Final Fantasy IV
Developer: Square Enix
Published by: Square Enix
Genre: RPG
Release Date: July 22, 2008Hopefully this is the last remake of Final Fantasy IV. I feel bad for those who bought the GBA remake only to find out that there is a DS remake also. This is by far the best remake Square has done in a long time. The graphics are just astounding (for a DS) and this is how Final Fantasy III DS should have turned out.Let’s take a trip down memory lane shall we?
You play as Cecil Harvey, the game’s protagonist. You are a Dark Knight serving the Red Baron. You blindly following his allegiance and do his evil bidding. The story is essentially exactly the same as all of the others so I won’t go into great detail about it.They brought back Cecil’s Darkside ability (renamed Darkness). Cecil gains the Darkness status where all of his attacks do extra damage at the cost of his HP. While in this Darkness status, he may become immune to certain elemental and status attacks. Likewise, the Darkness status also acts as an element and can do super effective damage to foes that are weak to it. (Use it on the dragon!)
Darkness is your friend…for now.Kain:
He is probably my second favorite character, not because of what he does in the game, but because of his class. Dragoons are one of my favorite classes mainly for their Jump ability. Being able to dodge major attacks with Jump, while dishing out serious damage is a great bonus.Rydia:
When you first get her, she is extremely frail and easy to kill but instead of her dying every three seconds, it is adjusted to about ten seconds. The enemies may not always target her, but when they do, it is usually a hard hit. Be sure to drink your Oval…I mean unlock all of her Summons. They changed it to Eidolons like in Final Fantasy IX. You can also train this little summon guy, named Whyt, but he costs 50 MP, which is a big chunk of MP early in the game. Whyt will replace Rydia and fight in her place while he is summoned but I still don’t think he is worth the MP cost, at least, not for awhile. The little math game that you have to do in order to level him up is hard to understand at first and they never give you enough time to do it.
Talk to him anytime to level up Whyt and get pissed off doing math problems in the process.Tellah:
I never really liked this old senile useless wizard but his later spells do come in handy. He has a powerful variety of spells, but he never has enough MP to use it twice. His Magic stats are through the roof so his Ice1 is equivalent to Palom’s Ice2. They brought back his magic ability that allows him to cast any random magic spell. It still costs MP though.Edward:
I seriously don’t find ANY use for this guy and thank God you only get him for a little bit. The only advantage of having him is his status attacks that can attack all of the enemies at once.Palom and Porom:
Palom is very useful as a black mage but needs some training before you utilize him to his fullest potential. He has a higher base MP than Tellah, so feel free to use the second level spells like Fire2, Ice2, Lit2, but mostly Fire2 since it kills undead and Milon rather easily.Porom is better than Rosa for the most part, but Rosa eventually does become the better white mage near the very end of the game. Porom is especially useful for using Cure magic every turn simulating a Regen. That, combined with a high max MP, and you will be able to endure longer periods without resting.Yang:
The martial arts specialist and probably the hardest hitting attacker in the group besides Cecil; his Kick ability allows him to attack all of the enemies at once and with considerable damage.Cid:
The chief engineer that helps you make TWO, count ‘em, TWO airships! He isn’t a horrible fighter, but just remember, he is not permanent.Edge:
Some random ninja-styled Prince that you meet late in the game. He is particularly weak compared to Yang and Cecil so expect him to die quite a few times if you place him in the front row with Cecil and Yang.Fusoya:
He is the last character that you get and is by far the BEST magic user in the game. He has the same power as Tellah in regards to magic potency and a high max MP base like Porom or Palom.
Don’t cross the streams!New Features:
Autobattle: Hit X during a fight and your characters will perform whatever action you ordered them to do in the Ability screen.No item cap: You can go past 99 of one item now. The Fat Chocobo has a different function now.New abilities not available in the US and EU translations:
Darkside and the other abilities that were thought “too difficult†are re-added into the game.It is 3D! Without the 3D glasses!
Play the entire game in 3D; just don’t expect a free camera perspective.CGI sequences are off the hook!
As usual, Square likes to take up most of the cartridge space with CGI videos that are just astounding. There are only a few games that I will let the start up screen replay over and over and this is one of them.Auto Abilities
Auto abilities like Auto-Potion and Counter can be applied to one character, much like a TM like in Pokemon.Some summons are available as an applicable item for Rydia.Edit: Stupid f****** augments! If you want a COMPLETE playthrough, you will have to consult an augments guide that tells you specifically what augment to put on what person at what time. If you do this wrong, you screw up the whole process and the New Game+ and New Game++ are pretty much wrecked as well. If you're not an OCD completionist, then just play through the game worry-free.Pros:
-New graphics add a new feel to the classic game.
-Autobattle makes grinding less of a hassle.
-Old abilities are added back in. Tch! The Japanese think we Westerners don’t know how to play RPGs…actually, that might be true.
-The videos and voice acting is up to par with all of the other Final Fantasy installments.
-Newly remastered soundtrack that takes out the digital ‘90s feel and puts in orchestral masterpieces.
-Supposedly harder difficulty, at least harder than the ‘Easytype.’
I hate that bomb…Cons:
-Autobattle can screw you over if you run out of MP, so “watch your Magic Meter.â€ÂÂ
-For those of you who are sick of remake after remake after remake, hopefully this is the last remake of the remakes.
-Grinding takes awhile even with Autobattle.
-Being seriously under-leveled is still common in many places.
-Money is tight throughout the game, especially when upgrading Cecil’s gear.
-Sound is staticky and I believe it is the DS, not the game design. I think the sound is too high quality for low quality speakers. It is the same problem I ran into with Drone Tactics.
-Battle speed is still very slow even with the battle speed cranked all of the way up and set to Active.
Cecil beats the Russians to the moon.Extras:
Strippers and girls in bathing suits galore!
They come back in this remake to stir up the controversy once again.
Note: You don’t actually get to see anything.
Screw censorship.
Quick! Use a phoenix down!Presentation: 9/10. The menus and translations are done very nicely. New features add a reason to get this game regardless if you have already played the original.Graphics: 9/10. Not the greatest graphics in the world by my standards, but they’re amongst the best in the Nintendo DS realm.Sound: 8/10. An 8 seems rather harsh, but the sound is terrible coming from weak tiny speakers.Gameplay: 9.5/10. The gameplay has essential been unchanged except for the little minigames when you summon.Lasting Appeal: 9/10. This game has lasting appeal ever since the beginning. Replaying a classic with revamped graphics definitely has the lasting appeal effect.Total: 44.5/50.
Average: 8.9.
Overall: 9.
Rating: 5 stars.Final Comments:
This is a great game with very minor flaws. Any Final Fantasy fan will enjoy this game even the 7th time around.Aftermath:
I haven't really noticed a difference in the difficulty mainly because I like to grind 5-10 levels past the recommendation. (If a strategy guide says level to 20, I'm usually level 25 or 30) I always have the best equipment possible along with plenty of items and enough money.
ZOMG! FUSOYA!
Ifrit.
Shiva.
I hate this guy, but not as much as the Magus Sisters.
This is my desktop background.
Spoiler alert!
Spoiler alert 2!
Touch nothing but the lamp.