I saw some reviews stating this version was much easier than the original. I enjoyed the difficulty in some areas, challenge is a big plus for me.

If this version is too easy it'll be a deal breaker for me.

It's easier than Japan's original Super Famicom version and the NA PS1 version. Otherwise, it's just as easy as quite literally every other version of the game.

The main reason it's easy is due to EXP requirements being halved to level up. If you want, you can use this mod here to restore the original values:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886283505615655033

You'll need Memoria, the latest version of which can be found here:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886668060323360799

Yeah, the original SNES version made the US release easier than the original Japanese in a few ways, then in Japan they released a new "Easy Type" version with most of those changes and more that made it even easier, and details on later remakes were varied somewhat, but none harder than the first version, other than bonus content not in the original version (like the DS version had a couple of superbosses harder than the final boss, and an unusual newgame+ where only a few things (mostly new things which customized your abilities) carried over through three runs, but you needed to accumulate those things while planning out who to use them on to beat the superbosses on the third run).

Anyway, the kinds of difference most significantly amount to changing whether you need to grind any or can afford to run from many of the random encounters. If your characters had the same level and equipment the boss fights wouldn't be that different.

In any case, the design idea behind this game was to make it more cinematic and story focused, to lessen repetitive grinding (though some people would then pointlessly grind in late game areas to unnecessarily max out their level).

Originally posted by Shucks:

I saw some reviews stating this version was much easier than the original. I enjoyed the difficulty in some areas, challenge is a big plus for me.

If this version is too easy it'll be a deal breaker for me.

People have continued to cry about how easy these PR are in comparison to the old versions... but it's not really true. They mistake the lack of requirement to grind after every dungeon to be easier... but lack of grinding doesn't mean easier it just means less time wasted grinding. In reality some of these bosses have been beefed up in these PRs. Hell Chaos had 20,000 HP and hit like a truck. No other version of FF1 came close to that in regards to Chaos' stats.

So a lot of it is people misremembering their nostalgia, being better at gaming in their older age, mistaking lack of grinding for easier, or just outright lying.

There are definitely parts that can feel easier due to the fact you level up much quicker... But there are definitely bosses and areas that have also been beefed up in comparison to other versions of the games. It makes for a different experience, but not really an easier experience.

Originally posted by Koby:

Originally posted by Shucks:

I saw some reviews stating this version was much easier than the original. I enjoyed the difficulty in some areas, challenge is a big plus for me.

If this version is too easy it'll be a deal breaker for me.

People have continued to cry about how easy these PR are in comparison to the old versions... but it's not really true. They mistake the lack of requirement to grind after every dungeon to be easier... but lack of grinding doesn't mean easier it just means less time wasted grinding. In reality some of these bosses have been beefed up in these PRs. Hell Chaos had 20,000 HP and hit like a truck. No other version of FF1 came close to that in regards to Chaos' stats.

So a lot of it is people misremembering their nostalgia, being better at gaming in their older age, mistaking lack of grinding for easier, or just outright lying.

There are definitely parts that can feel easier due to the fact you level up much quicker... But there are definitely bosses and areas that have also been beefed up in comparison to other versions of the games. It makes for a different experience, but not really an easier experience.

If rather than completing the game your goal is to obsessively get all the rare items only obtainable from enemy drops there is still a tremendous amount of grinding, though they shaved some of that off by changing the summons and tails from the 4th, rarest, category to the third category making it several times more likely, letting you buy sirens, and speeding up combat with autobattle.

But as for difficulty that doesn't consist of simply a time sink or that can be solved easily if you just more time grinding, that's ultimately completely non-existent in either this version or the original, as you shouldn't conceivably be losing any battles if you are level 99 and properly equipped while following a few very basic ideas for the fight any guide can say in like 2 sentences. If you want a different sort of difficulty based on reflexes or needing good strategy and judgement for making complicated situations, you'll need to pick a different game entirely.

This version has definitely been made quite a bit easier than even the original Western release. However, overall, this just reduces the need to level grind in certain spots and allows you to continue with the story without interruption... unless you're a completionist such as myself seeking to obtain all the achievements. lol

Played (and beat) FF1 PR, playing FF4 PR.

