I never thought that May 12, 2021 would be such a momentous day. After a few weeks of being completely immersed in the world of Blue Planet, the Earth-Gaia of Final Fantasy IV, I completed the final boss battle.
Final Fantasy IV was originally released in Japan, as all great JRPGs are, but had several releases in the West prior to it finding the form I played it in. Through Steam, a port of the mobile version of the game, which was a port of Nintendo DS version of the game.
Presented in 3D for combat, cut scenes and story-telling elements - the visuals of this version of Final Fantasy IV are rather simplistic - but they get their point across - charming, bright characters with a warm palette of land, dungeons and monsters set the scene for a world full of wonder and driven by the strongest narrative of the early Final Fantasy titles (that I've played so far!)
The main character in Final Fantasy IV is Cecil, who is a dark knight in the kigndom of Baron. We start the game with a strong sense of power - something that is not often present in Final Fantasy games. A lot of the times, the character is a blank slate, with not much exposition immediately describing who they are and what they stand for.
Here, that's different. Cecil's a commander, he is involved romantically with Rosa, and he follows his king's orders - until he doesn't and he is all but exiled and made an enemy of the kingdom.
Thus begins the story arc of a Dark Knight's quest to save the world from a maniac who would otherwise destroy it. Layers of puppets slowly unveil themselves throughout the game, leading you closer to the true forces you're to defeat.
Along the way, there's a large cast of characters that comes and goes from the party - some of this is part of the plot, and in other parts, it is incredible game design and story telling. By placing certain types of enemies in the path of a smaller, weaker party - new members have strengths that render them useful, and force you to use existing characters in new ways if you want to succeed.
Combat is exquisitely well balanced, but it requires a certain modicum of skill and attention to pull off correctly - some may find that it is too difficult, but the reality is that combat is so finely balanced, and you need to use all the skills and resources in your arsenal in order to continue pushing forward through the game's plot.
The story is paced well, with twists and turns seeing you traipse around the game world with intent and a clear direction. You don't get stuck very often - and if you do, there's often only one path that ends up being the right one. As a result, the game is fairly linear, but there is certainly the opportunity to explore a bunch of sidequests and content that is not imperative to the story.
And what a story - besides the main plot, other party members have arcs that contribute to the progression of the story. There's no filler here - just genuinely interesting events happening to some rather interesting people.
My favourite tale from this is of Rydia, a child-mage-prodigy who goes missing early in the game, but returns as a powerful mage, summoner, and an integral party member later in the game. She's aged, become a full grown woman, a wise sage, as she spent time in an entirely different realm while Cecil's story unfolded. While this isn't explored in depth in the game, it's this sort of imaginative reunion that creates a tale in your mind about a character who could otherwise be seen merely as a plot device - but someone who becomes an exceptionally powerful ally.
Like all Final Fantasy games, music plays a large part - and this is no exception. The signature battle music is all here, and the score is marvelous. There's no tunes that are immediately catchy (to me, at least) - but the music adds a sense of atmosphere balanced between exploration and wonder.
Final Fantasy IV is an exquisite game. It is a fantastic introduction to the series, but its combat difficulty may see some players run away in fear. It is worth the struggle, and the learning curve, as you truly grow with your characters as they progress through the story. There's enough here to keep anyone busy for a few weeks (depending on how many hours you have to play per day) - this took me about ~35 hours to complete! And you'll be treated to a wonderful story through each and every one of those hours! If you want to kill more time, there's even a NewGame+ mode. I didn't pursue that. Maybe you will.
For me... I'm off to play Final Fantasy IV: The After Years - and I've got no idea what to expect.