User Reviews (1 - 11 of 54)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Final Fantasy IV, One of the Finest Fantasies ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 70 / 77
Date: December 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While the more recent Final Fantasy games stick out in peoples mind, those who have been gaming for a long time will, no doubt, praise Final Fantasy IV as being the Final Fantasy that made the series what it is! Originally, it was released as Final Fantasy II in the United States in 1991. It later had another release on the Playstation in Final Fantasy Chronicles in 2001. Final Fantasy IV truly does define what Fantasy is, and it's nice to see that after fifteen years, the game is still a blast.

Cecil, a dark knight, is the leader of Castle Baron's airship fleet. As Castle Baron's motives become more warlike and disturbingly unjust, Cecil begins to question his morals. And when he brings about question to the King, he is stripped of his rank, and is ordered to deliver a package to a nearby village. Cecil doesn't suspect that what's happening to the kingdom could be real. He soon sets out to conquer whatever evil it is that has taken over his kingdom, as well as pursuing a more justified course in his life by ultimately giving up being the dark knight.

The story is a classic in the RPG world, said to be one of the best. It's full of memorable characters, and was the first Final Fantasy to incorporate a love story.

Aside from the story, the most memorable thing about Final Fantasy IV were the characters, bringing about some of the most well developed characters that had more than just a name, but a story of their own. The story is told in text on the screen just like any RPG. It has been updated from the original release of Final Fantasy II on the Super Nintendo. The text, for example, is more legible, and it is also a little bigger. This is perfect for the Gameboy Advance. Some backgrounds are also redrawn and made bigger for the GBA.

Those who played the original Final Fantasy II on the SNES will also notice changes in the battle system. Each character, for example, has a special attack. Cecil, for example, has the "Dark" technique which is fairly powerful. If you played Final Fantasy IV in the Final Fantasy Chronicles package, this is no surprise to you at all.

Final Fantasy IV was the first RPG to use the Active Time Battle System (ATB). When entering battle, all your characters have a gauge displayed below them. When it's full, they get to select a command and attack. The difference between this battle system and the original turn based is that your enemies can attack as you're selecting a command. This adds new challenge to the game, and Final Fantasy IV takes advantage of it by being one of the hardest RPGs you'll ever play. Battles do, however, come to a swift conclusion, despite how challening they are.

If you're new to the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy IV is not the first game you should play. Likewise, if you didn't play the Final Fantasy Chronicles version of Final Fantasy IV, you'll also find the game a little too challenging at first glance. This is simply because in Japan Final Fantasy IV had two versions. Easy Type and Hard Type. Easy Type was sent to the states as Final Fantasy II in 1991, and Hard Type was sent to the states as Final Fantasy IV in 2001 with the Final Fantasy Chronicles package. Easily enough, those who started with Final Fantasy VII will be amazed at how quickly Final Fantasy IV escalades into being what is widely considered one of the hardest RPGs ever made.

Graphically, Final Fantasy IV is right on par with GBA graphics. They look a lot better than they did on the SNES and the PSX. Places look a lot smoother, the backgrounds in combat are also incredible to look at. The enemies are about the same however, meaning they don't move, but rather flash when they do something. Despite that, the graphics are a fine update.

Where Final Fantasy IV truly shines is the music score. Branded as one of the best in the series, the music clearly captures the dramatic sequecences. Each character also has his or her own theme (a staple that would go into later Final Fantasy games as well). Final Fantasy IV has a captivating music score that any gamer will love.

It's nice to see Final Fantasy IV on the GBA, but the question has to be, why so long for the wait? The GBA isn't dead, but it certainly isn't lively anymore. It is better than waiting for a revamp on the Nintendo DS, though. Fans old and new alike will enjoy Final Fantasy IV on its new home.

The Good
+Classic RPG
+Compelling story
+Loveable characters
+Fantastic music score
+Good graphics

The Bad
-It's short. Ranging from 15-25 hours
-The game, for some gamers, will be overly difficult

Even better than the original!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: March 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I just bought this game last month, and have played all the way through it, including the unlockable side quests.
I'm not going to write much about the games story here, there are plenty of other reviews for that already. All I'm going to write about is the game itself.
Anyway, after playing all the way through the game, I have to say that I like it even more than the original. The script is much better, and the music sounds much better on the GBA.
One thing that I particularly liked about this game was all of the new unlockables! After beating the game, you unlock a new dungeon to explore, as well as a really cool music player! If you go down to extra and select "Music Player" in the main menu, you can listen to all of the tunes and melodies that you heard throughout the game! My personal favorites include, Hey Cid!, Rydia, Theme of love, Chocobo-chocobo, and Dancing Calcobrena.
The unlockable dungeon, Lunar ruins, is very cool! To fully unlock every room in the dungeon, you have to beat Zeromus once as each character. After that, you get to do some really cool extra tasks as each character! I wont spoil them for you, but just having them in the game highly increases the overall replay value of this game.

