Final Fantasy I * II * III: Memory of Heroes

by Takashi Umemura

When darkness veils the world...
Light and darkness hold the world in balance-and should that equilibrium ever break, only the four warriors chosen by the Crystals can prevent inevitable ruin. This is the story of three times the balance shifted-and the three bands of friends who came together to save the world.
See where it all began with the novel adaptation of the first three stories from the classic FINAL FANTASY series, penned in celebration of its 25th anniversary!

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Fiction, Gaming, Novels

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2012

Reviews

[F.D. Gross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is at about a middle school grade level. Short, under developed plots. It’s perfect for those who want a little extra flare out of the first three installments of the game series. Other than that, you might find yourself bored. As in all final fantasy philosophy, light cannot exist without darkness, and when that balance is tilted, chaos will emerge. These short stories do convey this overall theme, but the execution was found wanting.

3 out 5
F. D. Gross

[Lala · Rating 3 out of 5]

***

Collection of novellas retelling the stories of the first three Final Fantasy games. (The original NES ones.)

Final Fantasy I- Impressively retells the main story beats of the first game. Although not as story heavy or character driven as other games in the series, the first Final Fantasy has a world with interesting lore.

The four Warriors of Light- Setro the Fighter, Zauver the Thief, Flora the White Mage, and Teol the Black Mage- have lost their memories and are traveling together to find their way. The loss of their memory bothers them, especially the hotheaded Zauver, who often clashes with his teammates, especially the calm leader of their group, Setro.
Surprisingly, there is no real conclusion to their story. The Warriors of Light never find out where they came from, or why their memories were wiped, and they die at the end. I was enjoying this for what it was, but unfortunately the ending was disappointing.

Final Fantasy II- Although this story again manages to hit every main story beat, there was very little fleshing out of the characters. That was a disappointment as I bought this book mainly for this story. Although Final Fantasy II often gets bad reviews because of its SaGa- like battle system, the story is quite good, and is better than it gets credit for. (You can find the seeds of the plots for both FF IV and FF VI here. It's my favorite among the first three games.)

Firion and his friends find themselves in the rebel army, fighting against an evil empire. Joined by a rotating cast of characters who sadly die in the cause -and they really die here, unlike in Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy III- Enjoyable story that uses the character names and personalities from the DS remake- the original game had the four Warriors of Light as blank slates, much like the first game.
Although the original FF III was never my favorite, this was by far the best of the novelizations.

Four orphans chosen by the crystals must journey to restore their world.

I've read quite a few of these video game novelizations, and they're often painful to read- but this one has a surprisingly good translation. I don't think you'd get much out of this book if you're not already familiar with the games, but this was a surprisingly enjoyable read for what it is.

Personal history: Purchased.

[Hew La France · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing to bear in mind with this book is that its adapting 3 rather old video games. Much like the games being retold here, each story gets a more in-depth story than the one before it. I is relatively bear-bones, II is actually decently involved, and III features a good bit of the plot points presented in III (not to be confused with IV, which is what the American FF III was).
Are these adaptations perfect? No. But if you're a fan of Final Fantasy, they're a fun little read.

[Jorge Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siempre he pensado que es difícil evaluar libros basados en contenidos existentes, porque es necesario conocer la fuente original para poder disfrutarlo. Con memory of heroes sucede una liguera diferencia. Son 3 historias divididas en 9 capitulos cada uno que narran tal cual los juegos de final fantasy, este libro es perfecto para los que ya conocen los juegos y también funciona para aquellos que no los conocen Pero quisieran entrar en este mundo mágico, no son historias complejas y los hechos van sucediendo de forma fluida uno tras otro.

-final fantasy I: en la primer historia agrega mucho valor algo que el juego no tiene, personalidad a los personajes, aunque están muy caracterizados a cliché está historia incluye diálogo entre los 4 personajes ante un mundo desconocido para ellos dónde conocerán sirenas, enanos, vampiros y a sus enemigos los 4 demonios elementales. Me hubiera gustado que los dos magos del equipo hubieran tenido más momentos protagónicos. 3 de 5 estrellas.

