Note: The version of Final Fantasy II I played was from the Dawn of Souls compilation for Game Boy Advance.
Final Fantasy II is a hard child to love. The game is most known for a combat system that, while unique, is fairly flawed. The game is also much more difficult than it needs to be, often resorting to tactics that cannot be described as anything other than cheap. And yet its a bit unfair to write off the game based just on this. Final Fantasy II is an important piece of Final Fantasy history that is enjoyable if you can work past the most difficult dungeons and embrace a system that requires completely different tactics.
The game focuses on a group of friends who are tasked with fighting the evil Empire after being attacked within the first few minutes of play. Their fourth friend goes missing after the attack, and the group are constantly on the lookout for him throughout the adventure. The plot is straightforward, with the group taking the fight to the Emperor in different ways, from taking down his capital airship to rescuing the rebel princess from his coliseum. While the main story thread is simple enough, there are still a few twists that keep it interesting, such as the game's willingness to kill off main characters permanently. The game has the first real plot for a Final Fantasy game (as Final Fantasy I was just an assortment of fetch quests loosely strung together) and hence has that signature Final Fantasy feel. This is also the first game to feature Cid, who was to become a recurring character in the series. The Dawn of Souls edition also features an additional quest starring deceased party members that was also on the Playstation re-release Final Fantasy Origins, and this adds a significant amount of gameplay.
The gameplay of Final Fantasy II is what sets it apart from other entries in the series. Players walk around an overworld map, traveling from town to town until they are told there is a certain dungeon they need to go to for some story based objective. Battles are random in the game, and occur frequently. The battles themselves occur like any other menu-based RPG, and the standard assortment of Final Fantasy spells are all here (from Haste to Blizzard to Ultima). However, unlike most other games in the series, the party does not gain experience from the enemies directly, but rather gains experience in certain proficiencies depending on their actions in battle. If a character uses magic often, then his base MP amount, magic, and intelligence stats will go up. If you constantly just have a character attack, his strength and weapon proficiencies will rise. The system is interesting enough that you'll be trying to level up certain areas just because you know you're close to that next level, and as a result the game has a unique feel to it.
While the system sounds great in theory, its flaws quickly come out. For one, unless you spend time casting spells on yourself, your MP amount will simply not be high enough to make it through the game. Additionally, for some of the more difficult humps early in the game, you'll find yourself attacking your own party because HP increases only when characters are hit. The enemies in any given area can range in difficulty dramatically, so while some enemies will attack for a little HP, others will practically kill your character. I found that I only had to artificially raise my MP and HP like this 3 times total in the game, but the game's design should have eliminated having to do this.
The difficulty spikes are another problem that plague Final Fantasy II. While I know that old school RPGs are meant to be tough, this game can venture in to cheap territory. One dungeon in particular comes to mind in which there is an enemy that can debilitate your entire party with a Confuse spell and you are forced to watch as your party attacks itself without any means of recourse. The other one involves the end boss who is much more difficult than anything in the dungeon that comes before him, but I forgive that particular one because he is the last enemy of the game.
Final Fantasy I & 2: Dawn of Souls features ports of the first two games in the series from the Wonderswan color. The visuals are about equal to those in the SNES Final Fantasies, and the sound effects are as well. While there isn't a particular theme that struck me in the game, this is one of the beginning Final Fantasies, and as such many of the themes were repeated in subsequent games (such as the title screen music that was repeated from Final Fantasy I).
Final Fantasy II is a flawed game, and yet its also one of the more interesting entries in the series because of it. This is not to say that it is better than Final Fantasy IV or VI, but rather that it has its own unique flavor that allows it to shine in its own way. The difficulty of the game will keep it from being appreciated (or finished, for that matter) by most, and yet the game lives up to its pedigree.
Overall: 7.4 out of 10
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