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 enlarge | From: Square Enix
Category: Video Games
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $26.49
You Save: $13.50 (34%)
New (26) Used (10) from $19.87
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 373
Platform: Nintendo Ds
Genre: role_playing_games
ESRB: Everyone 10+
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Nintendo DS
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0 x 0
MPN: 90811
Model: 90811
UPC: 662248908113
EAN: 0662248908113
Release Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 IV's $40 Fourth Incarnation August 2, 2008
4 out of 16 found this review helpful
And you thought the number of the beast was triple-six.br /br /If ever there was any shred of doubt left in anybody's mind that Squaresoft is dead, and its replacement, SquareEnix, is little more than a money-generating machine, let this game remove it. This is the fourth time that Final Fantasy IV has been released in the United States. Number four. We've already had the SNES FFII (which, as everybody should know by now, was the original FFIV Easy Type as released in Japan--the old Square of America was unsure about the profitability of the Japanese II and III). We've already had the PSX Final Fantasy Chronicles (which packaged a relocalized FFIV Hard Type together with Chrono Trigger). We've even had a portable port, the GBA FFIV (which can be played on the DS, may I remind you), a slight update on the PSX version.br /br /And now this. Granted, the addition of updated, three dimensional CG is nice. I have to admit, some of the new features are interesting. But I have to question just what kind of rubes SquareEnix takes its consumer-base to be to expect to make a profit simply by adding rudimentary 3D and a couple new shiny add-ons to a game they've released stateside three times previously.br /br /To be blunt: in this day and age, internet piracy is rampant. You can get the original SNES versions extremely easily for free--I can't say I particularly condone that kind of thing, but let's be realistic here. A little more legally, you can get the PSX version and the GBA versions for $17 or $30, respectively, brand new direct from Amazon--and even cheaper from some very reputable 3rd parties selling through Amazon! I highly recommend getting one of them. FFIV is one of the best pre-PSX console RPGs, and definitely worth a play-through for any fan of the old-school style. But $40 for a few extra bells and whistles? That's what I call a scam.br /br /Are there people who are going to be turned off the game by the old sprite-based 2D graphics? Yes. There's nothing particularly wrong with that--wanting an aesthetically pleasing experience to accompany your time spent playing is nothing to be frowned at. I would, however, contend that the kind of people who are turned off of games by old-school graphics like those present in the previous versions of this game likely wouldn't enjoy the old-school gameplay, or the old-school story, of FFIV. As enjoyable as I find it as a gamer who's been playing RPGs since the early nineties, FFIV is kinda dated, something that no amount of prettified graphics or extra distractions is going to cover up for gamers primarily interested in a more modern experience.
 Not to be missed for RPG fans July 30, 2008
Final Fantasy IV DS is a complete remake of what many American gamers know as Final Fantasy II for the SNES. IV was the first 16-bit FF game, and the story was more detailed, the characters more complex, and the graphics and sound more believable than ever before. The DS version keeps the complex and interesting story intact (with a better translation) and features vastly improved character and location graphics in a 3D world. This portable RPG holds its own against anything available for the DS/PSP and is a must-play for fans of Final Fantasy or those looking for a story-driven RPG. It is better than both previous reissues (GBA and PSX), because they were ports with minimal new features, and the Playstation version had long load times. br /br /There are many plot twists that keep the player moving onward in uncovering the story details and defeating the ultimate enemy. Dark Knight Cecil starts as a pawn of the enemy, and ultimately weaves through a complex tale to redemption, while saving the world from a great evil. The supporting characters are some of the most memorable in Final Fantasy history, even more so because the player has no control over scripted events that decide who gets to be in your party. I loved FF VI (6) also, but some of the characters were non-essential to the story. In IV (4), every character has a purpose, and sometimes they show up to help out unexpectedly. br /br /I'm about halfway through the DS version and it is both a nostalgic trip and a genuinely good RPG that paved the way for greats such as FF VII. I hope that Square Enix continues the remake trend with enhanced versions of FF VI and VII on modern consoles.
