(edit from the future: i think i'm wrong about ff2 here and that the pixel remaster is just very flawed. playing the origins version currently and it's a night and day different experience. will be reviewing it later.)
ff2 is a game i've always really wanted to like. it's the perfect game for a backloggd reviewer to portray as misunderstood, better than it actually is... well, it ain't.
its ideas are excellent on paper (jrpg with pen & paper rpg systems is a very compelling concept) and i wish they worked. problems from the original game are exacerbated in this version due to an even higher encounter rate and changes like the ability to dual wield and auto-target after your first target dies, so you can kill another with your offhand. this makes melee way too strong, and magic even more confusingly useless. there's no boss battle that isn't over in 2-3 rounds at most. for a tale about an evil empire crushing the people of the land under its heel, and you being the modest heroes of the rebel army, there's simply nothing that can stand in your way and i don't think i need to elaborate on why that's an issue. the sorrow and desolation of the overworld theme rings hollow because of this. at least the original game more or less forces you to designate roles amongst your primary party, resulting in a bit more decision-making... all that goes out the window here because you're simply unstoppable, thwarted only by the endless flow of meaningless battles.
the game isn't misunderstood - it is what it is: an interesting experiment, clearly an important step in the history and development of the final fantasy series, albeit one which largely does not succeed due to bugs and confounding choices in its design. it's tragic, is what it is. thankfully, the future for ff would be much brighter.
ff2 is a game i've always really wanted to like. it's the perfect game for a backloggd reviewer to portray as misunderstood, better than it actually is... well, it ain't.
its ideas are excellent on paper (jrpg with pen & paper rpg systems is a very compelling concept) and i wish they worked. problems from the original game are exacerbated in this version due to an even higher encounter rate and changes like the ability to dual wield and auto-target after your first target dies, so you can kill another with your offhand. this makes melee way too strong, and magic even more confusingly useless. there's no boss battle that isn't over in 2-3 rounds at most. for a tale about an evil empire crushing the people of the land under its heel, and you being the modest heroes of the rebel army, there's simply nothing that can stand in your way and i don't think i need to elaborate on why that's an issue. the sorrow and desolation of the overworld theme rings hollow because of this. at least the original game more or less forces you to designate roles amongst your primary party, resulting in a bit more decision-making... all that goes out the window here because you're simply unstoppable, thwarted only by the endless flow of meaningless battles.
the game isn't misunderstood - it is what it is: an interesting experiment, clearly an important step in the history and development of the final fantasy series, albeit one which largely does not succeed due to bugs and confounding choices in its design. it's tragic, is what it is. thankfully, the future for ff would be much brighter.
11 Comments
The thing I always come back to with this game is that it feeling terrible to play enhances my experience with it time and time again. It's the only rebels vs. empire story that's felt appropriately bleak to me. Every victory, no matter how large, is undone. Your progress is essentially worthless. I love it.
the real core of the issue i'm having is that it doesn't feel bleak enough, or at all...! the pixel remaster specifically is breezy (especially when you just abandon all care about the mechanical quibbles and quirks to just rely on dual wielding, which you can do far too easily) and that's not what i want out of this experience. i think i'm gonna revisit the origins version and mod the encounter rate in this one to see if my mind is changed at all. because i hate myself. (wrt the origins version, and this goes for ff1 as well: the darker color palette and ruined look of locations really lends itself well to the tone of ff2 in particular and i kinda wish the pixel remasters weren't all about homogenizing the look of these games. their distinct personalities and vibes should have been more carefully preserved.)
Yeah, I utterly despise the Pixel Remasters. The new style does not compliment a lot of the games on offer here, especially Final Fantasy VI my beloved.
ff6pr, thankfully, can be modded to a point that i think it's excellent. it doesn't exactly replace the original game for me, or anything, but it also doesn't make egregious changes to ruin the experience and i think it's pretty much just as great.
ok, also, on the subject of the pixel remasters, i've heard that ff5 is probably the one to benefit from it the most. so i'm on the fence about trying 3 (might rather play the famicom and/or 3d versions), and i think i will try 4 (because as much as i like the gba version its input lag in battles really hampers the experience). 1 and 6 are nice new/alternative versions imo.
also, while i think this version of 2 fumbles a bunch of stuff, i really do like some of its new sprite work.
soooo i've spent a bunch of time with the origins version today. i'm about to enter the dreadnaught. previously i'd only played ff1 from the origins set, but... yeah, i think this one's doing a lot to shift my view of the game. specific little things about the presentation are really nice, and more importantly it's considerably tougher. i'm struggling to get stats and hp/mp up for maria and guy and i'm trying not to do too much grinding or hitting myself or casting magic for no reason... though on the other hand, it feels a lot more like the jrpg morrowind sort of experience i wanted in the first place, when sitting down with the pixel remaster. i also think the music is better, here, in this case. (ff5 is probably the pixel remaster with the clearest boost from the new music.)
may or may not come back to finish this version later, but for now i'm really liking ff2 origins and even feeling like it could have a bit of a rising tide lifts all ships sort of effect on my feelings about ff2 in general.
it and wonderswan saga 1 are also really making me wanna dive deep into more kawazu...
also, while i think this version of 2 fumbles a bunch of stuff, i really do like some of its new sprite work.
soooo i've spent a bunch of time with the origins version today. i'm about to enter the dreadnaught. previously i'd only played ff1 from the origins set, but... yeah, i think this one's doing a lot to shift my view of the game. specific little things about the presentation are really nice, and more importantly it's considerably tougher. i'm struggling to get stats and hp/mp up for maria and guy and i'm trying not to do too much grinding or hitting myself or casting magic for no reason... though on the other hand, it feels a lot more like the jrpg morrowind sort of experience i wanted in the first place, when sitting down with the pixel remaster. i also think the music is better, here, in this case. (ff5 is probably the pixel remaster with the clearest boost from the new music.)
may or may not come back to finish this version later, but for now i'm really liking ff2 origins and even feeling like it could have a bit of a rising tide lifts all ships sort of effect on my feelings about ff2 in general.
it and wonderswan saga 1 are also really making me wanna dive deep into more kawazu...
For III and IV, I would say to do the 3D versions. PSP version of IV is also really good, though.
The V Pixel Remaster is fine, I generally agree there. I still prefer the original though.
I'm not torn up about the Pixel Remasters removing the extra dungeons because those all really suck, if you're wondering, lmao.
The V Pixel Remaster is fine, I generally agree there. I still prefer the original though.
I'm not torn up about the Pixel Remasters removing the extra dungeons because those all really suck, if you're wondering, lmao.
yeah, i'm already a fair ways into 4 on ds. i like it a lot! i put it off for a long time because i didn't think i would. but i'm still probably gonna try the pixel remaster of 4 at some point because, well, it's just a super breezy game and i think it's really suited to the brightly colored style of these new versions. i'm sure psp 4 is good, too - i'm just not quite enamored of its different aesthetic. i'll most likely try it some time anyway, hehe. as for 3, yeah, i'll either play that on ds or psp, though i can't help but be a bit curious about playing the last famicom ff (partially for the sake of holding it up alongside dq4... well, just because).
DQIV is vastly better than FFIII. FFIII is... like a less well-realized version of FFV. The only FF game where I'd say another game in the series does the same concepts better.
that's pretty much what i've always expected, yeah. still, i might like to see for myself, some time. you're probably right about the 3d remake being the way to go, but... well, you know. it's honestly kinda weird that i still haven't tried it, given how long i've been playing these games.
currently gulping down my words as i "train" in battle, morrowind-style, in the origins version.
i might like ff2 now.
i might like ff2 now.
zn0
1 year ago