Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls is a old school remade with GBA goodness, fans of Nintendo and the FF series will love this!
Genre: RPG
Developer: Squareenix
System: GameBoy Advance
Total Score: 82.5/100
Value Score: 8.3/10
• Story: 8/10
o Final Fantasy 1's storyline is pretty barebones compared to the other games in the series however if followed closely through the text of the NPCs and the paths that the heroes take, one can see a pretty well defined storyline although only through actually playing the game the first few hours without knowing what the hell is the point of the storyline. Down to Earth terms, the 4 warriors of light have come to the kingdom of Cornelia bearing 4 crystals which resonate with light. They are told that they can advance further only by rescuing the princess Sarah of Cornelia who was kidnapped by a Rogue Knight named Garland. Upon Garland's defeat and Sarah's rescue, the warriors begin their true journey to power up their crystals in order to fight the true force behind the chaos in the world.
Final Fantasy 2's storyline takes place in a world consumed by War and Hatred. The Palamecian Empire has decided to start a worldwide invasion on every town and kingdom in the world. 4 Youths were caught in the crossfire and were running for their lives only to be severely wounded by the Imperials. 3 of them survived and were found by a rebel group who was against the Empire. The three Youths: Firion, Maria and Guy have vowed to fight with the rebels to fight against the Empire who have taken everything from them. On the other side a dark menacing figure plans to take over the world with the intention of causing mass blood spills in the process all for the sake of ending humanity.
• Characters: 8/10
o Although one might not seem to see it at first, FF1's character roster is pretty decent for a RPG made during the NES era. For one you can create up to 4 custom characters with your own names as the names do not make an impact nor any of the individual playable characters unless you count in battle. You have some of the main characters that influence the storyline or show cased in art such as Sara, Garland and Chaos. The 4 elemental fiends of Chaos are also present in the storyline and although they do not make a appearance other than two times (per fiend) you meet, their lines right before you fight just shows you the intensity of the power of their role. Along with that a lot of other minor characters and a huge bestiary of different types of monsters.
When you begin the game, you start off with 3 main characters : Firion, Maria and Guy (Leon in the first battle but not for long). The three characters are the main characters that the player will mostly play throughout the game. As an additional fourth slot, many characters join the three, some of them dying and others fulfilling their roles and duties. Final Fantasy 2's character list has more variety than the first Final Fantasy, the characters each have their own background story and role in the game's plot. Throughout the game you will meet several other characters who which have somewhat importance to a huge role in expanding the storyline. Although the enemy side of the character list has improved with a few new characters (mostly the Emperor and Borghen), majority of the enemy characters specifically the bosses are actually regular common enemies which you will encounter usually soon after you defeat the boss versions. The enemy designs are also a bit bland as it seems like Squareenix didnt even bother changing the sprites to some of the enemies but rather did a palette swap which of course lowers the overall value of the game. Most other Final Fantasy games do the same however Final Fantasy 2 does it to even some of the most major enemies such as Ultima Weapon which would leave a frown to any nostalgic fan of the series.
• GamePlay: 6.5/10
o Final Fantasy 1 Anniversary's battle system is a vast improvement over the previous versions (which include the original, Dawn of Souls and Origins). The gameplay is far more smoother especially in battle and you have the option to increase the time flow in battle to make grinding far easier. Other than that the gameplay is similar, you have 4 characters who take turns targeting a enemy in battle. You have the choice of 6 different classes which can also be upgraded later to more powerful classes. You have magic which you can purchase from the shops, 3 spells per magic level (with a total of 8 magic levels). You can also purchase weapons and armor from shops to increase your atk and def of your characters. As you level up (from experience like a normal RPG) your hp, stats and the chance of hits per attack increases. The gameplay outside of battle is pretty linear but that really should not be a issue for a game that is a remake of a game that came out close to 20 years ago.
Final Fantasy 2's worst aspect is its gameplay which takes a major blow to the series name. For one thing, it has a been a known fact that the games back during the NES era had a whole huge difference when it comes to sequels of games, several game series took a different approach when it came to sequels back then, Final Fantasy 2 is no exception to that. For one thing, they took out the leveling system that was made famous for the genre and which still applies to pretty much a lot of RPGs these days. Only way in increasing your stats is now by either getting damaged or attacking (hoping for a random stat boost in a certain area), however there are methods to increase these stats by self infliction. For an example you can attack yourself or a ally and possibly increase their HP and Stamina while increasing your own attack or weapon proficiency likewise with Magic which can be used to increase your Overall magic power, intelligence, Spirit, Magic Defense or simply MP. Weapon system is different as well as now each weapon type has a specific rank with each character, pretty much giving you the ability to make a person master at a certain weapon, as much as this is great, it brings in a lot of risk and nerfing for characters especially when you find really decent gear which the character(s) may not be a master of. Magic is quite simply nerfed completely, the max level of magic is now lv 99 and only in higher levels are they even relevant. As much as the characters may brag about how powerful Ultima is, it is no more powerful than a lv 5 spell of Fire, Blizzard or Thunder if it is at level 1. About Ninety percent of the game you will mostly focus on buff spells and/or physical attacks rather than offensive magic. Other than that, there are some good things about the battle system, for one thing, the max HP has now increased to 9999 from the 999 limit from Final Fantasy 1 and the battle system is now a bit smoother from the original game released on the NES and the ability to speed up the battle system by activating Auto-Battle. That is pretty much it when it comes to the gameplay system, everything else about FF2 is the same as any other RPG.
