"Yeah, Dawn of Souls was one of the best video game decisions I've ever made."
Dawn of Souls was a molestation of the original Final Fantasy. I haven't put enough time into the DoS version of FFII to make an assessment of the changes made there, but it seems the changes made were not as drastic.
As far as the translation goes, I was extremely happy with Dawn of Souls. It was, as a whole, very well done. My problems with it lie with the changes made to the battle system, magic system, and consequently the difficulty. As you may, or may not realize, the original Final Fantasy, as well as the Origins rendition, had nothing to do with with the "classic" Magic Points system. You had eight levels of spells, each with a limited capacity. As you used a particular level of spell, the other levels were unaffected. This allowed for a more strategic use of magic, as you couldn't fire off Fire3/Firaga every battle. The same goes with curing spells. You had to make use of items which cast spells (i.e. Healing Staff/Helmet) in order to preserve your spells.
Not only that, but the little things bothered me too, such as the removal of "Unaffected" when attacking a defeated enemy, and some of the spell changes, such as LIFE being able to be cast in battle. The game simply became hold the 'A' button during battles, something you couldn't do in the original.
"FF VII changed my life. I'll never look at the girly, fruity, wussy-weenie male leads of the games again, now that I've heard of Cloud."
I was rather surprised by this statement, since Cloud is definitely one of the more "girly" and "wussy-weenie" male leads. What with his cross-dressing, indecisive attitude, conflicting feelings, and some-what angst-filled presence, he's certainly not the brickwall of raw masculinity as our dear Cecil Harvey, of FFIV. But, hey, whatever suits you.
"That's FF Tactics Advance. There's a big difference."
Thank you.