Good thing I don't like Pokemon anyway, then. The only one I own is HeartGold and that was a birthday present, so. *shrug*
Actually, in the 5th Generation Games (Pokemon Black and White), I heard you can't even catch a Magikarp until you defeat the game. It's strictly 5th Generation Pokemon only until you defeat the Elite Four from what I heard.
Oh, I'm not saying that FFIV fanatics are nearly as bad as FFVII or FFVI fanatics. But it seems that of the three games with the biggest fanbases (from what I've seen, of course), IV seems to be the least deserving of it. Pokemon games are all the same anyway. I play them long enough to catch a Magikarp and then I couldn't care less about the rest of the game.
I know what you mean with the whole nostalgia goggles issue (especially since quite a few people started with and grew up on FFIV). Though I don't think FFIV has too much fans who turn their nostalgic love into hate for any FFs that aren't FFIV. 1st Generation Pokemon on the other hand...
Eh, just my personal opinion. I don't particularly care for any of the characters, there's basically no customization outside of choosing equipment, and the story is fairly bland until about 3/4 of the way in. I will give it one thing though, I do like the idea of party members switching in and out constantly so that you're never at full strength until the end-game. That does make it more challenging, like you said. That being said, I'd never say anyone was wrong for loving the game. It certainly has its merits, just like every other game in the series. I just think it suffers the same problem that FFVII does; they're both good games, but people's nostalgia goggles distort their views and they get over-hyped like hell.
Even if Kain and Rydia are some of the most overrated FF characters, FFIV is hardly overrated. I mean, the story is quite deep, even by today's standards. It's not like every game has both heroes (Cecil and Kain) and villains (Golbez) trying to redeem themselves of their past actions. And the ending just blows away all the other FF endings, with how happy it is (I know it's a little on the cliche side, but I'd say it's justified based on how bad things were during the story, like with Damycian and Eblan being a total wreck, and with Baron ruining everything). As for the gameplay, I'll admit it was somewhat limited seeing how it had the least customizability of all the FFs, but at the same time, it adds to the challenge, like how you had no offensive magic users for the Barbarrica and Calcobrina battles, or any white magic users with a solid amount of MP during the Dark Elf and Fabul battles.
Fair enough. I never found any of the characters in IV that engaging, and honestly, I think it is the single most overrated game in the franchise. I just don't get the game's appeal, beyond that of a quaint, simplistic, bare-bones RPG.
Yeah, I find Rydia quite overrated as well. I guess the issue is that Rydia has the larger fanbase while Kain has the more vicious fanbase. I never really understood why people think Rydia is so much stronger of a person than Rosa. I mean, I'd say they have their equal amount of brave moments (Rydia saving Cecil from Golbez, Rosa stopping Edge from shouting at Kain in the lunar whale) and weak moments (Rosa's desert fever and getting kidnapped by Golbez, Rydia just standing back doing nothing while Cecil fights the soldiers in the Kaipo inn and her being too reluctant to melt the fire at Mt. Hobbes). As for Kain, I really don't like how he lets his feelings of jealousy towards Cecil let him get brainwashed and mind controlled.