Now for the pros & cons of this remake...

Pros:
It's the same old game that you used to love, but with some cool upgrades and additions to game play.
New Quick Save feature allows you to save inside of dugeons and towns.
Some of the text from the old game has been fixed so now all of the magic spells aren't abreviated. Example: Meteo has been fixed to read Meteor.
Has new unlockable Music Player and side quest dungeon!
The music sounds much sharper on the GBA, you can really hear the seperate instruments playing in unison.
This version has the old, unedited script, which is far more convincing durring game play.

Cons:
Unlike Final Fantasy Chronicles, this game does not include Chrono Trigger.
They changed the sound effects for some of the moves, and changed the names of some of the moves. For example, Meteor doesnt make that screechy noise anymore, (which I thought sounded cool) and Nuke has been changed to Flare.
In battle, there seems to be a lag in reaction time when pressing down the buttons... (You press the button, but it takes a second to register the command.)

50/50:
None of the graphics have been upgraded, but if you're like me, that doesnt really matter.

If you're like me, and have already played Final Fantasy II for the snes or Final Fantasy Chronicles for the PSone, buy this game! It's well worth the price!

The classic comes back...advanced!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: December 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've grow up playing the Final Fantasy series like Final Fantasy for the NES and Final Fantasy IV for the SNES (used to be Final Fantasy II in US) back when I was 8. That was 15 years ago! Those were the good days. I also play the Playstation version of Final Fantasy IV. It was okay, but at least it has some cool video clips. And when I play the Gameboy Advance version of Final Fantasy IV, I was full of joy and happiness since it has LOTS of new stuff. But what's new in the Gameboy Advance version? You can finally switch characters (that are alive) before the final dungeon, new bonus dungeons, better translation, new enemies, new equipments, a bonus dungeon after you beat the game, and much much more!

Also, Final Fantasy V Advance and Final Fantasy VI Advance are coming soon as well along with Tales Of Phantasia which was a Japanese only game for the SNES is now coming soon to Gameboy Advance! So what are you waiting for? Bring back the memories by picking up your copy of Final Fantasy IV Advance and check out all the changes, today!

a re-release of a classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: December 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy IV was originally released here in the US, in an extremely edited form, as Final Fantasy 2. then later it was re-released onto the psx along with chrono trigger as Final Fantasy Chronicles. the PSX version had "new" features such as the restoration of most of the features cut out in our final fantasy 2. But enough of the past, let's get to this edition: this latest iteration features many new features that were not in any of the previous editions. for starters, they have increased the quality of the music and visuals. on top of that, they have added the ability to choose from several different characters to fight through the final dungeon, and to go along with them, new weapons and armor have been added. To top it all off, once the game is completed a new dungeon will be unlocked with 50 levels of randomized dungeons that will be tailored to your characters levels. all in all, my opinion is that if you already own any of the past models,it is worth picking this up and giving it a playthrough just to see some of the new features. if you have never played any of the others, and you like old school RPGs, definately pick this one up.

Old gold polished back to life...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Back in the late 80's - early 90's a lone game developer was out of money, out of luck, and out of time. He was on his last leg, and wasn't getting anywhere. Seeing his current state, he decided to go for broke and produce his goodbye present to his small, and probably dying group of fans, and produce what would soon become the greatest legacy of games to hit the market for going on two-decades now. It was his "Final Fantasy."

Hironobu Sakaguchi produced the finest saga of games and now has the largest fan-base of any game series to date. This current work "Final Fantasy IV Advance" is an attempt to let his old-school fans relive some of their most memorable moments in the Final Fantasy series over again in an all new updated format, and a VERY successful attempt at that.

Final Fantasy IV Advance brings in new character sprites, updated background mapping, smoother textures overall, and revamped musical score...well more-or-less touched up and re-formatted. The new musical score is beautifal, and is one of the finer points of this game. The changes are so dramatic yet at that the same time suttle enough as not to totally change this classic, that this remake pulled off without a hitch.

The revamped Final Fantasy IV is excellent and will serve as a collectors item. The game itself is a legend in it's own right, if anyone thinks it was a bad idea to re-vamp it, I can tell you from first hand-experience it was a very good idea.

Square took an old, yet still very valuable piece of gold and polished it up like new. A fresh breathe of life to a great game. 5 out of 5, hands down.

