I will actually buy this. I wish they'd do a physical copy, but surely they won't, not for $20. It's absolutely worth that to me to get the 3 Legend games playable again though, in I think their first release since the original GB carts
After years of hating Final Fantasy II, I discovered how to maintain a razor thin but powerful balance. This is when the game becomes great. Hint: shields are your friend.
You ain't kidding about those mutants and their unpredictability. For some reason when I played this as a kid my party was really pathetic early on, and I couldn't get past even the first sub-boss (some kind of huge frog, I think?). Then one day my mutant randomly learned a ridiculously powerful Ice (or "Freeze"?) spell with unlimited use, and my party became as gods for a while, destroying the amphibian jerk with ease. Made it a good while after that, some ways into the fourth world. Can't remember if I died for good at that point or just lost interest/patience. But that clip kate in the video off the Sei-Ryu encounter gave me flashbacks of systematically checking (and fighting) like dozens of those damn orbs before finding the one with the boss.
I had this game as a kid. At one point, my brother thought it would be funny to take White-Out to the cover of the instruction manual so that the game title read as "Final ant Leg"... Yeah, I thought it was funny as hell too.
It was pretty intuitive that eating the meat of stronger monsters caused the monsters in your party to transform into something stronger than they were. The monsters in your party also existed in the world, so you could make direct comparisons. You just had to pay attention to what was going on. This is one of my favorite role playing games of all time.
Great game. I remember struggling with the difficulty of the game as a kid, but beating it was quite gratifying. The storyline is pretty interesting too, although as you point out, there is no character development.
I adored this game. I was head over heels for Final Fantasy so when this hit I was deep in throes of my fandom. The opening music still hits me hard. I used to sit and listen to it for a few minutes every time I fired up the game. That stereo sound!
Jeremy, I love this series. You are doing a great job, and I hope you keep it up. You are getting to some of the really strange, really unique early GB games too! (Meldac Represent!)
Man--there were so many unsuspecting FF fans that went into this game and were like "What the hell?!" God, I love Final Fantasy Legend II (GB) Music - Another World from FF 2 though.
Don't forget that with FFII the biggest issue was experience and leveling up. Grind is an understatement for FFII because unlike most grindable JRPGs you can't just rush through battles. the amount of time you have to take to actually appropriately level was mind numbing. It's the only FF game I didn't beat legitimately. I recently played through Makai Toushi SaGa and it was great, way better than FFII.
I never played the first SaGa game but I do own all 3 Romancing SaGa games. I played 3 quite a bit, but got distracted by other games and never beat it. And back when i did play it, 1 & 2 didn't have any translation patch available that I knew of. I also own the remake of Saga 2 for the DS, which DID get a full translation patch, and I also started playing that but just got confused by the "unexplained" monster transformations, and could really fathom all of the mechanics to build a GOOD team, but I'll definitely have to go back and really start learning how to do so.
I played this game when my family moved from Georgia to Idaho. We drove the whole way and I don't remember anything about the trip other than playing this game. I don't know when i started questioning the fairness or wisdom of game design choices but it wasn't then so I just took everything in stride and am glad I could play it on that long road trip.
FFL is based off the pen and paper RPG "Gamma World" just as FF1 is off Dungeons and Dragons. Read the first ed rules and you see so many similarities of abilities and equipment.
Was that the quietest Ghost in the Shell reference on the internet? "Tends to result in over specialization, and we all know where that leads." Great stuff.
Makau Toushi SaGa..... beautiful series. The first one was my favorite because of the imaginative leveling system and storyline. The 神 Kami , also called "Creator" was tough boss.
I'm sure there's a Japanese cellphone port you can buy for eight easy payments of ten dollars or something. Square's lack of support for the 3DS virtual console is baffling.
If you didn't try it when it was new, it's REALLY hard to get into. Remember it's a SaGa game and NOT a Final Fantasy game, the leveling system isn't a "leveling" system.
