Was FINAL FANTASY II Actually That BAD?!

[@hvhs01]

Masamune was in the original game just before facing Tiamat the second time near the end of the game.

[@sunderwire]

Ah good catch. I was so focused on using the Excalibur in FF1, I forgot about the Masamune in that game. I love how all the games have their own Masamune in them

[@hvhs01]

@@sunderwire No problem, I loved this game growing up even with all its bugs on the NES.

[@suparicky8889]

Be careful tho its protected by a monster-in-a-box and it's tough think its either belzebulb or another "super" boss

[@seansullivan7928]

​@hvhs0you didnt know it was bugged until about a few years ago when you heard it on KZbin

[@BlakeAustin2011]

@@seansullivan7928Not true, the Nintendo Power strategy guide actually had some of the spell bugs mentioned, such as Lamp. But they didn’t know about the elemental and crit bugs and such, just saw some spells weren’t actually working as intended.

[@jesseherman5540]

The quality of life updates really help this game. Its still a shame that the bonus dungeon isnt around. I enjoyed the backstory of the destroy spell and the guy doomed to spend an eternity protecting it.

[@GiordanDiodato]

tbf I heard the bonus dungeon was hell on earth.

[@jesseherman5540]

@GiordanDiodato They were just like everything else in this game. Either you were over-leveled and crushed everything. Or you were not, and it was a struggle to neigh impossible to beat. The two super bosses were like that, too. Unfortunately. :/

[@jimmyrolls37]

The pr updates are sweet. But I am in love still with the psp version

[@genesisSOC]

@@jimmyrolls37 I love the PSP versions too but at least the PR has auto battle that also fast forwards things. Which means I don't have to play FF2 as much.

[@henryhunter9643]

@@GiordanDiodato It is. Your party starts at early-mid game levels of power (minus Ricard) while the final dungeon is en par with Pandemonium in power level. You have to grind for quite awhile in the Jade Passage to even stand a chance, and even then I kept going in, fighting a few fights, and having to leave because I simply wasn't powerful enough yet. It's a 1 hour story surrounded by 6 hours of grinding.

[@Cyril86]

28:37 Kain's last name in IV is also Highwind. Also the King of Tycoon in V is named Alexander Highwind Tycoon, though I'm not sure if his full name is ever mentioned in the game. The battle mechanics of this game really do feel like a prototype of the SaGa series sometimes.

[@GiordanDiodato]

it had the same guy behind it.

[@snazzydrew]

@@GiordanDiodato explained why I actually liked ff2 so much.

[@JanusHoW]

The Teleport and Toad spells absolutely destroy 90% of the game once you get them. Both sre effectively instant-death spells, but you can access them much earlier than the actual Death spell, and work on far more enemies, even most bosses.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

Fun Fact: FF9's pandemonium is the song you hear at 29:40, only slowed down.

[@AA-sw5pb]

Also the the story ramuh tells you in ff9 is the same as what happens to Josef

[@abhirao8582]

'The fantasy is missing as it is grounded too much in topics of war' That is such a bizarre statement it doesn't make sense to me.

[@Dfeneck]

Just compared to other FF's, this game focus' on war quite a bit, its not really until the end that any fantasy really kicks in at all.

[@OldEnemy1]

I mean, Final Fantasy was not always completely fantasy. The first installment has bits of sci-fi with the appearance of robots and the Flying Fortress.

[@isidorodaviddoro1920]

Some of this guy critics were quite forced imo and don't make a lot Sense. Like we know that the fourth party member is constantly Changing due to story reasons,this happens in 4,2,5,6 and many others so i don't get how that's bad or wastes your time

[@reiss_max]

@@Dfenecka year later but, it wouldn’t be no different then FF12?

[@portaalchemica]

Biggs and Wedge first appear as characters in Final Fantasy 6, not 7.

[@murkywaters5502]

Cool video. While Final Fantasy 2 is not a game I'd really play for fun, it has some merit as paving the way for things that would come later, those things namely being Final Fantasy solidifying its direction away from the quirks of Final Fantasy 2 and the SaGa series. Maybe if Final Fantasy 2 was originally localized for territories outside of Japan and if it had been positively received then Final Fantasy and JRPGs would probably be a lot different.

[@thefoxoflaurels3437]

I think if II & III came over and were hits we probably wouldn’t have a delineation between rpgs and rpgs

[@proggz39]

You’re probably right. If it hadn’t of taken 5 years to release outside of Japan I doubt it would’ve gotten so much of the scrutiny

[@bryansmith7758]

i actually really like final fantasy 2, despite its flaws. I've beaten the nes version twice, and the pixel remaster twice. the battle system is actually a really unique, intuitive, and natural way to level up, despite its flaws. pixel remaster is the way to go, but if i had to pick flaws, the battle system obviously, lack of end game grinding/unique high level monsters to keep it interesting, lack of optional side quests which considering its an nes game is understandable, and the dungeon 'doors to nowhere' ugh. the music is just great. i love this game though. EDIT: another minor qualm i have with this game is the bosses. often times, the bosses are just higher level monsters that you eventually fight later in the game. in other ff games, they have unique bosses that aren't just high level monsters.

[@buddah1978egypt]

Couldn't agree more

[@PaulRockey]

I liked it a lot, too! I beat the Famicom versión on an nes repro cart.

[@bryansmith7758]

@@PaulRockey nes repro cart? what's that?

[@PaulRockey]

@@bryansmith7758 Reproduction cartridge that plays on an American Nes, with an English fan translation patch.

