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I think you need to give more credit to the final boss. The dude took over the world, and then after dying took over heaven and hell. That's pretty awesome.
But what about Exdeath? He absorbed nutrients from the ground and did some photosynthesis thing for a lot of years. Just try and tell me that's not what a true villain should do.
I bought FF: Dawn of Souls, for my gba, when I was in the 4th grade. Game changed my little life at the time. It would set me on the path of being an RPG lover from then on. FF1 is great. But FF2 is my favorite from the package.
As somebody who was introduced to RPGs by Final Fantasy 6, I agree. And while Final Fantasy 2 might be hated by many, it's a powerful thing when a game is you introduction to something that would grow into such a passion. RPGs have been my favorite video game genre ever since I first played Final Fantasy 6, and partly for that reason, FF6 continues to be my favorite game in the franchise. So I can understand how one's personal experiences can be biased in that regard.
@@gurvmlk Yeah, I pretty much agree, but man I dislike it so much when someone is trying to be forceful about their favorite entry/game in a series. I swear I'm just chatting about something cool I found in one of the FF entries and then the immediate reply is which one is better than the one I'm talking about. It's so insane, I find it much more common in Final Fantasy communities, I've also met some cool people through FF chats though. Such a mixed bag.
@@Redroomjjgfd The problem is that some Final Fantasy games are so universally beloved, while others are universally hated, that people automatically assume that everybody agrees with those opinions, and can't accept when somebody doesn't. Meanwhile, I will die on the hill of Final Fantasy 13 being among my top three main series entries.
I feel the same way except with FF9 rather then FF6!! But FF6 is definitely up there no doubt within my top 5!! FF2 may not be the greatest but I still enjoyed it!! I've play the PS1 FF Origins as well as Dawn Of Souls and Pixel Remaster of FF2!! The only ones I haven't played yet were the OG because I don't have a famicom system and can't even find the "Rare US release" nor the PSP version which I'd like to play one of these days but the used game shops out here never seems to have them in!! This makes me believe maybe FF2 isn't so bad after all!! I mean how do I easily find FF1 and FF4 as well as FF12 and FF7 Crisis Core on PSP but not FF2 or FF3!? I did find FF3 however through Playstation shop on my PS Vita!! Other then that I can't find the physical copies!!!
@@thevangsta9892 I feel like Final Fantasy 2's biggest crime was its execution. At its core, it had a lot of really great ideas. The problem was that none of them were executed very well. I finally beat it though a few months ago (playing the original Famicom version), having always been a game I really wanted to like for all its ideas, but just never could. And while I didn't hate my experience with it, it was also so tedious that I can't really imagine myself wanting to do it again. Of all the games in the entire Final Fantasy series, I sincerely believe that Final Fantasy 2 could benefit the most from a full-on remake from the ground up. Because the potential is definitely there. It just needs to implement that potential in ways that make their utilization more fun, and less tedious. While also making adjustments so that certain spells and weapon types are more viable.
I always loved the high degree of customization in this game. You could have a magic user that’s also proficient with a staff, a barefisted brawler, an axe-wielding savage, a world-class mage with no fighting ability- so many possibilities, so little time.
@SkumPyre I'm giving the game another shot after several years because I've always wanted to like the game, but just never could. And while I still think the game is garbage in a number of ways (especially because of how inaccessible managing a decent number of spells on a single character becomes), I did recently discover the potential of dual-wielding. I've had Maria dual-wielding knives most of the game, although the usefulness has perplexed me since having two weapons equipped lowers the character's attack power (playing the NES version with bug fixes for reference; no idea if that changed in future releases), but I've kept with it for flavor. Then I recruited Gordon, and had him dual-wield swords and spears, and gave him the Ancient Sword for his blade to inflict curse status. Which I kept in his right hand for a long time, since it seemed the Ancient Sword wouldn't trigger if in his left. But then I realized that I could swap hands mid-battle, allowing him to be able to swap between his more accurate (and eventually stronger) spear for damage, or his sword for status, and suddenly it became a bit more interesting. Although I question how many other potential examples of that kind of thing working there are throughout the game.
@SkumPyre The main issue I always had in regards to that is how stats can also drop. If stats just increased based on your actions, then I would like that mechanic, but it's made frustrating by how stats can also decrease. Especially if you want something like a character to be a strong fighter with some support magic, and their strength keeps dropping when you decide to utilize their magic. Or if you want a dedicated black mage, the leveling becomes way too slow to sufficiently manage several attack spells on one character. The thing I've learned on my current run though is to use the overworld for grinding. And I don't mean just walking around in circles; I've been mostly avoiding doing that. I mean take your time in battles when walking from town to town, and grind spells where it's a lot more safe, and you can save if needed, rather than trying to do that stuff during a dungeon. Also not to use the transportation services, like the ship and airship. Actually walk to places instead to get more grinding in.
@SkumPyre I'm sure later versions are objectively better. But I'm a bit old-school, and like to play games in their original form unless the newer version is much more of a full-on remake. if it's just a remaster with some quality of life changes and updated graphics, then I typically prefer to just stick with the original. Especially since, being old-school, I tend to dislike many quality of life changes that get put into such games. Improved interfaces are fine, but when they start rebalancing things, or adding features that deviate from the original game's difficulty and experience, I quickly lose interest. Regardless of whether or not those changes would be considered inherent improvements. Otherwise, I probably would've just bought the Pixel Remaster collection on the Switch, and sold all my old NES/SNES cartridges of those I do own (1, 3, 5, 6; I'm emulating 2). Although I will play a later version of a game if bugs are a significant issue in the original. But in this case, I managed to find a bug fix (as well as an updated translation patch that used official localizations for reference, rather than the outdated one from the late 90s) that is quite extensive. The readme is a full-on novel listing all the bugs that they fixed, and that was good enough for me. Sorry my posts are so long. I know some people hate seeing such large walls of text.
@SkumPyre I never played 12, so have no opinion there. I tried a demo at Gamestop once, hit the attack button, saw a bar start filling to perform the attack in an action game, and was like, "Nope." If we're talking other games in the series, then the one I feel most strongly in that regard is the original Final Fantasy. Mainly because of the inventory system. I actually like the restrictions, and inventory management aspects of the original game's limit of each character only being able to hold four weapons, and four armors. Replacing that with a conventional inventory system, in my opinion, breaks the game way too hard once you get to the point of having items like the Heal Staff, and Thor Hammer. Not to mention that I also prefer the original game's MP system and ineffective attacks, but at least some later versions of the game retained those.
@SkumPyre Whereas in my case, while I do play games to relax, I also play them to overcome a challenge. If a game isn't pushing me, then I get bored. And to me, overcoming a challenge is more relaxing than simply being bored.
Although I could do without the battle system, I loved the story and music in the game. The villain was also very good. Despite its faults FFII is one of my favorites.
Agreed. The Emperor is a horrible piece of shit and he's so hateworthy. It has to be why he became the game emblem, though I can see wild roses or the Empire's airship doing the same job. He really does give menane to the experience.
I get why you did it, but a part of my brain really wishes you had played the original version, because these graphics are way too refined to look like a sequel to the original.
@@tahamohammad8842 But many claims to FF2 in the review, due to the fact that the original had a deeper idea. For example, why do you need to swing staves to magicians, the answer is because all other weapons in the original reduce intelligence. And for example, you cannot swing spells to a warrior. Because armor and weapons will reduce intelligence to zero.
I just finished final fantasy 2 ( specifically the original Famicom version) and I got to finally watch this video after all these years. Overall I had a lot of flaws with the game, but I actually thought it was decent and I thought it was as good as final fantasy 1 and 8.
I had a rom of Final Fantasy 2 on my phone when I was in the navy. I loved the game because it was turned into a pick up and play. When you grind for 10 mins while waiting to eat or a few minutes while waiting on a turn over the game is extremely fun. However, playing from beginning to end, there isn’t much more than just grinding. Fun in short bursts but don’t expect to have a great time when playing from beginning to end.
I love FFII. It is my 4th favorite FF game. If you want to see a review from the perspective of someone who adores it, please consider checking out my review on my channel
Let me tell you guys a lesson. It doesn't matter what other people think as long as you think it's fun. I like FF2 but that's just my opinion. I can see there's some bumps like the dead end trap rooms or the limit of dagger weapons but in my opinion it's still a fun game. And people should be able to share their opinions with others
I love the fact that the Emperor's initial monster army was a pact with the Underworld. Imagine the Devil making a deal that promises a guy's soul, and then on payday he just walks in and takes Satan's job instead.