So far, both seem to be a tad easier than the original and previous remakes. FF1 exp seemed to me to be tweaked, making leveling up (and thus, power gains) that much simpler. the use of the 1-100 Accuracy rather than the 0-255 also felt (IDK if it actually did) like it brought the additional attacks earlier.

FF4, honestly, seems a bit easier due to faster leveling, and all these items that were dummied out of the SNES version. I used to struggle a bit (due to not being over levelled) when visiting the Sylph Cave and the Land of Summons at the earliest possible moment (underworld airship can fly over lava). This version, flew through them with relative ease. Being high enough to have gotten Float before entering either cave (and that's without grinding) and having higher level/tier spells helped a lot. Its not as though gear could have helped; there simply was no better gear to be obtained without continuing the story a bit and then coming back to these two caves. Anecdotal, perhaps, but just my own observations.

Originally posted by astrosha:

the use of the 1-100 Accuracy rather than the 0-255 also felt (IDK if it actually did) like it brought the additional attacks earlier.

It didn't. Accuracy and additional attacks are unchanged, and would be the same for the same level and weapon (except I think someone said the monk was strengthened in some way). The change to 1-100 accuracy was just a change to the status screen rather than the actual status and combat mechanics, as it still had the same up to 255 value hidden, but then divided your value by 255 to produce a percent of the maximum and showed that on the status screen. Except for monks maybe, any lower difficulty you noticed is due to other things they changed.

My take: The PR version feels significantly easier than the SNES version.

Now I’m not saying that the SNES version was a difficult game, but it did have more of a challenge than the PR version. I think there are several reasons why the PR feels easier:

Experience gains – You gain experience twice as fast in the PR version than you did in the SNES version. The end result is that in the PR version, you have gained more levels when you are facing enemies, so you do more damage to them, and they do less damage to you.

Save states and running away – In the SNES version, the dungeons had save checkpoints. These were essentially your ‘safe spots’ where you could save and have your party recover for the next battles. In between the checkpoints was the ‘danger zone’ where it was possible to lose progress if you died before making it to the next checkpoint. This gave running away from some battles more importance and strategic value because sometimes you just wanted to live long enough to make it to the next checkpoint.

The PR version has added a quick save and auto save so that you can save anywhere. I have mixed feelings on this. There are times where I like being able to save anywhere. However, being able to save anywhere, in addition to gaining experience more quickly, lessens the ‘danger’ element in dungeons quite a bit. Not to mention it feels quite a bit easier to run away, and you don't lose any Gil like you could in the SNES version.

Maps – The PR version has maps that show you where all the chests are and where to go. This makes it feel less like exploration because you can just reference the map. This also makes it easier to figure out where the secret rooms and chests are.
You can toggle this off for a level, but as soon as you go to another level, then it’s back. It would be nice to toggle this off completely so that it is player choice whether it is on or off.

Infinite arrows – On the SNES version, you could run out of arrows. This made some of the arrows more valuable and you would only use the more rare ones during certain fights.

The PR version has made them infinite. So I do like this sometimes because you don’t have to worry about farming or sinking your Gil into arrow purchases. But on the other hand, it means that your party members who use bows are going to be doing more damage than they would have been doing on the SNES because they are always going to be using the better arrows. This is more subtle, but along with the other reasons I listed above, it contributes to making the PR version feel less challenging than the SNES version.


When taken together, the above issues changes the feel of the PR version of the game and makes it feel a lot easier than the SNES version. That doesn’t mean I think that I think PR is a bad game, far from it. For me, it just makes it feel too easy and leaves me missing the game play of the SNES version.

I guess some people would call it all quality of life adjustments, and that's totally fine. In fact I can see how some of the changes would appeal to some people and how they wouldn't want to play it any other way.

I just personally wish there was a way to toggle the game play so that you could play it in 'original' mode or the 'new' PR mode of difficulty. Yeah I know you can get mods, but would be nice to be able to change it without the mods.

Originally posted by Forte224:

It's easier than Japan's original Super Famicom version and the NA PS1 version. Otherwise, it's just as easy as quite literally every other version of the game.

The main reason it's easy is due to EXP requirements being halved to level up. If you want, you can use this mod here to restore the original values:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886283505615655033

You'll need Memoria, the latest version of which can be found here:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886668060323360799

These links don't work unless we're in the same server btw. I get dead links.