[@gabrielsa2111]

The GBA and PSP versions add a story quest after the main quest witch is played with the charecter that have died and its really worth playing if you are a fan of ff2

[@Khalith]

I’ve been playing the pixel remasters and using the boost options. Holy crap has it made the experience so much more enjoyable. I remember playing the old versions on roms and they were brutal. I don’t care if they trivialize things a bit, I’d rather have a fun gameplay experience.

[@nesoukkefka1741]

And IMO that's say a lot about how bad the game is, where in order to enjoy it you have to use "cheat" codes added by the devs.

[@muffetmissulena6540]

I agree, that the boost is the best way to enjoy the game. But when I use it, I can’t help but feel like “this is wrong”. It’s sad that the intended way to play the game makes it such a slog to get through.

[@Vayne_Solidor]

​@@nesoukkefka1741Nonsense. I played without those boosts and had some fun playing this one.

[@Vayne_Solidor]

​@@muffetmissulena6540I played the PR to platinum without a single boost. It's not hard.

[@Napfkuchen]

"some fun" sounds pretty disappointing. @@Vayne_Solidor

[@chandlerlowell5]

Man came across this randomly. Instantly got my like and subscribe. The 333 subscribers is absolutely not reflective of the quality. Great audio sound and volume, good video structure. Good editing and background visuals. We need to get this guy’s stuff out there is this is top tier in my opinion. Good stuff man.

[@sunderwire]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@gamedeuschronus8796]

I don't care what anyone says, I loved FF2. I've only ever played the pixel remaster but I still enjoyed it a lot. The leveling system is different and innovative but it's not a deal breaker. The story is fantastic and the music is phenomenal. Eventually I'll play every version of FF2. The one complaint I have is that your last character is always rotating, which is odd considering you can't expect to max that character's stats because there's essentially no point if they die off later in the game. But being able to dual-wield is fun as hell! And giving anyone any spell in the game is wild, I enjoyed the progression of my spells the more I use them.

[@MantaOrlando]

I love Astaroth and the Final Emperor! They were amazing and subverted what I was used to in fights. Very refreshing to see.

[@ariangcontreras]

Romancing Saga particularly the second and third are what the FF2 system was grown into. Check them out if you haven't already.

[@kotowaza-sensei428]

I was always hesitant to try it because everybody bashed it. But I tried the pixel remaster and loved it!

[@DrewSwenson]

Played it for the first time as the Pixel Remaster. After doing some grinding in the early zones, I ended up over leveled for most of the game. Not ridiculously powerful but strong enough to continue without much trouble. Additionally I would just hit optimize and my party would swap weapons. Eventually they all ended up skilled with most weapons.

[@Arutima]

Honestly, the game is not bad on the Remaster version, compared to the NES or FF Origins version.

[@Sairiui]

I see you renamed the cast to later FF games. When I play FF7, I'll be sure to do the same and rename Cloud, Tifa, and Barret to Firion, Maria, and Guy respectively to balance the pettiness.

[@sunderwire]

Haha yeah it’s funny seeing the other FF characters names in the wrong games

[@Guntank]

@@sunderwire Indeed I know the feeling. I'm totally guilty of renaming my first FFT Generics Luneth, Refia, Arc and Ingus, and pretending that they got Isekai'd into Ivalice somehow to fight alongside Ramza in the final battles at Murond Death City...

[@alexvanzyl_official]

@@Guntank That's actually a sick story ngl!

[@jonathanhargraves2241]

Just beat the PSX version of the game today! I love this game, despite all of its flaws. My biggest problems with the game were that the game had a nack for being annoying, either for the sake of padding or from not properly implementing mechanics. Dungeons regressed from FFl thanks to adding empty rooms with forced battles, which makes maps a must have. Magic leveling took too long since magic increased by 1 point per use, meaning you'd have to cast a spell 100 times before it raised up a level; the exception to this was Cure since you could cast it multiple times in the overworld if your party was low health, and it would raise by 2 points per use. Without the cursor select bug, you'd never get proper use of magic except for buff spells if you used them enough. Even if you were willing to level up these spells individually, only a select few spells have any real uses. These spells are: Osmose at any level, Holy/Flare if you get them high enough, Cure, Life, Berserk, Haste, Shield/Shell, Warp at any level, Blink, and a high level Swap if you plan on increasing your MP and HP. All of the buff spells are useful at any point, but I can't say the same for offensive spells at all. Almost all enemies that get annihilated by a type advantage spell are killed just as easily with simple attacks, although Holy and Flare are good for all enemies with high physical defense. The same can't be said for Ultima, which is this game's ultimate disappointment. The wrath of the ancients said to annihilate ancient evil gets out done by *EVERY* spell that can deal damage, with Flare 16 dealing 1000 damage less than Flare 16 at a measly 560 damage, and getting outclassed by Holy 10 by over 500 damage. The coveted war-ending spell that people died trying to obtain is completely obsolete in comparison to everything short of a wooden staff, all according to the developer's flawed intentions. There is basically no reason you should use offensive spells after the beginning of the game outside of pure curiosity, since you can do just about anything with a Berserk or Haste cast. There is also the 4th party member slot, which is less of an issue compared to everything else, but still. You get temporary party members of various strength, who range from being above average to deadweight. Since the game assumes how much experience you have at certain points in the game, you typically get members who only serve as a fourth member and nothing more. The exceptions to this are Mindu, a powerful white mage for the early game, and Leila and Josef, who are strong fighters with an Ice Bow and unarmed respectively. Excluding Leon, if your fourth party member is underleveled, they are going to stay that way until they leave your party since there is no point in powering them up. These are my main gripes with this game, and they are singlehandedly responsible for giving this game a bad wrap. If you get around this game's status as a black sheep, however, you get to experience one of the unique RPGs around. You get a grim war story with a heavier narrative than in FF1, with a depressing story where victories are almost always followed up by another loss, music that pairs excellently with the courageous but hopeless, and a flawed but functional experience system that allows for a lot of replayability. This game is good, and Final Fantasy as a series only got better from here. Whenever you get the chance to, you should give this game a try.

