Squaresoft (the makers of Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger) and Enix (the creators of Dragon Quest) have dished out every single RPG generation technique in their repertoire since their union. Ten years ago, no gamer would have ever dreamed of seeing a direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game or this many Dragon Quest spin-offs for so many systems (then again, they didn’t see the confounding collaborations that were Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within coming either, the poor souls).
Final Fantasy, however, is still the flagship brand. The maximum number of prequels, spin-offs and remakes from the company in the past 12 months have borne the FF insignia in some form or the other.
Final Fantasy IV was first released in 1991 on the Super Famicom in Japan and the SNES in North America (though, being the second FF to be officially released in the States, it was renamed Final Fantasy II). Packaged along with Chrono Trigger in the Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation on the Playstation, Final Fantasy IV saw another reiteration on the Gameboy Advance with a few gameplay changes and translational updates. How, then, does one explain Final Fantasy re-re-reappearing on the Nintendo DS handheld, only two years after the GBA edition?
Hands-on time with the actual game seems to have dissipated the more nagging doubts. Final Fantasy IV has been called the “greatest RPG of all time” by some critics, with its revolutionary Active Time Based battle system and memorable story. This time, Square-Enix has done the unthinkable: They’ve tossed out nearly three-fourths of the original game’s script, crafted a brand-new presentation, added a hefty amount of voice work, added CG animated cut-scenes, revamped the battle system… and if that’s not enough, how about new touch screen exclusive mini-games along with that rudimentary graphical make-over that surprisingly rivals Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles DS?
Square-Enix hasn’t just re-released a Final Fantasy game. For probably the first time, the developer has created each and every aspect of Final Fantasy IV from scratch, employing a more mature and classy approach to story-telling and design. The winds of change finally descending upon the cold corridors of remake-land? You bet.
The tale begins with Cecil, a Dark Knight of the Baron Empire, as he goes about collecting powerful magical crystals on His Majesty’s orders. His conflicting ideals lead him to question the king on the carnage being wrought for the sake of the crystals. As a result, Cecil is demoted and along with his long-time friend Kain, a Dragoon, is asked to deliver a special package to Mist Village. As Cecil and Kain defeat the Mist Dragon blocking their way to the village, they discover the package to actually be a bomb that lays waste the village. A young girl, Rydia, is found next to the body of her mother, who was connected to the dragon and died when it did. Saddened by her mother’s loss, Rydia summons an unknown beast, splitting the ground in half and separating Cecil and Kain. With no clue to what’s going on, Cecil takes Rydia into custody and begins the search for Kain.
If you’ve played any of the console based Final Fantasy games like FFVII, you’ll be familiar with the system here. Battles are random and employ an “Active Time Based” meter, where your characters receive commands in a battle playing out in real-time (meaning, you can get more than one attack per character on an enemy). The graphics during the battle sequences are nicely done, and several techniques like camera panning and close-ups are used to give a more cinematic flair. As with every Final Fantasy these days, a new battle system has been thrown into the mix. This one is known as the Decant Ability System, and besides letting you take on abilities from temporary party members (upto three at a time), you can customize your battle menu and hot-key frequently used commands to the main command selection for speedy combat.
As many as eight enemies can attack you in a single battle. Sadly, it seems the grinding bits of all other RPGs are present. If you don’t take the chance to level up early (by beating down waves of random monsters), you’ll find yourself overwhelmed when Cecil is all alone after the destruction of Mist village. Each character has their own class, with Cecil specialising in swords and Kai with lances (thus enabling for the famous “Jump” ability). Other characters that join you later on, besides Kain and Rydia, include Rosa Farrell, a white mage and archer who strives to protect Cecil just as her mother protected her father. There are a total of 12 party members in the entire game, the largest in any Final Fantasy series, and each one of them is an interesting, unique and useful addition to the roster with ninjas, monks, and mages all striving to help Cecil in his quest.
The intro to the game is a pre-rendered FMV, and as you move along the story, you’ll encounter a good amount of voice acting. Yuri Lowenthal (Rex from Final Fantasy XII) as Cecil and Karen Strasman (Karen Stadtfield from the anime Code Geass) as Rosa are exceptionally well-done as they handle one of the more emotional beginning scenes with abject professionalism. Thankfully, the music is just as good, if not better, with Nobuo Uematsu’s sweeping tunes evoking majestic tones and tragic notes alike. All of this contributes to creating an experience similar to Final Fantasy XII (Playstation 2), and it’s great to play a handheld game that captures that epic feeling in both essence and execution.
While still a few months away from release in the US, Final Fantasy IV has already seen release and success in Japan, with about 590,000 copies sold so far. Only time will tell if the full product is as worth all the effort put in to remaking it. So far though, we’d be hard-pressed to say that Square-Enix is not on the right track.
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