Greetings fellow FFIV fans!

#1 Posted by Philosoma (110 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Hey guys, I'm Philosoma and Final Fantasy IV is my favorite game of all time. It is the only game that I have beaten over 50 times on multiple platforms. It has influenced my life in so many ways that I begin to think that I'm really going overboard in terms of being a fan. I have every single release of FF4/FF2 (NA and Japan), most of the guidebooks, the new FF4 DS figurines, and advertisement posters. I have cell art that has yet to be signed by members of the development team and Yoshitaka Amano and I'm hoping to get a chance this year at the Square Enix event if I can make it down to Tokyo. Living in Japan has really opened my eyes to how popular this game really is - I was blown away when I heard Theme of Love being played in JUSCO. Final Fantasy IV is what made me want to become a translator and artist - because of Ted Woolsey's wild translation and Amano's incredible artwork. My dream is to get into the localization department of Square Enix while doing comics on the side.

As for FF4 here on Giant Bomb - I'm extremely devoted to it. Today, I added Cecil, Rosa, Kain, Edge, and Rydia to the site's character section and I'm going to add everyone else as I go along. I work full time so when it's 5:00pm here it's probably early in the morning whereever you guys are at, so I may or may not be prompt when discussing additions or changes.

FF4 Forever!

Thanks guys, please add me to your friendlist!

Philosoma

#2 Posted by Hamz (6842 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

FF7>all other FF games in my opinion, nothing beats the awesome that FF7 was!

#3 Posted by Joker (675 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Sadly I do not agree, as I think Final Fantasy 3(4 in Japan) on the SNES is the best Final Fantasy game ever. 7 takes a close 2nd though, but nothing will ever wow me like 3 did.

#4 Posted by Rex (82 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Final Fantasy IV is definitely my favorite game in the series, and arguably the breakthrough entry in the series. I think it was the most important game in the series, as it was responsible for introducing the standard gameplay mechanics (ATB) and excellent storytelling the series is known for today. It's definitely one of the most influential Japanese Role Playing Games of all time. The gameplay was revolutionary, the storyline was outstanding and so were the characters. It's one of those games I wish I could experience it for the first time again. I've never played an RPG since that could top its quality.

#5 Posted by Philosoma (110 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Joker said:

"Sadly I do not agree, as I think Final Fantasy 3(4 in Japan) on the SNES is the best Final Fantasy game ever. 7 takes a close 2nd though, but nothing will ever wow me like 3 did.
"

Final Fantasy III was an awesome game! (It was FF6 in Japan) In terms of technicality, FF6 was such an incredible feat on the SNES. However, due to my nostalgia with FF4, it is what I consider the best one - it really laid the tracks for almost every proceeding FF game and yet by today's standard it is kind of like the oldest of the old school. I really hope, and I actually kind of know that they are going to remake FF6 and FF7, which will be kickass days in gaming for sure.

Ok, as for our FF4 page, I added a few things. I hope that people like it - I didn't want to go overboard on details and plot analysis and all of that stuff just yet because the game just recently came out for DS and I think that a new generation of players will get to experience it for the first time so I figured it was better to not spoil anything.

I'll add more details and add more characters tomorrow after work for sure.

-Philosoma

#6 Posted by maxx77 (72 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Keep up the good work Philosoma. I made some really minor edits to it yesterday. May make some more today if I can think of anything else to add.

I feel that FFVI was the best one in the series, but I've always loved FFIV. I like them nearly the same. I can't wait for the DS remake. I haven't really enjoyed very many Final Fantasy's since VI. VII did nothing for me. Way too easy. I think they kept getting easier with each sequel. FFIV though, that one had a really great challenge to it, and the version I played was dumbed down from the original Japanese one!

Little off topic, but are any old school FF fans into Lost Odyssey? I'm 56 hours into it right now. Just last night I was pondering how similar it is to the old Final Fantasy games. Will be interesting to see how FFXIII compares.

#7 Posted by LightYagami245 (1117 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Hamz said:

"FF7>all other FF games in my opinion, nothing beats the awesome that FF7 was!
"

And FF6 > FF4 > FF7 in my opinion.

Final Fantasy 4 is a great game. As for FFs go, it's my second favorite(trailing behind FF6). This might sound cliche, but Cecil is my favorite character. He had many problems, but eventually turned to the light and became even stronger. Kain is a close second though. Keep updating the FFIV page.

#8 Posted by suneku (2997 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

4 was definitely great. But I liked 6 and 7 better... though 4 is close behind for me

#9 Posted by LOLhahaDEAD (1 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

I played through the GBA version once, but I'm planning to spend a truckload of time with the DS version.

#10 Posted by Lombax (105 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

I have never played IV, and I am hoping to pick it up after I leave the office. what are your over all impression of the game what do you like? what do you hate?

#11 Posted by Philosoma (110 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Lombax said:

"I have never played IV, and I am hoping to pick it up after I leave the office. what are your over all impression of the game what do you like? what do you hate? "

Hey Lombax - keep in mind that the game is a prettied up version of it's 1991 self. It may seem a little dated but here's what I consider to be pros and cons of the new DS version.