I love this game so much. Not only has it brought me hours of enjoyment, but it brought me to two of my favorite TH-camrs (Jeremy because of this video, and HcBailey because of his lets play of it)
I haven't played this game, but I've played FFL2 and FFL3. FFL2 was a game I couldn't wrap my head around, because of how wonky the stat growth system was, and I imagine FFL1 would be a similarily confusing game if I tried playing it. I am thankful that FFL3 was the first in the series that I tried, as it plays much more like a traditional Final Fantasy game. Had I played FFL1 or FFL2 first, I probably would've stayed away from the series entirely.
See me too, I was always more into 3 because of the set characters, and if I remember right the battle/level system felt less wonky in general. And I'm still not over that title music
I Love this. Along with Chrontendo(Chronsega &Chronturbo) and Generation 16, Game Boy World is one of my new favorites. Keep up the great work. By the way I also dig your work in Retronauts
Back in the mid 2000's I put probably 1000 hours into Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls. About half that time was spent beating the hell out of my own party members in FF2.
Great video, as always. Using the break to binge watch all your stuff. Btw, was the gb sound chip unique to it? Idk, but it just sounds so iconic, more so than the nes one. Thanks for your content and greetings from Mexico.
I heard about this game, and that it wasn't actually a Final Fantasy Game, but that's all I know. I checked to see if it was on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, but alas it's not there. I kind of wish Square Enix and Nintendo would re-release this game, but I'm sure there's some copyright BS that's preventing them.
It would be one hell of a fight to get Square to release a SaGa game. They will probably never release a SaGa game for the virtual console in the west, they haven't released SaGa Frontier 1 and 2 for PS1 classics unlike Japan, they won't release Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song as PS2 classics like in Japan. We are fortunate enough for them to throw us some scrapes with the Romancing SaGa 2 remaster for iOS which is the first time it ever came to the west and possibly in the future a remaster of Romancing SaGa 3. For some reason the western branch REALLY hates the SaGa series.
I loved Final Fantasy Legend 2, it took me ten years to beat because of it's insane difficulty, butit was a wonderful experience all the way through nonetheless! I'm playing through Legend 1 right now, and it's surprisingly dark but really challenging and rewarding to play. You also mentioned that Mutants are a wild-card character. Yeah, in Legend 1 they kinda are although that got wildly improved in the second installment, they're much more reliable. I'd also go so far as to say that the monster class, because of the meat transformation system, is more of the wildcard. (unless you take the time to examine the math algorithms that go into the transformations, but most players aren't gonna do that)
I love this game, and its beautiful chiptune soundtrack, but sadly, I've never finished it because of the difficulty. I'm among those who saw this as their first RPG experience, unless you count the PC version of EA's Starflight. I attempted to go back and conquer it again a couple years ago, but got distracted by something else half-way through. Alas, when I cover this game for my blog, I will endeavor to actually complete it fully. Great in-depth look at the game - I was unaware of the FF2 connection.
+Gabriele Riva Nobody's talking about FF1 here, but for what it's worth, I agree with you about the Dawn of Souls version of FF1. That being said, the original NES version is downright maddening and I found my comfort zone with the Origins version on PS1. I've not yet played FF2 in any version, but my curiosity about the older SaGa games makes me want to give it a shot.
I see this review came out before the release of SaGa Scarlet Grace and its enhance Ambitions remake. This really is one of Squaresoft's longest-running but more underappreciated series, probably because it's _defiantly_ obtuse and not suited for all players,
I remember reading about a Game Boy game that I thought had Final Fantasy in the title where you had to travel through time. Does anybody know what I'm remembering? Was it this one? I always wanted that game as a kid. I'm going back to my childhood home to get my old Nintendo Powers for my son sometime in the next few months, but if anybody knows, that would help.
Jackie Kashian on Comedy Central had a hilarious bit about Final Fantasy Legend, you could tell she really enjoyed playing it: www.cc.com/video-clips/if6ava/comedy-central-presents-video-games
This might be too deep for most, however I believe Final Fantasy was created to steer us in the right direction in our real lives. there are so many puzzle pieces that as I get older I'm putting into place. Final fantasy was crucial in the message NOT to get lost in religion. We are one. I know there are others out there also putting this together. Let's talk!
