The most important game in the series (Final Fantasy II Retrospective)
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- Final Fantasy 2 (FF2 or FF2j) is widely regarded as the worst game in the series. In this retrospective video essay, I’ll explain why I believe Final Fantasy 2, in spite of all its flaws, is actually the most important game in the series.
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🛑 I’VE MOVED! Check out my new channel for retrospectives, reviews, and critiques here:
/ @altercatetv
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🎦 My other Final Fantasy retrospectives:
▶ Final Fantasy I - • The original Final Fan...
▶ Final Fantasy III - • Final Fantasy’s last t...
▶ Final Fantasy IV - • The blueprint to Squar...
▶ Final Fantasy V - • The last great adventu...
▶ Final Fantasy VI - • The first masterpiece ...
#FinalFantasy #JRPG #retrospective
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:18 The gameplay loop
04:55 The story
08:16 The companions
12:18 Ambition
16:25 Progression system
21:17 Hidden pitfalls
23:52 In practice
29:54 Player behavior
34:27 Creation of “Final Fantasy”
37:01 Courage 
Игры
🛑 I’VE MOVED! Check out my new channel for retrospectives, reviews, and critiques here:
ruclips.net/channel/UC6D4FlECbW_1KT_Z472LukQfeatured
After more than four months since the previous one, I’m super excited to finally be able to show off my Final Fantasy 2 retrospective! I’m slow, but at least I put out these retrospectives faster than Square publishes new Final Fantasies, LOL.
I had a TON of stuff to say about this game, and I ended up having to cut a LOT to keep the video at a “reasonable” length. The first draft would have been THREE HOURS long, and no one’s going to listen to my nonsense for that long. 😂
Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy the video. If you do, I’d be super grateful if you could give the video a like and write a quick comment, as it really helps the video reach more people. 👍 And if you want to help a tiny channel grow, consider subscribing! ✅🙏
RELEASE THE THREE HOUR CUT!
@@Zegreiart LOL maybe one day! 😂
Do it
"Every single one of us who ever loved Final Fantasy owes a huge debt of gratitude to Akitoshi Kawazu"
Me, who ended up an even bigger SaGa fan than Final Fantasy: Indeed we do, brother.
same
Just found your video, I can't agree more. As child grown up with ff2 (yes, I'm born in Asia, we got all FFgames after the JP release), I always appreciate ff2's inovation to the serie and to a larger extent, the JRPG genre. But I'm also aware that this game had some extrem shortcomming in terms of leveling and weapon system, dungeon design and so on. IMO this game didn't deserve the hate from the community, there is still some hope in my mind that years later, SE could give this game a complete overhaul
Thanks for sharing! I wish these games had been released in my home country, we didn't even get FF1 here... And yes, I'd love to see a proper remake of this amazing story! 😀
This is the kind of content that forms the backbone of great channels. Long videos that take many hours, but are timeless reference material. Keep up this level of work and I know your channel will start growing at an amazing rate.
Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement! That really means a lot to me 😍
100%!! This is my 3rd or 4th time watching this video specifically, every 5 or 6 months I always come back to watch his FF retrospectives for memories of great games!
I would say that it's really fitting that The Emperor was chosen for logo of FFII for all its subsequent rereleases: this game had an extraordinary ambition and it was cast into hell because of it. Awesome video, I always appreciated Final Fantasy II for what it has done.
Lol, that's an awesome take, I love it! Thanks for the kind words!
Despite absolutely despising FF2 as I played it, after moving onto 3... I gotta admit, I started to seriously miss it. What a bizarre game. God bless.
Quick addendum: Having played the Dawn of Souls release, I must say that a lot of the issues with the progression system were massively improved. Worth checking out/talking about, though I'm sure you already have, lol
Right! I had such a frustrating time with the game, but then when it was over, I wished it wasn't! 🤣
Yep, I tried out Dawn of Souls and the PSP version afterwards and it's such an enormous improvement! I recently did a review of the new Pixel Remaster as well, and I think it's my favorite version. Similar improvements to gameplay, and I just love the remastered 2D graphics. 😀
Amazing content sir, finally someone who gives this game the justice it deserves. Even though it is flawed in so many ways, FF2 really captures what the series would be known for in the future, basically what that quote from Sakaguchi said. You got yourself a new sub !
Thank you so much! It makes me really happy to hear that 😍
I'm glad to find a "no full of hate" comments video about FF2; the FF community sometimes is too "toxic" about the old skool FF's.
An amazing tribute to FF2: congratulations :)
Thank you so much! 😍 Yes, I think it's a shame that so many people like to dunk on this game. It was a massive achievement for its time and even though it's tough to play these days, it doesn't mean it was a bad game!
@@Altercate sometimes (I've the feeling), that nowadays gammer's prefer "fast and voluminous" game passing, than rather the joy of savoir every significant moment... "eye candy over quality" we might say...
To be honest, i find FF2 to be by far one of the best in the series. It doesnt have too much grinding as people tend to say (at least the GBA and PSP remakes). People sometimes are very hypocritical, since they praise more games like FFV or FFVIII that has like 10 times more grinding than this, lol.
@@sebastianaliandkulche Yeah, the GBA and PSP versions of this game are super enjoyable imo. Basically everything that was frustrating about the original is fixed. The same goes for the new Pixel Remaster!