@@papershadow "So you get my soul, and you provide me with all of your enlisted-class troops?" "That's exactly as it's written. You will also get a couple of my elites to help ally yourself with even the wild beasts of the mortal realm." "Deal!" [Later...] "Well, now. You're back. Now for your soul." "I'm afraid not." "Oh, you think you can do that?" "Yes." "Oh yeah, how?" "Because I'm dead, you stupid old fuck. I AM my soul. Without the strain of living, my body is only limited by my own power, and not the other way around!" "You.. You planned to die all along!" "You say that as if I was immortal. But now I will be."
makes sense why bare fists would be the strongest weapon. think about, they get hit with so much crazy stuff and don't even bleed? their bodies are made with the sturdiest, toughest, strongest, material in the world.
How would you know to try it? It was kind of an easter egg of sorts in a way. It started weak, and you had a better earlier time equipping a weapon. He bashes the rod skill... but in his infinite wisdom without looking it up at all he just felt an inkling to max out bare fist skill? It was a reward for experimentation.
@@anegwa i've only played part of mystic quest, i stopped because i couldn't figure out how to switch weapons. i'm pretty sure my controller was just broken.
I even had the emulator downloaded, and was ready to play it. I watched this, and can also thank ProJared for saving me from making a HUGE mistake. That was on my old phone, and I never downloaded it again. Nor did I ever play it.
I have to say that I enjoyed almost every second of final fantasy 2. The story really kept me engaged to the end but most of the characters are really forgettable as I can not remember any of the character's names apart from Joseph. I know this maybe a unpopular opinion but I can not deny the fact that I like this game and so far I have enjoyed every final fantasy game.
I remember watching my sister try to get through this game and I honestly don't believe that she even finished it. My brother and I would watch her play it and cheer her on but I couldn't bring myself to actually try the game because of the level up system. To all those that went through it. I applaud you. You are a better person than I.
Do you say S.C.U.B.A. (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) or scuba? L.A.S.E.R. (Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation) or laser? Or R.A.D.A.R. (RAdio Detection And Ranging) or radar? P.I.N. (Personal Identification Number) or pin? Basically, it has nothing to do with civilian or military, but rather whether the abbreviation forms a sequence that could possibly be pronounced in the target language (in this case English) and the tastes/experience of the speaker. But otherwise, correct; "a nes controller," or "an N.E.S. controller." FUN FACT: an acronym is specifically an abbreviation that can be pronounced as a word; RADAR is an acronym, A.T.M. is not (I suppose it could be if you wanted to say atom or something).
I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a _magic_ NES controller or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
FF2 was a little too far ahead of its time when it came to the leveling system. They knew how to do it, but at the time nobody really knew how to do it _well._ I'm a fan of the "learn by doing" approach to leveling, but this game is _really_ janky in comparison to something like The Elder Scrolls series.
FF2 it's my favorite worst best game that I can never finish without quitting in some point, then continue a couple of month later. I love the leveling system, watching and feeling how every little stat grow makes my characters stronger and more flexible in their abilities is a sublime feeling. Unfortunatly the grind is insane, "wanna lvl up your protect from 10 to 11? Hope you have some rubber bands to leave the game playing for you, and you better make the other party members do something aswell... don't wanna waste more time right?" This FF it's probably what made me like FUCKING LOVE "Kenshi". Take the leveling system, and apply it in a non-afk form (except the actual manual labor/farming) and you got an engaging experience. I mean, what's better than kidnapping bandits to use as flesh training dummies for your base?
Well I mean it was pretty much the exact same system they lived with for a long time in the Saga series, which did it much better. Mainly by not having so many different things to have to raise. And not making the ways they increase so anti gameplay. And Saga came out shortly after this game so it makes sense.
I love the way there is a Rod skill even though it’s useless. Like literally, it’s there purely because if it isn’t, someone will say “WHY ISN’T THERE A ROD SKILL I WANT TO USE RODS” or someone will want to try and use just rods as a challenge.
Rods are actually quite useful and can do great damage in this game, and there is a rod that can heal for a great amount of HP without using any MP. Fists are good at the beginning, around mid-game fists become useless for physical attacks.
3 years late but the reason you use some of the worse weapons is because equipment has penalties on magic actually. Bows reduce your magic efficiency by like 80% or something ridiculous like that. Rods/Maces and Daggers dont do that. Of course, the game never tells you that e.e
The psp version fixes the imbalance a bit by giving rank to monsters. Higher level skills will level faster when you beat higher rank monsters. And it seems like self inflicted hits dont boost hp anymore
The "pro" in ProJared is false? Lies. Next you're gonna tell me that PeanutButterGamer isn't made of Peanut Butter. I will not stand for this "fake news" you spew.
Firion Salamand I'm two months late, but that's actually a great idea. Rebalance the skills system, give new abilities and bonuses for getting skills higher, revamp the plot, redo the dungeon design, make some more modern music for it. It could actually be fun, maybe.
Ben Sell That's not really changing everything. It's a redesign. Not a total and complete change. The story is... alright, when it comes down to it. Nothing spectacular, but not a steaming pile of crap, either. When I said revamp the plot, I more meant breathe more life into the characters. I mean, all of this can literally be done with a ROM hack, beyond the modern music. I'm actually considering working on it, if it hasn't already been done.
These dungeons almost seem randomly generated. Remember that feature in RPG Makers? Where it just generates labyrinths of floors with walls? It totally does look exactly like that, where even artificial indoor environments look like random caves that no one would ever build that way.
I'm surprised when you played through the second one that you didn't go with the NES version, and stick to the Toad and Mini spells. They're effectively instant death to almost everything, even at low spell levels, and it kinda makes it feel like you're playing a wizard in DND, turning golems, knights, and other wizards into useless toads and midgets!
@@leargamma4912 But you don't really want to be grinding teleport to increase its MP cost. You want it staying cheap as possible to use as an emergency exit when you're in a dungeon, and are sapped on resources. Something you may be unable to do if you wind up pushing yourself too far, and its cost has been inflated by overuse.
Don't forget that leveling shield skill gives you evasion, to the point that the only thing in the game that even has a remote chance of hitting you is yourself. Through the patented lazer method of ff2 character building, you can make a character that can't be hit and can one shot any enemy in the game including every single boss
He sold his soul before the game to get his hellish powers (summoning monsters, giant cyclone, etc. etc.). After he was killed, he descended into hell and killed the demon.
Well, I still like it. It was hard to do game twise, but I see characters really cute in their simpliness and also like the plot and atmospere. Though the grinding sucks. Battle system is interesting for me, cause I can imagine characters freely, but it takes so hellishly looong. And yeah. Dungeons are constant labyrinth of "Please, no more random battles!"
Worth noting that one of the co-designers for FF II was Akitoshi Kawazu, most known for his SaGa series... which explain the unusual and unique mechanics of this game. Kawazu loves experimental and very often not well explained mechanics in his games.
And I feel like the SaGa games kind of proves that he was on the right track. Final Fantasy 2 was basically the prototype for those. And like any prototype, it was riddled with flaws that needed to be ironed out. Final Fantasy 2 crawled so that SaGa could run.
So this year, i played this game and shockingly I had a fun time yet with every stupid thing in this game that Jared had to talk about I was just like "yup it is that bad" yet I still cannot deny that i had a good time xD
Yep. That’s the issue with critics with this game, they either A) review it like it released today or b) everything they dislike about the game is self-inflicted.
@Steve It's specifically an issue with critics. If you look at Final Fantasy 2 from the vantage point of having played Final Fantasy 1 and 3-15 first, you're going to see how archaic the mechanics are. If you do a bit of research and find out that evade is better than high HP or high defense, you're going to make progress through the game easier. Instant kill spells actually work unlike later games in the series? That'll make it easier. The game's mechanics are VERY different and approaching it like every other game in the series means you're going to have a bad time. Can you take all of that into account and still dislike the game? Obviously. But if you put yourself into the mindset of when the game came out and do a little research into how to play the game, you'll find the game is a lot easier than most people make it out to be. Basic example of this: Dump all your armor and make sure everybody has a shield (so no bows). Your agility and evade will go up faster, meaning your characters will go first in combat more often. As you find armor only equip the armor that has the lowest impact on your evade. You'll go before enemies that do status ailments AND have a higher chance to run from combat. Once your evade and agility get high enough you can start to put on two weapons instead of a shield for extra damage. In the Famicom/Wonderswan Color/PS1 versions you have to worry about weapons and armor decreasing your magic stats thus making it a bad idea to have ANY equipment on your mages, not an optimal situation, but you can work around it easily. How is that basic? Easy. Don't equip heavy armor and do equip shields. Game gets vastly easier.
