What if the original NES versions of Final Fantasy 2 & 3 had been released worldwide?

[Dagger Dias]

So most of us in the gaming community know about how most of the world missed out on the REAL Final Fantasy 2, 3, and 5 originally. Here in the states the 4th game in the series was released as the 2nd, and the 6th game was released as the 3rd. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest did make it over, but it's not really part of the main series. This name change led to confusion, and some older gamers STILL refer to the game with Cecil as FF2 when it's really FF4 and the game with Kefka as FF3 when it's really FF6. This naming issue did get cleared up during the PSX era when the series began seeing countless remakes of the older titles.

The main reason I have heard over the years for why the NES versions of FF2 and FF3 never made it to a worldwide release was due to the high level of difficulty in those games. That could very well be true. FF2 had the most frustrating system of upgrading your characters that I have ever come across in an RPG game. FF3 brought back the original title's style but its difficulty went through the roof in the second half of the game. To this day they are both among the hardest games I have played.

Then there's the fact that the version of FF4 released as FF2 in the states had been toned down. Significantly. The original version of FF4 had a higher difficulty, more abilities for the characters, and a secret area in the Dwarven Castle where you could "meet the developers". The developers room got removed due to a dirty magazine hidden in a shelf. I always felt this was lazy programming on behalf of the staff. They could just as easily have replaced it with a Full Restore potion or something. The bosses were for the most part a lot tougher in this version though. You NEEDED most of the extra abilities that got taken out in the easy version. This supports the theory of the games being thought of as too difficult for a worldwide fanbase. FF5 didn't make it for unknown reasons when it was slated for a release as FF3, which as we all know went to the 6th game in the series.



What do you think would have happened if the original NES versions of Final Fantasy 2 and 3 had been released worldwide?

What about if the original and more difficult FF4 got released worldwide as well? What would have happened?

Would the series still have become as popular as it is now? Why or why not?

Would there still have been a long list of remakes in recent years if the whole series had seen a worldwide release for the original versions?


This is something that I, as one of Wrestlezone Forums' biggest resident Final Fantasy marks, think about a lot. The 2nd and 3rd game were in fact exceedingly difficult and might have turned a lot of people away. This could be said for the tougher version of FF4 also. It's not as bad as NES FF3, but it's pretty tough. The same generation who got turned onto the series through the easy version of FF4 or the "FF3" version of FF6 might never have become fans since by the 6th game enough people might have turned away from the series to do quite a bit of damage to its popularity. I honestly think it was fate because it might not be anywhere near as popular as it is now and the fact that the 2nd and 3rd games were unreleased helped the sales of all the remakes.

Thoughts? Discuss!

 

[Viggo]

What do you think would have happened if the original NES versions of Final Fantasy 2 and 3 had been released worldwide?

I'm 31, so I remember when FF1 first hit the shelves here in the U.S.. I remember that it was hyped fairly heavily by Nintendo Power, and they even put out a strategy guide (which I still use when I play FF1) upon it's release, but I don't think it received a huge reception over here. I think this is why FF2 and 3 weren't released here. If they had been released here, they probably would have gotten fewer buys than FF1. American gamers, to that point, weren't as avid about RPGs as the Japanese gaming community IMO. Dragon Warrior was the first RPG I ever played and I was hooked from then on, but RPGs didn't start to get big here in the U.S. until the SNES was introduced. FF's popularity increased with FF4 and more so with FF5, but they weren't overwhelmingly popular with the general gaming community.

What about if the original and more difficult FF4 got released worldwide as well? What would have happened?

Again, I don't think it would have made much difference. In fact, it could have turned gamers off even more. I appreciate a high amount of difficulty in a game, and the U.S. version of FF4 was still fairly difficult, so I loved this game. Other gamers may have become frustrated and dismissed the game if it had been made even more difficult though.

Would the series still have become as popular as it is now? Why or why not?

The series popularity would still be more or less where it is today. On a side note, I would appreciate the FF series more if they had never released FF13. That game is unbearable to play.

Would there still have been a long list of remakes in recent years if the whole series had seen a worldwide release for the original versions?

