I really enjoy FFII. It’s great, and definitely worth re-examination for anyone who dismisses it out of pocket as “the worst final fantasy”. It actually has a very down to earth story and characters with a lot of big moments, whether it’s Josef's tragic death, a boss mimicking Hilda, Leila showing up instead of a boss to help you retake Fynn Castle, getting swallowed by Leviathan, or Firion’s doppleganger appearing in a dungeon. Even characters like Paul, the honest thief, are developed well! I love that the story is so prosaic, it’s about humans having the capacity to do terrible things to each other because they want power, and how it takes an emotional toll on people going through loss and suffering. It’s all done very tastefully.
But when it comes to the ending, it loses me a bit. The game famously fakes you out, and after defeating the emperor, you celebrate with a formal ballroom festivity (which is how every game should end), but suddenly you discover that someone else is a pretender to the emperor’s throne. It turns out to be the Dark Knight, who you peg immediately as Firion’s brother Leonheart, who you have been searching for this whole game. You make your way through the castle to his throne room, where he is completely off the rails crazy, cruel, and power hungry. He’s ready to do extreme damage to innocent people. You’re about to come face to face with him, but then…. the emperor shows up, opens the gate to hell, and your insane brother decides to chicken out on becoming the big bad guy, and joins you instead. Just a complete 180 immediately. And the party accepts him without any pushback.
Pandemonium is a slog… I think the dungeons in this game have far too many empty rooms, and while this one has some cool loot, I found myself going on no-encounters mode a bunch just to get through with it. Then the final battle, which is legitimately very very hard, becomes completely trivialized if you equip the blood sword. I went from dying without much hope for winning, to winning in like 4 turns once I equipped it.
At the very least, I appreciate that Leonheart doesn’t get the happy ending that everyone else does. There’s a star wars style procession for the three main heroes (complete with ghosts of the friends you make along the way), but it ends with Leonheart walking off in shame, and the gallant Firion says he will welcome his brother back. I think all this is great but it’s hardly earned when we spent such little time with Leonheart as the primary villain. The emperor did so much evil and leveled entire cities just for the sake of it, and Leonheart only took the throne long enough to cower in the emperor’s presence. Sure it makes him more redeemable but in the end the game winds up saying less about what motivates people to do horrific things then it should have.
But when it comes to the ending, it loses me a bit. The game famously fakes you out, and after defeating the emperor, you celebrate with a formal ballroom festivity (which is how every game should end), but suddenly you discover that someone else is a pretender to the emperor’s throne. It turns out to be the Dark Knight, who you peg immediately as Firion’s brother Leonheart, who you have been searching for this whole game. You make your way through the castle to his throne room, where he is completely off the rails crazy, cruel, and power hungry. He’s ready to do extreme damage to innocent people. You’re about to come face to face with him, but then…. the emperor shows up, opens the gate to hell, and your insane brother decides to chicken out on becoming the big bad guy, and joins you instead. Just a complete 180 immediately. And the party accepts him without any pushback.
Pandemonium is a slog… I think the dungeons in this game have far too many empty rooms, and while this one has some cool loot, I found myself going on no-encounters mode a bunch just to get through with it. Then the final battle, which is legitimately very very hard, becomes completely trivialized if you equip the blood sword. I went from dying without much hope for winning, to winning in like 4 turns once I equipped it.
At the very least, I appreciate that Leonheart doesn’t get the happy ending that everyone else does. There’s a star wars style procession for the three main heroes (complete with ghosts of the friends you make along the way), but it ends with Leonheart walking off in shame, and the gallant Firion says he will welcome his brother back. I think all this is great but it’s hardly earned when we spent such little time with Leonheart as the primary villain. The emperor did so much evil and leveled entire cities just for the sake of it, and Leonheart only took the throne long enough to cower in the emperor’s presence. Sure it makes him more redeemable but in the end the game winds up saying less about what motivates people to do horrific things then it should have.