Releasing exclusively in Japan for the Famicom in 1988, Final Fantasy II is the direct sequel to the original Final Fantasy and the first game in the series to utilize the anthology approach that each new game would take. Featuring a whole new cast of characters and taking place in an entirely new setting, Final Fantasy II also features wildly different gameplay mechanics from its predecessor. Rather than earning experience from random battles and having it contribute to leveling characters up, stats and abilities increase through use. This system proved to be divisive, with the designers of Final Fantasy II carrying over many of the core mechanics to their own new franchise at Square in the SaGa games.
The polarizing nature of Final Fantasy II, as well as the cost and effort necessary for localizing games at the time, led to it never arriving in the West in any official capacity until the release of the Final Fantasy Origins collection on the PlayStation. Not long after, Game Boy Advance players would get their own port of both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II as part of the Dawn of Souls collection. A PSP release of Final Fantasy II would arrive in 2007 in conjunction with the franchise’s 20th anniversary, itself a port of the WonderSwan Color remake of the game.
The most recent release of Final Fantasy II comes to players courtesy of the Pixel Remasters series, which takes the first 6 games in the Final Fantasy series and brings them to PC and modern consoles. Not surprisingly, thanks to the middling critical and fan reception to the game, Final Fantasy II is the least successful of the first 6 games in the series, selling only 2.5 million copies across all versions.
Final Fantasy II Premise
Final Fantasy II places players right into the midst of a conflict in which the evil Emperor Mateus is using the power of the Palamecian military to conduct a campaign of world conquest. Taking on the role of the young hero Firion and his 3 childhood friends Guy, Maria, and Leon, the four warriors find themselves outmatched and outnumbered, suffering defeat at the hand of Palamecian soldiers before waking up in the care of the resistance. While searching for their lost friend Leon, the 3 remaining heroes travel the world and assist the resistance in trying to take down Emperor Mateus and stop his plans of world domination.
Similar to the original Final Fantasy, players navigate an overworld map and travel between towns and dungeons, with random battles occurring both on the overworld map and within dungeons. Unlike the first game, Final Fantasy II requires players to talk to important NPCs and learn valuable passcodes, which will reveal important information about where the party should go next when spoken to the right individuals. The game follows a much more linear and structured pace than the original Final Fantasy, with players continually shuttled from one location to the next as part of the game’s main quest.
The biggest change Final Fantasy II makes over its predecessor is in its leveling and character progression, with players needing to use skills in battle in order to see them improve. To increase character Hit Points, they must suffer damage in battle, and individual spells level up in power with use rather than characters gaining points in their Intelligence and Mind stats to increase magic power overall. The Pixel Remaster release of the game streamlines these systems to make them much more intuitive.
Final Fantasy II Main Characters
In addition to the main four heroes at the heart of Final Fantasy II‘s story, the game introduces several memorable NPCs and additional party members that join and leave the party at various intervals. The story and characterization of these individuals are much more developed than in the original game, and the cast of villains is also more intimidating and personable. Despite the game not being remembered fondly for its mechanics, Final Fantasy II has one of the better casts of the first three games in the series. The main characters in Final Fantasy II include:
- Firion: Firion is the main protagonist of the game, a young hero who decides to join up with the resistance after fleeing his hometown. Together with his childhood friends, he vows to stop the Emperor of Palamecia.
- Maria: Maria is one of Firion’s childhood friends and his closest companions. After being separated from her brother Leon, she sticks with Firion in hopes of the two eventually reuniting.
- Guy: Another of Firon’s childhood friends and a permanent companion throughout the game’s adventure, Guy is a gentle giant whose upbringing at the hands of wolves makes him both a friend to animals and a fierce combatant.
- Leon: Leon is the brother of Maria and best friend to Firion, and he goes missing right at the outset of the adventure. After suffering defeat at the hands of the Palamecian military, the heroes awake in the resistance base to find that Leon is gone.
- The Emperor: The Emperor Mateus is a power-hungry despot who seeks to bring all of the world under his heel, crushing all who stand in his way.
