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Simply spectacular

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: July 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Like Final Fantasy III before it, Final Fantasy IV has undergone a complete makeover for it's transition to the DS, and the game as a whole is a simply spectacular achievement. Completely remade in lush 3-D, Final Fantasy IV returns players to familiar faces like Cecil and Rosa as your journey begins. And what a journey it is. Final Fantasy IV for the DS blows the previously released, and well done, version for the GBA that came out a few years back, and despite the game's transition to 3-D, the core gameplay remains the same, and the overall experience has become all the better as well. The game looks great for a DS game, and while it hardly takes advantage of the DS' touch screen capabilities, there's really no reason for it to either. Customizing your characters is enjoyably addictive thanks to the new augment system, and the game seems more challenging as a whole as well. If there's any downside to Final Fantasy IV, it's that the voice acting is pretty weak. While it's nice to finally hear Cecil and his crew talk, the voice acting just comes off as kind of lame. That aside, there's a spectacular story here (one of the best of the entire Final Fantasy series) and deep, engaging gameplay that doesn't disappoint on any level whatsoever, so this is a minor gripe at the very best. All in all, Final Fantasy IV is a brilliant re-imagining of a classic game that any and every DS owning Final Fantasy and/or RPG fan should definitely pick up, and may very well be the best RPG available for Nintendo's dual screened handheld at this time. Thanks Square, you've done it again.

PERFECTION DEFINED

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Never before has a remake of a video game been done with such care and precision, Square-Enix has achieved a wonderful thing with this game. For those of you that played FFIV back in 1991, prepare to be amazed. At last, the most ground breaking and engrossing RPG of all time has been revamped in full 3-D with EXCELLENT voice acting. Everything that you remember from the original is here, all of the characters look perfect, the voices fit them, the layout of the towns is EXACTLY the same as it was, even the treasure chests are in the same location as they were in the original. Some new features have been added as well, the Augment system allows you to assign abilities from characters that leave your party to other characters...and it comes in quite handy. The story has been expanded, and it really improves the overall depth of an already wonderful story (but all of those memorable moments are untouched...YOU SPOONY BARD!). The music has all been redone, but fear not, it's the same as it ever was, only better! For those of you that started playing Final Fantasy with FFVII, prepare to get a serious lesson in what a REAL RPG is like (not to knock VII, i enjoyed it too, but this is what Final Fantasy is all about). Back in the glory days, RPGs were incredibly difficult, and this one will take everything you've got. Don't be discouraged if you lose to regular monsters at the early portions of the game, just level up, and you'll be untouchable. All in all, I couldn't be happier with this game, it has everything that a good RPG should have. I encourage every gamer out there, both old-school and new-school to buy this immediately and embark on the unforgettable journey with Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia and Edge. You will NOT be disappointed, in any way.

One of the Best Final Fantasies Reborn

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: July 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Pros:

+Impressive Visuals
+Fantastic soundtrack
+Very likeable characters
+Augment systems helps gameplay along
+Fast paced battles
+Good storyline

Cons:

-A very difficult game, even those who mastered Final Fantasy IV previously will have a hard time if they don't go about battles right

In 2006 Square-Enix released Final Fantasy III on the Nintendo DS. It got by in America mainly because the game never had a prior release. The success of the game was such a surprise to Square that they decided to redo Final Fantasy IV. Unlike Final Fantasy III, though, Final Fantasy IV has had several releases. The original Super Nintendo, the Playstation version and recently, the Gameboy Advance. With so many versions out there already, Final Fantasy IV DS will need more than just a face lift to make it worthwhile, and it manages to do so. At its core its still the same classic game you've played before, but there are some additions that make the DS version worth playing, even for those who completely mastered previous releases.

The story of Final Fantasy IV is a classic and still holds up well more than fifteen years later. The game opens with Cecil, the leader of the Baron Red Wings. He has just completed a mission for the King of Baron to secure a powerful Crystal, but feels it was the wrong thing to do. When he returns and questions what has gotten into a King, the King strips him of his duty and orders him to deliver a ring to the town of Mist. Something has gotten into the King of Baron, and now Cecil questions his loyalty to the crown and ultimately decides he must do something about it. His journey will lead him not only to do what's right, but to eventually save the world.

The story is told through on screen text that's been redone to give the game a better feel as well as some dramatic cutscenes. There are even moments of voice acting in some of the games more dramatic moments. The voice acting and fantastic cutscenes help to flesh out the characters, who remain some of the most memorable in the series.

