Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls

Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls is a compilation of the first two games in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in Japan under the title Final Fantasy I + II Advance. Graphically, it is very similar to the previously released enhanced remakes of both games for the WonderSwan Color.

Story
Final Fantasy is about the journey of the four Warriors of Light as they set off to restore power to the four crystals whose power sustains their world.

Final Fantasy II is about four youths fighting against the Emperor of Palamecia, who is attempting to take over the world. In the beginning of the game, they are separated from one of their friends, Leon.

Content and faithfulness to original
Both games were faithful in content to the original NES versions, and the package, while graphically similar to the WonderSwan Color adaptation of the first game, also contains the Bestiary feature, which allowed the player to view images and statistics of enemies that they had defeated in both games, and which first featured in the PlayStation package.

However, the package lacked the ability to choose between easy and normal games as was available in Final Fantasy Origins, although not in the original. Many reviewers complained that the first game appeared to default to "easy", making the heroes level-up much more easily and rendering enemies much easier to defeat, especially in comparison with the NES original. Many items were cheaper, the party began with more money, and defeating enemies brought greater rewards. Others praised the reduced difficulty level, saying that the high difficulty level (especially in comparison to later titles) was its primary weakness.

Other modifications and extras
A number of other changes were introduced to the Game Boy Advance adaptations:
 * The magic system used in the original versions, where magic capable characters would only be able to cast spells of a particular level a set number of times, was replaced by the now standard points (MP) system used in later games. However, certain spells are still restricted to characters above a certain level.
 * Intelligence now played more of an influence on the effects of offensive magic spells.
 * In the NES version, if a character was ordered to attack a character that was no longer there, the hit would be "ineffective". The WonderSwan Color edition of the game offered the player the option of maintaining this style of attack or having attacks redirected to a still existent foe. The Game Boy Advance forces this change, meaning that ineffective hits no longer occur.
 * The Thief and Monk classes were now more powerful. The Red Mage had been weakened somewhat.
 * A "profile" system. The cartridge would allow for three sets of saved games, including unlockables in the bestiary.
 * To allow for the needs of a portable gaming system, the save point based system (where the player could only save when located in an inn) was scrapped in favor of being able to save at any point in the game.
 * Many monsters have more HP.

Final Fantasy I also featured four extra dungeons not available in any other editions. These dungeons are accessible by collecting crystals that appear after defeating certain major opponents.

Final Fantasy II featured a completely original feature found in none of the other contemporary remakes. Once completed, a bonus dungeon entitled Soul of Rebirth would be accessible to the player, featuring a number of characters who had been killed off during the course of the main story.

Critical reaction
Reaction to the game was mixed. Most reviewers applauded the game as one of the most successful retro packs of recent years, lauding the enhanced graphics, features and gameplay. Others believed that the games had aged badly and listed the changes in difficulty as a major weakness of the package.

GameSpot awarded the package 7.2 out of 10, stating that "though each game is showing its age a bit, the combined package is still worthwhile for old-school RPG fans and patient neophytes." .