Final Fantasy Legend II retrospective: Gift of the MAGI | Game Boy Works

[@ReaverPrime]

I can't put into words what this game means to me. It came into my life at a very weird time during grade school. A time when Dad was deployed during and after Desert Storm, Mom was depressed, and I was alone alot. The old gray brick was one of my only outlets at the time, so the games I had during that period hold a VERY strong significance to me. FFL 2, FFA, and Metroid II got me through a dark time in life.
It doesn't hurt that those games are each top shelf in their own ways. While I was already a fan of menu based RPGs since the original FF and Dragon Warrior on NES, FFL2 got me into managing the minutia of party builds and individual character stats.

[@gopherbone697]

Love the history you guys have shared here!
I actually got FFL2 last, after playing Adventure, 1 & 3. I had a rough time in my later grade school days. Basically became "dad" to my brother who was 10 year younger than I, because of a useless single mom. I had to trade in my games to get new ones, and this series was what I put every second of my rare free time into.
I think I was 13 when I finally got Legend 2, that was in 1992. I traded in a couple SNES games for it. For some reason it struck those nostalgia chords just right, and I always considered it to be way more of a true "Sqaresoft" RPG amongst the ranks I held Adventure and Secret of Mana to. It has so much replayability that I was playing it through in so many different challenge modes thinking I was the only lunatic on Earth spending so much time on such a humble game. It was one of my go-to escapism games that's for sure!

[@matthewlane518]

RPGs are great for killing time, even the bad times

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

Speaking of Metroid, did you love Dread?

[@ReaverPrime]

@@2yoyoyo1Unplugged Haven't played it, and not exactly looking forward to. Word is, it has the same controls as Samus Returns and can't be changed. I hated that game's controls. To me, if a game doesn't feel right in my hands, I can't enjoy it.

[@MikeRavia-xp5ig]

I hear you. Not the same story but it meant the world to me back then. I didn't have a lot of friends and picked on all the time. It was everything to get lost in video games. Nothing mattered as I burned up those AA batteries.

[@BenCol]

6:55 “Mr. Mask” sounds like the mascot for a public information campaign from the last couple of months.

[@JeremyParish]

"Mr. Mask always leaves a window open for an easy escape-and to help ventilate spaces and prevent the proliferation of aerosolized viruses!"

[@sovrinn16]

"Oh no, the evil Anti-Masq is spreading his mind control virus! Quickly, Mr. Mask, activate your face-covering superpower!"

[@poisonouslead85]

I really loved the cracked out Sci-fantasy kitchen sink of SaGa 2 and 3. Those universes ran on a mix of rule of cool and "Don't laugh, it works."
You could armor your robot by duct-taping all your spare shields and gloves to it and use it as a fountain drink dispenser for health potions. Your wizard character could cast gun and spray bad guys with a mac-10.

[@josefkrenshaw179]

The mutant magic system is actually improved from the first FFL. In the first game, the new spells could replace any of the existing spells. In this game, a new spell will only replace the '4th' or bottom one. Keeping the best spells near the top, will ensure that they don't get replaced. In the first one, I was often resetting the game after getting a lemon spell replacing a good one. That minor adjustment made for a world of difference.

[@jessemcconnell1175]

I was so stoked for this, and with the announcement of SaGa Frontier HD this week i'm losing my mind

[@ArispeMatt]

Wait, what? What's the system?

[@AzraelNewtype0079]

@@ArispeMatt Everything.

[@babydadoo]

Same! Super excited. Day one purchases for sure

[@alicelirette4380]

"The Final Fantasy Saga continues"
I GET IT

[@Rando1975]

Yeah, I figured that was not a coincidence.

[@CM-wv8ns]

It's punny

[@stoozdee]

Glad to see even a fifth of a second of Night Court.

[@hansamurai]

Back in like 1995 I wanted Final Fantasy III (US, SNES) so bad, my aunt went out to look for it and came home with Final Fantasy Legend III. I had a lot of fun with it!

