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Guide - Final Fantasy Origins

How To Play

Controls And Menus

Ok, let's start with the controls first, shall we?

  • D-Pad - Moves your character around and allows you to browse menus of course.
  • Left/Right Analog Stick - Does nothing.
  • Select - Press this while holding the Circle Button to view the world map.
  • Start - Confirms options and also opens the menu.
  • Square Button - Allows you to bring up the magic menu in a short cut way.
  • Triangle Button - Opens up the menu.
  • X Button - Examine, talk, confirm and get on/off of vehicles.
  • Circle Button - Cancel an option, hold down to run and hold down and press the Start Button to view the World Map.
  • R1 Button - Allows you to bring up the status menu in a short cut way.
  • R2 Button - Allows you to bring up the reformation menu in a short cut way.
  • L1 Button - Allows you to bring up the item menu in a short cut way.
  • L2 Button - Allows you to bring up the equipment menu in a short cut way.

Ok, that takes care of the controls. Next up, is the menus in the game, starting with the main menu.

As you start up the game, select "Final Fantasy II" and if you wish, watch the opening cut scene. Then, afterwards, select one of the following:

  • New Game - Starts up a new game.
  • Load Game - Loads a game you saved on your memory card.
  • Memo File - Appears only if you saved your game to the memo file and if you haven't turned off your system. Basically, this lets you start off where you last quick saved your game instead of where you last saved at an Inn.

Now, if you're starting a new game, you'll have to name the characters of the story. They are already named as Firion, Maria, Gus and Leon, but you can change them. Unfortunately, these are not the official names of the characters, as they were changed for the US release, but if you want, their real names are Frionel, Maria, Guy and Leonhart, but Frionel and Leonhart won't fit, so, do whatever you wish.

All right, next up we have the menu in the game. I'll start with the pop up one that appears when you talk to people and can ask them something or learn a new phrase:

  • Ask - Select this and the word you wish to ask the person and if they have anything to say to you about that, they will, otherwise, all they'll say is "?".
  • Memorise - If when talking to a person and a word appears in green, select this and then the word to memorise that word, so you can ask about it from now on.
  • Items - If you need to show a person or an object an item, then select this and the item and you'll get a response, IF it's a person that should know about the item or the one that needs the item.

Ok, that's the menu that pops up when talking, now, here's the one that appears when you hit the Start Button or any of the buttons that are short cuts it. First, we'll look at the main screen, where all your party members are, your menu options, etc:

  • Mug Shot - Show you a picture of the character in your party.
  • Name - Name of the character.
  • HP - Value of that character's health. The first number is the health remaining, the second is the maximum value. If the number reaches 0, they die and can't fight until they are revived.
  • MP - Value of that character's magic points. The first number is the magic points remaining, the second is the maximum value. If the number reaches 0, they can't use any magic until it's refilled.

Ok, to the left is the menu options, but below that is:

  • Time - Total amount of play time you've been playing.
  • Steps - Total number of steps you've taken in the game.
  • Gil - The currency used in Final Fantasy. Shows you how much Gil you have currently.
  • Location - Tells you the name of the place you're currently in.

And now, for each menu option:

  • Items - Holds and shows you what Items you currently possess. At the bottom, you can get a description on each item, so, put the finger on the item you want to learn about. To use an item, select it twice. At the top of the page, select "Use" to use an item and "Sort" to organise your items.
  • Magic - Allows you to see what magic spells each character learns. To learn magic, select the magic scroll you have in your items and select the character you want to have it learn, then they'll learn it. What you'll see is the name of the spell and two numbers, like "Cure 1-0". The first number is the level of the spell, from 1-16 and it also tells you how many magic points it costs to use it. The second number tells you how far along the spell is to the next Level. 0-99 tells you and once it goes back to 0, it gains a level. To raise it, use it in battle more and more. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see what the magic spell does, as well as the discard bin, which if you want to throw a spell out, select it and then put it in there to get rid of it.
  • Equipment - Lets you equip your characters. Equip lets you manually equip them, strongest automatically gives them the best equipment you have and best defence equips them according to what would make their defence the highest possible. When you are equipping something, if you see a green arrow, that means your rating increases, a red arrow means a decrease in your ratings and a white arrow means no increase. Now, while equipping yourself, you'll see a window with all your items, plus a description of each one.
  • Status - Shows you the numerical value of each character's values of power. First we have the character's stats from the opening menu and below it we have:

Note: Each value maxes out at 99.

