WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY MENTION FINAL FANTASY 2?

I think this article sums it up pretty nicely why people don't play FF2. ><

http://socksmakepeoplesexy.net/index.php?a=ff02

Whatever FFII does well, it does many more things poorly.

Tedious leveling is one of those things. Putting an emphasis in stat gains is not a bad idea, but forcing you to do it via obtuse roundabout means is not. I got to the mythril cave and the encounter rate + dead ends + how long it took to kill the Sergent made me lose patience for it.

I've heard the endgame is awfully unbalanced.

It was unique and a fresh look at how to play a role-playing game. Back when it was released, the ground for what constituted a role-playing game was not very firm yet. This probably made designing the game very exciting.

I believe that it was also one of the first role-playing video games that had a narrative that occurred over the course of the entire game, with more emphasis on characters than the first Final Fantasy.

Like Rya said, FF2 is more like the prototype for the SaGa series, which I've been a staunch fan since the gameboy ones. The number of people who like Unlimited SaGa can be counted on one hand, and I'm one of them. It's the only reason I bought a PS2, then promptly sold when I fell on hard times (huzzah for emulation now).

That said, even though I like FF2, I can't recommend it with confidence. Apart from Romancing SaGa 3 which is a total masterpiece, the yang to FF6's yin, SaGa is a niche for particular player types.

author=Isrieri
I've heard the endgame is awfully unbalanced.

Akitoshi Kawazu does endgame difficulty spikes in all his games. I personally enjoy it. Even if it means a little extra grinding, it gives a more climactic "give it all you got" feeling.
Except SaGa Frontier 2 where I had to restart the game because I got trapped in the final dungeon too weak to beat the last boss >:O
Fucking egg.


edit - Fun fact: Final Fantasy 2 hosts the most vicious random encounter enemy ever.

He casts Death 10 on your entire party, appears in packs of 2-4, comes in the back row blocked by durable knights, is resistant to magic, and populates the entire world map after a certain point in the game. To my knowledge, there's nothing that can block instant death attacks either.
Thankfully you spend the majority of that part of the game on the high seas safe in your boat, and the airship isn't far away.

I have FF2 on my MetroPCS phone. I beat it really quickly. It had slightly more story than FFI...slightly, but mostly, I think the first Dragon Warrior was better designed.

its one of those games i wanted to like i suppose. theres something about the nes FFs that i really like in terms of aesthetic (90% black backgrounds) chibi characters standing in place, slow chiptune battle music trying to be fast. FF3 is the only tolerable of the bunch sadly.

I remember how FF2's HP growth is basically "HP lost during battle / 2". So if you start the battle with 100/100 HP and you end up the battle with 30/100 HP you would gain 35 to max HP.
I originally noticed it because my archer who didn't have a shield gained HP a lot faster than the other characters.
Eventually I just unequipped all armor on all characters except when really needing them (like boss battles or when I wanted to beat a bigger dungeon) and that fixed the endgame balance problems.

Apart from Romancing SaGa 3 which is a total masterpiece, the yang to FF6's yin, SaGa is a niche for particular player types.

I dunno, Romancing SaGa 3 is just as brutal and complex as the other Kawazu games if you ask me. Like how it gets so many new player stuck in the Vampire castle, a place you reach very early on but has the highest "difficulty" modifier and is super huge and you can easily get lost in it.

SaGaFrontier 1 will stay my personal favorite. I guess Unlimited Saga would come second, but I also really liked Minstrel Song, so not sure... RSG3 would then be fourth place.

Except SaGa Frontier 2 where I had to restart the game because I got trapped in the final dungeon too weak to beat the last boss >:O
Fucking egg.

I think I never understood this game. I couldn't beat it no matter what I tried. I literary grinded for hours every time a character was in the group that ends up being in the final battle. I even abused that unlimited slime trick to get Ginny stronger. But still in the final battle, even with the best weapons and my best techniques, I couldn't deal more than 600 HP damage per attack.

Then I watched a video because I just wanted to see how someone beats the E.G.G. and there each character dealt 4 digit damage! I wonder what the trick is behind increasing the damage that much...

YO WHADDUP DOE

Akitoshi Kawazu is pretty rad! Like Rya said, FFII was his first real shot at video games, so it kinda blows. The story wasn't fleshed out (well, which is fair compared to FFI and FIII, honestly), and the gameplay was really basic for the complex framework it tried to fit, which resulted in weird shit happening like equipping two shields to be untouchable, spells taking way too long to be viable, and fakeout random encounter rooms??? FFII kinda blows! It doesn't make sense!

Since then Kawazu has gotten better at his craft, even though SE doesn't give him a lot of chances to show off his work. The SaGa series are his well known babies, but Kawazu game trademarks are generally;

-'Gain by using', stats are raised, per battle, in proportion to how you perform in said battle, instead of strict levels.

-Sometimes brutal enemy difficulty/spikes that expects you to go all out with everything you know up to that point.

-Weird battle mechanics that take some digging or investigating to really know. For example, SaGa Frontier 2's battle system kinda got cheated due to the fact that unlike other SaGa games, its linear and there's not really a lot of chances to play with it. How many people knew that damage rises drastically, the lower your SP/WP is?

-Nonlinear progression. Romancing SaGa and SaGa Frontier are good examples of this.

-Enemies get stronger as you do! Also, the game world progresses in relation to how many battles you fight or how strong you are.

So on and so forth. I think FFII would really benefit from a ground up remake.

How many people knew that damage rises drastically, the lower your SP/WP is?

It does? =o
You mean if they are almost used up?

Honestly in all Kawazu games EXCEPT SGF2, I think they are best played when you just don't care about how it works. Knowing how it works and abusing the system or getting frustrated because it's too complicated can easily spoil all the fun with them.

Leonid's castle is a speed bump at worst. All you have to do is fight a single battle, then go talk to him and you'll leave. Just hit the staircase gargoyles with that Ice Stone you have.

You don't have to tell me that. I'm just saying it's just as hard to access for new players without a guide as any other Kawazu game. =p

Hmm, I'm not sure. I played all the SaGa games basically just knowing:
a) The characters get better at what they use.
b) If it gets too hard, it's time to buy better equip.