Final Fantasy II did not have the same director as Final Fantasy I and it came out in the "sequel-itis" era back on the NES with games like Zelda II, Mario 2, Castlevania 2, Dragon Warrior II, and so on. These games were different than their predecessors. This doesn't mean they were bad, but they had significant changes in content.
Final Fantasy II was the first Final Fantasy to tell a very well made narrative with dialogue, plot, and characters. The graphics of the NES were fairly good for it's time, on GBA/PSOne it was a step up to more visual improvement, but the PSP's visuals just knock it out of the park. Those super clean and sexy HD-style sprites and graphics. I REALLY wish Final Fantasy III was redone this way since Final Fantasy IV was. It'd be so beautiful.
It was also a very expansive game as well. You could walk out on the world map to far and just get pummeled by monsters. In order to be able to actually defeat some monsters, you had to battle yourself and gain experience and levels. However unlike Final Fantasy I, gaining experience and getting stronger was an entirely different beast. To have your weapons and magic get stronger, you had to literally use them until you win a battle and it says "Sword level has increased!" The same goes with HP and MP. You have to lose them to gain them. It seems weird, but works perfectly fine. A cool thing about Final Fantasy II is that you can have your characters be anything you want. Anyone can use any type of magic or weapon. They can even dual wield. But, say for example you use physical attacks a lot, your strength stat will go up, but your intelligence stat will go down and vice versa. Which is why you should watch how you raise your characters.
On the PSOne & NES version (I'm not sure about GBA) leveling up magic can be annoying unless if it's Cure which you use frequently. This is because you have to use a spell 50 times in order to level it up and there are 16 levels. This also goes for weapon levels, but you don't notice because you usually end up always pushing attack for every character. The EXP gain can differ on the enemies you're fighting, though. That said, you can use the EXP trick which is what I used in the PSOne version to level up my spells to higher levels. But, the PSP version really refines the leveling system. It uses gauges that fill up quicker. Like you only have to use a spell or weapon 5 times or so to get it to level 2 and it just gets slower to fill the gauge. This process is a lot easier and quicker, too. The item function in the PSOne version of Final Fantasy II was not so great. (Not sure about NES & GBA) You couldn't use items in battle, but you had to equip them and go to the Equip command in battle to use them. However, I never really took advantage of this because you could only equip two items. I thought it was stupid since I couldn't use all of items unlike in the PSP version. I actually didn't notice items worked like that until I needed to use a Phoenix Down on battle. I took a second and was like, "Holy shit! There's no item command!" It drove me nuts. Especially when I needed to use an Ether but I wasn't sure because they cost so much damn money. Another interesting thing about Final Fantasy II was it's Key Term system where you had to talk to specific characters to gain new terms and advance in the story. Really nice concept. Final Fantasy II was really an ambitious game back on the NES.
Now, let me get into what I think the nitpicky things or whatever. Personally, I think it should be easier to get Gil because it really takes a while unless if you went through a dungeon or something. Upon beating the game there should be a Hard Mode option. I think they should get rid of the Flee command (because it never fucking works in Final Fantasy II...) and replace it with "Skills". These "Skills" would relate directly to weapon mastery. Like if you get to Level 6 with the Bow & Arrow, you get Straightarrow and other abilities as your weapon levels up. I got this idea from Dissidia Final Fantasy. Straightarrow is one of Firion's Square moves. And for mastering each weapon you get a "Mystic Arte/Limit Break"-esque ability with it. I got this idea from one of my favorite games which is Grandia on PSOne. These two are very similar. One thing I loved about Grandia was that the characters would gain new abilities for leveling up their specific weapons and their abilities would get stronger just by using them like Final Fantasy II.
I know this is so nitpicky, but I wish I could set who I want as the party leader or at least set the formation. In RPGs, I love to walk around as my favorite characters. While I love the protagonist Firion, I would have liked more of an opportunity to control one of the other party members as well. And finally, I think at the end of the game you should be able to choose your party out of the characters you could play with. I'll elaborate more when I get to the story.