 Hey square, if it ain't broke don't fix it! July 28, 2008
2 out of 11 found this review helpful
Ok first of all i've beaten FFIV at least ten times over the years since the Snes days so i consider myself very familiar with the series. First of all i'll start with the bad. Square raised the difficulty of the game significantly, and some of the boss battles will have you pulling your hair out. It personally takes alot of the fun out of a game that i've enjoyed for years. Again, i'm an rpg veteran, i'm used to grinding levels to beat a boss so i expect a certain level of difficulty but this was a bit much.br /br /With the good, i don't really have to say much, you can look at a screenshot and tell the improvement in graphics and gameplay, though they added a few new skills that add a little more customization to the game.br /br /Overall if you loved the old RPG's from the super nes era or if you are a final fantasy fan, you'll probably pick this up, but i didn't see the point in square adding so much difficulty and frustration to an already great game. I've still had alot of fun with this game, but i've used about every swear word in the book during a few boss battles.
A great remake July 28, 2008
I've played all of the other remakes Final Fantasy IV (actually, I think I own them all as well.) I have to say that this one is the only one since the first remake that really changed much. The 3D graphics are really nice, and the voice acting makes the game feel more modern. The biggest change, however, is the challenge. I remember plowing through the first part of the game without stopping. In the previous versions, one didn't need to stop progressing to level the characters until after the village of Myst. This version is way different! Even the battles in the beginning can wipe the group! Any hard core Final Fantasy fan will likely be very happy with this. Also, anyone that hasn't had the pleasure to play one of the other versions of this game should pick it up and experience one of the best Final Fantasy titles ever made!
 Very good outing. But not as good as it could have been. July 27, 2008
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
"What do you mean?"br /br /That's likely the first thought crossing your mind, so you clicked into my review. Don't worry, reader...I will explain in clear terms. But first, some history, so you know I'm not full of it.br /br /Final Fantasy IV is actually the sixth Final Fantasy game, but the fourth to be released as part of the official series. If you didn't know, the Final Fantasy games (with the exception of X and X-2) have little to do with each other and are not true sequels. Think of them as separate books under a brand; each one tells a different story, even if they might use slight pieces concurrently (such as spells). There were Final Fantasy games released on GameBoy, as well as "Mystic Quest" which didn't really count, but since it held the name, I list it here.br /br /Back in the days of Super Nintendo, Squaresoft released this game as "Final Fantasy II". There were two separate versions, referred to as "Easy Type" and "Hard Type". The SNES version was allegedly the "Easy Type", though I can't fathom why that was...*cough*EvilWall*cough*...Final Fantasy IV was then re-released on the Final Fantasy Chronicles game set along with Chrono Trigger, replete with new CGI cutscenes to further the gameplay. This version was allegedly the "Hard Type". As if that weren't enough, Square Enix (as they were now called) released Final Fantasy IV on the Game Boy Advance - again, allegedly the "Hard Type". And now here we are.br /br /But wait - this isn't the same as either previous version. This is a remake, not a port. The game has been converted to full 3D. Some of the spell and summon names have been changed. And Square Enix has added some features to the game to make it just enough "new" as to make it interesting. So I'll go down the list of good and bad, and then elaborate.br /br /*** THE GOOD ***br /- The difficulty is now more in line with some of its latter forefathers, especially with the Active Time Battle system. Bosses such as the Mist Dragon (the first "boss" you'll encounter) are actually challenging if you don't know what you're doing. New gamers might actually get whooped repeatedly. Veteran gamers who understood the patterns will find challenge, but not nearly as much as new gamers. Oh, and by the way...Dr. Lugae? He's no longer a pushover. That's all I got to say about that.br /br /- Certain characters who where difficult to use because they just weren't useful were given additional skills to help them contribute in battle. One character's ability was so blatantly useless as to be laughable, yet he was one of the final