Final Fantasy II – PSP – Review

Cutting through
the darkness, a ball of light forms in the palm of a magician’s hand. Is he good
or evil? His long nails and jewelry-laden horns might help you draw a
conclusion. The fiery image fades into a quaint, once-peaceful town that’s being
burned to the ground. Its inhabitants are trying to flee, some with more success
than others. The scene is instantly reminiscent of Nibelheim from Final Fantasy
VII, which also suffered the fate of an evil man with too much power.

It’s not long
before the town’s structures start to break. As fire climbs a bell tower, the
upper half loosens, collapsing toward the screen in a scene so intense you can
almost feel it crumble.

The focus
shifts from the town’s demise to a group of young warriors attempting to escape.
One of the escapees, a young and frightened woman, is nearly finished when she
stumbles in the presence of a knight. Typically thought of as the good guys,
these knights are friends to no one. They’re taller than the average human, they
walk slow and clunky like robots, and their bodies are covered in sword-proof
armor. The knight’s attempt to strike the girl is blocked by one of her valiant
comrades, who wards off (but is unable to kill) the attacker. Another knight is
knocked down when two well-aimed knives are thrown past his armor and into his
face.

Unaffected by
the assault, the knight gets up and continues to pursue the runaway warriors,
who manage to escape through the woods. They end their run after reaching the
mountains. All they can do is watch as their homes go up in smoke. From this
moment forward, their days will revolve around revenge and the struggle to
restore peace. (Cue the title screen and Final Fantasy theme music…)

Thus begins the
tale of Final Fantasy II, an epic RPG reborn for a new platform and a new
audience of role-players. Join Firion, Guy, Maria and others as they fight to
destroy the emperor of Palamecia. The game’s introduction, presented for the
first time in beautiful computer animation, centers on these three heroes in the
aforementioned scenario. It is their families, their homes, and their happiness
that have been taken away. It’s just the catalyst gamers need to ensure they
don’t lose interest in another lengthy Fantasy.

Cast…Away!

To me, the most
defining character elements are those connected to each character’s story. But
some players are more concerned with character individuality in battle – that
is, the number of unique attacks each party member can perform. As a Final
Fantasy that came long before PSone, FFII does not allow attacks, magic or
otherwise, to be equipped. Every move is specific to one type of character.

The starting
lineup is not too shocking: lots of physical attacks and very little magic.
Firion is a swordsman, Maria uses a bow and arrow, and Guy hits hard with an
axe. Minwu, a powerful magician, brings healing and protection-based magic to
your party. He can also cure status ailments and revive the dead.

The first few
battles are over very quickly and are generally a sign of things to come.
Attacks are turn-based without any of the time-advancement features present in
the more recent Final Fantasy games. You strike, they strike, repeat. Some
monsters seem to have an agility advantage, allowing them to attack first. But
that isn’t the norm.

Since the game
is two-dimensional, spells and standard attacks do not involve more than a few
frames of animation. As a result, the average monster encounter can be finished
in a couple of minutes. When your characters grow stronger, the weaker battles
could be over in less than 60 seconds.

This speed,
while superior to RPGs with longer battle times, comes at a price – FFII’s
encounter rate is exorbitantly high. You can’t step out of town and explore the
world map without feeling encroached by enemies, nor will you be able to enter a
cave without being bombarded. Anyone who plays RPGs has likely endured this kind
of thing before. You may have also had teeth removed when you were a kid – but I
doubt that means you’d like to go through it again. My advice is to get
comfortable with FFII’s repetitions within the first couple of hours. That way
you can stay focused on completing the quest as a whole, which is where this
game is most enjoyable.

Ye Fight, Ye
Lost, Ye Find a Better Way

You already
know that the average monster encounter is short, but what about those that
aren’t? There are many tough-as-nails moments where, in order to win, FFII will
challenge players to use every tool at their disposal. If you read my
preview, then you know about the no-win situations that are nothing more
than death traps. But there are also battles that feel like death traps that
actually can be won.

In a cave near
the town of Salamand (one of the many places you’ll visit), I encountered an
enemy known only as “Sergeant.” He was guarding an important item and the
resulting battle felt helpless. My attacks rarely inflicted damage, while his
were strong enough to wipe out half of one character’s HP in a single blow.
Minwu didn’t have any useful magic attacks at this time. However, his list did
include a defense-raising spell called Protect. After casting Protect on Firion,
I noticed that Sergeant’s attacks were no longer inflicting damage. Every strike
came up with zero HP reduction. I then cast Protect on the remaining party
members, which only allowed a few attacks to get through.

Several minutes
passed before I was able to wear down the enemy’s HP. Here I was with four
warriors that were too weak and inexperienced to win the battle. In most other
RPGs, even other Final Fantasy games, you’d have to gain experience and return
to the area before that enemy could be defeated. FFII paved the way for a better
solution, one that’s only discovered by experimenting with what you already
have. It’s not brilliant by today’s standards, but it still rocks.

New-Gen
Power

FFII looks and
sounds better on PSP than on any other platform. The music is the best part,
undoubtedly because it came from Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of FFI – FFX. He
was still fairly new to game composing at the time of FFII’s creation, but you
wouldn’t know it listening to the soundtrack. Its thumping battle songs, heroic
entry tunes and engrossing character themes help advance the story as much as
they secure a position for this game in our hearts.

The graphics
aren’t as memorable, but do have some positive elements, particularly the volume
of colors found in each town. If you were to look only at FFII’s backgrounds,
you’d swear this was made for the SNES. But take a glance at the characters,
whose shapes are often similar and whose eyes never differ, and the reality that
this was once an NES game comes crashing back.

Text is
displayed very clearly on the PSP’s widescreen, making it easy to read every
story development. In addition to the English setting, messages may also be
displayed in Japanese and Japanese Kana. This isn’t a feature the average player
will utilize, but should be appreciated by the few American gamers who know
Japanese and prefer their RPGs to be in that language.

Review Scoring Details for Final Fantasy II

Gameplay: 7.9
Exciting turn-based
battles that grow tiring from time to time. The strategic elements are the most
interesting. Rather than pressing the X button to attack until every foe has
been defeated, there are times when you’ll have to think about which moves
should be made. Unquestionably, those are the best moments of Final Fantasy II’s
battle system.

Graphics:
6.0
Looks good, not
great. Final Fantasy II is prettier on PSP but is still dated. I wasn’t
expecting next-gen visuals but was hoping for that quintessential retro look –
you know, the one that looks old but inspired, thereby avoiding the
classification of being a dated game.

Sound: 8.7
Remastered to take
advantage of the PSP’s audio capabilities (which far surpass the other systems
this game appeared on), Final Fantasy II should be on every RPG lover’s “must
hear” list of great soundtracks.

Difficulty: Medium
Much more
challenging than the recent crop of Final Fantasy games.

Concept: 8.0
This upgraded port
shines with improved audio (the original soundtrack is still intact), better
graphics, and a solid story translation.

Overall: 8.0
For anyone who loves
great music, older RPG battle systems, and a good story that’s told solely
through text messages, Final Fantasy II is a must-own.