@@Altercate I didnt play yet the Pixel Remaster of FF2, but i really want to. I watched some videos and while i dont like the new artstyle (i prefer how the PSP port looks), the gameplay seems to be refined to the max like FF1.
I'm playing FF2 for the first time on the PS1 Origins version and I love the improvements on storytelling and characters compared to the first game. Of the side characters I've really warmed up on Gordon as his character progression from weak self-loathing man to brave leader reflected his gameplay progression from weaksauce to someone who was able to hold his own next to my main line of characters.
I like the idea of the progression system but it's so broken that I too have ended up cheesing it just to save time and be able to progress the story more. I would say FF2 does deserve its reputation as the "worst Final Fantasy game" but being the "worst FF" doesn't mean it's fully bad game as there's still much that can be enjoyed in this title despite its shortcomings. And it was exactly that willingness to innovate and push for new directions that later led to the series reaching its greatest heights so I can't hate FF2's faults too much.
Thanks for sharing and well said! I would actually love to see a better take on this progression system in a modern FF game, but it doesn't seem like it's going to happen anytime soon.
You should play the PSP version, it is even better.
Final Fantasy 2 is a very interesting game because I don’t really dislike the game even during the first time I played it, though I wouldn't say it’s among my favorites either due to the major flaws that you mentioned during the video.
But there are things in this game that I really enjoyed such as the side characters to the main story, To the introduction to Cid, Chocobos, The Monsters such as the Bombs and the Behemoths, and how rather than being a direct sequel it’s more of an a anthology based story that features similar elements to previous game. And features many staples that can be feel in future entries.
Outside of the way how you level up, I enjoyed this game more then the first just from the changes and it’s ambition that would be used in future games. And I can’t wait to see your thoughts on FF3.
Thanks for sharing! I think all of what you said matches pretty well with what my feelings were. I'll be tackling FF3 next (I'm a few hours into my playthrough) and I think I'll have a lot of things to say about the game! 😀
"This is the story of-"
Star wars?
Definitely "inspired" by Star Wars 🤣
II is either my fourth or fifth favorite Final Fantasy depending on my mood. I've always loved stories with rebel or outlaw protagonists (A version of Robin Hood was the first book I ever read on my own and I read a lot of books with similar themes plus watched a lot of Shows and movies like A-Team, the Errol Flynn Robin Hood movie, and the original trilogy Star Wars movies a lot when I was young). Also Saga/Final Fantasy Legend II was my first Squaresoft RPG (I bought it and Final Fantasy I the same day but I was about to leave to visit relatives out of state so I put off starting Final Fantasy I until I returned) so I have a soft spot for the stat growth system. That said the earliest edition of this I've played was the one in Final Fantasy Origins.
Actually, Toad not working on the final is not entirely inaccurate.
I can’t take credit for this, but if you cast Wall on the final boss, and then cast Toad. The spell will fail, but the death animation still plays and counts.
Haha awesome, didn’t know about that!
Fantastic video, you hit it on the head about FF being an innovator in it’s time, about taking risks because the creators didn’t have the foundation yet. Final Fantasy 2 is one of my favorites, and I do love the way the developers took a chance similar to Miyazaki taking a chance with Demon’s Souls. Today there are not enough honest attempts at something new, and Akitoshi Kawazu shouldn’t worry too much about the future FF games not being as popular because the Saga games are the shit.
Thank you so much for your kind words! 😀
Yup, I came out of this with a huge newfound respect for this game and with a renewed respect for innovators in the gaming sphere. Demon's Souls is really the perfect example of an experiment that was the furthest possible things from "playing it safe".
As for the SaGa series, the only one I have experience with is SaGa Frontier 2. A flawed game in many ways but one of the most memorable and emotionally impactful games I've ever played. I keep hearing good things about SaGa Scarlet Grace so I'll have to check it out eventually. Did you play it?
@@Altercate Romancing SaGa 2 and 3 are my personal recommendations (and it seems SaGa Frontier 1 is the most popular). They are a more brutal experience than most Final Fantasy games, but the story, team building, and characters are worth every second to me. And yeah, you can expect the same level of music quality (although since you mentioned SF2 you probably already know that).
I'm not familiar with Scarlet Grace yet, but it seems most fans wish its improvements become staples in the series going forward, although the game seems to be quite unique compared to the others.
This is a beautiful video. I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your review of the Pixel Remasters.
Once again, thank you for saying that. It really makes my day! 😍
Well I started playing this game just over a year ago, I'm a retro gamer, and very 'old school' so I try and keep it authentic as possible while using emulators. I don't use save states, I don't read guides, I read nothing related to the game while i'm playing it at the risk of getting a spoiler. I like to play it pretending i'm playing it at the time of release. I only read manuals. This game, I couldn't find an English one online, So i had to use a FAQ site and read the beginning of a walkthrough to get a gauge on the mechanics. From there I basically had to wing the game.
Now my impression of this game (I played the original Fam/Nes version) is that it was amazing! the reason it is so 'hated' by fans of the series, was actually the reason I loved it! That leveling system. These characters felt like they were mine, and the leveling system became really addictive. Most of the tedious grinding in this game wasn't so tedious for me, because I was using it as a way to 'fine tune' my characters to what I wanted them to be. I knew about the 'cheap' ways through the game, attacking your own party members etc, but I refused to do it, just because the option to cheat is there, doesn't mean you have to use it?
