I’ve finally ventured back into my Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster playthrough, which has brought me to the ever-panned Final Fantasy II.
Often, when you see a ranking of Final Fantasy games, the second mainline installment often ranks toward the bottom. This is often because of complaints in the leveling system, dungeon pacing, and a keyword system.
If you haven’t played FFII, the game levels equipment and stats based on usage rather than a general level for the character. For example, if you use more magic attacks, your magic stats will grow over your physical stats.
Full disclosure, I have not played the original so I cannot speak to what the NES version of FFII was like. Thanks to the Pixel Remaster version, many of the gripes got a nice buffing, particularly the leveling system.
It is this shiny coat, I believe, that allows the player to better see what the game does well rather than focusing on its struggles. That is where the storytelling comes in.
I honestly don’t think Final Fantasy II is that bad of a game though it does still rank toward the bottom of my personal rankings. Gameplay, in my opinion, is where the title struggles the most, but it really does shine in storytelling.
I am fully aware that early Final Fantasy games aren’t known for their narratives. Final Fantasy IV is what really changed the game in that regard. Still, FFII fleshed out a decent enough story, albeit a barebones attempt.
Without spoiling the game, Final Fantasy II follows three rebels as they combat the evil empire set on takeover and despair. Throughout the game, many party members come and go in the fourth slot, each with a minimal story attached to them.
While not grandiose by later standards, FFII did a decent job filling out its story, including portraying death in an emotional way. Whether it was the death of a single character or an entire village, the game did a decent job at stinging the heart.
That is not to say that FFII fully fleshes out that though, but it does do enough to bring in players enough to prick at the heart. I think this point got lost within the larger gameplay issues.
Smoothing out some of the issues on the leveling system really helps the player enjoy the story a bit more. Furthermore, I think time has helped this wayward title as you can see where the franchise went after it.
FFIV often gets the credit for breaking the ceiling on storytelling, but FFII really laid the foundation for it. What makes that more impressive is seeing how that comes with a barebones effort.
There are moments of Final Fantasy II that are an absolute slog. The dungeons, in particular, felt dense and long. Leveling also felt raw and even with the changes, it still is not that fun.
Still, FFII still deserves some accolades, particularly with its storytelling. What it did with so little is impressive to me even if fans, at the time, couldn’t see it.
What about you? What do you think about Final Fantasy II? Did the storytelling stand out to you? Is the game deserving of the bottom of all rankings? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Square Enix (via The Gamer)
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