With FF I already released, parts two and three are on their way to Bandai's handheld wonder.

 April 28th, 2001 - Japan is gearing up for the return of the second installment in the Final Fantasy series, on Bandai's handheld WonderSwan Color console. The remake comes as part of Square's current craze of re-releasing old RPGs on contemporary consoles with a new lick of paint. But with chapter ten's debut on the PlayStation2 not too far in the future, should today's generation of visually dependent gamers be interested in this aging NES port?

Final Fantasy II, released in the east back in December 1988, was the first RPG to include many of the staples of more modern examples of the genre, such as the game's various gameplay systems. As always with the Final Fantasy series, they are innovative and unique to each particular game. This outing sports what is known as the "Skill Degree" system, which basically means that growth is obtained through experience of each individual aspect of the game. For example, the more a particular weapon is used, the stronger it will become. The more damage a character takes and the more special attacks which are inflicted upon him, the more that character will grow in level and learn new skills to be used in battle.

Also, being one of the first RPGs to have a proper storyline and plot-driven gameplay, the game features the "Word Memory" system that lets players obtain "keywords" from certain characters, which then prove useful when talking to others. As well as these gameplay mechanisms, Final Fantasy II introduced the gaming population to one of Square's most recognisable mascots - the chocobo.

So... What Additions Does the Remake Feature, Exactly?
The remake will be similar in style to that of Final Fantasy I, which helped make the WonderSwan Color a phenomenal success on its debut late last year. That is, the gameplay will essentially remain the same as in FF II's original 8-bit incarnation, but with certain added features and other elements included from later examples of RPGs, which make playing the game a smoother experience. Most evident of the improvements will be the spruced-up graphics, which make the title look somewhat more like a 16-bit game. Audio improvements are also on the cards - most of the music and sound effects are being upgraded.

On the gameplay side, Square is implementing easier-to-navigate menus, including the ability to view statistic changes in weapons and armour shops. Perhaps more interesting to fans is the inclusion of all-new scenes in the game, which will affect the plot, apparently making it deeper and more enjoyable. Purists will be happy to learn that two modes of play are available for selection - the first including all the new features of the remake, and the second, "classic" mode enabling the game to be played practically in NES form, with none of the additions taking effect.

There is also an all-new logo for the remake, depicting Queen Hilda, the leader of the battle against the Paramekian Empire. This logo is in the same, familiar style of later FF logos, a style that had not yet been adopted at the time of the original FF II's release.

As with the first game, the WonderSwan remake of Final Fantasy II will feature updated graphics and sound...	...but will we ever see an English-language version of this game, which was originally never released outside Japan?

It's nice to see Square aren't forgetting their past, and are making the Final Fantasy games of old available to the new generation of gamers who were attracted to the RPG genre by the recent, more impressive PlayStation games. But many would argue that they should be ploughing their resources into developing cutting-edge PlayStation2 software rather than giving fans a history lesson by rehashing ten-year-old games.

But of course, obsessive fans will want to own everything Final Fantasy-related they can get their hands on, and indeed, the Japanese have been handing over their cash for WonderSwan Colors in their droves, both to play the Final Fantasy I remake and in anticipation of this remake of FF II, and the similar remake of FF III, scheduled for later this year. As with the FF I remake, a special WonderSwan Color plus Final Fantasy II package will be on sale alongside the standalone game, when it is released to the Japanese public this coming Thursday.

The big question remains... will we ever see these remakes in English? That's a question to which there is no answer as of yet, and we can only speculate. With Final Fantasy II and III never being released in English before, the outlook might seem bleak. On the other hand, the lack of a previous release didn't stop Square including a freshly translated FF V as part of Final Fantasy Anthology on the PlayStation.