@@sneaks9150 I mean, nobody needs to be nice to an old janky game if it’s not that good. I’ll die on the hill that a lot of those Uber-hard NES games are poorly designed & probably would be a lot better if someone approached them from our modern view. Final Fantasy II may be the worst game I’ve ever played so there’s no way I’d ever be nice to it 😂
Not like competition matters for reviewing Final Fantasy games. They're really popular and there's always tons of people reviewing them and whatnot. Two popular people doing it at once is no big deal.
To be fair to rods and daggers: Weapons all have some degree of affect on the accuracy of your spells. And its not a small effect. As listed, swords and axes, the highest damage weapons, have somewhere around a 50% penalty, with axes leaning slightly higher. And bows carry similar penalties. While daggers and rods have less damage effectiveness, theyre less penalizing on your accuracy. Essentially, they're good for a character that youd like to put on the front lines, but still heavily make use of magic. In theory. That said, people can number crunch this to death, and im sure they can give exact quantified usefulness. I dont know. That comes down to how well the numbers were implemented. Im just talking design.
So it's accuracy, not damage? I remember reading a FAQ ages ago stating that certain equipment influenced the damage of your spells, but on my current attempt at the game I experimented a bit here and there, and saw no such thing, so figured I must've just read wrong. Either way, that was why I've been going with an unarmed black mage, while having my more supportive spell-casters with weapons (which I stuck with despite any later experiments, given that by now I was already committed). Is that why my Silence spell keeps missing despite my grinding of it? Because my status-spell character is wielding an axe and shield. Hence why I gave him status spells, since his damage comes from his weapon instead of magic.
Edmund Dantes Why hurt? I love Sonic Adventure 2 and I can replay it 10 million times and when I see reviews, getting more negative as the time passes, I can laugh because they are right, but that doesn't mean that I will stop loving it and having fun, yes, I love all of it except for 1 mission that I absolutely hate, other than that, I can replay the whole thing over and over again and have a blast no matter what a youtuber says, no matter how right they are.
i love final fantasy 3 (assuming the FF3 youre talking about was the one on NES and remade on DS) and honestly im a sucker for anything with a good class system... i hate the giant rat and garuda tho
FFIII is incredible. It was one of the largest Famicom games ever made. It's basically FFI on steroids, and it holds up well. FFIII meant a lot for the series as well, as Square expanded upon it with FFV and Tactics.
I played this game with low expectations and it became one of my favorite FF games. Please remember to never take game reviews for granted and actually play the game and decide for yourself.
I like you. I only play games that interest me. If its shit but I like it, then I'll keep playing it. Its all about your likes anyway. I don't preorder if the game I wanted turn out to be a piece of crap
...go into a fight with weak monsters and beat the living shit out of your characters OOOOR use the spell SWAP which swaps the HP / MP of an enemy with yours -> therefore it counts actually as loosing HP -> therefore your HP / MP increases
That is actually a great suggestion, instead of having to trial and error only to get (?) most of the time. I was about ready to look up a guide on how to enter the cyclone until I asked every word to Hilda.
The keyword argument is so overblown though since most of the keywords are useless as the game goes on, it's pretty obvious which ones you need to progress
@@jesushuerta4379 Turns out Square actually did that in the Pixel Remaster edition. Whenever the keyword list is available in that version of the game, the keywords that actually matter will be displayed in a differently colored font.
8:00 "beginning enemies are just as beneficial as end game" To an extent, Jared, you are forgetting that leveling weapon skills require monster levels be high enough. For example, the monsters in the area outside Altair only raise your weapon proficiency to level three, but for every other stat it can be raised nigh infinitely with battles. But yes, I agree, tedious to the extreme. Great idea, poor execution. Now if the skills system were like a bonus or supplementary stat system like in other RPGs, especially like Action RPGs, I think it would have been better. Or even if it had FF3's system, like you still leveled up, primarily for HP and MP, and proficiencies were more of an enhancement that aided your abilities, not the entire basis for them.
I beat this on GBA not long ago, as I'm going through 1-6. I didn't get into it as much as I wanted to. I found some story bits felt like they were there to pad it out. Overall I'm glad I played it, and will return to try out the bonus find dungeons in the future. It was a huge contrast with FFI on the same cart...I had a huge amount of fun replaying that!
I wanted to play this, JUST because of the levelling system. I'm glad to find out that the Saga series adapted this levelling system. Time to play those, then!
Considering how you have to hurt yourselves to get stronger, it reminds me of what the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crew would probably do in a high fantasy setting like this
So I started playing FF III along with Jared's playthrough, I honestly stopped playing alongside and just watched. But when playing, I noticed an odd glitch, when you talk to Cid after curing his wife/grandmother, he jumps to the right, but if you talk to him again, he jumps further to the right, sooooo I ended up putting Cid in the void around the inside of his house.
I always appreciate how much time and effort go into your videos :) You can feel how much it means to you and makes your content so refreshing to watch. Keep it up dude :)
This is an accurate video of the game as I'm playing it right now, but one thing you forgot to mention that's bullshit; is that Black Mages can't wear armor cause there's a hidden penalty that hurts the magic damage. Really sucks.
All the stats besides HP & MP can lowered by another stat. If gain intelligence, you lose strength and vice versa. This makes it so that you really have to specialize what you wanna do, or get rekt by the game.
I liked some of the spells. Flare and Ultima were fun, until it became clear Ultima wouldn't grow because you need to increase every skill and spell in the game to increase Ultima's damage further. Leveling the elements fire/ice/lightning was not good, I'm not using those for power but to exploit weaknesses. Ice/fire/light felt like leveling a can opener, a pen and a screw driver by throwing them at a stonewall. And Flare was a cannon ball, which is made to be thrown at a stonewall.
Great video and agree 100%! Another complaint I have is when you have a new party member added. Say you’re party has around 3000 HP each. When you get your next party member, you might expect them to scale around your party’s average stats, right? Nope! They come with about 200 health each time, making them virtually useless when they join. The only way to get any value out of them is to GRIND them out as well. Beat the shit out of them until they’re around your stats. Then watch them leave and have ANOTHER member join to do exactly the same thing!
on a couple remakes it was censored so ya its def true in some version what hes saying..but the true translated version where he defeated satan isnt in some versions of ff2 due to censorship but ya at least in the later version it translated beter
I never realized it before, but we need a The Satan Clause movie. As in, somehow a businessman kills the devil and gets pulled into taking over his job, slowly growing more tall and thin, having his skin become red, wearing a goatee pretty much all the time. Yes I realize you could almost entirely steal the plotline of The Santa Clause for it to work, but....I'd watch it.
Indeimaus ‘Eyy, Indeimaus!! If the Pro in Pro Jared is false, does that mean you’re not a maus? Also Dark Fantasy pls. Um... actually, maybe call it Final Souls. Better than Top Ten Dark Souls Stones pt 3 ;)
Let's make a campaign so projared finishes his final fantasy videos! After 12 I've been waiting for 13, please man I have watched you final fantasy games over and over again. You are still missing 13, 14, 15 and 16
By 12:25 I could hear Egoraptor screaming "I hope you get where I'm coming from so I don't have to keep WASTING MY FUCKING TIME E X P L A I N I N G I T"
I really enjoy Final Fantasy II and I really enjoyed this video. I also have beaten this on the original NES via a repro cart and enjoyed it thoroughly but that's going in with the knowledge of someone that knows how broken the game mechanics are and appreciate the flaw.
Hey Jared, why don't you do a video about Final Fantasy fighting games, you know what you said one time, you are a person who plays fighting games for the story.
I like that you acknowledged how ambitious FF II was for its time. Of course, it's worth noting that the GBA remake streamlined a lot of things with regards to the leveling, making things less tedious than the NES original. It's still not very good, but not as bad as it used to be.
Well, bosses aren't imune against ohk at this game. So, if you train teleport to a high level, you'd kill almost every foe with just a hit. Observation: rod level improves mace ptoficiency.
Agreed. The remixed version from the PlayStation onwards are genuinely really great! There's always this sinister, uneasy feeling in many tracks, which is completely fitting for the world and the story. It's my favorite battle theme for the series, the overworld is exceptional, the Rebel and town themes and the final dungeon and boss themes rock.
I actually did play through this game, and I liked it quite a lot. I know it's weird and there were a lot of issues with it, but the interesting story and colorful design kept me playing. Plus it's always funny to me that you can get jacked by just spamming the weak ass enemies in the starting area and then murdering all the big bois in the later dungeons
Does anybody else feel like a reimagined version of Final Fantasy II could actually be really, really good? I'm talking a complete overhaul of the core game-sensible dungeon layouts, more fleshed-out central characters, better writing, less frequent random battles, a leveling system that isn't broken, and a version of the Chocobo theme that isn't just four bars long could all help to make FFII not only more playable, but potentially even fantastic. Believe it or not, this was the first Final Fantasy game that I actually completed. Being my first full playthrough of any game in the series, it left a strong impression on me that lingers even after having played its bigger and better follow-ups. I love the dark tone of the game, I love a lot of its music, I love its atmosphere, and I genuinely believe that it has enormous untapped potential.