Final Fantasy II has a fantastic soundtrack. Especially the PSOne/PSP soundtrack with songs like: Battle Theme, Rebel Army, Ancient Castle, Main Theme, Prelude, Castle Pandemonium, Battle 2, and lots of others. I honestly believe that this game has the best Prelude in the series. It's so elegant with the PSP version's logo...
I love Final Fantasy II, but there's one thing I have yet to talk about and I feel it's the most important and that is the story.
Final Fantasy II tells a surprisingly great tale of rebels trying to fight against a warring empire. The thing about Final Fantasy II that really surprised me was it's story and the fact that people actually died in it. Some of the deaths actually made me cry. I always wanted to be able to make the party I want out of the party members that are left at the end of the game like in Final Fantasy IV, VI, or VII. The party members that die end up in the afterlife and after you beat the game, you get to play a mode call Soul of Rebirth which is literally a whole game kind of. You get to play with 4 characters who died in the main story. The story of Soul of Rebirth actually ties in directly to the main story in a very serendipitous way. I've never beaten Soul of Rebirth, but I've watched the ending on YouTube and... it's really something else. I loved it. Soul of Rebirth came out on the GBA remake and was carried onto the PSP remake as well. Another reason this game reminds me of Grandia so much is because just like in Grandia, you stay with the main cast, while the other party members come and go until you finally get the last party member.
But... I'm not done yet. The PSP version actually expands more in the back story of the world more by introducing a multi-area dungeon known as the Arcane Sanctuary. By exploring it, you get to see mini cutscenes and get new Key Terms to access new areas. The later areas tell more about the world of Final Fantasy II featuring a character called Deumion who is actually a superboss! I've done the dungeon to completion but there are times when you reach the end of the dungeon and Deumion gives you a certain weapon. This weapon is the ultimate weapon for a specific character in the party. This makes the dungeon really accessible because even the first party member's ultimate weapon is there. You don't have to be afraid of fighting the superboss, though, because it's stats depend on yours so it's not overly difficult. You can even do this for the party members that eventually die. Give them their ultimate weapon and they'll have it in Soul of Rebirth. I thought that was really fucking awesome. The main villain, Emperor Mateus is a badass motherfucker in Dissidia Final Fantasy.
This time around playing Final Fantasy II, I had my party as 2 physical attackers, a Red Mage, and a White Mage.
My first experience with Final Fantasy II was on PSP. I don't even remember how old I was. I think I was 10. XD And I was so excited when I first got it. I thought it was really amazing but really hard too. I used to end up running out into the world map and dying instantly. I never really understood the game to the point where I ended up grinding for days. I had 2000 HP at the beginning of the game. Final Fantasy II was my first numbered Final Fantasy game. Crystal Chronicles on GameCube was my first Final Fantasy game, though. I have a lot of nostalgia for Final Fantasy II. I seriously just start to tear up listening to that amazing world map theme.
Final Fantasy II is a unique turn-based JRPG originally released for NES only in Japan. It was remade in English for the first time on PSOne as Final Fantasy Origins which came with Final Fantasy I and they both had unlockable artwork that you could obtain after beating the game. It was also released on GBA, MSX, Wonder Swan Color, PSP, and iOS/Android. The PSP has the most definitive version but the most accessible way to play Final Fantasy II is purchasing it from the PlayStation Store as Final Fantasy Origins which is a PSOne Classic playable on PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, & PlayStation Vita. Or you could purchase it on the iOS Store or Google Play Store which is a port of the PSP version.
My favorite version is the PSP version. Which is also known as Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition. It's one of my favorite games of all time and it's the best version, but it's sadly not on PSN/Vita. I wish more people could enjoy it. Most people consider it the black sheep of the series and scoff at it, but Final Fantasy II really is a unique game in it's own right and I had a lot fun reliving it.
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Undisputed Verdict: 9.5/10
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!! ~Gothorita
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