The usual disclaimer applies; if Square-Enix or any of its affiliates feel that my usage of this picture of FFIVDS's box art is in violation of their copywright or any other rights, they can feel free to contact me with a cease and desist notification, which I will immediately comply with.I haven't done a video game review in quite some time. Or at least what feels like quite some time; God of War: Chains of Olympus certainly seems ages ago. Regardless, here's my review of a fairly new game, and one for the DS rather than the PSP: Final Fantasy IV.
As my reader(s) who know the history of the Final Fantasy franchise at all will be aware of, this is actually, unless I'm mistaken, the fourth version of Final Fantasy IV to be released Stateside. Originally billed as Final Fantasy II due to Square-Enix's decision not to release the actual Final Fantasy II or III outside of Japan, IV also saw Playstation and Game Boy Advance releases, with the GBA version adding extra features.
FFIVDS, on the other hand, is a fully-fledged, from-the-ground-up remake of the classic game, and is, in my opinion, easily the best version released so far, and while it might not be the best game that has been released on the DS, it's still probably the best RPG, a solid game with enough content and replay value to keep you busy for, well, probably more hours than you should be investing in a video game. (Then again, I've no room to talk-- my Monster Hunter Freedom 2 save file is approaching 200 hours. I am simultaneously proud and ashamed of this.)
Plotwise, the game is fairly similar to its previous itenerations. You take on the role of the dark knight Cecil, disgraced captain of the Red Wings, the airship fleet of the kingdom of Baron. The king, whose usual, peaceful ambitions have suddenly become greedy and heartless, has been sending Cecil out to bomb the world's other kingdoms and steal their elemental crystals. When Cecil finally confronts the king, he's demoted and sent out of Baron to deliver a package to a nearby town with his friend and companion, the dragoon Kain. What follows is an epic quest spanning multiple continents, which follows Cecil and his companions as they attempt to save their world from an increasingly-growing threat.
It's stated on Wikipedia that over 75% of the game's original script was left out of the SNES outing, and much of the script, including several new scenes, has been added in for the DS version. While the new bits of plot will certainly have series fans drooling, I daresay most will find that the game's story hasn't aged well. While I certainly didn't have trouble following the game's plot, I've always thought of FFIV as being one of the less exciting games in terms of what actually happens during the story, especially when compared with many of the Playstation Final Fantasy titles.
Fortunately, however, the development team has added plenty of things to keep the player motivated. My personal favorite, in terms of new additions, is the dungeon map system. Essentially, the bottom screen is used to display a map of wherever you are, and in the case of dungeons and caves, the map starts off blank. As you travel through it, it fills itself in, and once you've filled it in completely, you get a reward-- usually five of a recovery item, like potions or phoenix downs, though occasionally weapons or armor are also handed out. In previous versions of Final Fantasy IV, dungeon crawling was always a morale-draining, unmotivating experience, but the map system really helps me in that regard; not only do I now have a goal in each room, but I also know where the heck I'm going.
Another new feature is the augment system. Augments are essentially abilities that can be taught to the party member of your choice (think TMs and HMs from the Pokemon series). If one of your companions leaves your party, you're given a varying number of their augments, depending on how many you gave them, up to three. While I like the new system because I feel that it adds strategy and depth to a combat system that otherwise isn't as sophisticated as many of the systems featured in the game's sequels, I find that I'm often unwilling to teach certain abilities to certain characters for two reasons: if it's an ability I really like, I don't want to lose it; and I generally have no idea what abilities I'm going to get in return for teaching one of my departing party members a new ability.
A nice, aesthetic touch are the new, voice-acted cutscenes. The voice actors are actually pretty okay; they're not exactly incredible but they're certainly better than plenty of other RPG casts, and the cutscenes themselves definitely make the plot more interesting. Speaking also in terms of sound, the sound effects and music are both quite good; the effects are reminiscent of the SNES version but still updated in their own right, and the music, composed by series regular Nobuo Uematsu, is a showcase of some of his most memorable work.
Graphically, the game is very similar to the DS remake of Final Fantasy III, which makes sense because it's been done by the same development team using (I believe) the same engine. This is both a good and bad thing: while the graphics are well-done, they're also quite simple, and might be a turn-off to someone expecting, say, the incredible attention to detail of a Castlevania title, or the raw graphical prowess of a PSP game.
While I'm conflicted about some of the new things about IV DS, they did build the game on a solid, well-crafted skeleton. FFIV is a beloved title in the Final Fantasy series for a reason, and the game will certainly be enjoyed by old hats and newcomers alike.
The Rundown
Plot: 6/10. The new cutscenes and voice acting really help breathe life into the otherwise-dry story.
Gameplay: 9/10. The simple battle system is helped along with some new features and a few changes.
Graphics: 8/10. Simplistic, but well-done. I like the new character designs.
Sound: 10/10. Sound effects are updated but still pleasingly retro, and Uematsu's score is as good now as it's ever been.
Overall: 8.25/10. A solid, entertaining DS outing that will appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, FFIVDS shouldn't be missed.
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2 comments:
It's cool to hear that the game's fun, but yeah, gotta say that I'm not too fond of the graphic style they used for this one.
The chibi graphics style worked great for Final Fantasy III partly because of the homage to the graphics of the old games, but mostly because the character personalities didn't matter in the original game, so Square could pretty much do anything they wanted with them style wise as long as we got our class system.
This does NOT work for Final Fantasy IV because of the clear images of the characters the original game evoked. Cecil is supposed to be an awesome looking knight with a tragic past. I get turned off whenever I see screens of him in the DS remake and he just looks like a sad midget baby. Especially when I look at scenes with voice acting, and then he's a sad midget baby with a deep, soulful voice.
I always thought everyone looked like a dwarf in the first one, so for me, the graphics are a step up. I can relate to everyone more, if only a little.
That said, something a bit less 'chibi' would certainly have been nice, and they'd better not stick with this style if the same devteam does a FFVI remake.
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