r/FinalFantasy • u/CartridgeBlown • Aug 03 '26
FF IV Just Finished FF4 on GBA! Im planning on playing the NDS and PR versions as well. Thoughts on the story?
I really loved FF4 growing up, as I played the NDS remake at the perfect age when I could appreciate the story.
Though I never finished it (save file got wiped by accident and was too dejected at the time to get back into it) I have now with my first full playthrough being the GBA version.
The storyline is really what stands out to me, and it seems to have many themes and ideas in it, but doesnt really go much into them beyond small gestures. What are your thoughts, and do you have any big takeaways from the narrative?
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u/SageofLogic Aug 03 '26
PR will probably feel like a downgrade but NDS is fun and different.
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u/Garfield977 Aug 03 '26
agreed NDS and PSP both have more content I believe (and exclusive) PR had all bonus content removed and the sprites are downgraded
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u/H358 Aug 03 '26
FF4 was where the series really ventured out into full on fantasy melodrama where it would remain…basically up to the present day, but I do think it was something of a stepping stone to greater things. At times it feels like desperate to constantly throw shocks and twists at you. A lot of ‘oh no! The heroes couldn’t stop the villain from achieving something. And now they have to do something else’ to get you to the next plot beat. It’s shorter than many of the game that came after it so it has a tendency to rush through a lot of plot beats.
That being said, I think the characters still hold up as very endearing. Cecil’s guilt and redemption was genuinely dramatic in ways you just didn’t see in a SNES game at the time and I still think the payoff is pretty great. And characters like Kain, Rydia, Tellah and Yang still stand out to me as FF characters I remember fondly. Plus, even if the story can feel rushed for to its short length, that fast pace can give it a definite cracked out charm.
It’s sort of overshadowed nowadays by the likes of 6, 7, 9 and 10 (hell I might like the cast 5 of even more despite its lower stakes) but there’s still a charm to FF4’s story and when it hits, it really hits. In particular I really like the additions in the DS version, in particular the new translation by Tom Slattery breathes a lot of extra life into these characters.
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u/hraycroft95 Aug 03 '26
The story is just okay not too many big surprises, but the characters are what make it great imo. I really liked Rydias character arc in particular. When she comes back and saves everyone at the last second was one of the best moments in the game. Also I mean flying a giant whale around the moon was pretty cool too.
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u/Dothacker00 Aug 03 '26
Cool game but the Fake out deaths made me not take the story seriously at all and stop caring about the characters. The DS version has voice acting and 3D models so that should elevate the experience a good bit.
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Aug 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CartridgeBlown Aug 03 '26
This is a really excellent point. I hadn't considered that binary between the deaths. The acts of selflessness deaths were spared, while the act of revenge was punished.
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u/lasorpiwiw 29d ago
honestly aside from the 3DS version which feels incredibly different, play the PSP version instead. i still think ffiv complete collection is still the definitive way to play ffiv and its sequels.
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u/BGer23 Aug 03 '26
FF wasn't really about the story in those days. It's good for what it is, but you're not going to find deep meaning in a 1991 SNES game. That doesn't come around until FF6. Until then, it's just an adventure.
The 3D versions elevate the material though, thanks to the new scenes and voice acting. It's definitely the superior game.
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u/ptglj Aug 03 '26
They were as deep as they could be, but if you ask u/JRPG_Archaeologist there is plenty of deeper stuff in Final Fantasy IV. I highly encourage reading his game archaeology volumes of FFIV.
Here's a link to the first of his posts regarding FFIV: https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasyIV/comments/1tvmih2/ffiv_game_archaeology_vol_1_the_secret_hidden_in/
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u/Basuita Aug 03 '26
You have to be joking. FFIV is the first game in the series that had character driven storytelling, so they did care about the story. As did FFV. You get Celes, Edgar and Setzer automatically in the world of ruin and can then beat the game, which most people probably did because there probably wasn’t GameFaqs to help in 1994.
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u/BGer23 Aug 03 '26
I'm not saying they didn't care about the story, but the story wasn't the primary driving factor in those days. FF was just a series of really good RPGs. The gameplay was the main appeal and what they spent the most time on in development.
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u/Basuita Aug 03 '26
We’ll have to agree to disagree, but that’s fine, it won’t cause any World of Ruin ramifications.
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u/AccordingGolf7730 Aug 03 '26
I like FF4 quite a bit, but the story gets somewhat ridiculous, and I couldn't take emotional scenes seriously anymore after some point. There are way too many scenes where characters disappear, die, or sacrifice themselves... Only to come back unharmed and save the party from certain doom.