Makai Toushi Sa・Ga was released by Square in Japan on 15 December 1989. It was the first game in the SaGa series and Square's first Game Boy game; Japanese Wikipedia also calls it the first RPG on the Game Boy. Square president Masafumi Miyamoto asked for a Game Boy title after seeing how well Tetris sold, and Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii decided to make an RPG. Kawazu directed and designed it, and Nobuo Uematsu wrote the music. The team aimed for a game that could be finished in six to eight hours, about the length of a flight from Narita to Honolulu.
For the North American release on 30 September 1990, Square and Nintendo dropped the planned title The Great Warrior Saga and used the Final Fantasy name instead. Europe never got the Game Boy original: the 2020 Collection was the first official European release of the Game Boy SaGa games.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | The Final Fantasy Legend | Game Boy | Sep 30, 1990 | Square | 1 |
| NA | The Final Fantasy LegendReissue without enhancements despite advertised Game Boy Color compatibility | Game Boy | 1998 | Sunsoft | 1 |
| JP | 魔界塔士 Sa・GaMakai Toushi Sa・Ga | Game Boy | Dec 15, 1989 | Square | 1 |
| JP | 魔界塔士 Sa・GaMakai Toushi Sa・GaWonderSwan Color remake | Other | Mar 20, 2002 | Square | 1 |
| WW | COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGENDJapanese Wikipedia gives 15 December 2020, English Wikipedia 19 December 2020; first official European release of the Game Boy SaGa games | Switch | December 2020 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGENDAlso on Android the same day | iOS | Sep 22, 2021 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGENDSteam | Windows | Oct 21, 2021 | Square Enix | 3 |
Also known as: 魔界塔士 Sa・Ga JP2Makai Toushi Sa・Ga JP1The Great Warrior Saga NA1COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND WW3
Box art by region
NA The Final Fantasy Legend
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
TextGB (NA)
The Japanese text refers to espers and God; the English version calls them mutants and the Creator.1
-
TextGB (NA)
The English version leaves out some of Ryu-O's riddles, removes a reference to self-sacrifice and a hint about the Tower's purpose, and changes the Creator's explanation of why he created Ashura.1
-
GraphicsWonderSwan Color (2002)
The 2002 WonderSwan Color remake has characters redrawn by Toshiyuki Itahana, new animated cutscenes, a bestiary and auto-targeting, and it also lets you play the original Game Boy version.1
Translations
-
English Official
Square1990Game Boy · Japanese versionReleased · complete
The official English version came out in North America in 1990 as The Final Fantasy Legend and is also included in the 2020 Collection.1
Where to play legally today
-
Steam Purchase
COLLECTION of SaGa FINAL FANTASY LEGEND
Game Boy original in Japanese and English versions
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
Reception
It was Square's first million-selling game: as of March 2003 the Game Boy version had sold 1.37 million units worldwide, 1.15 million of them in Japan.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.