Update One Hundred and Twenty-Eight: 24 February 2018
Final Fantasy IV
52 hours, 58 of 58 achievements
8/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Whoever said ‘see you a month from now!’ when I said I was playing Final Fantasy IV was precisely exactly right! Golly, sometimes I forget how long JRPGs take. But, oh, was it worth it.
My first Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy X, which I played not long after it came out, so that’s the benchmark for JRPGs for me. When I go back and play the older titles, I can’t help but compare them - see how much simpler they were, how lighter on story, how shallow the characters, and I just can’t connect as well.
Well, not for this game. I think I ended up liking this game more than Final Fantasy IX, which puts this game at my second favorite Final Fantasy of all time. (For reference, X and XII are tied for first)
Cecil is by far the best Final Fantasy leading man - starting off conflicted and unliked and troubled, but then reforming to a paladin with THE BEST outfit and color scheme, where he’s kind and reserved? Sign me tf up. I usually play FF games despite their protagonists, who I find only okay at best, but Cecil was a good draw for me. I really enjoyed the beginning, which was leaden with character building, interesting conflict, and a flip of the usual script. Going from Final Fantasy III, which had a much simpler story, to this game must have been an incredible leap at the time, and it still holds up today.
I really liked the 3D port - I’m a sucker for pixel textures and simple models like this, and they all look great! I was doubly surprised to see some scenes were even voice acted! That was a nice touch, and it helped update the game a lot.
Everything else is standard beloved JRPG fare - either you love it or you hate it. If you’re a fan of later games and want to begin exploring the earlier games, Final Fantasy IV is a perfect place to start.
Next up: Hidden object games are the perfect palate cleansers c:
See you soon!
I think that was me who said that, but you beat my expectations! Good on you for sticking it out and completing it within a reasonable time. One of my issues is dragging out long games for ridiculous periods of time. I started playing Final Fantasy with the same game as you, but I don’t think I’ve played IV. Since IX is my favorite (as far as I know), you have me kind of intrigued about this one.
Thank you, thank you! I also had help from my friend cheatengine, because I also don’t like when games have a lot of stuff that’s there just for filler, and JRPGs are the WORST at this.
I liked 9 a lot, too - in fact, 9 was in second place before 4 beat it out. 9 had way more interesting worldbuilding and environments, but I liked the cast of 4 more than the overall cast of 9 (even though Vivi was adorable). Zidane got on my nerves - predictably, I’m not a big fan of casanova types.
I think you’ll like 4, though! For some reason I can’t put my finger on, the two remind me of each other. I’d certainly say to give this a good try.
FF IV was my first FF game, my fav one and therefore it makes me happy to hear when others like it too especially because everyone’s only prising VII, X or XIII. I agree with everything you mentioned (but I prefer Kain over Cecil :P). Sadly all optional stuff was cut off of the port like another dungeon in the end which was extremly hard but fun with the best weapons you can find ingame. Have you considered playing IV After Story? I never got my hands on it sadly.
I like Kain, too! I was really intrigued by their love triangle with Rosa (who I also liked a lot). I just picked out Cecil in particular because, like I said, I usually don’t care about or dislike FF male protagonists. I’m having a lot of fun looking up fanart of everyone!
I am considering it, especially because it seems to center around Rydia, which I always love. It’s gotten mixed reviews on Steam, though, and I’ll have to read some reviews as to why before I decide where to put it in my wishlist. It might be a case of ‘nobody likes direct FF sequels on principle’, which I don’t believe in (Final Fantasy X-2 was fun and I loved it!)
AFAIK that’s also because of the cutting of all optional stuff. At least that was the reason the last time I checked but that was long ago too. Well, let me know when you played it!