Company Credits
Title: Final Fantasy IV (published in Final Fantasy Chronicles)
Developer: Squaresoft
System: PlayStation
Game Type: RPG
Premise
The good King Baron has asked his men to collect powerful crystals at
all costs.
High Point
The new translation. Apart from the inconsistent relationship between
Cid and Rosa (mostly father/daughter, once uncle/niece, once a guy who
accused her of having a crush on himself) it makes a lot more sense,
and is considerably more sophisticated.
Low Point
Nobody stays dead! Countless resurrections undermine a lot of the
sacrifices.
The Scores
The Final Fantasy games have always had common themes tying them
together, so the plots are limited in how original they can
be. On the other hand, the game mechanics are really groundbreaking.
This was the game that introduced the world to the active time battle
system, which allows fast characters to have turns more often than
teammates or opponents. I give it 4 out of 6.
The story is one of the better video game stories. The five
character limit in battle was enforced by story reasons, unlike later
Final Fantasies in which the rest of the party just hangs around off
screen while the three or four you choose do all the work. However,
this never feels forced; the story naturally flows from one point to
the next. I give it 6 out of 6.
The graphics are rather dated. This used to be a Super
Nintendo game, and the only updates they've made are in the
introductory and closing full motion video segments. (The increased
difficulty is a result of porting the hard version of Final Fantasy
IV, rather than the easy version.) I give it 3 out of 6.
The sound is also at the Super Nintendo standard. The music
has excellent melody, but the reproduction of the instruments is still
poor. The sound effects are little more than white noise. I give it
3 out of 6.
Despite the obvious aging of the game, it remains very
playable. The controls are very straightforward and
menu-driven, allowing a newbie to pick things up quickly. I give it 5
out of 6.
The immersive qualities of the game are limited only by the
distant perspective top-down graphics style. The story is compelling
enough to overcome that in most cases. I give it 4 out of 6.
Overall, this is a Final Fantasy game. I give it 5 out of 6.
In total, Final Fantasy IV receives 30 out of 42.