A real man doesn't need a manual lmfao. I love this game and Final Fantasy 2. The Chainsaw is 😎 awesome. I do like that our characters are jerks. Something new. We don't get RPGs like that where all the party doesn't care. I mean we killed God and God in that game is a twisted mother f&@+er lol
Huh. The structure of the world really seems similar to Sword Art Online... That could be entirely coincidental, but somehow I doubt it. Funny that it would be copied from a game series like this though.
I had FFL2 first, and hated everything about it. decade or so later I tried 1 and 3 and hated everything about it... these games were terrible slogs of games to play through with excruciating flaws and insta party deaths.
"This made a lot of people angry and was widely regarded as a huge mistake" Nice Hitchikers Guide reference
Just coming to post that lol
Thank you for making a simple door very happy.
@@sentry007door?
I think the most fun/interesting part of SaGa is the coexistence of people and monsters in the various worlds.
"For more games about killing God with a chainsaw" is such a perfect line.
Ashlee Williams: groovy
i bet he has not reviewed one game after this with "...killing God with a chainsaw"
@@sonaleaguetv7747 That's not his failure but that of society.
I found this game in a 82 Buick Regal that I bought for $400 when I was in high school.😂
What a dope find
Same!
@@googleuser3163 same too! Except mine was an 81 Buick Regal.
Nice Score. I bought a 1985 Chrysler Laser that had Smash by The Offspring in it. I listened to it a ton !
Life is so cool lmao
Collection of SaGa was just announced, so learning about this series is really interesting.
I will actually buy this. I wish they'd do a physical copy, but surely they won't, not for $20. It's absolutely worth that to me to get the 3 Legend games playable again though, in I think their first release since the original GB carts
@@savedr Final Fantasy Legend seems pretty cheap on ebay for just the cartridge alone, compared to some games
@@duffman18I have the first 2
You left out my favorite part of the game: trying to equip things onto characters that can't use them, so the dialogue simply states "He don't"
This was my first GB game... *MANLY TEARS*
mine was Tetris
I feel you there!! 😭
After years of hating Final Fantasy II, I discovered how to maintain a razor thin but powerful balance. This is when the game becomes great. Hint: shields are your friend.
I never understood the hate about FFII... Loved it from beginning to end and have absolutely no complaints whatsoever about it
You ain't kidding about those mutants and their unpredictability. For some reason when I played this as a kid my party was really pathetic early on, and I couldn't get past even the first sub-boss (some kind of huge frog, I think?). Then one day my mutant randomly learned a ridiculously powerful Ice (or "Freeze"?) spell with unlimited use, and my party became as gods for a while, destroying the amphibian jerk with ease.
Made it a good while after that, some ways into the fourth world. Can't remember if I died for good at that point or just lost interest/patience. But that clip kate in the video off the Sei-Ryu encounter gave me flashbacks of systematically checking (and fighting) like dozens of those damn orbs before finding the one with the boss.
Eric Spratling same, I never got past the first world as a kid. Gotta grind a little! And yes, hooray for magic vs those early bosses.
I had this game as a kid. At one point, my brother thought it would be funny to take White-Out to the cover of the instruction manual so that the game title read as "Final ant Leg"... Yeah, I thought it was funny as hell too.
Your brother was definitely on to something.
Late to the party, but now...this joke is stuck in my head too! lol!
No, you're thinking of Maxis.
It was pretty intuitive that eating the meat of stronger monsters caused the monsters in your party to transform into something stronger than they were. The monsters in your party also existed in the world, so you could make direct comparisons. You just had to pay attention to what was going on.
This is one of my favorite role playing games of all time.
Great game. I remember struggling with the difficulty of the game as a kid, but beating it was quite gratifying. The storyline is pretty interesting too, although as you point out, there is no character development.
I adored this game. I was head over heels for Final Fantasy so when this hit I was deep in throes of my fandom. The opening music still hits me hard. I used to sit and listen to it for a few minutes every time I fired up the game. That stereo sound!
