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A GREAT REMAKE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I heard that Square was going to remake Final Fantasy IV (originally Final Fantasy II in the U.S.) I was very excited. This game is considered to be one of the greatest Final Fantasy games of all time. All in all I would recomend this game to anyone who is a Final Fantasy fan.

A great remake with some technical glitches.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy 4 (previously Final Fantasy 2 released on SNES back in 92) is one of the best overall Final Fantasies. The game combines a wonderful score combined with good graphics for the time with a good story with many interesting characters. In fact, many of the FF archetype characters stem from this game.

The game adds 2 extra dungeons compared to the original and also adds the ability to play as extra characters after a certain point in the game which was also not available in the original.

The translation of the text in this remake is better in some ways from the original, though worse at other parts. A nice touch was the addition of character portraits to the text boxes.

The extras add extra replay value to a game that already has great replay value.

There are a few battle glitches that can be annoying. The first is that characters sometimes get multiple turns back to back. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can surprise you when you aren't expecting it. The second is much more annoying. Many times buttons are not responsive within the battle menus, which will cause mistakes if you input your commands at a fast pace.

These glitches do not take the fun out of the game. So, I would recommend this to any Final Fantasy 2/4 fan and also to any gamer who would like to enter the world of RPGs.

An OK Fantasy

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: December 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Background: I have played most of the Final Fantasies, including FFVI (released as III on SNES in the US), which definitely showed that 16 bit RPGs can mix excellent gameplay and a compelling story. I did not play this one when it came out as Final Fantasy II.

The gameplay for this FF is your usual RPG fare of random battles and an ATB bar. However the ATB system is broken. There were many times in battle where my characters were completely skipped over, so their bars would just refill. Even more often, I would enter a command and the game would either take awhile to execute the action (after I entered in commands for others and they acted before the first character) or just completely skip the action that I entered. Always in battle, the game does not respond right away to buttons being pressed, so commands are even more delayed.

The story was alright. I did not find myself really caring about any of the characters (as I have in most). There was no loving relationship between any of them either (a kind of Cloud/Aeris or Squall/Rinoa relationship). The ending seemed to just have that "slapped together at the last minute" feeling.

I did enjoy acquiring the summons and ultimate weapons (for the few characters that had them). However, once getting them and having the characters at 50+ levels, the final boss is incredibly easy compared to most of the monsters found in the final dungeon. And the game is still very short after all that. I find no incentive to do the Lunar Ruins.

If this was your first FF back in the SNES days, then I understand why you like this one so much, but after VI-X (well VI-IX really) the bar for an excellent RPG has been significantly raised.

I am absolutely without words.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Plain a simple. Ok, now I thought of words.

This game really impressed me as a little kid. So much so that it may be the one reason I decided to be a video game creator myself. This game was my inspiration. No other game I've ever played has inspired me that way (That doesn't include the other FF games. They ALL were my inspiration, I mean.), and also, I spent probably 500 hours playing the SNES version. My dad got me playing it because I used to watch him play it constantly. On his save file he'd played the game for 55 hours, counting the actual game time and save data, not the real hours he'd played. I loved this game to death. I still do. I actually like this new version even better. But one thing though. Everyone else says this game is the hardest RPG ever. I highly disagree. It's incredibly fun, but it's short. It's too short. I'm at the end of the game already and I've only been at it for 21 hours (Game hours, not real hours). I've beaten most of the side quests in the game, such as getting Asura, Leviathan, Behamut, and the three secret summons (Imp, Mage, and Sahagin). Well, I got two of the secret summons anyway. I doubt the third one is Sahagin, but anyway. I think they did an awesome job on the graphics redone. The only complaint I have about this game regards the battles. It seems like every three steps I take, I'm faced with a battle, and it's usually the same battle being repeated over and over again until it forces me to drop money running away or until the bad guys can hit me. It's different in Dawn of Souls, where when you entered a room, the 'battle squares' would automatically form, meaning no matter how many times you retried, you'd always encounter bad guys after moving a certain number of squares. But that really doesn't bother me terribly much. Now back to FFIVA. I still haven't beaten the final boss yet. Apparently, you have to beat the last boss with every main character in order to unlock every gate in the hidden dungeon after the game is beaten. In my SNES version, I'm at a level high enough to defeat Zeromus in only a few hits, and he does little damage to me no matter what attack he uses. Therefore, at least I know what the ending is. But I'm sure it's been a little bit redone in the Advance version here. I find myself advancing through this game rather quickly, and it seems my game playing skills have really improved lately. I simply can't wait for FFV & VI to arrive on gameboy this summer. Along with FFIIID on Nintento DS. (It's called IIID because it's FFIII, but in 3-D, so yeah...) But anyway, this game is simply one of the best video games ever made, of any genre. Any civilized and sane person would agree with me.

Very Good Game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: February 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Hi:
I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy, i have all games since Final Fantasy 1 of NES, this game is a very good adaption of the original of SNES, like a fan i feel satisfied, good graphics, some improvations, although definitively I am waiting for Final Fantasy XII.

