The second of Square Enixs PSP reissues to celebrate two decades of Final Fantasy goodness, FFII is fraught with niggling problems that players may have been willing to forgive 1988, but have since been corrected by countless, more accomplished role-players.
While the game suffers from the same tedious plot and simplistic action that also blights the re-release of the first Final Fantasy, FFII is also crippled by disastrous character development; your heroes will often earn more points by taking damage than inflicting it, forcing players to play through dozens of frustrating and humiliating battles if they want to max out their stats.
And while there are various ways to work around this problem and even exploit the games weaknesses, levelling up your character in a measured way will often leave them woefully underpowered when it comes to fighting a boss, leading to hours of tedious backtracking and making the combat a relentless chore.
Natty new graphics and improved presentation go some way to acknowledging FFIIs place in the pantheon of gaming, but charging a premium price for a title that hasnt stood the test of time does little but sully the series good name.