127 people found this review helpful
4 people found this review funny
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 32.2 hrs on record (27.9 hrs at review time)
Posted: 24 Nov, 2014 @ 2:02pm
Updated: 4 Jun, 2015 @ 3:19am

General info

~Genre: Japanese roleplaying game, belongs to Final Fantasy series
~Number of players: 1
~Completion time: 35-50 hours
~Remastered version of already existing title

Strong points

+Story: A tale about maturity, friendship, love, hatred and dignity.

+Content: A game suitable for both young and mature audiences.

+Music: Don't take my word for it; just listen to the complete soundtrack
(uploaded on youtube by TantrisOST)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMpzODudeks

+Tradition: Create teams of five characters and face challenging foes in a turn based battle-system. Experienced Final Fantasy players will tread on familiar ground while newcomers will adapt gradually thanks to the game's instructional early stages.

+Not another grinding fest: Bosses require strategic planning not just level superiority.

+Length: Neither too short for gamers who enjoy secrets, nor too long for those who get bored easily.

+Characters, NPCs, companions with interesting background and distinctive personalities.

+Remade: Enjoy one of the best Final Fantasy games with remade graphics, remastered music score and optional bosses/rewards.

+Replay value: Keep certain key items and abilities, fight bosses exclusively to NG+, etc.

+Controls: Customizable in-game settings, controller support.

+For seasoned adventurers and newcomers: Normal and Hard difficulty modes.

Weaknesses

-Good old days: Fans of the original may find that this 3D version lacks the artistic depth of the original in sections such as boss modeling or spell casting presentation.

-Price: Preferably buy it during a sale.

-A few key items (e.g. Adamant armor) have an extremely low drop rate which makes the related to them achievements quite frustrating to obtain.

-Comparison to Nintendo DS: Basically the same port; developers could have spent more time editing certain sections of the game such as battle speed, visual effects, etc.

-Auto-level up: Every time you level up, your stats are automatically allocated with no option to customize your character's attributes as you wish, making each character locked to a specific class.

Neutral ground

±Tread carefully: In opposition to later entries, which tend to be forgiving, FFIV demands adaptability and cleverness; always plan ahead and choose your moves carefully.

My rating
4/5

Remains debatable if it's better than the original Final Fantasy IV. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of Japanese RPGs or someone who cherishes old-school challenging games you won't be disappointed at all.
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11 Comments
The vintage feeling 16 May, 2015 @ 9:21am 
Since I get a lot of personal messages concerning which of the Final Fantasy games is best to buy here on Steam, I would like to bring to everyone's attention a FF game that might not be on Steam but it's very addictive and entertaining in my opinion; it's called Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and it's exclusive to Nintendo 3DS and iOS. Have a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ixdQaxXW8
The vintage feeling 16 May, 2015 @ 8:40am 
Good point, BlackBirdFrost and thanks for leaving a comment.

Aesthetically, the original is wonderful. And that's not a surprise since the artist responsible for the graphics of Final Fantasy IV (areas, characters, bosses, etc) is non other than Yoshitaka Amano.

By checking Amano's early works (such as Speed Racer and Casshan ) one will be astonished but the quality of his work as well as the skillful and meticulous use of the colour palette.

Despite playing games for more than 20 years, I won't lie to you, sometimes I'm getting carried away by modern gaming which pays to much attention to advertising and marketing and less to the artistic value of its products. That's why I return to my SNES or PSX from time to time; back in the day when a game's soundtrack or script was more important than having achievements and downloadable content...
PigeonFish 16 May, 2015 @ 7:42am 
As someone who absolutely loved the original, I have to say the graphics look terrible!

They should've left it as a 2D game, IMO.
The vintage feeling 14 May, 2015 @ 4:17am 
Thank you, Skullboy!
I'm glad you like it.
Great review, thumbs up!
The vintage feeling 24 Apr, 2015 @ 12:38am 
Thank you, Radkilla!
RADKILLA[420] 23 Apr, 2015 @ 5:39pm 
nice review.
The vintage feeling 15 Apr, 2015 @ 11:25am 
Thanks for commenting, Justuค็็็็็็็s[FIN].
I will add it as a weakness as it seems to bother many players.
Justuค็็็็็็็s[FIN] 15 Apr, 2015 @ 11:15am 
Another weakness: Drop rates of some items are 0,4% (0,8% with Treasure Hunter), and you need those items for achievements.
The vintage feeling 22 Dec, 2014 @ 9:59am 
Greetings, tuco. Thanks for posting a comment.
Unfortunately, the whyt mini games have been removed.