Customer Reviews

Final Fantasy II

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A remake of Final Fantasy II is, like the remake of the first one, hard to review. It's a good game for the time of it's release, but a lot of its elements just don't hold up well by todays standards by any means.

Let's clarify one thing, however, the original Final Fantasy II you find on the Super Nintendo is actually Final Fantasy IV. The real Final Fantasy II was not released until the Final Fantasy Origins on the Playstation, which it was then packaged with the first one. The game was also released a second time on the GBA in a package called Dawn of Souls. This is the third time the real Final Fantasy II was released in America. The unfortunate thing is that even when it first came to the states in the Origins release, it was dated, and they didn't do much to it in Dawn of Souls and now we've already got a third release of the game, and they still haven't done much to update it. In a sense you want to forgive the old gameplay mechanics. When the game was originally released (in Japan) it was the standard for the time. However, in some ways you wish that Square-Enix would've done more to update this thing.

The game gets off to a fantastic start, at least. It begins with an entire village being burned down as the Emperor continues to take over the world. As the village is burned to the ground, four youngsters managed to escape and are then pursued by the Emperors knights. They're far too weak to take him on and just barely escape death. They're then given the chance to help a resistance group bent on stopping the emperor. For those who played through the first Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II is a big step forward for the series. Your characters, for one thing, actually have names and talk. While the game doesn't focus too much on the storyline, it's nice that there's some exposition, as well as a sense of direction. In the story department, Final Fantasy II is certainly not bad for the time in which the game was originally released. Final Fantasy II's driving force (that either kept you there or drove you away) was the gameplay.

Final Fantasy II was, much like the first one, entirely turn based. That means battles are pretty long and slow. Again, it's standard fare for the time, but it's actually not so bad even by today's standards. It's completely simple, you enter in each characters command then watch them carry it out. The battle system throws in some interesting (and somewhat annoying quirks). For example, a character placed in the back row takes less damage can only damage the enemy with a bow or by using magic. If a character in the back row is using a sword he/she will miss all the time.

Final Fantasy II also breaks tradition. While most RPGs have a level up system of some kind, Final Fantasy II has no such thing. So how do you raise characters? By using them in battle. Depending on what they do, certain stats increase. A character who keep using physical attacks for example, will eventually see an increase in his strength. If you keep taking damage your defense and HP will increase. If you keep using magic, your magic will increase. The game will tell you when stats go up. This system sounds like its awesome, but it has its drawbacks. For one, when certain stats go up, other stats go down. For example, when your strength increases, your magic might go down. It's almost impossible to have a well balanced character if that's what you're going for. It's also annoying because your stats don't increase that fast and it's sometimes hard to gauge just how much time you'll have to spend increasing your stats.

Your weapons and magic have levels though. Keep using a spell and it'll eventually level up. Keep using a certain weapon type (swords for example) and it'll eventually level up. The purpose is simple: A weapon at a high level will hit an enemy several times and the chances of missing become slimmer. Once you give a certain weapon to a character however, you might as well keep them with it. Weapons and magic, like your stats don't increase often or fast, and lower level weapon types often miss a lot.

For some RPGers, this huge focus Final Fantasy II puts on increasing the stats of your characters while leveling up their magic and weapons spells fun. However, at the same time, its dreadfully time consuming. Final Fantasy II isn't a long game per se, but you'll spend a ton of time just wandering around and raising stats. It's also to no consolation that the game is very challenging. And when I say challenging I'm not kidding. The random encounter rate here is ungodly high and its way too easy to get lost when going to your next destination. The good news is you'll know when you get lost: the enemies are too much of a challenge and will often kill you in one shot. The problem, however, is this completely takes the fun out of exploring. Just going as little as five steps in the wrong direction on the world map could be fatal, and what's worse is that the game often doesn't tell you what direction to go. So if you're not accustomed to losing in battle, prepare to do so here. You could try running away, but even if you select for your entire party to flee, you'll often fail. Likewise, most of your enemies will attack before you do.

It's the gameplay that can make or break Final Fantasy II for you. With the challenging difficulty and unbalanced character raising system, some gamers who were introduced to the series with later games (particularly the Playstation era games) will find themselves in frustration. This may be on the PSP, but beneath the surface this is still an old school NES RPG complete with all the limitations and challenges. So it isn't unrealistic to expect the same limitations and challenges, and this in and of itself could completely turn some gamers away.

