LTTP: Final Fantasy II | Fear and Loathing in Palamecia

[styl_oh]

One hell of a king-christ hangover... jesus, was it a dream or just an overdose of paranoia over the Empire? Black riders, untouchable in their elysian meadows... there was a guy with me, handy with the sword, but he's gone now too... I was gone, couldn't finish telling you about that other adventure, but sometimes stories don't have endings... that monk in the turban, oh he's still around, hard hitter that he is, boxer in the old days is what he says... but I stole his clothes and his seashell, and his ether too... maybe I should have kept that, come to think of it...

Walking around in the Salamandian winter in your undergarments is no fun, any northerner will tell you that, but there was some reason, very important at the time mind you, that I wrap my fists around two shields and engage in ferociously underwhelming combat, like a football game where nobody can even see the 1st&10, let alone care about it... the big touchdown is a goblin running away out of boredom... but I'm getting old, more useless than ever, maybe this was somehow my attempt to strike back, get faster, faster than a handful of biker crank gets you, because they're building that hellhammer after all, and what's my airship compared to that... and would I even want it to? Think I left my smokes in there, but they can have 'em, tainted with Nixonian greed and general bad taste, they put mythril in those things now you know...

That's all for my report, at least for now. I'm riding with a guy name of Kawazu... he's got some strange ideas, and he's not the one walking sideways on account of the ether, or maybe he is... I caught him hitting himself in the face when he thought I wasn't looking...but I heard he had some success out East with a saga he started spinning, spinning...

Cid
Poft (under enemy occupation)

P.S. I probably won't write this exclusively as a grotesque of Hunter Thompson...
PPS. I might.
PPPS. But I probably won't.

 

[Theswweet]

Strong contender for thread of the month already.

 

[Tuorom]

So what do you think of the game?

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

why did you do PPS and then PPSS instead of PPPS

 

[Lulu]

last boss theme slaps

 

[skeezx]

godawful game but if you want to get meta with it it's pretty fun... or "fun" i should say

back when i had nothing but a ps2 and a copy of FF Origins there was "fun" to be had. never again though

 

[Reyes]

Man fuck the dungeons in this game with all the empty room traps.

Easily the worst FF game.

 

[styl_oh]

Strong contender for thread of the month already.

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Oh that's so sweet of you, thank you.

why did you do PPS and then PPSS instead of PPPS

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I was wondering the same thing myself. I seem to have come on with a rapid-onset case of postscriptum-extension amnesia. Thank you

So what do you think of the game?

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Well, I'm not very far in: I've only done two dungeons and one hardly qualified; the bad guys built the dreadnaught, I think.

So, big possibility for Famous Last Words here, but so far I'm not sure why this is considered such a bad game. It feels very open and free, with a couple of caveats that have been stressing me out (the big two in terms of FFII's levelling system: Evade%/AGL and maybe HP).

The game's mechanics are essentially those of Elder Scrolls, specifically the older ones, let's go with Morrowind. I come from sort of a hybrid background of CPRGs and JRPGs, with an emphasis on the former, so I like that, and I wonder if perhaps that's why fewer FF fans dig it... although the first one, being DnD-derived, is very Western in its mechanics as well. I suppose it's not terribly 'Final Fantasy' (besides their eternal penchant for ripping off Star Wars), and while I like 'Final Fantasy', whatever that is, I went in with the mindset that it was going to be different, going to be weird, going to have more in common with other games or series than it does with its own. Essentially I aim to treat this game as its own thing. It's an RPG of some sort, and I'm gonna play it.

So that's freed me up to play it that way--essentially blank slate characters with a generous helping of options for equipment and magic. I have my Maria in the front stabbing with a javelin, and then I can put her in the back to fire arrows and cast purest black magic. My dumb axe guy can fight with his fists; my Firion goes sword&board until he decides to become a shepherd, using a staff and healing all.

