Playing through this game again through the Pixel Remaster was an absolute treat. This was the Final Fantasy that I started with and hearing the redone music while re-experiencing the whole thing was a joy.
Story and character-wise, FFIV is a big step up. The cast is incredibly charming, and everyone gets their time in the spotlight. Unfortunately, a lot of the personality disappears past the halfway point, and most of the cast starts feeling like cardboard cutouts, and the sliver of character development that's there feels superficial and unfulfilling. On top of that, most of the heavy-hitting story moments get completely undone for no reason at all.
It's still a blast to play through, but the second half was such a letdown that it somewhat soured the experience for me.
It's still a blast to play through, but the second half was such a letdown that it somewhat soured the experience for me.
The first Final Fantasy to heavily prioritize having a dramatic narrative. Although it stumbles in spots it still manages to be interesting and goes places that would have been mind blowing at the time of its original release. Final Fantasy IV is also the introduction of the Active Time Battle (ATB) system, has plenty of (sometimes annoying) side content, and contains the best OST of the first four games. It's one of the JRPG greats of the SNES era.