Originally posted by wckowalski:

Yeah, the original SNES version made the US release easier than the original Japanese in a few ways, then in Japan they released a new "Easy Type" version with most of those changes and more that made it even easier, and details on later remakes were varied somewhat, but none harder than the first version, other than bonus content not in the original version (like the DS version had a couple of superbosses harder than the final boss, and an unusual newgame+ where only a few things (mostly new things which customized your abilities) carried over through three runs, but you needed to accumulate those things while planning out who to use them on to beat the superbosses on the third run).

Anyway, the kinds of difference most significantly amount to changing whether you need to grind any or can afford to run from many of the random encounters. If your characters had the same level and equipment the boss fights wouldn't be that different.

In any case, the design idea behind this game was to make it more cinematic and story focused, to lessen repetitive grinding (though some people would then pointlessly grind in late game areas to unnecessarily max out their level).

Forgive me if I read this wrong, but it's not just the bonus content that is harder in the DS version. The DS version is harder than every other version, including the original, by design. I think a ton of people are mistaking their memories of the DS version for the original.

Okay, I waltzed through the final dungeon and the final boss absolutely destroyed me. My victory was only just, with leaving a couple characters dead. Either the final boss was always much more difficult than the rest of the game, I did something wrong as in if it's worse if you delay using the crystal a moment, but in any case I was surprised how much of a threat it was. It felt like it had virtually no ATB bar. That's not a complaint; it's just the final boss was not a pushover for me.

So it's simple:

1) Being overlevelled makes RPGs easier - FACT
2) Doubling XP naturally results in you being overlevelled more easily - FACT
3) The game is easier - FACT

Grind was a time investment to give yourself an easier time. Now you get an easier time by default. So anyone who says grind not equal to difficulty wants this easier time but wants to deny the fact they are playing on easy mode.

It's very simple.

Hard to say, the only version I've found difficult(unfairly so imo) is the DS version.

I wouldn't say the DS version is unfair it just assumes a veteran status with the game and genre.

Originally posted by Zunnoab #931:

I wouldn't say the DS version is unfair it just assumes a veteran status with the game and genre.

I've played FFIV a bunch, but even I would have to imagine no amount of knowledge can save you from having the random enemies basically spam status attacks while having zero ways to defend against or cure them.

I wouldn't say the DS version is unfair it just assumes a veteran status with the game and genre.

Originally posted by Zunnoab #931:

I wouldn't say the DS version is unfair it just assumes a veteran status with the game and genre.

I've played FFIV a bunch, but even I would have to imagine no amount of knowledge can save you from having the random enemies basically spam status attacks while having zero ways to defend against or cure them.

So it's simple:

1) Being overlevelled makes RPGs easier - FACT
2) Doubling XP naturally results in you being overlevelled more easily - FACT
3) The game is easier - FACT

Grind was a time investment to give yourself an easier time. Now you get an easier time by default. So anyone who says grind not equal to difficulty wants this easier time but wants to deny the fact they are playing on easy mode.

It's very simple.

Hard to say, the only version I've found difficult(unfairly so imo) is the DS version.

Originally posted by Forte224:

It's easier than Japan's original Super Famicom version and the NA PS1 version. Otherwise, it's just as easy as quite literally every other version of the game.

The main reason it's easy is due to EXP requirements being halved to level up. If you want, you can use this mod here to restore the original values:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886283505615655033

You'll need Memoria, the latest version of which can be found here:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886668060323360799

These links don't work unless we're in the same server btw. I get dead links.

Originally posted by wckowalski:

Yeah, the original SNES version made the US release easier than the original Japanese in a few ways, then in Japan they released a new "Easy Type" version with most of those changes and more that made it even easier, and details on later remakes were varied somewhat, but none harder than the first version, other than bonus content not in the original version (like the DS version had a couple of superbosses harder than the final boss, and an unusual newgame+ where only a few things (mostly new things which customized your abilities) carried over through three runs, but you needed to accumulate those things while planning out who to use them on to beat the superbosses on the third run).

Anyway, the kinds of difference most significantly amount to changing whether you need to grind any or can afford to run from many of the random encounters. If your characters had the same level and equipment the boss fights wouldn't be that different.

In any case, the design idea behind this game was to make it more cinematic and story focused, to lessen repetitive grinding (though some people would then pointlessly grind in late game areas to unnecessarily max out their level).

