>>>Download "beat", a .bps patching program for Windows and extract the archive contents in the typical manner, ideally into the folder in which this document is located for simplicity.

Link: <romhacking.net>

Alt link w/ source: <byuu.org (via archive.org)>

 

>>>Locate your clean (unedited) ROM dump of Final Fantasy 1 for the NES. (Make sure it's not compressed. It should be 262,160 bytes in size.)

The most common ROM out there called "Final Fantasy (U) [!].nes" (with spaces) which has an incorrectly set bit in its header (6th byte is incorrectly set to 12 when it should be 13) is ideal (only because it's the most common) and should patch without throwing an error.

A rare version called "Final_Fantasy_(U)_[!].nes" (with underscores) should have its 6th byte set correctly as 13. It should still patch properly, but will throw an error, claiming that it failed to patch. Ignore this; it's a failed checksum check. The file should be fine. But playtest it to verify, I guess.

I don't know if any otherwise-named ROMs will work. Feel free to try them; if they don't throw an error while patching they'll be fine. (The patched ROM's CRC should be 3F1FFB83 for the curious.)

 

>>>Run (Open) the beat program and click the "Apply Patch" button. (Ignore the other options which are for patch creation.) Browse to the "GFF v3.2.bps" file located in the same folder as this document and double-click on it. Then browse to your clean Final Fantasy ROM and double-click on it. Lastly type a name for the patched file, such as GFF.nes (include the .nes part!) and click Save / hit Enter. Dismiss the confirmation (or error) dialogue, close beat, and you should be all patched up and ready to roll.

 

>>>Obviously, you'll want an emulator to actually play the game. I recommend Nestopia. Version 1.40 (and presumably any newer versions) should be 100% compatible with this ROM hack.

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