TGS 07: Hands-On With Final Fantasy IV DS
Good morning GayGamerdom! We got our hands on the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV yesterday and it was everything you'd want it to be. Whether you know it by its Japanese enumeration or the US title Final Fantasy II, the tale of Cecil, Kain, and Rosa remains one of the most beloved and classic RPGs of all time. I still remember the electric tingle of playing the first Final Fantasy game to come out for the SNES, as I'm sure many of you do as well. Kain jumping. Lunar adventures. Betrayal.
Visually, the FFIV remake looks very like the recent FFIII remake - but it's amazing how faithful the design is to the original: the world map, from what I saw of the beginning of the game, has the exact same layout. The combat, while written in Japanese, was playable from my memory alone, which given the poor state of my cabeza is remarkable. I had Kain's dragoon jumping attack (in which he disappears for a turn only to come crashing down on the enemy) and cute ol' Tellah's magic deployed like an pro. The active-time battle system is wonderfully reproduced, fusing turn-based play with the first inklings of what would become Square's legendary subtle and not-so-subtle variations on traditional RPG gameplay - each character has a meter that fills up at a certain speed, and when the meter is full that character may take his turn, depleting the meter and beginning the process anew.
And how about this artwork, eh? Does this pic not set your loins aflame and your heart aflutter? Does it not, I ask you?
Release: 2008, sometime. Condition: excitement.
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 22 September 2007
· Comments (11)
Other stuff like this: ds, ff4, final fantasy iv, nintendo, square enix, tgs 07, tokyo game show
this is good to hear: I've been holding off on replaying the current version of FF IV for the GBA....now i have no excuse ;-)
I'm insanely jealous you got to play it.
I can remember the first time I ever saw screenshots of Final Fantasy II. It was in Nintendo Power. In retrospect, I realize they were from the Tower of Zot stages, and compared to the original game they were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Yeah, I think I'll pick this up.
spacepop4u, I think I know exactly which screenshots you're referring to! lol... It was the first time I saw pics of that game as well.
Ahh.. Nintendo Power! :)
Whoa... where do I get the poster?!
Yes! Where can I get a poster of that art!?
That poster is awesome! I need it!
So the battles, I noticed in the screens that the commands were on the top screen and party names and ATB was on bottom. So can you still stylus control or is it normal controls?
My question is were they able to build on the FFIII and finally utilize both screens? Of course I'm definitely picking up this title, but it would be cool to see if they are listening to what people are saying about their games.
I will also be picking this one up. There are so many new Final Fantasy games on the DS that I just want! Square-Enix is obviously doing something right as well as milking their most popular franchise. :)
My god, that picture WILL be in my bedroom.
Also, they said they are definitely trying to improve upon FFIII DS by utilizing both screens more. Intresting rumor: Much more new content than what was in Advanced. They said they weren't able to fit in all of the original scenerio written on the SNES. So we'll see what new stuff (if any) is brought.
Oi, my bad: so the screens are reversed - in FF3 you played on the bottom screen, but with FF4 the bulk of the action takes place on the top screen, with the map on the lower screen. It was, apparently, a fan-requested feature or bit of feedback Square got from FF3 - and it's a lot easier to play, say, with the DS propped up on your belly after a long afternoon of eating honey.