-final fantasy II: para la narración de la segunda historia me pareció más cruda que la primera, narra los estragos de la guerra, adaptó muy bien la mayoría de eventos importantes del juego. Algo que pudo ser mejor fue la participación de Guy y María. Quedaron muy rezagados en la historia y faltó incluir al personaje de la pirata que en ocaciones los acompañaba en el juego.
4 de 5 estrellas.

-final fantasy III: la mejor adaptación de las 3, basada no en el juego original de NES sino de nintendo DS. La participación de los 4 protagonistas es equilibrada en la historia, los carga con mucho más personalidad y humor cada momento, las batallas son decentes. Me encanto que la adaptación fue muy fiel al sistema del juego para las batallas y describir uso tal poder contra tal enemigo, al igual que se debe hacer en el juego. Si fuera solo un libro de FFIII y pudiera explorar más y ser más descriptivo con el mundo. Sería uno de los mejores libros de fantasía que hubiera leído. 4.5 de 5 estrellas.

Cómo fanático de la serie Final fantasy lo califico con 5 estrellas, me pareció una lectura entretenida, una adaptación decente aunque poco ambiciosa y para cualquiera que quiera iniciar con los libros de FF o solo sumergirse en estás 3 aventuras, lo recomiendo ampliamente.

[Jared Delcamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to see more character development, more dialogue, maybe a backstory, or some infused emotion somewhere. No dice. The book plot follows the NES games closely, and doesn’t do too much with the characters beyond what is in the games expect in a couple brief instances. It comes across as basically a middle grade book based on the dialogue and direct plot focus. I don’t regret reading it just from a love of the series perspective, but I won’t reread or prompt via word of mouth.

[Andy Cyca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good work, given the raw materials!

I'm going to be honest: I'm a fan of the FF franchise. I'm biased that way. However, even I have to admit that the plot of the first few games are ... Not the best. FF1 is a plain D&D town-and-dungeon campaign, FF2 is a retelling of Star Wars and FF3 is just starting to become something new.

That said, the novelization of these games is quite good, actually. The author didn't fall for the temptation of putting more lore where there is none, and instead presented us with a condensed version of the adventures. Given that each have is only 50ish pages long, there's no need for Grand Character Development (which mostly didn't exist in these games), and instead there's a good bird's eye view of the adventures in general. Heck, there's even some interesting game tips for those interested in playing the games.

[Vishanth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having played the original 3 Final Fantasy games I must say I did have fun with this and enjoyed some of the revisions to the narrative but it must be acknowledged that if you haven't played the original games this book will definitely read very amateurish to you since the original stories in the games were made over 30 years ago and not necessarily the most creative or well crafted things ever. But they were certainly charming which this book very much is.

First off the book does a really cool thing where it has these epitaphs to thematically tie all three stories together. The underlying conflict being the struggle between light and dark and the warriors that bring the balance. However it kinda falters when it gets to FF2 cause the story is so removed from crystals and warriors of light and is more a typical evil empire vs rebellion narrative.

I actually quite enjoy the original FF. It's short simple and easy to play. The storyline is, certainly simple but it's more a backbone to set this fantasy adventure on. FF1 by far got the biggest improvement of the 3 games within this book. The biggest improvement is actually giving characterisation to our 4 warriors of light. My one complaint is that I dislike the weird names they give them. Warrior of Light should not be called anything else other than Warrior of Light in my opinion. He's like a biblical figure in FF lore and must be treated with respect! Jokes aside I like that the novel officially canonises the main party being a Warrior, Thief, White Mage and Black mage. Personally I had a red mage and a Monk in my party however this party set up makes sense and featurea the 4 classic FF jobs. Thief by far is the best character in the story, he's cocky, arrogant but he stands on business and is always the ace in the hole. The original game lends well for a great 4 acts story structure and they move onto a new elemental fiend and save one of the 4 crystals. The ending was also much more hard hitting in the book than it was in the game. Leaving it open ended as to whether out party survived or not but knowing this loop will continue again was executed in a way that was both haunting and comforting. Overall I was very surprised and had a lot of fun with this short.

