Final Fantasy IV Review. Fantastic Four

My year of Final Fantasy continues with my fourth FF game completed. Fittingly it’s Final Fantasy IV. Much like the previous game I completed, I had unfinished business with this game. Now after ten years since first getting my hands on it, here are my thoughts on the game that launched the Final Fantasy Renaissance in the 90’s.

First a quick premise of the game.

Cecil Harvey, a Dark Knight in the service of the Kingdom of Baron, begins to question the brutal actions he is commanded to commit by his king. He is stripped of his rank and standing in the kingdom and ordered to another mission with his best friend Kain Highwind. During the mission, the two watch in horror as a boobytrap spell, inside a ring that they are given, causes the destruction of a village. Realizing it was the machination of the king, Cecil deserts. He then vows to stop his former kingdom’s quest for world supremacy, setting him on a path of redemption.

Final Fantasy IV has one of, if not, the most character driven story in the franchise. It’s a result of the change of focus in direction to tell deep and dramatic storytelling which would be a blueprint for future games.

Cecil is the undisputed focal point of the narrative. Cecil starts out as a man pulled down by the weight of his sins, yet still loyal to an increasingly brutal king out of obligation and his own sentimental nature. However, after the key moment Cecil changes, turning into a steadfast individual driven by his desire to undo his wrongs and protect the innocent.

His redemption reaches a symbolic climax as he transforms from Dark Knight, a class known for violence, to Paladin, an embodiment of his will to protect and save.

Cecil makes for one of the most likeable protagonists in Final Fantasy. His redemption story is one of the greatest I have ever seen. Right from the start the light inside his dark armor is evident, and the moment when he changes to Paladin is uplifting. Personality wise he falls into the Neutral Good alignment, fully dedicated to helping others and casting off any blind loyalties he may have.

While the story is centered on Cecil, the supporting cast is also full of memorable characters. Most prominent are the two other points of the story’s love triangle, Kain Highwind and Rosa Farrell.

The most famous Dragoon in Final Fantasy, Kain, good and bad, is a complicated character. On the surface, he is a deathly loyal friend with a stern look and attitude. Underneath, is a man locking down his envy of Cecil and Rosa’s relationship. His hidden feelings make Kain vulnerable to mind manipulation and control, blinded by them. It puts him in thee unfortunate position of being Final Fantasy’s greatest traitor. Yet he seeks redemption for his actions as the story progresses. Kain is hard to love, and equally just as hard to hate. I found him somewhere in the middle. He’s a flawed character by intention, so it’s hard to criticize his role.

Rosa, a dual class Archer/White Mage, is Cecil’s lover. Before his redemption, she acts as the one shining light in his life. And as the story progresses, Rosa continues to be one of his pillars to stand on. Gentle, kind, and forgiving, Rosa is a sweetheart of a character and her romance with Cecil is heartwarming.

One other character highlight I want to get to is Rydia. The franchise’s first canonical Summoner, Rydia is the key to Cecil’s path to redemption. Initially refusing his help after the destruction of her village, she joins Cecil after he refuses to surrender her to his former soldiers and subsequently starts his quest. Initially a scared and confused little girl, Rydia develops a resolute maturity, overcoming her grief. She also undergoes one of the more unique developments for a character, ageing rapidly by virtue of a different dimension. By virtue of her magic abilities and in-game growth, Rydia is the most powerful party member. On a personal note, she’s my favorite character in the game. Her role, and unique growth standout.

While I would normally talk about the main antagonist, it would spoil much of the game’s plot if I did. For the most part, the game’s main villain works from behind the scenes. Their only appearance comes at the very end of the game. As such there isn’t much to say about them aside from how underwhelming they are.

Alternatively the most prominent antagonist, Golbez, is iconic. He;s dressed in an intimidating suit of armor and is a powerful adversary, in magic and strength. Golbez constantly seems one or two steps ahead of the party through the story and is command of powerful monsters and demons. Without spoiling it, he also stands as one of the most complex antagonists I’ve ever seen, standing out as a unique and memorable character.

As great as FFIV’s characters are, they do feel a little underdeveloped and not as deep as they could have. A lot of that can be attributed to the story being centered entirely on Cecil. It did feel problematic at points when characters would frequently leave the party, leaving some of their actions and growth off screen. There was just a little more needed for every character that wasn’t there.

Gameplay wise, Final Fantasy IV introduces the Active Time Battle System which would be a staple for the franchise for years to come. For those unfamiliar, the ATB System involves a timer for every character (and enemy) to act based on their individual speed stats. It allows for fast paced, real time flow for combat. FFIV is the very first roleplaying video game to implement the system, making it historically significant.

I had a lot of fun with the Active Time Battle System, something I had trouble with a decade ago when I first played the game and in Final Fantasy VII. But after getting the hang of it with Final Fantasy VI, and seeing how the battle system was before FFIV in Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II, I’ve come to appreciate how well the ATB System flows. FFIV’s implementation is admittedly a little rough, understandable with it being the first to use it. But that doesn’t keep it from being fun.

Graphics wise, I played the Pixel Remaster version, which is an absolutely beautiful render of a game three decades old. I love the faithful modernization of the original graphics.

Music wise, like most Final Fantasy games FFIV has a great soundtrack. Although I will note, there were some tracks I wasn’t as impressed with as I wanted. Nonetheless, it was solid as usual.

I will acknowledge a few flaws. The game doesn’t have much outside of the main quest, especially versions based on the original such as the Pixel Remaster. I wouldn’t go so far to call the game linear, but it did feel like there wasn’t as much side content as I would have preferred.

Also, as stated it was bothersome that there was such a frequent rotation of characters for the party. Aside from my gripe of low development and screen time, another complaint I have with this is how some… less-than-fun characters are forced into the party (-cough cough- Edward). It proved to be disruptive at times and in some cases where fun characters were in the party, they would be forced out at inconvenient and unfortunate times. There are a total of twelve playable characters, which honestly could have been cut down to, at worst, eight. In versions based on the original, there is no way to change out Party members manually, which locks them out for the rest of the game.

The game that started the Renaissance Era of Final Fantasy that lasted 90’s to the early 00’s is a great experience. One that was a landmark for the franchise and roleplaying games in general. Took me a full decade to complete it, but some good things take time to get done.

RATING: 8/10