Final Fantasy Adventure

A game whose name is something of a lie — and yet one of the most important mix-ups in the history of Japanese RPGs. Final Fantasy Adventure from 1991 is, despite its name, not a Final Fantasy at all. It is the first installment of the series that would later become known as Mana (Seiken Densetsu in Japan), and the Final Fantasy brand ended up on the box overseas mainly to help sell an unknown newcomer.

What Square offered was almost unheard-of on the portable hardware of the time: an action RPG taking place in real time. Instead of the turn-based battles console RPGs were used to, here you swing your sword directly, dodge, time your attacks — the combat resembles Zelda more than classic Final Fantasy. But on top of that a full-blooded RPG system is added: experience, levels, equipment, magic, and an inventory. This combination of instant action and character building made Final Fantasy Adventure an absolute rarity without rival on the Game Boy.

The composer Kenji Ito contributed to the music, and his melodies gave the game a surprisingly rich and moving tone you wouldn't expect from the Game Boy's four-channel chip. Together with a more serious, at times downright melancholic story about a knight, a girl, and the Mana tree, it made the title an experience you remember longer than many a more expansive console game.

The significance of this game lies above all in what it started. The mechanics and world Square first tried out here became the foundation for Secret of Mana on the SNES — one of the most beloved action RPGs ever — and the entire subsequent Mana series. Final Fantasy Adventure is thus not a dead end nor a mere spin-off, but the root of a branching and revered family tree.

That it's a classic worth rediscovering was confirmed by the remake Adventures of Mana (2016), which brought the original game into a more modern form for mobiles and the PlayStation Vita and reminded everyone how timeless its foundation was. Even after years, Final Fantasy Adventure remains a demonstration of how a big story can be told on a tiny screen.

Why play it: The roots of the Mana series and an action RPG that had no rival on the Game Boy — historically pivotal and still playable ancestor of Secret of Mana.