Jeremy, I love this series. You are doing a great job, and I hope you keep it up. You are getting to some of the really strange, really unique early GB games too! (Meldac Represent!)
Man--there were so many unsuspecting FF fans that went into this game and were like "What the hell?!"
God, I love Final Fantasy Legend II (GB) Music - Another World from FF 2 though.
+NORM NORM Indeed. There's no powerful dragoon jump attacks or obnoxious Bahamut-spamming possible here.
Please do a video on Legend II in the future, this was really fun to watch!
It only took 5 years, your wish has come true!
Don't forget that with FFII the biggest issue was experience and leveling up. Grind is an understatement for FFII because unlike most grindable JRPGs you can't just rush through battles. the amount of time you have to take to actually appropriately level was mind numbing. It's the only FF game I didn't beat legitimately. I recently played through Makai Toushi SaGa and it was great, way better than FFII.
I loved this game as a kid, the grindy gameplay was a bit hard for me at the time but I always have fond memories of it. Thanks SuperDerek!
I never played the first SaGa game but I do own all 3 Romancing SaGa games. I played 3 quite a bit, but got distracted by other games and never beat it. And back when i did play it, 1 & 2 didn't have any translation patch available that I knew of. I also own the remake of Saga 2 for the DS, which DID get a full translation patch, and I also started playing that but just got confused by the "unexplained" monster transformations, and could really fathom all of the mechanics to build a GOOD team, but I'll definitely have to go back and really start learning how to do so.
I just dig the art deco font they used for a while.
I played this game when my family moved from Georgia to Idaho. We drove the whole way and I don't remember anything about the trip other than playing this game.
I don't know when i started questioning the fairness or wisdom of game design choices but it wasn't then so I just took everything in stride and am glad I could play it on that long road trip.
Thank you for explaining! Haha, I borrowed this game in 1992 from a friend and had no idea what I was doing!
FFL is based off the pen and paper RPG "Gamma World" just as FF1 is off Dungeons and Dragons. Read the first ed rules and you see so many similarities of abilities and equipment.
Really enjoying this series, Jeremy. Keep on keepin' on.
Best summary I've seen on this obtuse but incredible game.
Was that the quietest Ghost in the Shell reference on the internet?
"Tends to result in over specialization, and we all know where that leads."
Great stuff.
This game right here. Got me into rpgs forever.
The only Final Fantasy I ever played and I absolutely loved it.
this is a saga game tho
You're missing out on the real thing.
Got them all when i was a kiddo :) From Final Fantasy Legend to Final Fantasy Adventure (Mystic Quest on GB).
You're so awesome for starting a show like this. Gameboy World 4 lyyf.
10 points for the Hitchhiker's reference.
There's a few of these. Have you seen the title of the video about R.O.B?
Makau Toushi SaGa..... beautiful series. The first one was my favorite because of the imaginative leveling system and storyline. The
神 Kami , also called "Creator" was tough boss.
Personally I think this RPG could teach some of the newer RPG developers some good things.
It was one of my favorite games when I was a kid. Although I prefer the second
"Damn, this game looks interesting, I'll have to hop on my 3DS an-"
Oh, goddammit.
I'm sure there's a Japanese cellphone port you can buy for eight easy payments of ten dollars or something. Square's lack of support for the 3DS virtual console is baffling.
+Isthecakereallyalie just buy a Gameboy SP off craigslist and hunt Ebay for a few weeks. (seriously, that's basically how i got the game)
If you didn't try it when it was new, it's REALLY hard to get into. Remember it's a SaGa game and NOT a Final Fantasy game, the leveling system isn't a "leveling" system.
I love this game so much. Not only has it brought me hours of enjoyment, but it brought me to two of my favorite TH-camrs (Jeremy because of this video, and HcBailey because of his lets play of it)
I did NOT expect that theme song to be such a nostalgia bomb. I'm gonna need a moment...
