The Final Fantasy series is an anthology of stories that don’t always have much in common. The second game is an in-name-only sequel that tried something new. Both games have some good stuff in them.
I’m one of the few people who like the second game. When I first played it, I didn’t like it at all. Then I revisited the game a few years ago, and I found the story to be very good. I also knew how the game was supposed to be played, which helped a lot!
I like the first game, but I’ve gotten rather sick of playing it. It used to be one of my go-to games over the years, and this led me to play it way too many times. I also started nitpicking the game more than I would normally do.
This is a bit closer than you might think. Both of these games have their merits, and both have things that I don’t like. Let’s take a closer look at them and find out which one is better and which one I would rather play.
Game Descriptions/Overviews
Both games are high fantasy RPGs and have some steampunk elements to them. Primarily, they are both high fantasy games where you have magic, use melee weapons, and fight fantasy monsters.
Final Fantasy takes place in a fantasy world where your characters appear. You get told that they’re the Light Warriors and they have to restore light to four orbs. The player isn’t given any information about who the characters are, where they came from, or what their motivation is. It has a good story where you have to break a 2000-year time loop and defeat an ancient evil.
Much like the first game, Final Fantasy II is a high fantasy game. It takes place in a different world and has your character fighting against an evil empire. You know who your characters are, learn more about them during the game, and they have something to say about what is going on in the game. The story has a few more plot twists than the first game.
These are simple descriptions of both games. While they’re both turn-based games, they are quite different in terms of gameplay and story. Let’s look at the main differences between them.
Main Differences
There are a lot of things I could cover here. We are talking about the first two games in a series, but they aren’t part of the same story. So, I’ll go over a few things that I think are the biggest differences. Mostly, I’ll be talking about the gameplay and a few mechanics that are different.
The biggest difference between these two games is the progression system. The first game does what you would expect an RPG to do. You gain experience points from battles, and when you get enough, your characters gain a level. The second game doesn’t do this.
Final Fantasy II has one of the strangest progression seasons I’ve seen in an RPG. I’m not sure if there is another one like it. If you cast a spell, then that spell gains experience. The same thing happens with weapons. The way you gain hit points is stupid and allows for a lot of abuse in the game. You can attack your own characters, and this is how you’ll gain hit points. It is really dumb.
There are a few game mechanics in Final Fantasy II that you won’t see in other Final Fantasy games. The second game has your characters learn special words over the course of the game. These are used to advance the plot in some spots. It also changes some of the dialogue depending on the character you use them on. It is a really cool idea.
The main characters are also very different. In the first game, the main characters rely on the player to give them all their personality. This isn’t too different from a tabletop RPG where you can create your own character within the parameters of the game.
With the second game, the main characters have more personality. They have names, no classes, a backstory, and feel like real people in the game’s world. It is a different way to tell a story, and one that I enjoy more.
Those are the big differences between the games that I wanted to point out. There are probably others, but I want to try to keep this brief. Let’s look at some of the core mechanics in these games.
Comparing Core Mechanics (Combat, Story, Visuals, etc)
I’ll take a look at the combat, story, and graphics here. There aren’t too many differences between the games here. Much of this is the same, aside from the story.
Both of these are turn-based RPGs. They both have you control a party of four characters, but Final Fantasy II has more turnover, as characters will come and go. As far as combat goes, that is the only big difference between them.
The stories are fairly different. There is more going on in the second game than in the first. The plot is more involved, and it feels like the developers took more chances with the sequel, which makes a lot of sense to me.
These games aren’t too different graphically. You can tell that there was some time between the first and second games. Nothing really stands out from the two, as far as I can remember. Most of my experience is with the PS1 version of Final Fantasy II, which isn’t a fair comparison with the first game.
Those are some of the core mechanics of these two games. There are some big differences between these games, but most of them are fairly minor. Let’s get into what each game does better than the other.
What Does Final Fantasy do Better?
The biggest thing that Final Fantasy does better is the gameplay. Many of the other things in this game are either the same or not as good as those in the second game. The progression system is really the biggest point of contention that I felt went in favor of the first game.
The first game plays like most other RPGs. You get into fights, gain experience, and then your characters eventually level up. It is a formula that I enjoy more than what the second game does.
I can’t think of anything else that is clearly better in the first game. It is a big part of the game, which is going to factor in later. Let’s go over what the second game does better.
What Does Final Fantasy II do Better?
Well, it certainly isn’t going to be the gameplay or the graphics. What Final Fantasy II does better than the first game is the story. The settings and graphics are basically the same, so the story is what separates these two. It is much better than the first game because of the characters and the subject matter.
The way the story starts is great. It confused me when I first played it, but now I really like it. You get thrown into a battle that you can’t win, and then you wake up in a rebel town with one of your party members missing. This all plays into the main plot, and it brings a fun twist later in the game.
What I really like about this game is how the characters have some personality. They aren’t the blank slates from the first game who just show up. These characters have some backstory, and they have some things to say about what is going on. One of them has a character arc. It isn’t done well, but it is at least there.
Final Fantasy II has the better story. It does enough to make up for the gameplay. It feels like most people never got past the gameplay when they played it, or just go along with others’ opinions of the game. I know it isn’t for everyone, but I really like the story in this game.
Which is Better Overall and Why?
Final Fantasy is the better RPG between these two. It is closer than you might think. I like the story in the second game more, but the first game does a better job of being an RPG, if that makes any sense.
This game didn’t really experiment with the gameplay, and that helped to elevate it. It plays more like a traditional RPG where you fight enemies, get experience, and game levels. The gameplay is what you would expect to see from a console RPG.
Final Fantasy has a decent story. While I’m critical of some parts of it, I do like how it goes beyond the standard high fantasy formula. There is also a little science fiction thrown in with the whole time-travel part of the game.
When I look at these two games as RPGs, the first game has more of what I want in it. The graphics are good for the time, the story is decent, and the gameplay is good enough. Parts of it are also more rewarding than the second game.
In this case, the gameplay makes up for the shortcomings of this game’s story. The gameplay in the first Final Fantasy is better than the second game. With a decent story, it edges out the second game.
Which Would I Rather Play?
When it comes to which game I would rather play, I’m going to say Final Fantasy II. The story is the major reason that I would like to come back to this game. I don’t hate the gameplay as much as other people, and it is decent enough to make me want to play this one again.
Once I got into the game, I found the story to be very good. It is much better than the first game, mostly because the characters have more to do. They feel more involved with the story, they have dialogue, and they have backstories.
I do like the magic system more in the second game. It isn’t good, but it is the least terrible out of the two of them. The first game forced you to manage your magic much more than the second game does. The leveling system for magic gives you a reason to use your spells more than in the first game.
I’m also less fatigued by this game. I’ve played the first game so many times over the years that it is a little boring at this point. Final Fantasy II is a better story, and one that I haven’t played to death yet.
Conclusion
At times, I feel like I’m the only one who likes Final Fantasy II. For a long time, I didn’t like it and thought it was the worst game in the series. After playing it in the last few years, I’ve changed my mind on it quite a bit. It won’t be on my list of favorite games, but I like it more than I once did.
The first Final Fantasy is the game that got me into RPGs. It is a game that I’ve played a lot over the years. I still enjoy playing it, but I’ve gotten a little tired of it after thirty-plus years.
Going back to play these games has been a lot of fun. Both of them are fun to play, even if Final Fantasy II can take some time to get used to. I still remember playing it on an emulator, and being really confused by it. At the end of the day, the first game is the better RPG overall.
If you liked this post, please check out the others in this series. Some examples are: Dragon Quest II vs Phantasy Star III or Destiny of an Emperor vs Sweet Home.