Again, not perfect--I'm feeling stressed over my Agility and wondering if I should be levelling that on purpose in cruel and unusual ways (the other stats seem to be working rather organically). And so far, the monsters have been so unbelievably weak they've almost never been able to hit me... which is a problem, and I'm sure that's what led to people playing it like Fight Club, punching each other in the face.

So yeah: thus far, a breath of fresh air, a warmer game than the first, which I did enjoy but whose squashed-down DnD mechanics/Vancian magic system started to wear me out towards the end, to say nothing of the actual final dungeon. (It took me 4, maybe 5 tries, for the record, to reach Chaos.)

Addendum: god bless this for being the first Final Fantasy that lets you save on the world map whenever you want.

 

[Tuorom]

styl_oh oh nice

Yea I wouldn't worry about the hyperbole people spew about the game, it isn't that bad. The leveling works pretty organically so don't worry so much about the stats. Near the end you may feel like powerleveling, but you don't really have to for most of the game (it's just that the final dungeon can be a spike in difficulty).

I think FF2 is one of the most underrated FFs. It gets a lot of unreasonable hate. I hope you enjoy!

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

The leveling system is very awkward but it's apparently easy to break, so, to me, that's fine I guess.

But ultimately it's just a very boring game to me. Same with the first game. Not gonna bother touching III because I didn't even get a quarter of the way in with I and II.

 

[Reformed Individual]

One of the kinda main characters has the same name as me so I've always been biased towards it and liked it more than other people.

 

[shoptroll]

So, big possibility for Famous Last Words here, but so far I'm not sure why this is considered such a bad game. It feels very open and free, with a couple of caveats that have been stressing me out (the big two in terms of FFII's levelling system: Evade%/AGL and maybe HP).

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In a series where usually there's some sizable mechanical changes between releases, this one is probably the biggest departure from the games that preceded and followed. I don't know about how well it was received in Japan (I'm assuming well enough since the SaGa series spun off from II) , but the English speaking world didn't get a fan translation patch until the late 90's and by that time the understanding of "what is Final Fantasy" had hardened around the first, fourth, sixth, seventh, and possibly the eighth game. II is nothing like any of those and operates in a fashion that isn't how most console RPGs operate with mechanics that are much more rooted in what was going on in PC games like Elder Scrolls with the leveling system or even Sierra/LucasArts adventure games with the keyword system.

And since there weren't many guides written at the time and no translated manual the game acquired the reputation as "that Final Fantasy where you grind by attacking yourself lol wut" (which people will point out is not actually necessary).

EDIT: Forgot to add that NES version still had the "you attack the darkness" thing going on where if you had character actions queued up on monsters that were defeated before that character's turn they whiffed instead of moving onto the next monster in the ordering. So that's another strike against it if you were picking it up for the first time around '98. The series wouldn't address this design flaw until I think III or IV.

 

[styl_oh]

One of the kinda main characters has the same name as me so I've always been biased towards it and liked it more than other people.

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Hey Guy
No?

Oh! Firion! Honestly I just know so many Firions I can't keep track someti

 

[Weiss]

This game sucks but also thank god for it. Had to crawl so FFIII could walk and so FFIV could run.

 

[TheGreatDirector]

I really like this game. Love how fucked up the world gets due to the Empire and how many of your allies die as a result. The lack of crystals and a lot of other FF staples is also highly interesting (even if it comes from it being one of the earliest titles).

I'd love to another FF with its aesthetic.

 

[styl_oh]

In a series where usually there's some sizable mechanical changes between releases, this one is probably the biggest departure from the games that preceded and followed. I don't know about how well it was received in Japan (I'm assuming well enough since the SaGa series spun off from II) , but the English speaking world didn't get a fan translation patch until the late 90's and by that time the understanding of "what is Final Fantasy" had hardened around the first, fourth, sixth, seventh, and possibly the eighth game. II is nothing like any of those and operates in a fashion that isn't how most console RPGs operate with mechanics that are much more rooted in what was going on in PC games like Elder Scrolls with the leveling system or even Sierra/LucasArts adventure games with the keyword system.

