Only played this for the base FF4, neither of the extras added.
Really happy with the way each Final Fantasy game just seems to get better in my eyes without ever feeling like just a case of "the previous game but a tiny bit better and more refined", they've each felt pretty different so far, and while I might prefer the vibe of FF3 to an extent, I just cannot deny that this is my favourite FF as a whole so far. Everything here just feels more impressive in scale, so much more carefully refined, more nuanced, takes more advantage of this underlying complexity, just, so much cooler on the whole, I love it. After the more sprawling adventure of 3 that focused almost entirely on the world surrounding the player, having another more deeply character-driven narrative here is also a nice change of pace.
The character-driven nature of FF4 is particularly interesting with the way it plays around with its game conventions to craft this slightly offbeat tone throughout the story to me. The biggest example of this is that while this game is mostly very easy like the previous games, once again feeling like a bit of a power fantasy with all the big numbers and the way you're often able to completely end fights in a couple of turns, especially early on, but having some more interesting thematic elements that contrast with this very well. The sheer brutality of Cecil in the beginning sections of the plot, along with the actions taken, make the power at your fingertips almost feel wrong to have, with this self-reinforcing theme of the dangers of unimaginable power being ever-present as time and time again it clearly ends up being the cause of strife for all involved. It takes multiple forms too, whether it's Cecil's power being used the way it is in the opening section or the game, Tellah becoming more reckless once he believes he can take down the object of his vengeance, or even how the main antagonist's perceived superiority over humanity led them to a sense of entitlement over how they should be led forward. It's all a great way of tying in core gameplay elements with story and I think that the way it's handled here is wonderful at making everything feel that little bit off without ever fully dwelling on it for too long in such a context.
Gameplay and story also nicely overlap in a few other ways, my favourite of which being the dynamic gameplay and story that ends up being revealed to the player through the revolving door of party members you meet throughout. It not only adds to the variety of what happens due to being able to interact with a mainly different cast at regular intervals, but it also leads to a lot of more engaging scenarios due to the unconventional team setups that the player will find themselves in. My favourite of these is pretty early in the game, where you're a dark knight with 3 mages on your side, but all the enemies are undead, so your melee fighter can do almost nothing to them, forcing you to make tactical use of your party's mp while occasionally being clever with healing items and the like. There are a few other sections that put you into some inherently difficult to immediately vibe with situations, but it never gets difficult enough that it walls you either, more of just a way to really force players to more deeply engage with the systems at their disposal. I also love the way abilities are handled, with each character having one or two specifically related to them, bringing another way to further reinforce elements of characterisation while lending itself more to a varied gameplay experience at the same time.
I feel like a lot of the game is built upon idiosyncrasies like this revolving door of characters however, and while I love most of it, I also understand the downsides that could be perceived as well. The ATB is the biggest one of these to me, as I dunno if it changes how it feels in future entries, but it felt very frenetic here at first to the point where it felt as if it was a bit too fast at first, affecting any decision making that could be made as carefully due to the comparative lack of control over battle cadence. That said, I definitely got used to it by the end and found that it added a lot of little interesting elements to how the battles felt, particularly with how enemies using absolutely massive attacks, while usually pretty devastating, would also come with the upside of that extra long animation that basically all the powerful spells have providing you that tiny bit more time to plan out your next move once you're able to input commands again. I also liked the way it added a greater sense of weight to some of those stronger attacks, seeing this slow moving bar go up as your other party members continue to fight, just waiting for the all powerful spell to finally be unleashed. Little bits and pieces like this added a lot more to the moment to moment gameplay, and when combined with encounters that more readily took advantage of the various use cases of some of the tools present in the game, it made for a really fun time.
My favourite of all this is the way that there were so many ways reflect could be used due to its effects applying to both defensive and offensive spells, meaning that certain situations would actually benefit from making enemies immune to all magic, or to have reflect cast on you be a bad thing. There were a surprising amount of encounters that seemed to just keep escalating this one idea, along with there being a surprising amount of cases where I felt the need to put in just that tiny bit of strategy beyond attack spam to succeed, while still allowing enough of the random fights to feel mindless enough to never feel especially taxing as a whole either. I also liked the increased focus on moments of spectacle, with a few more immediately recognisable setpieces than before, with them being usually of far higher quality as well. One of my favourites of these was the Fabul siege with the way it was able to convey such a strong sense of hopelessness even if you were able to destroy the waves that were sent your way, constantly feeling on the backfoot, knowing that even if you're winning your own battles, those surrounding you haven't been quite so fortunate. It all serves to add that bit extra to the story that I feel hadn't been conveyed quite as strongly in any of the previous games, even if the town destruction of 2 is still the most impactful individual moment of the series so far to me.
With all this said though, one thing I do feel wasn't quite up to scratch for me was the way the narrative of the 2nd half of the game just, kinda fell apart in a lot of key areas, particularly with the redemption story that was so core to Cecil's early characterisation feeling a bit lost after a certain big event. The more introspective nature of the first half ends up feeling a bit lost after a certain big event occurs and then you're back to a more typical journey to find the crystals and defeat the evil spooky bad dude, even if the cast of characters this time, along with some incredible setpieces and pacing bring it up a notch when compared to the previous entries. It feels like a shame because I personally believe that Cecil's arc hadn't really been completed and had more just entered the 2nd stage of proving oneself to have actually improved, and while that technically happens throughout, it feels as if the entire internal conflict that spurned on so much of the early stages of the game just fizzled out. It didn't ruin the experience or anything, but it definitely felt like a weak point that made it unfortunately a bit harder than I'd have liked to actually connect with some of the events that took place beyond thinking that certain ideas were insanely badass.