I haven't played this game, but I've played FFL2 and FFL3. FFL2 was a game I couldn't wrap my head around, because of how wonky the stat growth system was, and I imagine FFL1 would be a similarily confusing game if I tried playing it. I am thankful that FFL3 was the first in the series that I tried, as it plays much more like a traditional Final Fantasy game. Had I played FFL1 or FFL2 first, I probably would've stayed away from the series entirely.
See me too, I was always more into 3 because of the set characters, and if I remember right the battle/level system felt less wonky in general. And I'm still not over that title music
I Love this. Along with Chrontendo(Chronsega &Chronturbo) and Generation 16, Game Boy World is one of my new favorites. Keep up the great work. By the way I also dig your work in Retronauts
I received this for Christmas 1990 along with Tetris and the Game Boy itself.
Classic. I had this one
This game is tough, but man do I loooove tough:D
Back in the mid 2000's I put probably 1000 hours into Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls. About half that time was spent beating the hell out of my own party members in FF2.
Peeping the Ultima reference. A game series under mentioned by even gaming historians.
I don't recall the "Life Points" mechanic resurfacing in SaGa II or III (FFL II / III). Did they surface in Romancing Saga / Saga Frontier games?
It's part of SaGa Frontier for sure.
Great video, as always. Using the break to binge watch all your stuff. Btw, was the gb sound chip unique to it? Idk, but it just sounds so iconic, more so than the nes one. Thanks for your content and greetings from Mexico.
The GB's sound hardware is weird, but from what I understand it shares certain similarities with the Sega Master System
so final fantasy 2 was the first saga game huh.....neat!!!
I heard about this game, and that it wasn't actually a Final Fantasy Game, but that's all I know. I checked to see if it was on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, but alas it's not there. I kind of wish Square Enix and Nintendo would re-release this game, but I'm sure there's some copyright BS that's preventing them.
It would be one hell of a fight to get Square to release a SaGa game. They will probably never release a SaGa game for the virtual console in the west, they haven't released SaGa Frontier 1 and 2 for PS1 classics unlike Japan, they won't release Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song as PS2 classics like in Japan.
We are fortunate enough for them to throw us some scrapes with the Romancing SaGa 2 remaster for iOS which is the first time it ever came to the west and possibly in the future a remaster of Romancing SaGa 3.
For some reason the western branch REALLY hates the SaGa series.
❤️ Spent a lot of fun hours with this game. Thank you for this presentation.
the first Makai Toushi Saga :'3
fond memories of this game...pretty awesome
This was my first ever RPG in 1990. I thought it was insanely hard. Because I didn't understand needing to buy & equip armor...
I loved Final Fantasy Legend 2, it took me ten years to beat because of it's insane difficulty, butit was a wonderful experience all the way through nonetheless! I'm playing through Legend 1 right now, and it's surprisingly dark but really challenging and rewarding to play.
You also mentioned that Mutants are a wild-card character. Yeah, in Legend 1 they kinda are although that got wildly improved in the second installment, they're much more reliable. I'd also go so far as to say that the monster class, because of the meat transformation system, is more of the wildcard. (unless you take the time to examine the math algorithms that go into the transformations, but most players aren't gonna do that)
+Apollo9898LPs Final Fantasy Legend II, is one of my favorite Gameboy games of all time, and might be on a top 15, or even top ten, RPG list.
man i beat this game as a kid, was my first rpg that i played all the way thru. i never used the monsters
Just a head's up if anyone stumbles onto this: a Switch collection of the first three SaGa / FF Legend games is coming out in December 2020.
I love this game, and its beautiful chiptune soundtrack, but sadly, I've never finished it because of the difficulty. I'm among those who saw this as their first RPG experience, unless you count the PC version of EA's Starflight. I attempted to go back and conquer it again a couple years ago, but got distracted by something else half-way through. Alas, when I cover this game for my blog, I will endeavor to actually complete it fully. Great in-depth look at the game - I was unaware of the FF2 connection.
I was kinda hoping you'd cover the other two games, because I've heard they're different from this one, but I have no clue how
I'll get there eventually.
You spent a lot of time on FF 2's systems for a "He did this before" bit. Great video, just found that funny.
