Final Fantasy IV

""It is the difficulty that makes it""

Well, here we are with a third remake of a classic SNES game. I am pretty sure many people are getting tired by now and most will get a copy only if they don't have one of the other versions or are, like me, a collector of FF games. Anyway, I was pretty psyched about this game because I heard about some of the changes, and without revealing any of my feelings on them just yet, let's just say that I have been impressed.

Gameplay 10/10
I am a huge fan of the classic battle systems, turn-based or active, so to see that it had only been improved, was a great relief. Random battles, while they do happen frequently, are not a chore thanks to auto-battle commands and the ability to change the speed of the active-battle charging time. Leveling is a lot easier with these changes and makes playing the game a little less stressful. Now about the difficulty changes. Like I said before, this is the fourth time that Final Fantasy IV has been released on American soil. The first time, as Final Fantasy II, on the SNES, was sort of an insult to American gamers, with it's dumbed-down difficulty and poor translation. Yet, even with those faults it still established itself as one of the best games ever released. The second release was part of the Final Fantasy Chronicles dual pack with Chrono Trigger and the third was a last hurrah on the GameBoy Advance system, both of which had the original difficulty in place and were re-translated, to be closer to the original script. With the fourth iteration of the fourth episode, Square-Enix decided to give us something more, they increased the difficulty, added more interactions and cut scenes, added some dialog and made it a deeper game all together. Now, many people have complained that they made it to difficult, but I say, that it is the difficultly that makes it. In our ADD world that we live in, gamers are so intent on finishing a game, that they forget to enjoy the journey they take in the game. I love the new difficultly level, it makes it challenging, something that is very hard to find in RPGs nowadays.

Premise/Story 10/10
I feel that FF IV is one of the best written games, of all time, and now with the new cut scenes and more dialog added, the story is even more fleshed out. The characters are deep, caring and very, very human. Several times through out the story, devastating events happen to others around the main character and it seems like his path is one of constant despair. Just when it reaches it darkest point, the light begins to shine through and just like every JRPG, at the end of the day, the hero is the victor. But it is not the ending that drives the story forward, but the journey. And what a journey it is.

Graphics 10/10
The graphics are spectacular, even better than Final Fantasy III and really push the DS to it's limits, so much so, that when you are in a large area, there is a bit of slowdown, not much, but it is there. The in-battle character and enemy sprites are amazing. The boss battles have a new perspective and are even more epic than previous versions. You can really tell that the art direction team took what they learned about the DS and 3D design on the handheld with Final Fantasy III and improved on it exponentially in every way. All in all, this is easily, but a bit unfairly, the best looking version of FF IV and definitely the best looking 3D game on the DS. I would even put this equal to the Playstation masterpiece Final Fantasy IX.

Audio 10/10
The music is fantastic, though much of it has been remastered and reimagined (think original music with a techno tweak), it still has the undeniable feel of Final Fantasy. Uematsu at his finest. At times a even find myself humming along as I am playing. Now, just like the GBA version, playing the music through internal speakers is a bit rough, but through external speakers or headphones, it is pitch perfect. Sometimes I like to just listen to the menu music because it is so great. Ok, I just nerded myself out there a little bit.

Tilt 6/10
This is the game's only short coming. The increased difficulty is fantastic for those of us that have previously played the game before and are looking for a challenge, but for a new comer, Final Fantasy III, this is not. There is no hand-holding. No in-game walkthrough. Little to no guidance on what to do next. Caves require massive level grinding just to survive and characters will die, especially when they have just joined your party. Numerous random battle in caves or dungeons leading up to a tough boss battle really try your patience and attempt (and usually succeeds) to soften your party up before the final battle. The you get to the boss and boss battles are not just epic on the visual and audio sides, but also on the battle side as well. Defeating a boss really feels like an accomplishment and is exhausting at the same time. Make sure you have plenty of healing items on hand, you will need them. Someone that looking to be able to fly through Final Fantasy IV, like Lunar Legend or Final Fantasy III, will need to invest in a game enhancement device to aid them, otherwise it is not going to happen.

Overall 9.3/10
While it is nearly perfect in everyway, the difficulty is a bit hindering to a novice to Final Fantasy IV. If you are an expert or at least have a working knowledge of one or more of the previous releases, then the score for you is a perfect 10/10, because not only does it have all the great stuff I have mentioned, it also is a great challenge to test yourself on. In conclusion, FF IV DS is the defining version of the game, but only if you have played the game previously

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/08

Game Release: Final Fantasy IV (US, 07/21/08)