Good RPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am an atypical GameBoy player. I'm a 57 year old grandmother. I love the RPGs and enjoy this series.

Fantasy comes true

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: January 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

You know that a game has stood the test of time when, years after it was originally released, it gets re-released, and then still finds itself a hit despite its age. Final Fantasy VI, a legend on the Super Famicom/ SNES (as Final Fantasy II), is such a game. Sure, maybe it doesn't look as good as the games of modern era, but the intense storyline and engaging gameplay more than make up for the lack of sophisticated graphical presentations. Add a series of audibly memorable music, and you've got a game that makes you proud to tell others that you're a gamer.

The story revolves around Cecil, a captain of Baron's airship fleet, and a man who's questioning his king's growing tendency towards bloodshed. When his suspicions turn verbal, he's stripped of his rank. There begins a journey that sees Cecil slowly unveiling the evil plans of the dark forces that are controlling Baron. During his adventure, Cecil will make many friends that will in turn join him in his quest for the truth.

And this is when the real fun begins.

Taking on the evil forces isn't going to be a walk in the park, so Cecil and his party will end up fighting monsters, ghouls, and the likes rather regularly. Unlike traditional turn-based combat systems that are commonly found in RPGs, Final Fantasy VI Advance features an active time battle ("ATB") system that combines the strategic element of turn-based fighting, as well as the spontaneity of active fighting. Essentially, the party members will still attack the enemies in turns, but instead of patiently waiting for their turns, the character that recovers his or her HP fastest will have the opportunity to execute a command first. This means that if a character has a speedy recovery rating, he or she can easily execute a command twice, consecutively, while the slower characters in the party are still building up HPs for their own command decisions. Meanwhile, enemies will also be charging their HPs for their own assault, so if the party so decides to stand around doing nothing, it will get hit real bad. This basically means that random fighting encounters will end faster, and as a result, the characters will tend to get level up faster. And we all love to level up faster, don't we?

Final Fantasy IV Advance also features a colourful selection of characters. Apart from the usual melee fighters, who do damage primarily with the use of weapons, the game throws in magic users who can perform a variety of defensive and offensive commands. White mages, for example, can heal, or cast a wall to protect the members in the party. Black mages, the more offensive magic users, can cast powerful spells on enemies, attacking them with bout of fire, ice or even thunder. Summoners, the most powerful magic user, can even summon the abilities of mystical beings to aid them in battle. And if you think that melee characters can only issue the "Attack" command, you may be interested to note that some of their additional commands include "Ninjatsu", "Power", "Jump" and even "Hide"! Planning on how to use the abilities of these different characters is, therefore, an important challenge of the game - knowing when to heal the party, for example, can save the team from dying unnecessarily.

It'd be boring to go through the entire game with the same party members, so at certain times of the game, characters may leave the party for one reason or another, only to be replaced by others. Characters who leave may also return after a while, thus keeping the roster lively and reducing repetition. The only character who's exempted from this is Cecil, but then again, he's the lead, so he has immunity. Towards the end of the game, you'll also be given the opportunity to choose your own team. This gives players a chance to challenge the final moments of the game with their favorite characters.

The game is played through a variety of locations. The overworld, for example, is broken up into different continents, much like this planet that we're residing in. It's littered with towns, castles, mountains and caves. Random battles can occur anywhere on the map, as well as within dungeons. Dungeons, commonly found in mountains and caves, will usually end with a boss fight. Not all dungeons are immediately accessible though, as the paths towards them are blocked. As the game progresses, however, you'll get the necessary transport to bring you to these previously inaccessible areas. A transport late in the game will even take you to the moon! The sheer amount of locations basically means that you'll encounter a lot of activities, items and of course, enemies.

About enemies, Final Fantasy IV Advance offers to a large amount of them - a whopping 253 in all. You'll fight blood-sucking bats, mystical dragons and even CPU-powered mechs (!). The great variety makes the fighting interesting. Summoning characters can also master the skills of some enemies after beating them, giving you an edge in future encounters. Some enemies are immuned to certain attacks, while others are weak against others, so understanding what command can cause damage to who will definitely help in your quest. Thankfully, there's also a wide range of items that you can use to make things easier. You'll get your usual health and magical points refills, as well as weapons and protective gears. You can usually buy them from the shops that are commonly found in towns, but some enemies will also drop items for you, which also make fighting a little more purposeful than merely levelling-up.

Final Fantasy IV Advance also has some extra features. The Bestiary menu, for example, is a list that shows the details of every enemy you've slained. If you want to see a complete list, you'll have to kill all 253 enemies at least once. Now, this should make completists glued to the game for quite a while. Even if you don't intend to kill every enemy, you may still find the unlockable dungeon offering you some great replay value. Unlocked only if you complete the game under certain circumstances, this very difficult dungeon boasts 50-storeys of action! On top of this, you'll also unlock individual trials for certain characters while playing the game, and you'll be rewarded with the most powerful weapons for these characters if you manage to complete them. Again, this will lengthen your playtime for the game.

