Closing Fantasy II has lengthy been thought-about one of many weaker mainline entries in Sq. Enix’s collection. Whereas it did try to push the property ahead by way of storytelling, its intriguing however deeply flawed levelling system has left many a participant unimpressed through the years.
In Closing Fantasy II, you play as a gaggle of youths who make a stand towards an all-conquering empire. When in comparison with its predecessor, there is a heavier deal with characters and political plot factors — maybe an indication of issues to come back for the franchise. It isn’t what we would name a very memorable story, nevertheless it does add a little bit of weight to the journey.
Truly progressing stated story will be tedious, nevertheless. The sport has a ‘key phrase’ mechanic the place you may study numerous phrases by chatting with non-playable characters. The thought is which you could then use these necessary phrases to open up new subjects of dialog, thus advancing the plot. Sadly, it finally ends up feeling like an pointless step in unfurling what’s finally an easy, largely predictable narrative.
And as alluded, Closing Fantasy II has extra bizarre concepts up its sleeve. The aforementioned levelling system sees your base stats and weapon proficiency enhance by way of performing particular actions in turn-based battles. Take sufficient harm and your most HP will enhance; forged magic a couple of instances and your intelligence will get a lift. A reasonably revolutionary system on paper, nevertheless it falls aside in a short time in apply.
The primary drawback is that it simply takes so lengthy for these stat will increase to rack up. The grind in Closing Fantasy II is actual, and to make issues worse, it generally seems like development occurs at random. To not point out that it is all extremely exploitable, since social gathering members can assault each other to maximise their beneficial properties. It is simply so poorly carried out.
Thank god for the Pixel Remaster’s boosts, then. On this enhanced re-release, you possibly can enhance the speed at which your stat beneficial properties happen (by as much as 4 instances), making the entire course of manner extra tolerable. These additions alone arguably make this the perfect model of a divisive Closing Fantasy.