And since there weren't many guides written at the time and no translated manual the game acquired the reputation as "that Final Fantasy where you grind by attacking yourself lol wut" (which people will point out is not actually necessary).

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Yeah, I get what you're saying. And the mainstream wouldn't even get to play it 'til 2003--that's insane, and certainly 'Final Fantasy' had solidified by then.

On a similar note, it's kind of hard to find guides/maps for the Origins version (which I'm playing)--there are a surprising number out there for the fan translation/Famicom. Actually the game is pretty devoid of the kind of high quality guides you can find for the others, perhaps for obvious reasons (and yeah, some are filled with misinformation or claim you MUST do certain things like hitting yourself).

 

[saturnineCarrier]

attempted this one on mobile, because apparently overcrowded commute weren't enough to expiate my sins or something. self hatred truly knows no bounds. them dungeons. them dungeons.

I like it though. It tried hard to do something new with the formula! That opening is pretty cool, in its understandably minimalistic retro way. also, the music ! Uematsu did a good job with FFI, but he's really coming together with FFII. Really like the battle theme, but the main course is that stupidly ridiculous main theme. how can someone cram so much melancholy in 40 seconds on a nes??? and kickstarting the series recurring sad overworld motif. a shame that technical limitations kept the compositions under one minute, and thank god for the arrangements that came after and beautifully built upon the strong groundwork Uematsu laid down.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

Hey Guy
No?

Oh! Firion! Honestly I just know so many Firions I can't keep track someti

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Who is ur dealer

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

This game sucks but also thank god for it. Had to crawl so FFIII could walk and so FFIV could run.

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I feel like I'd really like IV (minus the outdated writing) if I played a 2D version of it but the DS version left a kind of sour taste in my mouth

 

[SkyOdin]

I played the Dawn of Souls version of the game, and I enjoyed it. It is a pretty fun classic RPG. Like some other RPGs from that era, I think it suffers mostly from a difficulty spike right at the very start of the game. Once you get over that and build some momentum, it is a pretty solid game.

About half of the list of classic Final Fantasy monsters originate in 2, so it is also pretty influential to the series.

 

[Nairume]

This game gets so much undeserved hate because some of y'all fell for a stupid meme by somebody who was playing the game poorly. It certainly has a lot of flaws and is functionally broken, but there's a lot to love about it.

 

[pleaseinsertdisctwo]

This game gets so much undeserved hate because some of y'all fell for a stupid meme by somebody who was playing the game poorly. It certainly has a lot of flaws and is functionally broken, but there's a lot to love about it.

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In this day and age, what?

For people who like classic style JRPG's, sure (minus the progression system), but in this day and age there's really no reason to play it. It's boring and outdated.

To be fair though, I will agree with you in the sense that it doesn't really deserve the shitload of hate it gets. If you ask me I'd prefer it over FFI which is the best sedative of all time outside of Dragon Quest

 

[styl_oh]

Who is ur dealer

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I get that a lot, or at least some variation, and then have to sadly expose the fact that this is, unfortunately, just me

I feel like I'd really like IV (minus the outdated writing) if I played a 2D version of it but the DS version left a kind of sour taste in my mouth

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IV took me literally forever to finish. So I was kinda eh on it on the whole way through, and when I got to the moon I just about dropped it. I recall the version I played (GBA) being easy enough, and then just a brick wall, not to mention the moon enemies didn't give you any EXP. So for a game I wasn't that invested in anyway, eh...

I plan to try the DS remake at some point, but I've heard some say it's the hardest FF game, which is astounding and a bit intimidating, considering this series contains 1 + 3. Maybe replaying it, original or remake would change my slate-grey feelings towards 4, but I dunno. I do know that I liked 6 a hell of a lot more, and I even got through the first game much faster. I've played a lot more JRPGs since then, so maybe I'd appreciate it more, but I dunno, nothing really stuck out at me at all, besides annoying things.

