Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV (as it was known on Super Famicom, but released as Final Fantasy II on the American Super NES, then eventually title-corrected in 1997 is regarded by some as one of the fathers of the modern Final Fantasy. While much of it was built on top of establishments from the previous Final Fantasies, it introduced some concepts which were to set the stage for games to come.

Time marches on, and FFIV is now little more than a primitive relic of bygone days. But there are some who still swear by it. Through rough plot points, through translation gaffes, and through an antiquated presentation, there are still some things in FFIV worth playing.

One of the greatest killing points of Final Fantasy IV is the story. The plot is fairly primitive; the evil Golbez has taken control of the castle town of Baron, and is using Baron's forces to collect the four elemental crystals. At first, you have to stop him - but as the game progresses some ridiculous plot twists occur, eventually leading to a total of 17 crystals, two moons, a Big Whale, and coincidental family relations that put Star Wars to shame. Though there are one or two moments of competent writing, if there was one word to describe FFIV's story, it would be 'cheese'. It also has a lot of mistranslations - but this tends to enhance the experience through humor more than it hurts.

If you were looking for a classic game experience, you've got it. A handful of special abilities aside, combat revolves around the basic formulae of physical attacks and magic, along with equipment both purchased in towns and found in dungeons. There is, of course, the ATB (Active Time Battle) system - today's alternative to turn-based fighting - which, for the time, was brand new; but this aside, there's nothing but straightforward, traditional, linear gameplay.

FFIV looks like an old NES game. The graphics (both in resolution and color) are horrible, sometimes even disgusting. The sound is along similar lines, more like squeaks and bleeps than sound effects. The only redeeming factor of the game's presentation is that some of the music has a nostalgic feel.

Even with a basic game length of around 15-20 hours, FFIV has little replay to offer. There are some rare items to be earned by fighting monsters over and over again for a random chance at them, there are a scant few sidequests, and you could just keep leveling up, if you really wanted to - but there isn't much else here.

Certainly, Final Fantasy IV is far from great, even far from good. However, despite all its problems, there is one thing that makes the game worth it (two if you count funny mistranslations): its simple gameplay. There's no real reason to go out of your way to play it, but the simplistic attack/magic battle system at least is fun, and there are just enough special things (like summons and short sidequests) to keep it afloat if you're motivated to play.

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