Final Fantasy Legend II - Square, 1991
The Basics
While technically not a Final Fantasy game at all, Final Fantasy Legend II is still an RPG. That said, rather than a level driven game, like Final Fantasy, FFLII is a SaGa game, which have more "natural" level ups. What this means in game terms is pretty simple to grasp, actually. You get in fights, you choose your attacks/weapons from a menu, and you find out if you won. The trick, however, is that instead of getting a base amount of Experience which will gradually raise all your stats once you accumulate enough, you gain Exp for individual stats, which then eventually level up on their own. For example, attacking with a broad sword will exercise (let's say) strength. Therefore, each individual attack you make adds on a point for Strength, and when enough of these invisible points are gained, you'll get another few points that actually make a difference. All of the stats work like this, including the more passive stuff. You gain more Defense and Hit Points by being hit, Speed by using special weapons, Magic by using Magic or spellbooks, et cetera.
At least, that's how it works for humans and mutants, with the caveat that mutants randomly gain spells. There are also two other classes of character types, the Monsters and Robots. Robots are more straightforward, in that they gain stats based on what they have equipped at that particular time. So equipping a broad sword on a robot would give it gains to strength and maybe HP. Monsters, on the other hand, change by eating other monster's meat that gets left behind after battle. Ideally, the change is random to the player, so they have to decide if eating this meat is beneficial in the long run, or if their current monster is awesome. However, because a twenty year old game isn't going to be doing any truly random acts, there's a complex table that nerds on the internet have typed out that one can use to advance their monsters up to the max rank.
Each non-Monster character has eight slots for equipment, which important because equipment breaks. Each piece has a certain max value, say 50, when you pick it up/buy it. Once you use the equipment that number of times, that weapon breaks and you either need to replace it or find something else to use. The exception to this rule are robots, who can recharge equipment through use of inns. That said, they also half the number of uses that the weapon can be used every time they equip it. So that 50 use item becomes 25, which then becomes 12, then 6, then 3, then 1, then 0. What you end up with is a system which requires you to think on your feet, constantly spend money to keep up with any wear and tear you gain, and a relatively complex leveling scheme where your actions have a huge impact on how your characters turn out.
The plot, on the other hand, is fairly simple. There's a statue out there in the world that, when completed, allows the user to wish for anything. Your protagonists' father (which is human regardless of what you choose your character to be, leading to some awkward situations for Robots or Monsters) goes off in search of them one day, and doesn't return. Later, your protagonist and a few of your friends go off in search of the statue fragments and your father, figuring that finding one would lead to the other. Along the way, the party meets a crazy mix of characters and rubs against a series of demi-gods taken from classical literature, all of whom are connected to the character's father and the mysterious struggle for the statue. The adventure spans numerous worlds as well, from beautiful (by law) paradises to ancient Edo-style worlds where bananas are illegal imports.
Why's It Here
My first system that I ever owned was a brick-version of the Game Boy, see through style. I love that piece of technology. While I got three games along with it, I didn't exactly buy the thing myself. It was a gift from my parents. I still liked it. Later, I'd go on to buy the first Wario Land, which was a fantastic purchase.
Shortly thereafter though, I managed to somehow find Final Fantasy Legend I, II, and Final Fantasy Adventure. None of these were Final Fantasy per se, instead being SaGa I, II, and Seiken Densetsu (think Secret of Mana) brought over under a more popular title in the States. As much as I loved Metroid II, FFLII just completely blew my mind. It's pretty safe to say that it was the first RPG I ever put a lot of time and effort into playing, and I've played it numerous times. Sometimes with an all Robot party, sometimes all Human, sometimes all Mutant. Every playthrough, so long as you decide to focus on different weapon sets, is completely different. Some of them get up to Venus and no further, some to Odin, and some to the very end of the game. Each party requires a different, constantly changing strategy to deal with enemies.
Let's say I'm playing with an Agility heavy group of Humans. Instead of buying weapons with the highest attack power, as you would in any other RPG, you're better off going with either Whips or Guns. These types of weapons draw directly from the Agility stat, causing damage based on your speed, except that they tend to cost more or have lower usage numbers than their strength based cousins. Hell, even an all Monster party can be interesting, at least when played without the tier guide. After all, that just leaves the player wondering "Is this meat going to help me at all? Can I risk losing the Heal to gain something potentially better?" Suddenly, FFLII has become a game of roulette, where taking risks can either pay off big or end with the player suddenly and irrevocably gimped in the middle of the dungeon. There is no greater rush in an RPG.
Additionally, the music and graphics are top notch, at least for a Game Boy game. Seriously listen to this title track, The Legend Begins. It's a quiet, peaceful track that grows more epic and just hints at the adventure that lays before you, should you choose to press Start. What more can you want an RPG, much less an old Game Boy game?
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