[@markkatain7891]

I really like Final Fantasy II- I always have. I stick Maria in the front row and make her use swords. Make Firion a white mage, Maria a black mage, and Guy a support. I've never done the nonsense where you hit yourself to get stronger- I just play the game and only grind for less than 5 minutes when I'm in over my head in an area (which isn't too often). Darker story, great soundtrack, tight experience than be finished in under 10 hours. I like it a lot! This game gets way, way too much hate. Same with FFVIII.

[@hian]

Most importantly, FFII paved the way for SaGa which is an absolutely fantastic series. Minstrel Song and Romancing SaGa 3 ranks higher for me than most FFs.

[@snazzydrew]

rs3 is legit a magical RPG.

[@hian]

@@snazzydrew Indeed.

[@mouthsores]

Nice work. Looking forward to the rest of the remasters.

[@__-tz6xx]

Final Fantasy 2's growth system reminds me of FF8's junction system but without leveling stats. If it was just drawing magic and junctioning the magic would purely change the stats of a character..

[@pauldyson8098]

FFII is pretty low on my list, but I don't hate it. I really like rotating fourth characters, Minwu in particular. I also appreciate what they were trying to do with the leveling system, even if it is clunky and easily abused.

[@lendrigangames]

My first experience with FF2 was a translated rom, and my first full playthrough was Dawn Of Souls on the GBA. The training style of character growth, I had already enjoyed in Daggerfall and Quest For Glory, so while it did take me off guard at first, I figured out an optimal way of grinding, which involved putting a shield in the dominant hand, nothing in the other hand, and a weight on the A button. They'd punch themselves in the shield while I walked away, and when I got back, they'd reach the next tier of monk damage. I laughed when the Emperor claimed to be "beyond the hand of man," and then my party punched him to death pretty quickly. Of course, the experience was helped by the fact that Dawn Of Souls actively increases how quickly character get powerful, thus reducing grind times.

[@75ur15]

Biggs and wedge from 7? They were also in 6 (usa 3) though in the original snes cart they had it misspelled as vicks

[@sunderwire]

They were in FF6 too yes, I should have mentioned them in the video as well

[@zatchbells]

i despise cheating in video games i will never ruin the enjoyment of playing a game how its meant to be played

[@jamesruport2608]

1:09 dated to break rpg standards? This was 1988 how many dogs were there?

[@Chelaxim]

No it just isn't made for casual JRPG fans. Think about it, the people who hate Final Fantasy II...what do they think of other 8 bit JRPGs and what do they think about the SaGa franchise? Final Fantasy II is both of those. People say the Mastery system is "good in theory but bad in execution" are lying to themselves. They have redone the mastery system for Final Fantasy II 6 times,there's 12 SaGa games,The Legend of Legacy and The Alliance Alive (both were made by former SaGa staff members) if they haven't thought it has worked even a single time...they just don't like the Mastery system. Final Fantasy II "wastes your time" as much as any other 8 bit RPG. Ys I is only 6 hours long but it would be about 3 if it wasn't for the backtracking. People in the west legally only got Final Fantasy II in 2003 so it was going to be seen as archaic no matter what. Even judging it to the SaGa series it came across as archaic, it came out 4 years after SaGa Frontier II. 😊

[@iamthehobo]

You find out the Empire is building a death star and then the Death Star blows up Alderaan and then you find out it has a single weakness that blows it up? You weren't kidding about this being Star Wars

[@witecatj6007]

This game has a bad reputation, but I still like it. This game's many battle system oddities was enough for a lot of people to say no to. I thought it was an interesting choice, but in the end you could swear all your party members were channeling their inner Darkness when you can literally punch yourself in the face for stat increases. The story was what stood out for me with a memorable main villain in the Emperor and a complex story that was told well in an era when such things were not very common. It is worth a playthrough.

[@Jimpipecigarbear]

Plus part of FFII was a easter egg in FFIX. Was able to beat FFII on the playstation myself. Sadly kinda like the artwork from the playstation more than the latest version.

[@nrrork]

The Pixel Remaster was the first version where that was finally good. It's still the most grindy one, but the auto-battle helps immensely here. I'd just equip my characters with weak versions of whatever weapon I wanted to build up and let it do its thing. Meanwhile, have my spellcasters work on healing or buffs of something. It proved quite effective.

[@Alan_Chapman]

I played the Origins version. The game has a lot of problems. I can’t imagine it being anyone’s favorite. Trap rooms with tough encounters after 1-step, trap floors with ridiculous encounters on the lower floor (looking at you ghast), and one section in particular requiring me to ferry my party back and forth across a long stretch of ocean to refill my magic for grinding. I did grind, and went out of my way for as many weapons/armor chests as I could find. Blood Sword definitely made a particular fight an absolute joke which I rather enjoyed after all the bullshit I went through. Maybe I’ll play the Pixel Remaster version someday if they ever add boosts from the console releases. It’s the only one I haven’t touched in that collection.