Providing context is one of the main points behind this series.
'made a lot of people angry, and was widely viewed as a mistake'.. Kinda like making the universe?
That music tho. What was a 10 year old boy to do except play till the morning
2:18 - hahahahahaha!! :) Douglas Adams reference!! :D
I actually like Final Fantasy II, I played it the first time on GBA and then PSP
Yeah, those remakes fixed a lot of the issues the original game suffered from.
+Jeremy Parish naah, they made FF1 ridicolously easy...
Gabriele Riva OK? But we were talking about FFII's remakes.
+Gabriele Riva Nobody's talking about FF1 here, but for what it's worth, I agree with you about the Dawn of Souls version of FF1. That being said, the original NES version is downright maddening and I found my comfort zone with the Origins version on PS1. I've not yet played FF2 in any version, but my curiosity about the older SaGa games makes me want to give it a shot.
Well, they were bundled together, and you wrote "remakeS"
Wait, did you make a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference?
I would never. Must have been those infinite monkeys and their typewriters at it again.
nice vid!!!
I am def late to this party.
I loooooved it
Another game I learned about from it being weirdly important to Captain SNES.
I see this review came out before the release of SaGa Scarlet Grace and its enhance Ambitions remake. This really is one of Squaresoft's longest-running but more underappreciated series, probably because it's _defiantly_ obtuse and not suited for all players,
I remember reading about a Game Boy game that I thought had Final Fantasy in the title where you had to travel through time. Does anybody know what I'm remembering? Was it this one? I always wanted that game as a kid. I'm going back to my childhood home to get my old Nintendo Powers for my son sometime in the next few months, but if anybody knows, that would help.
I believe that’s FF Legend III.
You put King Armor on yourself and you take 1 Damage the rest of the level until Gen-Bu :)
11:23 - Run = Ridiculous.
How did you not make "Killing god with a chainsaw" the hook of your video? Lol
I've beaten this one, but could never beat Arsenal in II
Jackie Kashian on Comedy Central had a hilarious bit about Final Fantasy Legend, you could tell she really enjoyed playing it:
www.cc.com/video-clips/if6ava/comedy-central-presents-video-games
2:19 I caught that reference!
Hmpf. And all we got was Babys First RPG aka Mystic Quest. Begatte dich selbst Nintendo Deutschland!
"Nobody else could fathom it." Nobody else could fathom the worst, most broken RPG progression system ever? Huh.
I should play final fantasy legend. 😀👍🎮
Lmao he called one of his womans in his party catwoman
This might be too deep for most, however I believe Final Fantasy was created to steer us in the right direction in our real lives. there are so many puzzle pieces that as I get older I'm putting into place. Final fantasy was crucial in the message NOT to get lost in religion. We are one. I know there are others out there also putting this together. Let's talk!
Fun fact, do you know that this game is sorta the basis of the fan game, 7th Stand User?
Leveling, spell changing, weapon durability, , insane grinding, and high encounter rate. Screw this game
A real man doesn't need a manual lmfao. I love this game and Final Fantasy 2. The Chainsaw is 😎 awesome. I do like that our characters are jerks. Something new. We don't get RPGs like that where all the party doesn't care. I mean we killed God and God in that game is a twisted mother f&@+er lol
Don't use esp lol I could never figure that spell out 😂
Huh. The structure of the world really seems similar to Sword Art Online...
That could be entirely coincidental, but somehow I doubt it.
Funny that it would be copied from a game series like this though.
Why? SaGa is a well-liked and long-running hit in Japan.
The lead designer of the game thinks that explaining mechanics is for the weak. Is it any surprise the PCs talk and act like murderhobos?
I had FFL2 first, and hated everything about it. decade or so later I tried 1 and 3 and hated everything about it... these games were terrible slogs of games to play through with excruciating flaws and insta party deaths.
...so Mutants are just Newtypes, got it.
Liked the game kinda as a kid. Came back as an adult. Man does the leveling suck balls. Ruins it
I didn't like the 'for some reason'
Tower of god