Review: Final Fantasy II (PSP/PS Vita)

My aim to play through each entry in the mainline Final Fantasy series (excluding online titles) has just notched up its second way point as I have just recently completed the Anniversary Edition of Final Fantasy II using my Playstation Vita. 

This game has something of a bad reputation amongst fans of the series, owing to historic problems in older versions of the game relating to character stat improvements (primarily). This was my first time playing through the game, and I can honestly say that I felt this game was a step above the original Final Fantasy in almost every way. Read on for more..

Story

This entry marks the first time in a Final Fantasy game that there is a real, tangible and interactive narrative taking place. The game begins with the lead heroes Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon fleeing their home town after it was attacked by the Palamecian Empire. After this initial encounter, Leon disappears and the rest of the group are discovered by rebels. The plot of the game consists of a quest to destroy the Empire's 'Dreadnought' warship, before progressing on to the quest of liberating the land from Emperor Mateus.

There are very few twists along the way, aside from one that may seem very predictable. The plot is therefore straightforward, but the game contains a supporting cast which add a fair element of variety to the game play as well as to the plot itself. Side characters such as Minwu and Ricard ended up being my preferred characters in the narrative.

For the Anniversary Edition, there are also two 'bonus quests' included, the Arcane Labyrinth and Soul of Rebirth. Each has its own self contained narrative, SoR more than the Arcane Labyrinth, but these also help in fleshing out various aspects of the story and make the additional game play more interesting to play through.

As far as story is concerned, FF2 has already progressed massively beyond its forebear, in big ways as well as some smaller ones - the addition of main characters that actually speak, for one! The game feels far more guided by the narrative in this instalment than the original game where the plot felt somewhat loose.

By modern standards, this story is nothing groundbreaking at all and you certainly should not be expecting some of the indepth lore found in contemporary gaming, but there is an attractive quality in this games relatively straightforward narrative that kept me interested throughout.

Visuals

The visuals are an area of subtle improvements over the original Final Fantasy. Character animations during story related scenes are small but noticeable improvements when compared to the first game. This also goes for dialogue - portraits of the characters are used to express basic emotions during conversations and can also help provide a reminder of certain villains' appearances and other members of the supporting cast.

During battles, the monsters' artwork has been completely overhauled from the original game, and in many cases this is a great thing - Gigas monsters, Golems, Dragons and the Iron Giant for example, all looked like they would be genuinely tough battles based on their appearances alone. Spells cast during the battles had mainly anti-climactic animations - I was relatively disappointed on my first uses of Flare and Ultima looking like they weren't quite as impressive as the story made them sound. Another small touch in battles that I found quirky was the party running off screen at the end of a battle - I believe this is the first and only time I recall this happening in a Final Fantasy title.

Environments tended to look similar to those in Final Fantasy, I felt. I didn't find myself wowed by any of the villages, despite subtle improvements to relatively minor assets. However, later areas of the game such as Pandaemonium were much more impressive to see, boasting a wide range of colours and detail.

The overall look of the game is still very retro and almost childish in its art form, but this game is very much a product of its time and if you intend to play through, it is best to accept the art style as part of the games charm. The sprites will grow on you!

Audio

A hallmark of a Final Fantasy game is a great soundtrack, and this game delivers well. Gone are the repetitive and grating shop jingles of the first game, however  the core game still uses a small selection of tracks to cover each of the games areas.

The world map music is fantastic, catchy and melodic but determined and moody at the same time. Likewise the battle theme is driven, calling on elements of the world map theme and varying slightly to deliver a catchy tune. This is without mentioning the music for the final battle of the game, and the final dungeon. This series of games has always, in my view, delivered in spades when it comes to a climactic final confrontation and Final Fantasy II is no exception.

There are drawbacks, however. The NES technology this game was originally developed for means that there are a limited number of tracks and they do still become repetitive after several dungeon trawls, or after visiting numerous towns or castles. The music in all cases is catchy but it does wear thin when you are accustomed to more modern, ever-changing soundtracks in games.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Final Fantasy II's game play is where the title has to deliver. In my view, it does. Beyond the template layout of the game itself (tropes such as the world map, currency, random battles etc) the actual core battle mechanics have been completely and utterly scrapped, resulting in a totally fresh experience from start to end.