As a whole, I love the world of Final Fantasy already, but this is the first game in the series that felt as if it really solidified this love beyond just a vague aesthetic appreciation. I was excited to keep going through the series before, but this really has intensified that a lot, even with its problems becoming increasingly clear the longer I played. Maybe a good place to start in the series regardless? Hard to say at this point considering that I haven't played much, but this definitely at least vibes as an alright starting point.
Really happy with the way each Final Fantasy game just seems to get better in my eyes without ever feeling like just a case of "the previous game but a tiny bit better and more refined", they've each felt pretty different so far, and while I might prefer the vibe of FF3 to an extent, I just cannot deny that this is my favourite FF as a whole so far. Everything here just feels more impressive in scale, so much more carefully refined, more nuanced, takes more advantage of this underlying complexity, just, so much cooler on the whole, I love it. After the more sprawling adventure of 3 that focused almost entirely on the world surrounding the player, having another more deeply character-driven narrative here is also a nice change of pace.
The character-driven nature of FF4 is particularly interesting with the way it plays around with its game conventions to craft this slightly offbeat tone throughout the story to me. The biggest example of this is that while this game is mostly very easy like the previous games, once again feeling like a bit of a power fantasy with all the big numbers and the way you're often able to completely end fights in a couple of turns, especially early on, but having some more interesting thematic elements that contrast with this very well. The sheer brutality of Cecil in the beginning sections of the plot, along with the actions taken, make the power at your fingertips almost feel wrong to have, with this self-reinforcing theme of the dangers of unimaginable power being ever-present as time and time again it clearly ends up being the cause of strife for all involved. It takes multiple forms too, whether it's Cecil's power being used the way it is in the opening section or the game, Tellah becoming more reckless once he believes he can take down the object of his vengeance, or even how the main antagonist's perceived superiority over humanity led them to a sense of entitlement over how they should be led forward. It's all a great way of tying in core gameplay elements with story and I think that the way it's handled here is wonderful at making everything feel that little bit off without ever fully dwelling on it for too long in such a context.
Gameplay and story also nicely overlap in a few other ways, my favourite of which being the dynamic gameplay and story that ends up being revealed to the player through the revolving door of party members you meet throughout. It not only adds to the variety of what happens due to being able to interact with a mainly different cast at regular intervals, but it also leads to a lot of more engaging scenarios due to the unconventional team setups that the player will find themselves in. My favourite of these is pretty early in the game, where you're a dark knight with 3 mages on your side, but all the enemies are undead, so your melee fighter can do almost nothing to them, forcing you to make tactical use of your party's mp while occasionally being clever with healing items and the like. There are a few other sections that put you into some inherently difficult to immediately vibe with situations, but it never gets difficult enough that it walls you either, more of just a way to really force players to more deeply engage with the systems at their disposal. I also love the way abilities are handled, with each character having one or two specifically related to them, bringing another way to further reinforce elements of characterisation while lending itself more to a varied gameplay experience at the same time.
I feel like a lot of the game is built upon idiosyncrasies like this revolving door of characters however, and while I love most of it, I also understand the downsides that could be perceived as well. The ATB is the biggest one of these to me, as I dunno if it changes how it feels in future entries, but it felt very frenetic here at first to the point where it felt as if it was a bit too fast at first, affecting any decision making that could be made as carefully due to the comparative lack of control over battle cadence. That said, I definitely got used to it by the end and found that it added a lot of little interesting elements to how the battles felt, particularly with how enemies using absolutely massive attacks, while usually pretty devastating, would also come with the upside of that extra long animation that basically all the powerful spells have providing you that tiny bit more time to plan out your next move once you're able to input commands again. I also liked the way it added a greater sense of weight to some of those stronger attacks, seeing this slow moving bar go up as your other party members continue to fight, just waiting for the all powerful spell to finally be unleashed. Little bits and pieces like this added a lot more to the moment to moment gameplay, and when combined with encounters that more readily took advantage of the various use cases of some of the tools present in the game, it made for a really fun time.
My favourite of all this is the way that there were so many ways reflect could be used due to its effects applying to both defensive and offensive spells, meaning that certain situations would actually benefit from making enemies immune to all magic, or to have reflect cast on you be a bad thing. There were a surprising amount of encounters that seemed to just keep escalating this one idea, along with there being a surprising amount of cases where I felt the need to put in just that tiny bit of strategy beyond attack spam to succeed, while still allowing enough of the random fights to feel mindless enough to never feel especially taxing as a whole either. I also liked the increased focus on moments of spectacle, with a few more immediately recognisable setpieces than before, with them being usually of far higher quality as well. One of my favourites of these was the Fabul siege with the way it was able to convey such a strong sense of hopelessness even if you were able to destroy the waves that were sent your way, constantly feeling on the backfoot, knowing that even if you're winning your own battles, those surrounding you haven't been quite so fortunate. It all serves to add that bit extra to the story that I feel hadn't been conveyed quite as strongly in any of the previous games, even if the town destruction of 2 is still the most impactful individual moment of the series so far to me.
With all this said though, one thing I do feel wasn't quite up to scratch for me was the way the narrative of the 2nd half of the game just, kinda fell apart in a lot of key areas, particularly with the redemption story that was so core to Cecil's early characterisation feeling a bit lost after a certain big event. The more introspective nature of the first half ends up feeling a bit lost after a certain big event occurs and then you're back to a more typical journey to find the crystals and defeat the evil spooky bad dude, even if the cast of characters this time, along with some incredible setpieces and pacing bring it up a notch when compared to the previous entries. It feels like a shame because I personally believe that Cecil's arc hadn't really been completed and had more just entered the 2nd stage of proving oneself to have actually improved, and while that technically happens throughout, it feels as if the entire internal conflict that spurned on so much of the early stages of the game just fizzled out. It didn't ruin the experience or anything, but it definitely felt like a weak point that made it unfortunately a bit harder than I'd have liked to actually connect with some of the events that took place beyond thinking that certain ideas were insanely badass.