Anyway I spent a year on this game, I don't really have much time to be gaming all the time, so it was usually a 2 hour run once or twice per week. And yeah, a lot of it was the tedious grinding, but because I had breaks for days between plays, and I enjoyed progressing my characters the way I wanted it never got to me. Once I got that spell where you drain the enemies MP I never died again, as my white mage was always high on MP through dungeons she was always healing everyone. That was until I reached the final boss, I had been playing for so long I decided its time to end it and just blasted through Pandemonium in one sitting, I think it took me 3 hours to get to the boss. And then I had the most anxious exprience and the battle went on and on for like 25 minutes. I'd never had trouble with a boss before, I'd beat them all in a few rounds, but this one I was underpowered, I was just constantly reviving my dead characters (Which i had a weak revive spell because i barely used it as my characters hardly ever died!) It was heartbreaking when I lost this battle because It took me about 4 hours to do Pandemonium and this battle! Anyway I came back a week later and just grinded through Pandemonium and warped out near the end, I maybe did this 3 times, I got it down to about 2 hours as I was not exploring and messing about so much looking for items. I also found that hidden room through the false wall with the best weapons in one of these runs. So the next time I got to the boss, my 4th character died a lot (boss seemed to go for him a lot), my 2nd character constantly revived him, and the other 2 (Firion and Guy) were able to constantly attack. Ive seen guides now. and it seems like my characters were still very underpowered, Firion and Leon were about 1800 HP, and 40 and 80MP, The girl, 800HP, 230MP, and Guy, (who takes all the damage), he had 4800HP. I beat the boss easily this time, it was such a relief, and it made me realise my first time on him, the 30 minute battle, I must have been very close to beating him!
Also being a translated game, I had no idea there was a spell to cure status ailments, and with less and less room for the items to heal from them, this was an area I was vulnerable! MingWu had this spell, it was called Hell1 Hell2 In my version, and when i used them it did nothing, so I had no idea what they were for! (now i know if id used them when under status ailments....i might have worked it out)
Ultima, it was called Xfer in my version, and again, I had no idea what it did. I cast it anyway, I got it to level 7 maybe, but I didnt know what it was doing, and still kind of don't. I barely used it. And to think MingWu died for it....
But yes, very enjoyable game, i loved it much more than part 1! The mechanics could do with some tweaking yes. As taking damage gets your HP up, so you walk around in the game not taking much damage, it gets verrrry tedious as theres no challange, because obviousl yif you took damage a lot your HP would go up to fast so the designers knew this and made it hard to get hit I guess? I spent a lot of time really happy when I took big damage! usually wandering into some castle or dungeon and having a tough time, and eventually leaving to go back to town to heal, that was great, cos you're like 'yes so much HP and Magic boosts!'
Anyway thank you for your review, its nice to see someone actually played the Fam?Nes version too, as I mostly can only find the modern remake reviews.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It’s really interesting to hear your thoughts on the game, especially since you took such an authentic approach to it. Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much!
Wow, soo much great info packed in one video! Great job my friend!
Thank you my friend! 😍
I tried playing a translated ROM of the Famicom version probably 20 years ago. I remember getting far enough to ride the Chocobo, but not much further. At that point the tiny inventory was half taken up by key items, and the other half by the armor I wasn't wearing so I could grind hit points. I just finished the pixel remaster and relied heavily on 99 hi-potions to get through dungeons, it handed out extra hit points like candy, and auto-save every floor took the sting out of unwinnable ambushes in the end. I just can't imagine trying to finish the game without those conveniences .
Thanks for sharing! It was definitely painful at times to get through the original, and I almost gave up several times... The pixel remaster really is a great way to play the game imo! 😀
Finally someone who talks about a translation of the _Famicom_ version, instead of picking some random remake and then pretending that that version is the only version that people have ever known - that is a huge pet peeve of mine, so it is genuinely quite relieving when someone knows what the original version is supposed to look like.
Yeah, I don't really see the point of talking about a remake as if it's the original game.
Characters not showing emotions after their companions after death is normal back then. Biggest culprit is Phantasy Star, lol. And its plot is more fleshed out than FF2.
Amazing video, deserves more attention.
Playing FF2 for the first time was a completely different experience comparing to other FF games. It felt like a game of huge risks. Grinding those spell levels actually felt surprisingly rewarding, and fighting overleveled monsters on map to get those precious spell tomes was fun.
Thank you for your kind words, and for sharing your experience with the game! 😍
It's a very unique title, isn't it? My time with the game was frequently frustrating, but now I consider it my favorite of the NES games.
Amazing video with outstanding production values, I really hope this much effort and passion will be recognized and handsomely rewarded in the future 👍👍👍
Thank you so much! That means a lot to me! 😍
Wow, I realy enjoyed this Video, and the effort in it. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for saying that, it really means a lot to me! 😍
FF2 system is really good in theory. You get better in what you actually use. It's just too grindy for spell grinding IMO. The game would be so much better if using white spell also increase a little bit other white spell level and same thing with black. It takes too much time to level up every spell needed (ex: esuna/basuna/protect/shell, etc.) You hate to get flare and doing worst dmg than your lvl 5 Ice because it starts at level 1.
