Which is the best version of FF2?

[aweigh]

So far we have these:

- FF2 (NES version, but I'm not interested in this one)

- FF2 (WonderSwan version, has an english fan patch)

- FF1 and 2: Origins (the PSX versions)

- FF1 and 2: Dawn of Souls (the GBA versions)

- FF2 (PSP remake that uses a different art style)

I've never played FF2 and want to play one of the remakes. Not really interested in playing the straight NES version though.

 

[Jinn]

- FF1 and 2: Origins (the PSX versions)

As far as I'm concerned, this one. It looks and sounds the best out of all the other ones (though I've never tried the WonderSwan version). I like FF2 despite the hate it gets, particularly because it's like prototype SaGa.

 

[mogwaimon]

Probably PSX, is what most people would tell you, but the PSP one does have significantly more post-game content and the art isn't completely butchered like with Square's iOS/Android ports of FF5 and FF6. Depends on whether you want to stay as close to the original as possible without actually playing the original or if you want to fight a ton of superbosses pulled from other FF games.

 

[aweigh]

i mean, i also ask because there are noticeable differences in difficulty and mechanics, like for example the GBA versions scrapped the vancian casting system and replaced it with MP.

I was hoping to get more info about changes like this. In any case it looks like the ps1 version is the best mix of original difficulty and mechanics with remade graphics and sound. I think i'm probably gonnna go with dis one.

 

[Rahdulan]

I was surprised to find it all on the wiki.
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_II_version_differences

Famicom

• Original release was December 1988

WonderSwan Color
This version was released on May 3, 2001. Bandai's handheld system may not have had a fanbase outside of Japan, but Square's efforts on the platform, though largely in vain, were not without merit. It is from this base that the international version of Final Fantasy II began to take shape.

Changes in this version

• The game start menu has moved to a redesigned title screen. In the Famicom version, the options menu was displayed after the prologue.
• Characters are now named from a single screen, with default names set. In the Famicom version, party members were named in order on separate screens.
• Game engine aligned with 16-bit titles:
  • Real-time display of damage incurred or recovered, hit count, and status on the battlefield.
  • Status changes are also indicated by the color of a character's current HP value: status effects cause this to be yellow, while KO'd or HP Critical will turn it red. The Famicom version changed the Max HP value to a status effect text.
  • Menu design follows format of later series games: party to the left, menu to the right. The Famicom version had its menu on the bottom of the screen.
  • Instead of using an icon, KO'd party members' avatars are palette-swapped to a bluish-white shadow.
• Prologue, in-game, and end-game cutscenes added. The Prelude does not play as the prologue is told; instead, a new track has been added.
• Introductory chase scene added prior to the battle with the four Black Knights. The Famicom version went directly into this battle.
• Graphics upgraded to 16-bit quality.
• Sprite detail increased
• Keywords now display in color. This might have been more difficult with the Famicom's color palette, so the original version bracketed these instead.
• High-quality pre-rendered backgrounds in battle.
• Auto-targeting option added. Characters will now randomly target their next enemy in battle when their current target is defeated. Previously, attempts to strike a defeated enemy were "ineffective". Players can switch this behavior on or off.
• Spells used in battle now have unique and progressive animations.
• Dungeons now have pre-rendered textures and 2.5D effects.
• Music and sound effects have been slightly updated using the WonderSwan's sound chip.
  • The save/rest theme from the original Final Fantasy has been added. When the party rests at an inn, the theme will play.
  • Addition of two new boss battle themes. "Battle Theme 2" now only plays during the final confrontation with Emperor Mateus.

Final Fantasy Origins
This version was released on the PlayStation worldwide, staggered between October 2002 and May 2003. For players outside of Japan, Origins was likely their first run-in with Final Fantasy or Final Fantasy II. As such, the original game engines remained largely intact. Much of the work from the WonderSwan Color release was upscaled to TV-quality graphics and CD-quality sound. This release also takes advantage of the PlayStation family's full-motion video capabilities. However, the transition to CD resulted in increased transition times between field movement and battle gameplay, which became a common lament among reviewers of the time and owners of the game.

In collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment, Square Enix released a digital distribution version for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable units as part of the former company's "PSOne Classics" library. The digital release is identical to the original CD release, though being digital eliminates the perceived lag of a CD and allows the game to be played on Sony's portable platform as well.

CD release Edit
Changes in this version

• Upgrades to WSC resolution to match PlayStation resolution.
• The game's soundtrack is upgraded to a quality similar to that of the Final Fantasy IX soundtrack.
• An omake (extras) mode was added, including a Bestiary page, art gallery, and item collection.
• Addition of introductory FMV cutscenes.
• The prologue sequence from the WSC version alternates with the intro FMV should the game not be started, creating a mock "demo mode".
• Save screen adapted for 128K PlayStation Memory Card; players may save up to 15 game files.
• Choice of Easy or Normal difficulty levels.
• DUALSHOCK controller support added. Certain actions will trigger force feedback when executed.
• Memo save feature added. Players can quickly save their progress to the PlayStation's internal memory. However, the data will be lost if the console is turned off or a hard reset is initiated. To retain the data, the player should save to a PS Memory Card and make use of the SquareSoft Soft Reset (all shoulder triggers + Select + Start).
• First localized release
  • Dialogue, info, and save screen font is Helvetica/Arial clone; other areas use fixed-width.
  • Character name changes: Frioniel → Firion, Guy → Gus, Lionheart/Rhinehart → Leon, Minwu → Mindu, Ricard → Gareth, Paul → Pavel. "Pavel" is the Slavic form of "Paul", so the motivation behind this change is yet unknown.
  • Script changes: Guy speaks in a crude manner (e.g. "Where real princess?!"); Leila has a pirate accent.
• Additional scenes are added in that were not present in the NES release. For example:
  • A scene of the Dreadnought pursuing Cid's airship and trying to use a crane in the underside to capture it.
  • A scene showing Pandaemonium rising from the ground (originally, Pandaemonium simply replaced Castle Palamecia).
• Additional dialogue from various characters:
  • Notably, Emperor Mateus says "Delusions of grandeur do not become you, Leon. Though I find the thought of you as emperor quite deliciously absurd, it ends now. This world can have but one emperor, and I am he!" upon reappearing from Hell. Originally, the Emperor does not speak at all upon returning until stating his intentions of turning the world into a living hell in response to Leon's refusal to give him the Empire.

PlayStation Network release Edit
This version was released worldwide beginning in 2009. The only changes present in this release relate to its retrofitting as downloadable software.

Changes in this version

• An onscreen user guide was added.
• Support for software Memory Cards was added. The PS3 and PSP can read from and write to virtualized Memory Cards. On the PS3 system, an emulator handles the playback of original PlayStation discs and converts hardware Memory Card requests to software automatically.

Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
This version was released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. Technically a part of the Finest Fantasy for Advance series, Dawn of Souls returned Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II to the cartridge format. Square and Enix had merged only months earlier, making this game one of the newly-formed Square Enix's first releases. Under a new localization team, the script for both games was almost entirely rewritten; and for the first time in series history, an optional gaiden (side story) was added in Soul of Rebirth, telling of the postmortem journey of all who fell at the Palamecian Empire's hand. As the game's publisher, Nintendo contributed a unique font to localization that was easy to read within the confines of the Game Boy Advance's screen, also giving the series even more of a fantasy feel. The Final Fantasy II engine itself was modified significantly so as to make the game easier to play, especially for younger audiences. While the general aesthetics of previous releases remain, Dawn of Souls is a markedly different game than the previous two.