Pros - CGI cinematics, and voice acted cutscenes help flesh out the characters. New abilities allow you to customize your characters (ie. Yang gives you an "Auto-Counter" ability taht you can allocate to any character). There are some new quests that give very good rewards and the New Game+ function gives you an opportunity to make super characters so you can beat the secret bosses. They also added a lot of hidden armor and weapons into the game and tweaked the difficulty to the hardest it has ever been. You'll spend 20-40 hours on it for sure.

Cons - They didn't add the exra stuff from the GBA version (no way to get Yang/Palom/Cid/etc. back on your team) . The difficulty is very inconsistant, so it leaves you to grind levels so that you can kill a boss that was much harder than the area it was in. The English voice acting doesn't match the Japanese version in that - 1. The quality of the actors is not as good. 2. It is a little censored - in Japanese games/anime it's very common to swear and they almost never censor it.

Lastly, I don't know if this is a con, but Golbez removes his armor at the end of the game. I liked seeing him, but it felt better not knowing what he looked like.

Hope that helps Lombax, enjoy a great game!

maxx77 said:

"Keep up the good work Philosoma. I made some really minor edits to it yesterday. May make some more today if I can think of anything else to add.

I feel that FFVI was the best one in the series, but I've always loved FFIV. I like them nearly the same. I can't wait for the DS remake. I haven't really enjoyed very many Final Fantasy's since VI. VII did nothing for me. Way too easy. I think they kept getting easier with each sequel. FFIV though, that one had a really great challenge to it, and the version I played was dumbed down from the original Japanese one!

Little off topic, but are any old school FF fans into Lost Odyssey? I'm 56 hours into it right now. Just last night I was pondering how similar it is to the old Final Fantasy games. Will be interesting to see how FFXIII compares.
"

Thanks Maxx! Yeah I really want to play Lost Oddyseey, but the English version will not work on my Japanese Xbox, so when I get back to States, I'll definitely pick it up. I was a bit hesistant to try it out but I'll take your word for it man.

-Philosoma

#12 Posted by SonicFire (815 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

I am playing this re-make now, and it's just awesome.

#13 Posted by fenixREVOLUTION (731 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

I'll be picking up the remake for the DS this weekend to play.

But, in my opinion FF IX is the best of the franchise.

#14 Posted by Moridin (697 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

I wouldn't say FFIV is my favorite game of all time, but it is definitely my favorite Final Fantasy game of all time. Can't wait to pick up my copy of FFIV DS tonight!

#15 Posted by Rex (82 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

maxx77 said:

Little off topic, but are any old school FF fans into Lost Odyssey? I'm 56 hours into it right now. Just last night I was pondering how similar it is to the old Final Fantasy games. Will be interesting to see how FFXIII compares.

To be honest, Lost Odyssey reminds me a lot of both old Final Fantasy and current Dragon Quest games. Its battle system is very similar to pre-ATB system Final Fantasies, and DQ titles today, in which everything is based on inputting commands for everyone and then attacking in terms of speed. The job system from Final Fantasy is obviously brought over as well, with certain characters learning abilities that are based on specific classes. The ring creation system feels like a more simplified version of Dragon Quest VIII's alchemy system, as well.

All in all, Lost Odyssey definitely felt very similar to old Final Fantasy games in my experience. In fact the only major differences to those titles comes in the form of the ring system I'd say. The way battles play out, as well as the distinct character classes are very much old-school Final Fantasy fare.

#16 Posted by Philosoma (110 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Wow, Lost Odyssey is sounding better and better. I gotta buy that for sure.

#17 Posted by maxx77 (72 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

@Rex, Yeah, now that you mention it, I do see the similarity to DQVIII. The crafting aspect to the rings was similar.

@Philosoma, You'll definitely like LO if you love FFIV. It was made by Sakaguchi and Uematsu, so the FF vibe should ring clear right away. The only thing a little offsetting is the character design. Some people really didn't like that. I happen to love it (everyone is very expressive, and Seth is awesome), but I can see why some people are turned off by that.

All in all though, it's like a classic FF game made new. Like Rex said, there are aspects in common with past FF games. I'll also throw in that the skill system is similar the way you could equip special abilities on your characters in FFVI. In a nod to the old FF games (at least I assume it's a nod and not the result of lack of imagination), several people have names similar to ones we're familiar with... Kaim, Sed... there's even two kids, siblings, who will remind you of a certain pair of siblings from FFIV...

#18 Posted by SonicFire (815 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

I'd have to agree, Lost Odyssey will probably be right up your alley.

Back on topic, I am working through FFIV now, and I really can't believe how difficult this version is. I never remember dying on the original version, but even though I tend to power-level quite a bit I still get my tail handed to me on almost every boss..

#19 Posted by Zoidberg (175 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

Final Fantasy IV is my favorite Final fantasy. Probably because it was my first.

FFVI is a close second, though.

#20 Posted by MagusMaleficus (1006 posts) - 4 years, 9 months ago

FF VI s my favorite, but IV is pretty damn close. Kain is the shite.

Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy IV is a critically acclaimed RPG in the Final Fantasy series and one of the first of its kind to tell a heavily character-driven story. It also created the Active Time Battle system.

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