As a whole, I love the world of Final Fantasy already, but this is the first game in the series that felt as if it really solidified this love beyond just a vague aesthetic appreciation. I was excited to keep going through the series before, but this really has intensified that a lot, even with its problems becoming increasingly clear the longer I played. Maybe a good place to start in the series regardless? Hard to say at this point considering that I haven't played much, but this definitely at least vibes as an alright starting point.
As the first step up in new capabilities of Role Playing Games, this is charming until it isn't.
A quality of Final Fantasy IV that shines throughout the game is the sense of boundaries being broken. Bosses could have multiple sprites, dungeons could have layers to hide secrets, party composition could change, characters could each have their own abilities that brought something new to a battle, even sprites could be moved around to elicit a form of acting. All throughout the game, there are so many qualities that might seem simple today but are so clearly amazing advancements for the time it would have been released.
The story isn't too special. There are more character "deaths" then there are interesting plot developments, but the mere idea that these dots on a screen were characters with a history that had motivations and could develop would have been amazing to see. That said, there still isn't that much that's going on. The events and plot are basically cyclical until the end when things just kinda work out. As you might expect, this gets grating after a while, and by the end, the reveals would seem cool if they had much of anything behind them.
The game ends up sharing a similar sentiment. It's really awesome that these characters all have their own special ability, and each part of the game ends up feeling just a bit different from the last because of how your party composition ends up. Seeing these classic jobs be a thing in universe attached to their own character is neat. Even having the main character change his job completely is cool until you're at the end game and your party hasn't changed or developed much at all past their basic roles. Your main character gets the ability to cast spells but stops learning after 5 so you're at the final boss with a status effect healer as the best thing he can offer. At this point also, the game's only way of challenging you is to use attacks that hit for most of your HP or outright kill party members.
Despite this, the game is mostly fine. It being the first SNES Final Fantasy speaks for its quality. There is a roughness around the edges but also a lot of cool concepts that needed to be built upon, it's the middle ground between the simplicity of FF1 and the mastery of FF6.
A quality of Final Fantasy IV that shines throughout the game is the sense of boundaries being broken. Bosses could have multiple sprites, dungeons could have layers to hide secrets, party composition could change, characters could each have their own abilities that brought something new to a battle, even sprites could be moved around to elicit a form of acting. All throughout the game, there are so many qualities that might seem simple today but are so clearly amazing advancements for the time it would have been released.
The story isn't too special. There are more character "deaths" then there are interesting plot developments, but the mere idea that these dots on a screen were characters with a history that had motivations and could develop would have been amazing to see. That said, there still isn't that much that's going on. The events and plot are basically cyclical until the end when things just kinda work out. As you might expect, this gets grating after a while, and by the end, the reveals would seem cool if they had much of anything behind them.
The game ends up sharing a similar sentiment. It's really awesome that these characters all have their own special ability, and each part of the game ends up feeling just a bit different from the last because of how your party composition ends up. Seeing these classic jobs be a thing in universe attached to their own character is neat. Even having the main character change his job completely is cool until you're at the end game and your party hasn't changed or developed much at all past their basic roles. Your main character gets the ability to cast spells but stops learning after 5 so you're at the final boss with a status effect healer as the best thing he can offer. At this point also, the game's only way of challenging you is to use attacks that hit for most of your HP or outright kill party members.
Despite this, the game is mostly fine. It being the first SNES Final Fantasy speaks for its quality. There is a roughness around the edges but also a lot of cool concepts that needed to be built upon, it's the middle ground between the simplicity of FF1 and the mastery of FF6.
This review contains spoilers
Wasn't a huge fan of this one, unfortunately. I'll start off with what I liked. The presentation is fantastic, as to be expected from Final Fantasy, the music and sprite art were very pretty. I think that this version of the game is the best-looking 2D version. The sprites are all very detailed while keeping the aesthetic of the original game. In regards to the music, I did prefer the original SFC compositions to the arranged ones, but luckily you can switch to the original game's music.
Now what disappointed me, I felt like the characters were kind of shallow and the writing was a little basic. Like the game will introduce characters that have compelling set-ups like Kaine and Rydia and do nothing with them. Rydia espcially dissapointed me. The fact that a big character development moment for Rydia happens off-screen drives me crazy. It just feels like the game was kind of speeding through story beats, there weren't a lot of moments where characters chilled and talked about their lives. I don't feel like I really got to know the party, I guess. And maybe that was expecting too much from this game, but that's the kind of thing I was expecting from a game that's so highly regarded.
I wasn't having a ton of fun with actual gameplay either by the end. The game has the first iteration of the ATB style of gameplay. And there's nothing wrong with it but there wasn't a lot of player choice when it came to party members or gameplay styles. I don't want to hold that against the game too much because it's old and I'm usually able to forgive JRPGS being a little basic with build options. But in a game like this, my enjoyment of the gameplay does have a lot to do with the characters and if I don't enjoy any of them the entire thing just kind of feels bland to me. I did like the ending at least, it was cute. And I think Golbez and Cecil's relationship was kind of compelling but like most things there wasn't a lot to it. It's possible I went into this game with the wrong mindset, it is an older game. And I don't want to act like this game's existence isn't really important to a ton of games I like. But what I played disappointed me, sadly. Bleh
Now what disappointed me, I felt like the characters were kind of shallow and the writing was a little basic. Like the game will introduce characters that have compelling set-ups like Kaine and Rydia and do nothing with them. Rydia espcially dissapointed me. The fact that a big character development moment for Rydia happens off-screen drives me crazy. It just feels like the game was kind of speeding through story beats, there weren't a lot of moments where characters chilled and talked about their lives. I don't feel like I really got to know the party, I guess. And maybe that was expecting too much from this game, but that's the kind of thing I was expecting from a game that's so highly regarded.
