Final Fantasy 2 US NES Prototype on ebay

[Hobie-wan]

Sold listings will stay for 90 days. So he removed it himself, probably after being inundated with insultingly low offers.

Or all of the stupid questions people were asking.

[01toubib]

Sold listings will stay for 90 days. So he removed it himself, probably after being inundated with insultingly low offers.

I mean what was he expecting?

I wish he woulda kept the link, I wanted to see it. It's good eye candy.

[Michi]

Sold listings will stay for 90 days. So he removed it himself, probably after being inundated with insultingly low offers.

I mean what was he expecting?

I wish he woulda kept the link, I wanted to see it. It's good eye candy.

It's really not that impressive, but here it is.

You'll have to scroll about half way down (or read the page, whatever), but there you go.

[01toubib]

It's really not that impressive, but here it is.

You'll have to scroll about half way down (or read the page, whatever), but there you go.

Thanks for the link. Yea, definitely not "that" impressive, but whenever you hear about a $50k game, curiosity pops up.

Here's the read just encase this one gets lost or deleted as well.

FINAL FANTASY II PROTOTYPE APPEARS, COMMAND?
I suspect that many of you like Final Fantasy. But just how much do you like Final Fantasy? Did you spend hours trying in vain to revive General Leo? Did you go to your prom with your hair lacquered into an unconvincing façade of Cloud Strife's spiky coiffure? Did you pay $50,000 for the only known prototype of Final Fantasy II for the North American NES? The answer to the last question is certainly “no,” because that prototype is still sitting on eBay at this writing.

There's a good story behind the auction. The original Final Fantasy was released for the NES in 1990, and Square decided to bring the sequel over in similar fashion. Trade-show pamphlets from the era depict a box for the NES version of Final Fantasy II, and the game was fully translated into English. Then Square changed the plan. Final Fantasy II's English-language release was scrapped, Final Fantasy III was never considered for translation, and Square's U.S. branch just skipped to Final Fantasy IV on the Super NES, renaming the game Final Fantasy II for North America.



Square forgot all about their plans for the real Final Fantasy II, and so did everyone else. But the localized version of the game survived on a sample cartridge, and it sat in obscurity for over twelve years. In 2003, the cartridge found its way to Lost Levels, which chronicled the game's development history. It was dumped and shared online so that all could delight in awkwardly translated dialogue about Xtal Rods, and the cartridge itself remains in perfectly playable condition.

Lost Levels proprietor Frank Cifaldi threw that cartridge on eBay just last week. The price may seem exorbitant, but offers are accepted (mine stands at trading a complete copy of Conquest of the Crystal Palace, but eBay won't process that). It's also a way to gauge the limits of collector mentality. Is a crazed Final Fantasy geek or NES hoarder going to buy it? Before you laugh at the very idea, remember that someone paid $55,000 for a prototype of The Legend of Zelda.