I admit I love the Final Fantasy series. I believe it’s because I grew up on the series. It was one of the first role-playing games made for consoles. It has started trends and refined gameplay for the genre. In other words, it has set the standards for what many gamers consider to be “good” RPGs. But not every game in the series is perfect. I will be the first one to admit that. One of those games is Final Fantasy II.

Originally, Final Fantasy II was painful to play. No, this is not because gamers first got to play it on the original PlayStation because it was originally released on the Nintendo in Japan back in the early 1990s. It was painful because of the leveling system. Instead of gaining so many experience points to increase your party’s power, your characters gained skill points. Thus, to gain any power you had to use the same skill over and over again. Worse, every single level increased one or two points at a time and required a full 100 points to potency. This means it took HOURS to gain any power.

Furthermore, characters stats increased AND decreased through the use of skills. That means if you had a character use only weapons, his intelligence would be terribly low, but he’d be strong enough to knock the enemy around for fun. Or if he relied on black magic entirely, his stamina dropped. White magic drained strength but increased spirit, which is useful for resisting magic. But the only way to counteract this stat-dropping effect was to use skills in which one was not trained. Even that does not guarantee that your characters’ stats would increase uniformly (what comes close to it) or, at the very least, remain constant.

Thank goodness the PSP version does away with this stat-draining effect! I have never seen a stat drop during the time I have played the game. Furthermore, skills increase at a much greater rate. This means that increasing a weapon skill (or spell) from level 1 to 2 takes FAR less time than before. Now, it is about eight uses, and it slowly drops for each level. This means that your party is far more prepared than ever before. It is no longer a constant battle to have a potent party.

There is still one problem with Final Fantasy II: There is no way to know when one of your characters stats will improve. There is no little bar to tell you when your max magic points (which increases by using spells), health or strength will increase. It is far too random. For example, Firion used more spells than Maria or Gordon, and they had more MP than he in the first few hours of gameplay. Eventually, he surpassed them both in that area, but now they have far greater health.

Graphically, the game is gorgeous. Yes, it is from an era gone by. Yes, things could have been brought up to today’s standards a little bit. But that would have meant sacrificing part of the game’s character. However, everything fits the PSP’s wide screen and is vibrant. Monsters are in high resolution, and the characters have nice little details. Firion’s two little hairs can be seen poking out of his hat. Leila, the female pirate, looks feminine and able to kick major butt. Areas — ranging from grass hills to the desolate icefields to the open ocean — have their own unique feels. It shows off not only the interesting (yet basic) storyline, but also the creativity behind the original team.

While many of the areas are now part of RPG canon, it shows the beginnings of creating a valid universe. Once Final Fantasy II gets started, loading time is kept to a minimum. This happens each time you load the game, whether from a suspend state or turning on the system. There is one thing I truly do not like about the graphics: When you are exploring the interior of some place, the edges of the screen blur and darken. While this adds a more realistic feel, it hinders exploration. And I feel like it is playing with my [minor] sense of nostalgia.

Emphasizing this is the well-done music. While the game remains bits and pieces of its NES roots, the music is fully orchestrated. Altair and Flynn Castle have an imperial feel due to the horns. Strings emphasize adventure. Strings and horns with a touch of drums combine to create an intense feel. And, of course, what Final Fantasy game isn’t complete without the traditional victory fanfare?

This is all fine and well, but what is the story? It’s a pretty basic plot. It also notes the beginning of Square-Enix’s interest in political storylines. The game follows four teenage orphans: Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon. For some odd reason, the Emperor was not content with his land. So he did the only logical thing: He took everyone else’s land. Even if it would kill everyone else. That is what happens to our protagonists.

As their hometown of Flynn is burnt to the ground, they run for their lives. But they are stopped by the Emperor’s men and severely knocked unconscious, barely surviving. They then join the rebel cause to take revenge for their fallen friends and for their lives. However, Leon is no where to be found. What happened to him? And will they free their homeland?

Final Fantasy II is old-school comfort food. When all else goes wrong, it is a comfort to gamers. And unlike its original incarnation, this version is actually fun. It no longer feels like work. Sure, it can be challenging at times, but it lets you modify your party to your likings. Period. This game opened doors for some of Square-Enix’s other games and used the concepts here to perfection. This makes it a “classic” in its own right.

If Final Fantasy II interests you, check it out. If you have played the original and hated it, this version may not change your mind. However, you should definitely rent it to see how the game is rebalanced. I was fortunate enough to find this game for $10, and I would not pay more than $20 for it. Finally, a great old-school RPG to play on the go is available for all to enjoy.