Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition Review

BY Nicholas Rego | POSTED: 15 April 2008

The Black Sheep of the series.



Final Fantasy II was originally released for the NES in 1988, and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise, Square Enix have dusted off this relic, given it a makeover, and released it for the PSP. Sadly, after a few hours of gameplay, you’ll begin to wonder why the company just didn’t stick to cutting a celebratory cake instead of releasing this game.

The one thing I am happy about though, is that it is a faithful remake of the original NES classic. Players assume the roles of four heroes, whose families have been eliminated in a raid by the mysterious Dark Knights (who respond rather blankly to knives being stuck in their eyes). Beaten and left for dead, our heroes are rescued by Princess Hilda, who is leading a ragtag group of rebels against a powerful Emperor, who is hell bent (pardon the expression) on world domination - though what kind of emperor has 4 inch manicured nails and a pony tail? Having recovered from their ordeal, our heroes embark on several quests to gain experience and skill, ultimately coming up against the Emperor himself.

As soon as you are able to have your first proper battle, you are in for a rude awakening. Instead of continuing with the traditional experience-based system of levelling up, Final Fantasy II eliminates any form of character specialization. The way your characters develop is solely dependant on what they do in battle. For example, if you order a hero to constantly attack with melee weapons, they become more adept at using weapons, and hence can be loosely classified as a specialized fighter. Similarly, using spells in battle will make your hero more proficient in spellcraft – the only major quip is that as your character grows in one particular area, they begin to suffer in others. For example, a seasoned fighter will have exceptional strength, but will have poor intelligence, and thus be unable to cast healing spells effectively, while your wizard will have no problem handling a fireball, but will quiver when it comes to holding a sword. The levelling system is left entirely up to the player, so it’s more a case of trial and error to try and build up a balanced party.

Continuing with the battle encounters, you will find that the game follows a very bizarre system to distribute hit points. Only after your character is beaten into a severe pulp with the game reward you with extra hit points after the battle is over. What’s worse, is that the game allows you to place your heroes in particular formations, and these formations also effect which characters get more hit points at the end of a battle. It’s a ridiculous game of rock, paper, scissors, that will have you biting your nails in frustration in order to get some decent HP. The game still includes plenty of random monster encounters, as in the first instalment, so you’re given a fair opportunity to build up your HP and experience. Once again though, there is no journal or quest log, so you’ll have to try and memorize key locations and quest details, or keep running back and forth like I did. The game does include a variety of transport options, such as a ship, canoe, and airship, which will speed your travels along, instead of hot-footing it everywhere.

Static gameplay aside, the game does look quite impressive. The CGI cutscenes are pulled off beautifully on the PSP’s gorgeous wide screen, and are crucial in moving the story along smoothly. The 2D top-down view returns, but all the animations and characters appear bright and crisp, with a smooth framerate during the battles. The music from the original game has been updated as well, so you’re in for a nice treat as you trudge through the snowy mountain ranges. The game allows you to view text in Korean or Japanese script if you want, but when choosing the English option, some of the lines are so badly translated that you just can’t help cringing a little bit.

It’s not too hard to decide if Final Fantasy II is worth adding to your collection or not. With updated visuals and sound being the only real changes to the game, you’ll have to struggle to find a reason to buy this version, unless you’re feeling nostalgic or are an avid FF collector. The trip down memory lane may be fun for the first few minutes, but after a while you’ll be left feeling rather disappointed as your party is once again obliterated by a group of Forest Trolls.