Ultimate Fantasy II has lengthy been thought of one of many weaker mainline entries in Sq. Enix’s collection. Whereas it did try and push the property ahead when it comes to storytelling, its intriguing however deeply flawed levelling system has left many a participant unimpressed over time.
In Ultimate Fantasy II, you play as a gaggle of youths who make a stand towards an all-conquering empire. When in comparison with its predecessor, there is a heavier deal with characters and political plot factors — maybe an indication of issues to come back for the franchise. It is not what we might name a very memorable story, but it surely does add a little bit of weight to the journey.
Truly progressing mentioned story may be tedious, nevertheless. The sport has a ‘key phrase’ mechanic the place you will be taught varied phrases by chatting with non-playable characters. The concept is that you would be able to then use these necessary phrases to open up new matters of dialog, thus advancing the plot. Sadly, it finally ends up feeling like an pointless step in unfurling what’s finally a simple, principally predictable narrative.
And as alluded, Ultimate Fantasy II has extra bizarre concepts up its sleeve. The aforementioned levelling system sees your base stats and weapon proficiency improve by way of performing particular actions in turn-based battles. Take sufficient harm and your most HP will improve; solid magic just a few instances and your intelligence will get a lift. A reasonably modern system on paper, but it surely falls aside in a short time in apply.
The principle drawback is that it simply takes so lengthy for these stat will increase to rack up. The grind in Ultimate Fantasy II is actual, and to make issues worse, it typically seems like development occurs at random. To not point out that it is all extremely exploitable, since occasion members can assault each other to maximise their positive factors. It is simply so poorly carried out.
Thank god for the Pixel Remaster’s boosts, then. On this enhanced re-release, you may improve the speed at which your stat positive factors happen (by as much as 4 instances), making the entire course of method extra tolerable. These additions alone arguably make this the very best model of a divisive Ultimate Fantasy.