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
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).
The 4 star rating is for base FFIV on PSP.
FFIV sees the series returning to a more involved story, as FFII does, and it excels in building that story in a much better way than any from the series before it. The antagonist has many moments with the cast and it makes the journey all the more satisfying to go through. After Years, however, feels like a massive waste of time outside of those few moments the game sprinkles in of character interactions only to be muddled over with a retreading of the original story. The final dungeon is massive, and the game ends up taking longer than the base story, on top of advancing some established characters in an uninteresting way while introducing new ones that provide little substance to the plot. The game felt finished, so i would recommend finishing the base game and reading a synopsis on after years if you are interested in what happened to some of the characters after the base game.
FFIV sees the series returning to a more involved story, as FFII does, and it excels in building that story in a much better way than any from the series before it. The antagonist has many moments with the cast and it makes the journey all the more satisfying to go through. After Years, however, feels like a massive waste of time outside of those few moments the game sprinkles in of character interactions only to be muddled over with a retreading of the original story. The final dungeon is massive, and the game ends up taking longer than the base story, on top of advancing some established characters in an uninteresting way while introducing new ones that provide little substance to the plot. The game felt finished, so i would recommend finishing the base game and reading a synopsis on after years if you are interested in what happened to some of the characters after the base game.
(I didn't touch Interlude or After Years btw, just FF4)
While I appreciate the relative simplicity of FF1, the larger story and character writing is absolutely great, and the gameplay is slightly more engaging while still being easy to pick up.
I do think how they handle Rydia was pretty dumb, and the bad luck Cecil has is borderline comical, but they don't detract from what I like about this. A must-play rpg, and a good start for a newbie.
While I appreciate the relative simplicity of FF1, the larger story and character writing is absolutely great, and the gameplay is slightly more engaging while still being easy to pick up.
I do think how they handle Rydia was pretty dumb, and the bad luck Cecil has is borderline comical, but they don't detract from what I like about this. A must-play rpg, and a good start for a newbie.
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
A stellar version of one of the RPG's that got me invested in the genre at an early age. There are definite criticisms to be had for this game, such as the plot being a little silly and thin, and the gameplay being very easy for most of the game, but the overall experience is still one I cherish and enjoy.
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.
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.
Story was pretty interesting and much better than FF1 and 2. Cecil is a great character and Golbez was a decent villain. There are some really sad moments in the story which previous games were lacking (haven't played FF3 yet so only basing it off of 1 and 2). The areas are generally very interesting to explore and the endgame area is incredibly cool. The overall plot isn't anywhere as strong as titles that came after it though.
Gameplay was good but not that much deeper than before.
Incredible OST as expected of a Final Fantasy title. Theme of Love, Troian Beauty, Into the Darkness, Overworld theme to name a few.
Gameplay was good but not that much deeper than before.
Incredible OST as expected of a Final Fantasy title. Theme of Love, Troian Beauty, Into the Darkness, Overworld theme to name a few.