After the critical acclaim and success of Final Fantasy, it seemed inevitable that a sequel would appear. Final Fantasy II arrived in 1988. In what was to become the norm for Final Fantasy games, though, FFII wasn't a sequel in the usual sense of the word. Rather, it was a unique game in its own right, linked to its predecessor by common elements in the game system and gameworld. Another 2Mb NES cart, Final Fantasy II was a story of rebellion against a dark, oppressive, ruling power, foreshadowing the themes of Final Fantasy VI and VII. The power-hungry Emperor of the Paramekian Empire had turned to dark magic to summon evil monsters in his bid to rule the world. The Kingdom of Phin struggled against these hoards but was eventually overrun. In the aftermath of Phin's terrible defeat, four warriors trying to escape the carnage were attacked by Imperial Horsemen and cut down. Saved from death by the healer Minh, three of the companions found themselves caught up in the rebellion being organised by Princess Hilda of Phin. Graphically and musically similar to Final Fantasy, FFII boasted an even more complex and intriguing plot, together with a similarly huge range of weapons, armour, spells, monsters and all the other bits and pieces that have since come to be expected from a Final Fantasy game. Although not as much of a shock to Japanese gainers - Final Fantasy after all, had demonstrated Square's enviable talent for designing role-playing games - it was another hit. The most significant change to Final Fantasy II was that there were no character classes or experience levels. Instead, the characters improved in various areas by doing things connected to them - hitting monsters with a sword gained fighting ability, for example, while taking lots of damage in a fight led to increases in hit points. FFII put you in charge of a group of four characters, Just like before, but this time there were three fixed heroes (Frionel, Maria and Guy), all tied into the plot. There was also one 'slot' for an extra member, which was filled by different characters as the game progressed - a concept used in most of the following FF games.