Check your bargain bin for this Final Fantasy game! While different, it still is valuable as a Final Fantasy game!
Genre: RPG
Developer: Squareenix
System: Playstation Portable
Total Score: 85/100
Value Score: 8.5/10
• Story: 9/10
o 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 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: 5/10
o 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: 10/10
o 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: 9/10
o 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 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: 8/10
o 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: 8/10
o 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: 8/10
o 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.