Games in the Final Fantasy Series
Across more than 35 years and 16 mainline games, the Final Fantasy series continues to be one of the most important RPG franchises in history. Each game in the series differentiates itself from the rest by featuring new mechanics and a new group of heroes attempting to save their world, yet the common threads connecting the franchise appear in each entry. Crystals, magic, brave warriors, enigmatic villains; each of the games in the series carry the torch for some of the highest quality storytelling and gameplay the RPG genre has to offer. The games in the Final Fantasy series include:
- Final Fantasy (1987)
- Final Fantasy II (1988)
- Final Fantasy III (1990)
- Final Fantasy IV (1991)
- Final Fantasy V (1992)
- Final Fantasy VI (1994)
- Final Fantasy VII (1997)
- Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
- Final Fantasy IX (2000)
- Final Fantasy X (2001)
- Final Fantasy XI (2002)
- Final Fantasy XII (2006)
- Final Fantasy XIII (2009)
- Final Fantasy XIV (2013)
- Final Fantasy XV (2016)
- Final Fantasy XVI (2023)
Final Fantasy II Cheats and Secrets
While there are no official “cheats” in the original Famicom version of the game, there are several secret exploits that players can take advantage of in each version.
The Blood Sword
The Blood Sword is one of the most powerful weapons available in Final Fantasy II, yet it’s easily missable. After the Cyclone destroys portions of the overworld map, speak to the man inside the house in the southwest corner of Fynn. He gives the party several items, including the Blood Sword. This weapon will make short work of the final fight against the Emperor.
Quick Leveling Up
In order to improve each character’s skill with a particular weapon type, they must use those weapons in battle. Every time the player selects “Fight” on the battle screen with a weapon equipped, the character earns 1 skill point for that weapon type. 100 skill points results in leveling up a character’s proficiency with that weapon type. Players can actually exploit this system by selecting “Fight” and then cancelling the action, still earning the points. Use this trick to quickly stack 100 points in a battle and level up weapon skills.
Peninsula of Power
The overworld map of Final Fantasy II has a section players can travel to at the beginning of the game that features some of the late-game enemies. These encounters are tough and will likely result in death of the party, but they can also provide massive amounts of Gil and EXP once the party is strong enough to survive. Head south from Altea until reaching the peninsula and walk back and fourth along the southern coast. The enemies you’ll encounter here are the same selection that appear in the endgame near Mysidia.
Pixel Remaster Cheats
The Pixel Remasters release of Final Fantasy II includes several helpful Boost features that make the leveling and character progression much more intuitive. It’s recommended to play the game with all of these features turned “on” in order to play the title much like you would any other game in the series.
Enter the main menu after starting a new game and select “Configuration”. From here, scroll down until you see “Boost”. Within this menu you will be able to adjust several helpful cheats that impact the game:
- Encounters – Can be turned “On” or “Off”; impacts whether the party faces enemies in the field and in dungeons.
- Gil – Defaults at 1x, but players can set it at up to 4x; impacts the amount of money the party earns after each battle (with 4x equating to four times the normal amount).
- Weapon Skill Level Boost – Defaults at 1x, but players can set it at up to 4x; Impacts the rate at which players earn weapon skill levels (up to four times the normal amount).
- Magic Skill Level Boost – Defaults at 1x, but players can set it at up to 4x; Impacts the rate at which players earn magic spell skill levels (up to four times the normal amount).
- Attribute Skill Level Boost – Defaults at 1x, but players can set it at up to 4x; Impacts the rate at which all stat attributes grow (up to four times the normal amount).
- Compensatory HP – Can be turned “On” or “Off”; Increases each party member’s HP after a set number of battles rather than requiring them to take damage from enemies.
Final Fantasy II Cheat FAQ
How do you increase HP in Final Fantasy II?
To increase each character’s HP, those characters need to take damage from enemy or ally attacks during battle. Without using the Boosts of the Pixel Remaster release, players can exploit this system by having allies attack each other during battles with weak enemies, casting Cure when HP gets low. Otherwise, the Pixel Remaster release of the game has the Compensatory HP feature that raises hit points after a set number of battles.
How do you increase magic in Final Fantasy II?
Just like with increasing HP, increasing skill with a magic spell in FFII requires players to use that spell in battle. Each time the spell is used, that character earns a skill point for the spell and will eventually level up their skill with that particular spell. This same process is required for each individual spell rather than a school of magic (White, Black, Summon, etc.).
How long to beat Final Fantasy II?
Most players will be able to beat the game in roughly 25 hours, though a completionist playthrough (mastering all weapon types and spells, completing the Bestiary, etc.) will likely take around 40 hours.
How do I increase my stats in Final Fantasy II?
Stats increase due to their use in battle, meaning each of the stat attributes have different criteria for their ability to level up. Agility requires attacks in battle to miss to level up, while Defense requires attacks to land and the character to withstand the hit. Attributes impacting melee or magic power increase with those abilities (for example, using Black Magic spells increases Intelligence).