Ah FF2. The punching bag of the franchise. Unfortunately I also think FF2 is extremely weak both as a game and a narrative experience and it wasn't enough for a book to salvage it. The story goes about the same as the original game however with these shorts they cut down A lot of side stories and mini bosses and is pretty much a quick run down of the main beats. This unfortunately affects FF2 the most as even in the original game the story goes at a break neck pace with constant new party member changes, constant character deaths, and hamfisted back stories. Meeting, confronting, reuniting and redeeming Leon all under 10 pages is the biggest indicator for the serious pacing issues in this one. Also it unfortunately does nothing to improve or give characterisation like it does for FF1. I still don't know what Firion is like. It even brushes past the fact that Guy is raised by wolves which is an irrelevant piece of backstory since the Beaver moment didnt even make it into this novelisation. Overall I was disappointed the book doesn't make more or improve the original story and simply acts as a sparknotes brief for FF2 original game.

FF3 controversially is genuinely one of my favourite entries in the series. It's essentially the original concept of FF1 but more fun and whimsical. I am so happy the novelisation sticks with the DS Remake rendition since that is by far and away the superior version of FF3. They will always be Luneth, Arc, Refi and Luneth to me not Onion Knights. This one was a bit longer than the other which makes sense since the original game was by far the biggest jump in terms of gametime compared to the first 2. Once again this is a basic retread of the original story but I kinda enjoy the original so I was alright with it. There are a few things I did enjoy. I like the extra characteristics they gave the cast. Luneth is more of an aloof idiot of a leader with a heart of gold. Refia is the fiery unwilling mother who cares too much for her own good. Arc is softspoken like the original but he gets more moments here. Ingus felt more like a voice of reasons and buts heads with Luneth acting as a sort of foil, It was a compelling addition I wish they focused on more. The book actually attempts to give a party dynamic and I appreciate that. I also kinda love the moments of humour that feels like a well done FF parody, the characters acknowledge the ridiculousness of the situation and comment on it and it's done in a genuinely endearing and fun way that I appreciated. However this one needed extra page time. The story skips over the introduction and gets straight to the gang saving the princess and even then they quickly brush over the lore behind the warriors of darkness and Cloud of Darkness, which I was hoping for extended lore on. Overall it's about the same product as the original but with a few fun little moments of extra character stuff here and there. I also love how organically they incorporated a heavy video game mechanic like the Job system into a novel based narrative very clever stuff from Umemura.

Overall a fun read but not at all necessary.
FF1 - 8/10
FF2- 4/10
FF3 - 7/10

[Mikey Bunches · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is gonna basically be three reviews in one, one for each game covered.

FFI:
This game has the least amount of plot in the series. Not a bad thing, by any means, but it doesn't leave a ton to work with. Get these items, kill these bosses, get stronger, save the world. Takashi Umemura does a great job at giving the four blank slate Warriors of Light distinct personalities, and makes their adventures fun to follow. The shortest of the stories, which makes sense.

FFII:
The first game in the series with named playable characters, pre-chosen classes, and guest party members, and a more involved plot. Umemura had more to work with, but also had to condense more. I'm less familiar with the main plot of FFII, but it still felt like it covered the major plot points, and the characters were well written. Of the three stories, this one felt like the weakest to me. Still a good read, but the other two were more engaging.

FFIII:
I know this game better than FFII, but not as well as FFI. This is the first game to introduce the job system. Instead of choosing the class at the start, or having characters with designated classes, as you progress, you can choose between a variety of jobs. Umemura made good use of this mechanic, and gave it an interesting "real life" effect (in the games you just change, whereas in this story they glow and magically transform). There was also an excellent use of Chekov's Dragon. My favourite of the three. My only complaint is that I wish it was just a bit longer. I was really enjoying it. Also, sadly, not a single reference to the Onion Knight. If you know, you know.

[Dmitri Weiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I can say about this book—I finally finished Final Fantasy I-III.

The humble beginnings to a beloved series, retold in three short stories. While I admire the writing and translation work done for them, it left me wanting more. The writer is retelling the events of 3 early video game, all of which had fairly bare bones plots and characters—they had the chance to really flesh it out. As it stands, though, all three suffered from pacing issues, where after one scene it jump-cuts right to the next, much akin to if this was a strategy guide for the games, and leaves little room for characters to fully stand out. This problem is especially bad when in the first two stories, half of the Warriors of Light members rarely spoke or interacted except in action scenes that end just as abruptly as they began.

