Besides featuring familiar graphics and music, you'll also get to play as many of the characters from the original. Most of the now-aging characters have several padawans of their own. You'll find that they have similar techniques, but a slightly neutered skill-set. For example, Rydia no longer has the ability to summon, and she lacks many of her high level spells. Characters do have some new abilities, however. They now have the ability to perform combination attacks similar to techs found in Chrono Trigger, and their magic abilities and physical attack power are partially dependent on the current phase of the moon. Camping or staying at inns can alter the state of the moon, so use this to your advantage.
Throughout The After Years, you'll find many familiar scenarios and inside jokes that only FFIV veterans will understand. You'll witness several flashback scenes and references to past events; for example, Yang's wife jokes to his daughter that she won't hit him with a frying pan this time when leaving on a voyage. Fans of the turncoat Kain, will also behold familiar scenarios.
A full review of the first two scenarios has been available for quite some time, but I'll now bring you a complete review of the three episodes released on July 6th. These episodes bring back a few of my favorite characters. One episode lets you play as the karate man, Yang; another has you playing as a cocky black mage named, Palom; and the final episode to this FFIV trifecta has you playing as the dashing ninja, Edge. Each of these episodes is fairly brief, so I'll write a mini-review for each one.
Yang's Tale
During the seven years since the end of FFIV, Yang had become king of Fabul, and had a baby with his wife, Sheila. His daughter, Ursula, was a tomboy who wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father. She desired to become a strong warrior, but Yang wanted her to become a properly lady. He didn't seem against training her, but Yang was concerned that she only desired power. After asking her father to train her, Ursula runs off to Mt. Hobs after he refuses, which is where Cecil met Yang in Final Fantasy IV. Yang and his gang of monks decide to rush after her, and the adventure commences.
Much of what takes place on Mt. Hobs is similar to what occurs in the original, but Yang's adventure then takes you to other places. Yang travels to two entirely new destinations, but much of his adventure will feel vaguely familiar. Thankfully, his journey isn't too difficult, and there is a nice balance of story and gameplay. You won't find yourself gaining fifteen levels here, unlike Rydia's absurd quest. The new dungeons are nothing special, but at least they're not simply caves like some of the new dungeons in other episodes.
Yang's adventure doesn't bring much new to the table, but it is one of the better episodes of The After Years. The new characters didn't have much of an impact on me, but some of the familiar events and great dialogue provided for some nostalgia. It's a shame that Yang doesn't say, "ACHOOO," like in the horribly mistranslated FFIV (FFII SNES version), but there are still some humorous moments. If you wish Yang had died in the Tower of Babil, you might not want to experience this one hour and forty minute adventure, but otherwise, I'd say it's worth the 300 points.
Score: 7.5
Palom's Tale
The girl he is supposed to train, Leonora, clearly isn't interested in being a mere Epopt; she desires to become a great sage, and Palom quickly catches on to this. Leonora seems quite shy and lacks confidence in her abilities, and Palom is quick to criticize her self-doubt and lack of motivation. He takes her through a new dungeon--a tower south of Troia, where she has to pass a test in order to become an Epopt. This tower is quite lengthy, with a test on almost every floor. Thankfully, it's a breeze for the most part due to Palom's repertoire of black magic and the prevalence of healing pots in this multi-storied dungeon.
Once you return to Troia, you quickly learn that the world is under assault by a mysterious assailant like in the other quests. As a result, you're entrusted with the safe-keeping of the Earth Crystal, and anyone who's played FFIV should be able to guess what happens next (hint: there's a familiar dungeon nearby).
Palom is a bit snarky for my tastes, but I still had some fun with his two hour quest. The final dungeon bored me, as I'd already been there in FFIV, but overall, a decent time was had. Just make sure to save regularly, because the final boss can be brutal if you're not prepared. By the end of the episode, The After Years' story finally seemed to be progressing, and I'm happy to report that there was no ridiculous cliffhanger as in Yang's episode. If you have an innate talent for magic and/or admire snarky black mages, this episode is probably worth your while.
Score: 7.0
Edge's Tale
Each of these ninja missions are dungeon crawls, but the game seems to progress regardless of whether or not you finish them. Being a ninja has its benefits, as you're often able to easily escape from battle. However, for some ninja missions, such as the one in Troia, you won't want to escape from battles, because a powerful boss lurks at the top. For that mission, and the one in the underworld, you'll want to level up your characters. During the other missions, you can feel free to flee from battle as often as you'd like, due to their easy nature. What I found interesting about these missions is that one even gives you a gameplay choice where a character's life can be sacrificed.
Finally, after completing all of these missions, Edge will decide to investigate the Tower of Babil himself. He'll later be joined by his crew of ninjas who will team up to assault the tower's merciless baddies. You won't encounter Ruibcante this time (or will you?), but you'll witness some familiar events, and will be saved by pure luck.
Edge's quest is an interesting addition to The After Years' library. It's nice being able to travel to a variety of locations in one episode, but sadly, you've been to most of these locales before. At least the villagers have new dialogue this time. If you don't mind fighting (or running) from battles, Edge's episode is worth a play-through. Edge is one of my favorite characters (personality and appearance-wise), and he generally lives up to his name (although he's not quite as funny as in the original). If you don't mind retreading familiar ground for two hours, gather some shurikens and get ready to hurl ninja stars.
Score: 7.5
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