[@mitchgray7391]

I got through the game. But I cheesed it by attacking my own characters and casting spells on them to level myself up faster. Lol. But its a weird game. I didn't find it that bad. It was enjoyable.

[@eckitronix]

My personal justification for those trapped dead-end high encounter chance rooms They're janitor closets, bedrooms, break rooms, jail cells, storage rooms, dining rooms, and everything with similar uses, but they've been emptied out after the construction of whatever dungeon you're in, and since then, infested by the Empire's Monsters. That said, if the dungeon is the Dreadnought warship or the Emperor's place or like, Pandemonium or Hell, it's probably left unfinished or meant to be a deliberate trap. In fact, that could very well be the case for the dungeon creators too, making it so Monsters' breeding grounds n nests can fit in there, because possibly they're hoping it'll trap hostile fellas. Like with Kashuon, the castle is probably deliberately trapped and bugged with all sorts of creatures in all sorts of useless rooms, and Gordon seems to not know much about the Castle. Masamune is a sword in nearly every game, and it's first seen in Final Fantasy 1 in the Chaos Temple 2000 years ago, found on a diagonal path before slaying a buffed Tiamat clone. Biggs as well as Wedge are found first in Final Fantasy 6, assuming we aren't counting naming FF1's party members, FF3's, or subsequent material in FF4, revealing Biggs and Wedge to have been part of the Red Wings with Cecil. Cid dying in this game is singlehandedly the worst thing about this game. In fact, it's only bad because of that. Dude didn't deserve it, he was just being a chill grandpa... That kid n his mom at Deist, the kid's apparently named Kain. This probably isn't the same Kain we see in FF4, I'd assume this is either hundreds of years after FF2 or that it's a sort of Marvel Earth-616 situation where different things happen differently. It's implied Leon left a sword in Fabul long ago. This also isn't the only game with a Wyvern, or only one Wyvern left, given Hiryuu is all that remains (ignoring any other wyverns that supposedly are elsewhere). The Emperor is slain, goes to Hell, defeats Satan and becomes the ruler of Hell, and returns as an extremely life-threatening extinction level event. The fact that Firion, Maria, Leon, and Guy are literally just four kids who lost their families in Fynn and almost died themselves really solidifies the message that anyone can be a hero if they simply choose to and put all of their willpower into making the world a better place. While Chocobos aren't in FF1, there are often depicted statues of them in royal castle areas. What that indicates to me is that because of FF1's events causing a bunch of time alteration, chocobos were once extinct and this is no longer the case. I wonder why Highwind got to be a popular last name. That said...anyways, thanks for the video, I myself love FF2 almost as much as FF1 and FF4, my other two favorites. After FF4, I'd honestly put FF1, 2, 6, 3, and 7 as my favorites so far. I also really enjoy FF5, FF8, FF9, and I also wish people hadn't treated FF2 like it was irredeemable garbage for this long. It's only coming around to be enjoyed now, but I also think it's awful because Cid shouldn't have been killed and that's a load of--

[@tiradouken2854]

Ff2 and ff4 aren't connected at all. It's definitely not the same kain as a kid here that's the kain in ff4.

[@NickDyers]

the game designed to help you progress NATURALLY with those dungeons encounter rate, and most dungeon only have 5 floors, except on the late game (Typhoon/Mysidia/Pandaemonium). but projared worshippers surely HAVE TO beating themselves to this very date and cursing the game, because their only REAL LIFE ACHIEVEMENT is by having 9999 HP. Its short, and fun FF entry with ton of replay value. You can finish the game easily in under 10hours with around 3k HP on each characters and 200MP on Firion/Maria without projaredWorshippers masochist exploit.

[@Altorin]

If nothing else final fantasy 2 is proof that final fantasy was always experimental. Honestly it's actually not terrible once you adjust to its oddities

[@Walamonga1313]

I just beat the Pixel remaster, 100% it too. I thought it was 0K but the last dungeon got pretty annoying. I don't think the game was well balanced either, tbf most FF games suffer from balancing (funnily enough 13 is prob the best in this aspect, the one people always cry about). Overall it's probably bottom tier for me, even below 12 and 15, but it wasn't terrible.

[@1BadAssArchAngelvs14]

i mean Between FF13 and FF2 FF13 gate keeping power leveling made sense. the only thing that was balanced bad in FF13 was the summons. the ff13 summons feel like DPS chainers than Finishers like in other final fantasy games. I did discover the different weapons that have different effects in FF13 do affect summon gameplay like Lightinings axis-blade giving lightning more summon drive attacks max's out at 50 drive attacks for lighting when she summons Odin compared to the usual 24-27 drive attacks without axis-blade.

[@MrVariant]

You can turn off the encounters with boost now, easier to get those epic weapons and avoid trap doors.

[@19HajimeSaitou91]

There was 1 trap room on PS1 Origins version. Sadly I don't remember where it is but exactly every single step there was an encounter with boss music

[@roguerifter9724]

I've loved this since I first played it (I pre-ordered Final Fantasy Origins to get it) and its among my five favorite games in the series. Final Fantasy Legend/Saga II was the first Square RPG I ever played so the stat growth system was familiar and I've always had a soft spot for rebellion against evil empire stories.