That said, I can see this work as supplementary material for fans, and an easy jumping-off point for newcomers curious of these games. At these stories' core are simpler romps from a simpler era of Final Fantasy, which as for somebody more accustomed to the more "cinematic" entries did not work for me personally. I did love II more than the others, though I wish that could have been given a little more room to spread itself out.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories retelling the first three games was written in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the series. They're pretty straightforward takes on the material, although they do characterize the ill-defined characters somewhat. There's a bit of a connection between the three stories in that the heroes of each one seem to be versions of the same people. The FF1 Light Warriors are given names (Setro the Warrior, Zauver the Thief, Flora the White Mage, and Teol the Black Mage) and personalities, and the FF3 ones have the names and backstories from the DS version. In neither case do they know their own origins. The former don't remember who they are at all and never find out, which seems like an oversight, but probably isn't. There seems to be a recurring theme in adaptations that these Warriors are from a different world. And the team from 3 are said to have been found as babies on an airship heading for the Floating Continent, with no indication as to where they came from. The FF1 story also suggests that the Fiends weren't malicious 2000 years previously. I know the name Mateus for the Emperor of Palamecia in FF2 comes from a novelization, but not this one, where he isn't given a name.

[Shazzy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text provides an overview of the first three games, although it is concise and straightforward. Each chapter corresponds to a section of the respective game and is primarily designed for readers who are already familiar with the gameplay, serving to clarify the details that the novel may overlook.

For Final Fantasy I, the narrative is direct and brief: the characters are informed they "must go to the castle." Upon arrival, they face an adversary, and after a succinct description of the encounter, the enemy is defeated. The storytelling is straightforward, mirroring the game’s approach with simple directives: "go here, complete this task, and it’s done."

Final Fantasy II presents a more complex structure, similar to the game. However, the motivations behind certain events are not clearly articulated, making it the least cohesive of the three narratives. One moment, the focus is on a warship, and the next, the characters find themselves in an unfamiliar dimension with unclear objectives.

In contrast, Final Fantasy III is the strongest of the three in terms of writing and is the most extensive in the book. It effectively captures the storyline, with well-executed pacing and enhanced character development, making it easier for readers to follow.

[Sarah McMacMamma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three of my favorite games growing up. When I saw this beauty on Amazon, I knew I needed a copy. It took me about a week to read. Like a nerd (say it loud, say it proud, y'all!) I had my old strategy guides out so I could follow the progression of each story in connection with the games. The writer did not disappoint, not even a little. If you're familiar with the games, the book will take you on their journeys.

If you are like me and grew up (and perhaps still live and breathe things revolving) with Final Fantasy the sense of nostalgia will overcome you as soon as you turn the first page. Even if you are one of those new-age techno-maniacs who think the Final Fantasy VII Remake is the original version of Final Fantasy VII (so young, so ignorant. Most of us where there when Cloud had hooves for hands), the story is creative and easy to follow. There are scenes of sorrow and suspense, of love and anger. So much lies in the stories of Final Fantasy, and the first three paved the way for the newer ones. Such a way to honor the originals.

Such a good read. Do not let this one pass you by.

[Jonathan Gibbons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of three short stories. And while I'm glad they exist, the shortness of them can be a little frustrating. Short stories normally have a short plot with few characters, but these are long plots with many characters, squeezed into short stories.
If you're a fan, you'll read them anyway, however you may end up feeling like it's wasted potential and wish for proper full-length, fleshed out novels, sticking to the original stories and characters, but fleshing them out with additional backstory.
Perhaps one day.
In my opinion, the first is by far the worst (and shortest), so don't be disheartened. II and III are decent.

[Blaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an accurate reflection of the first three Final Fantasy games, written for a YA audience. That means the adaptation of FFI is a very simple story, though this gives the Warriors of the Light names and personalities that were entirely absent in the source material. The adaptations of FFII and FFIII are far stronger, as the source material was also stronger, if a little on the short side in the case of FFII. Enjoyable for fans of the franchise. If the first adaptation isn’t doing it for you, skip to the adaptation of the second.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adaptation of the first three video games in the Final Fantasy series was actually pretty good.

