Final Fantasy II - Definition and Overview

This article is about Final Fantasy II, the Famicom title. For information on the SNES title, see Final Fantasy IV.

Final Fantasy II (FF2) is a Japanese console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Co., Ltd. in 1988. Originally released for the Nintendo Family Computer (known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES), there was some initial talk that either Nintendo of America or SquareSoft (Square's North American subsidiary) might localize the title for American audiences as had been done with its predecessor in 1990. Ultimately, however, the game was never released outside of Asia in its original form. Enhanced remakes of the game were later issued for the Bandai WonderSwan Color ("WSC"), the Sony PlayStation (as part of the Final Fantasy Origins collection) and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance ("GBA") (as part of the collection), and the latter two titles were finally released in English language form in both North America and Europe.

The game is notable for being one of the first story-intensive RPGs released for a console system, and for being the first game in the series to feature many elements that would later become staples of the franchise, including Chocobos and a character by the name of Cid. It was also unique for eliminating the traditional experience-based advancement system, instead favoring a system wherein the statistics of playable characters increased according either to how much they were required, or how much they used. In other words, a character who frequently cast magic spells would have their proficiency at casting increase faster than a character who specialized in physical attacks. Although abandoned by subsequent installments in the series, a similar system was adopted by the SaGa series, also produced by Square.

Because of the popularity of the series in America during the 1990s, Final Fantasy II was one of the first games to undergo fan translation, in this case by NeoDemiforce.

Release dates

• December 17, 1988 — Family Computer (Japan)
• February 27, 1994 — Family Computer (as part of Final Fantasy I & II) (Japan)
• May 3, 2001 — WonderSwan Color (Japan)
• October 31, 2002 — PlayStation (seperately and as part of Final Fantasy I+II Premium Package) (Japan)
• March 14, 2003 — PlayStation (as part of Final Fantasy Origins) (Europe)
• April 8, 2003 — PlayStation (as part of Final Fantasy Origins) (North America)
• July 29, 2004 — Game Boy Advance (as part of Final Fantasy I & II Advance) (Japan)
• November 29, 2004 — Game Boy Advance (as part of Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls) (North America)
• December 3, 2004 — Game Boy Advance (as part of Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls) (Europe)

Story

The story concerns the adventures of four youngsters from the village of Phin, Frioniel (renamed Firion in the English translation due to length restrictions), Maria, Guy and Lionheart (Leon), whose parents are killed during an invasion by the army of the emperor of Palamecia, who has summoned forth monsters in his quest to dominate the world.

Fleeing the emperor's monsters, the four are attacked and left for dead. Frioniel, Maria and Guy are rescued by Princess Hilda of Phin, who has established a rebel base in the nearby town of Altair. Eager to prove their value to the resistance movement, the three remaining youths undertake a variety of missions against Palamecia and join forces with a variety of allies not only to defeat the Emperor, but to locate Maria's brother Lionheart, as well.

Screenshots

Packaging artwork