My real problem is that every boss are jokes beside of the last boss (easy with bloodsword and unbeatable if you don't grind or cheese). Random dungeon formation are most of the time way harder than boss.
Agree on the bosses. You either do no damage at all or you destroy them instantly lol.
I have just discovered your channel and am making my way through your final fantasy series of videos and I am extremely impressed with your work and passion, but above that, I am grateful for all the hard work you clearly have put into these videos. Thank you.
Wow, thank you so much! It means the world to me to hear that. 😍
That was a journey. It is always good when someone recognizes the story and ideas that FFII had tried to convey, I agree with you completely about the systems. The battle system seems to be entirely at odds with the story and the mechanics of said story. I appreciate that this experiment happened and I find that Kawazu-san was able to refine these sketches into beautiful portraits starting from SaGa2 and beyond. (SaGa 1 is good, but it feels like a prototype in many ways).
Sad thing is, Kawazu's name was almost unknown to me until lately, when I started digging into the origins of the Final Fantasy series. I've mostly missed the whole SaGa series, but now I'm really keen to go back and give the games a shot! I'll probably end up doing retrospectives about the series eventually (though at the pace I'm able to make these videos, it'll be a while lol).
@@Altercate Haha, of course, take your time. (also looking forward to you DQ look, in time) I do suggest the SaGa collection that just came out on not too long ago. I play the Final Fantasy Legend games as a kid and later watched HCBailley's Let's Play of them, but I didn't really appreciate their genius until the recent collection where a lot of my free time was spent on playing them. (and later downloading Romancing SaGa 1, which is another incredible experience, but highly aged in some ways.) When it comes to Kawazu you can never doubt his high ambition.
@@HighPriestFuneral Thanks for the tip! Will definitely check it out in the future. And Dragon Quest is definitely on the list too! I've been slowly making my way through DQ11 but haven't had time to really plow through it yet. At this point, I may have to restart the game *again* lol.
I first played the old fan translation about ten years ago on an actual NES cartridge, and was blown away with it. Yes, the leveling is tediously slow, but once you get buffed up a little, it's so much fun. It makes me sad when I see people say, wrongly, that the game is unplayable unless you cheese it.
Thanks for sharing! I would say it's definitely not unplayable without cheesing, the problem to me is more that cheesing it is much more convenient... If you have patience and don't mind taking the time to grind (and you're smart about it) you can definitely play without abusing any exploits or cheese tactics. But for example, I found levelling MP to be absolutely horrid as it was SO HARD to empty out enough MP in a single fight to actually get a decent shot at a boost... 😂
@@Altercate Yeah, MP is really tough. You have to unload a bunch at once, then replenish with Ethers or in an inn.
Whoa whoa whoa, I didn't swallow any ship. What is this slander?
You've been set up! 🤣
Excellent video! I just beat the Pixel Remaster version last night. It was 'alright' and I didn't understand why I've heard the game torn apart for 25 years. After your description of how the original Famicom version works...now I get it hahaha.
Hey this was an awesome review! Im glad you liked the game! Heres a few pro tips about the game. First off the leveling down skills goes away in the newer releases, second if you don't have access to toad teleport can more or less do the same thing. Enemy's all have a rank and certain enemies stop giving spell and weapon exp after a certain level threshold. The knights in the town in the early game are very high rank, meaning you can level all skills basically to max. Evasion and magic evasion will be raised the more you dodge and is a super important stat. Easy way to level? Dual wield shields and attack with them! Your evasion will eventually get so high that no physical attacks can hit you. Easy way to level magic evasion is to use low level magic with low accuracy and stat immunity gear. Also if you max out toad you can play a secret minigame on the snow craft and you can get multiple masamune there, along with all genji gear! Also swap is the best spell to level everything, go to the first down with high level gear and they literally cant kill you yet you level hp, mp, vit, magic evasion, and spirit all in one! Also berserk level 16 is insane and ultima levels up through spell and weapon mastery. A maxed out firion is guaranteed to hit for 9999 each turn! Again thanks for the awesome review! You clearly know your stuff well.
Thank you so much, and thanks for all the cool tips! 😀
I love the way you described the theme of courage in the game and how you tied it up to the creators having the courage to create something NEW. loved the reference to our sad era of remakes and making everything safe. my dear sir you are my best sub for the year. God bless you and keep on keeping on.
Thank you so much, it makes me so happy to hear that! 😍
Altercate, as much as we appreciate the clarification, I don't know of anyone who played FF4 that still considers it final fantasy 2 (US release) anymore. Even as someone who played FF2(US) in elementary school back in the day. To me, its FF4 now and im quite sure its the same for everyone else. Love your videos, keep up the good work.
Glad to hear that! I honestly think the confusion mostly applies to new fans of the series who end up lost about which game is which... I see the question asked on forums and on reddit fairly regularly! Thank you so much for your kind words! 😍
Keep explaining it, my girlfriend is still confused.
@@kotowaza-sensei428 🤣
I just followed along HCBailey's playthrough of FFII and there was NO grinding. And the game was beaten easily. You just have have a plan to use X or Y spell in each battle to level them up. Even it it doesn't do anything.