From what I remember of each game not having played the first three in quite a while the storyline mirrors the gameplay quite a bit for each.

Overall the story in writing style is a little simplistic but that's to be expected given that I think the target audience is YA.

And as a lifetime Final Fantasy fan I was just happy to get content in these universes that I haven't come across before.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terrible condensation of an already simple story. I expected this to flesh out the basic plot of the game with more detail. Instead entire conflicts are set up and resolved in a single paragraph or omitted entirely.

FF2 was more of the same.

FF3 was better and was the only thing keeping this from a one star review. Not great but better.

[Steve McClintock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty barebones material to begin with .. the first 3 FF games were from a time where FF game stories were second to gameplay, so I knew not to expect too much.

That being said the author did a good job with what he had to work with. FF1's story felt more rushed and empty than the others.

I recommend this to hardcore FF fans, not sure a casual fan would enjoy it though.

[Amara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book alot as it was essentially a retelling of the games. I only wish that is was longer... I personally love the Final Fantasy series and I am glad to see the stories written out in a format that will introduce people who do not play video games to the franchise. It was a great read for me and recommend it to anyone who is curious about the series!

[Javier Pavía · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es una novelización de los tres primeros final fantasy. Es una lectura ligera y rápida, y más estructurado y elaborado que el guion de esos juegos (que tienen 30 y pico años), pero no aporta mucho más que una pieza de colección de la saga.

[Caleb Masters · Rating 3 out of 5]

About what you would expect from a light novel adaptation of 30+ year old NES games that had pretty thin plots to begin with. You are a here because you are a nerd like me who can't get enough Final Fantasy and for what they are, these three novellas are enjoyable.

[Jess Upon A Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book if you’ve played the first 3 Final Fantasy games. Easy to read and to the point. Themes of light vs dark and their interdependence. I’m not happy that one character was left out of the FF2 story?

[Kimberly Bigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good representation of the first three stories of the Final Fantasy I-III video game series.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too summarized, but still great.

[Tyrell Cromoshuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fun to read but seems like a very rushed version of the stories… it skips a lot

[Szava]

A második és a harmadik story jobb volt az elsőnél, de még mindig rossz. Nem értem miért írták bele a job change játékfunkciót például. Nagyon ügyetlen volt.

[Robin Agnew · Rating 2 out of 5]

These are retellings of the plots of FFI, II and III. They're... fine. The FFI part had to invent heroes somewhat obviously. Not a replacement for playing the games.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very uneven reading experience.

The book is broken up into three sections, each corresponding to the relevant game its covering. And while they are all pretty simple retellings only really covering the primary points of the games' storylines, it's very obvious that the attention given to each was not equal.

Final Fantasy I really got the short end of the stick. From the get-go, there's a lack of flow in the sentence structure and the dialogue is stilted and not, anyway, engaging. Couple that with chunks of the game's locations being cut, and you get a really short, thankfully but not very good or fully accurate, version of the first Final Fantasy. At first, I put it down to a possible translation issue, but the other book's sections don't feel nearly as half-arsed. I get the impression the author doesn't care for Final Fantasy I, which is a shame as, despite its simple premise and story, it's very charming.

As we move to Final Fantasy II's portion of the book, there's already a noticeable improvement. The story flows better and the dialogue, while not amazing, is much improved. Big sections of the game are skipped again, but it's not as egregious as before. I still didn't think this portion was good, but it was at least a step-up compared to Final Fantasy 1.

Final Fantasy III's portion feels like a completely different book. It's like night and day to the other 2 sections. And while its story is still simple, it's been expanded upon by adding details to the characters' backstories, helping to flesh everything out even if it's just a little. It still makes a difference. It added a level of investment and I liked it way more than the other parts of the book. It's a shame the same effort wasn't put into all sections as the book would have been far more enjoyable.

Overall, I think the book as a whole is a missed opportunity. Why not take the simplistic stories and add details and expand on them. After all, what are retellings for, if not a chance to give known stories a new spin?

I think you're better off skipping this book and maybe look into playing the games instead.

[Nacho · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5