Although Final Fantasy (I) is seen as the start of the series, Final Fantasy II has got to be the 'birth'. The storyline is flawless, characters and antagonists excellent and most FF signatures and hallmarks are here. I played this game after VII, VIII, IX, X, XII but this certainly matches most of them, especially considering the time it came out. It's unbelievable how a game can affect you so much.
If you're in a quandry whether to buy FFI or FFII, I emplore you to buy this guy, it's a delight and an experience which will leave you yearning for more Final Fantasy.

a really good game once again if you are a final fantasy fan this is the game you play

Final Fantasy II is one of my least favourite ff games.
What I find strange is Square-Enix's choice to release both FFI & FF2 seperatly. Final Fantasy Origins for playstation featured both ff1 & ff2, They also released ff1 & ff2 for gameboy advance in a double pack called 'dawn of souls'.
They should of really done the same thing with the psp version, buying ff2 seperatly is not worth it. But saying that FF2 is much more interesting than its predecessor, The storyline is less 'translucent' and the soundtrack is better as well.
The battle system is incredibly frustrating, instead of like other ff's where you win exp points after a fight (these make u go up a level & stats increase) Your stats will increase depending on how well you fight in battle.
for instance if u use magic alot in battle, your magic stat will increase. But annoyingly it's not that simple because when a stat increases another decreases, for example your ability to use magic will rise while your physical attributes decrease 'strength goes down'. The only way to increase your health seems to take shots over and over again.
Also If u keep attacking during battles, your stength stat will increase sugnificantly but your intelligence stat will decrease, if your intelligence is low most hits will be a miss. It sounds like an intresting idea but it is so incredibly flawed and such a big shame.
The game has a nice mix of drama and emotion, it feels like an ff game, with familiar situations like stopping the ultimate evil, gathering the sacred crystals, etc.
The graphics have been updated slightly, the Sprites & environments look more 3d, It also seems slightly easier than the 'fforigins' version.

It may be better to get this cheap (and bundled with FF1) as part of the GBA's ff:Dawn of Souls.