Final Fantasy - hands-on

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The first game in the series marks its 20 year celebration with a sharp-looking new PSP edition

Final Fantasy was originally released in Japan in 1986. Starting seven years ago, though, Square Enix decided to start pimping it out on system after system. This marks the fourth remake since 2000. The final evolution of this re-envisioned edition of the original game in the series - or so we hope - is this, the PSP version.

It's a simple and charming RPG that tells the tale of the four light warriors, each clutching a crystal and destined to save the world from evil. It's a loosely connected series of extremely basic plot events - a princess to be saved here, pirates to be defeated there - containing absolutely nothing of the intricate melodrama or political intrigue of later titles in the series. It's turn-based and menu-driven, so there wasn't much room for error in its transition to PSP. It functions fine.