That's impressive! I started out with the same strategy but found it very hard to increase MP. I'll have to check out their playthrough sometime. 😀
@@Altercate On my first playthrough of the game, I felt like I had to abuse sap to grow MP. However, I found that I could naturally raise my MP just by doing what Reiper X said. The reason is because even though you do need to use a ton of MP per battle to get the actual MP increase, you don't have to do that to make your Spirit stat grow. Therefore, when you finally do get to the point where you're using that much MP per battle due to the spells leveling up, you get a bigger increase per boost than what you might get if you were just using the Sap exploit every battle.
Of course, the first time I really played this game all the way through was via the Android version, which fixed some of the problems from the original, so it might be harder to play the NES version than the one I played 😅
@@christopherallan4298 Your point about raising Spirit makes sense! The Android version definitely fixed a lot of the frustrations from the NES original, though. As rewarding as I found my experience with the NES version, later versions of the game are much more enjoyable to play... 😂
Which playthrough of his have you followed? (HCBailly "Re-Played" FINAL FANTASY II somewhat recently with a different approach to the game [and a different translation patch].)
Truly magnificent content. However, the game failing to inform of characters' dominant arms is a flaw of the Demiforce translation; all other versions tell the player. Fun fact: SQUARE intended to release this game in the West, and a prototype has been publicly dumped. At age fourteen, when I lived and breathed this game, discovering its existence satisfied my curiosity as to how a Western localization of FINAL FANTASY II would be. For this reason, it's my favorite version, and it holds a place within my heart to this day. If you're curious about this, it's worth checking out. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks for sharing and thanks for your kind words! :)
@@Altercate I forgot to mention this, but yes, "Love Will Grow" is a masterpiece!
Good video, SaGa 1 (The Final Fantasy Legend) on the Game Boy is one of my childhood crushes to this day and I do have a soft spot for FF2 for being pretty much part of a blue print for that game "level wise" at least for some classes.
Never got a chance to try Final Fantasy Legend out, but I definitely mean to some day!
@@Altercate Hope u have fun when you do.
Really enjoyed this. I’m a huge fan of Kawazu’s games. I don’t often see it mention, but the introduction of elemental weaknesses in the first game was all his idea.
Good point! That’s one of those subtle little design ideas that adds a lot to the game :)
Fantastic video! I enjoyed it a lot and I want to share it with others to spread the love. Thank you for taking the time to make this :)
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! 😍
I played FFII the Dawn of Souls version as a teenager, and back then I had no issues with grinding, as it was something I did on my own even without the game requiring it. I loved the game, but at the same time I acknowledge that I would probably hate it if I were to play it now.
That could be true, but Dawn of Souls is a very different experience from the NES version. With all the fixes and improvements, I find it a very smooth and pleasant game to play compared to the original. 😂
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience with the game!
Any comment on the Pixel Remaster version? Does it fix the bugs and exploits?
Yup! You can still cheese a lot but you don't have to, and everything just feels a lot smoother! Here's my review of the Pixel Remaster if you wanna know more about what I thought of it! 😀
ruclips.net/video/cLR1XzooW1M/видео.html
Brilliant video, very well put together. I really enjoyed this.
Thank you so much! 😍 Working on the FF3 retrospective now!
Super late but hey, how dual wielding works in the NES version: Only your main hand weapon is considered for the attack, the offhand weapon only matters for evasion bonuses (really important for defender and main gauche on off hand) and getting weapon exp. Getting double weapon exp might be worth forgoing a shield for grinding sometimes, specially since Leon can get decent evasion% from the getgo if he equips the defender on his right hand (since his base shield rank sucks). Off hand main gauche is great for red mage builds since you get evasion and not a big hit on magic accuracy.
Super thorough video! Thank you for this. I’m in the process of playing FF2 on my PSP, and still in the early stages of it. Lots of innovation, but as you said, lots of clunk as well.
This channel is horribly underrated. How do you not have 500k followers? Amazing video
Wow, thank you so much! Your comment really made my day :)
This is the best take on FFII I’ve seen yet.
I’ve always been kind of bummed by everyone’s constant negativity towards it.
You really found what is great in this game and expressed that really well. Subscribed!
Thank you so much! I felt it was important to put FFII in the right context. People these days only focus on how it holds up compared to modern games and can't seem to appreciate how cool and innovative it was for its time! I'm sure that this game would have a totally different reputation in the west if it had been released here back in the '90s. :)
@@Altercate - If you think the stupid, repetitive way to raise stats and magic is great, more power to you. For me,
6th letter
21st letter
3rd letter
11th letter
this game!
Thankfully, you are in the minority.
Very well done as usual!
Not sure anymore if you mentioned it in your other FF videos, but what is your favorit title in the series?
Thank you for your kind words! 😀 My personal favorite is FF8. I wouldn't say it's the best game in the series but it meant a lot to me when I was growing up, so I have a lot of love for that game! What about yourself, do you have a favorite?
