Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV

Square-Enix, creator of the role-playing game series everyone either loves-to-love or loves-to-hate has been steadily remaking the earliest Final Fantasy games for a modern audience.

Last year’s Nintendo DS update of the third game in the series - originally released for the NES some eighteen years ago - saw the tiny 8-bit sprites popped into 3D and the simplistic gameplay given a substantial overhaul. A good-looking game, the makeover couldn’t quite obscure its somewhat stale insides and the tough difficulty put off all but the staunchest series fan. With their next update, Final Fantasy IV, Square-Enix is seeking to build on the earlier game’s template, employing a very similar cutesy 3D look. Except, this time they benefit from far stronger source material as the original Final Fantasy IV is widely regarded as one of the best RPG titles of the Super Nintendo era.

The story focuses on Kain a knight of the realm, who at the start of the game, returns to his king’s castle to deliver the spoils of an invasion. The game’s themes are surprisingly mature, as Kain is soon caught between serving his kingdom or his conscience, which has been challenged by his king’s out of character behaviour of late. When the king catches wind of Kain’s dilemma, he summarily throws him out of his kingdom dismissed and disgraced, with one final and deadly mission to carry out. Touching on themes of loyalty, revenge and forgiveness, Final Fantasy IV’s story is a dramatic triumph, and with all new voice acting in this remake it promises to come to life like never before.

The game’s mechanics follow the well-established Japanese RPG formula. A narrative cutscene is followed by a period of exploration which is, in turn, interrupted by random fights with monsters. Progression through an area is usually concluded by a battle with a final, a more substantial enemy whose defeat triggers the next narrative interlude. Along the way your team of characters earn experience points for winning battles which are used to upgrade their abilities. Final Fantasy IV’s battle system has been updated in this remake, with fights now playing out in real time meaning that menus must be negotiated and decisions made as quickly as possible.

The remake also makes use of the DS’ unique functions. For example dungeons must now be mapped on the bottom screen and, when you’ve explored every nook and cranny, you earn bonus items (a generous gift considering the game’s steep difficulty). Likewise, a summon monster that can be called into battle by one of your characters must be trained up for battle through minigames and you can even draw its face on using the stylus.

While Final fantasy IV has enjoyed a number of aesthetic and mechanical tweaks, it seems unlikely that it will convince RPG haters otherwise. But for fans of the series as well as the genre, the remake promises the chance to revisit a classic.