[@suchendelokidottir5673]

The only final fantasy I love more than this one is everyone's other most hated final fantasy. Final fantasy 8

[@roguerifter9724]

My top five are II,VI, VII classic (Haven't tried the remake yet), VIII, and XII

[@ShinraWotV]

I also love this game but we clearly are the minority within the community 😅 I was around ten years old when I played this the first time. English is not my first language, so at the time I wasnt able to understand that I need to find the secret wall in the pub in the beginning. Instead I wandered around the world map until I basically was strong enough to explore all of it 😂 That’s why it has a special place in my heart

[@somethingsomething9006]

@@suchendelokidottir5673 Honestly FFVIII is getting more love these days, I'd say FFXIII is easily the most hated while XII remains the weird black sheep, granted I've played through the XIII trilogy more than 3 times and will do so again lol

[@gonbn7793]

Hiii amazing vídeo!!!! Ost song around min 6 and 7 ?

[@sunderwire]

Thanks! I believe that song is “Rebel Army”

[@bobmorris799]

People will drag FF2 for the exact same reasons they praise Morrowind and TES games. -use skills to level skills -spend hours grinding -open world go anywhere even if you arent supposed to yet -branching dialog and keywords -hitting yourself for HP is literally falling off buildings to boost acrobatics

[@seawind930]

One of the reasons I loved it when it came out for the GBA. Once I knew where everything was I could become overpowered really early.

[@cyootlabs]

Two words: TRAP ROOMS.

[@stephanieking8299]

I missed one key term for the platinum, I talked to someone in the wrong order and now I have to replay the entire game if I want the it 😩

[@AwsmNix]

Empty rooms in dungeons aren’t an issue if you use the map properly. Go in one room and you see inside every room on that floor, then you know where to go

[@CatfishPineapple]

I think most people don't like FF2 because it's gameplay is more close to the Saga games (Instead of leveling up, the characters' individual stats increase) which I feel that makes it the predecessor to the Saga games.

[@ahppple]

i recently finished my playthru of FFII, your words perfectly sum up my experience with this game aha. I look forward to your future videos :)

[@jaredlaughlin3703]

Of the 3 NES game remakes, FF2 is actually my favorite.

[@zatchbells]

the leveling system is easy to understand the tougher the enemy encounters the better stat growth your party members get easier enemy encounters net you next to nothing only wasting your time fighting weaker trash

[@MrVariant]

There was little balance and if you hit a TVtropes beef gate, you automatically lose. Good idea to cast weaker area of effect spells to hit yourself and survive, especially if you used a bow as back row doesn't take much damage. Leveling esuna to cure debuffs was a pain too, but Boost helped a ton.

[@otismcfeely6401]

I got ff origins for my 12th birthday day and finally got to the final boss at 25 yrs old.

[@moedog]

played this first on the PS1 so i knew what i was doing , it was differernt but still love this game . is it bad no . but just like mario 2 , zelda 2 , castlevania 2 and other games , they tried something new and they were all good.

[@costby1105]

Mario 2 USA was orignally a different, licensed IP that the Mario Bros team developed; and all of the those games took ideas from them and incorporated into later entries.

[@AstroTibs]

Biggs and Wedge got their start in FF6

[@ZayTheOracleArchive]

Really great video! I've owned the PSP version of FF2 for a very long time now but never really got around to beating it. Figured the pixel remasters would be a good chance to give it another go, and from watching this it honestly comes across as just a nice little fun rpg romp with some kinks here and there. Keep up the good work!

[@runningdecadeix4780]

What is the opening music?

[@sunderwire]

It’s called Rebel Army

[@runningdecadeix4780]

@@sunderwire thanks, mate

[@GuardianKyle]

What are you talking about Final Fantasy II is an amazing game! I can remember having so much fun playing it on Super Nintendo over thirty years ago. Memories that will last a lifetime. *Mutter mutter* What's that, say that again? *mutter mutter mutter* Final Fantasy II was actually Final Fantasy IV? Oh...um, well. *Runs*😅

[@Vyse195]

My brother actually played Final Fantasy 2 this October and he just gotten the crystal rod and asked me "when is this game supposed to get bad?"

[@IsaacG8]

Wait... FFII is the one they hate for NES? FFII was my favorite for thr NES. If anything FFIII was the one I could see being hated. And it's definitely better than Final Fantasy 13! Did I just shift into a different universe?

[@ThatWanderingDude]

Agreed, everyone overrates ff3j because of it's job system, but the job system in 3 is really shit and horribly balanced. For instance the fighter job stops being useful after you get knights and the fighter job itself stops getting new gear to equip forcing you into the knight, this happens with almost all the air jobs. The water jobs have the opposite problem, you get them and they can't equip shit because the game won't give you gear for them until you do more the story, like why even give you the jobs. Thankfully the ds version fixes a lot of these issues and I'd recommend that over the famicom version any day, unless you really like the OG ninjas or sages for some reason.

[@IsaacG8]

@ThatWanderingDude yeah the ds version of FF3j was a huge improvement in gameplay, graphics, and narrative. Definitely the definitive version.

[@jba2048]

Before I watch, when I originally played this in the mid to late 90s I didn’t like it; it was different and we don’t like things that are different. It didn’t help having only a fan translation and no formal manual to understand the game mechanics. It wasn’t until I got it on PS1 and had some form of instructions to understand how the game is played that the game opened up to me and I had a new appreciation for the game. Considering the memory limitations of the NES I think the story was good for its time The story contained a strong theme of loss. It’s is now my 4th favorite FF game.

[@yosukeoshida9886]

Normally you'd get a guaranteed encounter with an enemy whenever you tried to exit those empty rooms. They used to be an absolute pain in the butt. I suppose they undid that with the pixel remaster, which is actually a very good thing. Those rooms were pretty much the incarnation of frustration before. With that factor gone, they are just empty rooms and meh. Pretty much one of the worst parts of the game was alleviated. Try one of the older ports, it will drive you insane. I can promise that, haha

[@topfranluis1]

11:15 YOU SAID DOO DOO! … anyone got the reference?

