Final Fantasy II wiki page
Originally released in Japan in 1988 for the Nintendo Famicom. It was initially going to be localized for NA as Final Fantasy: Shadow Over Palakia. By this point, however, FFIV had already been released in Japan. It was decided to skip over the newly outdated NES titles and jump straight to the new SNES. Final Fantasy II was not released in American until 2003 as part of the Final Fantasy Origins collection along with Final Fantasy I.
Final Fantasy II follows the characters Firion, Gus, and Maria as they oppose the mighty Empire. The three main characters are often joined by different characters who fill the fourth slot in the battle menu. The most important of these is Leon, Maria's brother. Leon starts as an ally to Firion and the crew, but later can be found fighting against them only to switch back to side of good near the end of the game.
FFII followed the apparent 8-bit sequel trend by more or less ignoring the first game in the series. While the changes weren't as drastic as, say, The Legend of Zelda to Zelda II: Adventure of Link, it still had very little in common with the original Final Fantasy. Rather than using the same "level" system used in FFI (and every other FF until FFX), FFII takes a more "realistic" approach. Your character's stats increased only as you used the ability that goes with it (strength rises when you attack; defense rises when you're attacked; etc.). There are no experiences points or anything similar. Generally, this system has been disliked and has caused FFII to be considered by many the "black sheep" of the series.
Other changes from FFI and introductions that proved more popular and were carried on:
- The playable characters now had preset names and personalities. Also, the fourth party member frequently changed and was oftentimes completely absent. This feature is abandoned in the third game but resurrected and remains for all other core FF releases.
- A more dynamic plot with a larger cast of characters and a more visible enemies (also ignored for FFIII, but is found in all subsequent releases).
- Chocobos
- The recurring character of Cid.
In North American FFII has seen a couple of different releases, usually alongside FFI:
- As part of the Final Fantasy Origins collection for the PSX in 2003. The game was updated from the Famicom original with better graphics and slight interface tweaks to modernize gameplay.
- As part of Final Fantasy I&II Dawn of Souls for the GBA. This version has a few more graphical tweaks. Also removed the "cancel" glitch that allowed players to quickly and easily "level-up" their characters. Also added bonus dungeon.
- For the PSP with further updated graphics and another bonus dungeon.
- Also for the iPhone with added touch screen capability.
Also, one last thing. With the introduction of Cid comes a new feature for these posts: Cid Watch! A spotlight on the various characters named Cid that appear in every Final Fantasy game following FFII.
The first Cid has no last name. He can initially be found in the town of Poft and offers rides on his airship for a fee. He later helps the party and even sacrifices his life for the good of the rebellion. Cid's association with airships is often continued in the later games of the series.
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I plan on playing the Origins version of FFII. I plan on highly exploiting the "cancel" glitch which later releases remove. This will be the first time I have beaten the game (well, hopefully), but not the first time I've played it. I played the Origins before after beating FFI for the first time. I quit a ways into the game due to the levelling system. Maria was never attacked in the early parts of the game which meant her HP stayed really low which meant when she was attacked in the later bits she was usually killed in one hit. I wasn't aware I could have her attack herself and didn't have the patience to try to get enemies to attack her. We'll see how it goes this time.