 

[Nairume]

In this day and age, what?

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Aside from the aesthetics (it has a great soundtrack and some really good art direction for what the NES was capable of ), it still has a fairly solid story. The adventure elements with the passcodes and key items (which it does more with than FF3 and 4 similarly did) were really cool in how they helped to flesh out the adventure. The rotating cast is still fine, and actually it does a good job making the world feel alive with how mobile the cast is compared to virtually anything else from that time period. While the execution of its core mechanics isn't great, I do think the fact that they spun it off into its own series is proof that what was there was a good idea that was just executed in a non-ideal way.

To be fair though, I will agree with you in the sense that it doesn't really deserve the shitload of hate it gets. If you ask me I'd prefer it over FFI which is the best sedative of all time outside of Dragon Quest

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Now I also disagree with this. I still go back to NES FF1 and it's shockingly playable outside of a clunky interface (though there are other NES JRPGs I revisit more).

 

[SOLDIER]

I wonder if we're past the point where people confuse FFII and III with the (real) FFIV and VI. Or if that will be something that follows those four FFs forever.

 

[styl_oh]

I wonder if we're past the point where people confuse FFII and III with the (real) FFIV and VI. Or if that will be something that follows those four FFs forever.

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I don't think people do, thanks to the modern ports. Older people would remember and not be confused because they went through those times, younger people would only have ever seen the correct titles.

I feel like I only even hear about it these days when retro YouTubers say, like, 'So, Final Fantasy 6... the REAL Final Fantasy 6 by the way, not [minor cringey history lesson]'. Oh, and I guess my SNES cart reminds me now and again.

'Follows those four FFs forever' say that five times fast haha

 

[saturnineCarrier]

I get that a lot, or at least some variation, and then have to sadly expose the fact that this is, unfortunately, just me

IV took me literally forever to finish. So I was kinda eh on it on the whole way through, and when I got to the moon I just about dropped it. I recall the version I played (GBA) being easy enough, and then just a brick wall, not to mention the moon enemies didn't give you any EXP. So for a game I wasn't that invested in anyway, eh...

I plan to try the DS remake at some point, but I've heard some say it's the hardest FF game, which is astounding and a bit intimidating, considering this series contains 1 + 3. Maybe replaying it, original or remake would change my slate-grey feelings towards 4, but I dunno. I do know that I liked 6 a hell of a lot more, and I even got through the first game much faster. I've played a lot more JRPGs since then, so maybe I'd appreciate it more, but I dunno, nothing really stuck out at me at all, besides annoying things.

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Mmh, I'd say IV's strengths have a lot to do with its historical context mostly. Analyzed, it's not much more than the culmination of the series so far. A story that starts with an interesting premise but doesn't delve too deep about anything (II), actual characters (this time!) with their specific jobs (I/III) and a revolving door party (II) (which would actually be pretty interesting if encounter design followed suit). Overworld with towns, dungeons, etc.

The big selling point was mostly the presentation, is my guess. Its story borrows heavily from what II did (an adventure across the world, trying to counter a tyrannical force, with twists! drama! sacrifices!), but supercharged with 16-bit goodness. Kind of the start of the series love with big bucks wow factor, almost. Oh, and the "real time" battle system, for those classic heated battles

(Incidentally, one could compare V to III in a similar fashion. and VI sorta fusions the class based characters of IV with the job system of V through magicite? it's interesting how they kept building upon what the nes games established )

 

[Reformed Individual]

Hey Guy
No?

Oh! Firion! Honestly I just know so many Firions I can't keep track someti

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Leon, that's why I said "kinda" main character.

 

[styl_oh]

Mmh, I'd say IV's strengths have a lot to do with its historical context mostly. Analyzed, it's not much more than the culmination of the series so far. A story that starts with an interesting premise but doesn't delve too deep about anything (II), actual characters (this time!) with their specific jobs (I/III) and a revolving door party (II) (which would actually be pretty interesting if encounter design followed suit). Overworld with towns, dungeons, etc.