@@Altercate I loved 7, but then I got more interested in beer and girls and never played 8 and 9 :) I got back for FFX and this is also my favorite. This game just hooked me. "To Zanarkand" is still my alarm tone today :)
@@meistersanchez4994 A great game for sure! The Besaid Island theme is still one of the all-time greatest chill tracks from any game 😂
@@Altercate damn you! Because of this I was listening to the soundtrack to refresh my memory of the Besaid track, then I went on to watch a couple of FFX videos. This led to me buying the Remastered version just now 😅
@@meistersanchez4994 🤣🤣🤣 It's a slippery slope, my friend!
This video has been out for awhile and it is criminally underrated. Awesome video
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me :)
I have mixed feelings about Final Fantasy II. I don't like it, but unlike FF8, I can't help but keep go back to play it.
Thanks for the great video about the story of courage, FF2. I'm Japanese and my English is not very good, but I'll try to convey my feelings somehow.
I played FF2 when I was very young and was captivated by it. It has been my favorite game ever since. As you can see in this video, the game has a lot of problems, and I can't praise it outright. Still, I knew that and loved it. Everyone I knew around me said it was a bad game, but that didn't matter.
Your video has reaffirmed that feeling that I was drawn to FF2. There is so much potential and courage in this game. There is a will to move forward, even if it is imperfect. And that's the feeling I've always cherished.
I've subscribed to your channel. I will enjoy your other videos.
Thank you for your kind comment! I am very happy to hear from a Japanese fan of the game. Because of the language barrier, western fans of Japanese RPGs do not usually hear what Japanese people have to say about the games. It is very interesting to me to hear about your experience with FF2!
Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy my other videos! Right now, I am working on my video about FF3, which should be finished in a few weeks. 😀
@@Altercate Thank you.
It is well known among Japanese fans that the NES versions of FF2 and FF3 were not released overseas and were skipped. However, based on this knowledge, there are many people in Japan who have a misconception and prejudice that "no one outside of Japan knows about the NES versions of FF2 and FF3".
Whenever I see such people, I say this. "There are people overseas who know as much, if not more, about FF2 and FF3 than we Japanese fans do".
From now on, I'll show them your videos and explain them instead of just words. I'm sure they will change their minds. There are not many Japanese people who can explain FF2 so well with a historical perspective.
I'm looking forward to your FF3 video!
@@gondra01 Thank you so much for your kind words! It truly makes me happy to hear!
FYI if you hadn't said that English wasn't your first language, I never would have known.
@@christopherallan4298 Oh, that's good to know. Thank you.
The fact disposable guest characters are put in the 4th slot, the only one where you can't cheese with the cancel bug, leads me to think that it *wasn't actually a bug*. Which is fucking nuts. It's like they added the bug just to make the game playable, then gave you a literal throwaway character in the last slot, since that character was destined to be underpowered compared to the ones you could cheese.
Fucking weird game.
I like your theory, but iirc Kawazu and others have gone on record as saying that it was an unintended bug 😅
The GBA and PSP versions lacks that "feature", so its not intentional.
So because of these videos, which I'm watching in order. I'm going to buy and beat the pixel remasters in order on my phone. It'll take a while I'm sure but I'm such a fan of seven through ten, twelve, thirteen and fifteen. I really want to experience the evolution of the series I've been a major fan of the majority of my life.
That’s awesome! Let me know what you think of the games :)
bit of a fact about the Ultima spell, it scales not by stats, but by skill mastery.
so if you happen to have all other spells on one character maxed, along with all weapon skills maxed... it will deal a TRUCKLOAD of damage. As it also bypasses the stat and equipment penalties, once you increased your party to nigh godlike levels... ...yeah, it get's good.
Right, but it’s bugged in the NES version, so it doesn’t scale at all no matter what you do. In other versions of the game it’s great, though!
Very interesting video! Quite a lot of love and innovation went into FF2, still kind of my least favorite game in the series mostly due to gameplay loop not completely jiving with me, but I can appreciate what it introduced.
I say being one to prefer safe games over innovation myself, but different views. ^^;
Safe games deserve some love too! I just finished Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth the other week and that’s pretty much a straight up clone of Symphony of the Night, so I’m not one to talk 😂
This video actually gave me some interesting insight into the game and what it brought to Final Fantasy as a whole. Never once thought about it in the way that you described it. Nice work 😀
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Fantastic analysis. I was just looking up FF2 retrospectives as I just finished the pixel remaster (twice!). While they fixed some the problems in the remakes, a lot of the problems are just inherent in the design of the game. In my opinion, FF2 is one of the most interesting FFs in the entire series because of how different it is, and I'll probably come back to it eventually because of its uniqueness.
Btw, the worst criticism I have of the game is being able to be ambushed by 5 Malboros
Thank you! Yep, status effects are brutal in this game. Those cockatrice enemies outside of Mysidia that petrify you can wipe you out in a single round if you're unlucky, and Confusion is literal hell in this game, especially since it doesn't even end when you get hit 😅
The real problem is that Final Fantasy 2 and 3 as well as 5 did not get a western release even though they should have.
Yeah, I think people's opinions of those games would be very different if we'd been able to play them in the west when they were still new!