I wasn't having a ton of fun with actual gameplay either by the end. The game has the first iteration of the ATB style of gameplay. And there's nothing wrong with it but there wasn't a lot of player choice when it came to party members or gameplay styles. I don't want to hold that against the game too much because it's old and I'm usually able to forgive JRPGS being a little basic with build options. But in a game like this, my enjoyment of the gameplay does have a lot to do with the characters and if I don't enjoy any of them the entire thing just kind of feels bland to me. I did like the ending at least, it was cute. And I think Golbez and Cecil's relationship was kind of compelling but like most things there wasn't a lot to it. It's possible I went into this game with the wrong mindset, it is an older game. And I don't want to act like this game's existence isn't really important to a ton of games I like. But what I played disappointed me, sadly. Bleh
This one started out really strong but really started to drag for me and I dunno what it is but its missing the juice
A few notes going into this review:
To be honest, this is really just covering the psp version of Final Fantasy 4, not The After Years. I enjoyed my time with 4 enough- but as I'm going through the FF games I didnt really feel much of an itch to try out the other half of this collection just yet. I'll probably edit this review whenever I do get around to that but for now I'm just sticking with prime FF4. Secondly, this isn't exactly my first time touching FF4. My first experience with a Final Fantasy, let alone 4 was actually the DS version of this game, several years ago. I didnt get too far (Cagnazzo walled me as a teen) so I tried that version again when I got around to playing 4 again. After opening the DS again and messing around with that version I just decided to play this edition instead. Said DS editions bosses and overall gameplay just wasn't what I was looking for, although I don't mind the 'cuter' aesthetic and it was cool seeing a ds game with voice acting and that kind of direction.
As for this edition, and FF4 in general, it's alright. It's definitely the first FF in the series that feels genuinely 'Final Fantasy' despite me generally liking 1 and 3 as well. Its interesting going through these chronologically as you realize tiny details that might seem commonplace picking this game up weren't actually in prior games or might have been picked up/tweaked from a prior game. Hell, it's weird to think this is the first FF game without 'fully' customizable characters (unless you count Cecil's class change), or that its the first with a truly expanded roster. It's really interesting going through and seeing this game as a culmination of the prior 3 games' ideas melded into one cohesive package. The issue is really how well it holds up.
Despite this intrigue, when actually going through the game I didn't find myself caring all too much about the game as it actually was. I think a good chunk of this is just how often you switch party members that are kinda so-so to begin with. Cecil, Yang, Rydia are probably the only ones I really liked, the rest are kind of just okay or are Edward who I completely forgot existed when revisiting this. I don't dislike any of the team members but some of them just kinda exist, like I don't know how much i really cared about Cid as far as his battling prowess went. Tellah and Fusoya are cool for the hour you have either of them. Edge is okay but I kinda wish I just had Yang the entire game (I have a bias for monks). Its a pretty alright cast overall but hey, it's more of a cast than 3 or what I can remember from 2.
Additionally the story's just alright. I definitely feel like it peaks WAY too early, Cecil only being a dark knight for about a fifth of the game. Otherwise its just dealing with Golbez's shenanigans across the map, dealing with fake character deaths and some side dungeon stuff for cool rydia summons.
Although one big complaint I did have throughout is god I hated managing inventory in this game (also, I do think the devs were being a bit cheeky with some of the hidden passage hunting but maybe thats just me).
I'm definitely glad I finally finished this game, despite not being the original version I had growing up. There's a bit that could be talked about but I think I can just sum it up with 'its fine'.
To be honest, this is really just covering the psp version of Final Fantasy 4, not The After Years. I enjoyed my time with 4 enough- but as I'm going through the FF games I didnt really feel much of an itch to try out the other half of this collection just yet. I'll probably edit this review whenever I do get around to that but for now I'm just sticking with prime FF4. Secondly, this isn't exactly my first time touching FF4. My first experience with a Final Fantasy, let alone 4 was actually the DS version of this game, several years ago. I didnt get too far (Cagnazzo walled me as a teen) so I tried that version again when I got around to playing 4 again. After opening the DS again and messing around with that version I just decided to play this edition instead. Said DS editions bosses and overall gameplay just wasn't what I was looking for, although I don't mind the 'cuter' aesthetic and it was cool seeing a ds game with voice acting and that kind of direction.
As for this edition, and FF4 in general, it's alright. It's definitely the first FF in the series that feels genuinely 'Final Fantasy' despite me generally liking 1 and 3 as well. Its interesting going through these chronologically as you realize tiny details that might seem commonplace picking this game up weren't actually in prior games or might have been picked up/tweaked from a prior game. Hell, it's weird to think this is the first FF game without 'fully' customizable characters (unless you count Cecil's class change), or that its the first with a truly expanded roster. It's really interesting going through and seeing this game as a culmination of the prior 3 games' ideas melded into one cohesive package. The issue is really how well it holds up.