[@originalsleepyjon]

Thank you for your incredible videos. Your content is top notch. Being an 80s kid who owned all most of these games you discuss, it's quite the stroll down memory lane. Keep up the phenomenal work and thank you.

[@MrDuckyart]

One of the first games I ever emulated since family was always too poor to afford a gameboy, and a friend gave me a floppy disk with a gba emulator and FFL2-3 on it. It was fantastic.

[@armyofninjas9055]

Yet you had a pc. We could afford a gameboy but no computer. :/

[@Nagoragama]

This was one of my favorite games in my childhood. It was a blast revisiting it on the Final Fantasy Legend collection on the Switch!

[@GenteelCretin]

I was six years old when I got this game, and I somehow made it to Apollo, the second to last boss. Considering I didn't understand the mechanics and was afraid to use the MAGI because I assumed they only had a single use, it's amazing I got as far as I did. I think I'm fortunate that the reading level was semi-manageable because of the GB text limitations.

[@ericdleon]

As the father of a soon to be six year old I can't imagine how he would get anywhere with this.

[@jeffroberts9693]

I played this on so many car trips as a kid. That intro music kicks the nostalgia. I remember thinking how weird it was for a Final Fantasy game but loved it. Later I found out it wasn't an FF game and then it made sense.

[@esperderek5383]

FFL2 was my very first RPG as a kid, and it helped me fall in love with the genre that lasts till this day.

[@GELTONZ]

FFL2 is literally my favorite RPG of all time and one of my top 3 favorite games of all time. I think the ONE thing you didn't mention (as this likely didn't affect you) is that it's the first Gameboy RPG with multiple save slots. This mattered as my family shared one Gameboy back when it came out and we all liked RPGs so FFL1 never got very far as we kept restarting. FFL2's 3 save slots though was perfect as me, my sister, and my mother all had our own slots and could build our ideal parties: All girls for my sister, a balanced team for Mom, and I went with...3 slimes and a robot because I didn't read the manual and I love slimes...and robots. I also had no clue how the level up system actually worked and pretty much all of my victories were because every single item I had was funneled to my robot. This game went on every trip our family ever took...and we never used headphones. The soundtrack is seared into my very soul.
Years later I would sit down and try to dream up what my ideal perfect RPG was and I kept coming back to "Basically like FFL2 but better". That was when I realized how much I loved this game. When they announced the remake, I imported it and am grateful to Crimson Nocturne for translating it. The fact that it didn't get a US release is criminal as the quality of life changes in the remake are MASSIVE while not ruining the game (unlike the DS remake of FF3 which destroys everything I liked about the Famicom version).
I was certainly disappointed by FFL3, but the DS remake fixes much of that. Upon the realization that FFL2 is a SaGa game I've tried to get into the franchise and become a sort of Kawazu fanboy...sort of. Basically it seems like the games this dude makes are either some of the greatest RPGs ever made...or complete unplayable trash. Romancing SaGa 2 in particular seems to be the next best thing to FFL2 but I cannot STAND SaGa Frontier! (Buying the remake anyway though because WOW. Okay. You earned a second chance...or third...)

[@2dskillz]

I find your exploration of these games a particular delight. You manage to make them understandable without making the process dry or dull. I have watched your one on the first Legend many times. Thank you for your work.

[@dewinter1411]

He does great work!

[@jersmoonley]

I love this game. It really does a good job at refining some of the rough edges of the first one while still keeping the uniquely SaGa feeling that the game is about to break, but never completely does.

[@Match451]

Mutant powers are a bit more manageable in FFL2 than FFL1, as only the lowest mutant power can get randomly replaced by another power. You can use the ability screen to re-arrange the order of mutant powers and effectively "store" up to 3 powers. It also tells you at the end of the battle if a power got replaced. This is in contrast to FFL1, which randomly replaced any of the 4 mutant powers and never tells you after a battle. If you wanted to keep a mutant power, you'd have to check after every battle and reset if randomness was against you.

[@crawdkenny]

Anyone born a couple years after me lives talking about how they played Pokemon so much and they was their childhood. This was my Pokemon.

