I have to be perfectly honest and open up front, and like I said in my preview I’ve not played many Final Fantasy games. I started with Final Fantasy VII, but haven’t played anything before that. So this review is coming from someone who hasn’t played the original Final Fantasy IV. I can say that I’ve played many RPGs in the past and this one ranks near the top in terms of games I’ve enjoyed.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years opens up with the main character, Ceodore, following in his father’s footsteps. He is embarking on his journey to join the Knights of the Red Wings, the elite fighting force of the Kingdom of Baron. His father is King Cecil, a paladin, and his mother is Rosa, a white mage; they are also the heroes of Final Fantasy IV. The game takes place 17 years after the events of the first game. Once his quest to join the knights is completed the second moon which has been gone for the past 17 years suddenly reappears and the kingdom is invaded by hordes of monsters. Ceodore must defend himself and return to his home to aid in its defense. Along the way he is met by a mysterious “hooded man” who offers to join him on his trip. Other adventures that take place during this initial chapter of the game involve Cecil, Rosa and the engineer Cid, as well as the mysterious dragoon Kain who wants to have a meeting with Cecil. All of these different adventures tie together in a web of intrigue to discover why the second moon has returned, who is the mysterious woman behind it and why does Kain need to see Cecil as quickly as possible.
Many elements of the original release were to become staples of the role playing genre, and they return in this game with some new updates. The Active Time Battle System is the one you will encounter most often. Each character has a bar that fills up and once full they may perform an action. That can be to attack, cast magic, use items, or “band” together with another character. You can customize this a bit to your liking. You have to ability to have the game wait until you’ve decided a characters action or continue to run in real time. There is also the option of speeding up or slowing down the speed that these bars move so you have more time to choose what each character does. The banding attacks are powerful combo attacks between 2 or more characters that can be used to deal massive damage to a single enemy or even groups of enemies. They are extremely powerful, but require a small amount of MP, or magic points, to activate. A few of these banding attacks will be given to you throughout the story, but you can also try different combinations of characters to discover other ones on your own. One element of the game that will become increasingly frustrating is the random encounters. These encounters happen very frequently and can interrupt the Gameplay somewhat. In order to survive for extended periods of time you need to make strategic use of all the special attacks you have available to you, and learn each monsters weakness in order exploit them to help speed combat along.
Another new element to the game is the moon phase system. This will cause different aspects of each character to become stronger or weaker based on the phase of the moon you are in. This will change at various intervals, but can be changed at will by pitching a tent at specific locations throughout the world. For instance, during a waxing or waning moon attack power is increased while during a full moon magic abilities are increased. Learning this and how it affects your character will be very beneficial in boss fights. There is also the ability for up to three friends to join in the action and take control of characters during battles. This is an interesting addition, but unless you and all your friends can keep up with the frantic pace of battles it may cause fights outside the in game battles as well.
One aspect of the game that is wonderful, and expected in Square Enix games, is the visuals. The After Years uses the same art style as the original SNES release. The environments are gorgeous; character sprites are vibrant and very animated. Spell effects sparkle and shine; there are a wide variety of these as well. The only downside to the visuals is that environments are reused throughout the game. If you’ve been in one cave, you’ve been in every cave in the game. The layouts may be different, but the look and feel is always the same. This is a small gripe and does not affect the overall feel of the game. Square Enix also knows how to compose music. The upbeat battle theme is a nice contrast to many of the slower, more moody melodies you’ll encounter.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Yearsis broken up into a number of chapters. The first chapter is available for 800 points. Overall, the story is broken up into nine separate stories. The first and the last, which will be available in September, are the only required elements if you want to get the full experience of the main story. Also available now is the first of seven Character Stories, Rydia’s Tale. These will be available in the first weeks of July and August in groups of three. Each Character Story will cost 300 Nintendo Points, but are optional side stories that detail the events that happen to many of the characters you will encounter through the game. They are not necessary to the understanding of the main story. The main story will run you between four and five hours, each of the side stories should take around two hours to complete. All together if you purchase all the available content it will run 3700 Nintendo Points.
For fans of Final Fantasy IV this is a welcome continuation of many peoples favorite game in the series. If you’re new to the series it may feel awkward trying to get into the story. It’s probably helpful to know the history of these characters, but not necessary to follow the story. It’s well worth the price for a quality title in a storied franchise. The only real problem with this release is that once you’ve really gotten into the story and are starting to wonder exactly where things are going the credits roll and you have to wait a bit to find out the rest of the tale. The episodic nature of the game means you’re going to get the experience that you want to have, and it’s an experience that many people would and should enjoy.
Final Score: 4/5
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