The subject of today’s review is Final Fantasy II for the Super Nintendo. It also just happens to be my favorite video game of all time. I decided to give it an objective look for review by replaying the game again but with all of my modern cynicism. What I didn’t originally know in my childhood was that this is actually the fourth Final Fantasy game but was renamed as the second because the previous iterations (aside from the original) were not translated and released in North America at the time. What I discovered by powering on the cartridge again, is that even through these tired eyes the game still holds up as well as it ever did. Final Fantasy IV is still the greatest RPG of all time, and today I’m here to prove it with this review.
Final Fantasy II throws you into the shoes of a dark knight in the kingdom of Baron in a whimsical medieval world brimming with swords and sorcery. The game begins with a routine mission to claim a crystal; the source of magic from a village of humble mages in the magical town of Mysidia. As a dark knight Cecil is head command of the kingdom’s fleet of airships known as the Red Wings, and he completes his mission with little to no resistance from the wizards. Realizing that what he’s doing is wrong Cecil later sets out to rectify his sins and stand up against Baron. The plot is very basic and by modern standards is pretty generic. It’s a charming adventure that’s met with a memorable cast of characters and charming areas to explore. It might be very ‘by the book’ but let’s not forget that this is the game by which the developers largely defined the genre.
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| There are twists and plot points aplenty. |
Gameplay is pretty standard by RPG standards. You guide Cecil and his merry band of companions (up to five characters can be in your party at one time) across a world map containing within it various types of terrain, towns, caves, and dungeons. Battles occur at random while exploring, and these take place on a separate side-view screen which displays both your characters (and their health) as well as the monsters you’re facing. You input commands such as attack, magic and item, and exchange attacks with your enemies. It’s pretty typical, but Final Fantasy II is most noteworthy for having introduced the Active Time Battle system to not only the franchise, but to the entire genre as well. This adds real-time elements to gameplay as each character/monster must wait a specific amount of time for their action bar to fill up at which point you can input a command for them. This means that the action flows constantly, and this was a major innovation when the game was first released.
So how does the game hold up? Quite well, actually. The story is timeless and it’s charming even though it’s very simple by modern standards. You never get to choose who to use in your party, and the line up is always determined by story events. This sounds limiting, but I actually really like some of the gameplay scenarios that this creates. As characters come and go you must switch up your strategy accordingly, and though this severely limits customization it instead encourages you to come up with strategies based on the tools at your disposal. My only quip is that in Final Fantasy II the characters tend too often to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the story. It’s more than a little silly when you reach the end of the adventure.
The dungeon designs are well done with tons of secret passages, and out of the way treasure chests that reward exploration in some pretty significant ways. You will rarely run into a dead end, nor is any area frustrating or confusing to complete. Some will find them too simple in nature but I found the length to be just perfect never allowing me to get bored with any one environment. The designers did a great job making this one fairly straightforward in the face of other RPGs at the time which were confusing and unfocused (here’s looking at you, Phantasy Star II). Some call it too easy, but I think Final Fantasy II is just right in this regard.
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| The Dark Elf is one of the more memorable boss encounters in Final Fantasy II. |
If Final Fantasy II does suffer any one major issue it’s that the game is too easy. Battles are rarely challenging, and with the short dungeon length you’ll never have a difficult time managing supplies. It seems like, for the most part, your physical fighters can generally take out enemies in standard battles with just a few hits. When that’s not the case you also have overpowered mages that can just frequently decimate all of your foes in one fell swoop. To balance things out a bit the developers made it so that the more powerful spells often take more than one turn to cast, but it’s still pretty crazy. Boss battles are the most challenging part of this game, and despite some being very creative (Asura, for example) they pose little threat outside of a few of the optional encounters near the end of the game. The in-game currency GP is won in bountiful amounts at the end of each fight and you’ll rarely be unable to afford what you need to progress. For most this makes the game more approachable, but the more hardcore gamers out there will be plenty disappointed by just how easy this one is. There’s never a need whatsoever to grind which is sure to please modern Final Fantasy fans.
While this was one of the best looking RPGs of its time the graphics in Final Fantasy II are extremely simple especially when compared to later SNES titles. The sprites are quite simple, and characters are composed in a way that makes them look chibi. The tilesets are re-used over and over again due to the limitations of the cartridge format, but the graphic artists still did a good job of making each area distinct from one another. Unfortunately you’re once again stuck with palette swaps for enemies but that’s pretty common for RPGs of this era. The enemy designs are my favorite part of this game’s visuals. They’re extremely inventive, unique, and fit the magical fantasy world exceptionally well. The soundtrack, despite this being a cartridge format game, is truly exceptional. FFII has some of the best music in the entire franchise, and given its pedigree that’s no small statement. The world map themes, as well as battle music are highly memorable and by now iconic. The Giant of Babil track is one of my all time favorite pieces of video game music. Nobuo Uematsu was a real wizard when it came to the SNES soundchip. This soundtrack is definitely worth getting on its own.
Sure, it might be nostalgia, but Final Fantasy II is still my absolute favorite game. I’ve played through it so many times, and know every corner of the in-game world, but I never hesitate to start a new game on this one. The story is very simple, but it’s overflowing with charm. The battle system might be limited and offers no customization but it’s still one of the most functional in any RPG, ever. If you’re a fan of the genre you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
