Final Fantasy II - Re-starting From Scratch

With Final Fantasy XVI just a few months away, I'm writing a series of posts about each mainline FF. I won't write reviews, provide in-depth analysis, or even attempt to explain why VIII is the best one. Instead, I'll write around themes or topics related to these games.

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Final Fantasy II was a sequel in name only. While certain themes and gameplay elements returned from FFI, no characters or locations were recycled for part two.

No great loss.

The moderate success of the first game earned Hironobu Sakaguchi and his team a slightly longer leash at Square, though they were still very much considered the B-team. Still, it would appear that they had enough support and/or confidence to make some surprising decisions, the biggest and most impactful of which was not to be tied to the plot or setting of the original. With the sequel, narrative became a much greater concern, as we were given named-heroes, support characters, and more substantial lore. Comparatively, anyway.

Final Fantasy II would launch a single day short of the one year anniversary of its predecessor, on December 17th, 1988. Famitsu said some nice things, and it sold 800,000 copies. An English localization was underway, but eventually scrapped. The rest is history.

By choosing not to be beholden to the previous game, Sakaguchi-san and his team made a bold decision that would shape the next 35 years of mainline Final Fantasy. They opted for an anthology series, one that would introduce a new universe and characters with each entry, while maintaining certain core elements. A brave choice, and one that arguably ensured the series' continued popularity. 

I don't know when the decision was made that all subsequent entries would be re-inventions. Whether it was during production of II, or at a later date. Regardless, in some ways it made sense to start afresh and tell a new story. Misfire-elements could be dropped, and it would afford the creators a great deal of freedom with each new entry. On the other hand, popular characters and locations would be sacrificed in the name of anthology turnover.

As the player, I have been both pleased and displeased by this approach. I wish I could've spent more time with the teenage SEEDs of Final Fantasy VIII, but on the other hand I'm relieved that I'll never have to waste another minute with XV's Noctis, Pronto Cafe, Ignite and Ridley Scott's Gladiator (I refuse to Google their actual names). 

The success of each new entry partially hinges on brand loyalty. An interest in Final Fantasy and its consistent themes and elements, not a love for returning people or places. I know I've kept returning to the series beyond the point of diminishing returns, playing games that I probably wouldn't have if they weren't Final Fantasy. I'm drawn to the series, even against my better judgement. XII was the last that I'd highly rate, yet I've continued to return for mainline entries and all manner of spin offs, because of the series to which they belong.

It's Final Fantasy and I must play it.

The last twenty years, and in particular the last ten, have seen more experimentation and diverting of expectations than the first fifteen. In the last twenty, we've seen the demise of the world map (X), excursions into the MMORPG genre (XI and XIV), real-time combat and an end to random encounters (XII), large stretches of linear and corridor-like progression (XIII), and a further evolution into an action RPG (XV), a movement that appears set to continue with XVI. While it's good to see Square Enix making changes to keep the series fresh, these adjustments have made it harder to just be a fan of the series. Regardless of your level of fandom, at least one of the above changes likely rubbed you up the wrong way. It's harder to know what you are getting into, and harder to love these games for just being FF, as what it means to be just-that has changed so much over the years.

I think it's fair to say that the last decade has been polarizing, even as the series has succeeded in remaining exceedingly relevant. 

As FF has evolved, and characters and locations have been featured and retired, we have found comfort in those elements that have remained consistent. Few things make me happier than seeing a moogle - they are fucking adorable - a species that was first introduced in Final Fantasy II. Chocobos, Cids, Cure-Cura-Curaga, crystals, and the Crystal Theme; protagonists with excellent hair. By denying us the chance to latch on to returning characters, we have been conditioned to embrace the things that do remain the same, and value them far more than we perhaps should.

I would give my life for Mog.

While protagonists and antagonists may not return in mainline entries, SE is not shy about revisiting them in spin-offs and remakes. We'll be playing as the VII crew until the day we die, and we are unlikely to be spared yet more awful semi-sequels, like X-2 and XIII-2. Varied spin-offs from Dissidia to Theatrhythm have put our favourites characters in new settings, to mixed results, and SE clearly knows that the kingdom of Ivalice is one that's worth returning to.

Final Fantasy II set in motion a process of constant semi-reinvention, a process that Square Enix has both embraced and pushed back against over the years. FFII is a forgettable game in most respects, but it set the tone and the expectations for 35 years of role-playing.