Final Fantasy 2 at the time in Japan was lauded for its ability to be different and when it came to America, it was chided.. for its ability to be different. It is a fickle thing yes, but bear with me as we go into this together on my review of FF2. This is mainly the PS1 version as overall I would rather recommend the Pixel Remaster on Steam than the PS1 version. So if you find yourself wanting to play this game, play the Pixel Remaster on Steam. Without further ado, here is my review of FF2.
Positives:
1. Any class- All your characters have the ability to be any class you want. I actually like this method of a "Create-Your-Own-Class" method of a game. One can draw it similarly to that of FF14. You have all these classes at your disposal so it would be open for all the possibilities. It's something I actually appreciate about this game.
2. Updated graphics- They had to remaster the graphics and I thought it was a good job done overall. Everything on the PS1 is crisp and well done. I like that they boast airships over the sky at times and made use of it and that is something that would work well even today. I like that they instituted that in a game like FF15 but FF2 really started that out well.
Neutral:
1. Sound Track- Now I have not played FF4: The After Years, FF11, 12, or any of the 13's yet but I have to say this soundtrack has to be the weakest soundtrack thus far. None of the sounds and songs were that engaging to me and didn't make me think of a great game. It's not that they were terrible either but it just was there. It wasn't the best work nor the worst in video gaming but one of the weakest for the FF Series.
2. Main Nemesis- Again not a plus, not a minus. The Emperor is an okay villain but nothing brooding or devious like others (Kefka, Sephiroth, Kuja, Seymour, etc.) but it isn't awful (Garland FF1, Ultimecia come to mind) so you are just kind of in that mid tier of arch enemies.
Negatives:
1. Level up system- Any system that you have to hit your own self for improving your character should be thrown into a grinder and never be birthed again. It was absolutely putrid for most of this game the objective to leveling up a character is hitting yourself or your characters hitting you. Luckily this one was sent to the wood chipper instantly after this game.
2. The Fourth Character- There are three main Characters: Firion, Maria and Gus (Might be Guy in later versions.) That means there is an interchanging fourth character which sounds good on the surface. However it comes with a big caveat. They are all terrible and underskilled and underleveled. This means that, yes, they will die a lot or you have to build them up super quick. It's annoying that each character is like this for the fourth spot no matter where in the game you are.
3. The Story- Much like FF1, this story has no depth. It's just beat the Empire/Emperor. That's LEGIT it. There is no other part. Yes linear works if you have SOMETHING else to go with it, like intriguing characters or paths along the way or cool things to do with the main story. There is nothing exciting about this and there isn't anything special to the main story or any cool side quests. Therefore the story is bland at best and not intriguing. Which also brings me to..
4. No character depth- Square did not make a case for character growth for the first three Final Fantasies and it shows. FF2 has characters who talk, but there is no growth on them whatsoever. Firion, Maria and Gus do little to no growth in the story and it desperately was needed. There was no major leadership at all to gain from them and this game needed it sorely. Speaking of characters..
5. Needless Deaths- Every death in this game was so needless and so unnecessary minus one (Minuf, which may also be differently spelled in other versions) character's death. Everyone else just felt so needless to die in this game and it just felt weird to have it happen and just so awkward because we spent little time with the person anyway. I don't know why it had to happen that way but Square did it.
Rating: FF2 isn't a game I would recommend at all. It has far too many flaws and I feel that it struggles mightily in those departments. If they ever reshaped the game to include better depth and character development without that stupid way of leveling up, it'd be far more better. To me, it's a 3.5 out of 10. To me, it's the worst FF to date I have played and completed. Order is below.
1. FF6
2. FF10
3. FF9 *moved ahead of 5 upon replay*
4. FF5
5. FF7
6. FF15
7. FF4
8. FF8
9. FF1
10. FF2
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