Final Fantasy Origins

Written by Chris Reiter  on May 13, 2003

Review: Graduating from Old School one last time...

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Final Fantasy II

There exists a world where peace has resided throughout its corridors...up until one day when the ruler of Palamecia's empire planned on conquering this land for him by summoning demon forces from a place foreign to this realm's own. Destruction of other empires had ensued, causing the deaths to many innocents. It wasn't until the empire of Fynn stood to counter the threat of evil by amassing a rebel force. Eventually Fynn began to break, and those rebels remaining alive have hidden away across the globe...all but a few, however. For a small group of orphans who have grown up together living in Fynn -- Firion, Gus, Maria, and Leon -- the time has arrived for them to group in a last effort to strike back and regain what losses they have overcome from the clutches of evil.

Sound attributes of the second in Fantasy are almost a touch of the same from the first game. Outside of the musical elements and the battle audio, you get nothing. That's not such a bad thing when a game this old can still sound so good in what it delivers. Not a wide variety of song selections can be found, but from the cheeriness of town and map exploring, to the ominous of dungeon and fight rhythms, there are tracks paralleled to the ones found in the previous game. Better ones too. The battle theme for instance is faster, morose. Akin to before the audio is contained within these scuffles, received in forms of audio blurbs when the character swings their arm to attack or when damage is done in good old magic casting fashion.

Visually too you could probably compare Final Fantasy I and II side by side and find little difference in either. Even though there are some. Detail rendered into the character models seem to standout a bit better than in the game's other also as if the second Final Fantasy were redone to the 16-bit limit. Not exceedingly better, just enough to tell what is where -- hair, eyes, arms, legs, or in motionless monsters the tentacles, muscles, fangs, etc. Plus the amounts of sundry townsfolk appear to thrive in bigger numbers. From tree filled towns, to the green and flat lined rocky world map, to the bottoms of cavernous dungeons, each share a similarity to the previous game again, with the detail in each not being remarkably great in this unelaborated 8 to 16-bit-ish updated fantasy -- but again, this game is history reborn.

Cherish the fact that animation has come a long way in the visual market of gaming. For in Final Fantasy II, there isn't a whole lot of it to see. There are a few improvements in the second game's workings however, such as where the first game's torches hanging on the wall can only brighten in sequential order, Final Fantasy II's flames will wiggle around lively. More replicas live in the battle system, where the enemy's or your party members can step forward and backward swinging their arms when they strike with a weapon, crouch when they're ill, or fall down when they die to express their reactions to what incurs in every match. Spell effects are also like before, with exceptional differences like wriggling flames and sleeker light patterns. There's also a host of newly added background windows behind all the action to create a prettier looking landscape for whatever nasty conflict awaits.

Stronger in storyline and probably the most unique of its own RPG brand, Final Fantasy II is the Fantasy that was never before released in America. Never. Ever. As to why Squaresoft never released the second chapter in this role playing series is probably because the experience gaining system is so unlike any other American gamers have dealt with. Final Fantasy I lets players randomly encounter monsters, fight, and absorb awarded points that'll eventually build up the character levels. Final Fantasy II on the other hand broadens every individual's acts of aggression towards the enemy based on their battle performance. If say one of the team members attacks all the time and does nothing more than that, their attacks will grow stronger and their skill in the particular weapon they're holding will sharpen. Or maybe if sets of monster hordes pick on any one of your team members the entire time, and their HP is always decreasing rapidly, their endurance builds up and so does their amount of life. Whatever way you want your characters to grow, the game makes it happen...which is why it's clear to say that this unusual developmental system can be a little disjointed than what you'd find in your average RPG.

Something else that singles out Final Fantasy II from the rest (or did) is its memory scheme. Walking (or running) around towns isn't just about resting up at the inn, purchasing expensive suits of armors, weapons, and items with which to regain your party's healthy status -- now Final Fantasy borrows an element from Wild Arms 3 (or maybe I've got it all backwards). By trading words with certain characters inside town locations, you'll notice that some of the dialogue is colored in red. After a conversation is over and done with, you then have three options available to you, being Memorize, Ask, and Items. Memorize basically stores any red lettered words that can later be used in coalition with Ask. Selecting Ask then opens a bank of learned words to further spark a new set of dialogue with the character that bestows this feature. Lastly, Items is just for the common good of grabbing a special item from your inventory and presenting that item to a special character meant for seeing it.

Playing the second game is exactly like the first -- control-wise and mostly everything-else-wise. When in attack position, you get the same commands of Attack; use a weapon against a single enemy, Magic; summon elemental forces to defeat your foes, Equip; tack on a number of store bought weapons if you have any extras on you, Items; use for means of aiding a character's status ailments or health, and Flee; to run away from it all. Jogging around dungeons or towns can also be performed, which is something that apparently wasn't available in RPGs until the 16-bit era. Somewhat noteworthy when in comparison to Final Fantasy I's endless monster encounters, Final Fantasy II manages to improve upon those incoming annoyances, even if by a little. Not that you won't face some two pairs, or five pairs, or even eight pairs of creatures every few steps, but the enemy flees on its own at times in this one, which makes having not to kill as many savage brutes all the more easier.

Calling this sequel a one of a kind endeavor entails in its equipment screen. Unlike in the Final Fantasy that started it all, this game actually lets every character no matter what title is given to them the ability to thwart others with magic. It's also possible to equip magic as an item, or even to increase attack power by placing two weapons in each hand of the characters (if donning a shield isn't your forte). One of the more refined tastes of this Fantasy, or actually both of Origins' games, is the power to temporarily save the game at any moment's notice outside, inside, or while entrenched in a dungeon. Called the "Memo File," this function is used best while buried in towns or dungeons, since it's impossible to save inside them otherwise. Reset the game though, and you'll lose this acquired experience. Permanently saving the game comes with stepping out onto the world map, where it's only possible when you accept to sleep at an inn in the first game, giving the second game a leg up.