Final Fantasy 2

-Developer: Square
-Platform: NES
-Japan Release: 12/17/1988
-U.S. Release: N/A

-Final Fantasy II is by far the most unique game in the entire series. This is the only game in which character development is not based on some sort of experience point system gained at the end of each battle. Final Fantasy II along with FFIII was never released in the U.S. (until FF Origins in 2003).

Music

-The music in FF2 was solid for a final fantasy game. The amount of music increased from FFI and the quality increased as well. A boss battle theme is used in FF2 for the first time in the series. The music is really good but nothing spectacular.

Story

-The evil empire Paramekia has taken over Phin and killed the parents of four young teens. These teens join a rebellion aimed to overthrow the empire. Maria, one of the teens, has lost her brother Leonheart and much of the game is spent looking for him.

Graphics

-The graphics in FF2 are average for the time. They're an improvment over FF1 and some of the battle sequences are quite good. However, they're nothing too special. Obviously, these graphics are obsolete by today's standards.

System

-The system used in FF2 is the most unique in any final fantasy game by far. Characters level up by what they do in battle not just due to the fact they won the battle. For example, if a character loses a lot of HP their max HP will rise. In theory this is a good idea but there are a lot of ways to beat the system. Check out my Tricks page for more info.

Game Play

-There are some very annoying things in FF2 that can't be overlooked. First of all, a lot of backtracking and walking around has to be done in the game and these easy random battles get very annoying, more so than in other RPG's. Also, the magic takes so many uses to level up it's ridiculous. Even when cheating it takes a LONG time to level up magic.