[@CallMekwech]

I was firmly in that Pokemon generation, BUT spent hours upon on hours on this series on emulator in the late 90's after discovering them

[@ThomasMHead]

The first Final Fantasy Legend was one of the most formative games of my life. Final Fantasy Legend II engrained that influence even more: refining and expanding those mind-blowing concepts. Lifelong favorites of mine.

[@mattdgroves]

"meat donor" makes it sound so nice

[@JeremyParish]

Well, I never said it was voluntary

[@Unquestionable]

Was one of my most hyped games for you to look at and it did not disappoint. Been almost two decades since I last played it but looking forward to getting that SaGa collection to relive my junior high gaming memories.

[@gopherbone697]

Mage-eye
Lol... Awesome video as always. The GB final fantasy games hold a special place in my nostalgia heart. I was in grade school when they came out, I treasured them immensely. Adventure was and still is my all time favorite game. Cheers!

[@drewvonawesome8851]

The thing about this offshoot of Retronauts is not just the quality of the videos themselves or the research. But it has that really relaxing NPR quality to it that makes it something great to unwind with....

[@ColbyePresents]

When I was 7, I was with my family on a trip up to Baltimore. We were on our way to see an Orioles/A's game when my dad asked a police officer how to get to the stadium.
"You'll never get there in time for first pitch" said the officer. "Follow us."
Dad just nodded.
Two police officers gave us a police escort to the stadium. Lights, sirens, the whole bit. It was completely random and really really cool.
I remember none of this, for I was fighting Venus in Final Fantasy Legend II.
*I made the right choice.*

[@roguerifter9724]

This was the first Squaresoft RPG I ever played and of the first three JRPGs I owned (Saga/Final Fantasy Legend II, Dragon Quest/Warrior II, and Final Fantasy I) this is easily my favorite, I've only beat it a few times but I have no idea how many party combinations I've tried over the years, and of course this was the start of my love for the Saga franchise.

[@bl6799]

How long had you been waiting to use that (lovely) “donor kebabs” pun?

[@JeremyParish]

Years

[@cashnelson2306]

The US team was definitely right to ride on those NES Final Fantasy coattails. When young me saw a freakin' Final Fantasy game for the Game Boy I absolutely flipped out. Had to have it more than I'd had to have any game since Link's Awakening

[@BenCol]

“Donor Kebabs”
Genius.

[@Jordan3DS]

This is a surprisingly charming game by Game Boy standards, the only part that's really not fun is the final dungeon where they randomly decided that you're no longer allowed to run from any battles AND make you fight insanely hard enemies that are act as a massive difficulty spike.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

I am pretty sure the entire point of that section is supposed to be "Look how powerful Isis is!" since she has Flare that tears through every enemy (aside from the last few mini-bosses that will undoubtedly cause a gameover if there is more than 2.)

[@goopysoap176]

This was one of my first RPG game experiences and still one of my favorite games. It had a huge influence on what I like to see in video games in general, as after playing with the monster classes in this game, I grew a liking for games giving you the ability to play as enemy characters and the like. Funny thing is, despite the manual's warning about how difficult they are to use, once you become more familiar with how the monster meat system works, they actually become one of the easier party members to manage, and there's a few ways to abuse it early on to get a strong monster early. This game also lead to me trying other SaGa games, with SaGa Frontier II being my next favorite in the series. Despite being a PS1 game, the water color graphics of the game still look beautiful, imo.

[@muscovyducks]

Played this on a bus ride to D.C. for a school field trip to Clinton's inauguration. Pretty immersive for an eight year-old, with top-notch tunes too. And... that imp is looking rather moogle-like.

[@MrRudePolite]

This was one of my favorite games as a child. I didn’t expect you to say so many nice things about it

[@carblazer31672]

This is the first final fantasy I ever played, and I found it in a pumpkin patch.

[@HybridAngelZero]

The original Final Fantasy Legend was one of my first RPGs and one of my favorite Game Boy games, I am SO hyped to finally play this on my Switch in a few days ;v;

[@drew8235]

The first game was my childhood. Obviously it's a very short and very problematic RPG, but there's something about it that is so charming, and the music is amazing.