Despite this intrigue, when actually going through the game I didn't find myself caring all too much about the game as it actually was. I think a good chunk of this is just how often you switch party members that are kinda so-so to begin with. Cecil, Yang, Rydia are probably the only ones I really liked, the rest are kind of just okay or are Edward who I completely forgot existed when revisiting this. I don't dislike any of the team members but some of them just kinda exist, like I don't know how much i really cared about Cid as far as his battling prowess went. Tellah and Fusoya are cool for the hour you have either of them. Edge is okay but I kinda wish I just had Yang the entire game (I have a bias for monks). Its a pretty alright cast overall but hey, it's more of a cast than 3 or what I can remember from 2.
Additionally the story's just alright. I definitely feel like it peaks WAY too early, Cecil only being a dark knight for about a fifth of the game. Otherwise its just dealing with Golbez's shenanigans across the map, dealing with fake character deaths and some side dungeon stuff for cool rydia summons.
Although one big complaint I did have throughout is god I hated managing inventory in this game (also, I do think the devs were being a bit cheeky with some of the hidden passage hunting but maybe thats just me).
I'm definitely glad I finally finished this game, despite not being the original version I had growing up. There's a bit that could be talked about but I think I can just sum it up with 'its fine'.
This review contains spoilers
na primeira vez que eu joguei no vita (em 2020) eu n tinha gostado tanto, joguei até mais ou menos a primeira volta à Baron, e tinha achado mt zoado os inúmeros sacrifícios desnecessários e dropei o jogo ali achando que tava perto do final, conclusão: Eu tava mais ou menos na metade ainda, a maioria dos personagens que se sacrificaram na vdd não morreram, e esse jogo é muito foda, o primeiro Final Fantasy que dá uma profundidade maior pros personagens e história (que é mto boa por sinal, e os personagens são memoráveis e carismáticos pra época), expandindo o que foi tentado pela primeira vez no segundo jogo da franquia. O endgame e a progressão são mt satisfatórios, e teve poucos momentos de frustração, comparado com os jogos mais antigos da franquia.
Terminei o jogo principal mas faltam os outros dois
Honestly the story is based
i really like this game (base ff4) but i don't think it likes me lmao
had some really awful luck throughout my entire playthrough but i still had a good time! probably my second fav ff game so far.
had some really awful luck throughout my entire playthrough but i still had a good time! probably my second fav ff game so far.
This was the version I played FF4 on, and I feel like I would've liked this a lot more if I were born earlier. This game's story, characters, etc. felt way too generic for someone in 2021. While there were really good highs, such as the entirety of Cecil's development, I did think most of this game was a slog as the narrative and characters were definitely not up to par with later entries in the series. Still, I do think that this is a great starting point for someone who just wants to get into Final Fantasy.
I probably would have liked FFIV if I played it when I was younger, but it just felt too dated at this point. I never played The After Years, but from my understanding that is a good thing.
A very, very well made remake of the original SNES classic title. While I do not enjoy the visuals as much as any other remake (with the only exception being the AWFUL looking ios/android ports), that is only a question of personal taste, and it's hard to make a case for this not being the best version of Final Fantasy IV.
if i had to point to one rpg that was "good" it would be this. a fun ride besides a few annoying parts
oh god the encounter rate
(only ff4)
(only ff4)
Cecil my beloved
This version is absolutely beautiful. It's a real shame we didn't get FFV in this same style. Final Fantasy IV is an exceptional game that marks the point where the series truly establishes its unique identity. I appreciate nearly everything that distinguishes Sakaguchi-era Final Fantasy games (and some other titles he worked on, like Lost Odyssey).
These distinct qualities include simple yet enjoyable gameplay, an excellent sense of atmosphere and grandeur with higher and higher stakes during the campaign, and a pacing that has rarely been matched in gaming. All of it is already here on FF4. The pacing pretty much is unmatched on JRPGs, for example. And of course, we can't forget the outstanding OST, featuring some of the best songs in the world of video games, such as "Red Wings Over Baron". Even the numerous fake deaths in the game don't seem that egregious after all. FFIV is a remarkable leap forward compared to its predecessor, and it undoubtedly stands as a milestone in the world of JRPGs.
These distinct qualities include simple yet enjoyable gameplay, an excellent sense of atmosphere and grandeur with higher and higher stakes during the campaign, and a pacing that has rarely been matched in gaming. All of it is already here on FF4. The pacing pretty much is unmatched on JRPGs, for example. And of course, we can't forget the outstanding OST, featuring some of the best songs in the world of video games, such as "Red Wings Over Baron". Even the numerous fake deaths in the game don't seem that egregious after all. FFIV is a remarkable leap forward compared to its predecessor, and it undoubtedly stands as a milestone in the world of JRPGs.
This game is SO FUCKING BORING dude oh my GOD
Pleasantly surprised they brought it back home after the slog of game that was 3, 4 is pretty tight and the ATB system is a lot of fun for its first tenure, its a bit janky however. There is rarely any indication of which party member will get their turn first and it can really fuck with you at times.
Unsure of the exact quantity of extra content included in this edition but its fairly different from the DS remake counterpart where this one is a lot more like the original title and doesn't set out to really change anything (Aside from obvious balance changes final boss no longer spams big bang in a weird pattern).
Though man if I had one complaint the weight system is garbage lol the idea is you're supposed to sell or discard your old Armor pieces but (and this is likely my fault) in the endgame you get so much shit from chests and drops that you're having to stop occasionally when on a looting spree to drop anything overall it adds very little to the experience and I don't really think back well on this inclusion. But yeah solid game.
Unsure of the exact quantity of extra content included in this edition but its fairly different from the DS remake counterpart where this one is a lot more like the original title and doesn't set out to really change anything (Aside from obvious balance changes final boss no longer spams big bang in a weird pattern).
