Do you consider this game easy or hard?

[Wolf Kanno]

Fair question, when you played this game did you consider it difficult or pretty easy. For me it depends on the version. The original NES version is pretty brutal due to a poorly defined equipment set-up, really cheap enemies, and long winded dungeons that get longer as you get further in. Granted I find the game gets easier towards the end but the first few hours can be pretty infuriating. The PS1 remake and the PSP version were both pretty easy in comparison.

[Ayen]

It was hard at first until I got used to it. I only played the PS One version, though. There was an option to play the game on its original difficulty setting that I never tried.

[Sefie1999AD]

The NES, WSC and PSX (Normal) versions were quite hard, although I finished them so many times that they don't feel so hard anymore, except for that dreadful Ice Cave. :p The PSX (Easy) version was easy, though, and the GBA, PSP and mobile phone versions feel even easier.

[metagloria]

Any of the newer ones on Easy mode are laughably easy. But the original NES version is one of the more difficult in the series, if not the most difficult. Oddly enough, though, I think the latter parts of the game are much harder than the early parts.

[VeloZer0]

The original/Origins version I would rate as hard. The remakes I would rate as easy on my general RPG difficulty scale, but if we look at the last half of the FF series I think I have to go with normal.

[Pumpkin]

I'd say it was difficult

[Sephiroth]

The NES version yes but Final Fantasy IV DS with its weird counter moves and instant KOs is harder. Babil Core's Laserattack as a common and quick battle opener, what . the . heck.

[Ayen]

Oddly enough, though, I think the latter parts of the game are much harder than the early parts.

How is that odd? Games normally get harder the further into it you get.

[metagloria]

Oddly enough, though, I think the latter parts of the game are much harder than the early parts.

How is that odd? Games normally get harder the further into it you get.
I was remarking on Wolf's original comment...


Granted I find the game gets easier towards the end but the first few hours can be pretty infuriating.

A lot of people seem to loathe the Marsh Cave, Earth Cave, and Ice Cave. But I always struggled way more with the Mirage Tower, Floating Castle, and Temple of Chaos.

[Ayen]

Oddly enough, though, I think the latter parts of the game are much harder than the early parts.

How is that odd? Games normally get harder the further into it you get.
I was remarking on Wolf's original comment...

Whoops. What he said slipped my mind there for a second.

[Colonel Angus]

It took me a long time to beat the Marsh Cave on the NES. I believe I owned the game for ~4 years before that happened. Everything after was a cakewalk.

Overall, the game seemed more difficult on the front end. After you beat the Ice Cavern, it's not so bad, especially when you get weapons/armor that you can use as magical items.

BTW, has anyone ever beaten the Ice Cavern before Gurgu Volcano? I did it on my last playthrough for the first time. I wonder if it's possible to beat Kraken & Tiamat before facing off against Kary?

[metagloria]

It took me a long time to beat the Marsh Cave on the NES. I believe I owned the game for ~4 years before that happened. Everything after was a cakewalk.

Overall, the game seemed more difficult on the front end. After you beat the Ice Cavern, it's not so bad, especially when you get weapons/armor that you can use as magical items.

BTW, has anyone ever beaten the Ice Cavern before Gurgu Volcano? I did it on my last playthrough for the first time. I wonder if it's possible to beat Kraken & Tiamat before facing off against Kary?
It is. I never realized this as a kid, and when I did it was like o_O

It's also possible to do the Castle of Ordeal as soon as you get the canoe, but it's silly to do so because you can't turn in the Rat Tail until you have the airship.

[Sefie1999AD]

The problem with the Marsh Cave is that you'll need so much leveling up to afford all the equipment and spells needed to survive that place, and all that leveling up can take a while on NES and other versions where the difficulty hasn't been toned down. Fortunately, there's the Finger Point NE of Pravoka, just waiting to be exploited. :D

I always beat Ice Cave before Gurgu Volcano, just so that I can get to the volcano with the airship and avoid another canoe maze. This is the order I've done the quests on my last few games: 1) Castle of Ordeals. It's easier than the Ice Cave, and Dragon Zombies are great for leveling up for the Ice Cave (and the rest of the game). 2) Ice Cave. This was the hardest dungeon for me since at any time you can get ambushed by 9 Sorcerers who can paralyze and insta-kill your party, or 3 Mages who cast Firaga and Bane to kill you before you get a single turn. After this dungeon, I get the airship and change classes. 3) Gurgu Volcano. I'm probably overleveled for the dungeon at this point, but story-wise, it's the most epic dungeon out of the three, as you'll get to fight the Fiend of Fire in the end.

There was one game where I just picked up all the treasures in Gurgu Volcano, Sea Shrine and Sky Castle, without fighting the Fiends. After that, I just went and fought the remaining Fiends in a random order. I think I beat Kraken first, then Tiamat and finally Kary, who's quite easy when you're already strong enough to beat WarMech.

[Rez09]

I haven't played the DS version of FF4, so I can't comment on it, but outside of that I find the original NES Final Fantasy to be the most 'difficult' in the series. The game has a lot of oddities that work against the player, including bugged spells and gear and the formulas for running and turn order, and there isn't any particularly powerful gear or magic to help a player power through difficult segments, so the game boils down to 'grind levels, buff the fighter/black belt, and hope for the best' in a lot of places. That said, even the NES version isn't too hard if you don't mind grinding, since the only thing that stops high level fighters in the game seems to be bad luck.

[Sephex]

As far as the original goes...

When I was a kid? Hard. I had experience with RPGs, but it still took me quite sometime to gather the patience on how to deal with the properly. I was stubborn and refused to grind.

From late childhood on? Easier. This game can screw the most experienced gamer in a heatbeat, but being used to RPGs and knowing what's to come made the game much easier to deal with.

Any other version?

Easy. Even if you set the game to be like the original (not as much XP, no auto selecting enemies after a target is defeated) any other version of this game doesn't seem to try to screw over the player as much.