Of all the Final Fantasy games, I feel like Final Fantasy 2 has the most potential when it comes to a full-blown remake. The game had a lot of great ideas, but the execution of those ideas were pretty much all horrible. Or, if not inherently bad, the executions were unrewarding (such as pointlessly casting a spell hundreds of times to get it to a competent level, only to use the spell for its intended purpose two or three times throughout the entire game). Whereas most games in the series, while each having their own flaws, are still solid games that don't really need much in the way of improvements. Instead, they just keep remastering it, which keeps all of those problems intact. Problems that are so severe, no amount of fresh paint can hide them. Only a complete renovation will suffice.
Thank you for watching this video, sorry about the wait! If you enjoyed please SUBSCRIBE, give it a LIKE and leave a COMMENT. I know it's annoying to hear, but it really does help me out!
ProJared Jared I'm your biggest fan
ProJared ur videos r amazing
ProJared sup bro
It's okay, you were busy doing cameos for Jim Sterling. We understand.
plz make more reviews
imagine how scared you would be if you encountered some team of people that punched them selves and eachother rather than attack you.
I'm so confused!
O W T H E E D G E
I would root for the strong guy before running away
Just back away slowly
@@RAFMnBgaming And then you end up hurting yourself in your confusion.
Huh, maybe this tactic has more than one use...
I think you need to give more credit to the final boss. The dude took over the world, and then after dying took over heaven and hell. That's pretty awesome.
Yeah, but Kafka is a better villain.
... you hate reading overly morose symbolism that much?
The Spit Dragon kefka is god
Badalight r
But what about Exdeath? He absorbed nutrients from the ground and did some photosynthesis thing for a lot of years. Just try and tell me that's not what a true villain should do.
"Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!"
"I can't, I have to level up my health!"
reminds me of FF Tactics, better throw rocks at each other
Kenji Asakura only tactics was good.
The exact same problem with Quest 64.
Maple Samurai "Oh hey! Teeth means great progress!"
And this is why, after getting the game more than 20 years ago, I have a grand total of ~5 hours into it.
Ive watched nearly everything you have put out, but now im binge watching as much of it as I can
I'm doing the same and I having so much fun, nostalgia on nostalgia
I too have been "bing" watching as well
We have to bro. We must combat the negativity.
Same. Binge watching all his FF reviews now.
so am i rn lmao
"The 2 is about as accurate as the Pro in ProJared"
-ProJared, 2017
"The 2 is about as accurate as the Pro in ProJared"
Fixed.
sonicbluray someone ban this guy
sonicbluray thanks
and both are about as accurate as the Final in Final Fantasy
I mean, he's been payed to play games, that's the definition.
0:18 The two is about as accurate as the allegations against Jared
Yup
ZING
Yeah 😂
I rate this game "the past few months"/10.
You went through hell, but came back stronger than ever.
except he didn't play FFIV
I bought FF: Dawn of Souls, for my gba, when I was in the 4th grade.
Game changed my little life at the time.
It would set me on the path of being an RPG lover from then on.
FF1 is great.
But FF2 is my favorite from the package.
As somebody who was introduced to RPGs by Final Fantasy 6, I agree. And while Final Fantasy 2 might be hated by many, it's a powerful thing when a game is you introduction to something that would grow into such a passion. RPGs have been my favorite video game genre ever since I first played Final Fantasy 6, and partly for that reason, FF6 continues to be my favorite game in the franchise. So I can understand how one's personal experiences can be biased in that regard.
@@gurvmlk Yeah, I pretty much agree, but man I dislike it so much when someone is trying to be forceful about their favorite entry/game in a series. I swear I'm just chatting about something cool I found in one of the FF entries and then the immediate reply is which one is better than the one I'm talking about. It's so insane, I find it much more common in Final Fantasy communities, I've also met some cool people through FF chats though. Such a mixed bag.
@@Redroomjjgfd The problem is that some Final Fantasy games are so universally beloved, while others are universally hated, that people automatically assume that everybody agrees with those opinions, and can't accept when somebody doesn't. Meanwhile, I will die on the hill of Final Fantasy 13 being among my top three main series entries.
I feel the same way except with FF9 rather then FF6!! But FF6 is definitely up there no doubt within my top 5!! FF2 may not be the greatest but I still enjoyed it!! I've play the PS1 FF Origins as well as Dawn Of Souls and Pixel Remaster of FF2!! The only ones I haven't played yet were the OG because I don't have a famicom system and can't even find the "Rare US release" nor the PSP version which I'd like to play one of these days but the used game shops out here never seems to have them in!! This makes me believe maybe FF2 isn't so bad after all!! I mean how do I easily find FF1 and FF4 as well as FF12 and FF7 Crisis Core on PSP but not FF2 or FF3!? I did find FF3 however through Playstation shop on my PS Vita!! Other then that I can't find the physical copies!!!
@@thevangsta9892 I feel like Final Fantasy 2's biggest crime was its execution. At its core, it had a lot of really great ideas. The problem was that none of them were executed very well. I finally beat it though a few months ago (playing the original Famicom version), having always been a game I really wanted to like for all its ideas, but just never could. And while I didn't hate my experience with it, it was also so tedious that I can't really imagine myself wanting to do it again.
Of all the games in the entire Final Fantasy series, I sincerely believe that Final Fantasy 2 could benefit the most from a full-on remake from the ground up. Because the potential is definitely there. It just needs to implement that potential in ways that make their utilization more fun, and less tedious. While also making adjustments so that certain spells and weapon types are more viable.
Always a good day when Jared uploads a new video.~
PeanutButterGamer hi buddy
PeanutButterGamer true man
OHAI
IM SO HUNGRY I COULD EAT P.B.G.
And punches himself. JK Jared.
Bet you can't play and review all of them Jared.
Pavel Tikhonov I very much would be okay with that as well.
KennethMichaels I would love that
KennethMichaels Oh god, that's a challenge!
Was that a challenge my friend?
That'd be awesome
I always loved the high degree of customization in this game. You could have a magic user that’s also proficient with a staff, a barefisted brawler, an axe-wielding savage, a world-class mage with no fighting ability- so many possibilities, so little time.
@SkumPyre I'm giving the game another shot after several years because I've always wanted to like the game, but just never could. And while I still think the game is garbage in a number of ways (especially because of how inaccessible managing a decent number of spells on a single character becomes), I did recently discover the potential of dual-wielding. I've had Maria dual-wielding knives most of the game, although the usefulness has perplexed me since having two weapons equipped lowers the character's attack power (playing the NES version with bug fixes for reference; no idea if that changed in future releases), but I've kept with it for flavor.
Then I recruited Gordon, and had him dual-wield swords and spears, and gave him the Ancient Sword for his blade to inflict curse status. Which I kept in his right hand for a long time, since it seemed the Ancient Sword wouldn't trigger if in his left. But then I realized that I could swap hands mid-battle, allowing him to be able to swap between his more accurate (and eventually stronger) spear for damage, or his sword for status, and suddenly it became a bit more interesting. Although I question how many other potential examples of that kind of thing working there are throughout the game.
@SkumPyre The main issue I always had in regards to that is how stats can also drop. If stats just increased based on your actions, then I would like that mechanic, but it's made frustrating by how stats can also decrease. Especially if you want something like a character to be a strong fighter with some support magic, and their strength keeps dropping when you decide to utilize their magic. Or if you want a dedicated black mage, the leveling becomes way too slow to sufficiently manage several attack spells on one character.
The thing I've learned on my current run though is to use the overworld for grinding. And I don't mean just walking around in circles; I've been mostly avoiding doing that. I mean take your time in battles when walking from town to town, and grind spells where it's a lot more safe, and you can save if needed, rather than trying to do that stuff during a dungeon. Also not to use the transportation services, like the ship and airship. Actually walk to places instead to get more grinding in.
@SkumPyre I'm sure later versions are objectively better. But I'm a bit old-school, and like to play games in their original form unless the newer version is much more of a full-on remake. if it's just a remaster with some quality of life changes and updated graphics, then I typically prefer to just stick with the original. Especially since, being old-school, I tend to dislike many quality of life changes that get put into such games. Improved interfaces are fine, but when they start rebalancing things, or adding features that deviate from the original game's difficulty and experience, I quickly lose interest. Regardless of whether or not those changes would be considered inherent improvements.