[@Arcad3n]

Has it really been a year since the last game boy works episode? Man, time flies. Can’t wait for more.

[@JeremyParish]

Keep waiting, I’m afraid…

[@childofcascadia]

This was so nostalgic. This and final fantasy adventure were my 2 favorite games as a kid. I sold my gameboy and all my games to the neighbor kid in 1992 so I had cash to buy a SNES, and now 30 years later I kind of regret it. This game was amazing. I remember finally beating Odin after like 5 tries wearing earphones and yelling, and my mom got mad at me cuz I startled her suddenly yelling.

[@cmos9020]

It's always a treat to see the immense research, context, and analysis presented in these videos!

[@shibuyariver9451]

Legends 2 was the game that got me into RPGs in the 90's. Such a weird first entry to the genre but it made it a memorable one.

[@NickSayre]

"There's no randomness to robots."

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Hang on, is that "The Heat is On" from Beverly Hills Cop as the battle theme? At 2:10 specifically.

[@GamerGoingGrey]

I heard the same thing. I knew something was familiar but couldn't fully place it.

[@GELTONZ]

I need a mashup of that with the FFL2 battle theme so badly.

[@DaneeBound]

Hey, here's a game that released on the exact day where I turned -4 years old.

[@bjornh1527]

That’s a lot of praise! I’ve only played the start of the game, but so far it’s promising. I did finish FFL III, and this games feels like it’s got more personality.

[@geovaughan8261]

This was one of my favorite games as a kid, and I played it more than any other game in my Game Boy collection. Even after years of playing it, I only managed to figure out how a few of its systems worked. The secrets of how things like monster meat and skill growth worked gave this game a sort of mystique to playing that never quite went away until I came back years later and found monster evolution tables online. XD

[@jedgrahek1426]

Thank you for validating my childhood nostalgia : )
Seriously though, this game was the long school bus ride I had every day through jr high. I love how the party always feels like the player has such ownership of it, because you decided on every single member from such a diverse selection. I have fond memories of being in the final dungeon and feeling like I could let my monster(s) eat anything, and it would always result in something awesome and powerful : )

[@Phediuk]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe FFL2/Saga 2 is also the first 2-megabit (256KB) ROM for the Game Boy.

[@wickedgrinaz]

The memories
Gen-Bu
Sei-Ryu
Byak-Ko
Su-Zaku

[@vigo2669]

Ah. The one that got away. I lost it during a family trip 20 years ago.

[@vigo2669]

And now I just beat it 2 days ago for the first time in the collection on the switch.

[@HydraSavior]

I've put at least a hundred hours into SaGa games and haven't beaten a single one. I always get myself into near-unwinnable game states because I didn't understand the mechanics well enough.
Regardless, I love the series, despite it being the bane of my existence.

[@voidsabre_]

Been waiting on this for so long, since I discovered this channel with the first Final Fantasy Legend Game Boy World video

[@TheLostAdventurer]

Final Fantasy Legends II holds a special place in my life, it was my first RPG game, I had it on my old beat up used gameboy when my father was working overseas and it's story hit very young me closely. It'll always rank in my top 10 favorite games of all times. Thanks for the nostalgia hit.

[@therealbluedragon]

Boy the UI in this game sure does look a lot like Gen 1 Pokemon UI. Wouldn’t be surprised if they used it as inspiration.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Man, I am really tempted by that Saga compilation coming out this week... On one hand, I played the hell out of Saga 1 back in the day on my og Gameboy, on the other hand, I *know* I'm not going to have the patience to grind through an 8-bit RPG these days...

[@drcidd8153]

Figured out when I was a wee lad, that you can cheese stat gains pretty easily.
Once you win a fight where one of your stats increased at the end, immediately save your game and then soft reset (A+B+Select+Start) and then load your save.
It will immediately thrust you into the battle you just fought. And you'll get the same stat increase at the end of said battle again. This can be repeated infinitely until stats are maxed.

