Final Fantasy IV (DS) Review
Final Fantasy is one of those trademark series that’s been popular for years and years, and continually impresses gamers with every iteration released. In order to mark the survival and success of the franchise, Square Enix remade two classic titles; one previously released only in Japan and the other released in America as Final Fantasy II. Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV, respectively, for the Nintendo DS system. Originally completely two dimensional and released on the Famicom and Super Nintendo. (Again respectively). The enhanced remakes sport a complete makeover – including three dimensional graphics and several gameplay tweaks that improve each game. Final Fantasy IV is the second of these remakes and does a great job at updating a game without “ruining” it as usually expected from remakes, while still keeping it quite accessible for those who did not experience the original.
Those who experienced Final Fantasy IV will be quite at home with the remake. The whole story has been retained, while cut dialogue and scenes have been incorporated into this remake. Players assume the role of Cecil, a dark knight working for the Red Wings, the elite army of the King of Baron. When the corrupt monarch sends his troops to attack a nearby mage village, Mysidia, to obtain a magical crystal, Cecil questions the king’s orders – namely the morals behind killing these innocent people to steal their prized treasure. As a result, the king strips Cecil of his rank, and sends him on another mission as a common soldier. The story does continue from there, but it’s really good for gamers to play the game and see the events unfold for themselves.
Fortunately, Final Fantasy IV does a very good job of portraying its characters in the situations they get in, as well as telling a decent story. Moments that are meant to be emotional are pulled off without struggle due to the brilliant character development that the title holds. Everything that you’ve learnt about story telling in a video game will come together in Final Fantasy IV, and it really shows that. For the time, Final Fantasy IV was way ahead with telling a compelling and twisting narrative. In addition, Cecil’s character is much more fleshed out with his personal thoughts appearing every time the player pauses the game. It’s a nice touch, none the less.
Gamers who played Final Fantasy III on the Nintendo DS will know what to expect in the graphics department. Gameplay takes place on fully rendered three dimensional environments, with 3D character models also. The graphics are very nice for a Nintendo DS title, and considering the amount of environments that Square Enix had to squeeze into this little DS cartridge, they’ve done a brilliant job in keeping the textures and models of a high quality. Environments are lush and accurately convey the meaning and/or emotions they are supposed to instils into the player. In addition, the FMV cutscenes, which stretch across both the Nintendo DS’s screens, are beautiful to watch and are of the highest quality, in typical Square Enix fashion.
Final Fantasy IV is a standard Japanese RPG. That is, players progress (relatively) linearly through the story, with several side quests and differing characters joining the party. Players control Cecil primarily, on the top screen of the DS, while the bottom screen of the DS is reserved for the map and, when paused, the party status screen. It’s a notable swap from Final Fantasy III, but it still works just as well. Movement of Cecil is performed using the D-Pad or the touch screen, in similar fashion to Final Fantasy III (for those who didn’t play that, holding the stylus in the direction they wanted Cecil to travel would see him run in that direction). During these segments, players can collect treasure; interact with NPCs and purchase items & weapons.
Occasionally, players will come across battles with enemies, where the player will be transported to a different screen where their whole party is on screen with the enemies also visible. During this phase of the game, players can choose to attack, use magic, use items or do other character specific commands. The game uses the Active Time Battle system, which is the classic system that many previous Final Fantasy titles used, so series veterans won’t feel left out, while the system is just as easy to pick up for newcomers. The ATB system is primarily turn based and feels faster compared to previous (well, previous in terms of release date, anyway) titles in the series.
Being an enhanced remake, Final Fantasy IV does not deviate much from its original, but implements several new features while also removing some from previous iterations of the title. Previously in the Gameboy Advance version of Final Fantasy IV, the ever changing party line up was compensated for by making the characters who “left” for whatever reason returning. The directors weren’t fans of this feature, as it changed the game too much. As such, the game incorporates an “Augment” system. The augment system essentially makes sure that your time and efforts don’t go to waste, should you level up a character that will inexplicably leave the party. They will leave their “augments” behind allowing players to pick up their skills rather than just throw them away. And, since Final Fantasy IV is very liberal with whom your party loses, this feature is very, VERY welcomed.
In addition, there are now fully voiced cutscenes in the game, which are a nice touch, but means that Namingway, a moogle who renames characters, no longer can be used. As such, he gives out numerous sidequests instead. Fat Chocobo, another character who cannot serve his original purpose due to the voice acting in the game, now instead serves as a bestiary, music player and a chance to watch previous cinematics. Finally, there is a New Game Plus mode, in which players can experience things they didn’t on their first play, as well as mini games controlled entirely by the stylus and wirelessly multiplayer enabled (but not online). These mini games also assist in levelling up the summons for a certain character too, so they aren’t entirely useless. Finally, players will also find themselves rewarded for mapping out each dungeon (IE. visiting every area on the map) with various items. A nice touch to promote exploration.
The Final Fantasy musician master himself, Nobuo Uematsu, composed the music for Final Fantasy IV. As such, the audio in the game is of quite a high standard, considering the medium it’s being delivered on. All the music feels epic and covers a wide range of emotions that fit quite neatly in with the events of the storyline. The voice acting is fairly decent and much better than initially expected too.
Final Fantasy IV is a very competent RPG with heaps of features and quite a bit of content packed in, too. It manages to exhaust the DS’s capabilities while still remaining an enjoyable and unique experience, especially for newcomers of the series. It’s hard not to recommend Final Fantasy IV to anyone, but it’s a given that those who didn’t enjoy previous Final Fantasy titles won’t find solace here. A shining example of how a remake should be done.