On the bright side, the PSP version is the best looking version yet. It doesn't take the PSP to its limits, and it's still 2D but the artwork and designs of the monsters and towns is pretty good. So it isn't an overhaul in graphics, but it still looks pretty. Unfortunately, for some, this isn't enough to save the near 20 year old gameplay. The game also sounds really really good, and the reworked soundtrack here sounds even better. It's a fantastic piece of eye-candy on the whole.

The problem with Final Fantasy II is that it's the third release here in the states and it really doesn't add a whole lot of new stuff that you can't get in the GBA version: Dawn of Souls. The fact that you also have to buy this separately from Final Fantasy I doesn't help its situation any.

In the end, if you haven't experienced Final Fantasy II and you absolutely have to, I highly suggest going to your local used game store and picking up a copy of Dawn of Souls on the GBA. It may not be as pretty as the PSP version, but you get it for cheaper and you also get the first Final Fantasy included with it.

Pros:

+It's really pretty
+Great sound
+Not a bad story for the second Final Fantasy
+Exhausting gameplay, there's a lot to do

Cons:

-The character raising system makes it impossible to have a balanced character, and it's also very time consuming
-The challenge may be a bit too steep for fans who began with later Final Fantasy games
-If you've got the Dawn of Souls remake or even Final Fantasy Origins, the PSP version doesn't offer enough new content to justify another purchase, and even if you haven't played the game before, the GBA version is cheaper and includes two games

I never bought the previous releases. I know it has been released on the PS1 (and therefore compatible for PS2 and PS3) and for Nintendo Portable. I understand they are better value because they include both FF1 and FF2. Unfortunately, I dont have time to play in consoles anymore and I dont own a Nintendo portable, so buying this was a no brainer even though I paid more than my other cousin gamers.

I have finished playing ff1 and I am more than halfway through ff2. This is a more polished game than ff1 when it comes to story. ff1 lacked character interaction, and the story plot was very lacking. The story is important in rpg games. Playing turn base, random encounters, menu driven battle can be boring if the plot does not give you purpose to go on and keep exploring.

The story has some elements that are almost a ripoff of Star Wars. But it does give you focus. It is very clear where you should go next.

Another thing I found improved was the dungeon design was a little better.

Battle is still handled by pulling down actions through a menu while the game waits on you. Pretty standard on JRPG, and no surprise since ff1 and ff2 are the granddadies of all JRPGs.

One thing I love is that your character can dual wield weapons (one weapon in each hand).

the leveling is kind different from most JRPGs. Characters dont level but skills do. It is like a Oblivion light system (even Oblivion had levels for the character). It works in that you level your weapon and spells by using them. So it is better to focus on a weapon and some spell to take them to the maximum power.

There is a flaw in the system when it comes to increasing HP and MP (health and mana points). You only increase HP if you get hit and lose HP, you gain mana points by using mana points. So you will say, 'well, that is what random encounters are for'. I would answer yes, but the system does not work because 99% of monster you meet in random encounter die in one hit. It is possible to kill all monsters in your first turn without the monster having the opportunity to hit you. And if you dont get hit...yeah, your HP does not increase.

Because of this flaw, your HP and MP increase rather slowly, specially your MP. I had my MP not increase at all because I would save my mana for the boss encounter of the dungeon and would kill only with physical attacks. So this led me to find the well known cheat in ff2. I will tell you the cheat because I found it necessary to survive the bosses (the random encounters offer no challenge like I said above and this can give you a false sense of security until the boss chews your party like a light snack). To increase in power, I would fight outside of town. When my party entered a random encounter. I would not attack the monsters, but I would attack members of my own party. I would take their health down to halfway before I proceeded to kill monsters. This garanteed HP increase at the end of battle. To increase MP, I would cast spells until MP went halfway. Besides, casting spells repeatedly helps level up your spell as well so it is win-win. then you back to town and rest, so you can recover your MP in the cheapest way.

Overall, I am enjoying this game. It looks great on the PSP. The spells effects do look on par on visuals to a newer game. So, if you are PSP lover all the way and never played this game. Then I would say buy it. It is better than FF1 (although I would get FF1 so you can experience how JRPGs started).

Edit: I finished the game. So I am going to adjust my view on the random encounter. The random encounters do become more difficult on past 2/3 of the games, so you start leveling better. I still would do the cheat early in the game so you dont get surprised by the ramp up in difficulty. You still have to do this since the fourth character in your group changes as the story progresses. Whenever I got a new fourth character, I would spend some time leveling him/her up. Otherwise, if you move on with the story, the character would quickly die in the random encounters.