[@MrVariant]

Anyone see the similarities to star wars and fft? Or did anyone read the memory of heroes book version of ff1-ff3? Fun times. 27:27 smoking marlboros for bad breath 😂

[@dsparody]

5 hours in the pixel perfect collection and i haven't even done the first quest yet. I want to see just how op I can actually get

[@roymerkel8008]

~25:00 -- you didn't even need Blood sword cheese to beat the emperor! 😲 But yeah, that's some cheese you can use for this particular game is to hit the emperor with the blood sword (think there are two in the PSX version, don't recall about PR) and itt'll do a TON of damage. That said, looks like you didn't need it.

[@damoncranston9364]

Have two characters cast berserk, one cast blink, and one cast haste on everyone to start, no weapons go unarmed and you'll punch your way to the final boss.

[@chucheeness7817]

I really hate FF2 (I'd even put it below 13) but I can't say people can't like or love it. I mean, my most favorite Megaman is Megaman 3 lol

[@eckitronix]

I mean I think Mega Man 3 is one of the best ones too. I myself have my favorite at Mega Man 1, so I think _that's_ a stranger opinion overall. That in mind, I don't entirely think those apply as well considering they're a very similar experience barring Mega Man 7, 8, & Bass, and 11, but while they're similar they're still wonderful in their execution except for & Bass and I cannot stand listening to or playing 8. I'd say Final Fantasy 2 is the Mega Man X 5 of JRPGs; not perfect and definitely glitchy and buggy and stinky but you know that it has potential and promise and if it had even more time maybe it'd be a perfect game. That and it shifted the formulaic approach really hard.

[@rayvenkman2087]

Mega-Man 1 and 5 are generally regarded as the least favourite entries either for some bad game design or just being underwhelming. 3’s got it’s detractors but it’s mostly regarded as one of the good ones.

[@EarthboundX]

A review of a game, with a focus on its achievements/trophies? Surprised I haven't seen that more to be honest. Still sad these Pixel Remasters skipped Xbox as that's my main system, but I do have a PS4 as well.

[@RndmBad]

If I can make an honest critique here, I think your videos could do with a bit more attention to sound. For most of this video I fight to hear you over the sound track.

[@sunderwire]

Appreciate the feedback, it helps!

[@Applemangh]

Enjoyment of this game can depend on a lot of seemingly arbitrary choices with consequences the game doesn't explain. The back row, bows, and heavy armor are all basically traps that can be safety ignored or (if you really really want to) saved for the endgame. They'll all inhibit crucial stat growth in one way or another. The biggest problem with bows is that you can't equip a shield, and shields are your very best friends. It helps so much to keep your evade% as high as possible at all times to improve agility growth.

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

The interact barracuda 2 programable controller can make it easier to power up. Getting unarmed skill to 12 or higher allows you to plow through battles. Max sword skill combined with 2 blood swords makes the final boss a joke.

[@AstroTibs]

Not a bad review but your constant increased intonation at the end of sentences make it sound like you're just pausing during a huge run-on sentence.

[@Jahalang82]

I just recently completed ff2 from the pixel remaster and I didn't care for the magic system. For the majority of the game, I didnt even equip a weapon on anyone and had everyone punching away.it wasnt until the final dungeon that I finally equipped weapons on people.

[@redtide89]

Nice video! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with it and break down your thoughts. Just a few pressing things on my mind as I ramble like a mad man. How, exactly, can you determine if it "was that bad" by playing the pixel remaster? Any other version of the game would be better to determine that! Your video is just about the latest version of Final Fantasy II. The pixel remaster. The steam version, to be specific. Because over half of the video is just listing the steam achievements while sort of describing the events the player will encounter throughout the game. Which were done on a single playthrough (not sure how using an achievements guide counts as playing blind, but whatever). They put cheats in the main menu these days. The pixel remaster is like the 8th or 9th version of the game, each previous iteration having used an earlier version as its base and making its own subtle changes/improvements (and fixing bugs/glitches while unfortunately adding a few more of their own). Every single time, pixel remaster included. Don't get me wrong, your video was not bad by any means, but it is very different from tackling a pressing question (at least in my mind -- it's why I clicked on this video after all), which is if any people actually like Final Fantasy II. From what I can tell, it is no one's favorite Final Fantasy and I'm not convinced people who've said they've beaten it have actually done so! So in your case, proof is given with this very video (albeit the absolute easiest and least tedious version of the game to date) on completing it and I'm super interested in what you have to say about your experience. Unfortunately, when the pixel remaster is all we're willing to give our first shot to, it just feels like a hollow and almost meaningless, because judgements can only be assumed like its tedious, unintuitive elements. For many things, like overall difficulty or the fun you have while playing, determining what the other versions (let alone the actual original) are like is virtually impossible. I guess I'm just looking for that unicorn, the player who truly loves Final Fantasy II, and could tell me about it. How cool Firion and the characters are, how they fit into a fan's headcanon, etc. Tell me how the grind wasn't counter-intuivite. Tell me how the leveling and fighting made you feel after conquering a long, tedious dungeon. Tell me how this strengthened you as a person. Don't tell me that you just pushed through because it wasn't that bad playing a more advanced version of the game with every quality of life feature handed to you right out of the box. The beginning of narrative-based games that would become the series we all know and love is one thing, but actually talking about how it impacted you personally, that's what I want to hear. At the very least, telling me how it isn't that bad compared to any other game in the series, even if you have to liken it to the first Final Fantasy or something universally hated like the After Years. It's just that there's no meat to the argument whatsoever. It is easier to argue that any other mainline Final Fantasy is better! I'm going to need some sufficient evidence to the contrary.