Forgive me if I read this wrong, but it's not just the bonus content that is harder in the DS version. The DS version is harder than every other version, including the original, by design. I think a ton of people are mistaking their memories of the DS version for the original.

Okay, I waltzed through the final dungeon and the final boss absolutely destroyed me. My victory was only just, with leaving a couple characters dead. Either the final boss was always much more difficult than the rest of the game, I did something wrong as in if it's worse if you delay using the crystal a moment, but in any case I was surprised how much of a threat it was. It felt like it had virtually no ATB bar. That's not a complaint; it's just the final boss was not a pushover for me.

It's easier than Japan's original Super Famicom version and the NA PS1 version. Otherwise, it's just as easy as quite literally every other version of the game.

The main reason it's easy is due to EXP requirements being halved to level up. If you want, you can use this mod here to restore the original values:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886283505615655033

You'll need Memoria, the latest version of which can be found here:

https://discord.com/channels/371784427162042368/866169732164091904/886668060323360799

Yeah, the original SNES version made the US release easier than the original Japanese in a few ways, then in Japan they released a new "Easy Type" version with most of those changes and more that made it even easier, and details on later remakes were varied somewhat, but none harder than the first version, other than bonus content not in the original version (like the DS version had a couple of superbosses harder than the final boss, and an unusual newgame+ where only a few things (mostly new things which customized your abilities) carried over through three runs, but you needed to accumulate those things while planning out who to use them on to beat the superbosses on the third run).

Anyway, the kinds of difference most significantly amount to changing whether you need to grind any or can afford to run from many of the random encounters. If your characters had the same level and equipment the boss fights wouldn't be that different.

In any case, the design idea behind this game was to make it more cinematic and story focused, to lessen repetitive grinding (though some people would then pointlessly grind in late game areas to unnecessarily max out their level).

Originally posted by Shucks:

I saw some reviews stating this version was much easier than the original. I enjoyed the difficulty in some areas, challenge is a big plus for me.

If this version is too easy it'll be a deal breaker for me.

People have continued to cry about how easy these PR are in comparison to the old versions... but it's not really true. They mistake the lack of requirement to grind after every dungeon to be easier... but lack of grinding doesn't mean easier it just means less time wasted grinding. In reality some of these bosses have been beefed up in these PRs. Hell Chaos had 20,000 HP and hit like a truck. No other version of FF1 came close to that in regards to Chaos' stats.

So a lot of it is people misremembering their nostalgia, being better at gaming in their older age, mistaking lack of grinding for easier, or just outright lying.

There are definitely parts that can feel easier due to the fact you level up much quicker... But there are definitely bosses and areas that have also been beefed up in comparison to other versions of the games. It makes for a different experience, but not really an easier experience.

Originally posted by Koby:

Originally posted by Shucks:

I saw some reviews stating this version was much easier than the original. I enjoyed the difficulty in some areas, challenge is a big plus for me.

If this version is too easy it'll be a deal breaker for me.

People have continued to cry about how easy these PR are in comparison to the old versions... but it's not really true. They mistake the lack of requirement to grind after every dungeon to be easier... but lack of grinding doesn't mean easier it just means less time wasted grinding. In reality some of these bosses have been beefed up in these PRs. Hell Chaos had 20,000 HP and hit like a truck. No other version of FF1 came close to that in regards to Chaos' stats.

So a lot of it is people misremembering their nostalgia, being better at gaming in their older age, mistaking lack of grinding for easier, or just outright lying.

There are definitely parts that can feel easier due to the fact you level up much quicker... But there are definitely bosses and areas that have also been beefed up in comparison to other versions of the games. It makes for a different experience, but not really an easier experience.

If rather than completing the game your goal is to obsessively get all the rare items only obtainable from enemy drops there is still a tremendous amount of grinding, though they shaved some of that off by changing the summons and tails from the 4th, rarest, category to the third category making it several times more likely, letting you buy sirens, and speeding up combat with autobattle.

But as for difficulty that doesn't consist of simply a time sink or that can be solved easily if you just more time grinding, that's ultimately completely non-existent in either this version or the original, as you shouldn't conceivably be losing any battles if you are level 99 and properly equipped while following a few very basic ideas for the fight any guide can say in like 2 sentences. If you want a different sort of difficulty based on reflexes or needing good strategy and judgement for making complicated situations, you'll need to pick a different game entirely.