Battling is one of the best parts of Final Fantasy IV. It uses the ATB battle system, which means that the flow of battle is fast paced. Every character has an ATB gauge that must fill up before they can take an action. Every character also has unique standalone abilities to help you out. Tellah can use his "Recall" to cast spells he's forgotten, Rosa can pray and heal allies, Rydia can summon beasts. There are a ton of characters who join you, each with their own unique ability. However, when characters depart (as several will come and go throughout the story) they'll leave behind Augments to teach characters their abilities. Unfortunately you can only teach it once. Once a character learns it, they can't forget it or teach it to another character. Augments are more than just abilities departing characters used. There are also augments for standalone abilities like Auto-Potion and Counter. It's a good system that really forces the player to consider strategy. And you'll need to keep your wits about you, as Final Fantasy IV is a very hard game.

Final Fantasy IV has often been said to be one of the hardest RPGs ever made. Apparently Square-Enix took pride in that, as Final Fantasy IV DS is even harder than the original game. There's a strong need for strategy throughout Final Fantasy IV. The bosses in particular are brutal. Even those who mastered Final Fantasy IV time and time again will find this game to be very challenging. If you began with later installments (in particular, the Playstation games), Final Fantasy IV is a rude awakening.

When not battling, you'll be trumping through dungeons. The bottom screen of the DS displays a map of the dungeon. Uncover all of it and you'll get a reward. Usually an item that can be used. Final Fantasy IV also allows you to roam around using the stylus, but it feels like an after thought.

There's a lot of new stuff in Final Fantasy IV. The game has new secrets, new sidequests and new optional bosses for the gamer to tackle. It also has a new unique summon for Rydia called Whyt. Whyt, when summoned, basically takes Rydia's place in battle and uses the abilities learned by all the characters in your party. You can't control Whyt, however. You can raise Whyt's stats by participating in a series of mini-games, most of which are simple, but they're also not a whole lot of fun. It's necessary to bring out the best in Whyt, however. One neat thing about Whyt, however, is that if you power him up enough, you can go and battle friends online and see who has the stronger one.

Visually, Final Fantasy IV is easily one of the best looking games on the DS. The towns and environments all have the same layout as the original game, but they all look better than ever. The monsters in battle are equally impressive as are the games many cinematic moments. Some of the game looks a little pixelated in some spots, but it doesn't separate from the fact that its amazing looking. Final Fantasy IV DS is a visual masterpiece. If there was anything about the graphics to gripe about, it would be that the character models look a little too cute. This is especially strange when one considers the dark story and mature themes that Final Fantasy IV tackles. Regardless, it's still a beautiful game.

In addition to that, much of the music is reworked and sounds better than ever. Most of the voice acting is quite good. The voices themselves really fit for the characters. There are some instances where the voice work isn't as good as it could be, but it's still very memorable.

Final Fantasy IV DS is how an old school Final Fantasy should be done. It's old school charm comes out a lot (particularly in the difficulty), but at least Final Fantasy IV gets more than just a facelift. With new quests, story sequences, an ability system and a refined script, Final Fantasy IV is worth picking up even if you played the original to death. This is how Final Fantasy IV was meant to be played. If you haven't played Final Fantasy IV, this is a good version to pick up. If you have, it's worth reliving again.

Still a great game with sme interesting new features.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When this game was first released here in the states a group of us got together and powered through it over the first 24 hours (give or take) of having. We'd each take turns playing for a couple of hours. Eventually everyone else fell asleep and I kept on playing. By dawn the next morning I was in the last dungeon marching through the multitude of mini-boss battle to the final boss. Some great memories there.

Now I get to play this awesome game again, just at a more leisurely pace this time. One of the reasons to take more time with the game is the inclusion of mini-games for you Eidolon Whyt. These mini-games are pretty fun, reward you with items, and increase the strength of Whyt when you summon it for battle. Also new to the game is some nice cut-scenes and voice acting. It brings the game up in the epic feel while still retaining everything that the great offered when it first came out.

If you are an FF fan and a DS owner you probably don't need these reviews to know the game is worth buying, but if you are on the fence rest assured the game is definitely worth buying.

Great RPG for the DS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have never played Final Fantasy IV, so I imagine I am missing the point of this remake in many ways. But as a pure RPG, the type which is not coming out that often nowadays, on any system, this game is really good. The script is good, the combat is smooth and fast paced, and the storyline is genuinely interesting. The typical Square DS production values are all here, with full CG, voice acting, and a high quality music score (just use headphones!). My only minor complaint might be the 3D graphics, which look good and run smoothly - but the DS is not a 3D powerhouse and it shows.

The one thing I will say is that it is very challenging. It's clearly designed for the FFIV fan who knows the game thoroughly. But even as a non-fan, as long as you are careful and use strategy you should be fine.