My last suggestion is do not forget to get the Blood sword from the thief, Paul, before leaving to fight the cyclone. This sword makes all boss fights, even the last boss, a cakewalk. I am serious, the last boss will drop so fast that you wil be like "!!!!". I found that I did not have to take any weapon or spell to its maximum power as long as I used this sword. After beating the game, you can reload and try to beat the boss with a fork if you like.

The early Final Fantasy games only got better with each proceeding installment, and Final Fantasy II improved somewhat on the first game that started the most popular RPG franchise, well, ever. Like the first Final Fantasy anniversary game to get released for the PSP, Square has re-made Final Fantasy II for Sony's portable; updating the graphics, adding a few extras, and leaving the somewhat stale gameplay intact. The graphics and animations have been updated for the modern age, and they look gorgeous on the PSP's screen. Not to mention that the loading times are noticibly shorter than they were for the first Final Fantasy anniversary game, but the buggy leveling system and the constant, random battles are by far the game's biggest annoyance, and really bring down this port. Not to mention that not too long ago, Square ported re-makes of the first two games in one cartridge as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls for the GBA, which retailed for the same price as either of the two PSP games. Sure the graphics are updated, yet somehow, Dawn of Souls was more enjoyable. If you don't own Dawn of Souls or any of the previous Final Fantasy collections and you're craving some old school RPG action on the go, you could do a lot worse than this. Then again, if you're more used to the Final Fantasy games or RPG's of today, chances are you probably won't dig this too much.

I am a long-time fan of the Final Fantasy series. FFVII was my first game, since then I've played almost every single title in the series, including spin-offs. My main reason for getting this game was for completion's sake. If you are new to Final Fantasy games in general, I recommend starting with the newer, 3D ones, such as FFVII and beyond, and then working your way back to the 2D ones if you are a completionist.

Unfortunately, this game is the weakest in the series. In my opinion it's only worth it if you're a big fan of the series and just want to be able to say you've played them all. The game was made in the NES era, and then basically just given a graphical overhaul for the PSP, so you're basically playing an NES game with updated graphics and sounds. The leveling system is horrible to say the least, it may sound good on paper, but in practice it is frustrating. The encounter rate is fairly high, and the storyline is shallow and primitive, so (if you play without cheating) there's nothing to do other than grind by hitting yourself for hours to increase your stats (yes you read that correctly), and trudge through monotonous dungeons being mobbed by encounters every few steps (which is frustrating because you level effectively by hitting and healing yourself, not by repeatedly battling monsters, who give no EXP in the traditional sense).

Otherwise, there are FAQs websites online where you can legitimately download saved game files (that other people played or created with save editors and cheat devices) and load them up on your PSP along with the game that you legally own. I found one such saved game file in which the game started at the beginning of the storyline (allowing you to experience the entire storyline), but all my characters' stats were maxed out and buff from the outset. I recommend doing something like that, just to play through the game once for completion's sake without having to grind.

I've played the previous two versions of this game, so I knew what to expect going into this. I just thought it might be fun to try the newest version.

The first version I played was the PS1 version, and that version closely resembles this. Flaws and all. I also played the fan translated ROM for a NES emulator awhile ago as well, so I have played the NES version. The main flaw is the leveling system. It's similar to what is now used in Elder Scrolls, but this older version has it's issues. The main issue being the gaining of HP and MP. If you had traditional leveling to gain HP and MP, then leveled weapons, armor, attack, magic power, etc while battling, then the system would have been an improvement. Instead all of the stats are raised by battling. So to raise HP, just take damage. The easiest way to do so is to fight weak enemies and just hit your own characters with attacks. Seriously.

So boring level grinding system aside... the game is pretty amazing. We finally see the first final fantasy that really had a true story. The ability to customize your characters, while flawed, still adds some variety.

There are some issues that newer gamers will find intolerable. Such as wandering a little farther from town might result in running into uber-strong monsters that will destroy your party instantly. So save often!

Graphics are improved, so that is a nice plus also. Music has been remastered as well.

It's one of the weaker Final Fantasy titles, but it's still a numbered Final Fantasy entry, so for true fans, it is a must play. Especially considering so many of the newer RPGs are taking control, variety, exploration and customization out in favor of shiny graphics and intense plot and story development. I would honestly rather play this than Final Fantasy 13.

