[ back ]
Final Fantasy IV: a classic remade for the DS
(by Caleb Rumley - August 13, 2008)
Final Fantasy IV is one of several ports Square Enix has brought over to the States. Final Fantasy I and II were brought over on the Gameboy Advance, and III and IV are both on the DS (for $40 each). It makes sense from the company’s viewpoint – why sell original ports for $8 on the Virtual Console when you can repackage them for $40 each on the DS? But we all know looks can be deceiving; even under a new coat of paint does this aging RPG still hold up to today’s standards?
The first thing you’ll notice about FFIV are the fresh graphics. The game is completely 3D, and looks very similar to FFIII, which was released last year. Maybe they could’ve used more advanced graphics technology, but it looks sharp enough to me. A team of voice actors do the cut scenes justice
A lot of games have weak stories that are just fluff to the main adventure, but FFIV is an exception. The tale of Cecil, a dark knight who becomes disillusioned with the orders of the evil Lord Baron, is very well written. The story starts with Cecil leading the Red Wings into a defenseless town with orders of destruction. Cecil questions the King’s orders, gets thrown out of the Red Wings and must then find his own way outside of the city he once was a part of. The game also benefits from a new translation, giving the story even more clarity than the Super Nintendo original.
The game certainly doesn’t lose the difficulty curve of the original – you have to really fight your way through every dungeon. Even random encounters can destroy your party, so expect to grind for experience pretty often. Bosses are even more difficult, so you really have to stock up on Phoenix Downs if you want to make it through each dungeon and cave. Even though the difficulty curve is pretty high, it’s very rewarding to watch your party grow from a few scattered vagrants into a team of mighty warriors.
FFIV introduces the new Augment system, which is pretty basic but can make vast changes to the different characters in your party. Augments, which are found rarely throughout the game, give characters different abilities in battle which can greatly alter their overall effectiveness. You can set characters to automatically give themselves potions or defend for other characters, and every Augment does something different.
There really aren’t that many issues with Square’s remake of FFIV for the DS. It’s really enjoyable – but I’m not so sure I would’ve enjoyed it so much if I had already played the original. If you played through the original on the SNES, you might want to skip this remake. It’s really good, but if you aren’t wowed by the new graphics or cutscenes, just stick to the original. That said, the original’s excellent characters, story, and battle system shine through and make the game a very enthralling experience.
FFIV is one of the best RPGs out on the DS, and if you’ve never played through this installment in the Final Fantasy series, you really should. It gets an 8.5 out of 10, and is available only on the Nintendo DS system.
[ back ]
