I have never been more impressed in a game before, especially of this age. Final Fantasy IV is also known as Final Fantasy II in the US. It's difficulty has been decreased because Japan thought Americans were too stupid to play a difficult RPG, but either way, Final Fantasy IV can be very difficult at times. Anyway, Final Fantasy IV is also one of the best games I will ever play...Find out why I love this game so much. Please keep in mind that I am being very unbiased here...
The game starts out when Cecil, the Dark Knight, also leader of the Red Wings of Baron, is coming back to the Kingdom of Baron after retrieving the Wind Crystal from Mysidia. However, he had to murder the high authority to retrieve this crystal. He feels guilty for his actions, and once he returns, he questions the King's true motives. The King is insulted, and then he banishes Cecil from the Red Wings. He and Kain go to deliver a box to the Village of Mist, and well, you'll find out what happens from there. The story gradually picks up, and it gets very good. This is so far the best story I've seen in an RPG aside from Vagrant Story. Filled with drama, suspense and plot twists, you'll wonder why Final Fantasy IV didn't really get noticed.
For the year of 1991, the graphics were pretty good, and even now I still say that they are good. The characters are very detailed, as well as the world map(s), and the enemies that you encounter.
I can't tell you how awesome the soundtrack for Final Fantasy IV is. I have yet to find a song I don't like. The battle theme is incredible, and so far the best battle theme I've heard in any game. All of the music is emotional and fits perfectly. The sounds are very good, although quite similar and simple to it's previous titles, it fits quite nicely.
The control scheme is very simple yet very enjoyable. You move with the Directional button pad, Start to Pause, Y to bring up the menu, A to select an option and B to go back.
This is where Final Fantasy IV truly shines it's brilliance! Final Fantasy IV simply broke the mold of Final Fantasy I, II and III. No more custom classes, no more character naming, no more annoying black backgrounds or command boxes, no more turn-based battle system. it's a fresh new start. First of all, let me start with battling. In battles, unlike the last three Final Fantasies, there is a hidden ATB (Active Time Bar). Simply put, you and your enemy's attack pattern is totally dependant on the Active Time Bar. Once it's "filled", you can attack. Same for your enemy. He/she cannot attack until the hidden ATB is "filled". You can speed up your turns by using Haste, or slow down your enemy by using Slow, and vice versa.
You can equip weapons, shields, accessories and other things to your characters Left Hand, Right Hand, Arm, and so on. However, some characters are Right-Handed or Left-Handed, meaning that you can only equip that accessory on that hand (or some characters are Ambidextrous, and that means that both hands are open to equipping). Most of these equippable items increase on or some of your stats. This is similar to Final Fantasy I/II/III. You can find weapons in chests or buy them in shops. There are several sidequests for you to do in Final Fantasy IV including secret rooms and other little extras. Final Fantasy IV's difficulty level, like I mentioned before, was toned down. It may seem easy at first (in fact, you can kill just about any enemy in one hit in the first part of the game), but it's gradually gets difficult if you do not level-up enough. Speaking of leveling-up, you can level-up quickly if you can manage to kill stronger enemies, but in my opinion, the level system was implemented quite well. Final Fantasy IV is also pretty long, about 40+ hours.
Get this game. Now. It's a superb gem that most people overlook. If you like RPGs, you will adore this one. I loved it to the very end. If you can't find the cartridge version (it's a rare find), get Final Fantasy Chronicles for the PSX (the loading times aren't that bad really). Final Fantasy IV is worth every penny, and it'll keep you playing for hours on end due to it's addictive gameplay and story.
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