Backlog Game Reviews 27: Final Fantasy 2 (Famicom)

Hey there, and welcome to Backlog Game Reviews.

   Today let's talk about Final Fantasy 2 on the Famicom. It was only released in Japan on December 17^th, 1988. There were plans to release it in North America, a beta build of the English version exists and it was advertised in English video game magazines as well. But because the SNES was on its way, Square Soft the company that created the game decide to cancel the English version and focus on the SNES instead. Let's take a look and see what the rest of the world missed out on.

The opening text scroll.

   The world of Final Fantasy 2 was enjoying a long era of peace until one day the emperor of Palamecia summoned an army of monsters straight from hell and started a quest of world domination. After conquering most of the world the Emperor set his sights on the Kingdom of Fynn. The only thing standing in the Emperor's way is the rebel army that has set its base up in Fynn. So the Emperor using the full force of his army attacked the Kingdom.

A desperate battle against the imperial army.

   Powerless before the Emperors demonic army Fynn quickly fell and the rebel army was forced to flee. During the attack four youths named Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon were also trying to escape Fynn after witnessing the death of their parents at the hands of the imperial army, but their escape was cut short after they were intercepted by imperial soldiers. The four tried their best to fight off the soldiers but proved to be no match and were quickly defeated.

Firion and his friends were powerless before the might of the empire.

   Left for dead by the Emperor's forces, Firion, Maria, and Guy were found by the resistance and were brought back to their new base. After recovering from their injuries the trio decides to join the rebels and fight against the Empire. The three soon find themselves caught up in a battle that will decide the fate of not only their kingdom but the world.

The white mage Minwu heals Firion's wounds.

   As you can probably tell this game has a much heavier focus on story then the first Final Fantasy did. The main characters have backstories and aren't just nameless faces that are destined to save the world. While not very often they speak with one another which gives us an idea of what their personalities are like. And not just the main characters but the supporting characters also get a lot of screen time and have their own speaking styles, personalities, and motivations. The characters in this game feel like people.

Firion reunites with Guy and Maria.

   The story telling is more immersive this time around. In the first game, your goal of reviving the elemental orbs was laid out to you at the start of the game, and then the story took a back seat until the end of the game. In this game the story plays a bigger role, it's constantly progressing and giving you new objectives and things to do. For example, after joining the resistance you're tasked with taking the Mythril mines back from the empire. Mythril is a strong, magical metal that would be a big help in the war. After defeating the imperial soldiers at the mine you are then able to buy Mythril weapons and armor.

Minwu the white mage will go on to become your first temporary party member.

   The story becomes more interesting and engaging by having multiple objectives throughout the game that help your cause instead of just being told to defeat the Emperor and save the world. There is also a sense of satisfaction when you're rewarded for doing something the story asked you to do. When you're able to buy Mythril equipment after completing the mines it feels like you actually accomplished something, making for a satisfying experience.

A battle against some Goblins.

   It's easy to see that the storytelling has evolved for the better with this addition to the series, but what about the gameplay? Well, it's not a bad game but it does have it's fair share of problems.

Unlike the first game shops are now actual buildings that you can walk around in.

   Let's start with the most noticeable problem, the leveling system. Unlike the first Final Fantasy or most RPGs in general you don't gain experience points when you win a battle, characters don't even have levels in this game. Instead, your stats increase based on how you use that character. Let's say you want to raise Firions attack strength. To do that you're going to have to have him physically attack enemies and refrain from using magic. Doing enough physical attacks will eventually raise his attack strength, the same is true for magic. If you have let's say Maria mainly use black magic throughout the game she'll end up with a high intelligence stat, but lack strength because she usually never uses physical attacks.

Firion's stats at the start of the game. He's easy to mold into any class because of his balanced stats.

   It may seem like it's possible to create an overpowered character that can do everything, but the game has a safeguard against that. Increasing certain stats will cause other stats to decrease. By leveling up strength your intelligence will decrease. Raising your spirit the stat that determines the effectiveness of white magic will cause your strength to decrease. I understand this is to stop players from creating a Jack of all trades character but it's always a little frustrating to see a stat decrease.

Minwu's spells.

   This game also introduces the concept of temporary party members. With Leon missing the group has an open party slot. Throughout the game, that spot will be taken by various characters. This doesn't sound like it would be a problem but guest party members leave and join your group so often that by the time you train up a new character they'll have already left the group. Most of the time temporary characters are incredibly weak compared to the main trio. So much so they're borderline useless. Instead of giving you a new fourth character every ten minutes, they should have just given you a permanent fourth member from the start.

A full 4 member party.

   Everything considered I feel that it would be unfair to call this a bad game, there is fun to be had with it but it's hard to recommend it to someone in good faith. The leveling system is confusing, a tad frustrating, and encourages grinding. Your fourth party member is always pretty much useless and the game tends to spike in difficulty with boss fights. If these sound like deal-breakers then I would recommend giving this game a pass. But if you think you can put up with its problems then give it a try, like I said there is fun to be had with this game if you can look past its problems.

The world map.

   As for the graphics, it's pretty much the same was the first Final Fantasy, a lot of assets were reused. Firion's sprite is Final Fantasy 1's warrior sprite and Guy's is the same as the thief's sprite. The monster sprites do look better in this game, so it's not all the same. Characters even have portraits that look pretty good and give you an idea of what they're supposed to look like.

Just like the first game the monster sprites are all well done.

   When it comes to the music I have a mixed opinion on it. The overworld theme isn't bad but kinda depressing. It fits well with the dark tone the story has but it starts to bring your mood down after listening to it for long lengths of time. The battle theme is good but can get repetitive if the battle drags on for a while. Bosses now have their own theme, which sounds great and creates an intimidating atmosphere. But you rarely get to hear it. It only plays for bosses that can't be encountered in a random battle, and the majority of bosses get demoted to normal enemies so the boss theme is seldomly used.

    Overall Final Fantasy 2 has some good things going for it, but it has a lot holding it back. It's not a bad game but it's not something you should go out of your way to play. I would only recommend this to Final Fantasy fans that want to experience this game for the first time.

    That's all I have to say about Final Fantasy 2. Thank you for reading. The next review will be over another Famicom game. I hope to see you again here at Backlog Game Reviews.

          Final Fantasy 2 Gameplay Video