  • Primary Hand - The hand that the character is better with, so equip that hand with the weapon, the other with a shield.
  • Attack - Shows you the strength of how much damage a character can do, at base value.
  • Accuracy - How well a character can accurately hit the target.
  • Defence - Shows you how well a character can defend against physical attacks from a monster.
  • Evasion - Shows you how well a character can avoid physical attacks.
  • Magic Defence - Shows you how well a character can defend against magical attacks.
  • Strength - Determines how strong your attack is.
  • Endurance - Determines by how much your HP will increase each time it increases. So if it's 34, then your HP will increase by 34 next time.
  • Spirit - Determines how well you perform white magic.
  • Agility - Determines how fast you attack in battle and also how good your evasion is.
  • Intelligence - Determines how well you perform black magic.
  • Magic - Determines by how much your MP will increase each time it increases. So if it's 34, then your MP will increase by 34 next time.

Finally, to the left shows you your current mastery of weapons/shield, which works exactly like magic does and finally, at the bottom is your current equipment for that character.

  • Formation - Select this to switch the row of your characters. If they are in the back row, they can only be hit by long range attacks and can only attack and hit with long range attacks. Though, magic spells are NOT effected by this at all. This is good for your magic users and people who use bows and are generally weak, but for the most part, have most of them in the front row to deal the best damage.
  • Keywords - Shows you the list of keywords you've memorised currently in the game. To the left it lets you see a description and some information about the keyword.
  • Config - Allows you to edit the options in Final Fantasy II. They are:
    • Auto Target - Allows your characters in battle to automatically attack the next Monster, but if you turn this off, they'll attack the same monster, even if they're already dead.
    • Map - Allows you to see the world map as either a globe or flat map.
    • Circle Button - Dash - Lets you run manually or automatically without you holding the Circle Button down.
    • Cursor - Select either default or memory to have your cursor either go back to the normal position it goes to at all times when you exit the menu or have it remain in the last area you had it.
    • Sound Output - Select either stereo or mono.
    • Controller - Lets you change the buttons and their functions to meet whatever options you want. if you want to put everything back to how it was, hit the Select Button.
    • Text Speed - Choose how fast text appears. The lower the number, the slower it is, the higher the number, the faster it is.
    • Item Sorting - Allows you to choose in what order your items are sorted.
    • Vibration - Lets you turn the controller's vibration on or off.
    • Window Colour - Lets you edit the window's colour, using red, green and blue colours, each value darkening or lightening the colour of the menu's background.
  • Collections - Lets you view the bestiary, item collection and art gallery. The number next to the bestiary monsters is how many of that monster you've defeated, in case you weren't aware of that.
  • Memo File - Lets you save your game at ANY time, but once you turn off your system, the memo file is gone, so make SURE you save your game to your memory card instead. If you die, you can load your game from your memo file, if you have one, as long as the system hasn't been turned off.
  • Save - Lets you save your game if you're on the world map.

Whew, well, that covers the controls and menus in the game. I hope that helped you out.

Moving Around

Movement in Final Fantasy II is basically just like most RPGs. You move around on a world map, town, dungeon, etc to get from place to place, as well as using vehicles to sometimes help you get around faster or to areas you couldn't reach normally. Walking around towns is rather easy, but here's the things you'll see that are important:

  • Sword - A sign with a sword on it represents a weapon shop.
  • Shield - A sign with a shield on it represents an armour shop.
  • Magic Rod - A sign with a magic rod on it represents a magic shop.
  • Inn - A sign with the words "Inn" on it represents an Inn.
  • Pot - A sign with a pot on it represents an item shop.
  • Sanctuary - A building that allows you to revive fallen party members for free.
  • Pub - A sign with the words "Sign" on it represents a pub.

Ok, that's the stuff in towns. Remember to buy something, select "buy" and select what you want and to sell something, select "sell" and sell whatever it is you wish to sell. Of course, towns are represented by a bunch of houses, castles by castles, dungeons by caves and so forth. As for the type of vehicles:

  • Chocobo - Found only in one place in the game, which is in a small circle area in the forest to the south of Kai'son Castle, the Chocobo lets you travel at twice the normal walking speed and you'll encounter no enemies.
  • Canoe - Once you receive the canoe, you can travel in rivers and lakes freely.
  • Snowcraft - Lets you travel across deep snow.
  • Ship - Allows you to travel across the ocean.
  • Airship - Allows you to fly around the world, but you can only land on plains, nothing else.

All right, well, that covers moving around and such. Not much else to explain, so, yeah, onto the next area!

