19. Final Fantasy II (1988)

Final Fantasy II will always be remembered as the ill-conceived sequel whose gameplay was so wack that beating up your own characters was quite a good way to grind up their HP. But it was more than that, of course, even if it wasn’t a particularly good game.

Here was the series’ first attempt to tell a more involved tale, with the scenario designed before the gameplay, rather than vice-versa. A novel keyword-based dialogue system let you have more say over what you said. Cid and chocobos made their first appearances. The overworld music was wonderfully, sadly evocative. And here Square established the longstanding tradition of scrapping all the specifics of the prior game in favor of telling a completely new tale.

Unfortunately the gameplay just isn’t well balanced or particularly enjoyable to push through, and the dungeon design is a crime against humanity. Later re-releases addressed the most egregious missteps of the RNG-based leveling system, but if you’re playing Final Fantasy II today it’s because you’re curious about the series’ history, not because you’re expecting a good 8-bit RPG. — Alexandra Hall

Read More: Final Fantasy II Retrospective: The Black Sheep Of The Series