Final Fantasy Origins

"A game that should not be missed by anyone."

INTRO.

I am sure that if you are reading this review you are a fan of the Final Fantasy series, which means that you should at least check this game out to see where it all started. As you probably already know, Final Fantasy Origins comes with the two Final Fantasy games that started it all: Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II. Both of these games are very good and completely different from each other so I shall rate these in separate paragraphs for each category.

GRAPHICS

Final Fantasy: 10/10

I have never seen a better 2D Final Fantasy game than this one. Not only are the graphics improved, but so are the speeds. When Final Fantasy IV-VI were re-released, the graphics were the exact same as their SNES predecessors, except worse. The battles got really boggy whenever cool spells were cast in those games, but now in Final Fantasy Origins the graphics have actually improved, and so have the speeds. There is absolutely no slowdown in during the battles, which greatly improves gameplay. Also I am glad Square resurrected the 2D graphics; they are so much better than the 3D graphics of Final Fantasy VII-IX.

Final Fantasy 2: 10/10

Basically Square just used the exact same graphics style of Final Fantasy for Final Fantasy II. No big changes besides the character models, which are just as good as the ones in Final Fantasy.

STORY

Final Fantasy: 7/10

The one thing Final Fantasy is lacking is a developing story. There is almost no story development in Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy has a good story but you really don’t know what’s going on until the very end. In the beginning you just basically do what people tell you to do, but when you get to the end the story actually becomes pretty awesome.

Final Fantasy II: 9/10

One of the high points of Final Fantasy II is it awesome story. I have not cleared the game yet but so far the story pretty good. It is not like the typical fantasy plot you would see in the other games. Final Fantasy II has a story about war. In Final Fantasy II, you are a refugee from a country taken over by the evil emperor, and as you are fleeing from the country you find yourself trapped by the emperor’s soldiers, with nowhere to go you have to fight them and you can’t beat them so they kill you, but you don’t lose, after you die you find yourself in the rebels base completely healed, and so you offer to join the rebels in the fight against the empire, and then your adventure begins.

GAMEPLAY

Final Fantasy: 10/10

They have greatly enhanced the gameplay of Final Fantasy by adding auto-target and taking out the dumb text-box. Never has it been easier for “new-age” gamers to get into the old-school goodness. Final Fantasy plays a lot like all the other Final Fantasy games but has way more strategic spells which opens up some cool strategic options. For example, they have “Null” spells for each element that would help against certain enemies. There is not much else to say about Final Fantasy’s gameplay besides that it was first, and it was right.

Final Fantasy II: 4/10

This is what made me want to throw my PS2 out the window. The gameplay is very poor and unbalanced. You don’t “level up” in this game like all the other Final Fantasy games, instead you gain stats for what you do in battle which can get very frustrating. For example, if you lose a lot of HP in battle, you most likely will get your max HP higher at the end of the battle, or if you attack a lot, you will get your strength higher at the end of the battle. So if your character doesn’t ever get hit for a long time, that character wont gain any HP upgrades and as you get farther in the game that can become a problem. Because of this you cant play this game like how you play other Final Fantasy games or you will end up with one of your characters having 2000+ HP and the other having 20+ HP. So what most people do is “take advantage of the system,” and by that I mean using cheats that aren’t really cheats. One of the “cheats” is to attack your own characters so at the end of the battle they gain more max HP. There is another “cheat” that I won’t mention because it COMPLETELY screws up the game. If you do decide to play Final Fantasy II I highly recommend you stay away from message boards until you beat it.

SOUND/MUSIC

Final Fantasy: 10/10

This is probably the best videogame music I have ever heard. When I first opened up the game and started playing my friend was with me and started talking to me about Zelda, but as soon as the game loaded up and the world map music went on I told him to shut-up. The music in this game is that good. Square has completely redone the old NES music tracks and put in some awesome PS2 quality music. The sound effects are the typical slashes and clings that you would hear in other Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy II: 10/10

Just as good as Final Fantasy’s music and sound, But instead of the typical fantasy type of music they have put in more of an “ancient Egyptian” type of music (wait until you hear the boss music and then you will know why I said “ancient Egyptian”).

REPLAYABLITY

Final Fantasy: 10/10

There are so many different challenges and class combinations in this game that you will probably play this over and over again.

Final Fantasy II: ?/10

The replayability for this game really depends on if you like it. I don’t think I would play it over again. They also have a variety of challenges for this game.

OVERALL

Final Fantasy: 10/10

It is worth buying Final Fantasy Origins just for this game. It is very fun and has great graphics and music. Definitely get Final Fantasy Origins even if you have already played and beaten the NES version, it’s a completely different experience.

Final Fantasy II: 8/10

A great game that is kind of different and hard to get used to but still worth playing anyways. Since this was never released in America before that means this is a true Final Fantasy game fans dream come true.

FINAL SCORE 9/10

Definitely get this game. Final Fantasy II may put you down for a bit but Final Fantasy is awesome. It’s a good deal to, only $30!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/03, Updated 04/14/03