Otherwise, I probably would've just bought the Pixel Remaster collection on the Switch, and sold all my old NES/SNES cartridges of those I do own (1, 3, 5, 6; I'm emulating 2).
Although I will play a later version of a game if bugs are a significant issue in the original. But in this case, I managed to find a bug fix (as well as an updated translation patch that used official localizations for reference, rather than the outdated one from the late 90s) that is quite extensive. The readme is a full-on novel listing all the bugs that they fixed, and that was good enough for me.
Sorry my posts are so long. I know some people hate seeing such large walls of text.
@SkumPyre I never played 12, so have no opinion there. I tried a demo at Gamestop once, hit the attack button, saw a bar start filling to perform the attack in an action game, and was like, "Nope."
If we're talking other games in the series, then the one I feel most strongly in that regard is the original Final Fantasy. Mainly because of the inventory system. I actually like the restrictions, and inventory management aspects of the original game's limit of each character only being able to hold four weapons, and four armors. Replacing that with a conventional inventory system, in my opinion, breaks the game way too hard once you get to the point of having items like the Heal Staff, and Thor Hammer. Not to mention that I also prefer the original game's MP system and ineffective attacks, but at least some later versions of the game retained those.
@SkumPyre Whereas in my case, while I do play games to relax, I also play them to overcome a challenge. If a game isn't pushing me, then I get bored. And to me, overcoming a challenge is more relaxing than simply being bored.
Although I could do without the battle system, I loved the story and music in the game. The villain was also very good. Despite its faults FFII is one of my favorites.
Agreed. The Emperor is a horrible piece of shit and he's so hateworthy. It has to be why he became the game emblem, though I can see wild roses or the Empire's airship doing the same job. He really does give menane to the experience.
I get why you did it, but a part of my brain really wishes you had played the original version, because these graphics are way too refined to look like a sequel to the original.
so you're asking him to torture himself even more
the original is only for masochists
@@GiordanDiodato FF2 is for masochists, any version
@@tahamohammad8842
But many claims to FF2 in the review, due to the fact that the original had a deeper idea. For example, why do you need to swing staves to magicians, the answer is because all other weapons in the original reduce intelligence. And for example, you cannot swing spells to a warrior. Because armor and weapons will reduce intelligence to zero.
The gba version is horrible. The nes version is borderline unplayable
I just finished final fantasy 2 ( specifically the original Famicom version) and I got to finally watch this video after all these years. Overall I had a lot of flaws with the game, but I actually thought it was decent and I thought it was as good as final fantasy 1 and 8.
I had a rom of Final Fantasy 2 on my phone when I was in the navy. I loved the game because it was turned into a pick up and play. When you grind for 10 mins while waiting to eat or a few minutes while waiting on a turn over the game is extremely fun. However, playing from beginning to end, there isn’t much more than just grinding. Fun in short bursts but don’t expect to have a great time when playing from beginning to end.
I'll never forget GUY SPEAK BEAVER.
Tony Hakston I’m sure Jared was speaking beaver to Holly’s beaver
@@hbryster96 Wow, what a clever and meaningful comment that DEFINITELLY didn't age poorly.
9:53
It was funny
Ohhhh, those false allegations were just Jared trying to improve his stats. I get it now!
...Makes sense
"Willpower went up!
Mental health went up!
You gained inmunity to the collective stupidity that goes by the name of Internet!"
And him not making videos improved his video making skills
@@KaibaSeto. No one is safe from the collective stupidity of the Internet.
What allegations?
Am I the only one here who actually likes FF2 and got addicted to the gameplay? Btw love the way Firion is portrayed in Dissidia
Maybe the gameplay system in FF2 is done better in the Saga series like Saga Frontier
I love final fantasy 2 gameplay is addictive :3
I love FFII. It is my 4th favorite FF game. If you want to see a review from the perspective of someone who adores it, please consider checking out my review on my channel
Let me tell you guys a lesson. It doesn't matter what other people think as long as you think it's fun. I like FF2 but that's just my opinion. I can see there's some bumps like the dead end trap rooms or the limit of dagger weapons but in my opinion it's still a fun game. And people should be able to share their opinions with others
@@aoeu256 which one in particular? Some SaGa are much better than others
The Emperor isn't really Satan's confidant; instead, he usurped Satan. That's awesome.
I love the fact that the Emperor's initial monster army was a pact with the Underworld. Imagine the Devil making a deal that promises a guy's soul, and then on payday he just walks in and takes Satan's job instead.
@@papershadow "So you get my soul, and you provide me with all of your enlisted-class troops?"
"That's exactly as it's written. You will also get a couple of my elites to help ally yourself with even the wild beasts of the mortal realm."
"Deal!"
[Later...]
"Well, now. You're back. Now for your soul."
"I'm afraid not."
"Oh, you think you can do that?"
"Yes."
"Oh yeah, how?"
"Because I'm dead, you stupid old fuck. I AM my soul. Without the strain of living, my body is only limited by my own power, and not the other way around!"
"You.. You planned to die all along!"
"You say that as if I was immortal. But now I will be."
@@EatAnOctorok what an absolute mad lad
@@EatAnOctorok what an absolute mad lad
makes sense why bare fists would be the strongest weapon. think about, they get hit with so much crazy stuff and don't even bleed? their bodies are made with the sturdiest, toughest, strongest, material in the world.
How would you know to try it? It was kind of an easter egg of sorts in a way. It started weak, and you had a better earlier time equipping a weapon. He bashes the rod skill... but in his infinite wisdom without looking it up at all he just felt an inkling to max out bare fist skill? It was a reward for experimentation.
I hope you never change your intro, it's nostalgic to me at this point.
Don't worry; it will probably never be changed again.
Given current events, that song now holds a completely different meaning.
@@rollfizzlebeef5384 did you watch his response?
@@rollfizzlebeef5384 i do so love reading these comments
Thanks Jared for reminding me why I don’t play this game
I wish he gave ff2 the same treatment as he did for ff1. This is my favourite final fantasy! Everyone just plays it wrong.
@@anegwa i've only played part of mystic quest, i stopped because i couldn't figure out how to switch weapons. i'm pretty sure my controller was just broken.
I even had the emulator downloaded, and was ready to play it. I watched this, and can also thank ProJared for saving me from making a HUGE mistake. That was on my old phone, and I never downloaded it again. Nor did I ever play it.
Btw if anyone enjoys this game that’s completely fine enjoy what you want, but personally I hated FF2 lol
personally my favorite, just need a level 16 Shield rank on everyone lmao
My marathon of rewatching, liking, and commenting on every Jared video continues. Video 44
I just realized the level up system in this game is similar to Quest 64.
And we all know how well it worked in that one.
I don't think you've played SaGa Frontier
Or any games in the SaGa series.
I have to say that I enjoyed almost every second of final fantasy 2. The story really kept me engaged to the end but most of the characters are really forgettable as I can not remember any of the character's names apart from Joseph. I know this maybe a unpopular opinion but I can not deny the fact that I like this game and so far I have enjoyed every final fantasy game.
Banana Backstabber josef* guess you didn't even remember him much
The Emperor didn’t sold his soul, he killed Satan and became the new lord of hell.
Thunder Bull if doom guy was evil lol
Thunder Bull Wow thats pretty badass.
In the rereleases the good half of Mateus’ soul went to heaven, where he literally became a god.
Thunder Bull so spawn
+Ben Sell Maybe, don't know much about Spawn.
I remember watching my sister try to get through this game and I honestly don't believe that she even finished it. My brother and I would watch her play it and cheer her on but I couldn't bring myself to actually try the game because of the level up system. To all those that went through it. I applaud you. You are a better person than I.
But FF2 is easy.
3:10: jared already states he's playing the GBA version, yet is clearly holding an NES controller.
well that all depends on whether you're pronouncing the letters or the sound itself doesn't it m80
Maybe he's using a Retron 5.
Do you say S.C.U.B.A. (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) or scuba? L.A.S.E.R. (Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation) or laser? Or R.A.D.A.R. (RAdio Detection And Ranging) or radar? P.I.N. (Personal Identification Number) or pin? Basically, it has nothing to do with civilian or military, but rather whether the abbreviation forms a sequence that could possibly be pronounced in the target language (in this case English) and the tastes/experience of the speaker. But otherwise, correct; "a nes controller," or "an N.E.S. controller."
FUN FACT: an acronym is specifically an abbreviation that can be pronounced as a word; RADAR is an acronym, A.T.M. is not (I suppose it could be if you wanted to say atom or something).
