Q: What is a "solo" party? How do I select just one character for a solo?

A: A solo is a single character party. Some people play them for a challenge. This is not a feature of the game. In order to play a solo party you choose 4 members as usual, but you kill 3 of them off in the first battle. It's a good idea to give them each one piece of equipment so they can waste their turns. (Whether you're allowed to use their equipment slots for storage is up to debate.) Your one character will receive 4 times the experience, but battle will be much more difficult. Undead that can stun you are especially dangerous. This process can also be used to create 2 or 3 character parties (duos and trios), but those aren't as popular.


Q: How many possible parties are there?

A: The short answer is 126 parties of 4. If you take into account solos, duos, and trios, there are more. I've been out of school for too long, so I forgot how to do the math on this, but I have a list:
4 Character Parties: 126
3 Character Parties: 56
2 Character Parties: 21
1 Character Parties: 6
Total Parties: 209


Q: The manual mentions a hidden staircase in the Earth Cave. What is it talking about?

A: There's no staircase that you don't know about, although some have speculated that it could refer to the Hall of Giants, that's also mentioned. It probably just means that the regular staircase might be hard to find since there are so many paths to choose from.


Q: How does the ship minigame work?

A: You must be on the ship (not the airship), hold A, and press B 55 times. (Replace A & B with X & Circle on the Playstation.) The object of this game is to get all the tiles into numerical order from left to right. On the NES version you get 100G for winning, and on the WSC/PSX/GBA you get the 100Gil and other stuff depending on how fast you are. On the WSC & PSX getting 1st gets you 10,000 Gil, 2nd gets you 5000, and 3rd gets you 2000. The GBA gives you various items for winning. (I have not had any luck getting this game to work on the MSX version. Anybody out there know what to do?)


Q: Help! I entered the Titan's Tunnel and was surrounded by blue rocks. I can't move! What do I do?

A: This must be because of a bad ROM. Try downloading it from somewhere else, or get a real cart.


Q: Is the White Mage male or female?
It's Pat!
A: Is it so important that you know? It hasn't been concluded, and both sides present good arguments.
Female:
  • looks just like the [female] White Mage from Chocobo Racing
  • the White Mage/Wizard characters in later FF games are almost always female
  • Amano artwork (found in the manual for FF1 WSC) shows a female White Wizard
  • the rest of the classes are male, she balances things a little
Male:
  • the White Wizard looks like Jesus
  • FF3's White Mage looks even more feminine, but pretty much the same, and that's a boy
  • the rest of the classes are male, it's appropriate for the time period/setting
  • the [English] manual refers to him as a male
With valid points on both sides, I don't know why people can be so adamantly on one side or the other. The fact that it's so ambiguous in the first place (and remains so in the WSC/PSX/GBA versions), says to me they intended it to be the player's choice. If you want a male, it's a male. If you want a female, it's a female. If you want a hermaphrodite, not a problem. Want someone who claims to be a girl, but is secretly a dude? I won't judge. I prefer female myself, or I JUST DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT AND PLAY THE $%&%# GAME. But that's just me. :-)


Q: I'm using Nesticle and...

A: Stop right there! Nesticle may have been the best emulator in the previous millennium, but there are much better choices now. Nesticle has some serious flaws and compatability issues. Zophar's Domain has a separate section for the "best" NES emulators. All of them are good choices. FCE Ultra and NNNesterJ are the ones I use the most.


Other Final Fantasy questions:
Q: Is the FF2 in FF Origins (and FF1+2 Dawn of Souls) the same as the FF2 on SNES with Cecil and Golbez? Is the FF3 coming out for the Nintendo DS the same as the FF3 on SNES with Terra and Kefka? I don't remember FF2 being like this, did they change it?

A: No, no, and no. While the FF1 in those collections is the same game as the FF1 on the NES, it gets tricky after that. The Japanese FF2 (NES), FF3 (NES), and FF5 (SNES) never made it to the US originally. The FF2 you played for the SNES was actually FF4, and the FF3 you played for the SNES was actually FF6. The FF2 in FF Origins (and DoS) is the real FF2, and the FF3 coming to the Nintendo DS is the real FF3. A more detailed explanation of this can be found on the Series page.


FForigins.com questions:
Q: I'd really like to help out with the site. Is there anything I can do? Can I finish a section you haven't done yet?

A: Sorry, I don't really accept help on the main parts of the site. Things that you can do to help the site include:
  • Send anything that would go in the Downloads section, such as text FAQs/walkthrus/guides, FF1 utilites, FF1 hacks, FF1 remakes, interesting save states, etc. (Only send stuff you made yourself, don't be a plagiarist.)
  • Send Fan Art or fiction. (Same thing about plagiarism.)
  • Link to the site, or send me links to cool FF sites you think belong on the Links page.
  • Send game journals, like the White Mage Journal.
  • Vote in the polls.
  • Write reviews, I could squeeze 'em in somewhere.
  • Sign up at the forums, stay and have a good time.
  • More ideas for interactivity are forthcoming, such as contests.