Great Games: Final Fantasy IV
“For the first time, console role-players weren’t given a few generic heroes and charged with stopping the evil wizard and saving the world; instead, they were introduced to a wide assortment of realistic characters who struggled with complex adult issues such as love, hate, honor, duty, betrayal, and redemption.”
To say that Final Fantasy IV is the first great Final Fantasy game, isn’t to say that the previous three installments were terrible or insignificant. The first three game were important in forming what this accidental series would become, but they haven’t quite stood the test of time. Most gamers take it for granted that the inaugural titles in a series are generally held up as the creme de la creme. The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon Red and Blue, and Mario Bros are all rightly regarded as classics that have defined much of the video game landscape. The first entry in Final Fantasy to hit such a milestone was the fourth, which kicked off a golden age for the series that lasted well into the PlayStation era.
What stands out about Final Fantasy IV, in comparison to its predecessors, is not only how plot-driven it is, but the ugliness the subject matter. Our protagonist, Cecil, is a Dark Knight, clad in fiendish armor that obscures his face. It is never fully explained what exactly being a “Dark Knight” entails, except that in exchange for great power, Cecil’s own life force is drained. This is demonstrated through the gameplay, where Cecil’s “dark” attack consumes health points (and is clearly not to be used frivolously). The first mission we see Cecil and, his Dragoon companion Kain, on is the massacre a village for their precious Crystal. His conscience perturbed, Cecil questions the morality his acts, and probes his king on why such orders were given. Furious, the king strips Cecil of his title as head of the Red Wings, and promptly commands him to perform another Crystal massacre in the Myst. This scenario is turned on its head in FFVII, when the rebel group, AVALANCHE, is willing to risk killing untold civilians for the aim of destroying one of Shinra’s Mako Reactors. Whereas Cecil’s atrocity led to reflection, Cloud, at that point, just wanted his money.
Cecil, no longer content with following the king’s orders, goes against his ruler and goes on an odyssey of redemption for his sins. This culminates in him eschewing the armor of a dark knight for the robes of a Paladin. While a Paladin, Cecil can perform curative healing spells, though they don’t amount to much. The upgrade, however, gives him a ton of health for covering weaker allies. The definitive White Mage of the party is his lover, Rosa. The love theme between them is arguably the game’s most famous track. Not only is Rosa the best healer in the game, but unlike most White Mages, her physical attacks are surprisingly effective, though this varies based on which arrows you use. Rosa’s drawback is that she cannot learn Osmose (which is black magic), so the only means of restoring her MP is by use of Ethers, which are in limited supply. Indeed, over the course of the game, many magic users will occupy your party’s space: Tellah the Sage, the twins Palom and Parom, and the summoner Rydia. You’ll almost certainly need to use their magic in battle (since their physicals are nil), but considering that Ethers aren’t sold anywhere, you’re almost put at a disadvantage as a result. One rule I used to balance things out was that each magic user could only cast one spell per battle, though this quickly becomes unrealistic once you reach Tower of Babel or the Lunar Subterrane.
Thankfully, you have some capable physical fighters as well. Yang, a monk from Fabul, has the Power attack that takes one turn to charge. His regular attack is weak, and while Kick can hit all enemies, the damage is too superfluous to warrant serious attention. Kain has the powerful Jump ability, which lets him to rise far above the battle, only to strike down later. As a result, Kain can avoid a great deal of enemy attacks, but he can avoid Rosa’s cures as well. Kain is something of an infrequent party member, because he’s often under Golbez’s mind control. A vulnerability that may be related to his unrequited love for Rosa. Edge, a brash ninja prince from Eblan, is probably the best of the three physicals. His attacks are on par with Cecil’s since he can wield two swords. His Ninjutsu command allows for some uniquely powerful spells, and of course, he can throw shuriken. Players will note that I haven’t mentioned Cid the Airship engineer or Edward the Bard. This is because I found them virtually worthless, especially that spoony bard.
The game’s plot, such as it was, suffered two major failings: it undid most character deaths and enemy behavior is all too often attributed to mind control. The former takes away from the emotional impact of sacrifice, while the latter renders antagonist personalities superfluous. Regardless, FFIV was probably the first time gamers had seen something of a literary plotline in an RPG. While such is standard fare today, it’s still hard not to get sucked into the game’s narrative, which takes you beneath the earth’s surface and deep into the moon’s core. Be warned, FFIV is among Final Fantasy’s most difficult, with the Gigeresque Zeromus ranking with FFIII’s Cloud Of Darkness as one of the more challenging final bosses.
FFIV was where Final Fantasy truly began. The Four Elemental Lords: Scarminglone, Cagnazzo, Barbiccia, and Rubicante (a homage to FFI’s Four Fiends) laid the groundwork for other colorful recurring bosses like Gilgamesh and Ultros. Indeed, their theme music has been immortalized online by Hyadain. The charge of Active Time Battle defined strategic fighting in the series until FFX, adding a sense of urgency to turn-based gameplay. While story and character took a step backward in FFV, they were further improved and perfected in FFVI and FFVII. The sort of fruitful adventures people spent hours on in Dungeons and Dragons were finally starting to be realized in the video game medium. FFIV proved that games could be effective storytelling vehicles, especially if you are an active participant in said story. It became the standard by which the series and all RPGs have been judged since.
Originally published at http://sansuthecat.blogspot.com.