The levelling system works in a similar way to Elder Scrolls, in the sense that using a particular skill will cause it to level up. For example, the more you use a spear then the higher your proficiency with a spear will be. Or the more you use a type of magic, the more potent it will become (up to a maximum of 16 magic levels). Suffice to say that by the end of the game you would be unlikely to have maximised many of these skills unless you spent a very lengthy amount of time grinding.

In the game's original release, this system proved to be controversial and seems to be one of the chief reasons people don't bother with it now. This is unnecessary with the anniversary edition - I found that the only time I really had to grind throughout the entire game was when saving currency for equipment, and I certainly did not resort to the often referred method for 'cheating' to level up.

The addition of the Arcane Labyrinth section to the game provided me, as the player, with the opportunity to level up my party at numerous points throughout the game to gain rare equipment and open up the plot line of the associated side quest - if you are considering playing, do it this way and your grinding fears will be alleviated.

This game is also notable for other reasons, such as the introduction of Chocobos (big yellow birds) as a form of transport, the first in-game appearance of a character using the name of 'Cid', the introduction of the Ultima spell and Behemoth monsters, among others. Each of these aspects all assisted in building the games mythos and game play in a positive way.

Honestly, I had a blast with this game. My biggest gripe would be the lack of intuity with quests like the Arcane Labyrinth. Compared with the rest of the game and it's linearity, this dungeon threw a spanner in the works by forcing me to research online to save potentially hours of time in working out how it works. Otherwise, I felt that the game play thoroughly complemented the story and I enjoyed both immensely.

Even on completion, the game unlocks a new dungeon which replays the story's final hours from a different perspective. This added an additional five hours of time to my total, making it a 45 hour investment of time to complete the game. As if that wasn't enough, there is also an in-game bestiary for you to complete which was another fun little distraction in its own right.

Summary

In all, this game makes for a solid entry in the Final Fantasy series. I feel that history has been unkind to this game, and that this Anniversary Edition is very much the definitive way to experience Final Fantasy II without the issues and pains from the original version.

It also marks a solid route of innovation and development over the original game. Instead of clinging onto elements that were successful, Squaresoft instead delivered a brand new experience from start to finish, setting a hallmark for what would become a standard of the Final Fantasy series.

Rating 4/5

Review: Final Fantasy I (PSP)

For my first written review project, I intend to play through the essential decades-old RPG franchise Final Fantasy. Using my PS Vita as the console of choice, this gives me access to the majority of the PS1, PSP and digital titles in the series. Where better to start then, than the first title in the series, the original Final Fantasy?

When this title originally launched on the NES system in 1987, I was yet to be born and my gaming hobby several long years away. Historically, this game is known to be a title that changed around the fortunes of Squaresoft and gave them a fresh IP to establish a core franchise. The title was ultimately somewhat ironic, having been intended as a literal 'Final Fantasy' for Square but resulting in something of a rebirth, as well as wide spread popularisation of the RPG genre and providing a pivotal title in the catalogue of Nintendo's flagship console.

Story
Final Fantasy's story is, by modern standards, relatively straightforward and threadbare. The notion of character development (outside of gameplay) is all but nonexistent. Your group of four heroes barely utter a word throughout the entirety of the adventure, while the NPCs in the world seemingly exist to provide vague directions and only the smallest hints at a background to the world.

The four Warriors of Light are unnamed, an element which is left entirely to the player. They appear as heroes of legend in the city of Cornelia to assist the King with the rescue of his daughter, imprisoned by the renegade Garland. From here, the story takes a turn for grandiose with the heroes being given the task of restoring the four elemental crystals to grace (Earth, Fire, Water and Wind - 'Go Planet'?). The story is the personification of good against evil, with the heroes ultimately squaring off against the villain aptly-named Chaos.

For all my seeming cynicism, the tale is charming in its simplicity and lacks the bloat that modern day RPGs provide. It is fast paced enough that you will only lose interest if you are unable to deduce your next location. The fast pace of the story allows the focus to remain primarily on the gameplay itself and this is what will keep you coming back for more.

The game is also responsible for introducing some core icons of the Final Fantasy franchise, for example the first appearance of Bahamut the Dragon Lord, and Cid (the reference added in later remakes but absent from the NES original), as well as magic spells including the '-aga' naming tropes, among others. All of these elements would go on to appear time and again in later Final Fantasy titles.

Visuals
Final Fantasy showcases a varied and bright colour palette. You should not find yourself tiring of the visuals as cartoony as they may appear by modern standards. The world design possesses a lot of charm, and the personalities of the villages, dungeons and people within the world are conveyed well by the technology available. Even the dungeons are varied by being themed around an element - for example, the Fire dungeon takes place in a volcano.