Changes in this version

• Graphics and sound were slightly downscaled for GBA.
• Most omake features were removed vs. PlayStation. The Bestiary remains.
• FMV sequences are removed.
• The prologue sequence will play upon starting a new game from the title screen. This feature is carried through to the PSP version as well.
• The chase scene in the WSC and PlayStation versions was removed for this release, restoring the Famicom intro battle.
• Difficulty levels removed. The game now operates as if in the Easy mode of the PlayStation release.
• New script
• Character avatars added. Whenever a key figure speaks, his/her portrait will appear left of the dialogue.
• A tutorial room is created in the same room where Firion is first revived, after viewing the opening sequence. The player can speak to the sages within for tips and hints. This also carries forward to the PSP version.
• Auto-targeting is now permanent.
• The inventory cap of 32 items has been removed, replaced by a global pool as in later games. Likewise, characters need no longer to be fitted with an item to consume it.
• Items of the same type now stack within the item pool.
• Number of saves fixed at three.
• Localized text uses Square Enix-Nintendo scalable global font.
• Stat values no longer decrease; they can only increase.
• Action-cancel bug removed
• Soul of Rebirth side story added.
• In previous versions, if the player were to inflict more than 9,999 damage per hit, instead of displaying the true damage value, the game would display the last four digits in the damage window. From Dawn of Souls version onward, the game displays 9999 even if more damage than that is actually inflicted.

Final Fantasy II: 20th Anniversary
This version was released on the PSP. Marking the 20th anniversary of the original Japanese Final Fantasy, Square Enix released the 20th Anniversary collection for Sony's emerging PlayStation Portable handheld. The PSP's optical Universal Media Disc (UMD) allowed greater liberty on the part of game developers. Games could now be cast in higher definition and had greater capacity for content. Square Enix took full advantage of the format, restoring the original PlayStation release's FMV sequences, upscaling and further refining the Dawn of Souls release for the PSP's wider screen, and adding an entirely new set of bonus dungeons known as the Arcane Labyrinths for players seeking a greater challenge.

Later in the handheld's lifecycle, Sony dropped UMD from its portable roadmap altogether, necessitating yet another digital conversion for the PSPgo and the then-forthcoming Vita. Gameplay mechanics for both versions remain identical to those in Dawn of Souls.

UMD release Edit
This version was released in 2007.

Changes in this version

• Many features from the PlayStation release have been reintroduced.
  • However, the PlayStation/WSC chase scene does not return. Instead, a scene depicting the Wild Rose Rebellion's recovery of the wounded party after the battle with the Black Knights is shown.
• A language selection screen was added. Players may choose to view text in English or one of two Japanese scripts.
• Dawn of Souls features retained.
• Additional script tweaks.
• Graphics updated for HD/16:9 widescreen format.
  • Field sprites are now fully rendered, based on original Amano artwork.
• Save screen now allows for unlimited* saves.
• Custom Times-based font is used in-game, except in instances where the PSP system gives the user feedback.
• Arcane Labyrinths added.

PlayStation Network release Edit
The PSP version was released as a downloadable for model N1000 (PSPgo) and PlayStation Vita handhelds for Japan, Europe & Australia. This version is identical to the UMD release.

 

[Werdna's Revenge]

I've played both the NES and PSX versions. Of the two i'd go with the PSX one. Still probably one of the weakest FF games overall though, I don't think any version fixes the dull awful dungeons. The leveling system is fun to tool around with, but it's pretty broken and gets downright annoying by the endgame. Still it would have been interesting to see where they could have gone with it if refined in future installments. I guess SaGa uses the same system, but fixed. I never played SaGa though.

 

[aweigh]

That wiki entry still isn't useful enough for people who actually want to know about meaningful differences.

For example it doesn't even mention the changes made to the magic system, with the GBA and PSP versions using Magic Points instead of vancian castings. It also glosses over some really important stuff, like how it says the GBA and PSP versions are the "Easy Mode" version of the PSX release; great, so what does that mean?

Anyway, seems that at least for FF2 the best version is the PS1 version. Updated graphics and sound while retaining actual difficulty and original mechanics. For graphics-whoring but too-easy and boring gameplay seems like the HD version for PSP is the one to go for.

I did learn one thing from that wiki entry though, for which I'm thankful:

In collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment, Square Enix released a digital distribution version for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable units as part of the former company's "PSOne Classics" library. The digital release is identical to the original CD release, though being digital eliminates the perceived lag of a CD and allows the game to be played on Sony's portable platform as well.

This means the ideal version of FF2 would be the PSN release on a PS3/PSPGo. Gonna have to look for the PSN release on emulator sites now, instead of going for the PS1 ISO.

Alternatively: does anyone know if stuff like RetroArch allows for speeding up disc-access during emulation? This would make the PS1 ISO's viable then.

