Seiken Densetsu version differences

The following is a list of version differences between the various releases and remakes of Final Fantasy Adventure (also known as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden or simply Seiken Densetsu in Japan and Mystic Quest in Europe).

Game Boy

Initial Release

The first iteration of Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden was released in Japan on June 28, 1991.

North American Release

The first international edition of Final Fantasy Adventure was released in North America in November 1991.

Name change

• The game was renamed Final Fantasy Adventure for the North American market as a way to capitalize on the Final Fantasy franchise.
• The North American game manual has names for the Hero and the Heroine, calling them "Sumo" and "Fuji" respectively. There were not officially named in the japanese manual.
• The currency in the Japanese version is known as ルク ("Ruku") but is just gold or GP in the English version, so the R was replaced with a G. It becomes the basis for some future currency being reread as Lucre.
• Some characters and places' names were altered to fit the character limit in dialogue boxes. Examples of this are the Shadow Knight shortened to Dark Lord and the Kingdom of Lorimar being replaced by Lorim.
• All Status conditions and almost all spells' names were shortened to fit in 4 characters long. For example, Petrification was renamed Ston, and Blizzard was changed to Ice. Similar treatment was done to weapons, armor, items, enemies and bosses.
• Some terms were changed for unknown reasons; the evil empire is called グランズ ("Granz") in Japanese, but "Glaive" in English.

Script

• A lot of dialogue was omitted or trimmed down, some gameplay hints and details were affected in the process (see Name Change section for examples).
• The grammar quality and spelling mistakes are a recurring issue, along with some unnatural word choices.
• The level-up message box in Japanese feels more like a friend congratulating the player, while the English text is more neutral.
• Upon leveling-up, aside from the usual stat increase, Japanese players would choose a job type between "Warrior", "Wizard", "Monk", and "Sage" roughly corresponding to a specific stat boost. (Warrior boosts Strength, Wizard boots Wisdom, Monk boosts Stamina, and Sage boosts Mind). North american players would simply choose the stat they wish to increase, eliminating the job system entirely.
• To accommodate the descending lowercase alphabet letters added, the numbers and letters were all raised by one pixel.

Censorship

Due to Nintendo of America's policies on religious imagery, a couple tiles and dialogue were altered for release outside Japan.

• Mentions of the Dark Lord's slaves were replaced as fighters.
• The reference to character dying in the game are toned down, if not outright omitted. Hasim, Fuji's initial protector, is an example of this.
• Fuji's kidnapping by Mr. Lee originally mentioned her virgin blood being needed. This was scrapped in the North american version.
• The coffins in Kett's basement had their crosses removed and replaced with a "V".
• The Star of David in Wendel was replaced with an eight-sided star (which, ironically, is also a religious symbol).
• Sumo and Amanda were looking for Medusa's blood in the uncensored version in order to lift the curse Davias casted on her brother Lester. In the International release it is her tears.

European release

The European release of Seiken Densetsu was released in 1993.

Name change

• The game was renamed Mystic Quest for the European market, probably since none of the Final Fantasy games being available on the continent at the time. Another Final Fantasy spinoff (Mystic Quest) was released in Europe later in 1993 and heavily influenced the name and font used for the localization.
• The game was translated in British English, German and French.

Game Boy Color

The game saw a North American re-release by Sunsoft in April 1998.

Game Boy Advance

An enhanced remake of the original Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden is released in Japan as Shin'yaku Seiken Densetsu on August 29, 2003.

Name change

The name literally translates to A New Testament: The Legend of the Sacred Sword and serves as a reimagined version of the original Game Boy game.

Story changes

Sword of Mana as a whole adds a considerable amount of story elements and cutscenes that were not present in the original Final Fantasy Adventure. Below are some of the most notable narrative changes found throughout the game.

• Important characters' backstories are usually fleshed out and detailed more explicitly.
  • The hero and the heroine are seen in a flashback and meet during their childhood while attempting to flee the Dark Lord's raid on the hero's house.
  • Bogard was an old friend of Hermann, the hero's father and Lord Granz, one of the Gemma knights. He took the heroine under his care following the tragic events that befell onto the Mana Village.
  • Sage Cibba follows the party more closely and even joins the hero save the captured Fuji by boarding the Airship instead of Bogard. He later gives important story exposition toward the latter half of the game.
• Several main characters have been given relatives and are shown interacting with them.
  • Both of Sumo's parents are assassinated off-screen by the Dark Lord's army during his prologue.
  • Fuji's adoptive mother is shown escorting her daughter while failing to attempt to get them both to safety from the imperial raid.
• Minor characters are now promoted to more important roles in the story.
  • Will, now named Willy is a boy originally from the Mana Village who was captured by the Granz Army in his youth. Instead of dying in Sumo's arms in the prologue, he attempts to flee Granz arena along with him but gets caught back by his Lordship. He later rejoins the party and becomes an AI party member during the heroine playthrough.

Gameplay changes

• Players can now choose to play as the Hero or the Heroine rather than being forced to play the hero in the original game.
• Choosing either character will slightly alter the course of the game.
  • The Sword is the Hero's default weapon and the Heroine's starting weapon is the Staff. Both are mutually exclusive to each character and cannot be used by the opposite gender.
  • The Hero gets to visit 2 story exclusive dungeons (Abandoned Mine & Gaia Cave) while the heroine get only one (Airship). The Hero does enter the Heroine's area, but he does not explore it nearly as much as she does. Likewise, the Heroine can explore 1 of the Hero's areas on her own time, but she cannot access the other area at all.
  • Each main character joins forces with unique allies that the other does not get to fight alongside. The Hero gets Cibba, Amanda & Lester while the Heroine gets Bogard & Willy.
  • The Hero fights two extra bosses (Jackal & Medusa) that the Heroine does not.
  • Some cutscenes and dialogue options are exclusive to either story, revealing information that isn't mentioned in the other storyline. One example of this is the Hero with the Dwarves and the Heroine with Marley.
• Towns, dungeons and fields are completely reinvented and more detailed with some new areas to explore.
• Several game mechanics from Legend of Mana are reintroduced in Sword of Mana, mainly accessible through the Hot House:
  • Players can now grow produce with the help of Trent.
  • Players can now forge new weapons, armors and accessories by combining pieces of equipment with raw material.
  • Optional sidequests are now available at an early start of the game.
  • Completing certain story segments and sidequests can motivate Li'l Cactus to write about it in its diary.
  • The Seven Wisdoms appear in powerful item cameo by completing the quest of the same name.

• Several new minor characters are introduced and meshes with the main story.
• Mana Spirits are introduced and most of their magical proprieties replace the original spells and magic items.

Graphical Changes

• As for the gameplay inspiration, the game's art style is heavily reminiscent of Legend of Mana released 4 years prior, using copious amounts of pastel colors, swirls and sinuous lines. To a lesser degree, the game also takes a similar graphical style to Seiken Densetsu 3, with the Heroine's sprite bearing strong resemblance to Angela, along with several enemy sprites and visual decor such as trees and landscape.

References

• Wikipedia
• Legend of Localization
• Censorship fandom
• The Cutting Room Floor