best RPG series to grace U.S.A. shores on the SNES and in my opinion, one of the best Final Fantasy games to be released
The graphics in Final Fantasy IV were not the best that the SNES had to offer, but that was a small price to pay for such an amazing game with a very good story and long gameplay life. The game takes place in Medieval times and all of the visuals are done like this, and done very well. There are very little cut-scenes present in this game and the ones they do have are done in the same graphics as the rest of the game is presented in, but what can you expect really? Audio:
Some of the best video game music came from the Final Fantasy series, and it all began in North America with Final Fantasy IV. If you have ever played any of the Final Fantasy games you know what I am talking about when I say that they have amazing music, and I bet you can probably still hum every last one of those tunes to this day. Gameplay: Final Fantasy defined the way we look at RPG’s and it has become what we now call “The Traditional RPG”. The traditional RPG is a long immersing story in which you must uncover by traveling around and talking to everyone you meet. Doing this will start up story sequences in which you usually end up helping people out with their problems in order to proceed any further in the game. There is a battle system, which is time/turn based, in which you must fend off evil beasts and sometimes, key-people in the story. Throughout this adventure, but not all traditional RPG’s, you will be able to purchase new and even more powerful equipment and weapons to help you out in these battles. You will more than likely acquire the most powerful weapons and armour however late in the game in dungeons and from tough enemies. The magic system is also included to help you out both in and out of battle. The magic available includes healing and assist spells (white magic), elemental and destructive spells (black magic), and summoning monsters to help you out in battle (call magic). After every battle you will gain experience and gold and sometimes even items that the enemy has dropped. With the experience your characters gain, they will gain levels and thus increasing their attributes as well as their hit points and magic points (if they have magic skills). At certain selected levels, characters will also learn new abilities and magic spells, some more quickly than others however. Occasionally during the game you will also be able to use vehicles such as airships and hovercrafts to help you travel around the world and you will also find many puzzles throughout the dungeons, towns, and world map to figure out. Overall:
As I mentioned before, Final Fantasy IV is in my opinion one of the best of the Final Fantasy series, and it is probably the best RPG on the SNES. If you like RPG’s and haven’t played this game yet, you’re in for a treat! Both of the Final Fantasy games for the SNES are some of the hardest games to find, and with good reason too because they’re that damn good! If you’re lucky enough to see a copy of this at your local used video game store or on Ebay, you should definitely pick this game up RPG fan or not!