Disclaimer: This post may have words inappropriate for younger readers. Please be advised.
Before I begin, I think I should talk a little more about
the system mechanics behind Final Fantasy II.
Having played a long time ago, I remember having a difficult
time getting stronger. Leveling is based on use and necessity. For instance, if
you use your magic, your magic attributes such as MP, intelligence, and soul may
increase. If you neglect them and prefer physical attacks, you may find that
those attributes might decrease while your physical attributes such as strength
might increase. It’s all about how you want to play your characters.
Like I mentioned earlier, your weapons, shield, and spells
also have skill levels. As far as I know, these do not decrease with neglect. I
have read online that there is a “select/cancel” exploit that involves repeatedly
selecting a command and then canceling when it’s time to pick the next
character’s commands (In the first three entries of the series, you select
every character’s command at the beginning of each round.). Because of the way
the game is programmed, the proficiency increases depending on how many times
the action is SELECTED rather than executed. Therefore, you can quickly
increase your proficiencies by selecting and canceling multiple times per
round.
Another exploit that players use involves HP and MP.
According to guides online, you can increase your HP by losing a large amount
of HP in a battle and increase your MP by using up a large amount of MP in
battle. To increase their HP, many players choose to attack their own
characters to quickly wear them down and increase their HP. Can you imagine
what the enemies must be thinking when they see the heroes whack themselves
over the head to become stronger? At the moment, I do not plan to whack my
characters over the head to gain HP, but I will keep the tactic in mind should
the going get too tough for me. I guess we’ll see as we progress through our
tour of Final Fantasy II, right?
If you’re interested in the details, you can read all about
it at http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563414-final-fantasy-ii/faqs/21734.
Thank you Onion Kid of GameFAQs for providing this helpful FAQ!
Back to the Show
Well as soon as I boot up I decide that it takes too long to
make money grinding, so I get enough to buy Fire (which I give to Maria) and
Bolt (which I give to Firion). Then I’m on my way to Palm! I use the canoe
to cross rivers where there is a bridge within one step, and there are no
random encounters while in the canoe, so it’s a step up from the first Final
Fantasy.
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| What a lovely lake to canoe in! And is that a ship I see? Maybe some pirates to win it from? |
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| Oh! You’re just a transporter? Arrr’nt you tempted to take up piracy wearing that gear? |
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| Maria then calls him a sleaze. You go, girl! |
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| I beg to differ; I see a lake! Also, why can't I go for a canoe ride in this town? I always keep it around! |
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| See? I'm always prepared. Check out that sweet canoe! |
While you’re looking at the new inventory screen, notice that I
can’t keep multiples of the same item. Each individual item takes up a slot. I also can’t throw away any of the key items, and the trash can
is a spot in my inventory! To make things a little better, the characters can
equip up to two items. I wonder how items in battle work…
 |
| Darn it! Shouldn't have slept at the inn. Back outside to fight! |
Meeting the First Cid
When I fight outside, Guy gets poisoned, but once again
heals up after a round. I don’t get how poison works in this game! Thankfully
it only takes one fight to get enough money, and I’m on my way to Poft! After
my incredibly fast, uneventful boat ride, I land in Poft, where I learn that
Salmando is to the north and Bofsk is to the east of here. The people here are
all pink instead of blue (The port of Dan from Street Fighter?). Then a pink sailor tells me that
Cid lives here, so now I search around hoping to meet one of the first main
staples of the series.
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| I still can't afford anything new! |
I finally find him in the pub, even pinker than the other
sailors in the room! Maybe he's Dan!
 |
| Hahaha! I suspect there is no cursing in the original Japanese version. |
After Cid drops the s-bomb (See? I told you that there may be inappropriate language!) , I ask the kid next to him about
riding, and he tells me I can go to several towns for varying amounts of money.
Maybe I'll return when I’m richer, but a man can dream. Before leaving town, I talk to the
sailors, and all of them say the same line about something terrible being built
to the east in Bofsk (Warship). There must not be anything else going on that's interesting.
When I leave town, I head north towards Salmando to meet
Josef. Other than two new enemies, the
sprinter (looks like an angry looking ostrich/vulture if that makes any sense)
and a queen bee (tends to fight in groups with hornets), I don’t meet any new
enemies along the way. In fact, many of the hornets now flee from battle as I
fight. I notice that now I can fight up to eight enemies instead of nine like
in the first game.
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| Snow? But we only walked a couple miles north! |
In Salmando, I learn that the men are being forced to mine
for mithril in the Semite Cave, southwest of the town. I meet Josef, who is
very purple, and he asks me to help out.
 |
| So purple! |
On
my way to the cave, I fight a soldier, but he isn’t as intimidating as he
looks. Thank you, hornets!
 |
Speaking of hornets, I fight seven of them with a queen bee.
They get the ambush on me, but four of them do nothing and four of them flee! I
find out I can’t even select the back two rows until I take out the front row,
but I can target the back rows with magic. Not even Maria’s bow can hit the
back!
I finally make it to the Semite Cave, where I will be able to find mithril. Before I go, though, I have to again thank Minh for bringing his canoe with him.
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| Good thing Minh brought his canoe; otherwise, we'd be swimming right now! |
Coming next time! Maybe we'll actually fight a boss?
Thanks for reading, and leave your comments below!
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