Genre: RPG
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square

Final Fantasy II's artwork can be looked at in two lights; as a very early Super Nintendo title the game's overall appearance isn't as sophisticated as later RPGs on the platform-- tiles are relatively simplistic and the character portraits are somewhat rough. From an aesthetic standpoint however, everything is bright and pleasing to look at. The game also makes regular use of fancy Mode 7 and sprite scaling and rotation special effects.

The closest thing we've had to a mediocre soundtrack from Nobuo Uematsu was probably his work on Blue Dragon; everything else has been sensational, and this title's music is no exception. The high-pitched samples in the battle song can get a bit stale during long play sessions, but otherwise the aural tapestries he weaves right from the onset to the end of the game are extremely sophisticated in composition. Sound effects are fairly minimal, but effective.

As one of the early proponents of a storytelling emphasis in the genre, Final Fantasy II doesnn't have the sprawling dungeons of Phantasy Star, or the clever character skill development of even earlier titles in this very series. Rather, it has just enough mechanical complexity-- much of it through the heavy emphasis of magic in combat-- to make the story not seem overbearing. Pacing is good, and there's nary a poorly-designed area or unbalanced enemy encounter about which to speak.

Final Fantasy II gets the story-driven RPG right; the story is esoteric, sure, but the dialog isn't overbearing, and each line is there for a purpose-- it doesn't feel contrived. And these are all of the reasons why it has been so influential over the years. Unfortunately, the games that have copped it since aren't all so artfully done, and it's easy to lament how RPGs have so often deviated from gameplay, the thing that the medium does so well, to silly explicit narratives, which the medium almost universally does poorly. Putting that aside, Final Fantasy II holds up today as an extremely solid, well-designed RPG with strong aesthetic sensibilities.