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IV's $40 Fourth Incarnation

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 10
Date: August 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

And you thought the number of the beast was triple-six.

If ever there was any shred of doubt left in anybody's mind that Squaresoft is dead, and its replacement, SquareEnix, is little more than a money-generating machine, let this game remove it. This is the fourth time that Final Fantasy IV has been released in the United States. Number four. We've already had the SNES FFII (which, as everybody should know by now, was the original FFIV Easy Type as released in Japan--the old Square of America was unsure about the profitability of the Japanese II and III). We've already had the PSX Final Fantasy Chronicles (which packaged a relocalized FFIV Hard Type together with Chrono Trigger). We've even had a portable port, the GBA FFIV (which can be played on the DS, may I remind you), a slight update on the PSX version.

And now this. Granted, the addition of updated, three dimensional CG is nice. I have to admit, some of the new features are interesting. But I have to question just what kind of rubes SquareEnix takes its consumer-base to be to expect to make a profit simply by adding rudimentary 3D and a couple new shiny add-ons to a game they've released stateside three times previously.

To be blunt: in this day and age, internet piracy is rampant. You can get the original SNES versions extremely easily for free--I can't say I particularly condone that kind of thing, but let's be realistic here. A little more legally, you can get the PSX version and the GBA versions for $17 or $30, respectively, brand new direct from Amazon--and even cheaper from some very reputable 3rd parties selling through Amazon! I highly recommend getting one of them. FFIV is one of the best pre-PSX console RPGs, and definitely worth a play-through for any fan of the old-school style. But $40 for a few extra bells and whistles? That's what I call a scam.

Are there people who are going to be turned off the game by the old sprite-based 2D graphics? Yes. There's nothing particularly wrong with that--wanting an aesthetically pleasing experience to accompany your time spent playing is nothing to be frowned at. I would, however, contend that the kind of people who are turned off of games by old-school graphics like those present in the previous versions of this game likely wouldn't enjoy the old-school gameplay, or the old-school story, of FFIV. As enjoyable as I find it as a gamer who's been playing RPGs since the early nineties, FFIV is kinda dated, something that no amount of prettified graphics or extra distractions is going to cover up for gamers primarily interested in a more modern experience.

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.

Graphically better, but it wears off

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: August 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The new 3D engine and graphics adds a lot of new life into this previous sprite rendered game, however, once the thrill wears off, you're left with essentially the same game, with minor updates. Other posters have mentioned some of the changes, so I won't touch too much on it, suffice to say that some are good, some not. I do not find the challenge an issue. It doesn't seem harder, just faster, which unbalances the strategy in this version. The stats are stronger for enemies, but not as many fit the screen, already changing it for the easier. Best features are the wonderful translation job, which is hands down better than any version. A big thumbs down to new features though, which are tacked on at best and do not add much to your experience except to appease your curiosity. Buy it if you have never played, if you have played it then decide if the new graphics are worth it - otherwise it isn't very different.

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.

Mostly Great - But Certainly Not Perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am a major fan of Final Fantasy games and I have always thought FFIV to be the best in the series. The story is outstanding, the characters are varied and interesting, and the game is just a lot of fun to play.

I have two major gripes with this version, however.

The first (and most major) is the difficulty. I am used to the SNES version, which in my opinion had the right level of difficulty. As long as you fought all of the random battles along the way and reserved running only for desperate situations, you could play through the whole game without too much difficulty. That's not to say you would never be bested by a boss or even a random encounter, but a second try would usually find you successful, as long as you knew the right strategy. In this version, I found myself fighting the same boss battles 4 or 5 times before wandering around to earn more experience points to give myself at least a chance at winning. Now before going on, let me say I have no problem with "level grinding" per se, and I gladly do it in other RPGs. My problem with this in FFIV is the fact that characters join and leave your party so often, in some cases never to return, that it seems a terrible waste of time. Why spend an hour or two increasing the level of a character you know will be permanently leaving the party after the next boss battle (or even worse, before the next boss battle)? Another frustrating aspect to the difficulty is the fact that when you have to replay the same boss battle a dozen times, you have to watch the same cut-scene and go through the same dialogue a dozen times, which slows down game play and can make a person disenchanted with this version of the game.

The other problem I have with this version is relatively minor, but still bothersome. The reworked 3D graphics are nice but they aren't wonderful. The character designs are slightly childish and cartoon looking. This is ok, but the problem comes at the beginning of the game. I sit and watch several minutes of amazing full motion animation featuring most of the characters in the game. In this animation, the character designs are awesome. After this, the actual game graphics (which aren't bad in and of themselves) are disappointing. I enjoy the opening video, but it would have been better if it had been left out. You can't show someone a steak then feed them meatloaf.

