Final Fantasy II is a pretty innovative and experimental RPG for its time.
The turn based combat remained the same, but the progression system is fresh and fascinating, allowing characters to excel in things they tend to practice most. So, sword wielders get better with swords and magic users learn to deal more damage with their spells. This allows you to shape any character into any role you envision for them.
As for the story, its tone is dark and hopeless, reflected in both dialogue and music, with slightly more narrative depth than the previous title. The game also features a unique dialogue system, which allows the player to retain certain specific keywords and then repeat them back to other people. The characters learn the secrets of the story alongside with the player.
Unfortunately, as impressive as it is for the NES era, this game's many ideas are only good on paper. As the initial flame of fascination fades, you quickly realize how boring and annoying this game is to play.
The progression system was designed to reduce mindless grinding and make the game seem more natural, but it just ends up being unintuitive, punishing and hilariously exploitable. For example, if your mage dares to use physical attacks, they will get dumber, which will negatively affect their magical output. Each magical spell also levels up individually, so if you want your resurrection spell to not miss during a difficult fight (and that can happen!), you need to use it around a few hundred times. Of course you will never die that often, so a lot of spells are levelled up by meaningless casts just for the sake of getting those points. Also, can you guess the most efficient way to get more health? Beating each other to death of course! While some weak goblin enemies probably stand around confused at the resulting spectacle.
The same disappointing feeling comes with the story. At its best moments, it's a Star Wars rehash. Becoming a part of the rebellion, saving a princess, destroying the evil empire's flying mechanical monstrosity...
At its worst, it is a boring slog through several dungeons to get a spell that is not even required at any point in the game. I believe said spell was a joke by the programmer, a great joke that wastes several hours of your playtime.
Oh yes, let's talk about dungeons. They're awful. The most notable thing about them is the abundance of empty rooms overfilled with enemies with nasty attacks. A total mood killer for anyone with a sense of exploration.
Finally, the music is great. You know, it's Final Fantasy.
And there you have it. Final Fantasy II remains an impressive achievement in certain areas, but it got so caught up in being quirky and innovative that it forgot to just be fun. Hardcore RPG fans may still find it interesting, but be aware that this game requires heavy guide usage to counter its unintuitive design.