I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a _magic_ NES controller or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
Or maybe he shot the skit when he was playing FF2 on the NES to capture examples of the original which he used in the video?
FF2 was a little too far ahead of its time when it came to the leveling system. They knew how to do it, but at the time nobody really knew how to do it _well._ I'm a fan of the "learn by doing" approach to leveling, but this game is _really_ janky in comparison to something like The Elder Scrolls series.
FF2 it's my favorite worst best game that I can never finish without quitting in some point, then continue a couple of month later.
I love the leveling system, watching and feeling how every little stat grow makes my characters stronger and more flexible in their abilities is a sublime feeling. Unfortunatly the grind is insane, "wanna lvl up your protect from 10 to 11? Hope you have some rubber bands to leave the game playing for you, and you better make the other party members do something aswell... don't wanna waste more time right?"
This FF it's probably what made me like FUCKING LOVE "Kenshi". Take the leveling system, and apply it in a non-afk form (except the actual manual labor/farming) and you got an engaging experience. I mean, what's better than kidnapping bandits to use as flesh training dummies for your base?
Well I mean it was pretty much the exact same system they lived with for a long time in the Saga series, which did it much better. Mainly by not having so many different things to have to raise. And not making the ways they increase so anti gameplay.
And Saga came out shortly after this game so it makes sense.
Dexcat I actually thought about ES when I watched that part
Didn't (western) RPGs do the same thing but better years before it?
Dungeon Master did it pretty well in '87.
"The II is about as accurate as the Pro in Projared" Literally the best intro.
I love the way there is a Rod skill even though it’s useless. Like literally, it’s there purely because if it isn’t, someone will say “WHY ISN’T THERE A ROD SKILL I WANT TO USE RODS” or someone will want to try and use just rods as a challenge.
Speaking of rods...
@@dred4dead551 Keep all innuendos outside the innocent channel. ->
Maces are considered Rods
Rods are actually quite useful and can do great damage in this game, and there is a rod that can heal for a great amount of HP without using any MP. Fists are good at the beginning, around mid-game fists become useless for physical attacks.
3 years late but the reason you use some of the worse weapons is because equipment has penalties on magic actually. Bows reduce your magic efficiency by like 80% or something ridiculous like that. Rods/Maces and Daggers dont do that. Of course, the game never tells you that e.e
The man just punched himself to make a review, and people can't support him when he makes a small ad video.
Sergio Sama Projared is free to watch but here's a list of things that aren't free:
FOOD
You're forgetting about opportunity cost
It reminds me of jirard throwing rocks at his intern for Job points.
No! He's supposed to whip himself like a medieval flagellant without any financial gain for our viewing pleasure
He also stabbed himself in the Two Worlds video and hit himself in the knee with a copy of King's Knight, that's quality content
Nah I still like the chocobo song.
Even this version of the song.
wolfenstar nice I've only heard this Chocobo theme, but I like it! I have a weird taste in music.
It's not bad, but it's just feels so much emptier without the extra part from 3 and onward
The psp version fixes the imbalance a bit by giving rank to monsters. Higher level skills will level faster when you beat higher rank monsters.
And it seems like self inflicted hits dont boost hp anymore
Nope it still does. That’s how I got my HP to 6000 by the time I recruited Leila.
The GBA version did this too they're both basically identical anyways outside of the dungeon the PSP version added
Binge watching the reviews.
Same
@@kadzu1 Me three
yep. Never played FF tho.
The Sorrow aw bro why? i reckon start with FF9. anyone any other suggestions?
@@tataladdd4251 I like FF4, but damn 9 is amazing, that is a good suggestion for anyone who wants to try FF.
The "pro" in ProJared is false? Lies. Next you're gonna tell me that PeanutButterGamer isn't made of Peanut Butter. I will not stand for this "fake news" you spew.
Does that mean SpaceHamster is not an actual Hamster and that Brutalmoose is not a moose?
No, but they are actually from space and brutal.
Mathas!
No but what I will tell you is that he actually doesn't like peanut butter.
Oh no, he is definitely a moose. He is just not very brutal.
Please go through every Final Fantasy from 3-15! Love these videos!
I would watch all the videos!
It feels like Final Fantasy II was the game of really great ideas and unbelievably terrible execution.
Remake.
Do it, Square.
Like FF8 (sadly) which also wastes a f*ckton of potential to be great and unique D:
Firion Salamand I'm two months late, but that's actually a great idea. Rebalance the skills system, give new abilities and bonuses for getting skills higher, revamp the plot, redo the dungeon design, make some more modern music for it.
It could actually be fun, maybe.
Kabobawsome change everything about the game and it could be fun
Ben Sell That's not really changing everything. It's a redesign. Not a total and complete change. The story is... alright, when it comes down to it. Nothing spectacular, but not a steaming pile of crap, either. When I said revamp the plot, I more meant breathe more life into the characters. I mean, all of this can literally be done with a ROM hack, beyond the modern music. I'm actually considering working on it, if it hasn't already been done.
"Why didn't I just fake it?"
Because you're a professional
These dungeons almost seem randomly generated. Remember that feature in RPG Makers? Where it just generates labyrinths of floors with walls? It totally does look exactly like that, where even artificial indoor environments look like random caves that no one would ever build that way.
I think you have to remember FFII was a bit rushed since it came out less than a year after FFI
@@GiordanDiodato That doesn't change what the final product is like. My reaction to that is "don't rush your product then".
so does this mean we'll see more Final Fantasy videos now?
...because I'm perfectly okay with that
I'm surprised when you played through the second one that you didn't go with the NES version, and stick to the Toad and Mini spells. They're effectively instant death to almost everything, even at low spell levels, and it kinda makes it feel like you're playing a wizard in DND, turning golems, knights, and other wizards into useless toads and midgets!
Toad is good, but teleport works the same way and has use outside of battle. Plus you can get it earlier with no grinding
@@leargamma4912 But you don't really want to be grinding teleport to increase its MP cost. You want it staying cheap as possible to use as an emergency exit when you're in a dungeon, and are sapped on resources. Something you may be unable to do if you wind up pushing yourself too far, and its cost has been inflated by overuse.
Don't forget that leveling shield skill gives you evasion, to the point that the only thing in the game that even has a remote chance of hitting you is yourself. Through the patented lazer method of ff2 character building, you can make a character that can't be hit and can one shot any enemy in the game including every single boss
"...because he quote 'sold his soul to Satan.'"
Uh, I thought it was that he fought Satan...and won.
Ise no Kami you're right
Exactly. The guy literally conquered Hell!
He sold his soul
then he beat Satan up.
He sold his soul before the game to get his hellish powers (summoning monsters, giant cyclone, etc. etc.). After he was killed, he descended into hell and killed the demon.
He did both.
That's badass.
the final boss theme of Final Fantasy 2 is so good though, hot damn. love that shit.
Well, I still like it. It was hard to do game twise, but I see characters really cute in their simpliness and also like the plot and atmospere. Though the grinding sucks. Battle system is interesting for me, cause I can imagine characters freely, but it takes so hellishly looong. And yeah. Dungeons are constant labyrinth of "Please, no more random battles!"
Worth noting that one of the co-designers for FF II was Akitoshi Kawazu, most known for his SaGa series... which explain the unusual and unique mechanics of this game. Kawazu loves experimental and very often not well explained mechanics in his games.
And I feel like the SaGa games kind of proves that he was on the right track. Final Fantasy 2 was basically the prototype for those. And like any prototype, it was riddled with flaws that needed to be ironed out. Final Fantasy 2 crawled so that SaGa could run.
SPOILERS
Guy speak beaver.
So this year, i played this game and shockingly I had a fun time yet with every stupid thing in this game that Jared had to talk about I was just like "yup it is that bad" yet I still cannot deny that i had a good time xD
same, although admittedly I played the less painful version on psp.
Yep. That’s the issue with critics with this game, they either A) review it like it released today or b) everything they dislike about the game is self-inflicted.
@Steve It's specifically an issue with critics. If you look at Final Fantasy 2 from the vantage point of having played Final Fantasy 1 and 3-15 first, you're going to see how archaic the mechanics are. If you do a bit of research and find out that evade is better than high HP or high defense, you're going to make progress through the game easier. Instant kill spells actually work unlike later games in the series? That'll make it easier. The game's mechanics are VERY different and approaching it like every other game in the series means you're going to have a bad time.
Can you take all of that into account and still dislike the game? Obviously. But if you put yourself into the mindset of when the game came out and do a little research into how to play the game, you'll find the game is a lot easier than most people make it out to be.