The big selling point was mostly the presentation, is my guess. Its story borrows heavily from what II did (an adventure across the world, trying to counter a tyrannical force, with twists! drama! sacrifices!), but supercharged with 16-bit goodness. Kind of the start of the series love with big bucks wow factor, almost. Oh, and the "real time" battle system, for those classic heated battles

(Incidentally, one could compare V to III in a similar fashion. and VI sorta fusions the class based characters of IV with the job system of V through magicite? it's interesting how they kept building upon what the nes games established )

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Yeah, that makes sense. I haven't actually played 3&5 yet (looking forward to it) but through osmosis I know they're a couple of the 'job' FFs.

Playing through some of these, I just want to know who at Square is that into Star Wars. II, so far, is literally Star Wars. Party headed by an orphan(s), rebel army base against an empire building something devastating that can wipe out cities. IV is really Star Wars. VI is pretty Star Wars at times (Falcon?). XII switches things up to being Star Wars prequels.

I'm not knocking it! For '88 this still counts as a decent premise transplanted to mediaeval times, and obviously the later games go off on their own thing without merely copying.

(This is just a pet amusement of course; even here I'm not implying that Star Wars is original or that art has to be or even should be, Kurosawa Hero's Journey et al. blah blah.)

 

[styl_oh]

Leon, that's why I said "kinda" main character.

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Oh wow! On a serious note it just kind of occurred to me that I don't see that name very often. It feels like what I have in my head as a 'normal name', but perhaps not anymore. That might be a JRPG thing: you know how they use these like, really regular or really old fashioned names? Kinda like how we'll use an 'exotic' name for something because it's cool, but to the other side it's just normal and boring, Terra from FF6 being 'Tina' in Japan, etc, but I think these names are the same in translation. Not many 'Guy's (or Gus's) around these days either...

And in terms of videogames, I don't believe I've ever met my doppleganger; I'm a James. I can't recall a game with... wait, maybe Silent Hill 2? Oh god I'm a terrible father or something!

As for Leons, I've hardly met the FF chap, but he had a cool portrait. And it's possibly better than being aligned with the Resident Evil guy.

 

[saturnineCarrier]

Yeah, that makes sense. I haven't actually played 3&5 yet (looking forward to it) but through osmosis I know they're a couple of the 'job' FFs.

Playing through some of these, I just want to know who at Square is that into Star Wars. II, so far, is literally Star Wars. Party headed by an orphan(s), rebel army base against an empire building something devastating that can wipe out cities. IV is really Star Wars. VI is pretty Star Wars at times (Falcon?). XII switches things up to being Star Wars prequels.

I'm not knocking it! For '88 this still counts as a decent premise transplanted to mediaeval times, and obviously the later games go off on their own thing without merely copying.

(This is just a pet amusement of course; even here I'm not implying that Star Wars is original or that art has to be or even should be, Kurosawa Hero's Journey et al. blah blah.)

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I assumed you would be interested in playing III and V as well, so I didn't elaborate on their stories, but there's some neat little things as well !

And yeah, when you put it like that, that's a lot of star wars ahah
Couldn't find a direct quote, but it seems that may have been Hironobu Sakaguchi's influence. Looking at his various roles throughout the series, that seems to fit !

 

[shoptroll]

(Incidentally, one could compare V to III in a similar fashion. and VI sorta fusions the class based characters of IV with the job system of V through magicite? it's interesting how they kept building upon what the nes games established )

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VI takes the jobs from III/V and splits them across the innate character classes, Magicite shards, and the relics/accessories.

Playing through some of these, I just want to know who at Square is that into Star Wars. II, so far, is literally Star Wars. Party headed by an orphan(s), rebel army base against an empire building something devastating that can wipe out cities. IV is really Star Wars. VI is pretty Star Wars at times (Falcon?). XII switches things up to being Star Wars prequels.

Click to shrink...

