Final Fantasy IV is a game that, like Final Fantasy VI, has been released in
the US under two names: Final Fantasy II on the SNES and Final Fantasy Iv in the
PSX game Final Fantasy Chronicles. While still a good game in it's own right,
this first Final Fantasy on the SNES happens to earn the right of the worst of
the 3...
Story: 10 This is where Final Fantasy IV shines.
Unlike it's follower, FFV, this has a nicely detailed story. The game, however,
is very linear, and follows this story like mad, but the story is very nice, and
almost makes up for the linearness of the game. From the moral debate within
Cecil about what to do about the king to his unrequited love for Rosa, this game
has an excellent story.
Gameplay: 7.5 This was the first game
that broke away from the "Everyone lines up, input commands, and whomever has
the better Speed stat goes first" mold of the first three Final Fantasy games
and introduces a rudimentary version of the Real Time Battle system. Sadly, this
game doesn't have the ATB time bars that shows you when your character is about
to attack... Battles like the Giant Wall battle are nail-biters, where you sit,
watching a giant wall slowly encroach upon your characters, and you wait VERY
UNPATIENTLY for your characters turns to come up... Also, you can't give up your
turn, which means that if you don't need curing yet, but your White Mage comes
up first, you're stuck... ^^;
Replayability: 7 As I said
before, the linearality of Final Fantasy IV gets on your nerves after a time...
I have only played through it three times, as I know what is about to happen
every time something is about to happen. The third time I played it I only
played it because I found a ROM that was translated with the original
translation, not the horrible Woosley-spawned crap... This is a game that is
wonderful the first time, and perhaps a LONG time after a playthrough, but not
multiple times in a short timespan.
Sound: 10 As this was the
early days of the SNES, the technology wasn't up to the level of FFV and FFVI,
but the sound was still very well done. Nobuo's awesome skills for music reach
out of the SNES and touch you, and the sounds that accompany his music are
excellently done. This is one area that a Final Fantasy game never fails to
shine in.
Graphics: 6 Not much can be expected of such an old
game, but the graphics still ask for justice done to them. I can imagine in my
mind this game totally redone in the style of FFX, with awe-inspiring
graphics(Especially Adult Rydia.... Mmmmm....), but the graphics that come are
somewhat sad... Most everything is very pixelated, and seems very 8-bit, even
though it's on a 16-bit system. But, you can't have everything, eh?
Fun Factor: 9.5 I am trepidatious about giving this game a 10
in this catagory because of the amount of frustration that can be earned from
it. There are several instances in the game that you will want to take your
SNES(or computer) and fling it out the freaking window because you've lost on
the 270th attempt to kill a boss, and he's STILL thrashing you. There are
several humorous instances in the game, however, like Tellah's "spoony bard"
speech, and these garner this game a 9.5 in this catagory...
Final Fantasy Insider
Coverage