Square's first FF classic brought back again

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: March 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Final Fantasy IV (originally "II" in America on the SNES) was probably the first time Square did an RPG that resembles the kind they do now. With a more ambitious story - well, at the time, anyway - and a whole host of characters, IV is often considered a classic by many RPGers. While I will admit this is way better than what most companies can do, there was something missing that set it apart from ones like VI or VII. Maybe it's too dated or maybe it just wasn't as compelling or better structured and while I did like IV, I didn't necessarily love it either.

Story: You play as Cecil, captain of the Red Wings, Baron's elite fighting force. Coming home from a mission which had questionable outcomes, Cecil disapproves and the King, infuriated, sends him on another mission to deliver a package to a nearby town. But when the package proves destructive, Cecil and a group of friends he meets along the way, have to somehow stop the King from what he's planning and figure out the mastermind behind it all.

Graphics: Since this is more improved graphics of a SNES release, you'll notice things look more sharper and cleaner than before but there are by no means wow-inducing. But having Amano artwork for character portraits is a nice touch and the game runs quite smoothly. But the environments are just as diverse and although not immaculately detailed, they're fine within the context of the game.

Sound/Music: Many would also consider IV's soundtrack to be the first classic soundtrack with Nobuo Uematsu at the top of his form. Personally, while the themes are lively and one track in particular ("Rydia") has a gorgeous melody, I can't really remember some of them. I could hum practically 3/4's of VI or VII's soundtrack yet if you would tell me what does the town theme sound like, I'd be hardpressed to even get it right. Just saying, it's a good soundtrack to have on but this was just the beginning, as they say.

Gameplay: IV was another instance where characters had specific classes whereas previous games either had the Job system or user-determined classes. From mainstays like dragoons to thieves to bards to white and black mages, all the familiars are here. Some aren't as useful as others but they're all memorable and despite one character you get super late into the game, they all have distinct personalities.

The Chronicles port was the Hardtype version which practically required characters to level up should they want to have a more comfortable playing and not get slaughtered. This port some would describe as easy and while there wasn't a lot of instances where it got frustrating, save some cheap shots, this isn't a game where it feels like a struggle just to get through. My one complaint is that sometimes enemies don't give as much EXP as they should and with 5 members of your team on hand, it makes levelling up a chore when you have to get into near 10-15 battles just for one guy to progress a level.

Part of what made me want to play and finish IV was that it was the only one out of the IV-XII series that I haven't beat. So while the game does have some memorable moments, themes and solid gameplay, this didn't hit me as hard as subsequent games.

Gameplay great, Variety fantastic, Story superb!

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

By the look of this game, I knew it was going to be maginificent. There are many towns, in which carry different armor, weapons, potions, and antidotes that is, mostly, specific to it's environment. That was a great show of CLASSIC RPG. I loved the classic-renewed graphics of the game, and even though the graphics aren't as good as some of the recent games like SOM or Goldensun, this game portrays many possible role-playing selections that neither of those games have had. In FFIV, you can switch characters swiftly, use various amounts of magic spells and summons, have specific weapons for specific characters, and has great and imaginitive settings.
Overall, this game is fantastic. It gets extremely challenging at the end, but that is what makes it more fun. In the beginning, the monsters are small, tiny, and weak. But soon, the monsters are big and the art is done fabulously.
I think that if you love fantasy, adventure, RPGs, action, or even tactical games, you should go buy this game RIGHT NOW! =)

RPG Classic now imported to Game Boy Advance!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I think this game is cool because for fans of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy 4 has been rereleased on Game Boy Advance which it was originally released for the Super Nintendo since 1991 and it was rereleased for the Playstation1 back in 2000 and now rereleased on Game Boy Advance. I like the storyline and it reminds me of the old days when we played video games in 2D graphics. Besides this is one of the best Final Fantasy games ever released on Game Boy Advance!

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.

For the hardcore only

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The classic Final Fantasy games (1-3 [not 6]) are NOTORIOUS for their difficulty. This does not hold true until you reach the center of the moon. Then, you will find yourself guzzling Elixirs, Potions, and Ethers just to kill ONE monster. For example, the Behemoths (found past B5 in the center of the moon, and in Bahamuts cave) will counter every spell and attack with a brutal 2300 hit on one party member. Most of the boss fights (Asura, Bahamut) and tough monsters (Behemoths, Wicked Masks) are gimmick fights. Bahamut is actually one of the easiest fights in the game, just cast Reflect on all of your party members.
Let me reinstate what the previous reviewers have said about this game
+ Crisp graphics
+ Great music + sound
+ Fun
+ More to do once you beat the game
- Somewhat short (beat EG Zeromus in 18hrs 42mins)
- Very difficult
- Prepare to grind 10-15 levels once you reach the center of the moon!

I enjoyed this, and you can bet I'm getting FF3 for the DS. Great blast from the past, a must-buy for any Final Fantasy fan, RPG lover, or GBA owner!

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next 

Actions