Have you ever wondered why some games are immediately translated from Japanese and brought over to the State for us to enjoy while others forever languish in the far East? I used to wonder this too… until I played Final Fantasy II. Here’s a tip: if a game in a hugely popular series doesn’t get brought to American shores until more than a decade after release, there is probably a very good reason.

Final Fantasy II is a pretty abysmal game. From a historical standpoint, it’s interesting seeing the first mention of Cid in the FF universe. I liked riding the very first Chocobo as well. But from a design standpoint? It’s shocking this series has been able to thrive for so many years.

The story is traditional fare, apparently composed without any outside influence. A toddler’s TV show has more depth. And the battle system would have felt archaic even 20 years ago. This is a game where an actual, viable strategy is to attack your own party to level up faster. That’s just atrocious game design.

It still has the requisite sacrifice and unrequited love you would expect in a FF game, but with a dragging combat system and bland aesthetics, it’s only advisable for extremely bored fans of this popular series. Here’s a tip: the franchise doesn’t really take off until FFIV… more than 15 years after this game first came out.

Popularity: 2% [?]