I'm glad you enjoyed it. I felt that FFIV had the best story and lead character, who also happens to be my most favourite FF Character.

Quote Originally Posted by VeloZer0 View Post
I would have liked the game a lot better if they didn't do the big 'everyone is alive again' cop out and actually gave their sacrifices some significance.
Oh, this again?

Yeah, sure. It may seemed like that would be the way to go, but it wouldn't have fit FFIV's Theme of Redemption and making comebacks at all. Characters dying for good in FFII, FFV, and FFVI worked since FFII and FFVI's theme was the sacrifices of war and FFV was dealing with the deaths of loved ones. But think about it happening in FFIV. Do you really think it would've improved the story if Edward died and didn't get to redeem himself by dispelling the Dark Elf's power? Or how about Cid, dying because he overworked himself installing the drill on the Falcon? That'd be a pretty strange and unepic death if you asked me. You can’t really have him dying during the bomb sequence since he’s needed to free the path to the upper world. And do you really think it's fair that Palom and Porom stayed petrified, when they were only children and had such a bright future ahead of them? As for Yang, it would've been unoriginal using Josef's death all over again (an older person with a wife losing his life to save others). Really, dying permanently doesn’t fit in with the whole fulfilling and light hearted feeling redemption has. Besides, I find it's the intention that counts, and I definitely wouldn't think less of someone if they sacrificed their life for me and somehow still ended up alive.

Besides, almost everyone being alive in the end was what made FFIV's ending and climax so epic. The first two FF's had pretty empty feeling endings. FFI's because the light warriors' actions will never be rewarded or remembered as real. FFII was empty because of all the people who died from The Emperor’s War. FFIII was the first FF to stray away from that tradition and have a happy ending, though the playable characters themselves didn’t have distinct personalities in the original. FFIV's ending had the same level of happiness and completeness as FFIII and more, because you fought alongside each and every one of the characters, (Even Giott and Luca, in a sense) so you actually felt more for the FFIV playable characters than the FFIII playable characters when you saw their ending. Also, having the characters alive for the Giant of Babil fight and the Zeromus fight is what made those moments so epic (honestly, I can’t really see having only Giott’s army and faceless Baron NPC’s during the Giant scene and the pre-final battle scene balancing out with the epicness of permanenent deaths). Cecil helped each of those people out and in return, they helped him out in his moment of need. He taught Edward courage, he taught Palom and Porom that committing evil actions doesn’t meant the person has an evil heart, he helped Yang fight the Bomb swarm and the Baron army when they went after the wind crystal, and he helped Cid break… wait, never mind Cid. Though I’m sure there was some way Cecil helped him out. If all of those people stayed “dead” for good, the whole theme of redemption that FFIV revolved around would be heavily weakened, and it would make Cecil feel unredeemed in the end because of all the deaths he caused by betraying Baron.

In conclusion, it would work in other FFs, but not in FFIV.