Battle System

The battle system in Final Fantasy II is much different from any Final Fantasy to date. Being the bastard child of the series, the battle system doesn't use experience, but instead depending on your actions, your stats will increase. First, let's take a look at the battle screen and what you'll see first before fighting:

  • Characters - Shows you to the left what characters are currently in your party.
  • Monsters - Shows you to the right what monsters you're currently fighting.

Then, below this are boxes, showing the characters' names and HP, plus the names of the monsters and how many of them there are currently. Next, up we have the battle commands:

  • Attack - The character attacks the selected monster with their normal physical attack.
  • Magic - The character attacks the selected monster with a magic spell.
  • Equip - The character can change their weapons/shield during the battle.
  • Flee - The character takes a chance at running from the battle. If they do, then the entire team will retreat.
  • Items - In the equip area, you can use one of the items you equipped your character with.

Ok, make a note if all party members each 0 HP or are all stoned, then its game over, so be careful.

Next, we have the fighting itself and how to get the stats for each for character, depending on your actions in battle. Depending on what you do, your stats will increase. So, here's a list of the things you can do and what each one will give you by training:

Note: When a certain stat increases, another decreases. Such as when intelligence increases, strength decreases, endurance decreases as increases and strength decreases when spirit increases and so forth and vice versa.

  • Attack - When you attack, your strength increases, as well as your accuracy.
  • Lose HP - Endurance increases and/or HP increases.
  • White Magic - Spirit increases and makes white magic stronger and more accurate.
  • Black Magic - Intelligence increases and makes black magic stronger and more accurate.
  • Lose MP - Magic increases and/or MP increases.
  • Attack With Weapons - Accuracy increases and your number of hits does as well.
  • Taking Damage From Physical Attacks - Increases your evasion and/or agility, making you able to dodge attacks easier, as well as increase your speed.
  • Taking Damage From Magical Attacks - Increases your magic defence from magic attacks.

Ok, after that, that about sums up the battle system. Again, if you want an easy way to gain stats, check Secrets for more, otherwise, ignore it and train the normal, hard and tedious way. Not much else to explain here, so, with that, we move onto the next area.

Status Ailments/Conditions

Throughout the game, you'll be plagued by certain conditions. Here's a list of each of them and what they do and how to heal from it if it's something that'll hurt you.

  • Amnesia - The character loses the ability to cast magic. This will last even after battle, but to cure it, use Esuna Level 3 and up or a Mallet.
  • Curse - Reduces the success of a character's actions. This will last even after battle, but to cure it, use Esuna Level 2 and up or a Cross.
  • Darkness - Blinds the character and reduces their accuracy. This will last even after battle, but to cure it, use Esuna Level 1 and up or an Eye Drops.
  • KO - When the character loses all their HP, they are KO'd and can't act. This lasts even after battle, but to cure it, use the life spell, a phoenix down or go to a sanctuary.
  • Mini - The character becomes small and their accuracy decreases, but there's a chance of recovery for each turn in battle. This won't last even after battle, but to cure it, use Basuna Level 4 and up.
  • Muddle - The character becomes confused and attacks other party members, but there's a chance of recovery for each turn in battle. This won't last even after battle, but to cure it, use Basuna Level 6 and up.
  • Mute - The character loses the ability to cast magic, but there's a chance of recovery for each turn in battle. This won't last even after battle, but to cure it, use Basuna Level 3 and up.
  • Paralysis - The character becomes paralysed and can't act at all, but there's a chance of recovery for each turn in battle. This won't last even after battle, but to cure it, use Basuna Level 5 and up.
  • Poison - Deals damage to the character each turn. This will last even after battle, but to cure it, use Esuna Level 1 and up or an Antidote.
  • Sleep - The character falls asleep and can't act at all, but there's a chance of recovery for each turn in battle. This won't last even after battle, but to cure it, use Basuna Level 2 and up.
  • Stone - The character becomes petrified and cannot act. This counts as a KO in a sense, so, if you are the only one left and you are stoned, its game over. Be careful. This will last even after battle, but to cure it, use Esuna Level 5 and up or a Gold Needle.
  • Toad - Turns the character into a toad, lowers their attack and they lose the ability to cast magic. This will last even after battle, but to cure it, use Esuna Level 4 and up or a Maiden's Kiss.
  • Venom - Deals damage to the character each turn, but there's a chance of recovery for each turn in battle. This won't last even after battle, but to cure it, use Basuna Level 1 and up.

All right, well, that covers the status ailments in the game, so, be prepared to defend yourself against them.