Three cartridges. One creator's journey from ending to beginning.
In 1987, Hironobu Sakaguchi made Final Fantasy believing it would be his last game — if it failed, he planned to leave the industry. The name 'Final' carried a real sense of ending, though he has since said almost any word starting with 'F' would have done. It saved Square. It continued. In 1988, for Final Fantasy II, the team built the story first, then shaped the game around it. In 1990, while developing Final Fantasy III, his family home caught fire. He drove through the night, but by the time he arrived it had burned to the ground. His mother was gone. He kept building. To hold these three cartridges together is to hold one person's passage — from a last chance, through a new way of making, and across a loss that rewrote everything — and to see that what feels like an ending is sometimes only the first word.
— inspired by Hironobu Sakaguchi
About this game
The first three Final Fantasy games for Famicom (1987-1990) form a trilogy that tells two stories: the story of a fledgling RPG series finding its voice, and the story of one creator's passage through triumph and loss. Final Fantasy I (December 1987) saved Square from financial collapse. Final Fantasy II (December 1988) reversed the usual order — story first, gameplay second. Final Fantasy III (April 1990), built on one of the largest Famicom cartridges ever made, was completed while director Hironobu Sakaguchi mourned the death of his mother in a house fire. Together, these three cartridges hold the beginning of one of gaming's most enduring franchises — and a reminder that what feels like an ending is sometimes only the first word.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Final Fantasy I released in December 1987 and sold 400,000 copies in Japan, rescuing Square from financial difficulty. Final Fantasy II followed in December 1988, with the team building the narrative first and designing gameplay around it — a reversal of the usual approach. Final Fantasy III released on April 27, 1990, on one of the largest Famicom cartridges ever made: 512 kilobytes. All three were directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, and programmed by Nasir Gebelli. Final Fantasy III remained Japan-exclusive for sixteen years; an official Western release arrived only in 2006 as a Nintendo DS remake.
Tricks & Tales
The name 'Final Fantasy' has often been mythologized as reflecting Square's imminent bankruptcy, but Sakaguchi himself has called that story inaccurate — the real reason was a trademark conflict with the tabletop game 'Fighting Fantasy.' During Final Fantasy III's development, Sakaguchi's mother died in a house fire; he has said that since her passing, the theme of 'life' became central to his work, and fire as a symbol of disaster appears repeatedly in later Final Fantasy titles. Final Fantasy III's 512-kilobit cartridge was the largest Famicom ROM at the time of release.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Final Fantasy I, II, III — Famicom Trilogy Set copies regularly.
Will these Final Fantasy cartridges still save my game?
All three Final Fantasy games on Famicom use a small coin battery — the CR2032 type — sealed inside each cartridge to keep saves alive. That battery was built to last fifteen or twenty years; every copy is now well past thirty-five. So if a cartridge forgets your progress the moment the power goes off, it usually isn't broken — the battery is simply tired. It can be replaced, though removing the old one clears the saved game, so note anything precious first. When buying, it's worth asking whether the save batteries have already been changed.
Can I play Japanese Famicom Final Fantasy cartridges on a Western console?
These are Japanese Famicom releases and won't fit a North American NES without an adapter, because the two systems use different connector shapes — 60 pins versus 72. On a Famicom, or a console that accepts Famicom cartridges, they play perfectly. The games themselves are in Japanese, and Final Fantasy II and III never received official English releases on original hardware.
My Famicom cartridge won't start — should I blow into it?
Please don't. The trouble is almost always dirty contacts, and the moisture in your breath slowly corrodes them further. Clean the gold pins gently with a cotton swab and 90%-or-higher isopropyl alcohol instead. Blowing only ever seemed to work because you also took the cartridge out and put it back while doing it.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Final Fantasy I, II, III — Famicom Trilogy Set
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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