[@The_Lawnmower_Man]

14:17 There's one important difference from the first game w.r.t. the way that mutants' spells are randomly learned: when a mutant has 4 inventory slots occupied by spells, and then randomly gets one of them replaced by another spell, then it's always the *last* one (i.e. the one in an inventory slot that's later/lower in the inventory menu than all the rest) of their 4 spells that gets thrown out to make way for the new one. What's more, you can *manually reorder* the items in a mutant party member's inventory, *including* the randomly-learned spells... which means that you can choose which one of a mutant's 4 spells (e.g. the "least useful" one) will be the one that gets randomly-replaced next, by moving it further down within that mutant's inventory.

[@boscopit]

I got this when it first came out waaay back in 92. One of my favorites.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

Thanks for the reminder, Jeremy. I had almost forgotten the SaGa series was releasing on Switch later this week. This is a legendary game and for all the right reasons. I do hope that this third lease on life gives it wider appeal.
I like Kawazu's style but he does... tend to go overboard a bit. I always felt that SaGa 2 was one of his best works, without being too esoteric.

[@jimmyrolls37]

Yes, older games did have us fending for ourselves, but the FFL games each came with very extensive manuals that explained the basics and had lots of info on the different races, progression, etc. So if you bought the game new, you were not quite left in the dark

[@RabbitEarsCh]

"donor kebabs" is a fantastic turn of phrase, I really hope that makes it into the book exactly as-is.

[@zachh3791]

My first RPG and I only bought it because Target messed up and had it priced lower than it was supposed to be. The game is part of who I am, an unremovable piece of me that I revisit every few years. The story, the music, the battles... it all just feels like home.

[@cowardlylion42]

This was the one Game Boy SaGa game I haven’t finished, so it’s nice to have your video to take its place for me.
Also, you mentioned Odin as a rare instance of an NPC who helps you out, only to be battled later on. I doubt you’ve heard of the Yipe! series, but the undertaker in that series serves the exact same purpose: death means loss of a percentage of your savings (but a full restore). Defeating the undertaker means you no longer have to “pay” him, but you also don’t get the restore.

[@nicholasplant2129]

Have to clap my hands for the "donor kebabs" pun. Mr. Parish thank you. You had me rolling with that.

[@GameplayandTalk]

Always heard mixed things about these, but honestly this one looks pretty solid.

[@UliTroyo]

I have fond memories of this game! It was the first game I borrowed from one of my now longest-time friends. I... also unsuccessfully stole it from a Best Buy at one point. Unsuccessful in that someone stole it from me the next day, so I didn't get to play it until the aforementioned friend lent me his years later. Great video, Jeremy!

[@GreatistheWorld]

Look buddy, I happen to love games I don’t care about

[@magetsalive5162]

I never finished FFL2. Got as far as the "Save Ki from the Inside" quest and got rekt constantly by the bacteria/viruses and never picked it up again. I may have to look into Collection of SaGa when it releases...
FFL3 was my jam, though. Beat that game countless times.

[@pauldyson8098]

"Donor-kabobs!"
I bought this game at the Caldor at the Canton Mall when I was 13!

[@Maleketh42]

That "donor kebabs" pun was fantastic.

[@doctorwolfman5221]

In regard to “helpful early rpgs”, I’d also include Sega’s Phantasy Star II which had a substantial manual and also a seperate and quite large hint book that included dungeon maps and such.

[@JeremyParish]

Yeah, but that game's battle interface... bewildering.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Of course, the hint book was only added to the American version because of the game's totally unfair grindy difficulty and ridiculous multi-floor dungeon design. I actually beat it back in the day, and on one hand I love it for how advanced its plot and storytelling were for the time. (Plus I adore the soundtrack.) But on the other hand, I think the designer genuinely *hates* the players. Particularly considering what a nonstop downer the whole game is, despite the incredible effort required to complete it.

[@DarkHeroAkutare]

@@jasonblalock4429 Regarding the dungeon design in Phantasy Star II, I remember coming across an interview where it was claimed that the designer was a new employee working on the game as his first project. Supposedly he had worked so hard on the maps that the higher-ups on the team couldn't bring themselves to just throw them out, so they went with them despite their overcomplexity and baffling design.
Of course, I'm having trouble finding that interview now, so I've no idea if I'm misremembering...

