Game Boy Works #122: Final Fantasy Legend II

Game Boy Works #122: Final Fantasy Legend II

Author: Jeremy Parish December 28, 2020 Duration: 17:07

The second entry in the Final Fantasy Legend series—or SaGa, if you prefer—amped up the features, narrative, mechanics, and overall design sensibilities of the groundbreaking first game. With new races, an elaborate cosmology, inventive dungeon design, an unconventional death mechanic, and all kinds of poorly explained gameplay systems to grapple with, Final Fantasy Legend II is in some respects a high point of the SaGa series. And with both a SaGa Game Boy compilation and remaster of SaGa Frontier for PlayStation due out in the near future, there's no better time to get acquainted with this sometimes-baffling role-playing series that is well and truly here to stay... whether you like it or not.

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Jeremy Parish's Video Works by Jeremy Parish is a curated collection of his long-running projects diving deep into the history and design of classic video games. Rather than a single focused series, this podcast serves as an archive and hub for several distinct endeavors. You'll find episodes from Game Boy World, which meticulously documents every pre-Game Boy Advance handheld title in chronological order, offering a unique historical perspective. Another strand explores the interconnected world of "Metroidvania" games, analyzing the design principles that define this beloved subgenre. The Anatomy of Games segments provide thorough, thoughtful critiques of classic game design, breaking down what makes these titles endure. Each episode, whether originally audio or adapted from video content, carries Parish's knowledgeable and considered commentary. This podcast is for anyone with an appreciation for gaming's foundations, presented not as dry history but as an engaging exploration of the artistry and innovation that shaped the medium. Tune in for a consistently insightful look at the pixels and philosophies behind the games you might have played-or always meant to.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Video Works by Jeremy Parish
Podcast Episodes
NES Works Gaiden #042: Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:50
By a perfectly timed request by patron TheyCallMeSleeper, this episode arrives just in time to be positioned between this channel's coverage of Super Mario Bros. and its American sequel. Of course, this Japan-only sequel…
NES Works Gaiden #041: BattleCity / Super Mario Bros. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:49
The Famicom finally reaches maturity with the arrival of Mario's greatest adventure—and perhaps the greatest action game anyone had ever created to this point in history. Pushing the Famicom hardware to its absolute limi…
NES Works #092: Mickey Mousecapade/ Joust/ Millipede/ DK Classics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:05
Capcom kicks off one of the most important creative threads of the NES's history: Their collaboration with Disney, back in the days when Disney was simply an animation studio struggling to reinvent itself for a new era r…
NES Works #091: Ghostbusters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:15
Continuing the trend of "games converted badly to Famicom in 1986 and published in America two years later," we have Bits Laboratory's disastrous adaptation of Activision's Ghostbusters. A fun, frothy, fast-paced little…
NES Works #090: Spy Vs. Spy / MagMax / Seicross [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:54
More newcomers arrive on NES this episode, each bringing a musty conversion of an even older original work in tow. Kemco-Seika makes its NES debut with a two-year-old port of First Star Software's Spy Vs. Spy, which kind…
NES Works #089: Bubble Bobble & Racket Attack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:33
It's two for two for the road this week with Bubble Bobble, a game specifically designed to be played with another person, and Racket Attack, the second-ever NES tennis game which, like Nintendo's Tennis, offers support…
NES Works #088: Jackal / Wheel of Fortune / Jeopardy! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:16
The prevailing theme for NES games in 1988 has been multiplayer. From Contra to Life Force to Jackal, many of the best games for '88 played best with friends. (That was probably also true for games that weren't published…
NES Works Gaiden #039: Astro Robo Sasa / Honshogi / Robot Gyro [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:46
The machines have risen, taking control of this trio of games and obviating humanity altogether. Well, almost altogether. R.O.B. at least demonstrates the value of mankind working together, hand-in-, uh, claw with its ne…
NES Works Gaiden #038: The Tower of Druaga [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:51
Although I've previously covered The Tower of Druaga on Game Boy Works, this version precedes the portable rendition by half a decade and stands as the more towering achievement of the two. So to speak. Another solid arc…