 

[newtmonkey]

I played and finished this on the normal difficulty on PSX (actual hardware), and it was great. There's basically no loading at all, it isn't like Chrono Trigger or FF4-6 on the PSX.

The PSX version on normal mode is great. Just don't follow any guides online, which all recommend "breaking" the battle system by sitting there attacking your own people to gain HPs. That will get you in trouble at the end (where most attacks/magic do a % of HP damage or just outright kill you, making high HP basically worthless).

The same rules for playing FF1 legit without grinding apply:
- Whenever you have a choice between armor that improves your ability to dodge or armor that improves your ability to soak/reduce damage, always choose better dodge (i.e. lighter armor)
- Whenever you have a choice between a weapon that has more attacks or a weapon that does more damage, always choose more attacks (i.e. ACC or Accuracy)

Due to how the character development system has changed, there's some wrinkles:
- Decide on clear roles for each character, you do NOT want jacks of all trades in this game; however, as long as you have one dedicated melee character and one dedicated buffer, anything else is probably fine
- Because you level spells up as you use them, you NEED to have your mages casting spells as often as they can; having said that, the most important spells BY FAR are the buffs

 

[Duraframe300]

Considering how easily FFII can be broken I hesitate to say any version is difficult.

 

[glass blackbird]

I've played both the NES and PSX versions. Of the two i'd go with the PSX one. Still probably one of the weakest FF games overall though, I don't think any version fixes the dull awful dungeons. The leveling system is fun to tool around with, but it's pretty broken and gets downright annoying by the endgame. Still it would have been interesting to see where they could have gone with it if refined in future installments. I guess SaGa uses the same system, but fixed. I never played SaGa though.

SaGa is a strange series, but worth checking out. They do some interesting things

 

[aweigh]

SaGa is a strange series, but worth checking out. They do some interesting things

I liked SaGa frontier a lot on PS1. Was the sequel any good? I remember they turned it into a weird table-top thing that didn't appeal to me as a young teen lad, but maybe it's something I can appreciate now.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

SaGa Frontier 2 is peak jrpg, genre is entirely downhill from there

 

[glass blackbird]

SaGa is a strange series, but worth checking out. They do some interesting things

I liked SaGa frontier a lot on PS1. Was the sequel any good? I remember they turned it into a weird table-top thing that didn't appeal to me as a young teen lad, but maybe it's something I can appreciate now.

SaGa Frontier 2 is quite good, though it's got a lot more dialog and plot in it than Frontier did. It's also genuinely one of the best looking 2d PS1 games; they went with a hand-painted aesthetic and it's very nice.

I think the tabletop thing you're thinking of is Unlimited Saga on the PS2 which is very strange--some people love it, some people hate it. It's more playable on an emulator where you can fast forward through the movement speed, which is weirdly slow. There's also a more traditional SaGa on the PS2 in the form of the Romancing SaGa remake, Minstrel Song.

Sadly Frontier 1 was the last to have he weird scifi stuff in it; you'd have to play the gameboy ones again (or the DS remakes, which were fan translated) to get Robot and Monster party members

 

[aweigh]

Oh yeah, I meant Unlimited SaGa. Wait, there was a SaGa Frontier 2 that wasn't the table-top thing? I need to check that out too then, I guess.

 

[Hyperion]

like for example the GBA versions scrapped the vancian casting system and replaced it with MP.

MP was never Vancian in Final Fantasy 2. Final Fantasy Origins keeps Vancian spellcasting intact, however, for FF1. Choosing Easy Mode does overload you with spells, surpassing 50 spellcasts of lower level spells by endgame.

 

[ghostdog]

PSX version. I never played the GBA version. PSP has that generic mobile feel I don't like.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Final Fantasy Legend 2.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

MP was never Vancian in Final Fantasy 2. Only the original. Final Fantasy Origins keeps Vancian spellcasting intact, however, for FF1. Choosing Easy Mode does overload you with spells, surpassing 50 spellcasts of lower level spells by endgame.