Though man if I had one complaint the weight system is garbage lol the idea is you're supposed to sell or discard your old Armor pieces but (and this is likely my fault) in the endgame you get so much shit from chests and drops that you're having to stop occasionally when on a looting spree to drop anything overall it adds very little to the experience and I don't really think back well on this inclusion. But yeah solid game.
My favorite game in the series, Active Time Battle was a game changer. Story is fantastic. This game got me hooked on Final Fantasy. A must play.
This game rocks. The story is so insanely paced and you never get a moment to breathe and it fucking rules
Story starts off great and becomes a hot mess by the end, but still fun popcorn, it's better than the NES stories at least. Cast is quirky and fun, nothing super memorable (Kain is a bi disaster you can't tell me otherwise). Of course most importantly it introduces the ATB system, which is great and makes combat a lot more dynamic, albeit with a few hiccups.
Graphically this version is easily the best imo, love the updated spritework. Also found the remastered OST surprising good.
I didn't bother doing the postgame dungeon, but I watched it and it provides some decent character closure, with Kain's trial being the best of the bunch.
Oh and this review doesn't cover Interlude/AY, I uh... don't think I'll be touching those, lol
Graphically this version is easily the best imo, love the updated spritework. Also found the remastered OST surprising good.
I didn't bother doing the postgame dungeon, but I watched it and it provides some decent character closure, with Kain's trial being the best of the bunch.
Oh and this review doesn't cover Interlude/AY, I uh... don't think I'll be touching those, lol
This review contains spoilers
FINAL FANTASY MARATHON RANKED:
https://www.backloggd.com/u/fragilant/list/final-fantasy-marathon-ranked/
This is gonna be my most controversial take if I had to guess.
I remember not liking IV that much when I first played it, back in 2012, but I figured I'd go with a version a lot of people find superior to the DS version, but it still left a pretty underwhelming taste in my mouth.
I think IV starts and ends very well, but any sense of plot progression after Cecil becomes a Paladin halters until you reach the moon at the end, and pair this with pretty uninspired yet pretty annoying dungeons, IV just kind of left me with a feeling of just wanting to get through it so I can get to V, which shouldn't be happening when playing one of the most beloved games in a franchise.
The characters are expectedly bare-bones, but the issue is that there are some solid character arcs that just get resolved within an instant of a character slapping them in the face or just asking them pretty please to forget their trauma.
There's a lot of props to be had for laying the groundwork for great storytelling and characterization to come later in the series, and for gaming as a whole, but going back to it now, it's very hard to get attached as it feels like I'm playing an RPG Maker game made by 13 year old me.
The gameplay in this game is pretty good, though.
Bosses have much more strategy to them, making them feel very distinct and fun to fight, and each character having a set role is the way I prefer my Final Fantasies, despite also loving the job system, but the way the characters are handled in the story makes the characters in gameplay pretty insufferable to use.
The one thing I completely forgot about IV is that you never get to choose your party, as the story chooses them for you, and they do this by "killing" characters off in insane ways over and over again.
I don't mind this as much as I probably should from a story perspective as they do it so much that I just laugh my ass off everytime a character just decides to kill himself for no reason, but from a gameplay perspective, it just means my grinding of my party is absolutely meaningless as Cecil is the only party member that is there from start to finish and half your party isn't even there for the final boss.
This has to be the worst part of this whole game, and it feels awful going back to a system like this when no other Final Fantasy game suffers from this gameplay aspect, except for 2 to a much lesser degree.
On the topic of stupid character decisions, these characters are fucking moronic, which actually made me appreciate them more because of how stupid it made the plot.
So many moments made me unintentionally laugh, due to how incompetent they are at doing their job. Golbez's hand slowly creeping up to the crystal while Cecil just stands there straight up jorking it will live in my head rent-free.
Overall, I think IV is fine, it has a much more dynamic and fun battle system, but the way the story is handled in and out of gameplay is draining, and it also just doesn't have the same charm as 1-3 had when I look back at them, so I am still a Final Fantasy 2 head. It will never be beat. (It will be beat).
https://www.backloggd.com/u/fragilant/list/final-fantasy-marathon-ranked/
This is gonna be my most controversial take if I had to guess.
I remember not liking IV that much when I first played it, back in 2012, but I figured I'd go with a version a lot of people find superior to the DS version, but it still left a pretty underwhelming taste in my mouth.
I think IV starts and ends very well, but any sense of plot progression after Cecil becomes a Paladin halters until you reach the moon at the end, and pair this with pretty uninspired yet pretty annoying dungeons, IV just kind of left me with a feeling of just wanting to get through it so I can get to V, which shouldn't be happening when playing one of the most beloved games in a franchise.
The characters are expectedly bare-bones, but the issue is that there are some solid character arcs that just get resolved within an instant of a character slapping them in the face or just asking them pretty please to forget their trauma.
There's a lot of props to be had for laying the groundwork for great storytelling and characterization to come later in the series, and for gaming as a whole, but going back to it now, it's very hard to get attached as it feels like I'm playing an RPG Maker game made by 13 year old me.
The gameplay in this game is pretty good, though.
Bosses have much more strategy to them, making them feel very distinct and fun to fight, and each character having a set role is the way I prefer my Final Fantasies, despite also loving the job system, but the way the characters are handled in the story makes the characters in gameplay pretty insufferable to use.
The one thing I completely forgot about IV is that you never get to choose your party, as the story chooses them for you, and they do this by "killing" characters off in insane ways over and over again.