Probably not, but we still would have seen some remakes made, just from a profitability perspective.

FF5 and FF12 = Best FF games ever....

 

[Dagger Dias]

I'm 31, so I remember when FF1 first hit the shelves here in the U.S.. I remember that it was hyped fairly heavily by Nintendo Power, and they even put out a strategy guide (which I still use when I play FF1) upon it's release, but I don't think it received a huge reception over here. I think this is why FF2 and 3 weren't released here. If they had been released here, they probably would have gotten fewer buys than FF1. American gamers, to that point, weren't as avid about RPGs as the Japanese gaming community IMO. Dragon Warrior was the first RPG I ever played and I was hooked from then on, but RPGs didn't start to get big here in the U.S. until the SNES was introduced. FF's popularity increased with FF4 and more so with FF5, but they weren't overwhelmingly popular with the general gaming community.

I'm barely old enough to remember the days when only the first Final Fantasy existed, myself. It was my first although I grew up on FF4 and FF6 on the SNES. FF4 is what truly gave birth to my RPG fanboyism. I highly agree that the SNES saw the interest in RPG's grow more in this area. Titles like FF4, FF6, Secret of Mana, Lufia 2, Super Mario RPG.... All legendary classics at this point. FF2 and FF3 surely would have had much lower sales here in the states in their NES forms. Definitely agree there too. The difficulty theory still holds true too though in my opinion. The borderline unfair difficulty would have turned a lot of people away, and releasing the difficult version of FF4 wouldn't have helped. Like I said, I think it was fate.

Again, I don't think it would have made much difference. In fact, it could have turned gamers off even more. I appreciate a high amount of difficulty in a game, and the U.S. version of FF4 was still fairly difficult, so I loved this game. Other gamers may have become frustrated and dismissed the game if it had been made even more difficult though.

The US "FF2" version of FF4 wasn't too tough other than the Evil Wall (if you hadn't levelled up or done side quests yet) or the optional bosses on the moon. Dark Bahamut gives me a hard time every time I play the game. Did you get a chance to check out the original more difficult version? Spells like Protect and Shell doubled if not tripled Rosa's importance, and I sometimes had to have Cecil be healing to make sure she stayed alive long enough to still do her Curaga's after having had to cast Shell/Protect first. I loved the US version of FF4 though, without it I would not be who I am today. It helped spawn a generation of RPG fans and the more difficult version (let alone FF3 SNES!) probably would have turned away a good number of those people.

The series popularity would still be more or less where it is today. On a side note, I would appreciate the FF series more if they had never released FF13. That game is unbearable to play.

I do think that even if FF2, FF3, and the original FF4 turned people away due to difficulty, then FF7 could still have saved the series and still made RPG's more mainstream. FF6 might also be seen as more popular, for being the first game in the series to tone down the difficulty. The gap between older fans like the two of us who grew up having played the older games, and those who were only around for 7 onward might also be a lot larger.

13's not bad. I find it to be better than 12, personally. FF2 and FFX-2 are the ones that are trash in my opinion.

Probably not, but we still would have seen some remakes made, just from a profitability perspective.

They would not have made as much money off of the remakes. FF Anthology saw FF6 get the addition of newly made cut-scenes.... but it also had a little gem in it, the previously unreleased FF5. I would never have gotten the collection had it not been for FF5 being in there. I like cut-scenes and extra's, but they are not enough for me to buy an expensive game if I already had the original. Same goes for FF Origins. I liked that FF1 got an upgrade, but the previously unreleased FF2 getting one as well in the collection helped generate interest. Granted I had the ROM's for both FF5 and FF2 before these remakes came out, but it's nice to own a "real" copy of them. FF3 on the DS is another point to consider. Would it have done nearly as well if it had been a remake of a title we already had? I'm sure it would have done well, but not as well as it did as a previously unreleased title.

FF5 and FF12 = Best FF games ever....

Do elaborate some on this. I'd love to hear your reasons for why. I disagree and place FF5 toward the middle and FF12 toward the bottom (but not last). FF4, FF7, and FF9 are the best.