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@DarkHeroAkutare Fair enough, I've got a lot of 'back in the day' anecdotes too. "I read it in an EGM sometime in the early 90s" is pretty hard to back up. But I could certainly believe it. The dungeons, particularly in the second half, were just *cruel.* Especially with those damned foreground overlays obscuring the layout!

[@LeftyPem]

“Donor kebabs”. Clever🤣

[@shouryuuken4147]

They've even mitigated some of the randomness with the mutants/espers and how they acquire new skills. They can learn up to four and you can decide which three skills to keep. The three topmost skills in your menu will always remain and only the bottommost skill changes. This way you can control which skills to keep and which one you're okay with losing. It can also no longer happen that you lose all of your skills and then stand around defenseless.
Unfortunately this game changed the cost of weapons and spells so much, that it turned into somewhat of a grindfest, where it can feel like you're not really making any significant pogress. Many of the items cost so much and degrade so quickly, that you can barely recoup the costs from fighting.

[@dagossYT]

While it wasn't covered in detail here, this game has a phenomenal music score. This is one of Uematsu's most under-appreciated works.
Overall, FFL2 is one of the most surprising games I've played--surprising how good it is. After playing through it once, I immediately started a second play through and beat it again. The variations in party as well as the mechanics of Mutants/Espers and Monsters give enough variety to make multiple runs still enjoyable. It helps a lot that the game is structured around bite-sized vignettes as well. This is great game and the perfect entry point for anyone SaGa-curious.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

Completely agreed! My first playthrough was semi-blind with one of each race. It was difficult at various points (the Magnate in particular was definitely tricky) but I loved my time with it.
My second playthrough was to test out the extent of martial arts so I had a human, a mutant, and two monsters, overall a fun experience, and my monsters really helped out near the end there.
My third playthrough was a crazy solo game where I used a Mutant and 3 Robots that were never given anything to equip. That one was a real triumph.
The fourth was a typical one, 2 humans and 2 mutants with the goal of setting a role for each character. That too was such an enjoyable time. I loved this game a lot more than I would have, considering its age and only my slight familiarity with it. But something about it just kept me coming back for more, probably the rich systems and party building possibilities.

[@LorenHelgeson]

The main mechanics sounds like something right in the middle of Pokemon and Shin Megami Tensei, specifically Revelations: the Demon Slayer, which was known as Last Bible in Japan.
Instead of eating monsters, you get two or more together to do some kind of fusion dance, which makes stronger or (if you screw up) weaker companions. Mechanically very similar to what we get in the Persona series.

[@armyofninjas9055]

Got into RPGs on the GB. Got all 3 legend games and adventure for my bday one year. And I loved them.

[@notavailable4891]

I started with FF7 or 8, but for some reason when I bought this game as a kid, even though it wasn't as fancy as the newer RPGs I liked, it hooked me. It ends up really punching above its weight and is a ton of fun to play through. I need to play it again sometime.

[@stephenmay7438]

This was the first RPG I ever owned, and my third game overall after Tetris and Double Dragon 2. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[@f0ry0u81]

Thanks for the upload, JP.
Keep up the good work!

[@Retrosys]

THE rpg of my childhood along with Final Fantasy Legend III

[@danieldavis2055]

A small note if you are dismayed by the "randomness" of the Mutant spell system and want to make it a bit more predictable.
Spells aren't actually assigned at random. Every enemy actually has a hidden level; after fighting an enemy, the spell that a Mutant can acquire will be based on that level. For instance, when fighting Dunatis, who is a very high level enemy for that area of the game, your Mutant can acquire O-All, P-Blast, Flare, Teleport or other high level skills. Whereas fighting a first world Jaguar will never award your Mutant with a spell higher than Level 1.
Secondly- if you find a mutant skill you want to retain, simply make sure it is never placed on the bottom of the inventory menu. In this game, the Mutant skill placed below all the others will always be the one to be replaced.
Hope this makes things a little more transparent!

