Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Final Fantasy II
NES
The Vault

Advanced

Nintendo
Final Fantasy II

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:		 6.84
7.01
7.03
7.06
Votes: 90
Reviews: 3


Rate this game

Review this game

 

Reviewer: Master Zodix Date: Mar 16, 2003
Well this is my first game review. I chose this game because it is one of my favoriate Final Fantasy game of all time and no one else but one guy wrote about this great game. This game might seem strange and even dumb ( or so a lot say ), but its not its quite simple and realalistic. The one thing of the game is how you level up, like FF X you really dont gain levels. By useing the "Silver Longsword" means your skill in "Swords" meaning you can do more damage with swords. Same with spells if I use fire alot I will learn fire 2 and do more damage. The idea about loseing life in battle to increase maximum life is an alright idea , this shows your character is a fighter. All your skills are about how you use them. Maby the best idea is your skill can lower. IE If I want to make one of them "Perfect Fighter" it will mean a huge flaw my magic could go down if I never use it (This is sorta like being rusty not used it in a long time".

Graphics: 6
The Graphics are the same as the old one. It was blockey and hard to really see anything going an besides the same old moveing and quick attack of the fighter swinging his blade. This did not appeal to many , most like the fast action graphis ( FF X ).

( to me this means nothing sure its nice but .... all that lame and short lived video scenes could make a more fun and longer game. True FF people love the games for the Roleplaying not a simple hack n' slash , you must talk to people in town to learn what to do. any way)

Sound: 9
The sound of course is great just like all final fantasys. The nice soothing sounds of classical music. But I feal he could of done a little better.


( To bad the old music artist does not do the music for the new FF's)

Gameplay: 9
The Gameplay was great it was well done. Many people dont wish to play long ( I was one of them ) but if you stick with it you will learn it all makes sease and falls into play. Like all new FF's they make a new system to learn magic and other skills. ( espers , matria , draw etc ) But the way you gain skills makes me think this is one of the greatest games to play.

(Cool part is like everyone knows theres never a monster that can hurt you , or you cant travel far (( IE, something blocks the path)
but in this you can. You can travel far with out reason and fight very strong monsters that kill the party in a few turns. (( kinda fun going where you want when you want)) )

Overall: 9
I thought how the did everything like in the old game were great. A staff seems useless so why not buy a dagger? Well the Staff increases your Magic strenth. Some items you need to have to make a good stratgy. Like a helm that can cast cure.( Because what will you do when your mages are gone and you just got your strong Fighter?)

Like I said before and will always say, the idea of gaining skills is what sets this apart and such a great rank.

You should download this game its fun and if it seems hard as first talk to people look at your stats learn how I can increase my streath quickly.

I did not like the person who did this games review I came to dl this rom again and I saw such a lot ranking 5.4 when its a 8.5-9.5 game. He was not a true FF player just a guy who wants some easy and boring graphis to keep him busy.

We true FF players play these games for there style of fight and great , twisting storylines.

Good Luck , this game might be the HARDEST FF around ... nothing like X.

 

Reviewer: Braska Spira Date: Jul 11, 2002
Final Fantasy II(j) was first released in Japan in late 1988. It remained Japan-exclusive, because Squaresoft had problems with Nintendo at the time. I played the game from December 9, 2001 to March 3, 2002, when I beat the game. In reality, Final Fantasy II is an NES game starring Frioniel and Leonhart. When most Americans think about Final Fantasy II, they think about it as an SNES game starring Cecil Harvey and Kain Highwind, but that game is actually Final Fantasy IV, which I reviewed at Vimm's Lair on June 10, 2002. Until Final Fantasy VII, Squaresoft rearranged the sequel numbers for Americans in order to hide the fact they deprived America some of their games.

Graphics: 6
Final Fantasy II(j) has graphics borrowed from its prequel, Final Fantasy I. The graphics of Final Fantasy II are identical to the graphics of Final Fantasy I in the overworld. NeoDemiforce used the Final Fantasy I font in their English translation of Final Fantasy II. The monster graphics are rather more detailed. Final Fantasy II corrected the confusion between closed and open treasure chests, so that the player does not have to re-check the treasures chests. Also, Final Fantasy II suppressed the panes separating monsters and allies and re-arranged the battle screen as an example for the following Final Fantasies.

Sound: 8
I give the sound a high rating, because it is a Final Fantasy game. Nobuo Uematsu has done it again. He is the king of video game music. The key track, The Promised Land, the overworld track, is issued in the album, ""Final Fantasy: Pray."" On the Wonderswan Color remake, that song has been lengthened.

Gameplay: 4
The gameplay rather disappointing. Like Final Fantasy I, the NES version sports the ""Ineffective"" message, allowing the playable characters to attack dead monsters. Final Fantasy II has a unique leveling system called the Balance System. You only level up the weapons and spells you use. Level 16 is highest level you can get for each weapon or spell.

Overall: 5
Final Fantasy II is awful for a Final Fantasy game. That game is in a mess. It has a horrible, suffering storyline. It has the most storyline deaths of any Final Fantasy game. First, Phin was seized by the Paramekian Empire, and four of Phin's young people had to flee to Altea. Later in the game, Altea and Gatea are destroyed and Phin is attacked. I am disappointed about it. What I hate most about the game is one major enemy name near the end of the game, which may be objectionable. Final Fantasy II is not as popular as the other members of the Final Fantasy N Generation.

Final Fantasy II(j) is indeed my worst Final Fantasy game; on the other hand, Final Fantasy X is my favorite Final Fantasy game. Like Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II has been remade for Wonderswan Color. The graphics and gameplay have been enhanced, especially when it comes to the battle screen. The overworld song, The Promised Land, has been lengthened. A dash feature, as staple for Squaresoft remakes, has been implemented into the game as well as Square did with Final Fantasy I in the year 2000. Also like Final Fantasy I, the interrupt feature has been added to it, saving the game temporarily, i.e. until the game is resumed. I recommend Final Fantasy II to hardcore Final Fantasy fans, for it is the most difficult Final Fantasy game. However, I view Final Fantasy II as an amazing game like the other Final Fantasy games even though it is at the bottom of Final Fantasy series in popularity. I would like to thank NeoDemiforce for translating Final Fantasy II(j) from Japanese to English for America. I still love that game as well as other Final Fantasy games, for I love Final Fantasy more than any video game franchise.

 

Reviewer: Brad "Lone Wolf" Guerrie Date: Jul 6, 2001
Sequals, as a rule, usually aren't as good as the original. This isn't really an exception... Anyway, Final Fantasy 2 explored a new realm of game character, the classless or null class character. This is seen again in Final Fantasy 8, where people don't have a spesific job or any innate abilities. This can seem confusing and dull to some people, but it presents the opportunity to create whatever kind of characters you want, especially in this installment of the series as your characters start with practically nothing and fairly no skills. Whatever attacks you use will become stronger gradually, there are no experience levels, just statistic growth (Similar to SaGa Frontier). This means if you want the main character to use Martial Arts instead of a sword or to become a strong magician instead of a fighter, you have that option. The story does suffer quite a bit. You can follow it, but it isn't as interesting as some other games, and you don't really have a lot of ground to explore. It revolves primarily around just a few characters and thier interactions with other characters as they go. However, if having characters fight in ways contrary to what is usual, this is a good game to try it on!