Re-posted from a January 15th entry on the Nintendo Gamer blog
So, apparently Square Enix is making yet another remake of an old Final Fantasy game. Only this time, it’s not so much a Final Fantasy game as it is a SaGa game that was simply given a false “Final Fantasy” moniker in the US in order to drum up sales due to growing popularity of the Final Fantasy brand. The game in question, known in Japan as SaGa 2, was released in the US on the Game Boy as Final Fantasy Legends 2. Yes, I know. Baffling.
In my opinion, FFL2 (and I’m assuming this was true for SaGa 2, as well, for obvious reasons) was a horrible game. It was freakishly difficult, incomprehensible in both method and story, and just an utterly unfortunate waste of time. I ended up playing FFL3, as well, years later, hoping upon hope that it had surpassed FFL2’s painful shortcomings, only to learn that the series, in the time between 2 and 3, had essentially learned nothing. I have no idea how this series fared in Japan, but I can only hope it was met with similar marked disappointment.
That, in and of itself, makes me question this decision. But then you have to ask yourself: why remake the second game in the series? The SaGa/FFL series doesn’t have the same ridiculous numbering issues that the true Final Fantasy series has had to endure, with number 6 in Japan actually being number 3 in the US, and number 4 in the US being number 17 in Japan, so on, so forth. The SaGa/FFL series enjoys a fairly straightforward numbering, where SaGa 2 in Japan — ironically enough — actually corresponds to FFL2 in the US. So why start at the second game in the series? Once again: baffling.
My true gripe here is that Square Enix seems allergic to trying something new. With so many Final Fantasy remakes and Dragon Quest sequels in the pipeline, they’ve had the appearance of a company fairly bereft of new thought. And, quite honestly, I can’t really blame them. Lately, their attempts at injecting fresh ideas into the bloodsteam have ended up performing pretty badly. I suppose if every time you attempt to create an original IP in the world of jRPGs, you might want to consider NOT trying to rip off your own ideas, and then failing at it miserably by making it a buggy mess. Their one bright, shining star of recent releases would have to be The World Ends with You. But it’s mainly bright and shiny because it was developed by Jupiter.
Maybe Square Enix will actually end up creating a quality title. A remake of FFL2 with a brand new interface, slick 3D rendering, and a new coat of paint on the story and gameplay might end up working out better than its original incarnation. They accomplished it with Final Fantasy IV; they could do it again. And likely, they will. But I just wish they wouldn’t. I don’t want old FF and new DQ games. I want fresh and interesting and innovative. Square Enix is the most prolific and powerful jRPG powerhouse in the world, and all they do with that strength is replay the classics and revisit the past. Give me more games like The World Ends with You.
Just don’t give me a sequel to it.