That said, don't expect much in terms of variety when you enter certain towns - the Dwarf Cave and Elfheim for example, have townspeople whom look identical to one another. Cities like Cornelia have more variety of townspeople, however usage of iconography is applied consistently across the towns and villages - Churches and the shops in each town are easily identifiable by the signs outside. The towns themselves are all very distinct and, once visited, you should be able to recall the majority of locations by their design.

The fortune of the game having received a modern makeover gives the visuals a flair that brings the whole game into the twenty first century in a positive way, whilst still remaining true to its source material. The game succeeds in looking both retro and modern enough to seem superior to the NES original in every way.

Music
This game is packed out with some incredibly catchy ditties - beware that many of the often repeated tunes will begin to grate on you with time. I found myself playing particularly grindy areas such as dungeons on mute rather than facing the prospect of hearing the battle theme yet again. This is without mentioning the themes for villages and shops driving me to near insanity very early on.

Worthy of note are the following tracks - World Map, Battle (at least at first), Matoya's Theme and Chaos Shrine. Each track is filled with a sense of adventure and contains a tune that will riddle it's way into your brain before you know it.

The soundtrack is also worth note for introducing the renowned victory fanfare, the prelude and main theme of the Final Fantasy series, which repeat across the absolute majority of the series.

Gameplay
The game play is what sets this title apart. It is simplistic, due mainly to its age I have no doubt. There is nonetheless something compelling about the game play that will continue to draw you back until the adventure is complete.

The game's turn-based battle system is easy to learn and rewarding with battles that generally are not too time consuming. This works particularly well on the Vita where you can pick up and play within a dungeon as you wish - the added bonus of being able to save at any time make this all the more enjoyable and takes away the tiresome gruel of slogging through dungeons.

The class system allows for rich and varied game play on repeat playthroughs, however I have always been satisfied with the relatively standard assortment of Warrior, Thief, White Mage and Black Mage. Those looking to have radically different playthroighs will surely find a lot to like in the class system.

Advancement throughout the game is not tiresome, those willing to take their time in dungeons will obtain the best loot (Adamantite and the Masamune for example), whilst magic spells and standard equipment sets can be purchased throughout the villages in game using the games currency system of gil, earned through battles, selling your items and via treasure chests.

One hang-up I did find with the game was the lack of clarity in the games directions - there were multiple times where I found myself frustrated by skipping steps of the story accidentally (for instance with the Dark Elf Astos), or after completing one task I found the in-game hints too vague to ascertain where I actually needed to travel to next without missing anything - referring to an online guide can help but I always prefer to proceed without.

The game possesses both an easy and normal difficulty level for those looking for replayability. The level cap is adjusted across both (50 for normal, 99 for easy) - play on normal for the experience most similar to the original release. Additionally, the inclusion of a Bestiary allows for tracking each of the monsters you have defeated, which for the completists, offers the incentive to track down the games rarer monsters such as the Tyrannosaurus and War Mech.

This addition of the game also includes bonus dungeons, which I found to be the most grueling experience of the game by far, but also the most challenging and rewarding. They are skippable as they are not part of the core game, however should you wish to take on each of the five new dungeons be prepared for up to forty levels of dungeon (in one instance) containing four different bosses. Each dungeon contains easter egg bosses which are pulled from Final Fantasy III, IV, V and VI. During the course of completing these dungeons I developed an addiction to the completion of the bestiary which gave me reason enough to trawl through these dungeons multiple times in search of rare monsters. The fifth dungeon, the Labyrinth of Time, presents a final additional dungeon to complete. Ultimately, while these dungeons are very repetitive on subsequent runthroughs, as soon as you really get into them you will find that you have sunk almost as much time into them as the story's main quest. 

Summary

In short, Final Fantasy is a worthwhile game to purchase. My initial runthrough took around twenty hours for story completion, with a further thirteen hours on top for completion of bonus content. 

Do not expect to play a game with the same strengths as more modern games - despite the lick of paint and bonus content, this is still at its heart a 1980s RPG with all the simple charm and technical drawbacks that are entailed.

Nonetheless a fun game to play through, and for those with an interest in the series' roots, this provides a great way to satisfy any curiosity you might have. Challenging, charming and addictive. 

RANKING: 4/5