A great recreation of a classic game

Author's Rating:

Pros: fun, challenging, classic, good story, humor, characters, nice spells

Cons: can be frustrating, dated graphics

The Bottom Line: 
If you are looking for a good game, pick this up. It's better than the SNES version.

Author's Review
Fifteen years ago, Final Fantasy IV (or II in the United States, since the Japanese games Final Fantasy II and III were never made in the US) set the standard for role-playing games in the 16-bit era and put Square soft as the premiere maker of role-playing games for years to come. Five years later, other companies would be unable to match this 1991 release in terms of graphics, game play, or innovation in a role-playing game.

However, American consumers were ripped off by Squaresoft, due to Nintendo's strict censorship policies, and the Japanese perception that American consumers could not handle the difficulty of the game. We got an easier, heavily censored version, hampered by poor translation. There was a secret "developer's room" removed from the 1991 US release because it included a "porn magazine." The magazine did nothing but cause the screen to turn pink for a second, yet it violated Nintendo of America's policies. Additionally, religious references were removed from the game. The phrase "prayer" was often simply changed to "wish" and Holy magic had to become "White" magic. It would be ten years before Americans could legally and officially experience the more difficult and uncensored Final Fantasy IV, on the Playstation collection Final Fantasy Chronicles. However, this game was slow to load and had some difficulties such as the lack of Mode 7 graphics, which made the airship stall the game every time it lifted off. It is not until Final Fantasy IV Advance that Americans can experience Final Fantasy IV the way it was meant to be played, plus some nice bonuses.

Final Fantasy IV was the first game to develop active time battle (ATB), which made RPGs more action-oriented. If you do not act in time, the enemy will strike you again. This can make the game more difficult especially when it comes to selecting spells and abilities, but fortunately can be disabled for the indecisive, the lazy, and chronic multi-taskers that can't be bothered to focus consistently on a video game.

The plot is simple compared to newer games, but it still stands the test of time. You begin as Cecil, captain of the Red Wings, the powerful airship force of the Kingdom of Baron. But Baron has become hungry for crystals as of late, and Cecil is disgusted at himself when he takes a crystal from a harmless people (Mysidians) by force. There are more monsters in the world, and the king does not seem to be himself.

This, on the surface, may appear to be a typical plot for an RPG from the 1990s, but it is really a well-developed story of atonement, retribution, and jealousy, with bits of well-timed humor sprinkled in the story to contrast the darker themes of the plot.

The new features for the GBA version of the game work very well, and in some cases even work to enhance the plot. However, many of the new items make the game easier than it was originally, and are not as difficult to procure, as they should have been, given their extraordinary stats.

The characters are well developed, more so now than in the 1991 release because they are no longer bogged down by poor translation and heavy censorship.

Like the original game, there are twelve playable characters, but unlike the first game, it is possible to use most of them in the end after a certain point. One of the flaws in Final Fantasy IV was that characters were only playable for a certain amount of time. Some of the more useful characters, such as Cid and Yang, made excellent fighters, but it was hardly worth investing any money in their equipment because they had such small roles in the game.

Additional information for those unfamiliar with the original game:

My review so far has likely assumed familiarity with the Final Fantasy series, and Final Fantasy IV in particular, so I feel I should explain about the main characters one will use early on and their storylines.

Cecil is a Dark Knight who questions his path and his kingdom and thus is kicked out of the Red Wings, and has a girlfriend named Rosa. Kain is a Dragoon who is secretly jealous of Cecil and in love with Rosa, and tries to deny that at the surface. These elements play a role throughout the plot.

The other characters are not immediately introduced, but I feel it is best to play the game to find out about them.

While I give this game a solid five stars, I must admit that it is not for everyone. If you don't enjoy RPG games, or cannot tolerate dated graphics, then this game is not for you. However, if you are looking for a fun and challenging game, then I recommend Final Fantasy IV Advance.