[@danielsicko8593]

After Years PSP FF4 was not even bad. The 3D version with the removed content was not very good, but the 2D version was a solid game even if it was not super great. The team behind After Years later made Final Fantasy Divisions that was a solid FFV like game.

[@danielsicko8593]

And for FF2 i only played the DoS version. It was flawed but i broke the game by hitting my team until i had 9999 hp. While i did beat the bonus dungeon, i never beat it a second time without cheesing the game. I dont really have a drive to do so as well, there was a lot of where the fuck do you go next so i had a gamefaqs walkthrough on me the whole time when playing.

[@poppabear4301]

The only problem I had with this game was the advancement of the storyline. . . I got so lost trying to figure out how to move the story along that I was an absolute demon by the time I figured out what went wrong. . . Some advancements in the story required interactions I had to guess at and wander aimlessly talking to folks I never thought of to unlock things . . . . It was incredibly complicated

[@MilenAnessar]

I've played FF2 on GBA and while I couldn't say I hate it I also didn't like it, Pixel Remaster's exp toggle and turn off encounter sounds like a godsend to me as those are what I have problems with. Skill & stats grind is kinda absurd for this game so the faster the better, and while I don't really mind encounter rate but some of the enemies do being either annoying or shot up in difficulty spike at some points and don't get me started on that horrible Dungeon design with all those empty rooms. Would give it another shot with PR version. Also f**k Soul of Rebirth, glad PR didn't include it even tho it's good for the lore but it waste more time having to grind more party members when you know they will be dead in the main story.

[@Heymrk]

FF2 for Famicom was translated into English, put on a NES cart and even advertised in Nintendo Power. The only reason it wasn't released on the NES was the system was at the end of its life cycle. Nintendo of America made the decision not to release it or 3 in North America.

[@ShinMajin]

Wait, the story was changed in English? How?

[@sunderwire]

Not necessarily changed but they added additional dialogue and cutscenes when they localized it for the English release on PS1

[@kieragard]

A bunch of games had dialog altered back in the nes and snes era. It's because bytes were limited and English ate up more bytes than Japanese did. If you look at spell and items name from the original ff3 it's crazy sad. Antidote was antdot for example.

[@graylyhen9490]

Finally, a new review of one of my favorite GBA games. Surely this man will speak well of this game

[@graylyhen9490]

nvm he loves FFXIII, we're on very good terms now

[@Ceodore411]

I don't know why you don't have more subscribers. This was a great review!

[@ryann8348]

I've played the Famicom version of this game at least 7 times over the years. For the time it was made, the ideas in this game were just incredibly revolutionary. The real problem was it was rushed out the door. I know a lot about how the stat leveling works and have spent some time thinking about how I would have solved the balance issues. If FF2 had been given the time to be properly polished, it could have really changed the genre. EXP/level systems may have been the uncommon one instead

[@LisroMeniosa]

Having just beat it myself. It was ok. Not great, not terrible, ok. Like a C on a report card, bit annoying to deal with but not a bad grade.

[@LogeenthLive]

I think FF2 set the bedrock for how Final Fantasy stories would be told in the near future. I actually do like the gameplay, but that's only because I have the free reign to emulate it and abuse the fast forward mechanic to get through battles faster. I can imagine leveling spells, beating yourself up and purposefully running full shields for evasion grinding would be such an agonizing process in the long run, especially for completionists.

[@fritzdrybeam]

It's not a bad game. It's 100 times better than the FF 7 remakes.

[@fenriraynnaynbatrin4076]

You didn't try the soul of rebirth... 😢😢

[@sunderwire]

Unfortunately the soul of rebirth content is not included in the pixel remaster :/

[@ddgnp1057]

@@sunderwire Yeah I think it basically fixes your complaint about no hell section by adding one with all the dead party members.

[@DarkmoonWinter]

I think the overall biggest fault of the game over anything is how boring and tedious all the back and forth fetch quest stuff really was. I completely lost count at how many times I was forced to go back to Altair which was wayyyy too much.

[@MrScigeek101]

Pixel remaster rebalances it so it isn't near as annoying as it used to be. Unfortunately that also trivializes a lot of it makes it super easy. That said, will mention the good, excellent soundtrack that is one of the best in the series. Very ambitious game on release with it's focus on story. That said, other games have done the story focused game much better. Leaving Final Fantasy 2 in the unfortunate position of not being much fun to play. It is definitely the worst of the first 9 games. It isn't even a really bad game, and one could argue that it is better than FF III, but this series peaked about Final Fantasy 5 - 9. The earlier games all have their issues, the later games have a massive identify crisis and suffer from the curse of popularity. Final Fantasy XIII is worse though.

[@MrVariant]

You can always Halve or remove Boost gains 😂. I halved that in ff6 until I got my espers so my stat gains and setzer'a fixed dice with a black belt would be epic.

[@MrScigeek101]

@MrVariant Wasn't available on release unfortunately. I like halving encounter rates and upping the exp gain 25%. Makes the game harder but also less frustrating as encounters are rarer.

