What fantasy tabletop RPG inspired the elemental fiends in the first Final Fantasy?

Dungeons & Dragons inspired the elemental fiends and several foundational ideas in the first Final Fantasy. The game’s battle designer, Akitoshi Kawazu, based much of its combat design on the tabletop RPG as well as on Wizardry.

The original game’s four major elemental fiends are Lich, Marilith, Kraken, and Tiamat. Their names and monster concepts strongly evoke the fantasy bestiary familiar to Dungeons & Dragons players. The game also adapted ideas such as character classes, elemental strengths and weaknesses, magical creatures, and party-based dungeon adventures.

D&D was not the only influence. Final Fantasy was also shaped by Ultima, Wizardry, and the Japanese hit Dragon Quest. Those influences helped Square combine Western computer-RPG mechanics with the presentation and storytelling conventions of a Japanese console RPG.

A useful distinction is that D&D inspired the game’s broader systems and fantasy vocabulary; the original Final Fantasy was not an official D&D adaptation. Its crystals, time-loop plot, and Warriors of Light belong to Square’s own setting.