This guide covers the full game: a 12-chapter walkthrough from Garland at the Chaos Shrine through the time loop to Chaos, all 18 boss strategies including the Four Fiends, every 249 chest location, the complete 128-entry bestiary, and a trophy guide for the platinum. You'll also find details on all six classes, class upgrades from the Citadel of Trials, and all white and black magic spells. Nothing is permanently missable (a rarity for a 1987 RPG), so the whole game can be cleaned up after the credits.
Originally released in 1987 on the NES, Final Fantasy 1 follows four Warriors of Light on a quest to restore the four elemental crystals darkened by the Fiends of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. Created by Hironobu Sakaguchi under dire circumstances at Square, the game sold over two million copies worldwide and played a major role in popularizing JRPGs outside Japan. And the Pixel Remaster (2021) is worth the revisit; it rebuilds the original with updated pixel art, quality-of-life fixes, and Nobuo Uematsu's re-arranged soundtrack.
Walkthrough
Cornelia
Equip your party in Cornelia's shops, visit the King at the castle, then head north to the Chaos Shrine. Beat Garland to rescue Princess Sarah and unlock the bridge north.
Pravoka
Cross the newly built bridge and head east to Pravoka. Clear out Bikke's pirates to earn your first ship, then sail south to explore the coastline.
Elfheim
Sail to Elfheim and learn about the sleeping Elf Prince. Trek through the Marsh Cave for the Crown, trade it to Astos, then use the Mystic Key to unlock doors across the world.
Choose Your Party
Pick four from six classes before the game starts. Each has real tradeoffs, and class upgrades arrive mid-game after the Citadel of Trials. Party position matters: slot 1 takes roughly 50% of all physical attacks, so put your tankiest class there.
New to FF1: Warrior, Red Mage, Thief, White Mage. Double healing and a strong front line.
All classes and party buildsBoss Strategies
18 bosses from Garland at the Chaos Shrine to Chaos with 20,000 HP. The Four Fiends guard each Crystal: Lich in the Cavern of Earth, Marilith at Mount Gulg, Kraken in the Sunken Shrine, and Tiamat in the Flying Fortress. Warmech is a rare encounter on the bridge before Tiamat that hits harder than most fiends.
Bestiary
128 enemies total. Nothing's missable except by luck: Warmech is a rare spawn on the Flying Fortress 5F bridge (roughly 1 in 64 encounters). Every other enemy shows up reliably in its listed location. The bestiary tracks stats, weaknesses, and drops for all 128.
Trophies
24 PSN trophies: 10 Bronze, 6 Silver, 7 Gold, and 1 Platinum. None are missable. Every location stays open and every chest stays put, so you can clean up anything you missed after the credits. The only real grind is getting all four party members to level 50 and hunting Warmech for the 100% bestiary.
Reference Guides
Browse 40 weapons from basic Knives to Excalibur and Masamune, 37 armor pieces including Dragon Mail and Aegis Shield, and all 64 Black and White Magic spells across 8 levels. The key items page covers all 17 story items from the Lute to the Adamantite.