[@MrVariant]

@MrScigeek101 hm when did they update Boost to tweak encounter rates and experience like that? I remember playing with on/off for random encounters, and 0, 1/2, normal, double and quadruple exp/gil or whatever special levels the games had (like ff2 weapon/magic levels or ff5 ability points/ff6 esper growth). Wish ff3 told ya about defending 5 times to job level every battle, which I doubt Boost fixed (only helps to max shurikens end game as its too much for onion knight and they need rare drops of onion gear and hopefully not duplicates), but do tell me if I am wrong. Surprisingly, the improved font and original music were console exclusives, and discounted bundle after buying 1 of the games, a steam/ios exclusive (I got 1, 2, 4 and 6 for $14 after only buying 3 and 5 when they updated boost for iOS).

[@adamguitar1498]

Are you also 8-bit music theory? Kind of have the same voice/speaking style/interest in retro games?

[@sunderwire]

That’s not me, but that’s funny I’ll have to check them out 😆

[@TheMayimIsh]

Biggs and Wedge are from 6 originally not 7

[@sunderwire]

Yep! You are correct I should have mentioned them as well

[@Amp5150]

I got the 1+2 GBA version 20 years ago and loved it

[@gabrielsa2111]

It does make sense and its not a waste of time to level up the character that leave your party in the GBA and PSP version with the souls of rebirth sidequest witch is one of the best and very satisfactory after you end the normal game.

[@The.Retro.Corner]

Another great video! Keep up the great work!

[@witecatj6007]

The main developer on this game would go onto developing the Saga games. The Romancing Saga games on the Super Famicom were a natural evolution of this game.

[@172louis]

I thought it was cool game personally. That's whats good about final fantasy games each game has its own adventures styles with it own fair share of surprises and experimental systems to play. 3 and 5 are the only ones that have the same systems to eachother. A Great and legendary series.

[@stevemanart]

In a proverbial sense, it is fair to say that Final Fantasy is a D&D fangame. Whereas Final Fantasy II is the first real Final Fantasy. I also find it funny how many later tropes that started in FFVI that you've attributed to FFVII.

[@Kligor2]

Holy fuck those empty rooms were fukin KILLER in the NES version. I used am emulator to play it and I learned to just use save states for those rooms. You had like a 50% chance per goddamn tile to get a fight and they were rarely pushovers lol So I just cheated to ignore them. It was the laaaaziest move Ive ever seen compared to the company behind it.

[@jaykknight2248]

I thought FFII would have made a great candidate for a souped up "remake" approach to show off the story (possibly including the novelization) and characters, and tweak the progression system a little bit and revamp the dungeons

[@flingonber]

I thought it was pretty decent, I played a bootleg translation back before it was officially translated to English so the dialogue was a little rough. But it basically had the leveling system of the Elder Scrolls in 1988, which is pretty impressive.

[@Dragonfire511]

I liked it, im playing the WonderSwan Color version and i like to play with the leveling system. Managed to get used to it.

[@Emberson-9000]

Wish I could find FF1 and 2 translations, though I can play FF1 on my Wonderswan in Japanese. Its FF1. It's simple enough. Translated carts are really hard to find, though.

[@wiseguy240Winston]

It's my least favorite and one i can't defend or enjoy much at all. The high encounter rate alone, especially in treasure rooms is rage inducing.😭

[@selgeaus]

I played the very original Japanes version in early 90s and found it extremely difficult due to a weird levelling system. But loved the story line.

[@MaxUltimata]

Final Fantasy II's mechanics aren't bad, just poorly implemented. The progression-by-use system is the very foundation of (among others) the Elder Scrolls series, and we all know how popular *that* series got over time. But because of how... janky it was, and because Square wanted a more defined progression system, they lured Akitoshi Kawazu (the brainparent of Final Fantasy II's system) away from Final Fantasy, and he went on to create the SaGa series (which started off titled "The Final Fantasy Legend"), which... is an eccentric series, to say the least.

[@GiordanDiodato]

I wonder how many people who hate FF2 also like SaGa. cause if that's so, they're hypocrites.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

The wonderswan/ps1/gba/psp/pc remakes really improved Final Fantasy II. The original Famicom release had a great set (it was the first "dark and depressing" rpg) and music but the gameplay was totally broken. The remakes corrected that and also introduced one of the best boss themes of the series:Batle scene A.

[@RealmsofPixelation]

Well, Final Fantasy 2 is actually one of my favorite entries in the series. I love that game. I'm kinda glad it's not super popular. Makes it more special. More like it's MY game, not just something I played because it was popular. Popular doesn't necessarily equal good. And I don't like or dislike things just because they're popular either. I genuinely love Final Fantasy 2 and how the stat increases and spell leveling systems work. I also love the story very much. It's leaps and bounds better than the first game and honestly would make a great movie or anime story. Not to mention the soundtrack. The Rebel Army theme is glorious. The music in Kashuan Keep is another great listen. Just beautiful and suits the environment so well. I also find the characters to be very interesting and there's more there than most people realize. What happens is, a number of people say "this game sucks" and then that becomes the narrative, carried out by even people who have never played the game at all. "Because Willy Jim said, so I never tried the game." I rank Final Fantasy 2 higher than 4, 6 or 7 and I love 4 and 6. Final Fantasy 7 is the most overrated JRPG of all-time. It's not bad per se, it's just not as good as many people would have you believe. Final Fantasy 9 is the best game in the series. I would follow that with FFV, FFIII, FFII and FFIV as my personal top five. Anyway, there's so much to love about FFII and most people won't even try to see it because of herd mentality. People say "most people are stupid" or "most people are idiots." If that's true, then people are wrong about Final Fantasy 2. Lol