The most important game in the series (Final Fantasy II / FF2 Retrospective)

[@AltercateTV]

Welcome to my new channel! This video was originally posted on my old channel on 2021-06-21. 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! ✅🙏

[@liefhebber6277]

Hey man I'd listen to your nonsense for that long :) And seems like you relented with the DQ video. Great videos btw! Big fan now.

[@AltercateTV]

​@@liefhebber6277Thank you so much for this very nice comment! It's super motivating to hear that :)

[@williamishee9533]

Listened to this one again. I have so much more appreciation for this game now. Playing the remaster was an incredible experience.

[@AltercateTV]

That’s awesome! I’m really happy the video can help bring some appreciation for what this game meant for the series :)

[@williamishee9533]

Hey! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you again for this video. The first time I played this game, I absolutely hated it. I barely got through it, but I was playing it on the iPad. I recently purchased a bundle for my PlayStation 5 that includes all of the Pixel Remasters, and I genuinely enjoyed two a lot more this time. Your insight an affirmation of this game help me appreciate it in a way I hadn’t before. Thanks again so much for your hard work and dedication!

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks William! That's awesome to hear. And thanks once again for all the encouragement you give me! :) Are you doing a playthrough of all six Pixel Remasters right now?

[@williamishee9533]

@@AltercateTV Yepp! I just finished 100% on 1 and 2. Working on 3 now!

[@morioh6623]

Another great video, the research you put into these videos really shows. Not sure if youre trying to make this a job or a hobby but if you keep on keeping on you'll definitely blow up.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! It’s just a hobby for now but it means a lot to me to hear you say that :)

[@g.u.959]

Getting through this game both on GBA and PS1 was like my own Final Fantasy rite of passage. It sucked in a lot of places and really wasn’t fun, but it was a fascinating look into where design works and where it doesn’t. I’m really curious to see how III fares as I prepare to start it! And my inevitable PS1 replay because they had the genius idea to lock “normal” difficultly behind finishing the first playthrough :’)

[@AltercateTV]

Have fun with FFIII! :)

[@cj5273]

FF3 is sooooo much better. I loved that game and I'm a bit jealous you get to try it for the first time

[@jba2048]

FF fans get really salty about my opinions of the series. I LOVED FF2. Meanwhile the worst FF game on my list is FF8.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for sharing! I personally *love* FF8, but it's awesome that everyone gets to have their own favorites in the series :)

[@Morgil27]

You're not alone. I also can't stand 8. I think it's pure garbage, in both gameplay and story. As for FF2, I'm not a fan of the weird level up system, but I LOVE the game's plot and characters. Oh, and I also tend to make a lot of enemies when I mention I don't like FF10, either.

[@BlueWind9599]

I watched this again as I'm currently replaying FF2, which... actually has grown to be my favorite game of the series. I adore it. It may be because my first RPG was SaGa1, but... this is what I've always wanted in an RPG. I love reading the story between the lines, I love the characters, and I absolutely enjoy the systems (... though admittedly, the pixel remaster helps. All your grievances are now fixed). It's a game that makes me very happy and I'm glad to see you provide this beautiful retrospective, which acknowledgdes the beauty in the characters and story, while also understanding its flaws, and also really appreciates what it tried and what it did. Thanks. I'm not one who often comments, but... I do love your videos. You have a way of speaking of games that's not only informative, but also just... feels good. It's positive. Please keep it up. The world needs more of this attitude.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you for your kind words. It's really motivating to hear that! And sorry for the late reply, I've been traveling. :)

[@queenofdaggerstarot3060]

Your voice is so calming. I've been binging your final fantasy videos.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! That's very encouraging to hear :)

[@Prophecyx01]

What the heck? HOW does this not have more views??

[@AltercateTV]

I know, right?! Lol, seriously though, thanks for your kind words 😀

[@dm7626]

This is a really good video - I came here after watching videos on your old channel and finding out you have a new one.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you so much! More coming :)

[@capitalistpigsa1]

I know this is 2 years late, but I just found this channel and am loving it. I hated ff2 at first, but over the years it's grown on me quite a bit. The overworld music is my favorite of any ff game.

[@AltercateTV]

Never too late! 😂 Thank you for the kind words. This game definitely grew on me too!

[@dakotadoyle7573]

So fun fact about the Ultima spell's low power. That wasnt intentional... Kinda. So one of the devs had the idea for Ultima actually being week because "why would something made in ancient times be better then something more modern" and when the other devs told him to make it the strongest spell he went screw it, made it weak, and locked the code so only he could change it back

[@AltercateTV]

Do you have a source for that you can share? I remember Sakaguchi saying in an interview that Gebelli didn't feel like fixing the bug when it was discovered towards the end of development, but I got the impression it was just out of laziness lol

[@fabiogreco1815]

Bro your videos are so cool and fun to watch thank you! Keep up with the good work you will gorw, as I found you others will!