This version has definitely been made quite a bit easier than even the original Western release. However, overall, this just reduces the need to level grind in certain spots and allows you to continue with the story without interruption... unless you're a completionist such as myself seeking to obtain all the achievements. lol

Played (and beat) FF1 PR, playing FF4 PR.

So far, both seem to be a tad easier than the original and previous remakes. FF1 exp seemed to me to be tweaked, making leveling up (and thus, power gains) that much simpler. the use of the 1-100 Accuracy rather than the 0-255 also felt (IDK if it actually did) like it brought the additional attacks earlier.

FF4, honestly, seems a bit easier due to faster leveling, and all these items that were dummied out of the SNES version. I used to struggle a bit (due to not being over levelled) when visiting the Sylph Cave and the Land of Summons at the earliest possible moment (underworld airship can fly over lava). This version, flew through them with relative ease. Being high enough to have gotten Float before entering either cave (and that's without grinding) and having higher level/tier spells helped a lot. Its not as though gear could have helped; there simply was no better gear to be obtained without continuing the story a bit and then coming back to these two caves. Anecdotal, perhaps, but just my own observations.

Originally posted by astrosha:

the use of the 1-100 Accuracy rather than the 0-255 also felt (IDK if it actually did) like it brought the additional attacks earlier.

It didn't. Accuracy and additional attacks are unchanged, and would be the same for the same level and weapon (except I think someone said the monk was strengthened in some way). The change to 1-100 accuracy was just a change to the status screen rather than the actual status and combat mechanics, as it still had the same up to 255 value hidden, but then divided your value by 255 to produce a percent of the maximum and showed that on the status screen. Except for monks maybe, any lower difficulty you noticed is due to other things they changed.

My take: The PR version feels significantly easier than the SNES version.

Now I’m not saying that the SNES version was a difficult game, but it did have more of a challenge than the PR version. I think there are several reasons why the PR feels easier:

Experience gains – You gain experience twice as fast in the PR version than you did in the SNES version. The end result is that in the PR version, you have gained more levels when you are facing enemies, so you do more damage to them, and they do less damage to you.

Save states and running away – In the SNES version, the dungeons had save checkpoints. These were essentially your ‘safe spots’ where you could save and have your party recover for the next battles. In between the checkpoints was the ‘danger zone’ where it was possible to lose progress if you died before making it to the next checkpoint. This gave running away from some battles more importance and strategic value because sometimes you just wanted to live long enough to make it to the next checkpoint.

The PR version has added a quick save and auto save so that you can save anywhere. I have mixed feelings on this. There are times where I like being able to save anywhere. However, being able to save anywhere, in addition to gaining experience more quickly, lessens the ‘danger’ element in dungeons quite a bit. Not to mention it feels quite a bit easier to run away, and you don't lose any Gil like you could in the SNES version.

Maps – The PR version has maps that show you where all the chests are and where to go. This makes it feel less like exploration because you can just reference the map. This also makes it easier to figure out where the secret rooms and chests are.
You can toggle this off for a level, but as soon as you go to another level, then it’s back. It would be nice to toggle this off completely so that it is player choice whether it is on or off.

Infinite arrows – On the SNES version, you could run out of arrows. This made some of the arrows more valuable and you would only use the more rare ones during certain fights.

The PR version has made them infinite. So I do like this sometimes because you don’t have to worry about farming or sinking your Gil into arrow purchases. But on the other hand, it means that your party members who use bows are going to be doing more damage than they would have been doing on the SNES because they are always going to be using the better arrows. This is more subtle, but along with the other reasons I listed above, it contributes to making the PR version feel less challenging than the SNES version.


When taken together, the above issues changes the feel of the PR version of the game and makes it feel a lot easier than the SNES version. That doesn’t mean I think that I think PR is a bad game, far from it. For me, it just makes it feel too easy and leaves me missing the game play of the SNES version.

I guess some people would call it all quality of life adjustments, and that's totally fine. In fact I can see how some of the changes would appeal to some people and how they wouldn't want to play it any other way.

I just personally wish there was a way to toggle the game play so that you could play it in 'original' mode or the 'new' PR mode of difficulty. Yeah I know you can get mods, but would be nice to be able to change it without the mods.