I don't mind this as much as I probably should from a story perspective as they do it so much that I just laugh my ass off everytime a character just decides to kill himself for no reason, but from a gameplay perspective, it just means my grinding of my party is absolutely meaningless as Cecil is the only party member that is there from start to finish and half your party isn't even there for the final boss.
This has to be the worst part of this whole game, and it feels awful going back to a system like this when no other Final Fantasy game suffers from this gameplay aspect, except for 2 to a much lesser degree.
On the topic of stupid character decisions, these characters are fucking moronic, which actually made me appreciate them more because of how stupid it made the plot.
So many moments made me unintentionally laugh, due to how incompetent they are at doing their job. Golbez's hand slowly creeping up to the crystal while Cecil just stands there straight up jorking it will live in my head rent-free.
Overall, I think IV is fine, it has a much more dynamic and fun battle system, but the way the story is handled in and out of gameplay is draining, and it also just doesn't have the same charm as 1-3 had when I look back at them, so I am still a Final Fantasy 2 head. It will never be beat. (It will be beat).
I don't like the active battle system. Instead of letting me strategize and plan my moves carefully, it pressures me to make a hasty decision in the moment and possibly mess up as a result. The story is a step up from the other 3, but still not very interesting. Once I got to the moon, the difficulty spiked to a degree I wan't ok with so I dropped it.
feels a little undercooked compared to the games right after it, but still pretty great for when it was made
Only beat FFIV.
Don't play The After Years.
Don't play The After Years.
This review contains spoilers
This game is about "pretty good" for 80% of the run time with only minimal issues. One being the arbitrary 40 item inventory limit this game introduced (and was thankfully dropped right after). This annoying restriction also messes with the optimise equipment function, since I assume the behind the scenes process involves the game unequipping all your stuff first and then looking in your inventory to see what you have. So if your inventory is full or a few away from full it won't let you use the function, which was a very frequent annoyance and basically took away the pretty obvious omnipresent appeal of finding items in chests in rpgs, because it was always accompanied by the thought of "ugh, what do I have to throw away now"
But aside from that, I enjoyed the game a decent amount until you go to the moon. Then I think is when the game just sorta throws away all the appeal in both story and gameplay. The lunar surface and lunar subterrain is a pretty steep difficulty spike, one of the most intense in any of these games. The random encounters always outspeed you turn 1 and can do a devastating amount of damage to you before you're able to strike. It felt like the entire area was designed as a resources drain and just to make you use your entire mp, potion and ether stock in record time. Also, story wise, you are robbed out of a satisfying conclusion with the games recurring villain, after he is revealed to also be being brainwashed (after that plotpoint was already being used on one of your party members). You never get a non scripted fight with Golbez, which is immensely disappointing. The real antagonist is a moon man vampire. But even then, you don't get to fight him. He is killed by Golbez and an ally, and then his lingering hatred incarnates into a new monster, which ends up being the final boss you fight and is about two spheres removed from anything the game had you caring about the entire time.
Overall I don't think the game is awful, I had fun with the majority of my playtime, but some mechanical annoyances and a really poor ending sort of soured the experience.
The after years is a real steaming pile of garbage though. Just an excuse to rehash content and a really really awful attempt to tie together all the final fantasy games with crystals in them.
But aside from that, I enjoyed the game a decent amount until you go to the moon. Then I think is when the game just sorta throws away all the appeal in both story and gameplay. The lunar surface and lunar subterrain is a pretty steep difficulty spike, one of the most intense in any of these games. The random encounters always outspeed you turn 1 and can do a devastating amount of damage to you before you're able to strike. It felt like the entire area was designed as a resources drain and just to make you use your entire mp, potion and ether stock in record time. Also, story wise, you are robbed out of a satisfying conclusion with the games recurring villain, after he is revealed to also be being brainwashed (after that plotpoint was already being used on one of your party members). You never get a non scripted fight with Golbez, which is immensely disappointing. The real antagonist is a moon man vampire. But even then, you don't get to fight him. He is killed by Golbez and an ally, and then his lingering hatred incarnates into a new monster, which ends up being the final boss you fight and is about two spheres removed from anything the game had you caring about the entire time.
Overall I don't think the game is awful, I had fun with the majority of my playtime, but some mechanical annoyances and a really poor ending sort of soured the experience.
The after years is a real steaming pile of garbage though. Just an excuse to rehash content and a really really awful attempt to tie together all the final fantasy games with crystals in them.
I remember really liking the ff4 story when i was young, it was my favorite. Where a lot of RPG's have parts where it's just padding until something of note happens, this game is a rollercoaster all the way through. Barely any wasted storytelling (and still clocking at a respectable length), every location has a big action moment and the party switches around more than you can count.
This is the game that made me fall in love with the franchise and defines it for me. No wonder ff14 took so many things from this entry. While replaying it now i do notice the dialogues not being as eloquent as i remember, But that is easily forgiven, as it has it's own unique charm to it. You feel the passion the developers had for this game, especially when you find the ingame developers room.
The after years was a really weird experience. I couldn't imagine a sequel to this game because it closes with no open ends. After years showed me that it can be imagined and could even be interesting. The new villain works and makes sense, it's something threatening but different from the main game. The looks for the old en new characters are awesome, creative good looking design is what ff always excels in. Playing ff4 and the after years back to back, i don't see a problem in the writing department. The dialogues don't feel like a fanfiction of the original game to me, it's just the same style, and a lot of the callbacks make sense (like how one of the Red Wing soldiers was really mean to Cecil's son because of the warcrimes he had to inflict under Cecil's orders like the Mysidia purge.) How the characters end up after FF4 is believable and did hold my interest. The challenge dungeon and boss in each chapter was actually really fun, they felt harder than anything the maingame has to offer. The final boss here is harder than the one in ff4 as well!