[@AltercateTV]

Wow, thank you so much! That means a lot to me 😍

[@alaharon1233]

So many videos on ff2 nes, but the gba/psp version really did fix everything but the documentation thing (and the annoying empty high encounter rooms thing you didn't mention). It's the definitive version of the game

[@AltercateTV]

True! The game gets really enjoyable to play when the worst issues from the original are fixed. :)

[@patrickhennessee3987]

These are the best Final Fantasy retrospectives I’ve ever seen even including the one Square made several years back. Well done!

[@AltercateTV]

Wow, thank you so much for saying that! My FF6 retro will be up tonight, just finished it. :)

[@patrickhennessee3987]

@@AltercateTV can’t wait to watch it!

[@ssjwill4]

I appreciated your comments regarding the series always looking to innovate and take risk which is why I love the series so much. I was always looking forward to a new experience with the series and still do. As much as I enjoyed the FFVII remake and rebirth games I was still very much looking forward to FFXVI and what it would bring to the table that I hadn't experienced before. FFII had issues, but was still a worthwhile outing as a fan of the series. I played some of it on Final Fantasy Origin back on PlayStation but just finished it last year for the first time on Steam for the Pixel Remaster version and had a blast beating the game and getting all the achievements. I hope Final Fantasy continues to look at new ways to innovate and bring fresh ideas to the JRPG genre of video games. Here's looking forward to FFXVII!

[@AltercateTV]

Definitely! Regardless of how I feel about each new entry, I hope they never lose the will to try new things each time. :)

[@camilocalderon2198]

Beautiful video! Thank you so much! Never thought about that before, but you're right... In some sense this is the truly first Final Fantasy, the one that settled its poetics and the attitude for innovation and trying something new in each entry.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@ThaetusZain]

Algorythm comment! Guy is always a white mage/monk combo in my eyes. Can't play him any other way.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks! 😍 It’s cool how the free-form nature of the game gives people a sense of ownership of their own versions of the characters! To me, the idea of Guy as a white mage seems super strange since I played him as a straight up sword fighter!

[@ThaetusZain]

@@AltercateTV lol yeah, I guess it's cause he comes off as a big softie. That kinda fits both with the two fisted healer archtype I think.

[@SilortheBlade]

I recall enjoying this game far more than I expected, while I couldn't even make myself finished FFIII (mainly due to the dumb final dungeon). I didn't know about the stats going down though, I played the PSP version ages ago. Maybe that aspect was changed as I was able to make a viable mage/archer. I think. It's been a while.

[@AltercateTV]

Thanks for sharing! Yep, the PSP version fixed pretty much every issue I outlined here. I really enjoyed that version!

[@comradecid]

thank you so much for this review, most especially with regard to the talent progression system... as an active designer/developer, it has been incredibly helpful and insightful.

[@AltercateTV]

That’s awesome! Glad I could help :)

[@cj5273]

Are the flaws in the battle mechanics fixed in the pixel remaster?

[@AltercateTV]

It's still a weird system with a lot of rough spots, but all of the truly annoying things about the original have been fixed. The Pixel Remaster is a much more enjoyable version of the game imo.

[@pathfinder7614]

I loved the leveling a progression

[@Morgil27]

While the gameplay may suck, I feel the game still has a really good story. I first played it on GBA, and was initially taken quite aback by just how many playable characters kept dying. That being said, the level up system still isn't very good. I recently played it again via the pixel remaster release, and i basically just cranked all the optional exp multipiers up to max just to try and make the game as least painful as possible.

[@AltercateTV]

Yeah, the system has a ton of potential but the way it was implemented isn't all that fun. The story was really good for its time, though!

[@cr-nd8qh]

Good video man.

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! :)

[@critterwyatt]

I played this way back on NESticle. Then I played the remake on GBA or DS. Cheesing the system wasn't that big of a deal. Even FF9 remake let's you just auto learn stuff instead of having to grind by using the abilities a certain amount of time.

[@godzeromart9468]

Really cool retrospective!

[@AltercateTV]

Thank you! :)

[@pastformal8354]

I have to disagree that the remakes of this game solve a lot of the issues. Maybe the pixel remaster does but my playthrough of the GBA port earlier this year was an absolute slog. I do agree overall with this video in that I believe the designers deserve praise for their risk taking and establishment of series staples. I also had a very similar experience where I had to force myself to stop grinding to go finish the game, though I never derived any enjoyment from that even though I do in other ff games.

[@cyberius100]

Please stop pushing the myth of "yOu NeEd tO hiT yOuRsElF tO bE gOoD!!1!!". It just makes your stats lopsided. And no, playing the game right isn't broken or too hard. The game is MEANT to be challenging. But people don't like challenging, so they look up why FFII is hard, listen to people complain about leveling and how you MUST hit yourself to get good. So they do that, don't enjoy it, and completely write it off because it was a little hard and you couldn't make an overpowered character that can do all magic and weapons.