FFII General Discussion

[Donald Trump]

Well I haven't actually revisited the game since I beat it, apart from playing the GBA remake once. It's a good game, but fails to stand out in its own right. The levelling system leads to awkward situations where you are entering battles simply to attack yourself, and there are actually points where if you save after having wondered into a wrong place on the world map (which can be easy at times when there are only limited means to find your way around), you can't move more than a few squares without a random battle, which could be with monsters that are impossible for your characters to deal with at that point in the game. That has happened to me three times, and it is effectively game ending.

That part of the game is ridiculous. You get punished for making mistakes that are very easy to make. I played the PSP remake and in the area where you start off I got into a random battle that was far too strong for my characters and they all died
I think the constant killing off of characters who join the party didn't work very well. You knew they were going to die so you couldn't invest in them at all. And the leveling system was pretty fucked up when it was better to fight a really weak enemy and spend the whole fight attacking your own characters.

 

[cool-wings]

I did not understand this game at all I played the start did not know what to do at all. Then I just keep walking and a enemy appered and within one shot I was gone. But after that I tryed and tryed again and even tryed to train up the most I could and I found out where to go. But after about ten minuites I was lost again.

Its a ok game but it should tell you where to go and not let you wander off and get killed by annoying enemys.

And another thing that was weird was the level system. It did not make sence at all it was like if you improve your strength your defence decreases and then if you improve your defence you decreace your strength.

 

[Fusionist]

I'm a decent way into my first playthrough of FFII. I'm at the point where you get Leon in the party.

I admit, after playing FFIV and above, it was a little restrictive going backwards to play FF2, even though I'm playing the PSP remake. Particularly, there's no hand-holding. Yeah, I know some people love that sort of thing, but it sucks 5 minutes into a playthrough I'm getting killed by over-leveled monsters because I strayed to far from the water with no warning at all X_x

Thank goodness for the save anywhere feature! Seriously, I was to the point where I saved every time a character's stat went up xD

But what was especially annoying was the random party members coming and going. I've had some nice equipment leave along with those members

As well, the level up system is still hard to grasp for me. I don't understand what I need to do to increase HP/MP, and other important stats. I do so many battles, but the only constant is getting gil, that's it, lol.

Not to mention, a lot of things are never really explained in the game's story. Like why

Spoiler

Leon became the Emperor's Dark Knight. Power, yeah, but why?

and the lacking character narrative or development was a real downer. Seriously, Firion has way more characterization in friggin' Dissidia than he does in his own game. I'm half inclined just to write a novelization with my own interpretation, lol.

But despite that, it is fun. I guess while it's restrictive, it's really simple. It's easy to get into and just play.

There is one thing I'm a little curious about: Is Kain in FFII the same Kain in FFIV? Are FFII and FFIV the same universe?

 

[♥Hikari♥]

I've never played this game (just tried the PS version), but now that it's been released on PSN I was thinking of buying it. Do you think the PSP version is worth buying? Should I just play the PS version?
The PSP version looks much better, though.

 

[JWick]

There is one thing I'm a little curious about: Is Kain in FFII the same Kain in FFIV? Are FFII and FFIV the same universe?

As far as I understand, no. The FFIV Kain does mention that his father (who's name was Richard) died fighting an evil empire, which would sort of fit in if you assume Kain viewed Ricard as a father figure of sorts, but at the same time it wouldn't explain where all the kingdoms in FFIV sprang out of in such a short space of time. Also, it's mentioned in FFIV that Kain was born in Baron, whereas the Kain in FFII is from Deist, so unless the kingdom of Dragoons somehow became Baron (a nation that is supposed to have existed 800 years prior to FFIV), it just doesn't work. So short answer is that it's a reference, not an actual continuum.