What i see as the main problem for the After Years is the fact that they rethread the same grounds (literally|) as the original. Your main plot can be really original (that it was good shines through at the end and in small ways at the earlier parts, it's honestly really interesting), but if you do a lot of unnecessary padding in the exact same dungeons with the exact same events as the main game, then that annoyance is the feeling that is going to stick. Re doing the same dungeons 4 or 5 times in the after years alone is a cardinal game design sin. ESPECIALLY terrible for this game because like i mentioned, ff4 was a game where padding was kept to a minimum, and this is one of the worst games of the padding kind.
This sequel could and would have worked if they just had the characters visit new places in the ff4 world , like a new continent. The moon was really underutilized as a location in the main game. They could have so easily expanded on there with a new continent like world, and it would make perfect sense with the new villain. I really think new locations and bosses to explore would fix 90% of the problems people feel this has. They should have gone all in with the effort for this, or don't make it at all. I know they made a lot of character chapters to sell them separately for max profit, but those character chapters could have worked like it did in octopath traveller. Interesting explorations into new area's for each character chapter and then coming together for the final dungeon//boss (with free switching of characters in and out). It could work, but you need enough NEW places to explore for each part. With having separate parts per character it asks for even more new stuff to make them all interesting. But instead they all have ZERO new areas to explore. What a unbelievably terrible gamedesign choice. Pure greed and the least amount of effort.
For the potential the designs and villain/main plot had my heart cries.
The interlude i was better off not playing at all. Absolutely nothing happens that you wouldn't know just playing the main game+ after years, and you have to do the sealed cave again for no reason than padding (you already have to do it in the main game and multiple times in after years as well). It was only 2 hours but felt like 20. For the love of god skip it!
This is the game that made me fall in love with the franchise and defines it for me. No wonder ff14 took so many things from this entry. While replaying it now i do notice the dialogues not being as eloquent as i remember, But that is easily forgiven, as it has it's own unique charm to it. You feel the passion the developers had for this game, especially when you find the ingame developers room.
The after years was a really weird experience. I couldn't imagine a sequel to this game because it closes with no open ends. After years showed me that it can be imagined and could even be interesting. The new villain works and makes sense, it's something threatening but different from the main game. The looks for the old en new characters are awesome, creative good looking design is what ff always excels in. Playing ff4 and the after years back to back, i don't see a problem in the writing department. The dialogues don't feel like a fanfiction of the original game to me, it's just the same style, and a lot of the callbacks make sense (like how one of the Red Wing soldiers was really mean to Cecil's son because of the warcrimes he had to inflict under Cecil's orders like the Mysidia purge.) How the characters end up after FF4 is believable and did hold my interest. The challenge dungeon and boss in each chapter was actually really fun, they felt harder than anything the maingame has to offer. The final boss here is harder than the one in ff4 as well!
What i see as the main problem for the After Years is the fact that they rethread the same grounds (literally|) as the original. Your main plot can be really original (that it was good shines through at the end and in small ways at the earlier parts, it's honestly really interesting), but if you do a lot of unnecessary padding in the exact same dungeons with the exact same events as the main game, then that annoyance is the feeling that is going to stick. Re doing the same dungeons 4 or 5 times in the after years alone is a cardinal game design sin. ESPECIALLY terrible for this game because like i mentioned, ff4 was a game where padding was kept to a minimum, and this is one of the worst games of the padding kind.
This sequel could and would have worked if they just had the characters visit new places in the ff4 world , like a new continent. The moon was really underutilized as a location in the main game. They could have so easily expanded on there with a new continent like world, and it would make perfect sense with the new villain. I really think new locations and bosses to explore would fix 90% of the problems people feel this has. They should have gone all in with the effort for this, or don't make it at all. I know they made a lot of character chapters to sell them separately for max profit, but those character chapters could have worked like it did in octopath traveller. Interesting explorations into new area's for each character chapter and then coming together for the final dungeon//boss (with free switching of characters in and out). It could work, but you need enough NEW places to explore for each part. With having separate parts per character it asks for even more new stuff to make them all interesting. But instead they all have ZERO new areas to explore. What a unbelievably terrible gamedesign choice. Pure greed and the least amount of effort.
For the potential the designs and villain/main plot had my heart cries.
The interlude i was better off not playing at all. Absolutely nothing happens that you wouldn't know just playing the main game+ after years, and you have to do the sealed cave again for no reason than padding (you already have to do it in the main game and multiple times in after years as well). It was only 2 hours but felt like 20. For the love of god skip it!
Has a based protag that has a redemption arc and the story has some nice lore but I think there's a few things holding it back. For starters it's the first FF to introduce ATB which I like less than true turn based. Also there's quite a bit of characters who sacrifice themself but come back which makes each moment feel less emotional. Overall though I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to.
First Final Fantasy I played. The graphics and soundtrack were great. I only played the main story, since people were saying the rest was pretty bad, and it was pretty good but a bit generic for today's standards. Also, Cecil is a great protagonist and his development is some of the best in any JRPG out there. Definitely would like to see a remake of the game though (I do know there's a remake in the DS but I'd like to see one similar to FFVII Remake). Overall, it was a good game and I definitely would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of getting into the series (Especially this version of the game).
I can gladly say this is the first Final Fantasy game that I've beaten. While the story felt like random ideas strung together and the final dungeon was a pain in the ass, I really enjoyed the characters and the combat system. After taking a break I might come back and check out The After Years.