For all its goodness, the graphics for this game are perhaps a little dated. This isn't exactly a problem though, since most people will enjoy the gameplay too much to notice. To be fair, Square Enix did make an effort to make it easier to play the game. The wordings are enlarged for easier reading for the GBA, and a more realistic image of the characters will appear beside a dialogue box, giving you a more direct indication of who's talking. The game's minimal 3D graphics are also quite good to look at, but the real killer for its presentation is the musical score. The music is among the best I've heard for a video game, and it goes to show that good things never go out of date.

In conclusion, Final Fantasy IV Advance is an exceptional RPG experience. Fans who've played the game from before will find it worthwhile to play it again, while those who've never touch a Final Fantasy game will soon find themselves being converted. Quite simply, Final Fantasy IV Advance is one of the best RPGs ever to appear on the GBA, and you'll find that, even by today's standards, it's one damn fun game.

Final Fantasy IV Advance..........

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Leave it to me to start into a series in its' second, third, or fourth installments. In this case, it's the fourth. Course, there's a good explanation why. I set out looking for Final Fantasy I&II: Dawn of Souls for my Gameboy Advance(Hey, if you're going to collect a series, it's a good thing to start at the beginning) at my local videogame store but they only had Final Fantasy IV Advance so I decided to get it instead. There isn't much that I can say that hasn't already been said by the other reviewers here about Final Fantasy IV Advance.The story goes like this..The kingdom of Baron is on a quest to collect all the elemental crystals. The commander of its air force, Cecil, has been dismissed after questioning the king's motives. With the help of others; Cecil sets out to stop the growing threat and, in the meantime, uncovers a far more dangerous one. It's a deep story with alot of twists and turns & is a deeply challenging game due to the Active Time Battle system. I can't recommend this game enough. It's one of my all-time favorite Final Fantasy games.

Although they tweaked the graphics, translation and whatnot abit, they pretty much made the game as it was originally. I think Final Fantasy fans as well as casual RPG gamers will really enjoy this one.

Updated, But Never Overrated or Outdated

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I remember buying FF2/4 the day it came out and playing it for 12 straight hours. The combination of the graphics and lush (for that time) scenery was almost too much to handle and the music is STILL stuck in my head to this day. Much like FF3/6, this game is one of the classics that's in the Top 10 RPGs of ALL time. Here is a breakdown of the game according to my rating system, with the original being the perfect standard:

Graphics: The GBA/DS doesn't disappoint with the sharper resolution and what seems to be slightly enhanced colors. The portrait redraws are OK and the sprites all seemed to have at least been retouched with some more saturation. The Mode 7 effects and all the magic effects are still the same. There wasn't much improvement in this area and since GBA games are almost direct copies of SNES games, this isn't a big deal. I was a little disappointed that they didn't add some richer textures and patterns in the games to make it sort of like the eye-popping visuals of FF3/6, but since it copies the original, that's OK. 8 out of 10

Sound: This is where the limitation of the GBA hardware comes into play. The sounds are tinny, with none of that rumbly bass the SNES sound engine had (even with high quality headphones.) The songs haven't been changed, but they're running through a different wavetable and it is obvious to those who remember the old SNES sounds. It's still good, though. This is one of the nicest soundtracks ever made to a game and it holds up well to anything today. 7 out of 10

Translation: I've played the full Japanese and original versions and I have to say that I am both pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised by the new dialogue. While it DOES flow smoothly and articles are in place (i.e., THE Sand Ruby, instead of Sand Ruby), the translation takes minor liberties with the dialogue that can sort of spoil the original feel. For example, fans of the original will be disappointed to learn that the magic spells are changed from FIRE 1, FIRE 2, FIRE 3 to the modern standard of Fire, Fira and Firaga. It's not a huge deal, but I kind of miss the old names. While "spoony bard" is still there, the package from the original is replaced with Bomb Ring. Part of the mystery and sadness of Mysidia's destruction was that Cecil and Kain had no idea what was in the package and were just dupes. Well...if you can't guess what a BOMB RING does, then you are as dull as a...well, Dark Knight's buttplate. The text can be tiny at times...for old folks like me with bad eyesight, this can be troublesome. Overall, the story hasn't changed and is as good as ever. 7 out of 10

Gameplay: This is where the game shines, as nothing has been subtracted from the original. Rather, things have been added: easier gameplay through the first half, additonal dungeons, and bestiary. 10 out of 10.

If you liked the SNES version and need a portable one, then you need this game. However, unlike FFI&II: Dawn of Souls, you're not getting a huge upgrade over the original and, in cases like the music, you're getting a little shortchanged. If you don't need this to take on a trip, I'd recommend just playing the SNES version. I know I still have mine!

Overall, I'd highly recommend this: 32 out of 40. Grade: A

Awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is great for those days you spend in "waiting rooms". The graphics are better and the bonus features are just as awesome. Though its better to play it with a Players Guide.

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