Basic example of this: Dump all your armor and make sure everybody has a shield (so no bows). Your agility and evade will go up faster, meaning your characters will go first in combat more often. As you find armor only equip the armor that has the lowest impact on your evade. You'll go before enemies that do status ailments AND have a higher chance to run from combat. Once your evade and agility get high enough you can start to put on two weapons instead of a shield for extra damage. In the Famicom/Wonderswan Color/PS1 versions you have to worry about weapons and armor decreasing your magic stats thus making it a bad idea to have ANY equipment on your mages, not an optimal situation, but you can work around it easily.
How is that basic? Easy. Don't equip heavy armor and do equip shields. Game gets vastly easier.
@@sneaks9150 I mean, nobody needs to be nice to an old janky game if it’s not that good. I’ll die on the hill that a lot of those Uber-hard NES games are poorly designed & probably would be a lot better if someone approached them from our modern view. Final Fantasy II may be the worst game I’ve ever played so there’s no way I’d ever be nice to it 😂
Tbh a lot of his issues are skill issues
we gotta bring this channel back from the dead, guys.
Hes back over 870k. :)
@@anthonyjordanmoviesandmore2470 Means we're succeeding!
I just found this channel. I like the snes/nes stuff like this
@@bluecollargamer7071 Welcome to the fold!
*uses phoenix down on ProJared*
I like Final Fantasy 2 for the GBA. Always loved this review, Jared
As a video game lover, your channel is one of the best on TH-cam or even on the entire web.
So, is he going to review the whole series now?
I really hope so!
MrAsav I think I would very much enjoy that.
Possibly, but ClementJ64 is already doing that. He just released his video on VI today.
MrAsav by the time he finishes this series, the Final Fantasy VII Remake will probably come out
Not like competition matters for reviewing Final Fantasy games. They're really popular and there's always tons of people reviewing them and whatnot. Two popular people doing it at once is no big deal.
Watching all Jared’s old videos to support him
To be fair to rods and daggers:
Weapons all have some degree of affect on the accuracy of your spells. And its not a small effect. As listed, swords and axes, the highest damage weapons, have somewhere around a 50% penalty, with axes leaning slightly higher. And bows carry similar penalties. While daggers and rods have less damage effectiveness, theyre less penalizing on your accuracy. Essentially, they're good for a character that youd like to put on the front lines, but still heavily make use of magic. In theory. That said, people can number crunch this to death, and im sure they can give exact quantified usefulness. I dont know. That comes down to how well the numbers were implemented. Im just talking design.
So it's accuracy, not damage? I remember reading a FAQ ages ago stating that certain equipment influenced the damage of your spells, but on my current attempt at the game I experimented a bit here and there, and saw no such thing, so figured I must've just read wrong. Either way, that was why I've been going with an unarmed black mage, while having my more supportive spell-casters with weapons (which I stuck with despite any later experiments, given that by now I was already committed). Is that why my Silence spell keeps missing despite my grinding of it? Because my status-spell character is wielding an axe and shield. Hence why I gave him status spells, since his damage comes from his weapon instead of magic.
Ever wasted rare items trying to win a fight you're supposed to lose? Yeah... it sucks.
I understand why people don't like this game, butt it still hurts because it's one of my favourite FF games :'(
Well I like FF:MS, purely for nostalgia and no, this is not a joke.
Edmund Dantes Why hurt? I love Sonic Adventure 2 and I can replay it 10 million times and when I see reviews, getting more negative as the time passes, I can laugh because they are right, but that doesn't mean that I will stop loving it and having fun, yes, I love all of it except for 1 mission that I absolutely hate, other than that, I can replay the whole thing over and over again and have a blast no matter what a youtuber says, no matter how right they are.
Mauricio Alonso Garrido dude city escape... nuff said lol but I agree
Mine too
Edmund Dantes I think yatzee put it best in the mailbag showdown episode "f you really like a game then one bad review shouldn't affect you
Final Fantasy III next?
FF3 wasn't that good in my opinion. FF5 is a way better version of the job class with better story and characters.
Daniel Lado really? well in my opinion FF3 is one of my favourite FF games. I hope I'm not the only one who likes the game.
Ghost David you talkin nes ff3 or ff4 american version?
i love final fantasy 3 (assuming the FF3 youre talking about was the one on NES and remade on DS) and honestly im a sucker for anything with a good class system... i hate the giant rat and garuda tho
FFIII is incredible. It was one of the largest Famicom games ever made. It's basically FFI on steroids, and it holds up well. FFIII meant a lot for the series as well, as Square expanded upon it with FFV and Tactics.
I played this game with low expectations and it became one of my favorite FF games.
Please remember to never take game reviews for granted and actually play the game and decide for yourself.
Yeah I actually liked FF13 even after hearing how bad it was
The dreaded phrase “you need to hit yourself to get HP” makes me cringe even harder than “Terraria is just 2D Minecraft”
I played this game right after I and my disappointment was still there.
@@ducksoop.x do you enjoy SaGa because it's literally the same kind of system
I like you. I only play games that interest me. If its shit but I like it, then I'll keep playing it. Its all about your likes anyway. I don't preorder if the game I wanted turn out to be a piece of crap
...go into a fight with weak monsters and beat the living shit out of your characters
OOOOR use the spell SWAP which swaps the HP / MP of an enemy with yours -> therefore it counts actually as loosing HP -> therefore your HP / MP increases
Its still essentially the same thing.
but quicker :-)
but way less funny
But you can't get swap right away. It isn't available until mid way through the game.
:P Plus, beating yourself levels up your weapon skill that you're using as well.
"I'm gonna play the gameboy version" holds nes controller a few minutes later
I wanted to know if this was authentic... Couldn't you adapt a NES controller to a Game Boy Player? Maybe....
Probably emulated it and used an NES controller on his computer.
An improvement for the Keyword system would have to be having keywords that only work being highlighted
That is actually a great suggestion, instead of having to trial and error only to get (?) most of the time. I was about ready to look up a guide on how to enter the cyclone until I asked every word to Hilda.
The keyword argument is so overblown though since most of the keywords are useless as the game goes on, it's pretty obvious which ones you need to progress
@@jesushuerta4379 Turns out Square actually did that in the Pixel Remaster edition. Whenever the keyword list is available in that version of the game, the keywords that actually matter will be displayed in a differently colored font.
8:00 "beginning enemies are just as beneficial as end game"
To an extent, Jared, you are forgetting that leveling weapon skills require monster levels be high enough. For example, the monsters in the area outside Altair only raise your weapon proficiency to level three, but for every other stat it can be raised nigh infinitely with battles.
But yes, I agree, tedious to the extreme. Great idea, poor execution. Now if the skills system were like a bonus or supplementary stat system like in other RPGs, especially like Action RPGs, I think it would have been better. Or even if it had FF3's system, like you still leveled up, primarily for HP and MP, and proficiencies were more of an enhancement that aided your abilities, not the entire basis for them.
The best part of the game is definitely the end, with Pandemonium and Mateus's final forms!
I beat this on GBA not long ago, as I'm going through 1-6. I didn't get into it as much as I wanted to. I found some story bits felt like they were there to pad it out. Overall I'm glad I played it, and will return to try out the bonus find dungeons in the future.
It was a huge contrast with FFI on the same cart...I had a huge amount of fun replaying that!
I wanted to play this, JUST because of the levelling system. I'm glad to find out that the Saga series adapted this levelling system. Time to play those, then!
Considering how you have to hurt yourselves to get stronger, it reminds me of what the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crew would probably do in a high fantasy setting like this
So I started playing FF III along with Jared's playthrough, I honestly stopped playing alongside and just watched. But when playing, I noticed an odd glitch, when you talk to Cid after curing his wife/grandmother, he jumps to the right, but if you talk to him again, he jumps further to the right, sooooo I ended up putting Cid in the void around the inside of his house.
Lmao that's amazing
"Saving the last living dragon"
*Looks at text box and sees Wyvern
Oh really?
well a wyvern is still technically a dragon
I'm just going off of memory, but aren't wyverns a subspecies of dragon in some fashion?
I hate when Hollywood keeps turning dragons into wyverns (looking at you, Harry Potter and The Hobbit!)
A wyvern is just a dragon that has a normal number of limbs.
Wyverns are Dragons such as how toucans are birds
I always appreciate how much time and effort go into your videos :) You can feel how much it means to you and makes your content so refreshing to watch. Keep it up dude :)
This is an accurate video of the game as I'm playing it right now, but one thing you forgot to mention that's bullshit; is that Black Mages can't wear armor cause there's a hidden penalty that hurts the magic damage. Really sucks.
really ? but they don't really need armor if a character is in the back line he will not be hit by normal physique attack.
