Changes

The kernel is a throwback to the very first Final Fantasy game for the Nintendo's original 8 bit system. The NES could only natively read 32 kilobytes of program ROM. To get around this incredible limitation, Nintendo developed "memory mappers" that allowed parts of the program to be switched out, or "banked" and replaced with other parts stored on the game cartridge.

As the Final Fantasy franchise grew, so did the size of the games. They all still retained the kernel/module system. During the backporting process, this did cause a few headaches. For example, Final Fantasy 6 was originally developed for the Super Nintendo. When it's menu module was banked in, it was done with electronic bank switching. The later PSX port banked the data from the CD-ROM, which caused an unexpected lag that one wasn't used to. On the PC version for FF7, them menu system was simply integrated into the main executable.

The Kernel is a threaded multitasking program that manages the whole system. It uses a simple software based memory manager that handles both RAM and video memory for all the modules in the game. Assisting the kernel are many statically linked Psy-Q libraries. In the case of the PC port, the Psy-Q libs were replaced with a PC equivalent. For example the SEQ player was replaced with a MIDI player, Both accomplish the same tasks, just with different formats and execution strategies. The table below is a generic representation of how the kernel sits in relation to the other aspects of the program.