• Graphics: 9/10
o Final Fantasy 1 Anniversary is the best looking version of the entire FF1 remakes/versions. The game is a high res 2D and the artwork is simply breathtaking. This is probably as great as it will get considering the 2D high res sprites are pretty much close to HD like. The re-designs of the cutscenes and the environments of the game is simply breath taking.
Final Fantasy 2 Dawn of Souls graphical interface and appearance has greatly changed from the NES original and the PSX/GBA versions. The game includes a all new interface and complete re-design of every aspect in both character sprites and environmental areas.
• Sound: 7.5/10
o Final Fantasy 1 Anniversary's sound effects have improved but not really much to note much of a difference from the Dawn of Souls version.
Final Fantasy 2 uses the same sound effects and style as the FF1 Dawn of Souls and the FF Origins version had. There are no voiceovers however the sound effects from all attacks and animations are nicely done.
• Music: 10/10
o Final Fantasy 1 Anniversary uses the same soundtrack version from Final Fantasy 1 Dawn of Souls which is a step above Origins' version of the soundtrack. Thanks to the PSP/iOS' sound cards, the game simply sounds amazing.
The most powerful aspect in the entire Final Fantasy series has always been its music. Final Fantasy 2's music will captivate you with its brilliant OST. The battle themes are heavily covered in suspense and there are certain beautiful tunes here and there such as the town theme and the overworld map theme.
• Length: 7.5/10
o Final Fantasy 1 really isn't a long game, the overall main storyline should take you only about 10-15 hours depending on how much you grind or explore. The game also includes the Soul of Rebirth and a extra new dungeon not seen in the Dawn of Souls which can easily add another 5 hours. For a game that came out in 20 years and with improvement and extra content added, this is a pretty good thing.
Final Fantasy 2's length is a bit longer than Final Fantasy 1 however much shorter than its successors. The game should take you no more than 15 hours to complete, 20 at the most if you include Soul of Rebirth. However majority of the game's time clock will be off of you grinding most of the time.
• Replay Value: 7.5/10
o Final Fantasy 1 does not include a new game+ but it does have a similar feature where you can transfer your monster bestiary. However it does include the Dawn of Souls Soul of Chaos dungeons which can easily add a few hours to your overall gameplay, along with that the game includes a exclusive dungeon only found in the PSP version and other versions after it.
Final Fantasy 2 offers two types of replay value, one in replaying the game and the ability to customize your characters the way you want to be, most people would see this as a cheap replay value but it is still somewhat valuable in a aspect. The main replay value feature that Dawn of Souls has is the Soul of Rebirth Storyline which is a completely separate storyline from the main storyline. It features the four characters who had perished in the main storyline and you play as the characters as you travel and progress through the storyline, this feature by itself includes additional new storyline scenes, bosses and two extra dungeons. All in all, this adds about 5 hours of gameplay time at least depending on how much grinding is taken place by the player.
• Player Value: 8.5/10
o If you haven't played Final Fantasy 1, this is your best chance as this is the best version out there. With a improved appealing appearance and design, incredible music, fantastic gameplay battle system and a whole new bunch of extras never seen before, this is the game you must get. Whether you are a old FF fan who played Dawn of Souls/Origins/Original or haven't played FF1 or a new fan, this game is worth every single coin.
Final Fantasy 2 Dawn of Souls is truly worth the experience. If you are a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series, this game should be played by all fans, if you are a RPG fan in general but not a huge Final Fantasy fan, take this game with caution as it is actually best suited for those who have a lot of time and patience to grind.
(Both FF1 and FF2 scores were added together and divided and finally rounded to have a non-decimal score ;p)
Individual Scores
Final Fantasy 1 Dawn of Souls
Total Score: 82/100
Value Score: 8.2/100
Story: 7
Characters: 8
GamePlay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Music: 10
Length: 7
Replay Value: 7
Player Value: 10
Game: Final Fantasy 2 Dawn of Souls
Total Score: 83/100
Value Score: 8.3/10
Story: 9
Characters: 8
GamePlay: 5
Graphics: 10
Sound: 8
Music: 10
Length: 8
Replay Value: 8
Player Value: 7