[@abhirao8582]

I just finished this one. The RNG in these games can be frustrating and made the final dungeon's sub bosses insufferable.
With that said, I did ultimately enjoy this one a lot. I didn't play these growing up (I did have a Gameboy but they were never released here or anywhere in my area), but they continue to honestly impress me. The Gameboy is a system I have great nostalgia for and it's amazing to see even this early on in the system's lifespan, just how much you could get out of one of these original monochrome carts.
The game was frustrating in more than a few spots, but I can't say I didn't have a blast playing it. Looking forward to the third one.

[@EinDose]

I... wanted to argue the 'only Square employee from the 8-bit days still working for the company' with Nobuo Uematsu and Yoshitaka Amano, who do still do work with the Final Fantasy series, but actually on review I've learned that they're both freelancers these days! Uematsu made that move somewhat recently, Amano's always been.
How about that!

[@JeremyParish]

It turns out there ARE a couple of other employees from around that time. I just read that Takashi Tokita of FFIV fame started the same day as Kawazu.

[@notorious8361]

3 or 4 robots fully equipped with 1 mutant. Unstoppable.

[@oofley8346]

I think in regard to espers, there are some important changes from the last game to this that make it more manageable. A, the slots in their inventory past the first one don't populate with skills unless you leave room for them to fill out, B, the pool of potential skills to learn depends on the enemy being fought, and, most importantly, C, the bottommost skill in the inventory is the *only* one that can replace itself after a fight.

[@whildhair83]

This was the 1st game I had on the gameboy. Made me have to get the wall adapter. Legendary game and great review.

[@ArninoStorm]

I'm the biggest SaGa fan, even play the phone game. I'm loving the SaGa renaissance we've been getting these days.

[@youisiaint]

I liked how all 3 titles were pretty much all completely different.

[@bluedistortions]

This was the first RPG I ever played. I was enthralled by it and it's weird mechanics.

[@StudioMudprints]

15:52 "It's easily a Top-3 Game Boy Roleplaying game"
Pokemon Red/Blue, Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening, Final Fantasy Legend II. It's one of those three for pretty much everyone, and for me, Final Fantasy Legend II is absolutely #1 and the others just aren't even close.

[@mikemauton]

Night Court was such a great show.

[@SirJoelsuf1]

Easily one of the best RPGs of the early 1990s. So much so that I speedrun it now and speedrunning it is more fun than playing it casually.

[@SaxcatGamingCorner]

Been waiting for this one for a long, long time. One of my favorite Gameboy games. Played it many times.

[@shorap]

I never beat it but this was my most played Gameboy game by a country mile. Probably followed by Final Fantasy Adventure.

[@ronaldclayton824]

Never really got into part 2 even though I owned all 3 and Adventure,but I did play through and beat part 1 and it wasn't easy from what I remember.

[@HYPERMASCULINE]

WillyVania truther, Jeremy Parish is a beacon in the dark

[@babydadoo]

I am looking forward to continuing my tradition of playing these games at least once a year every year on switch instead of my soon to start failing original game boy carts. In SaGa 1 I have tried every party configuration you could think of: just one human, all humans, all mutants, all monsters (actually the easiest way to beat the game using a monster meat guide). I’m thinking SaGa 2 with all robots just to see how that works.

[@dpgreene]

I understand why Sunsoft re-released this series. I was one of those RPG starved kids in the late 90s without a PlayStation. So I did end up buying FFLI and III in ‘98 or so (still haven’t played II). I guess I enjoyed them enough to not care about FFVII because I still haven’t played more than an hour or 2 of that game once I bought it years later.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

I thing it's sad that the series ended before the Super Game Boy released. It works so well with RPGs.

[@7thangelad586]

I’ve got lots of time. I’m going to revisit this game.
I have to remark: did you create the names of those characters?? TZTY even...
And the most fun we have with this series is rebuking you about how many memories we have of those games you don’t think we care about!

[@MrTableDesk]

I recently acquired all three gameboy carts. I guess I should take the plunge.