Other than these two issues, the game comes through as still being an excellent RPG. I would have liked to see it possible to enter commands using the touch screen instead of the directional pad, but the controls work pretty well the way they are. This version of the game is definitely recommended to all RPG fans, whether or not you are familiar with earlier versions. Just don't expect to win every boss fight (or any boss fight, for that matter) on your first try, and don't be too disappointed when the game itself falls short of the opening animation, and you should really enjoy it.

A worthy redux.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

While I have a few issues with the game, most of them revolve around grinding for the bonus items and the inability to skip through the text-only bits of the cinema sequences in the "New Game +" mode. That said, FF IV DS is a huge improvement over FF III DS on a technical level - it loads faster, you get into and out of combat quicker, and the game generally feels quite a bit zippier than its technical predecessor.

Having played FF IV back when it was the US FF II, and having played FF IV Advance, I feel each version has its plusses and minuses - while the "extras" in FF IV Advance may have added quite a bit to the characters and offered up more in the way of dungeons (there's plenty of bonus material to quest for in FFIVDS, but dungeons ain't on the list), the airship mode was awful and there were some funky combat timing issues that seriously limited the use of Kain and Yang's special abilities. FFIVDS doesn't suffer these problems.... and the fact that it works "as advertised" actually makes the game MORE challenging. :-)

The ability decant system is great, the graphics are fantastic (maybe not compared to the PS3 or whatever, but they're mighty fine for the DS). While the english voice acting is so-so, the new translation is fantastic, and it's great seeing the enemies actually MOVE. The game makes great use of the dual screens, giving the player a clarity of information display that wouldn't be possible on a single screen game. The Namingway quest is a great changeup of the Namingway character, though I'm sure many impatient players will be flustered by the infamous Rainbow Pudding.... whereas the patient grinders will doubtless find its eventual discovery rewarding.

All in all, FFIVDS is a worthy redux of the original SNES classic, and while it may be a bit rough in a few places, I'd still heartily recommend it to JRPG fans - especially if they missed it the first time around. I for one am hoping that Square proceeds with DS versions of V, VI, and (hope, hope) VII!

FFIV remake slightly different gameplay with updated graphics.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game was originally sold as Final Fantasy II in North America for the Super Nintendo. This is now the third remake of the game that I am aware of. The First remake was for the PS. The second remake was for the GBA. Finally, we have this remake for the DS.

The story is pretty well known. For anyone who has not played the original or the remakes, this is a must play game. The story has not been altered much. Most people who buy this probably have played it before. First off, this is supposed to be the hard version of the game based off the original Japanese version. It has updated graphics that give it a PS1, N64 feel to the game. It has a new feature called augments that allow you to give special abilities to different characters for example, you can give Yang's kick ability to Cecil. This is an interesting change but you don't have to use them at all. We also have voice acting sometimes which is performed well is some areas, bad in others. Edge in particular, is pretty shameful. Then, we have the sound/music issue which can get choppy at times. Not good for people who enjoy the music.

I was hesitant to buy this remake but it was worth it just to see how the monsters and characters were rendered and the updated spell castings. For new comers, this would be perfect for playing it the first time through. For long time fans of the game or completists, this is good buy. The casual fan should just rent this one.

Stellar remake.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I can only hope they decide to remake all of the older final fantasies in this fashion.

My only issue is gameplay itself. Sometimes I found the game to be a bit too difficult and had to grind for hours to level my characters for the next major battle.

A Splendid Fantasy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In 1992, when Final Fantasy IV (Final Fantasy II US) was released in the states, it was a big part of my world. The game was so much fun! I found out it was being reworked around a year before its release in the states for a 4th time and was pretty amazed with the games potential. This remake is more life-like; although it is a little too cute, it means well. The musical score in this game is more enhanced while not changing the "classic" music itself. The gameplay is indeed much more difficult, but treats you to a more elaborate fighting/ability system. The story has also been beefed up to tell a more complete and satisfying tale. The replay value is quite nice too. It gives you a chance to take more advantage of the gameplay multiple times around. If you loved the original Final Fantasy IV, then you will also love the new Final Fantasy IV for Nintendo DS-and if you're a new comer to the game or the series for that matter, this is sure to be a treat also. I give it a 9/10.

Great game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm a new Final Fantasy fan - I have only previously played FF III for the DS. I'm really enjoying this new version, especially the new combat mode. I think without the guide I would find it a bit too frustrating, and there are a couple sticking points for less-experienced players, especially when major fights are right in a row with no break to heal. However, overall I would say that if you think you'll like it based on what you've read, you're almost sure to enjoy it.

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