Just finished the pixel remastered version and I didn't understand why people hate this game so much before I watched this video. Tunrs out it corrects a lot ol flaws from the experience system and I really loved it
Exactly right. Every major version of the game after the NES original fixed pretty much every issue with the game. Sounds like you enjoyed the game, which is awesome! Thanks for stopping by :)
@@Altercate I also discovered this channel with this video and I enjoy it too ;)
I haven't played through the original Famicom version, but gotta say when it finally clicked for me on the Pixel Remaster, it became my favorite of the original 3 games.
Awesome! Yeah, the Pixel Remaster is my new favorite version of the game! 😀
@@Altercate things like gaining HP every handful of battles really helped a lot... granted I learned this after beating up on my characters at the start for awhile lol
Nice video and very relevant with the new release.
Thank you so much! 😀
Fun fact. chocobos in FFII are gigantic pink and featherless.
1 thing ff2 can boast about to ff7 is that they actually had a remake and they were good.
Haha yeah, FF2's remakes are a huge step up from the original. Playing the PSP version is such an improvement to the experience, while still staying true to the original. I enjoyed FF7R but it's definitely a very different experience from the original game.
And also gameplay, graphics, replay value and music imo were much better.
Amazing as always, I can't wait for when you finally cover FF15. What a heartbreaking game! (I know it'll be a year or three from now at this rate, but that's fine I can wait!)
Thank you so much! 😍 I'm really looking forward to covering FF15 at this point. I was so disappointed with the launch version of the game, I'm excited to compare it to the Royal Edition with all of the patches, DLC, etc. My understanding is that it's a very different game, but we'll see... In a few years as you pointed out lol.
@@Altercate Yes there are things that disappointed me indeed even in the royal edition which I just completed yesterday, but still I'm quite fond of it despite its flaws. I think FF15 is a "play it again" kind of game. You'll notice things more and also feel more for the characters with the foresight of what will happen later.
At first I thought the whole "return to the past" mechanic was a lazy way to tie in the linear portion with the open world mechanic, then I got to the end and it made more sense. In fact it almost feels right that you'll want to "return to the past" because those are the good old times, and you just cannot experience them anymore otherwise.
@@Qladstone Thanks for sharing your experience! Definitely looking forward to giving the game another shot :)
Another great video that you put your heart into, great job!
Thank you so much! :D
The problem with FF2 is simple: it was pushed out the door too fast (or it was too ambitious for the time budget they had). They didn't have time to fix the bugs and progression system.
I sometimes wonder, if they had the time to really polish this game and fix the progression system, how RPGs would be today. FF2 could have really sent the genre down an entirely different path, but all of that died due to company constraints.
Cool video. Never played this one but FF4 helped me learn to read earlier than a lot of kids.
Thank you! Working on my FF4 retrospective right now ;)
Some of the best content on FF games on the platform. Well done sir!
Wow, thanks a lot! 😀
You're not wrong about the media landscape... Never played any other FF game to the end except 7, but I will some day. Hell, I've started FF 6 over and over, same with 8. And 4. Even 3 got me playing after one revamp. Tried all of the older ones, not all the new ones that I feel have lost touch with what made them great in my eyes. For example, it's possible to grind if a part is too hard (hell, a lot of the time you really need to), but in 13 they stopped you from gaining levels beyons a certain point unless you progressed, such utter BS. Many claim it's easy to button mash but I never did get how that would work on summons and bosses so I just quit as it wasn't enjoyable to me. Maybe if I finish 3-6 I'll give it a try again. Will try the remakes of 1 and 2 though :)
Thanks for sharing! Yep, I really didn't like the way FF13 did its level progression... Very frustrating! 😅
Currently playing ff2 on a website.
Besides the translation issues, it seems to match.
Most annoying part I’m afraid to buy random spells. They’re expensive, and as you’ve laid out, time consum8ng.
There isn’t an esuna spell, it’s heal1 and heal2
Square learned like, _all_ the right lessons from this game.
In my opinion the game isn't very good, but it was a necessary misstep. You always hope to make all your worst mistakes at the beginning!
I’m a huge fan of Kawazu-san and SaGa is my favourite. I love ff2 it’s a great game especially for its time.
I loved SaGa Frontier 2 back in the day but still haven’t played any of the other games. Which games in the series do you think are the best ones?
@@Altercate SaGa Frontier 1 and Romancing SaGa 3 are my favourites. SaGa Scarlet Grace has a really really strategic battle system that takes some getting used to but is extremely robust due to so many play styles being viable, eg, you can beat the game without using healing.
Unlimited SaGa is the FF2 of the series, super underrated but I love it for its lore and all the innovations Kawazu brought, it’s again, ahead of its time.
Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song is the latest release - its good remaster with tons of QoL and a lot of love put.
Fact that Kawazu-san remains the longest serving staff member at Square and is still working on his games after all these years show much dedication to his art. Truly an unsung hero.
Simply getting hit doesn't raise hp. Drastic hp loss does (50-90%). That is why swap is essential for raising for hp.
This type of rpg system is extremely popular right now. This game would kill in the modern market. Way ahead of its time.
While I didn't care for the FF2 found on the FF Origins PS1 collection, the PSP version is one of my favourites of the series.
FF2 is the game I try to be super overpowered at the start.
I one shooted so many enemys with toad I lost count
To me the original ffii is one of the easiest if u take the time to use the cancel trick. Level up all ur weapons to 16, the primary elemental spells, toad and esuna, and take advantage of swap grinding and ur all set. U can practically one shot everything. Even those in pandemonium and with lvl16 toad u can kill everything. Even bosses!
