Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster (PC) review "I'm kicking my ass, d'ya mind!?"

I admit it: I was wrong. All this time, I thought retooling Final Fantasy II's balancing and stat-building system would make it every bit as solid as its brethren. You get that much with its Pixel Remaster, as well as a revamped soundtrack, updated visuals, and handy tools to customize the experience. For instance, one setting allows you to adjust the cash you earn with each victory, doubling your prize or even halving it—or heck, turning off money gained from combat altogether. Hell, you can even turn off random encounters and simply ice skate your way through whole dungeons...

Here's the thing, though: FFII needed more than a facelift, and it's easy to blame the game's issues on its character building mechanics. Unlike other JRPGs, this one eschews traditional experience and levels, replacing them with a system seen in Square Enix's SaGa franchise. In other words, stats increase with usage this time. An ally who engages in melee combat repeatedly will likely see their strength and weapon skill increased, while folks who cast spells net permanent gains in intellect, spirit, and maximum magic points.

In a way, it makes the game's mechanics truer to life. When you lift weights, you become stronger. When you jog, your cardiovascular system benefits, and you see improvements in your stamina. With that info in mind, FFII's rule systems are easy to appreciate, even if they don't work well in every iteration. Sure, RPGs with standard level systems basically reference the same sort of phenomenon while managing to simplify it. Still, it's weird to think that other games allow you to do nothing but bop enemies on the head with a staff, and somehow you develop into a superior spell caster.



Obviously, it wouldn't do to have you beating up goblins until you max out your character sheets, so extra measures had to be taken to ensure you mainly see your statistics bolstered when battling fresher foes. The developers thus gave enemy groups invisible ranks that made weaker ones more difficult to utilize as strengthening fodder. That sounds fine, except there's a rather cheap workaround: kicking your own ass. Yes, you can beat the snot out of your own party and still see improvements. Hell, you can even outfit them with pathetic, early-game weaponry that allows you to slap your friends around for a longer period of time without needing to heal them, and you grow no slower than you would with top-tier tools.

In earlier versions of FFII, this was practically necessary because the game's difficulty rating spiked quite a bit, sometimes to the point that you couldn't easily take out the newest rabble without getting wrecked. That made boosting levels a real chore, especially when the previous rank rarely helped you strengthen. Pixel Remaster, however, rebalances the difficulty rating enough that you can easily play without having to worry too much about tanning your own hide. You can still do so if you'd like, but keep in mind that such measures for strengthening only make the campaign unbearably easy.

Not that it's difficulty, anyway...

You see, FFII is notorious for sporting some weak adversaries with low hit points, especially bosses. My guess is that its original developers didn't know precisely how strong the rogues gallery should be because the leveling system was experimental. I kid you not when I say I defeated the final boss in a single round. He didn't even get the opportunity to act. And no, I wasn't by any means maxed out or carrying the best equipment. Oh well, at least you can get this title out of the way quickly so you can move on to superior Pixel Remasters.



Sure, strong challenge factor doesn't necessarily make an experience more worthwhile. There have been plenty of super easy titles out there that prospered by offering memorable moments and ridiculous content. FFII, however, doesn't fall into that category. Sure, you've got a few sad segments where supporting characters perish, but they receive so little screen time that it's hard to care about them. No, I'm not entirely knocking this game's plot, as it was actually a pretty deep one for its time. RPGs were only just beginning to sport more elaborate stories with improved dialogue when this one hit shelves, and it helped pave the way for even greater tales. However, I'm also not going to pretend it's a spellbinding story. By modern genre standards, it's average at best.

I mean, look at the main antagonist: the emperor. Yeah, he's just called “the emperor.” Granted, his name is supposed to be Emperor Mateus, according to a novelization of the game, but his true name is never mentioned here. Unsurprisingly, he's also a very straightforward, power-hungry villain who becomes eventually becomes a dark overlord that croaks with minimal effort. He can at least say he's a better bad guy than Necron in Final Fantasy IX...

Few scenes actually stand out, and many others have been revamped in later Final Fantasy games with greater effect. For instance, one character comes across as a prototype of Kain from Final Fantasy IV because he's a dark warrior who betrays you, then feels bad about it. Yet, few scenes justify sympathizing with him. He more or less says, “Oh well, I was evil. Let's join forces.” It's telling that one of the only moments that actually highlight the adventure involves your meathead fighter friend telling the party he can speak to beavers, because there just happens to be beavers swimming around in a dungeon.



Okay, I'll give FFII one more bit of praise: it's got some great dungeons. They're quite elaborate, usually decked out with numerous pathways in any given room, not to mention treasures aplenty. And hell, chests even have fantastic things inside, including one-of-a-kind equipment and optional boss encounters. Sure, the last one would be a lot cooler if you couldn't one-shot the bosses so easily later on, but hey, the devs tried.

Ultimately, Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster feels like a formality. Someone remade it because they did the other five parts of the original 2D entries, so obviously this one had to get its own upgrade. More than anything, though, this version only lays its own flaws all the barer. In the future, it would benefit more from a complete rebuild, similar to the way Nihon Falcom did with Ys: The Oath in Felghana. FFII has some intriguing concepts and narrative points to explore, and it could easily do so if ever received its own “Felghana.” Until then, you're left with this sophomore slump, which hasn't improved much with subsequent rebirths.

Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (September 13, 2024) Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.