Final Fantasy stole its magic system directly from Dungeons & Dragons, so that it had clerical magic (white magic) and wizardly magic (black magic), spell levels, spell memorization, a certain number of spells memorized per level that increased with character level, a third-level "FIR2" spell and a third-level "LIT2" spell that affected multiple enemies, etc. However, the magic system was made noticeably less Vancian by allowing a caster to freely interchange spells within a particular level; i.e. an 8th-level black mage can cast 3 third-level spells and can choose which to cast at any time until 3 of that level have been cast. There was also a limitation that only three spells of any level could be learned, though this was probably an interface limitation rather than a design choice.

 

[Steamboat Willie]

The SNES version that's actually FFIV. It's better than all the versions listed in the OP.

 

[Hyperion]

MP was never Vancian in Final Fantasy 2. Only the original. Final Fantasy Origins keeps Vancian spellcasting intact, however, for FF1. Choosing Easy Mode does overload you with spells, surpassing 50 spellcasts of lower level spells by endgame.

Final Fantasy stole its magic system directly from Dungeons & Dragons, so that it had clerical magic (white magic) and wizardly magic (black magic), spell levels, spell memorization, a certain number of spells memorized per level that increased with character level, a third-level "FIR2" spell and a third-level "LIT2" spell that affected multiple enemies, etc. However, the magic system was made noticeably less Vancian by allowing a caster to freely interchange spells within a particular level; i.e. an 8th-level black mage can cast 3 third-level spells and can choose which to cast at any time until 3 of that level have been cast. There was also a limitation that only three spells of any level could be learned, though this was probably an interface limitation rather than a design choice.

None of this was present in FF2 though, outside of spell memorization through store purchases. MP was increased through use, not unlike the SaGa series. Lit2 was gained from using the basic Bolt spell over and over till it gained the level. Same goes for Cure, Esuna, and so on.

Also....

Guy speak Beaver.

 

[glass blackbird]

Oh yeah, I meant Unlimited SaGa. Wait, there was a SaGa Frontier 2 that wasn't the table-top thing? I need to check that out too then, I guess.

Yeah, and it's really cool. It's weird though--instead of picking a protagonist, then doing scenarios/sidequests freely and that being the story, you unlock events in the overall story over time and can do them out of order depending on which scenarios you pick. It's possible to see the events of the story out of order or skip stuff entirely, and sometimes choices you make affect future events to some degree, or will unlock optional events.

In some ways it's the most traditional the series has been since the gameboy games, but it's still experimental and interesting.

 

[aweigh]

So I was looking up reviews of FF2 (and by extension FF1 because they come bundled) and I've discovered something new: one of my new favorite picadillos is firing up a random weeb's review of Final Fantasy 1 on YouTube and listening to them explain the far-out and "wildly different" magic system. I love it when they use some variation of "this is the kind of primitive magic system Square used when they were still testing out RPG mechanics", or basically whenever they continue talking about FF1's magic system and other mechanics without knowing that it's from D&D.

God I fucking hate true weebs, the kind that only play JRPGs and think the "weird" magic system in FF1 was invented by Square. I really, really hate them... but at the same time, I think I love them too? Hmm.

EDIT: Another fun thing is to look up weeb YouTubers who do "The History Of RPGs" and they're just weebs who don't know anything and it's a 2 hour video comprised entirely of JRPGs, lol.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I mean, you can't really blame someone for not knowing where Vancian(ish) magic came from at this point. Shit is pretty old. Most of FF1's mechanics didn't come from DnD anyways, and DnD itself has changed a lot since then. Does piss me off when people reviewing games don't know fuck all about even staples of the genre though. I recall TB praising Path of Exile for it's clever minimap overlay thing and wanted to smack him upside the head for not realizing it was ripped straight from Diablo.

 

[aweigh]

you can't really blame someone

Sure I can

 

[Grampy_Bone]

I couldn't get through the NES version

FF1 and 2: Origins (the PSX versions)

That's what I played but it was still a crap game.

I liked SaGa frontier a lot on PS1. Was the sequel any good?

NO. Do not want.

Saga frontier 2 has this 'scenario system' where it skips you between story eras without any free roam or allowing you to choose your party. Loses all the freedom and customization of SaGa games. It does have a decent story.

Also has these cancerous tactics style battles which are pretty much RNG.