Again one year later, in 1989, Square released a remake of the original Final Fantasy for the MSX2 computer system in Japan. The game featured slightly upgraded graphics in the form of an advanced color palette, but little else was changed.
Final Fantasy 3 was released on April 27th, 1990. Another game that would take many years to reach North America, FF3 introduced the now-fabled job system. It also reverted to the original form of experience building that Final Fantasy 2 had changed. This game also introduced the much-loved Chocobo race, a sort of half-bird, half-horse that has featured throughout the series since. FF3 was the last of the series to be developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
July 19th, 1991 saw the release of Final Fantasy 4 on the Super Famicon system in Japan. FF4 introduced us to Cecil, a Dark Knight who remains a favorite character by many Final Fantasy fans. This is also where the numbering system got tricky in North America. Because the second and third installments in the series had not been released outside of Japan, Square decided to name Final Fantasy 4 the second of the series in North America. When the game was released for the Super Nintendo on November 23rd of the same year it bore the title ‘Final Fantasy 2.’
Ah, Final Fantasy 5. Bartz, Boko, Faris, Leina, Galuf, Exdeath, and of course Gilgamesh. FF5 was released in Japan on December 6th, 1992 for the Super Famicon console. It took quite a few years to hit North American shores but translated ROMs have been circling the internet for years, allowing non-Japanese players to experience this game for themselves. It did see a release on our continent in 1998, but we’ll get to that later.
Steve