You'll enjoy this piece: https://www.usgamer.net/articles/every-final-fantasy-is-star-wars

Couldn't find a direct quote, but it seems that may have been Hironobu Sakaguchi's influence. Looking at his various roles throughout the series, that seems to fit

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I swear either Sakaguchi or Kawazu were asked in an interview at some point about the Star Wars influences but I can't remember who the interviewer was or the outlet that ran the interview.

 

[Deleted member 721]

i like the sequel too, check it out after that, most people forget that exists

 

[ConfusedOwl]

I wonder if we're past the point where people confuse FFII and III with the (real) FFIV and VI. Or if that will be something that follows those four FFs forever.

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i like the sequel too, check it out after that, most people forget that exists

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lol.

 

[GenTask]

So that's what that game is about. I've always wondered.

 

[Deleted member 721]

lol.

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Soul of Rebirth

The Soul of Rebirth is a bonus quest and campaign introduced in the Dawn of Souls version of Final Fantasy II and included in all subsequent versions of the game except for the pixel remaster. Soul of Rebirth becomes available after defeating The Emperor and completing the game. The player can...

finalfantasy.fandom.com

" The Soul of Rebirth is a bonus quest in the Dawn of Souls, 20th Anniversary, iOS and Android versions of Final Fantasy II. It becomes available after defeating The Emperor and completing the game. The player can then select "Soul of Rebirth" from the menu. "

also available in the gba and psp

 

[ConfusedOwl]

Soul of Rebirth

The Soul of Rebirth is a bonus quest and campaign introduced in the Dawn of Souls version of Final Fantasy II and included in all subsequent versions of the game except for the pixel remaster. Soul of Rebirth becomes available after defeating The Emperor and completing the game. The player can...

finalfantasy.fandom.com

" The Soul of Rebirth is a bonus quest in the Dawn of Souls, 20th Anniversary, iOS and Android versions of Final Fantasy II. It becomes available after defeating The Emperor and completing the game. The player can then select "Soul of Rebirth" from the menu. "

also available in the gba and psp

Click to shrink...

Wow. Guess I proved your point.

 

[Dary]

It's a better game than people make out - another victim of the usual "I've not really played it, but [Internet Persona] said it was terrible, so I'll just parrot their opinion" spiel. It did a lot of things first, before other games in the series took all the credit for them, especially story beats.

(Also, can we please get a FFXV mod that reinterprets the game as a more...Hunter-esque road trip?)

 

[styl_oh]

You'll enjoy this piece: https://www.usgamer.net/articles/every-final-fantasy-is-star-wars

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Haha! Oh, I thought for sure this would be a Nadia Oxford piece (she's wonderful), but I'll have to read this.

 

[Josh5890]

I played the PSP version years ago. It wasn't bad but definitely the least memorable of all of the Final Fantasy games that I have played.

 

[Razorrin]

This concept needs fanart, pronto : D

If Firion is Hunter S. Thompson, who would the other two be : 0

Hope you continue enjoying it, FF2, at least the remakes, isn't exactly a bad game, just one with a high encounter rate and somewhat goofy leveling on occasion.

I'd get someone to level Frog to 16 eventually if I were you, a surprisingly effective instant-death ability associated with legendary glitches in the original, but in the remake mastering it leads to a very nice minigame : P

 

[styl_oh]

This concept needs fanart, pronto : D

If Firion is Hunter S. Thompson, who would the other two be : 0

Hope you continue enjoying it, FF2, at least the remakes, isn't exactly a bad game, just one with a high encounter rate and somewhat goofy leveling on occasion.

I'd get someone to level Frog to 16 eventually if I were you, a surprisingly effective instant-death ability associated with legendary glitches in the original, but in the remake mastering it leads to a very nice minigame : P

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I'm Cid! Firion? I don't know anybody by that name. What are you, crazy, exposing people like that? Great hero or something. The paranoia of holding that title could keep you awake for two weeks straight, put a giant leech down your back and that's without any of those freaks sewing your eyelids open, staple-hungry adrenaline junkies running like Satan's own wolves... Hold on, this cigarette's burning a hole in my raincoat. I'm a doctor of airships god damn it!

