I just bought this game and have been playing it on the DS. I've only played Final Fantasy so far, not the sequel.
On the one hand, the graphics are pretty clear. It really looks close to a real Super NES game, unlike most GBA games that have extremely washed-out graphics. It reminds me of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest in a way, except the backgrounds in battles are much more detailed. The simplicity of the sprites is also refreshing; it really looks pixel drawn by hand, not put through the latest computer-graphics filter.
The sound is also pretty good. It has a bunch of the staple sounds of the Final Fantasy series, naturally. Through earphones, it sounds pretty good, pretty close to a Super NES game, I'd say. I don't think that background "buzz" sound (because of the 8-bit output) is as noticeable in this game as it is in other GBA games.
But the gameplay...man, it's fucking annoying. Maybe I just can't tolerate random battles like I used to, but I can't stand it. First of all, I hate the way the dungeons are laid out. You can go through these little crannies (and fighting random battles all the way) of the dungeons, just to find a damn treasure chest with money in it. Then, you have to find your way back (fighting battles along the way). Then, because the dungeon tiles repeat so much, I end up going to the same places a few times before I figure out where I'm really supposed to go (again, fighting pointless random battles the entire way). But then, not only that, but the random battles often so close together that I can't take even one step without going into yet another one.
Even the fucking overworld is like this to some degree.
This really wouldn't bother me a tenth as badly if it just happened sometimes, but it's ALL the time.
I dunno. Maybe I'm just not into these types of games, anymore, but so far, I've had to press myself to keep going.
On the one hand, the graphics are pretty clear. It really looks close to a real Super NES game, unlike most GBA games that have extremely washed-out graphics. It reminds me of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest in a way, except the backgrounds in battles are much more detailed. The simplicity of the sprites is also refreshing; it really looks pixel drawn by hand, not put through the latest computer-graphics filter.
The sound is also pretty good. It has a bunch of the staple sounds of the Final Fantasy series, naturally. Through earphones, it sounds pretty good, pretty close to a Super NES game, I'd say. I don't think that background "buzz" sound (because of the 8-bit output) is as noticeable in this game as it is in other GBA games.
But the gameplay...man, it's fucking annoying. Maybe I just can't tolerate random battles like I used to, but I can't stand it. First of all, I hate the way the dungeons are laid out. You can go through these little crannies (and fighting random battles all the way) of the dungeons, just to find a damn treasure chest with money in it. Then, you have to find your way back (fighting battles along the way). Then, because the dungeon tiles repeat so much, I end up going to the same places a few times before I figure out where I'm really supposed to go (again, fighting pointless random battles the entire way). But then, not only that, but the random battles often so close together that I can't take even one step without going into yet another one.
Even the fucking overworld is like this to some degree.
This really wouldn't bother me a tenth as badly if it just happened sometimes, but it's ALL the time.
I dunno. Maybe I'm just not into these types of games, anymore, but so far, I've had to press myself to keep going.