Game #45: Final Fantasy II (SNES) - Slipping Into Familiar Shoes

Game 45

Title: Final Fantasy II (IV JPN)
Released: November 1991 (July 1991 JPN)
Platform: SNES
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square Soft
Genre: RPG
Exploration - Top-down
Combat - Active Time Battle
Series - Final Fantasy

This intro is so good, but I never got that they were flying away from Mysidia

First of all, I'm amazed by the release schedule for this game: only a five month gap between regions. Granted the translation isn't great, but the amount of text to translate is a great task. Someone also decided it'd be less confusing to renumber the game since the actual II and III never made it to the US. For quick reference, simply multiply by 2 to get the actual number for the SNES Final Fantasy games.

The intro sequence sets the stage for Cecil, commander of the Red Wings, and his internal strife over the recent command to steal crystals away from helpless individuals. The kingdom of Baron created airships, and now the king was using them to eliminate any threats to his total control.

I'm sure he has his reasons; he's a complicated guy

Cecil didn't blink while carrying out the act, but he had plenty of time to think about it on the ride back to Baron. The crew shared in his doubts, but discussion was cut short when monsters suddenly attacked the flying ships. Still the intro, I watched as Cecil took out two groups of monsters using magic items that were removed from the game in this version. There are actually a number changes in the conversion, including the removal of a lot of items. As an example, status effects used to have an item associated to cure it (antidote for poison, soft for stone, etc.), but those all got replaced by the remedy item, which was renamed to Heal. Many of these changes made the game easier, but they weren't all that way. Cecil lost his Darkness ability, which deals damage to all enemies.

One time use combat background

Back in Baron, Cecil faithfully delivered the crystal, but he couldn't keep silent over his reservations towards stealing from helpless people. The king stripped him of his command, but decided there was a way to make up for his insolence. All Cecil had to do was deliver a package to the village of Mist, home to a people known as Callers. They had the power to summon monsters to battle. Kain, longtime friend of Cecil, came to his defense, but he only managed to get assigned to the same task. In the middle of a short dialog where Cecil apologized for getting Kain mixed up in his troubles, the game suddenly broke the fourth wall and started talking about controls (e.g. use the Control Pad and A-Button). It appeared as though Kain was saying those things.

*Plop*

Even the residents of the castle spoke in hushed tones about how the king had changed. It was the king who ordered Cecil to master the dark sword, but strangely Cecil thought it was for a good cause. On my way to Cecil's room, Rosa welcomed him back, but had no time to talk. Cid, master engineer, creator of the red wing airships, stopped me to ask how the ships were handling. When he heard what happened, he assured me he never intended them to be used as weapons. Still loyal to Baron, Cecil rested for the night hoping this task would reassure his king of that. In the middle of the night Rosa came calling. After hearing Cecil's tale, she berated him for being mopey. In the morning, Cecil met up with Kain, and headed to the city of Baron to gather more information.

Upon leaving the castle, the final scene of the introduction plays out

The story telling is beyond anything we've seen so far. Even with the reduced script lost in translation, there really isn't anything else to compare it to. Obviously this was possible by the increased space available, but even compared to other 16-bit titles I feel the story has more depth than any of the Phantasy Stars. Many of the guards commented on the state of the king, the Red Wing crew voiced uneasiness with the events that took place, and nearly everyone in town feared the Dark Knight of Baron (except for one kid that thought he was kind of cool). The music is outstanding, the locations large enough not to get lost, but not too small either. The pacing is well spaced, and one of the defining features is the number of unique boss-like fights that occur in nearly every dungeon.

These training rooms were added in the US version, and may also be the first in-game tutorial in an RPG

Most training rooms have a character called Namingway that allows the player to rename anyone in the current party. I chose not to rename them right away, but as the game went on I felt I should probably make use of him. While this is the only appearance of this character in the series, another makes its first appearance and becomes an iconic figure: the chocobo. Although first presented in Final Fantasy Adventure, this is the first in the main series (that made it to the US). Yellow chocobos can cross rivers with ease, and they easily dodge enemy encounters. White chocobos refill magic points, and black ones can even fly if you can catch them. Catching them involves chasing them down and talking to them, a reverse on the annoying NPC always in the way. Speaking of NPCs, when trying to move through them they'll move faster and usually out of the way unless they're cornered.