All the stats besides HP & MP can lowered by another stat. If gain intelligence, you lose strength and vice versa. This makes it so that you really have to specialize what you wanna do, or get rekt by the game.
@@wilfredynunez5263 that's only in the original. It was fixed in the GBA release
so you hate games with a challenge?
@@GiordanDiodato Wasn't aware. I played the NES version. I thought that was still in the GBA version.
Final Fantasy II is a guilty pleasure of mine.
I personally enjoyed the darker tone and having characters die. It suddenly made the setting that much more grim.
this is like dragon quest 1 v2.0 85%grind 15%plot..and damn, you call it your guilty pleasure? You're like lvl999999 of jared punching himself...lols
I liked some of the spells. Flare and Ultima were fun, until it became clear Ultima wouldn't grow because you need to increase every skill and spell in the game to increase Ultima's damage further. Leveling the elements fire/ice/lightning was not good, I'm not using those for power but to exploit weaknesses. Ice/fire/light
felt like leveling a can opener, a pen and a screw driver by throwing them at a stonewall. And Flare was a cannon ball, which is made to be thrown at a stonewall.
Yup. I get the complaints against it, but I personally really dig it and honestly like it a bit more than many modern FFs.
qwertyMrJINX nice po-ju profile pic
10:31 non-random encounters, 8-bit style!
they were in the original as well
I really miss your "I'm playing (title)!" intro's. They added a lot of character to the video's!
Virtual Hydlide was the BEST intro!
@@justinthomas7222 You mean "Euuuuggghhh..."?
Yeah, that one _was_ the best.
Great video and agree 100%! Another complaint I have is when you have a new party member added. Say you’re party has around 3000 HP each. When you get your next party member, you might expect them to scale around your party’s average stats, right? Nope! They come with about 200 health each time, making them virtually useless when they join. The only way to get any value out of them is to GRIND them out as well. Beat the shit out of them until they’re around your stats. Then watch them leave and have ANOTHER member join to do exactly the same thing!
Actually the emperor defeated Satan to gain his powers.
on a couple remakes it was censored so ya its def true in some version what hes saying..but the true translated version where he defeated satan isnt in some versions of ff2 due to censorship but ya at least in the later version it translated beter
the novel has him kill the devil iirc
junfaa wow........
Its basically like how tim allen killed santa, and became santa.
He killed satan, and became satan. Then his castle becomes literal hell.
I never realized it before, but we need a The Satan Clause movie. As in, somehow a businessman kills the devil and gets pulled into taking over his job, slowly growing more tall and thin, having his skin become red, wearing a goatee pretty much all the time.
Yes I realize you could almost entirely steal the plotline of The Santa Clause for it to work, but....I'd watch it.
Oh hell yeah, that FF8 Timber Owls music
Indeimaus ‘Eyy, Indeimaus!! If the Pro in Pro Jared is false, does that mean you’re not a maus? Also Dark Fantasy pls. Um... actually, maybe call it Final Souls. Better than Top Ten Dark Souls Stones pt 3 ;)
you clearly don't know when to shut the fuck up
No one is talking
I LOVE the rebel theme. Could listen to it all day.... *-*
Let's make a campaign so projared finishes his final fantasy videos! After 12 I've been waiting for 13, please man I have watched you final fantasy games over and over again. You are still missing 13, 14, 15 and 16
By 12:25 I could hear Egoraptor screaming "I hope you get where I'm coming from so I don't have to keep WASTING MY FUCKING TIME E X P L A I N I N G I T"
12:35 Man, not even Jecht got Tidus 3 empty birthday presents
So did he Review Final Fantasy 2 or 4?
Damien Black 2
Cheese Wolf America 2 or original 2?
Sid Yum Original 2
Susurrus original American 2 or original Japanese 2?
Yes.
I really enjoy Final Fantasy II and I really enjoyed this video. I also have beaten this on the original NES via a repro cart and enjoyed it thoroughly but that's going in with the knowledge of someone that knows how broken the game mechanics are and appreciate the flaw.
"Oh no...! You died Final Fantasy 2...? BYE!!!" I almost fell out of my chair laughing so hard!!
Guy speak beaver.
Egg Benedict The best moment in the franchise
its excellent.
Spoiler warnings please, thank you.
Guy will go down in history as speak beaver.
I love FF 2. Say what you want =P
I love it , too .... Even the nes version
It doesn't need to be good for you to enjoy it, tbf :P
Ryan Fanstone Should we do get help?
These Final Fantasy episodes are so calming to me, they help me get ready to go to bed.
Hey Jared, why don't you do a video about Final Fantasy fighting games, you know what you said one time, you are a person who plays fighting games for the story.
Oh yeah, Dissidia Final Fantasy. Sounds great.
Dissidia isn't exactly a traditional fighting game
@@GiordanDiodato Not traditional, but still is a fighting game and that's exactly why is interesting
Can't believe you'd all neglect the best FF Fighting game, Ergheiz
It's gonna be interesting to see this go all the way to 6.
he should do 13 too
Stephen Mc Devitt AHHH LEAVE MY HEAD! WHY DID I PICTURE THAT?
+Stephen Mc Devitt
Only if he moans to the beat of the opera scene, otherwise it won't fully capture 6's majesty.
Nickkiller the Khajiit No... no he shouldn't
Stephen Mc Devitt why!!! Why would you say that?!?! I can't unsee the picture in my mind.. is there a reason for saying this?
Is jared gonna review every final fantasy? That would be awesome.
I like that you acknowledged how ambitious FF II was for its time. Of course, it's worth noting that the GBA remake streamlined a lot of things with regards to the leveling, making things less tedious than the NES original. It's still not very good, but not as bad as it used to be.
You forgot the part where emperor conquers the friggin' Haven!
You know the place god lives.......Yeah that happens, its canon.
only in one of the remakes, the original version you just kill him and he's dead.
I believe Its both in GBA (the one jared played) and PSP version.
that's a though guy to kill. maybe they should just beat the shit out of him them petrify him for good
If only bosses weren't Petrify/Banish proof.
Triangle Guy Yeah but they basically kick the shit outta God in most FF games lol
Projared is one of those rare TH-camrs that I can click like before even watching a video. Thank you for always producing great content.
9:52 EXACTLY! That's what the game is all about.
Well, bosses aren't imune against ohk at this game. So, if you train teleport to a high level, you'd kill almost every foe with just a hit.
Observation: rod level improves mace ptoficiency.
"the soundtrack is bad" there's just things I can't accept.
Daerink he didn't say it was ALL bad
Agreed. The remixed version from the PlayStation onwards are genuinely really great! There's always this sinister, uneasy feeling in many tracks, which is completely fitting for the world and the story. It's my favorite battle theme for the series, the overworld is exceptional, the Rebel and town themes and the final dungeon and boss themes rock.
The remix from dissidia of the battle theme is freakin amazin
The soundtrack is great.
There's so many great songs he didn't mention: "Castle Pandeamonium" "battle 2" "ancient castle" "revivification" and "Magician's Tower"
Firion's overworld sprite just looks eternally pissed.
it's the same sprite from FF1...
I mean considering all the shit that goes down in the story, can you blame him?
I actually did play through this game, and I liked it quite a lot. I know it's weird and there were a lot of issues with it, but the interesting story and colorful design kept me playing. Plus it's always funny to me that you can get jacked by just spamming the weak ass enemies in the starting area and then murdering all the big bois in the later dungeons
Does anybody else feel like a reimagined version of Final Fantasy II could actually be really, really good?
I'm talking a complete overhaul of the core game-sensible dungeon layouts, more fleshed-out central characters, better writing, less frequent random battles, a leveling system that isn't broken, and a version of the Chocobo theme that isn't just four bars long could all help to make FFII not only more playable, but potentially even fantastic.
Believe it or not, this was the first Final Fantasy game that I actually completed. Being my first full playthrough of any game in the series, it left a strong impression on me that lingers even after having played its bigger and better follow-ups. I love the dark tone of the game, I love a lot of its music, I love its atmosphere, and I genuinely believe that it has enormous untapped potential.
Of all the Final Fantasy games, I feel like Final Fantasy 2 has the most potential when it comes to a full-blown remake. The game had a lot of great ideas, but the execution of those ideas were pretty much all horrible. Or, if not inherently bad, the executions were unrewarding (such as pointlessly casting a spell hundreds of times to get it to a competent level, only to use the spell for its intended purpose two or three times throughout the entire game). Whereas most games in the series, while each having their own flaws, are still solid games that don't really need much in the way of improvements.
Instead, they just keep remastering it, which keeps all of those problems intact. Problems that are so severe, no amount of fresh paint can hide them. Only a complete renovation will suffice.