FF IV The After Years

[Ashtrot]

At first I thought it was way too easy, but then I died twice on two different boss battles.

This game is awesome.

[TurnBasedDude]

Yeah, the first dungeon was extremely easy then surprise, the enemies kick it up a notch starting with centuar knight then ahriman.

[jphussey]

So Gamespot's review is in:

http://www.gamespot.com/wii/rpg/finalfantasyivtheafteryears/review.html

Wow, me and this reviewer would have A LOT in common.

JP

[Robert Boyd]

I got the main game + Rydia add-on for Father's Day this year and after finishing the main game and starting Rydia's chapter, I'm most impressed.  I do believe this is the best non-Shin Megami Tensei JRPG I've played in years.  It's true to the original game's feel while being much improved in gameplay.  I'm definitely picking up the other chapters when they become available.

[Prime Mover]

Yeah, I have to agree, this game has less appeal than most RPGMaker titles. Look, FFIV was revolutionary for its time, and what made it great was that it was creatively constructed very differently from everything else. But you can't just go ahead and make the same game 17 years later and expect people to be happy. Ya know what made the original so great? Hearing new music that wowed us for the first time, seeing brand new graphics that looked stunning in 1992, going, "Finally, an RPG with a story!"

You want a well constructed old school RPG that feels fresh and inspired, yet feels at home right out of the SNES era? Golden Sun. Unfortunately, FFIV:TAY is teh mess.

[Robert Boyd]

Those were all reasons why FF4 was revolutionary, but one reason why it's still a fun game even today is because it was a fast paced RPG that was constantly changing things up on you: you were constantly gaining & losing party members and it prevented the player from just picking one strategy and sticking with it for the entire game like you see with so many RPGs.  FF4: After Years takes this aspect of the original FF4 and expands it admirably.  FF4: After Years has a lot more characters and abilities than FF4 did plus the new moon system & the way the game is structured (divided into chapters focused on different characters) all help to make the game fast paced and the gameplay constantly changing.

For what it's worth, I've gotten a lot more enjoyment out of FF4: AY than I did out of the DS remake of FF4.  Yes, $38 might seem a lot for a game with 16-bit style graphics, but I'm having a blast with the game and it's proven to me that it's still possible to make an traditional JRPG can still be extremely enjoyable (I was starting to have my doubts after the merely decent offerings this generation).

[Prime Mover]

I believe that if an artist or group of people are creative, that it will come out in the feel of their work, no matter what the technological level. So that a game made back in 1992 still feels, in some ways, "fresh" in 2009. Obviously, it's not going to feel the same, but the fact that it was an inspired effort is somehow felt through the work, regardless of the fact that those originally creative ideas have been rehashed dozens of times since. TAY just feels forced to me. Yes, the moon cycle thing is kinda cool (reminds me of the days of the week system from Seiken Densetsu 3), but aside from that, it just feels incredibly bland and uninspired. I dunno, somehow Capcom was able to relive the golden years of the MegaMan series with Mega Man 9, but Square didn't seem to pull it off.

[Robert Boyd]

Though I enjoyed MM9, I felt like they were trying to hard to make the game overly tough (like the many super cheap free web games like I Wanna be the Guy) whereas with FF4:AY, I feel like the developers understood the older game's charm and were able to expand on the gameplay without losing the essence of the original game.  To each their own.

I will say that Rydia's party is way more interesting than most of the parties you were using in the base game which gives me hope that the other add on chapters will be fun & interesting as well.

[jphussey]

Agree re: Rydia.

I thought the main quest would overshadow all of the episodes and that wasn't the case at all. I always found Rydia's chapter far more challenging,

JP

[Lucca]

Rise from your gra-- I mean, the final part of After Years came out today. Anyone have it?

I do appreciate the fact that SquareEnix seems to lampshade it's own plot via Yang's wife. What, no knife for us this time, Mrs. Yang? :( Edge was totally right.

Those of you who wrote off the game thanks to the first two chapters ought to give it another go if you have the money. It's gotten better since the first chapter (and Rydia's). The final chapters in particular are pretty challenging. I've died several times.

[TurnBasedDude]

I'm digging it, but it really is for the fans only. The game has a heavy theme about the events  of the past reoccuring to the point that it gets too blatant at times. Personally, I'm alright with it, but some I knew cringed a bit. Again, given the theme of the game, I just go with the flow and the last leg of the game does bring back some moments and bosses I liked quite a bit in the original unlike several of the fights in the character tales.

Plus, it feels kickass to put together the super baron team to devestate foes.

[Lucca]

I'm digging, but it really is for the fans only. The game has a heavy theme about the events  of the past reoccuring to the point that it gets too blatant at times.

Ahaha, tell me about it. I could make a drinking game rule out of how many times a character utters, "It's like the past IS REPEATING ITSELF!" over and over again.


And now I've just discovered...

Code:

The entire game is one big Final Fantasy fanservice. Not only do you fight past FFIV bosses in the final dungeons, but past bosses from ALL the Final Fantasies -- at least 1 through 6. Doom Train, I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS.

[Aeolus]

I'm digging, but it really is for the fans only. The game has a heavy theme about the events  of the past reoccuring to the point that it gets too blatant at times.

Ahaha, tell me about it. I could make a drinking game rule out of how many times a character utters, "It's like the past IS REPEATING ITSELF!" over and over again.


And now I've just discovered...

Code:

The entire game is one big Final Fantasy fanservice. Not only do you fight past FFIV bosses in the final dungeons, but past bosses from ALL the Final Fantasies -- at least 1 through 6. Doom Train, I'm gonna KICK YOUR ASS.

Code:

Doc! Just let me throw a Fenix Down at it!

[Lucca]

Just beat it today. Took roughly 15 hours (maybe a little more) to get past the final part of the crystals. There's at least 20 bosses to beat. No, I'm not making this up.

The two ultimate bosses (which are optional) are extremely challenging if you're not in the 80+ level range. I wasn't, and I barely squeaked out a win with both of them. I felt quite proud!

Crystals is worth the 800 point price tag, since you get tons of playtime for it...although having the extra character chapter data to import over helped a lot.