Toad spell is sick! Even at level 9 it wiped out Astaroth, Beelzebub, and Tiamat in one shot for me 😂
I loved watching your retrospective after finishing the pixel remaster of FF2, and learned some new things about it. Thanks for the fantastic video.
Loved all final fantasy games 1-7. VI is definitely my favorite but I like VII and X as well. Just haven't really gotten into any others although I'm sure they're great games.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing! I also loved Final Fantasy 6. It was my first taste of the Final Fantasy series and an unforgettable experience back when it came out! 😀
I'm wondering why you used Morrowind to represent Elder Scrolls in your examples, when it was Daggerfall that introduced the relevant mechanic.
Fair point! I guess I went with Morrowind as an example because I believe more people are familiar with the game. :)
He's got a point. Morrowind is infamously known for its awful and terrible combat mechanics, and also "talk to this person" simulator. I don't see the same quality from Daggerfall though. Final Fantasy 2 reflects some of Morrowind's overlooked aspects.
How did this game do in Japan?
Hands down the best 40 minute FF Video I watched!
Thank you so much for saying that, that means a lot to me! 😍
Ff2 pixel remaster is surprisingly not bad. The game is very grinding and I can see how that may be painful to get through. However, the boosters are your best friend. Similar to ff8 you can easily break the game by maxing out every stat.
Was that a commodore 64 monitor?
Just an old TV I think, I grabbed some stock footage of one to use with this 😀
This game served as a foundation of Saga series.
Saga?
@@elgatochurro E. g. Romancing Saga
Yes, and I grew up on the imports, not knowing the system I loved came from this until decades later
I didn't know FF2 was hated on , I thought 12 or 13 was the most unloved. But then again I think most westerners never played anything before 7.
Quite true! The series was only known to hardcore RPG fans before FF7 came out, and FF2 was especially obscure since it was one of the games that never got released in the west "back in the day" 😀
It's interesting you say that. It's basically both fans of those games that hate the other, generally.
My love for ff2 had grown over the years so I was happy to see I'm not the only one😊
Great video!
Thank you, glad you liked it! 😍
I was so disappointed in Final Fantasy II. I played the PS1 and PSP release and really couldn't get into it at all. Fast forward to the Pixel Remaster and I have went through it with a cheesed battle tank of a party, yeah I cheesed it, fuck the BS grinding.
If I knew how great the story actually was I would have finished the PS1 version back in the late 90's.
i'd like to see ffII's leveling system in another game.
30:31 there we go. That is what I like about this game.
The demiforce translation is obsolete... the Chaos Rush translation is the most modern one.
Thanks for the heads-up! 😀
My favorite version of FINAL FANTASY II is the cancelled North American localization prototype. I personally am not a fan of the "modern" SQUARE ENIX localization style which the Chaos Rush translation aims to emulate. Still, it should be more faithful to the original script than Demiforce's translation.
Very nice.
Thank you! 😀
Thank you. Commenting for the algo
fantastic video
Thank you so much! 😍
I wouldnt say it is the most important one, that‘s 7, for me at least.
Strictly speaking, that's definitely true. I meant more in the sense that this game established the soul of the series, which to me is the courage to always try new things. Without which there never would have been a Final Fantasy 7. At least that's how I see it! :)
I absolutely loved FF2 I honestly don't get the hate.
Yeah the best thing to say about FF2 is that FF2 walked so the rest of the series could run most people can agree
Dope
Comment
Thanks for the assist! 😍
Tbh I didn‘t found ff2 to be as bad as people wanted me to believe. Firstly it had guy, and guy speak beaver, and secondly i had less fun with ff1 and ff3 to be honest
Hi Nargaman, thanks for stopping by! 😀 Haha, yeah, Guy does indeed speak beaver and I agree, FF2 was more fun for me than the original game. Will see how I feel when I make it through FF3 (soon, I hope)!
@@Altercate Seeing forward to your opinion on ff3. I personally loved the idea behind the class-system in 3, but found it to be badly implemented and too restricting in terms of gameplay-freedom. In a way it feels like they tried to come back to the style of final fantasy 1, while trying to make the gameplay more interesting. But overall I actually prefered the simplicity of final fantasy 1.
But that's just my opinion, and I kinda lack other opinions, because I feel like ff3 is by far the least known entry in the series (maybe except for ff11, but I don't really count the mmos as mainline entries).
In the meantime, I am in my first time playing ff4, kinda made a break for a few weeks, but your video popping in my recommendeds rekindled my spirit to go on with my playthrough.
@@nargaman261 Cool to hear that you're playing through FF4 for the first time! What do you think of the game so far?
@@Altercate The only real complaint I have so far is that the character cast changes up a bit too fast for my taste. Like I never know, whether I should buy equipment for a certain character, because chances are, I maybe don't see them for a while after the next story event
@@nargaman261 Makes sense! Some of the characters really don't spend all that much time with the party... The upside is that it's fresh and unpredictable but yeah, hard to know if you should invest in them or not!
Beautiful vid. Inspired me to replay FF2. Hell yes.
Thanks! Glad you liked it :)