Just finished FFIV and...

[Omni-Odin]

It was great!!! IMO this is the best of the pre-3D FF. I may get flack because of the FFVI love on this board, but did we all play the same games? FFIV blew VI out of the water and is better than VIII XII and XIII. This was the first real game with an ending that wasn't just a bunch of towns with sprites running around. Also, the story in this game is purely awesome.

I may just be so happy with it because it was the last numbered FF I had yet to play, but this was sick (Awesome). Only bad part of this game: Pink Tails!!! 500 sirens and no Tails.

[VeloZer0]

I think FF6 does edge FF4 out, but it is still an amazing game by any measure. Any you are right, it is better than 8,12 or 13
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.

[Bastian]

You saved the best for last, eh?

In my not even remotely humble opinion FFIV surpasses all the pre-3D games. Hell, I think the only game it may not surpass is FFIX. It's awesome!

Now you can play FF IV: The After Years. But give it some time, since they've recycled a lot of the dungeons.

[black orb]

>>> FF4 is the second best FF for the SNES, the first place goes to FF5 and the shameful third place for FF6..

I dont feel right comparing FF games from different consoles..

[Omni-Odin]

Man I sooo agree with you Orb. I really really liked FFV. You can't beat a nice simple goofy game without a convoluted plot and overly serious characters, packed with amazing gameplay. FFVI was good, but not great. Hell, if FFII would have made their battle system a smidge better, that would be my third place. I just feel FFVI was the easiest FF game

[Wolf Kanno]

VI is the game that started to bring the whole series towards the road of easiness. I still feel VIII and X are by far the easiest entries in the series but yeah... VI gave you the Figaro brothers and its all down hill from there.

IV had a good ending in my opinion (one of my faves in the series actually) and its why I'm partially miffed at the sequel cause I really felt that IV completed everything that needed to be done in the first place so having a sequel seemed irrelevant to me.

[Crossblades]

Glad to hear that you liked IV, Omni. FFIV was the game that got me into FFs in the first place. It introduced me to VI(which is my #1 favorite)and the rest became history. Just out of curiosity though, what system did you play IV on?

[Omni-Odin]

I ended up playing it on GBA. Just the cheapest, easiest way to find it. But awesome non-the-less.

[Crossblades]

I ended up playing it on GBA. Just the cheapest, easiest way to find it. But awesome non-the-less.

The gba version is the best one of them all IMO. It has the best translation, has 2 bonus dungeons that weren't included in other versions, and you can switch party members before the final dungeon, which is my favorite new feature of them all

[Momiji]

I'm glad you loved this fantastic game.

[Evastio]

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.

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.

[VeloZer0]

Oh, this again?

I started typing out a reply, but then I realized that this is something that probably deserves it's own thread.

[Lexy]

IV will always be the quintessential FF for me. Amazingly solid game with such a satisfying, diverse story. But Zeromus is kicking my butt right now on the GBA version, what the heck!

[Storm]

FFIV and FFVI have always been my favorites, although FFIV wins (probably due to massive nostalgia, it was one of the first SNES games I ever played). I think FFVI had the potential to be the best, but the World of Ruin was so anti-climatic.

FFIV's story just keeps building until the end. After a couple of hours of play in the FFVI WoR, the story kind of just stops and you end up doing a series of sidequests to find your missing party members. Although I appreciated the non-linearity of the sidequests, the story suffered as a result.

FFIV will never be surpassed, even with its awkward dialogue...

[Carnage-]

I'm actually stuck at the final dungeon because I'm horribly underleveled. In my opinion this game is pretty dull; it rehashes the element of "mind control", there were over 12 "fake deaths" in the game, I think (at least that's what I counted), and it was really a cliche story. It was pretty fun to play and the soundtrack was fantastic, but it just had a bit of a poor storyline for me.