characters in the game. This has been changed to where his skills contribute almost as well as Rydia's spells.br /br /- "Augments" add a whole different dimension to the game. With these, you can effectively take the natural skills of other characters and apply them to anyone you want. SO for example, you could have Cecil set up with Counter, Kain set up with Draw Attacks, and have Cecil cover, which effectively makes Cecil a tank while Kain is free to dish damage. That's just one example of the various combinations you can employ to go through the game. br /br /- Item limit is removed - no more relying on the Fat Chocobo to store excess Elixirs.br /br /- Summons, now referred to as Eidolons, have been powered up substantially. In the older ports there came a time when your summon could barely do the damage of Fire 1, so by the time you got Fire 3, there was no point in using Ifrit. (There is a negative to this though, more later)br /br /- The graphical detail of the game is top notch for the DS, especially in certain caves and dungeons. It's clear they put some work into making the game as visually appealing as they could.br /br /- The audio has been remixed, and even improved in some areas. FFIV's music had always been quite good, but the remixes are even better (negative here, more on that later).br /br /br /*** THE BAD ***br /br /Yes, there are some not-so-good things to this, I'm sorry to say.br /br /- Eidolons. Remember how I just got done praising them for what they bring to the table now? Well, there's a new problem. With the exception of the Four Fiends there's really no point to using them over spells except to watch the scene. This has more to do with how slowly it takes Rydia to call them than anything else.br /br /- Some tracks were remixed with added instruments that totally kill the spirit of the original song/atmosphere it was used in. Troia comes to mind.br /br /- The "sudden death" set of notes was removed. This is what plays the moment someone dies as part of the story, usually at a point when Cecil is yelling their name out. I have no idea why they removed this.br /br /- Cecil's "Darkness" ability was nerfed. On the SNES version, he didn't have this ability. On the PS1 and GBA versions he did. It sent out a wave of dark energy to hit all enemies and caused you damage when you used it, but it was quite useful. Here, it just makes his attacks stronger and takes energy when you attack, but you can only hit one enemy.br /br /- The ability to equip weapons has been altered. Characters who could easily equip certain weapons no longer can or the way they equip said weapons has been changed. For example, Cecil could always equip a bow and arrow as an alternative to a longsword, which was particularly useful in one specific cavern, but now he can only equip daggers and swords, making him effectively useless when you get to that part except to Cover. Plus, depending on how you equipped Rosa's bow/arrow combination, her power went up a bit. This has been removed as well.br /br /- Because everything is in 3D it makes navigating caverns and towers extremely difficult. I'm sure this was intentional, but because you can't change the camera, you can't easily tell which way you're going. Some might actually like this as it forces you to learn the paths all over again, but I don't care for it. The camera is almost directly in front of you, you don't get a "top down" view and can't tell which path leads to a dead end and which does not. I don't mind the camera angle, as long as I can move it at will. This also causes a minor annoyance at one castle where someone is eavesdropping on the throne room: in the older version you can clearly see the perpetrator as they jump up momentarily. This adds suspense that is missing on this version.br /br /- A brief cutscene plays before almost every special ability. It detracts from the fluidity of combat to have to watch Kane for two seconds before he executes the Jump command. I really wish you could disable this.br /br /- The placement of "Switch Rows" has nearly cost me battles. It should be on the left rather than right under "Defend". Because I'm used to fast paced battle, I'm used to pressing right to defend and left to switch rows. No idea why they would change this.br /br /br /br /So...do I recommend this game? Absolutely. My negatives are personal nitpicks based on my extensive knowledge of this game, for the most part. I would say if you're a vet like I am who remembers the game from SNES, just don't expect the exact same experience. Square Enix has tried hard to freshen the game in quite a bit of areas. A lot is the same, but a lot has changed, including the names of things.
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