Sometimes it’s not a bad thing that you’re getting older. When Final Fantasy came out, I was still crawling around in diapers (or not even in the picture, depending on which entry we’re talking about). So when I heard about the remakes that were planned for the celebration of the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy, I was thrilled. I have tried picking them up so many times but never got very far into any of them (< pre-Final Fantasy 7), since they have a high learning curve. Luckily, I’m getting older and more used to the JRPGs of the old. So let’s dive into the first of three reviews of the Final Fantasy IV till VI (I’m doing them all separately, if you want to read about the other three, check out the ones my colleague Michiel did right here).
Pixel Remaster!
Oke, so these titles are actually upgraded and remastered versions of the original, complete with new audio and graphics; a true 2D pixel remaster! This makes the game a feast for the eyes since the game looks stunning. If someone told me that they made this game in 2022, I would have believed them – that good. So, for those unfamiliar with Final Fantasy, let’s do a bit of background first. Most of Final Fantasy IV takes place on Earth, also known as the Blue Planet, which consists of a surface world (or Overworld), inhabited by humans, and an underground world (or Underworld), inhabited by the Dwarves. An artificial moon orbits the planet, upon which the Lunarians live. The Lunarians are a race of beings originally from a world that was destroyed, becoming the asteroid belt surrounding the Blue Planet, and are identified by a moon-shape crest on their foreheads. They created the artificial moon, resting until a time when they believe their kind can co-exist with humans. A second, natural moon orbits the Blue Planet as well, although it is never visited in the game.
Final Fantasy IV – Story
Final Fantasy IV starts off with an attack by The Red Wings on the city of Mysidia to steal their Water Crystal, and return to the Kingdom of Baron. When Cecil, Captain of the Red Wings, afterward questions the king’s motives, he is stripped of his rank and sent with Kain, his friend, and Captain of the Dragoons, to deliver a ring to the Village of Mist. There, Kain and Cecil watch in horror as monsters burst forth from inside the ring and lay waste to the village. A young girl, Rydia, is the only survivor and summons a monster named Titan in anger. This monster causes an earthquake, separating Cecil and Kain. Cecil awakens afterward and takes the wounded Rydia to a nearby inn. Baron soldiers come for Rydia but Cecil defends her, and she joins him on his journey. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, since I want those who are new to FFIV to experience the game on their own (it’s worth it).
Final Fantasy IV offers twelve playable characters, each with a unique, unchangeable character class. During the game, the player can have a total of five or fewer characters in their party at any given time. The main character, Cecil Harvey, is a dark knight and the captain of the Red Wings, an elite air force unit of the kingdom of Baron. Rosa Farrell is a white mage and archer, as well as for Cecil’s love interest. The Red Wings’ airships were constructed by Cecil’s friend, the engineer Cid Pollendina.
During his quest, Cecil is joined by others, including Rydia, a young summoner from the village of Mist; Tellah, a legendary sage; Edward Chris von Muir, the prince of Damcyan who is a bard as well as the husband of Tellah’s daughter Anna; Yang Fang Leiden, the head of the monks of Fabul; Palom and Porom, a black mage and a white mage, twin apprentices from the magical village of Mysidia; Edward “Edge” Geraldine, the ninja prince of Eblan; and Fusoya, the guardian of the Lunarians during their long sleep.
Features & Gameplay
For its time, FFIV was pretty revolutionary. It was the first title to introduce the dynamic “Active Time Battle” system, where time moves even during battle, giving the players an exciting sense of urgency. Thanks to the wide appeal of the game, this revolutionary system would be implemented in any future titles in the series. Luckily we can still opt to pause the game while picking spells to cast on our targets.
The rest of the game moves like any other Final Fantasy title. Characters move and interact with people and objects on a field map, which may represent a variety of settings, such as towers, caves, and forests. You can travel between areas using either your legs or the hovercraft. The player can use towns to replenish strength, buy equipment, and discover clues about their next destination. Conversely, the player fights monsters at random intervals on the overworld and in dungeons. In battle, you have the option to fight, use magic or an item, retreat, change character positions, parry, or pause. Final Fantasy was also the first in the series to allow the player to control up to five characters in their party; previous games had limited the party to four.
Each character has certain strengths and weaknesses; for instance, a strong magic user may have low defense, while a physical fighter may have low agility. Like other Final Fantasy games, characters gain new, more powerful abilities with battle experience. Magic is classified as either “White” for healing and support; “Black” for the offense; or “Summon” (or “call”) for summoning monsters to attack or carry out specialized tasks. Sometimes it’s just a matter of trial and error though since the game does not state if a certain type of attack or magic is effective (or non-effective) against an enemy. I remember facing some group of zombies and not figuring out (in time) how to beat them. Luckily we live in the age of the internet, and the nice people of Wikia build a nice guide for each enemy.
Conclusion
So, to conclude! Final Fantasy IV lives up to its legacy and offers both returning and new players a challenge since the game does not help you with pointing out where to go next. The remastered graphics look amazing and combined with the minimap, small icons on the map helping with certain aspects and the musical score, we got a great game on our hands. The grind still is real, but never gets too extensive, since the pacing of Final Fantasy IV is even for a JRPG-sucker like me doable. I’ll be playing a lot of Final Fantasy IV, even after you finish reading this review – but I’ll dive into part V next, so you can keep on reading reviews about the remasters. Till next time!
