Final Fantasy Legend II Game by Square Reviewed by -=\^/@!+er=- rex84@epix.net Size: 2 megabits Save: Battery/3 slots Released: 1991 Works with: Compatible with GameBoy/GameBoy Color Opening Snide Remarks: Back when I got this game, I was looking for another RPG. After playing my first RPG (Mario RPG), I had a thirst for RPG's, and every one told me this was good; I had high hopes. Gameplay: I love this game. It's my FAVORITE GameBoy game. I love everything about this game, the music, the graphics, the plot, the characters, and all those little 'extras' they put in! This is your basic RPG, with a few 'twists'. You start your adventure by choosing the first member of your team. There are a good number of character classes in FFL2. You have a choice of a Human Male, Human Female, Mutant Male, Mutant Female, a Robot, or about 3 monsters. Each character has different attributes, and works differently. The humans are you basic warriors. They carry weapons, and generally don't have any magic. The mutants are the spell-casters of the bunch. Robots are the weird ones. Instead of gaining HP and stats like the other guys, you level them up by equipping things to them. For example, if I equipped a sword to a robot, his HP would go up, and his strength would go up. Robots are my favorites. Now, even stranger than robots are the monsters. You can't equip anything to them, and they get stronger by eating the meat of other monsters. Occasionally after a battle, the monster you fought will leave meat behind. If you have your monster eat the meat, he will transform according to the strength of that monster. Leveling up in this game is also odd. Instead of gaining experience points, and then going up in levels, you gain random stats and HP after a battle. For example, if you use a magic attack during a battle, then that character's magic may go up. Just surviving a battle will yield an HP gain for that character. Remember that this won't apply to your monsters or robots. Also, every weapon or spell you use (with a couple exceptions) has a limited number of uses. This number is written next to that weapon. BUT, any of the spells your mutants have, any attacks your monsters have, or any item you put on a robot will be restored when you visit an inn. Also, since the number of uses on a robot's weapons are unlimited (they're limited, but the number of uses is restored every time you visit an inn) every item you put on a robot will lose half it's uses. The battles are normal turn - based battles that you'd expect in an RPG. The characters and plot are nice. Don't trust everyone who seems to be your friend. There are also loads of NPCs (Non-Playing Characters) that join you and help you when you need it most. Graphics: The graphics are a mixed bag. While the most of the overworld graphics range from OK to poor, the battle scenes are great! In the overworld, you often come upon these sharp corners that look pretty bad (and they're everywhere). The people, on the other hand look great, and rival the character design in Zelda and Pokémon. The battle scenes have great graphics! Each enemy in a battle scene has been hand - drawn (or so I've been told), and they look GREAT! All in all, the graphics are pretty good. Sound: Well, the quality of the sound depends on how you look at it. All the sound effects have been taken directly from GameBoy's built in cache. But, they all sound appropriate! Swords slash, hammers pound, fire burns, ice freezes, and all the other effects sound great. In fact, I'm surprised how good everything sounds, coming from GameBoy's cache. Music: Ah ... the music! The music in this game is great! The boss song rules and the overworld song is good, too. In fact, excluding Final Fantasy Adventure (watch for my upcoming review!), Final Fantasy Legend II has the best music of all the final fantasy games on GameBoy. The songs also go in synch with the plot. Like the heroic tune plays when some one comes and helps you out, or the sad tune plays when some one dies. There's lots more tunes, too. Plus, the game has a built in 'sound test'. Whenever you go into a café, there's a jukebox that has all the songs in the game on it! Play Control: Like most RPGs, the play control is confined to walking, and menu commands. Everything works well, and there aren't any problems. Final Analysis: This game is a masterpiece that no RPG fan should be without! If you don't have it already, make sure you go and pick up a copy soon! Score Gameplay: ***** Graphics: **** Sound: **** Music: ***** Play Control:***** Total: 92% Final Score: 95% Currently Known Codes: Sound Test To access the sound test hold Select + B + and Start on the Title Screen.