A big chocobo is hidden until it smells a carrot; it'll store items, but hardly necessary

Well, let's get into the thick of it. I remember this being a challenging game, so it may take a while to get through... no wait, I breezed by the Mist Cave where I fought a Mist Dragon controlled by a caller. In the village of Mist the package I was carrying sprang open. Fire creatures poured out, burning the village in their wake. Rydia, a small child, was the only caller to survive; however, when she learned that I was the one that killed the dragon, and her mother in the process (some kind of psychic link that never comes into play for Rydia), she summoned a titan that sealed off the valley. Cecil woke to find Kain missing, and Rydia unconscious. A vast desert lay before Cecil, and an oasis in the middle supplied the town of Kaipo with water. In the middle of the night, while resting at the inn, guards from Baron showed up to finish the job I started. I'm not sure how they got through the sealed pass (let alone how they knew one caller survived), but taking them out proved to Rydia that the man whole killed her mother wasn't all bad. Mistakes were made.

How did Rosa get here from Baron?

Rumor around town was that a young woman had wondered in with a terrible fever. Turned out it was Rosa, and the only cure lay in an Antlion cave accessible only by Damcyan royalty. The passage through the only cave north was blocked by an old man that forced himself on my party. Tellah, the sage, told us how a wicked bard tricked his daughter, Anna, into running away with him to Damcyan. We might as well travel together. At the end of the watery passage was a giant octopus called Octomamm (no relation to Octodad). Another troublesome part from my memory was a cake walk. Just beyond the cave entrance was Damcyan, and steps away from walking in I was treated to a scene of the red wings bombarding the castle, completely destroying it. Inside, Anna was dead, and Tellah raged hard at the bard that stole her away.

and thus a meme is born

Well, Anna was mostly dead. Her last breath(s) stopped the fight between Tellah and Edward, the prince of Damcyan who only pretended to be a bard. She described the attack: someone named Golbez commanded the red wings, and stole the fire crystal. Tellah headed off to find Golbez, leaving the party. While Cecil was eager to figure out who was Golbez, Roas still lay ill. Edward bemoaned the loss of Anna. Rydia had to knock some sense into him, telling him he wasn't the only one to have lost a loved one, but he had a chance to save someone else by retrieving the Sand Ruby. He agreed, and provided a hovercraft that allowed the party to cross over shallow areas of the water.

Once again, Antlion easier than I remember

The Antlion Cave was easy, and the Antlion itself much easier than I remember. Mainly, I recall his counter move dealing more damage. He strikes back any normal attacks, but it wasn't a problem. Edward remarked before the fight that Antlion was tame, but times were changing. Monsters were becoming commonplace, and tame animals were turning wild. Sand Ruby retrieved, the party rushed back to Rosa. Once revived she joined the party, and explained the events that took place after Cecil had left. The king of Baron gave control of the Red Wings to Golbez, a mysterious man who seemed to control the king rather than the other way around. His intent was to collect all the crystals, obviously for some nefarious purpose.

Strangely, the only time a character joins without a job title

That night, while the party rested, Edward ventured out near the oasis to reflect on his lost love. From out of the watery depths a water hag appeared. A vision of Anna appeared, spurred him on, and he easily trounced the hag. Before disappearing, the ghostly vision told Edward to believe in himself, fight, and to prevent Golbez from obtaining the crystals. The next castle with a crystal was Fabul, across Mt. Hobs; however, the path was blocked by ice. To pass through, Rydia needed to overcome her fear of fire. As a caller, she has a natural talent for black magic as well as summons. Although, even though she'd called a titan to cause an earthquake, she can only manage a lowly chocobo at the moment (and an imp summon, which I found after a fight with imps). After some coaxing, and reassurances (mostly pleading), Rydia overcame her fear, and melted the ice.

Attack animations have a variety that make each character unique

At the top of the mountain we met a karate master from Fabul. Yang was ambushed by monsters, and while he took most out without problem the party jumped in to assist with the MomBomb. It exploded into six smaller bombs, but we wrapped up the fight cleanly after that. Yang explained that he was out on a training exercise when these monsters appeared. He was the only survivor. We explained the danger to the crystal of air at the castle, and the party surmised that the monsters here weren't meant as a distraction to weaken the castle. Cecil explained all their motivations for stopping Baron, and Golbez, from obtaining all the crystals even though he was a dark knight. Yang agreed to their assistance, and the party was now full at five members.

I ended the first night outside Fabul

In this short time the game has provided much more enjoyment than many titles I've already played through. Even so, the ease with which I've progressed makes the experience feel a bit shallow. I played through this game many times in my youth, grinded for hours to gain early levels, and find rare item drops without really knowing which enemy they might come from. The grinding I did while young felt necessary, but coming back to it years later I wonder why I felt that way at all. Obviously difficulty is subjective. With as much experience as I have now, I know what works and what doesn't. It's nice to experience something I loved so much, but it's not the same experience it once was. I think that's why when I look at the list I'm more eager to get to the games I've never played before.

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