Final Fantasy II Review: A flawed, yet fantastic fantasy (Retro Review)
7I have always loved Final Fantasy II since I played it for the first time back in 2014. While I wouldn't claim it to be the best game in the series, it is truly up there as one of my favorite RPGs I have played. While I do agree that the NES version is an abysmal mess of a game, the PSP and Pixel Remaster versions have transformed this game into something incredible featuring a highly replayable and customizable gameplay loop, compelling characters, and what I consider to be some of the best dungeons in the series. It is incredibly disheartening to typically see Final Fantasy II proclaimed as the worst in the series, or for some people, one of the worst RPGs of all time. Today, I'm excited to champion the greatness of this remarkable, ahead-of-its-time game, in today's RPG Ranked article... a Final Fantasy II Review: A flawed, yet fantastic fantasy.
Battle System - 8
Yes, I just awarded an 8 to what is likely the least revered battle system in the Final Fantasy series... what can I say, I love the refined simplicity of this battle system. There are tons of enemies on screen at a time, with back and front rows having much more weight and importance than the majority of RPGs. This game incentivizes strategic magic use—should I use my low-level MP-saving spell to level it up, or should I use the strongest spell in my arsenal? That was always intriguing and fun to manage! I actually have always found it ingenious and hilarious that hitting yourself can actually benefit you in this game... I've never had a problem with that idea, I personally think its a highlight of this battle system. It makes for a more fun way to grind than most other Final Fantasy games! Even though the encounter rate is very high, I could deal with it because I really had a blast fighting pretty much every single encounter in this game—something I can't really say for the original Final Fantasy. I will not deny that I am one of the biggest Final Fantasy II sympathizers, and this fact carries over to this battle system—love me or hate me for it, but I really enjoyed the combat in this game.
Story - 7.5
Okay, let's get the bad out of the way here: the overarching plot is rather simple. There's a corrupt empire trying to destroy the world, and you are a band of rebels trying to stop said empire (don't worry, it copies Star Wars a lot less than you'd think... still looking at you, Final Fantasy XII). However, even though the game is simple, the strength of Final Fantasy II's storytelling lies in its individual moments. Heck, these moments elevate what might otherwise be a story deserving of a 3-5 rating to a rating of 7.5! The game delves into profound themes of grief, loss, and death with remarkable depth and power, particularly when considering the additional storyline told in the Soul of Rebirth portion of the game. In fact, it could be argued that, aside from Final Fantasy XVI, this is one of the darkest entries in the series. Amid these deeper themes, the game offers unforgettable sequences at various points, such as the Cyclone, Fynn, The Dreadnought, Pandemonium, the Unknown Palace, Castle Palamecia, the Leviathan, and more. These moments nearly pushed my rating above 7.5! However, as always, it's also essential to address the game's shortcomings. The middle section of the second act struggles with pacing, feeling notably slow despite its intriguing open-ended structure. Locations like Deist Cave, Mysidia Cave, the Tropical Island, and the basement of Fynn prove to be rather uninspiring. I would've loved to see the party get the Crystal Rod in a much more epic and unorthodox way that didn't comprise of any fetch quests... but I guess it was serviceable enough as it was. In summary, Final Fantasy II's narrative is fundamentally basic and uneven, but even still, it manages to shine brightly through its exceptional moments, as well the commendable pacing it achieves in the first and third acts of the game.
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Credits:
Presenter: Brighton Nelson
Editor: Brighton Nelson
Artist: Brighton Nelson
0:00 Intro
1:56 Battle System
8:22 Story
14:40 Characters
16:18 Art & Graphics
18:08 Music
21:33 Sidequests
25:18 Dungeons
28:36 Customization System
30:53 Quality of Life
33:30 The Verdict
36:07 Outro
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