FFIV DS (Warning: Possible Spoilers)

[SBaby]

Hey everyone. As some of you already know by now, I got Final Fantasy IV for the DS a couple weeks back. Well, now that I've finished my first run through the game, I figured I'd tell you all what I thought of it. And then you can use this topic to talk about the game, since there aren't any FFIV DS topics that I can see.

Anyway, onto my thoughts. Honestly, I thought it was pretty good. It was a great remake with improved graphics, better enemy AI and all around more challenging gameplay. And the voiced cutscenes were pretty impressive for a DS game. I honestly wasnt expecting more than a few cutscenes with voice acting, but there were many throughout the game. Most major events had one to go with them, and it worked out pretty well. I thought it was one of the best DS games that I've played in quite awhile.

While I don't talk about graphics much, because I don't consider them to be too overly important in a game, I will say that the graphics were vastly improved over the original. The game was made with a 32-bit 3-d engine similar to the one used in FFIII for the DS and it was improved considerably from FFIII. The battle animations look great and the Summons were entertaining too. I really didn't know what to expect in terms of the Summon animations, but when you see the Mist Dragon show up in the battle against Golbez, it's just awesome.

The game is much more challenging, forcing you to be alot more systematic when it comes to taking down enemies. You are going to have to use spells in regular fights. And there will be very few boss fights that you'll be at full MP for. And even when you get past that, you will be killed by bosses until you figure out how to take each one down. Alot of people complained that Final Fantasy was getting too easy and that they wanted a more challenging game. To those people, I've only got one thing to say. Wish granted. This is easily the most challenging FF game to date.

But the best thing about the game, by far... NO MOGNET!!! I don't know how they would use it in FFIV, but that was the most annoying thing in FFIII for the DS. So, great move on Square-Enix's part getting rid of it. Kudos to them. Hopefully it's gone forever now.


That said, there were flaws. And I hate to say, some of these flaws were very hard to overlook. One thing, and I think most people will at least notice this one. There is a major issue with the balance. Not that the game doesn't steadily get harder or that it's impossible, but in the way some of the dungeons are handled. In most RPGs, when you get to a dungeon, you expect regular enemies that are slightly harder than the overworld enemies near the dungeon. And you expect a boss at the end that's slightly more powerful than those enemies, with alot more HP. But in FFIV's case, you don't always get that kind of balance. Some dungeons are alright, but later in the game there are dungeons where the enemies are pathetically easy and the boss is severely overpowered (ie: The Lodestone Cave). Then you'll have dungeons where the enemies are overpowered, to the point where you'll take the time to level grind thinking the boss is harder, only to find that the boss is a pushover (ie: The Tower of Zot). I don't know if it's because of the way they designed certain battles or what, but this issue was very hard to ignore. And it should definitely be addressed in any future remakes. The challenge was great, but it just needs to be a bit more consistent.

The next thing is actually more my opinion than anything else. I don't think it detracts from the game, but it's something I have to mention. Now, I loved all of the voiced cutscenes. I thought they were really great, and the ending was just as memorable as ever. That said, there are a few cutscenes where I thought being in cinematic mode would have been way more effective. One of those scenes is a scene that I'm sure everyone will agree with me on. The scene where Rydia comes back. It was great to see it in-battle like the original, and it looked really good at the same time, but I think it would've been much better if it was done as a voiced cutscene in this version with the battle then starting anew. That's just my opinion, but I think they could've made that scene one of the coolest in the game if they did that.

Neither of these issues broke the game or ruined the experience, so don't take it the wrong way. I'm just giving you a heads up about them.


So, what else can I say? I really liked the game, and I definitely recommend this one to anyone that doesn't have it. If you've played FFIV before and are looking for a challenge, or if you've never played FFIV and want to see what it's about, I definitely recommend this one. It's a great game, and you'll probably enjoy it like I did.

 

[Mario The World Champion]

You already beat it? Wow. I haven't gotten around to even start it yet. But, I am glad to get this game. Ever since I heard of its release, I've wanted it.

 

[SBaby]

Yeah, there's also an ability called Limit Break that you get from beating the game (it's one of the Augment items), which basically lets you go above 9999 for damage. I remember seeing one guy online that min/maxed the crap out of Kain with Focus and Jump and managed to do 99,999 in a single hit. And that was really impressive, against one of the extra bosses. But the thing is, he had to spend 3 turns using Focus, then he had to Jump, which takes even more time, and during the 3 turns Focusing he had to hope Kain didn't get killed.

Another Augment you get is called Piercing Magic, or as I like to call it, Asura's Bane. Basically I gave it to Rydia, and when an enemy has Reflect cast, you can use that skill to expend more MP and ignore their barrier and do full damage. So it's definitely more about strategy than anything else.

 

[Crimson Majestic]

Are Rydia's summons Reflectable?

In any event, I would have to say this one is way better than the GBA remake, which is the only other FFIV variant I've played.

 

[SBaby]

I don't know if they're reflectable or not, because I got Piercing Magic before I tried any out on the enemies that used Reflect. But I did see Dark Bahamut bounce Mega Flare off himself in the fight against him, so I'm assuming they are.

I also like how they added all the extra storylines for the characters. I won't say too much, but it's like playing a whole new game. You almost won't recognize it.

 

[Datriot]

FFIV is probably my favourite Final Fantasy out of them all and after the FFIII remake on the DS I didn't plan on getting FFIV DS thinking it would destroy the game. But people have been saying a lot of suprisingly good things about it, so I may still get it, I'm 50/50.

The most challenging FF to date? Now I like the sound of that. I know that the two secret dungeons added on the GBA remake aren't in this, but are there any new hidden bosses to take down?

 

[SBaby]

Yes, there are two bosses that can be fought on the second cycle and beyond if you steal the Dark Matter from the last boss (yes, it serves a purpose in this version). There's a boss that causes tons of status effects to your party regularly and you can also fight a variation of the Giant of Babil on the moon.