Reborn Brilliance

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I envy those who have never played this game before. If you're a Final Fantasy fan and you started playing when Final Fantasy VII came out (as most people did) then I would strongly suggest you play through this game and find for yourself why it's considered one of the top two Final Fantasy's ever created. As for this DS version? I say bravo to Matrix Software with the Supervision of Square-Enix.

For those who played Final Fantasy II on the SNES, there are two things that stand out to me so far. The music is enhanced but still the same, brilliant. The dialogue has been improved like you wouldn't believe. No more 3rd grade dialogue, or horrible translation.

This role-playing game was a pioneer for those we play today. So pay it some respect. It'll be worth it's price.

Very good outing. But not as good as it could have been.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: July 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

"What do you mean?"

That's likely the first thought crossing your mind, so you clicked into my review. Don't worry, reader...I will explain in clear terms. But first, some history, so you know I'm not full of it.

Final Fantasy IV is actually the sixth Final Fantasy game, but the fourth to be released as part of the official series. If you didn't know, the Final Fantasy games (with the exception of X and X-2) have little to do with each other and are not true sequels. Think of them as separate books under a brand; each one tells a different story, even if they might use slight pieces concurrently (such as spells). There were Final Fantasy games released on GameBoy, as well as "Mystic Quest" which didn't really count, but since it held the name, I list it here.

Back in the days of Super Nintendo, Squaresoft released this game as "Final Fantasy II". There were two separate versions, referred to as "Easy Type" and "Hard Type". The SNES version was allegedly the "Easy Type", though I can't fathom why that was...*cough*EvilWall*cough*...Final Fantasy IV was then re-released on the Final Fantasy Chronicles game set along with Chrono Trigger, replete with new CGI cutscenes to further the gameplay. This version was allegedly the "Hard Type". As if that weren't enough, Square Enix (as they were now called) released Final Fantasy IV on the Game Boy Advance - again, allegedly the "Hard Type". And now here we are.

But wait - this isn't the same as either previous version. This is a remake, not a port. The game has been converted to full 3D. Some of the spell and summon names have been changed. And Square Enix has added some features to the game to make it just enough "new" as to make it interesting. So I'll go down the list of good and bad, and then elaborate.

*** THE GOOD ***
- The difficulty is now more in line with some of its latter forefathers, especially with the Active Time Battle system. Bosses such as the Mist Dragon (the first "boss" you'll encounter) are actually challenging if you don't know what you're doing. New gamers might actually get whooped repeatedly. Veteran gamers who understood the patterns will find challenge, but not nearly as much as new gamers. Oh, and by the way...Dr. Lugae? He's no longer a pushover. That's all I got to say about that.

- Certain characters who where difficult to use because they just weren't useful were given additional skills to help them contribute in battle. One character's ability was so blatantly useless as to be laughable, yet he was one of the final characters in the game. This has been changed to where his skills contribute almost as well as Rydia's spells.

- "Augments" add a whole different dimension to the game. With these, you can effectively take the natural skills of other characters and apply them to anyone you want. SO for example, you could have Cecil set up with Counter, Kain set up with Draw Attacks, and have Cecil cover, which effectively makes Cecil a tank while Kain is free to dish damage. That's just one example of the various combinations you can employ to go through the game.

- Item limit is removed - no more relying on the Fat Chocobo to store excess Elixirs.

- Summons, now referred to as Eidolons, have been powered up substantially. In the older ports there came a time when your summon could barely do the damage of Fire 1, so by the time you got Fire 3, there was no point in using Ifrit. (There is a negative to this though, more later)

- The graphical detail of the game is top notch for the DS, especially in certain caves and dungeons. It's clear they put some work into making the game as visually appealing as they could.

- The audio has been remixed, and even improved in some areas. FFIV's music had always been quite good, but the remixes are even better (negative here, more on that later).

*** THE BAD ***

Yes, there are some not-so-good things to this, I'm sorry to say.

- Eidolons. Remember how I just got done praising them for what they bring to the table now? Well, there's a new problem. With the exception of the Four Fiends there's really no point to using them over spells except to watch the scene. This has more to do with how slowly it takes Rydia to call them than anything else.

- Some tracks were remixed with added instruments that totally kill the spirit of the original song/atmosphere it was used in. Troia comes to mind.

- The "sudden death" set of notes was removed. This is what plays the moment someone dies as part of the story, usually at a point when Cecil is yelling their name out. I have no idea why they removed this.

- Cecil's "Darkness" ability was nerfed. On the SNES version, he didn't have this ability. On the PS1 and GBA versions he did. It sent out a wave of dark energy to hit all enemies and caused you damage when you used it, but it was quite useful. Here, it just makes his attacks stronger and takes energy when you attack, but you can only hit one enemy.