It needn't be said, FFII is a classic that laid the groundwork, as did the other early Final Fantasies and the early Dragon Quests (i.e. Dragon Warrior) for almost all RPG's to follow. It is fun to revisit whether playing on your original SNES console or on the PSP or Gameboy Advance.
What I will say, however, is it leaves you pining for an updated version of the game. Why is it that Square Enix only updated FF IV, and only on the DS for that matter?? I guess it all comes down to money, but ALL of these epic games deserve a 3D overhaul - I absolutely LOVED playing the updated version of IV on the DS- it was amazing.
I originally bought a used copy of Final Fantasy I & II (Dawn of Souls, I think) remake for the Gameboy Advance and played it via the GBA slot on my DS lite (on a side note, I'm glad I kept my DS lite after I got a DSi and eventually the 3DS so I could still utilize the GBA slot).
Playing the remake on the PSP is essentially the same... I enjoy it slightly more on the PSP as it does have a wider screen and a few extras, but, again, I so wish Square Enix would release more updated versions of these epic classics for both the DS and the PSP.

Okay, let me start out by saying I have played these Final Fantasy games: FF7, FF1, FF2, and currently playing FF8 (Also played FF7:Crisis core, FF7:DoC, and both DISSIDIAS). So as you can see, I haven't played many mainstream games, but out of the ones I've played, this is possibly my favorite of the mainstream series.

Want to know why? The huge improvement over FF1. I also purchased FF1 for PSP, and that was the first time I played it as well. That game lacked story, and the random encounters ALWAYS came at a bad time for me. Now, comparing that to FF2, the sequel is much better. In FF2, instead of leveling up with EXP, you use the skill level-up system. With this system, your characters improve on what they use most often. Use MP often? I'll increase. Swords? They'll increase. It's like that.

Leveling up HP can be a task, and for me it was neccicary to attack my own characters to level up HP; especially in the Soul of Rebirth quest. So, your characters level up on what they're best at. The same goes for spells. The more often a spell is used, the more it will level up. The difficulty in this game is how you play it. The basic enemies can be easy, so I suggest attacking your own characters near a town so you can level easy.

I like the story of this game (It's like Star Wars, yes) because your characters actually TALK; unlike the first game. The basic story is that an evil emperor is destroying towns conquering the world. Your mission: Defeat him. Simple, and easy as that. But for some reason I really liked playing through the game, and the characters you meet are cool too. (Minwu FTW).

Random encounters are less frequent than the first game, which for me, is a relief (Every two seconds in FF1 ANOTHER random encounter). Bosses can be easy or hard depending on if you leveled your skills. The bosses can be especially hard in SoR if you didn't level up in the main game. Also, the 20th anniversary edition includes the new Arcane Labyrinth, which is very fun if you ask me. Graphics in this game a great too, it keeps the 2-D sprite styles, but it looks great.

Final Score:

Graphics - 8.5/10
Story - 8/10
Gameplay - 7/10 (simple turn-based)
Music - 7.5/10
Difficulty 6.5-9/10 (Depending on how you play)

Overall for me, game is: -A

If you like Final Fantasy, and haven't played FFII, get this game.

Alright let me start off by saying this is not a bad game. To be honest I really enjoyed the first 5 hours of it, but after that it went downhill. Alright what made the game get stale? The simplicity and easiness of the game. Sure its fun to go around slaughtering every enemy for about 2 hours but then it just gets boring. The reason it was fun for the first 5 hours was because of two things. the music and the level system. Alright let me address the music first. The music is amazing its nobuo Uematsu at some of his finest work. I always enjoyed going to the rebel base just so I could hear that song.The battle music is also awesome ecpecially the boss themes they have a certain mysterious feel about them. Now onto the level system. I actually really like the way spells level up like a majority of my time in this game was leveling up holy and other spells, and the stat leveling was also good but a bit random at times( I had to start over once because I just got Gordon in my party anf Firion still had 10 strength) but I think thats a little bit replay value to it too.

Final Fantasy 2 for the PSP is a Great buy and at the price you can't go wrong. classic RPG gamers and new ones alike will appreciate this game very much. This game is very challenging and you will have to strategize deeply to overcome a lot of the obstacles.

It is a decent game if you like the whole FF Series. No where near my favorite of the series, but it was mostly enjoyable. I would give this game about a 6/10.