Xbox 360
The latest game in the ever increasing list of Square Enix back catalogue titles to be dusted off and given the DS treatment, Final Fantasy IV is an updated version of a game first released on the Super Famicom in Japan all the back in 1991.
Although the original was never released in Europe, ports to both the Playstation and the Gameboy Advance were made over the years. The new version is an "enhanced" update, featuring both voice acting (which is entirely new for this version) and all new cut scenes.
At it's heart, Final Fantasy IV is a typical Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG). Indeed the original set down many of the foundations which would become staples of the genre. The player takes control of the main character, in this case Cecil the Dark Knight and captain of the Red Wings (here an airship fleet rather than an ice hockey team), who sets off on a series of increasingly epic adventures to get the girl, kill the baddie and save the entire planet. In doing so, Cecil gathers around him a group of various characters, each with unique classes and abilities. During the course of the game, these companions transform from novices scared of their own shadows, to globe spanning titans of immense power.
The fight system will be instantly familiar to anyone who has ever played a Final Fantasy game, based as it is around random encounters and an active time battle system (which means that once in a fight, each character has a gauge which slowly builds until an action such as attacking or casting a spell can be chosen).
Indeed much of the game will be familiar to fans of the role playing genre, from the world map exploration to the dungeon crawling, and what this game basically offers is a nostalgia laced trip to old school gamingville. This is a classic JRPG in every sense, complete with a taxing difficulty level which may scare off the faint at heart. Those who persevere will however be rewarded with an outstanding gaming experience.
The updated visuals are both lush and impressive, giving added depth and detail to the original, and pushing the boundaries for a 3D game on the DS. These, combined with the excellent score by Nobuo Uematsu retained from the original game, make for a game both pleasing to the eye and ear.
One slight word of caution: ironically, one of the main strengths of Final Fantasy IV—its engaging and complex storyline—is perhaps oddly also ones of its main flaws in this iteration. It is much harder to follow the storyline in the snatched half hour chunks common to most sessions spent with the DS than it ever was when sitting down in front of a console for hours on end. However, other than this minor quibble, and the rather lacklustre voice acting, there is very little wrong with this top quality remake.