- The ability to equip weapons has been altered. Characters who could easily equip certain weapons no longer can or the way they equip said weapons has been changed. For example, Cecil could always equip a bow and arrow as an alternative to a longsword, which was particularly useful in one specific cavern, but now he can only equip daggers and swords, making him effectively useless when you get to that part except to Cover. Plus, depending on how you equipped Rosa's bow/arrow combination, her power went up a bit. This has been removed as well.

- Because everything is in 3D it makes navigating caverns and towers extremely difficult. I'm sure this was intentional, but because you can't change the camera, you can't easily tell which way you're going. Some might actually like this as it forces you to learn the paths all over again, but I don't care for it. The camera is almost directly in front of you, you don't get a "top down" view and can't tell which path leads to a dead end and which does not. I don't mind the camera angle, as long as I can move it at will. This also causes a minor annoyance at one castle where someone is eavesdropping on the throne room: in the older version you can clearly see the perpetrator as they jump up momentarily. This adds suspense that is missing on this version.

- A brief cutscene plays before almost every special ability. It detracts from the fluidity of combat to have to watch Kane for two seconds before he executes the Jump command. I really wish you could disable this.

- The placement of "Switch Rows" has nearly cost me battles. It should be on the left rather than right under "Defend". Because I'm used to fast paced battle, I'm used to pressing right to defend and left to switch rows. No idea why they would change this.

So...do I recommend this game? Absolutely. My negatives are personal nitpicks based on my extensive knowledge of this game, for the most part. I would say if you're a vet like I am who remembers the game from SNES, just don't expect the exact same experience. Square Enix has tried hard to freshen the game in quite a bit of areas. A lot is the same, but a lot has changed, including the names of things.

Hey square, if it ain't broke don't fix it!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: July 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok first of all i've beaten FFIV at least ten times over the years since the Snes days so i consider myself very familiar with the series. First of all i'll start with the bad. Square raised the difficulty of the game significantly, and some of the boss battles will have you pulling your hair out. It personally takes alot of the fun out of a game that i've enjoyed for years. Again, i'm an rpg veteran, i'm used to grinding levels to beat a boss so i expect a certain level of difficulty but this was a bit much.

With the good, i don't really have to say much, you can look at a screenshot and tell the improvement in graphics and gameplay, though they added a few new skills that add a little more customization to the game.

Overall if you loved the old RPG's from the super nes era or if you are a final fantasy fan, you'll probably pick this up, but i didn't see the point in square adding so much difficulty and frustration to an already great game. I've still had alot of fun with this game, but i've used about every swear word in the book during a few boss battles.

A great remake

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've played all of the other remakes Final Fantasy IV (actually, I think I own them all as well.) I have to say that this one is the only one since the first remake that really changed much. The 3D graphics are really nice, and the voice acting makes the game feel more modern. The biggest change, however, is the challenge. I remember plowing through the first part of the game without stopping. In the previous versions, one didn't need to stop progressing to level the characters until after the village of Myst. This version is way different! Even the battles in the beginning can wipe the group! Any hard core Final Fantasy fan will likely be very happy with this. Also, anyone that hasn't had the pleasure to play one of the other versions of this game should pick it up and experience one of the best Final Fantasy titles ever made!

Not to be missed for RPG fans

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy IV DS is a complete remake of what many American gamers know as Final Fantasy II for the SNES. IV was the first 16-bit FF game, and the story was more detailed, the characters more complex, and the graphics and sound more believable than ever before. The DS version keeps the complex and interesting story intact (with a better translation) and features vastly improved character and location graphics in a 3D world. This portable RPG holds its own against anything available for the DS/PSP and is a must-play for fans of Final Fantasy or those looking for a story-driven RPG. It is better than both previous reissues (GBA and PSX), because they were ports with minimal new features, and the Playstation version had long load times.

There are many plot twists that keep the player moving onward in uncovering the story details and defeating the ultimate enemy. Dark Knight Cecil starts as a pawn of the enemy, and ultimately weaves through a complex tale to redemption, while saving the world from a great evil. The supporting characters are some of the most memorable in Final Fantasy history, even more so because the player has no control over scripted events that decide who gets to be in your party. I loved FF VI (6) also, but some of the characters were non-essential to the story. In IV (4), every character has a purpose, and sometimes they show up to help out unexpectedly.

I'm about halfway through the DS version and it is both a nostalgic trip and a genuinely good RPG that paved the way for greats such as FF VII. I hope that Square Enix continues the remake trend with enhanced versions of FF VI and VII on modern consoles.

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