You oughta meet my Samoan lawyer. GUY...

There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live... too rare to die.

 

[Razorrin]

I am understanding the premise better now, and I'm 100% down for it and want a theatrical release : 0

This is the real final fantasy movie people want, Rosencratz & Guildenstern with Cid in FF2 as you are protrayin' him.

This rocks so hard : O

 

[NoalleGospell]

I always have a soft spot for games where you can break it to absurd degrees so I liked FF2.

 

[styl_oh]

I am understanding the premise better now, and I'm 100% down for it and want a theatrical release : 0

This is the real final fantasy movie people want, Rosencratz & Guildenstern with Cid in FF2 as you are protrayin' him.

This rocks so hard : O

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Haha, thank you so much

And thanks for always popping in these threads, I really enjoy these sort of in a sense 'communal playthroughs' whatever form they take

 

[Dot-N-Run]

I've always had a certain affinity for this game.

Considering how it was the origin of a boatload of FF staples (chocobos, cid, ultima, dragoons, etc.) I always feel it gets overlooked.

Storywise it's actually pretty interesting, and a huge advancement from the fairly limited story of the first game. I always enjoy when 'wild rose' comes up as a dialogue option in XIV.

The music set the mood well too. Going beyond this, it also works really well as car music in XV as it fits the main struggle perfectly.

 

[styl_oh]

[Origins ver. No PSP speedy levelling.]

OK, to any FFII experts out there... the Agility/Evade% stat. I do have questions. And I've googled the hell out of it so maybe I'm making more of it than it is, but...

At this point, everything seems to be levelling fairly organically, including HP. Every stat seems fine. Except that one.

First of all, I'm aware of the invisible penalties. That, I think, is the only stat that has invisible penalties, and that's kind of lame, so I have a mini-guide open covering which equipment gives you the smallest penalties to raising it.

I'm just at the Snowfields now, and Firion has 13 AGL. That seems... fine. Maria has a whopping 20 for some reason. Guy has... 5. And it really doesn't seem to be going up. Everyone has a shield and is currently in the front row, btw.

Everything's been really easy so far, but I've heard late game you really need Evade more than you need DEF.

Should I really have even my axe murderer guy running around almost naked with a shield to boost it? I'm hesitant to even equip my new Mythril gear because that's when heavy armour really starts to screw your level up chances. I feel like I should get it up to a respectable level before finally putting some heavy armour on him, but I have no idea what a 'respectable level' is.

I'm not playing this game cheesy--not hitting myself or MP swapping--but I do wonder if I shouldn't take awhile to just basically run around naked with shields akimbo just to level up this catch-22 of an Evade%/AGL ouroboros.

Any tips appreciated!

 

[Theswweet]

Using a shield doesn't actually raise defense, it raises evasion.

 

[Quinton]

That opening post is some of the strongest FFII-adjacent writing I've read. Beaten only by the primary source's lightning-in-a-bottle all-timer Guy line.

"Guy speak beaver."

Chills, every time.

 

[styl_oh]

Using a shield doesn't actually raise defense, it raises evasion.

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Yeah, turned out I was worried over nothing too--it's going up, maybe slower than other stats but I think that's normal. I think the issue was stuff just not levelling on trash mobs, which this game contains exclusively until you reach the ice dungeon. Enemies started hitting harder and so forth.

That opening post is some of the strongest FFII-adjacent writing I've read. Beaten only by the primary source's lightning-in-a-bottle all-timer Guy line.

"Guy speak beaver."

Chills, every time.

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Yeah, that was wild. And then he opens an invisible passage in the beaver dam so you can get some kind of trinket (why is a beaver the guardian of the goddess bell) and Josef dies prematurely doing some Indiana Jones shit. This game was just throwing stuff at the wall. Amazing.